Season Four Episode Reviews

4X1    The Freshman 
Plot:  Buffy, Willow, and Oz start college, where a vamp gang is feeding on freshmen.

Well "Buffy" continues its proud tradition of horrible season premieres.  The vamp cult was just a really lame non-threat, which ridiculously was able to kick Buffy's ass.  Also disheartening is how Buffy has been ostracized from everyone, sure this is true for normal people but after all they've gone through they should be closer than this.  The college introduction stuff managed to be reasonably good but it was essentially exposition all of it (pretty accurate though as I can attest!).  Things like Joyce and Giles forgetting about Buffy are just ridiculous, but at least Giles came around at the end.  And who is his lover Olivia?!  There's a story needing telling... And of course there's that big shocking plot twist about those commandoes who capture that vamp... more to come...  Not incredibly funny anywhere either.  As a whole I'd say I really hate the new character dynamic, as well as the absence of Angel and Cordy, it's very inferior to what came before.  Good thing this wasn't my first episode, or I would have never seen a second.  And why in the hell didn't Buffy and Willow room together?!!

4X2    Living Conditions 
Plot:  Buffy's bickering with her roomate turns deadly.

Another bad college-metaphor episode!  While I'm sure the roomate situation has comicial possibilities, it's not enough to build an entire episode on.  Plus, since this wasn't our Buffy she's a unsympethic character, so what's the point?  And what is the coincidense of the Slayer just happening to room with a demon?!  Ugh.  This episode was one big fat waste of time.  Nice little things; Oz having what must be his first conversation alone with Buffy, Xander and Oz getting their asses kicked by Buffy, and Willow finally rooming with Buffy.

4X3    In the Harsh Light of Day 
Plot:  Spike comes to town for a vampire invincibility ring.

My first Buffy episode!  I wasn't exactly blown away, and was put off by all the sex (little did I know this one episode has more sex than the first two seasons combined!).  My favorite bit here is easily Spike, he's very funny but also clever.  Of course I couldn't understand why he stuck with Harmony who's very annoying.  It was quite a twist when Harmony turned out to be a vamp even for me, my first Buffy plot twist you might say.  For all the buildup to the Gem of Amara, it was surprizingly lame.  The Buffy-Spike fight was pretty cool but it ended pretty lame.  Buffy-Parker was lame, Xander-Anya was funny (but not hilarious!).  As an aside, I knew next to nothing about the series when I watched this episode but I found it very easy to follow even with about 15 characters running around.

4X4    Fear, Itself 
Plot:  Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Oz are trapped in a living frat house of fear.

This is a great atmosphere piece!  Once the gang is trapped in the frat house, this episode took on a wonderful other-worldly uneasy feel that only a few scary episodes/movies can do.  Things were pretty damn freaky!  I liked how they were seperated and preyed on by fear; particularly I loved Oz becoming a werewolf then sitting in a bathtub chanting to himself he won't change.  Very sad.  I also liked Willow's fear of her magiks going bad.  Buffy's fear (and her depression over Parker) were a tad trite, as was Xander's though his was the best justified.  Nice to see Xander and Anya again, they made a hilarious couple.  This episode also had some really hilarious bits:  Oz's 'costume' as God (a nametag saying God!  hah!), Giles' gigantic sombraro, Willow's inept but cute insult to Buffy saying her face is 50/50, and of course the entire sequence where the diminutive fear demon is released by Buffy.  Hilarious!  Now, watching this I already knew Riley was a commando, but it's so obvious here the way he says everyone should be out Halloween then claims he'll be grading papers.  Come on!

4X5    Beer Bad 
Plot:  Magic beer turns Buffy and some frat boys into cavemen.

Boy, what a stupid episode!  All this pretentious and preachy morals about beer and sex, plus it has a snail's pace and nothing really happens.  And why weren't the commandoes around to capture these cavepeople?  Also, Buffy pouting so much over Parker is really stupid at this point, she's the Slayer for gods sake.  About the only watchable things were Willow-Oz-Veruca and Willow confronting Parker.  Well, at least it was light in tone which made it semi-watchable, as opposed to horrible slow boring dark episodes like "Killed by Death".

4X6    Wild at Heart 
Plot:  Oz faces temptation with Veruca, another werewolf.

