Overall Rating: 6.0
The definition of an average hour of television. To be honest, reviewing this one bores me to tears even though the episode didn't.
Plot Synopsis:
The recap can be found here, courtesy of BuffyGuide.com.
The Skinny:
The moral of this story appears to find the mushy center between correct (as I see it) and way wrong. Too much of anything supposedly good can be bad and we are quite prone to become slaves to the things we want - they can even make us act so irrationally that we puts ourselves in danger emotionally or physically. Buffy and Riley become imprisoned by their own physical desires, Anya becomes completely irrational over a belief that a night without passion signals the end of her relationship (causing both of them to act like complete idiots to try to make the other jealous...for no reason...LOL) and Giles...well Giles creeps everyone out by being a singer at an adult bar in town. Everyone except Willow, who remembers why she used to have a crush on her mentor in the occult (eeeeke!). All of this is course dressed in the robes of a ghost story brought on by the intense emotions coming from Buffy and Riley...but that's hardly the point, really.
All of this is true...we can indeed become slaves to our passions...and moderation is important, especially early in a relationship. Xander and Anya find this out just as much as Buffy and Riley do. But I think they really missed the point when it comes to sex in particular. Of course anyone reading this blog for any length of time knows that I think getting wrapped up in sex while trying to build a relationship is a bad idea and has led to the ever increasing complication, frustration, and separation rates in modern dating...no of which is really covered here, not that I'd expect it to be. The show does know its' audience and does need to stay "trendy."
The plot is routine and not too shabby, and I like the banter between Xander and Anya (something we haven't seen enough of in recent weeks) as well as the cameo of Giles busting out his musical chops and the freaked out reaction it gets from the crowd. Otherwise, they didn't do as much with the ghost-playing-on-strong-emotions potential of this episode...it didn't have a big enough reach (could have involved more characters, etc). But that's just MHO.
Writing: 6.0
Not ambitious enough for my tastes...but a solid filler script with some good chuckles.
Acting: 6.0
SMG and Blucas do *NOT* carry the chemistry they need to in order to make this show work. Their scenes were utterly and completed unimpressive, I must say. That's balanced by Emma Caulfield continuing to be awesomely adorable and funny, and by some nice work from the other regulars in their minor moments (especially Brendan).
Message: 6.0
Meh...no bonus points for getting it halfway right.
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