Admin Note: Apologies for the long delay in posting to this blog - I was caught up in the preparations for asking my girlfriend to marry me, and thus unavailable here - thankfully, she said yes! Now...on with the show!
Overall Rating: 6.5
The big show isn't here yet - this just seems largely petty and a bit out of nowhere.
Plot Synopsis:
Here it is in short form: the girls - reeling from their defeat at the hands of Caleb - have their morale at an all time low, and because Faith is willing to indulge them in some idiot compassion (hey, I have a question...if everyone has left town, who are all of those people at the Bronze?) by getting a bunch of teenagers drunk and leading them around in public with the bringers all over Sunnydale, they decide to blame Buffy and run with the cool kid. And...incredibly...the inner-scoobies and HER OWN SISTER! agree with them. Seriously...what...the...heck??
The Skinny:
My comments on this episode will be very limited - I would just like to remind the readers what I said during "Lies My Parents Told Me." Although, individually, there were many signs of good morality and proper leadership; taken collectively, I thought that too many people were using evil methods to combat evil and that it would be bad for the group in the end. Those chickens come home to roost in this episode, big time. Giles has lost Buffy's trust - in fact it is so bad that, though he makes a valid point about the need for a real plan, she isn't even willing to listen. And worse, Buffy's hardened approach and her connection to Spike managed to drive a wedge between her and XANDER! of all people. I mean, really...you know that things have gone horribly wrong when Xander can't see eye to eye with Buffy or trust her leadership. Perhaps if everyone hadn't been so bent on doing things their way, the group would have held together better. As it is, a little drunken carousing is all it takes to separate the slayerettes from the slayer and send them to the feet of cool aunt Faith.
To me, this all seemed to happen rather fast, and I don't think some of the personal dissent in the ranks was well set up or particularly well executed in that final group meeting / Buffy hate party. Oh...and this is why I don't much care for Kennedy - she's a friggin' prima donna and a self-righteous know-it-all. Isn't she supposed to be the oldest of the potentials? Shouldn't she be a little less like a queen bee teenie-bopper and a little more like a grown up? *sigh* One thing's for sure, Willow and Kennedy have about as much desirable chemistry as Giles would with Dawn. And if that didn't gross you out, you're a sick bastard. The last three episodes are of a piece, IMHO...they all go together and tell the story of Buffy's return to power and the end of the army of the First. They will be reviewed together as one three-parter, so stay tuned.
Writing: 6.0
This one isn't written poorly...it just doesn't work for me...it's not emotionally effective because it feels like some of the characters are playing out of their element and the reasoning is not clearly explained.
Acting: 7.5
Average performances all around - and average for this show is a better than average score.
Message: 6.0
This show could be considered to be an argument against utilitarian (read: amoral) leadership even if the cause is just...but it comes rather out of nowhere and doesn't stand up to repeated viewings. So I can't give it that credit.
Yaaaaay on the whole getting engaged thing. It's about time!
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