Some really heartbreaking Willow-Oz scenes elevate the episode about average.  Veruca was at times annoying but still a good way to write Oz out of the series.  Most of this episode essentially was about Willow-Oz-Veruca and most of it worked pretty well.  I particuarly liked Oz killing Veruca.  Boy this was a painful episode!  Oz gave a pretty good appearance in what is really his first starring episode.  Spike's all to brief appearance was pretty funny.  Buffy finally runs into one of those commandos.

4X7    The Initiative 
Plot:  Spike escapes the Initiave and is hunted by Buffy and... Riley!

My second Buffy episode; Vaguely interesting but very by the numbers.  Spike as a prisoner was funny, he and Willow treating his 'defanging' like impotence was hilarious.  All the 'Riley likes Buffy!' crap was very bad, and Forrest got annoying eventually with all his many many 'cute' quips.  Depressed Willow isn't very exciting either.  Highlight of the episode was Xander's ineffective patrol and slo-mo girly slap fight with Harmony.  Now that's funny!  The final fight wasn't very exciting, just by the numbers.  As for the big revelation that Riley et al are the Iniative commandos, even though I wasn't spoiled about this I assumed it was true (this only my second episode), the only thing surprizing to me was that Prof. Walsh was in on it, but while it adds an interesting aspect to Riley he's still a lifeless character, and this is a poor episode.

4X8    Pangs 
Plot:  Indian Chuman spirits are ressurected; Angel secretly helps; Spike turns to the gang for help.

Just about the worst possible way to do an "Angel" crossover!  Do it like a big comic book crossover where the two shows blend into one when they fight a major villain!  This Indian garbage was literally painful to watch, with all these PC discussions between Buffy/Willow/Giles about Indians and how Buffy doesn't want to kill it despite the fact that it's murdering people.  This is all so ridiculous!  On the other hand, the ending fight was pretty cool, with the arrow siege at Giles' then Angel helping out and a bear, and Spike getting shot with arrows, all pretty cool.  Really fake looking bear though.  Despite the totally arbitrary Angel appearance (what makes this spirits more dangerous to Buffy than any other threat she faces hence Doyle's vision its so inconsistant just an excuse for the crossover) he gets a few cool scenes with Willow and Giles.  I love how everybody assumes he's evil and he takes offense, not to mention his instant jelous of Riley after seeing him five seconds.  I also like the Spike subplot where he turns to Buffy n' co for help then they tie him, all pretty funny.  I like having Spike as a regular because it forces him into a otherwise boring story and makes it more interesting; like him here tied up during the attack.

4X9    Something Blue 
Plot:  Willow's spell gone awry makes Giles blind, Xander attracting demons, and Buffy and Spike madly in love.

A pretty funny comedy with some unfortunate tacked on demon action.  Buffy and Spike were pretty funny but it did wear thin after a while, fortunately we had Giles' (and Riley's!) reaction to this.  Nice to give Anya something substantial do, and I like this D'hoffryn guy.  I especially love when he speaks to Willow really intimidatedly then turns pleasant giving her a charm if she changes her mind.  And how funny was that one second naked Amy cameo!  It's strange that Willow is in so little of the episode considering it is about her...  Like I said earlier, the demon attacks were pretty lame, especially with all those cheapo masks they had to wear.

4X10    Hush 
Plot:  The Gentlemen come to town to take seven hearts, and strike everyone speechless.

While no means the best episode ever, this a wonderful original different episode that reaches new heights of scary/funny/neat.  Everything relating to it being silent and the problems (often comical!) of communication was brilliant.  The Gentlemen looked so cool and terrifying, from their appearance to their floating not walking to their politeness to each other.  These guys are without a doubt the best demon creation EVER.  The Giles briefing scene has to be one of the funniest sequences I've ever seen; from Giles' spooky music to cartoony bloody drawings, to Buffy's curious hand gestures, to Xander misinterpreting Willow's pointing to her chest, to Buffy complaining about her weight in Giles' picture, to Willow's mock-deathscream, to Anya happily eating popcorn through it all, it was all perfect.  Also great was The Gentlemen chasing Tara and Willow, though I didn't like the henchmen and thus Buffy and Riley's fights were a tad uninteresting.  I'm also pissed Buffy never actually fought a Gentleman.  As for the verbal parts, Xander/Anya was hilarious with Spike and Giles thrown in.  Again I wonder what is the point of Olivia since she makes these tiny worthless appearances (her second thus far too).  Buffy and Riley discovering each other was a cool but not exactly shocking twist, I like them being silent when saying they have to talk.

