Buffy 6.20 FAQ
What’s this one called?
“Villains.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to Marti Noxon (“Bargaining, Part I,” “Wrecked”).
What does TV Guide say?
“Buffy tries to recover from an assassination attempt; Jonathan and Andrew share a jail cell; Warren seeks allies at a demon bar; Anya is confronted by Willow. Rack: Jeff Kober.”
What did Herc say about this one in his Tax Day spoilers?
Willow, enraged by the Big Scooby Death (BSD), heads for the Magic Box, puts Anya in stasis and returns to the darkest magicks (turning Willow’s eyes and hair black) before she goes on the hunt for Warren. Buffy, who died last year, also takes a bullet, but Willow is now able to make the slug go away. A Warren-bot decoy fails to keep Willow from tormenting the real Warren (with Katrina’s corpse, among other things) and killing him. Meanwhile, Spike arrives in sunny Africa to get his behavior-modifying brain-chip neutralized – or die trying.
Did Herc’s sources get it right?
Yep.
Is the fabulous Amber Benson’s name still in the title credits?
No! In fact, she doesn’t even get a guest-star credit (even though Benson obviously worked on the episode).
Does Benson twitch or moan or anything?
Nope. She’s pretty much just a prop this week.
When does Willow get the new ‘do?
End of the first act.
The big news?
Despite the incident in Buffy’s bathroom last week, the slayer is perfectly willing to let Spike babysit Dawn. She’s also surprised to discover Spike has fled Sunnydale.
Why is Rack in the episode?
Warren pays him for magic he hopes will protect him from Buffy. (He doesn’t find out about Tara’s death until Rack mentions it.)
What’s up with Dawn?
The sight of Tara’s corpse freaks her out pretty badly, but she’s cool with the idea of Willow killing Warren.
What’s up with Xander?
When Anya reveals she knows Willow’s whereabouts, he finally learns that his ex is back in the vengeance trade.
What’s up with Spike?
He takes a cave meeting with a glowy-eyed demon and arranges to undergo a dangerous rite he believes will allow him to hurt humans again. “Bitch thinks she’s better than me. Ever since this bleeding chip in my head, things ain’t been right.”
Does Spike actually undergo the trial, or rite, or procedure, or whatever it is?
Not this week.
Any sign of Giles or Fantastico?
Not this week.
What’s good?
There’s some wildly inappropriate speculation about Matthew Broderick’s career trajectory. And Alyson Hannigan looks great in black.
What’s not so good?
Remember how Willow went after Glory a year ago? Tara gets her brain sucked, Will goes to the magic box and absorbs the darkest magicks, then heads off to hurt the party who hurt Tara. So what we get tonight is basically a repeat, only slower-moving, far more predictable, and devoid of memorable lines like “I owe you pain!” Even though Glory didn’t actually kill Tara, Will’s vengeance last year was bigger, scarier and cooler, with the floating, and the pummeling, and the bag o’ knives. With Tara actually dead, I think we were expecting much bigger magic, “opening of the lost arc” magic. The gruesome nature of Warren’s demise notwithstanding, one senses they’re saving the “real Old Testament stuff” for next week. Which makes for a pretty anemic episode this week.
How does it end, spoiler-boy?
“One down.”
Herc’s rating for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” 6.20?
**1/2
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
