Welcome to the longest "previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ever created as we are reminded of Faith, of the First Evil, of Spike kicking Wood's ass and Giles being a right twit. Cut to...
Woman running in the woods flagged down a truck driven by a young minister. They chat and it quickly becomes apparent that the girl is a Potential looking for Buffy's house and that the minister is bent. I mean, most people don't have special switches that can lock the passenger door, remove the window winding handle and use their cigarette lighter to heat up the brand they wear as a signet ring. They just don't. Anyway, the minister, Caleb as he will soon be known, stabs the girl in the stomach, whispers something to the girl and then pushes her out of the truck. She rolls and Willow and Faith stop to help. Credits...
Break to the hospital. Faith and Willow discuss the matter and decide that Willow will stay at the hospital until the girl wakes up and Faith will go connect with Buffy. Off goes Faith to the graveyard where she runs into first Spike (they fight) and then Buffy (they don't). Buffy takes Faith home where Dawn is not happy to see Faith and Buffy is not happy to see Giles.
Cut to that minister guy. The First S&L appears to him and he's all happy because he's been blowing up COWs and stabbing girls trying to get more than just a whisper in his ear.
Next morning Andrew "storytells" the story of Faith: The Rogue Vampire Slayer although he gets a few details wrong. A bit later Faith seeks some peace and quiet in the basement and finds Spike. They chat about stuff and body switching and thankfully no gratituous sex happens before Buffy shows up, home early because Woods fired her before closing down the school. As the show is half over the comatose girl from the opening awakens, asking for Buffy.
After recapping the opening Shannon tells Buffy the message: I have something of yours. Buffy decides she's adequately pissed off enough to go get her "thing" despite not knowing what the thing is or if he really has it or if it's all some really elaborate trap. Actually, as traps go, it's not elaborate. Nah-nah, I know something you don't know is more elaborate. Anyway, Buffy and Faith do some recon so that they can find the place while Xander weapons up the girls and gives his own version of the pep talk. Off they go.
They arrive at the dimly lit vineyard and immediately split up the group. Spike, Buffy and their portion of the Teen Slayers whup Bringer butt. But then Caleb shows up, knocks Buffy into a stone wall and unconsciousness and people start dying. To wit, Molly and the Chinese Girl. Xander, Faith and the rest arrive, alerted by the screaming, and they manage to perform a strategic retreat (they run like bunnies) but not before Caleb grabs Xander and gouges out his left eye. They grab Xander and run faster.
At the hospital Buffy paces the rows of hospital beds while Caleb voice overs a bwahahaha speech. We linger on Buffy's look of utter loss before, mercifully, we...
Fade to black.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
I just had this thought before watching the show, Buffy saying something like "I don't want murderers in my home" and Willow saying "Right. Spike, Faith, Andrew, Giles, Anya - you're with me." Things like that amuse me.
Thank god for VCRs because I had to stop the tape for about five minutes after Andrew had Faith attacking Spock. Just lost it.
I'm not going to reproduce the entire speech by Xander until someone posts a script (because I'm just too darn lazy) but, really, Buffy should have had him giving the motivational speeches for the last ten episodes.
"Nice to have you back." Ooh, the layers you can put on that.
Okay, they really should have taken Andrew along for tactics. He'd tell them that no Dungeon and Dragon party should ever split up. It's like that line from all the horror films... let's split up so he can pick us off one by one!
I am utterly unsurprised that Calem likes Paul.
RANDOM QUOTES
Buffy: "He has a soul."
Faith: "Like Angel?"
Buffy: "Sort of."
Spike: "I'm nothing like Angel." [bit of random violence and Faith dusts a vamp] "Angel's dull as a table lamp. And our colouring is completely different."
Xander: "Everything has eyes."
Dawn: "Except Bringers."
Xander: "Except Bringers."
Faith: "Damn, I didn't know you were so cool."
Buffy: "You always were a bit slow."
Faith: "I get that now."
Molly: "What is this place?"
Buffy: "Looks like an old vineyard."
Kennedy: "Evil vineyard, huh?"
Spike: "Like Falconcrest."
Caleb: "You're the other one. The Cain to her Abel. No offense to Cain."