4X11    Doomed 
Plot: Some demons plan the apocalypse (again), Buffy and Riley explain themselves.

My third Buffy episode; Not much great to this episode; the apocalypse plot really was tired and should at least have been played to be more important (like "The Zeppo" it's treated as a joke).  Riley continues to be an uninteresting character despite all the interesting facets the writers give him.  The Buffy-Riley arguing gets old fast and ultimately amounts to nothing since she kisses him.  The demons were pretty lame.  While it was neat returning the burned out high school, the whole 'jump in Hellmouth' thing was really lameo, especially since we don't see Buffy dive in the Hellmouth to the whatever.  Spike continues to be neat especially when he decides to be a superhero so he can kill things, and when he describes Xander and Willow as useless groupies and loosers (very observant!).  Pretty lame all around.

4X12    A New Man 
Plot:  Giles turns into a demon who then gets hunted by Buffy and the Intiative.

My fourth ep and the first one I really enjoyed ("Harsh Light", "Initiative", "Doomed").  It was hilarious!  Just the image of Giles as a demon is classic, and his oafish meanderings, and the happy look in his face when speaking in the demon language, it's all just really funny.  The Giles all alone thread continues, pretty soon it'll get boring but it's put to good use here.  Riley continues to underachieve, especially in his awe at Buffy's powers and experience.  Please.  Nice to see Ethan again (his corny speaking to absent hero getting interrupted by Giles returning was the best bit in the episode!), and he gave a very interesting warning of things to come: demons vs. Initiative.  And Giles, in his drunken stupor, gave away the identity of the Initiative, then again Ethan was arrested at the end.  I was expecting Spike to be his cheerful superhero self from the end of last episode, but he was still funny working with Giles.  In my first glimpse of Tara, Willow's friend, I was not impressed.  So was the dark magik that Willow sensed Ethan turning Giles into a demon or something... else?  Other funny bit: the inept car chase between Giles' decrepid car and the Initiative (that damn car finally got trashed!  yay!).  And one more arc hint... Prof. Walsh is connected to scary "314"...

4X13    The I in Team 
Plot: Buffy joins the Initiative which greatly disturbs... everyone!

A pretty good ep with logical progressions of the plot.  Buffy joining and touring the Initiative and slowly questioning it was all interesting and required to show.  It was pretty painful seeing Buffy ignore her friends, so thank god it only lasted for this episode!  While I did get spoiled about the Willow-Tara thing, I'd say it's pretty obvious here.  Loved Xander and Anya selling power bars.  Great seeing Spike tagged by the Intiative (it was only a matter of time!) and getting saved by the gang.  The real star of this episode however is Prof. Walsh.  We saw her as a desperate parent figure, trying to play parent to Riley, Buffy, and trying to create her own Adam.  I'm surprized the 314 mystery was revealed so quickly, unfortunately this was the lamest possible way to do it!  She's making a Frankenstein big deal who cares?  And who didn't see her trying to kill Buffy?!  Loved the scene where she tells Riley she's dead then Buffy appears on the screen vowing revenge.  Hah!  And her death was a total shocker to me, here I thought we were setting up her as this big villain out for revenge!  Actually I wish she was still alive; she finally got some devealopment and could have kicked Buffy and Willow out of college.  As it is, I think the entire gang will be on the run from the military after this, which so incredibly cool.  It's like the ultimate what-if scenario!  I wonder how many Inititiative members are undercover in the college and whether they'll kick out Buffy and Willow in revenge.  I also wonder what Riley will do with Walsh dead- will he quit?  Join Buffy on the run from the law?  Lots of questions, but I fear we'll just see this lameo Adam who I don't give a rat's ass about.

4X14    Goodbye Iowa 
Plot:  Buffy investigates the Initiative as Adam runs loose; Riley takes a turn for the worse.

