BLOOD TIES

Episode 91, #12 of Season 5

I'm beginning to like these little rambles better than the reviews.

There are three landmark episodes in the Buffy year.  The season opener, Buffy's birthday and the season ender.  Big things can happen ("Hush" pops to mind) in other episodes but monumental things tend happen in these three.  To recap the birthdays...

In season two Buffy slept with Angel causing him to loose his soul and essentially marked the beginning of his exit from her life.  In season three Giles poisoned Buffy for the purposes of some Council test which saw Giles fired, put a strain on their relationship.  It also showed a further wedge between Buffy and her as yet unseen father.  In season four Ethan turned Giles into a demon and Buffy nearly killed him.  Birthdays are, as we can see, not just a celebration of birth.  They're an exploration into family and lose.  Actually, the meaning of family - both blood and the family you make is a central theme to BVS.

Show starts with a research session at the Magic Box.  That and plans for Buffy's big 2-oh.  Buffy wants to concentrate on the Key and Glory.  Actually, she wants to concentrate on Glory but the rest want to know about the Key.  Buffy admits that she and Giles know where the Key is and, after a doe eyed look from Willow, tells them all.  Meanwhile, in the woods, Glory's minions attack the Knights of Byzantium.  The minions get their butts kicked.  Glory shows up and kills all the Knights but one which she takes for questioning.  Or whatever.  (Actually, so as not to keep you in suspense, it turns out to be "whatever".  Glory, unable to get any useful information out of the Knight, sucks his sanity.)

After credits Dawn heads over to the Magic Box where Willow and Tara are putting up a magical alarm system.  They refuse her help so she goes into the shop where Xander and Anya act weird(er) around her.  Only Buffy and Giles seem to have any acting ability.  Dawn sees Giles hide some notebooks.

That night the gang gives Buffy her presents.  A ritual that Anya finds very appealing in a greedy, drooly kind of way.  Dawn's gift, a hand made picture frame with a photo of her and Buffy, causes everyone to go real quiet.  All this weirdness is beginning to sink it and Dawn begins to actively eavesdrop.  Finally she snaps and storms off, angry that they are keeping things from her, especially things that she thinks concerns her.  She stomps off to her room and out the window where she finds Spike lurking with a mangled box of chocolates.  Dawn tells him that she is heading off to the Magic Box to steal stuff and invites Spike to come along.  He agrees, clearly thinking it'll be worth brownie points to keep the kid safe.

At the shop Dawn finds the notebooks and begins reading it.  There in black and white is the truth about the Key, the monks and everything.  Dawn takes it well.  Okay, "well" is not exactly right.  She goes home and cuts her arm, asking if this is blood.  Buffy shoos everyone home and she and Joyce try to talk to Dawn.  Who is very upset that they didn't tell her the truth.  I mean, this goes way beyond not telling someone they're adopted.  She screams at Joyce and Buffy to leave.

Next day Buffy is in full research mode.  She wants to be able to take concrete answers to Dawn about what she is and what it all means.  While she's ranting Anya finds a cigarette in an urn of Ishtar.  Buffy heads off to confront Spike about helping Dawn and letting her find the truth the way she did.  Spike, quiet rightly, points out that all he did was make sure the kid made it to the shop and back alive.  He didn't know about the Key so how could he know to stop her from finding out.  Buffy is even angrier.

Dawn continues to mope and storm.  She heads off to school where she promptly gets suspended.  At home she overhears Buffy out of context and thinks that Buffy believes her to be a "thing".  In immense pain she burns her diaries and flees.  Eventually she ends up in the hospital psych ward where she encounters the Knight.  Her happiness at finding someone who recognizes her is shattered when he starts babbling about it being God's will that she dies.

Buffy organizes a search party teaming up Willow and Tara, Giles and Xaner and herself and Spike.  They all look but can't find her.  Eventually they meet in the graveyard and Buffy decides to check the hospital in case something bad happened.

Guess what, something bad happened.

Dawn bumps into Ben who takes her to the staff room for hot chocolate.  Dawn, in desperate need to talk, tells him that she is the Key.  Actually, she describes what she is and Ben guesses.  Ben freaks.  He yells at Dawn to run because Glory will find out, no Glory has found out, run Glory is on her way, no Glory is here.

Ben morphs into Glory.

And I was *so* glad I hadn't read the spoiler because that just rocked.

Anyway.  Glory and Dawn chat.  Dawn tells her that she doesn't know where the Key is but if Glory were to describe it and tell her what it was maybe that would ring a bell.  Glory tells her some stuff but finally grows impatient, decides that Dawn doesn't know where the Key is and decides to suck Dawn's sanity.

The cavalry arrives.  Buffy, Spike and Xander all physically attack Glory while Willow and Tara chant a spell.  Giles tries a crossbow bolt but it has zero effect.  Glory throws a crowbar (and just where did Xander get that anyway?  Not standard equipment at my hospital.) at Dawn and Buffy throws herself in the way taking a nasty shoulder injury.  As Glory walks up to finish off Buffy and Dawn she gets sprinkled with Pixie Dust (TM) by the Wicca Duo.  Willow claps her hands, says the magic word and Glory goes poof.  Willow falls down with a little nose bleed, obviously overtaxed by the spell.  Glory re-pops about a mile above Sunnydale, falls down and goes boom one would expect.

Buffy and Dawn talk.  Dawn still thinks that Buffy is only worried about her because she is the Key.  Buffy says no, that this (Dawn's blood) and this (Buffy's blood) is the same, Summer's blood.  And it doesn't matter who she is or how she got here, Dawn is her sister.  And they should go home.

On the way out Dawn mentioned that Ben had helped her before Glory arrived and Buffy tells her that she'll thank him later.  Hand in hand, they walk out.

Fade to black.

Random Quotes

I don't have any yet.  Watch this space <g>

Random Notes:

Written by David Fury and directed by Dan Attias 

Willow was wearing a T-shirt for most of the show from the Cowboy Shop.  Co-incidence?

Angel Notes:

Oh, I had a great reason for watching this.  Besides from Wesley's impersonation of Miss Marple.  And Angel's quote "He fell in love.  The world nearly ended.  I can relate."  But I can't remember it now.  Oh!  Got it.  You should watch it because for the evil Colonel Saunders Demons.  You'll never look at a bucket of chicken the same way again.