Spike has returned to Sunnydale in search of an amulet that will make him almost indestructible and allow him to walk in daylight.
And that's only the main plot in a carefully-constructed and intricate story that sees the return to Buffy of Harmony, Cordelia's friend, now vampire, and Anya, Xander's greatest admirer, despite the fact that she's a demon who hates men. The fact that all these plots collide is testament to the skills of Jane Espenson, one of the show's greatest assets. After last season's fabulous Band Candy, among others, Jane lets her flair for comedy and drama out into the world once more with impressive and immensely watchable results.
Bearing in mind James Marsters as Spike, you know you're already onto a winner, and he effortlessly recreates his vampiric persona, back to his most evil scheming self after Dru has left him once more, this time for a fungus demon. His irritation at Harmony's shallow attitude is hilarious, even up to the point when he gets fed up and stakes her, only to discover she is temporarily immune.
The Anya/Xander storyline is just as funny, with the recently-made-woman demon unable to fight her attraction to Xander, and deciding that they need to have sex so she can get him out of her system. Her attitude when it doesn't work is priceless. Not only this, but Buffy has relationship problems of her own when the guy she's been drooling over enjoys a night of passion with the Slayer, only to ignore her the next day. As well as providing an emotional counterpoint to the episode, it's also good to see Buffy in confusion when her new relationship doesn't go the same way as the one she shared with Angel.
There's plenty more mileage to be had out of all these relationships, and it'll be great to see who pops up later in the year as Spike in particular is set to become a regular.
Of course, it doesn't end here, with Oz taking the amulet to LA for Angel to keep it out of Spike's hands, paving the way for the first crossover between Buffy and its new spin-off with In the Dark.
*****
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