About as good as the last episode, unfortunately a lot of promised events petered out.  The gang on the run from the law?  Didn't happen.  Big fallout when Riley finds Buffy is helping Spike?  Brushed over quickly.  The Initiative finds Spike's hiding place?  He hides from them.  Dr Angleman being set up as next villain?  Adam kills him.  Adam continues to be pretty stupid, especially with his little chest disk drive.  Still, some cool stuff.  Buffy and Xander sneak into the Initative, a big stand off with Adam who kicks everybody's ass, the revelation about Riley being genetically altered and going through drug withdrawl, Spike getting exiled from the demon community for hanging with Buffy, the long awaited return of Willy.  I'm really afraid that Adam is the big season ending villain- but he's so lame!  I am intrigued by him and Riley supposed to be doing something according to Walsh's plan.  At least Riley has been taken by the Initiative so he'll out of the spotlight for a few eps.  The gang living together in Xander's basement was very funny; Giles compliaining while Willow, Anya, and Buffy watch cartoons in bed, Buffy threatening in her pajamas.  Also funny is Xander sneaking in the Initiative base, trying to make out with Buffy for the cliched distraction scene, and wanting to have sex with Riley (?!).   Again, killing Walsh was a bad idea!  And what's up with Tara secrelty sabotaging Willow's spell?!  I presume she was just afraid to do something this dark/powerful, but could she be some kind of evil/spy type?!  Notice how they establish in this episode that the night Willow and Tara spent together last episode was just casting spells.

4X15    This Year's Girl (part 1 of 2) 
Plot:  Faith wakes from her coma and comes after Buffy from revenge, with some help from the Mayor.

A great reunion show if a little heavy on set-up and light on action.  Faith is back, baby!  Her coma fantasy scenes were pretty good (works well towards making her sympathetic), particularly that charming picnic lunch with The Mayor (a funny bit is when he picks up a snake saying he shouldn't be here, but then again how would Faith know about the snake demon/Mayor thing unless she is psychic like Buffy).  Though it was a tad strange all those scenes we got of Faith, just walking around.  I like that the cops are after her, and some mysterious blokes too (pretty blatant that they are from the Watcher's Council, especially with Buffy's not-so-subtle Council exposition to Riley).  The group searching for Adam made for a nice subplot (too bad Riley healed so quickly!), particularly Xander trying to fix the blaster (this must mean he really has lost his "Halloween" soldier stuff, damn!).  Nice to also see Joyce return (and get picked on by Faith no less!).  I really liked Faith's teasing of Buffy when they first meet, and their fights of course.  Particularly touching was The Mayor's message for Faith, the caring they showed for each other.  Once again the villain sees the truth about our heroes, namely Buffy and Joyce.  It's interesting that Willow has recruited Tara into Faith-hunting (is she ready to introduce her to the gang yet?), and I confused by Spike's adversity to Giles for seeking his help.  At the end of "Doomed" it appeared that Spike couldn't wait to fight demons, yet we haven't seen him do it since "Doomed"!  As for that cliffhanger, wow!  I didn't see it coming, I thought it would be a soul sucking thing or something, but wow!  I can not wait till part two!

4X16    Who Are You  (part 2 of 2) 
Plot:  Faith lives in Buffy's body while Buffy in Faith's body is held captive by the Watchers; Adam trains some vampires.

This was a great episode, full of action and great character scenes, the best this season aside from "Hush"!  The look and feel of this episode was cinematic in quality, particularly Buffy's big the shootout/escape from the Watchers.  Faith posing as Buffy was just really interesting.  I really loved that mirror scene, and the end when Faith is hitting the crap out of herself calling herself a murderer.  It's so great that Faith's experience in Buffy's life this episode showed her the err of her ways.  It's a shame she just ran away again, but I think that next time we see her she'll be ready for redemption.  I can't wait!  Also great was Faith's interaction with the gang, particularly Tara and Riley.  And how bout Faith's teasing of Spike!  Too bad Spike didn't do jack once again this ep after last week's hint that he would interact with Faith (well he did kinda but you get the point).  Those Watcher Special Ops guys were pretty cool, I really wanted to see their conversation with Giles though.  Hell, even Adam managed to be interesting this episode!  Instead of being Frankenstein, here he's a mastermind type like the Master or the Mayor with vampire henchmen.  Much better.  And stupid as he looks, I love his voice.  Well Faith has spelled it out; "So Willow's not driving stick anymore", it's confirmed.  Much more overt affection here with Willow and Tara.  I am confused about their spell though; Willow is supposed to see through Buffy's soul- cut to Buffy the body being possessed by ?Willow? but she says she doesn't recognize Riley, which makes no sense.  That ending fight with the vampires was a tad rushed but cool, nice to see the media finally involved.  Course, it's ridiculous that Willow could just whip up a cure to the Buffy/Faith predicament.  Riley goes to church in a suit, dear god could he get anymore annyoing?!

