Buffy tries to find some kind of direction in her life and earn some much-needed cash, but her efforts are hampered by Jonathan and his gang, The Trio, who are testing the Slayer to find her strengths and weaknesses and become more of a threat to her.

Ah, this is what I've missed. The comedy in Buffy has been sorely lacking lately, and Jonathan and company are the perfect tonic. While their abilities to arrange the kinds of things they do for Buffy to go through here put them a little more on the advanced side than maybe they should be, at least they're all playing to their strengths. And with command of creatures, robotics and technology and magic in their arsenal, they could very well be a threat. The reason they're not just comedy geeks is due to their intelligence; their ability to think puts them ahead of Glory, for one, and may give them the edge they need to keep up their campaign. It looks as though they're going to be caught at the end of this episode, so it's good to see them think their way out of the problem.

Meanwhile, there are some great sequences of Buffy trying to work. Her efforts with Xander's construction crew are good, and her time in the magic shop is extremely funny, thanks to the Groundhog Day-esque spell Jonathan has put on her. The speeded up time is particularly well-executed, especially in the way Buffy is kicked by those who can't see her, a facet not often considered by other shows. There's some well-written material between Buffy and Spike, and plenty of superb references for geeky fans from The Trio.

Well-executed, great fun, and showing plenty of possibility for the future, it's another excellent episode of Buffy.

****

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