Buffy investigates Spike, who has been going out at night but can't remember what he's been doing, with the evidence pointing to him killing once again.

This is a pretty straightforward episode really, dealing with one of the surprises from last episode when we saw Spike feeding on a young woman. It's a shame really that it turns out to be much as expected. Although I wasn't sure if it was really Spike killing people, it apparently was, with the mysterious monster evil egging him on and then blotting his memory of events.

The problem is that it takes too long to reach this conclusion. Spike starts seeing people, and the 'evil thing pretending to be Buffy' trick has stopped working now, so it's quickly clear what is really going on. More interesting at this point would be getting more of an idea of what the evil creature is trying to do, why it is targeting Buffy and her friends deliberately, and how it's connected to the Slayer deaths. It's also odd that the creature has seemed pretty powerful up to now, but for some reason has to force Spike to do things he doesn't want to do. Then again, I suppose it's all a matter of suggestion. Andrew did as the spirit-Warren asked, but Willow didn't commit suicide, as she was asked to last episode. Spike is strong, but not so strong now he has a soul that he fight off whatever is affecting his mind. What isn't clear is just why it's messing with him more than the others.

Then again, I suppose that's the point: there are simply too many questions going unanswered at the moment and we'll have to wait until things make themselves known. The main problem is that we've seen Spike kill, so the only questions this episode attempts to answer are 'why' and 'how'. Beyond that we're still not any the wiser, and most of the episode involves Spike wandering around and people following him to see what he's up to. It seems odd that Buffy can get quite close to him when she goes after him, yet she doesn't see Spike biting a young woman. She's obviously seen him with her, but I'm not sure why she doesn't see it all.

A bit of a mediocre episode then, despite a good performance from James Marsters as the troubled Spike. Quick mention, though, for the stunning final scene, where Giles receives a message. It's good to see him again, but no! They can't do what they seem to have done, can they? I mean, isn't he meant to get a spin-off??? They really know how to keep us viewers watching…

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