4X17    Superstar 
Plot:  Jonothan is a perfect slaying celebrity.

A very enjoyable comedy with a great starring role for Jonothan, even with some nice storyline subplots worked in.  Jonothan as a superstar was just really hilarious, I especially love how his advertisements are subtly in the background of every scene.  Also funny is how everyone is in love with him, particularly Anya and Xander (great now Xander is gay too!).  Then again Giles owned a Jonothan swimsuit calander too... Though the ending was just a tad disappointing, and the monster a bit dumb, this was a winner.  It's great to have these retro-Y3 episodes!  I'm a little confused on the storyline subplots though; did these events happen for 'real' or was it just because of the spell?  I mean, we've never seen Riley and Tara hanging out with the gang before, so I am curious.  We also haven't seen such public affection tween Willow and Tara.  The Buffy-Riley reconcilation bit was almost interesting.  Nice to see the Initiative has a new leader and is hunting for Adam, but again I wonder whether this is 'real'.  Adam has a nuclear reactor for a powersource, how ridiculous!  Adam appears for one bit scene to comment this world is not real, I was hoping for more but it was nice (Jonothan vs. Adam! come on!).  Spike once again appears for all of thirty seconds, sigh.  Giles telling Xander "don't speak Latin in front of the books" was a scream (though blatant exposition to explain how Jonothan did his spell).  And it is just a tad implausible that Jonothan could do this huge spell, yes.  Oh, and who caught the title sequence with Jonothan in it!  Hilarious!

4X18    Where the Wild Things Are 
Plot:  Lowell House gets besieged by sexually-driven poltergeists; Xander and Anya break up.

A somewhat interesting haunted house plot with some great focus on the minor characters is marred by some really cheesy sex things.  I did like the haunted house (being the Initiative house no less!) and the ghost wackiness that ensues.  It was great to give the bit characters big screentime.  Spike gets more than thirty seconds in some great scenes with Anya, unfortunately he walks out half-way through the episode and is never seen again; what is the point of having him a regular if he doesn't interact with the group!  The Xander-Anya breakup was a tad dumb as we all know they'll stay together, it's like the faux Xander-Cordy breakup in "Bewitched".  I did love that scene in the ice cream truck though!  Giles gets to sing folk rock- dear god was that a hilarious scene!  And of course Xander is arguably the star of this episode, how great is that!  I particularly like his bravery in the front of getting smack around several times.  As for bravery, Anya gets her hand run through by a vine, rips out the vine, and continues without thinking about it!  That girl's got a set on her!  Plus that scene really shocked and grossed me out.  Unfortunately most other aspects of the haunted house plot aren't so good; most of all the sex stuff, I just really think it's unecessary.  Most of all Buffy and Riley having sex throughout the entire course of the damn episode, it is just about the last thing I want to see!  They are really going overboard with the cheesecake shots of those two.  I also didn't particularly enjoy the prolonged 'dorm party' sequence, though the Orgasm Wall was quite a hoot.  The origan of these sexual poltergeists was pretty dumb as well.  As for ideas that went nowhere... Forrest goes to the Initiative HQ about the problem, they say they're working on it, and we never hear from them again.  Once again the Initiative appears totally incapable of doing anything, why is the demon world so scared of them?  At least it explains why they can't catch Adam.  Speaking of Adam, it turns out he is uniting vampires and demons.  Interesting.  Tara gets a nice few bits as part of the gang, revealing she's a horseback rider, and temporarily freaking out when Willow holds her hand because of the haunted house.

