As Riley and Buffy try to work out how to set about building a relationship, it seems that the apocalypse has arrived.
There's a certain element of running on the spot at this midway point in the season, putting all the characters into a state of mind that will allow them to develop for the rest of the year. Buffy gets told some home truths about her life by Riley and Willow and Xander are shown their position in the world, the former by former school associate Percy and the latter by, of all people, Spike.
As proved last season in Lover's Walk, Spike seems to have the ability to read people perfectly as far as relationships are concerned, and although they're unlikely to admit it, Willow and Xander could learn a lot from him. Once again he also has all the best lines in the episode, particularly towards the end when he discovers his implant doesn't stop him beating up demons, providing James Marsters with his second great speech of the season, the first coming at the start of Angel's The Harsh Light of Day.
Naturally a main plot is needed, and despite three of the main writers (Noxon, Fury and Espenson) banding together to create this instalment, all they managed to come up with is the Hellmouth being reopened once more, something which seems to be a seasonal occurrence. It's not necessarily a bad idea, it just smacks of a lack of thought.
Despite being rather talky, the story does have its moments, usually involving Spike and the differing points of view of the Initiative and the Scooby Gang investigating the demons on the loose and how to catch them shows that working together, they could be a formidable force: Buffy and co have the arcane knowledge (and I can see Giles finding a home at last in the Initiative), and the lab have the hi-tech ability to track and contain creatures. It'll be interesting to see where these burgeoning plotlines go, but this is turning into a more character-based season so far, revolving around each of the main cast finding their place in the world just as we want to see them move on. One of those episodes essential for characters, yet simultaneously nothing special.
***
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