4X19    New Moon Rising 
Plot:  Oz returns with his wolf problem seemingly cured; the Initiative has werewolf problems.

A great episode that advances the story, finally!  It was of course wonderful to have Oz return, calling the Willow-Tara thing into the open.  Several great scenes on this matter; of course the two big Willow-Oz scenes, the Buffy-Willow scene where Willow comes out of the closet so to speak, and so on.  Although I'm pissed we didn't get to see Oz interact with ANYONE but Willow and a bit with Riley, I'm also pissed we didn't see anyone but Buffy learn about Willow/Tara.  Were-Oz attacking Tara then getting captured by the Initiative was pretty cool, as was Riley going fugitive to save Oz- first time he's done anything decent as far as I'm concerned.  Finally for the first time "Goodbye Iowa" the Initiative storyline suddenly came back; very cool to see Buffy and co sneaking in and taking the leader hostage, as well as the gang FINALLY going underground after the empty promise of this in "Goodbye Iowa" with Walsh.  Considering we're two episodes away from the season climax, it's about friggin' time.  Oz having control of his were-side was a cool plot-twist, but having him go were all the time now is just a lame excuse for him not to be in the show, I don't like it.  I was positive he would get killed, and in fact that probably would have been better.  The biggest problem with this episode is how at the start a gang of werewolves attack some commandoes, then we never hear from them!  It's just a lame excuse for the Initiative to go after Oz, it had nothing to do with the plot!  This is shoddy writing here, but it's the one bad spot in a good episode.  The Spike-Adam twist also completely threw me, it's great to see Spike figure into the Adam storyline but it's too little too late; he hasn't done anything important since he learned he could fight demons in "Doomed" then proceeded to-not fight demons.  I can't wait to see whether Spike really will betray the gang to Adam or have second thoughts, and FINALLY we get a hint to Adam and the climax; he wants to create a war between humans and demons, and he wants Buffy to lead the humans.  Why?  Who knows!  Nice to see Buffy finally tell Riley about Angel, in the burned out Sunnydale High no less.  I can't wait to see what happens next!

4X20    The Yoko Factor (part 1 of 2) 
Plot:  Following Adam's orders Spike drives mistrust between Buffy and her friends; Angel visits and runs into Riley.

This is the first time I've been really impressed with a storyarc episode this season; the best after "Hush" and "Who Are You".  The Adam/Initiative plot finally moves somewhere, and Adam's Plan makes for an interesting mystery.  Unfortunately from "Goodbye Iowa" I guessed that Riley had a sleeper mind program and was part of Adam's Plan (apparantly the death of Forrest activated it), and this episode (and the last) makes it painfully obvious that Adam is allowing his demons to be captured by the Initiative and not Buffy so they make stage a massive jailbreak, destroying the Initiative HQ from within.  Forrest's death was pretty shocking to me; like Walsh another case of a character with great potential getting prematurely killed (it looked like he was being set up as the new Initiative nutso leader!).  Spike driving mistrust among the gang is both entertaining but also troubling, pointing out to the flaws of this season as a whole.  The gang could never have been driven apart like this last year damnit!  That final Buffy- Willow- Xander confrontation scene was gold (we don't see these three together anymore, but in the first two years they were inseperable), made all the better by Giles' hilarious drunken commentaries.  Great scene!  I'm still wondering whether Spike will turn to good, and how exactly Buffy will destroy Adam.  The best bit of the episode however was the Angel crossover; Angel beating the crap out of Riley was satisfying on so many levels; again, pointing to the flaws of this season as a whole.  The Buffy-Angel conversation was wonderful, most of all when Angel tells her he doesn't like Riley (you and me both, buddy).  This episode manages to somewhat successfully build anticipation for the season climax, but I don't get this foreboding sense of doom like in "Graduation I" or "Becoming I", mainly because we don't even know what Adam wants to do.

4X21    Primevil  (part 2 of 2) 
Plot:  Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles must come together to defeat Adam and his masterplan.

Damn good battle episode, tops "Grad2" by a mile, some great emotional moments, but some big plot holes.  Unlike "Grad2" where the battle was shunted to the last act, this battle lasts half the damn episode.  And what a battle it was!  Dozens if not hundreds of demons and soldiers in a big free-for-all in the Initiative complex with bullets and explosions all over the place!  Spike also kicks some major slo-mo demon ass!  Still, the battle could have so much better.  What about the REAL demons, ten foot tall creatures with arcane powers and gigantic snakes and so on?  All the demons were the typical lameo human-with-rubber-mask variety unfortunately.  But oh well!  Buffy's big fight with Adam was also amazingly cool but it is here that the episode's biggest plot holes show.  First of all, Adam having this morphin' gigantic gatling gun is ridiculously stupid.  It looks like something out of Roger Rabbit damnit!  Second, the defeat of Adam is a total cop-out.  'Oh gee we just happened to have this super-duper powerful spell that can defeat anything!'  This out of the blue spell is a cop-out on so many levels; why hasn't it been used before?  or all the time for that matter?  how come we never heard of it until now?  and if the spell required a POWERFUL witch, why oh why did they bring novice Willow instead of super-powerful Tara, aside from the Scooby Gang Reunited thematic angle?  Sigh... Another big cop-out is Riley.  The "Yoko" cliffhanger had me thinking a hidden personality was activated in Riley so he would willingly fight alongside Adam and Buffy would have to fight him.  This would have been cool!  Instead he's just a voice-activated robot; still as dumb as this was I love Adam's treatment of him.  When he started mouthing off and Adam quitely said "stop talking", that was a great scene that demonstrated the coolness of Adam (which was pretty much wasted here!).  The other incredibly stupid thing was Riley freeing himself by cutting the chip out of his shoulder; the thing was attached to a MAJOR NERVE so I would think he just paralyzed himself for life, so he certainly shouldn't have been up to fighting a super-strong Forrest!  And wasn't it conveinent Adam told him exactly where it was and all that.  A huge ruined oppurtunity to have an Evil Riley further suggests Whedon and company cramming Riley down our throats to like him.  The reuniting of Buffy/Xander/Willow was absolutely heart-warming, particularly when they all hugged and exchanged I-love-yous.  I am so happy this happened, and really look forward to them being close friends again in Y5.  In Anya's brief scene she really shines, when she tells Xander she loves him.  Nice to see that Anya really cares for Xander outside of sex, but notice Xander didn't return it (following the series tradition I expect these two to break up or be seperated within the first six episodes of next season).  I was quite shocked to see Walsh and Forrest ressurected, but in retrospect this was just stupid.  How cool would it have been if Walsh PLANNED for Adam to kill her and was the power behind Adam all this time in secret!  Now that would have been awsome; as it is her appearance is a lame zombie joke that goes nowhere.  Also Forrest really unimpressed in this episode, maybe all that makeup didn't let the actor speak or something (though it was nice to get the Forrest-hates-Buffy thread finally going somewhere).  And I really do not understand why Buffy doesn't kill Spike after his betrayal, who cares what else he's done- he betrayed them to the big ultra-villain damnit!  It's absolutely unacceptible.  It's also a bit of a shame that the final evacuation from the complex was glossed over in a silent montage but oh well.  I appreciated seeing that Pentagon council end the Initiative and promise to keep an eye on Buffy and company; I hope to see more on this next season!

4X22    Restless 
Plot: Willow, Xander, Giles and Buffy have dreams dealing with their fears and failings.

The best of the season, an amazing visual feast of strange images and concepts.  Every second of the episode shines, and it works on so many levels and hints so much of the future while also defining our four characters so well.  There's just to much detail to go into here, but it was amazing.  It's nice that each sequence was better than the last.  The First Slayer was extremely interesting plus this gives more legitimacy to the last episode's cheesy ending.  Some extremely impressive location shooting and fighting.  My favorite moments were: Buffy telling Xander he is her brother and them sharing a long loving look.  Xander being invited to a Tara-Willow sandwich.  Principal Synder as Col Kurtz.  Giles as a drama instructor.  Buffy fighting First Slayer in the desert.  Hints of "Little Sister" and the future.  Great stuff.  Also tons of great cameos by previous actors, too many to mention.  I love it!  Beats "Hush" by a mile in its wierdness.  One last bit: I'm really glad to see Riley testifying to the military, it's nice to see this situation wasn't ignored.  A classic all the way, lacking only in epic/action content but that's quite allright.