Buffy Challenge Post 30: Season 4: Episode 6 - 7

Wild at heart

Outside Uni on a dark night, just a usually quiet time here in Sunnydale, of except for the standard vampire fight, Buffy leave the jokes and puns to the professionals. Oh it's Spike and he is not happy, I think he is really not going to be happy when he realizes he has been captured by the mysterious commando guys.

What is it with the blanky metaphors? Giles at the Bronze? He really must be getting bored. Giles is down with o-p-p! Once again Xander states the obvious and the chick that is taking Oz's fancy is singing again. Willow is starting to feel uncomfortable, and rightfully so. I think the days of innocent Willow are long over.

Buffy is getting A's and doing better than Willow? what has the world come to? Keep walking Oz, no don't sit down next to the cute singer who has you mesmerized. Now this is awkward, what is Oz doing? Okay it's that time of the month, for Oz of course. The werewolf FX is looking awesome this season and it seems that Oz has a bit of strength behind him.

WHAT? two werewolves? Is everyone in a band some type of monster? This is not a good thing, Oz get away from this vixen, she will unleash a beast that lurks inside. Poor Willow, rejected by a confused Oz. Giles is watching Jeopardy which means he has slumped to a new low. Don't ask for details Xander just help Willow, Good advice though. Oz has lied to Buffy this is a first, he is not acting normal for him. (which is a real stretch I know but even Buffy noticed.)

Don't have much time for the sappy "everyone is upset" song montage, just not my type of thing. Oz is this such a good idea? She is crazy and you will live to regret this. Told you, Willow walks into the room seeing a caged and naked Oz with another woman. Hold on Willow, weren't you doing the same thing with Xander? (except with your clothes on I guess) Who am I kidding, I should know by now that this show loves to screw with everyone's emotions. Willow has reached her lowest depth. Buffy, I don't think leaving Willow by herself in this state is a good Idea, call Giles or Xander. Wait don't call Xander.

There is a dark side to Willow that is about to come out, you mess with the dark arts it will have an effect on even the sweetest person. Never get a witch angry. Willow snapped out of it right at the last moment but she finds herself with the she-wolf just before sunset. The metamorphosis scene with Veronica and Oz is wonderful but is ruined by the corny dialog. Werewolf Oz kills the she-wolf but in doing so I think he has killed his relationship with Willow also.

The whole commando thing is just a distraction that is not needed in this episode. Why take Spike out like that without any explanation and Buffy running into the guy was pointless. Like all the main characters in this show "When the going gets tough, the tough pack their bags and leave." Oz leaves and in the process breaks Willow's heart as well.

This was a messy episode, many of the threads made little to no sense and it was illogical to remove Oz at this stage. They tried to play the emotional card on this one and it fell short.

4/10

The Initiative

Women are the greatest mystery never to be solved. "She's so HOT, she's BUFFY!" Cheesy! I don't think Buffy is Canadian but that would explain the strange behavior and her inability to use simple canteen food and beverage dispensing machines. Good morning Spike how does it feel to be a caged animal in a sterile facility? Hey Spike has made the opening credits, I guess that means he is a regular now?

Xander has just explained the standard structure for almost every episode of Buffy. Giles and Xander on patrol? Ah Spike, how many cosmetic companies experiment on vampires? Willow, Oz is gone, you need to face the reality of the situation. Way to go Buffy standing up to the mean professor with logic. Yeah ask Parker about Buffy, your going to get a real balanced answer there. I really like it when Parker gets hit! No one should compare a woman to a toilet seat, at that point I wanted to reach in and smack him around myself.

That's right boys take Spike out of the cage, he is playing possum as he is the smartest Vampire in this show, hence his escape from the monster confine. "How bout them Bronco's" is a great pick up line. Willow is not in the right frame of mind to get relationship advice from at this stage. I like this guy, he is noble and going around the whole Buffy situation the right way.

Ah man Harmony is still here. Putting up pictures of unicorns in a den, that is just wrong. Thank you Giles for telling Xander to shut up! he does waffle on too much on patrol. At the party Willow is getting into the wing man bit, but her poker face needs work. Is it me or did I just see a dramatization of me approaching every girl I like for the first time, although I usually run away before I get to offer them cheese, maybe that is where I go wrong?

Xander vs Harmony, is the woosie girlie version of Buffy vs Spike. (Xander really does fight like a 9 year old girl having a hissy fit.) I love the fact that they are giving the slow motion effect to the sissy fight. Harmony I can answer the question of why men always leave, it's because your annoying! Oz's song hits the player and there is a trigger to bad memories for Willow. She is however a really good friend as she is sacrificing her happiness for Buffy.

Ah man why does all the good guys have to have some sort of hidden agenda as it seems all is not what it seems? A demon hunter? looks more like some sick government facility trying to weaponize the monsters for their own purpose. Of course the leader of the facility is none other than professor Walsh. Why can't things be the way they seem in this show? Too many twists for the sake of too many twists.

They are not going to kill Spike off Buffy, They just put him into the opening credit sequence. For a guy who can only go out at night where does Spike get those cool threads? Buffy and Riley having an argument over who has to leave, they are just as stubborn as each other! As if Spike is not going to strike at Buffy's real weakness, which is her heart. He physically attacks Willow and takes a bite out of her or he tried but couldn't get his mojo working. Spike there is no shame to Vampiric impotence I'm sure there is some sort of nasal spray that could help. Willow's reaction is great thinking that she is the reason that Spike didn't wanna bite her. ("Your more like a sister to me..... or lets just be friends")

Commando's get Spike but all it takes is a small laps of concentration allows spike to escape. I like the way Buffy was able to use the fact that they were wearing night goggles against them with the flare. (See Xander does come in handy at times.) Walsh is as nasty as a commando leader as she is a professor. See Spike it wasn't you or Willow, it was some implant that was placed. Riley has made the first step to becoming closer to Buffy but with his extra curricular activities and her extra curricular activities crossing paths this is going to end in great pain for one or possibly both of them.

Not horrible by any stretch and the second half was so much better than the first. I can see how things can be difficult for Riley. However as a novel idea I'd like to see Buffy date a normal person for a while who was not a 400 year old vampire, or a sleaze bag, or some night time government operative. However this is Sunnydale and the most normal guy on this show is Xander and that is not saying much. (BTW no Anya in the last two episodes which is a shame.)

The Initiative was much better than wild at heart, but suffered from the slow start. (sometimes it's best not to force the humor.)

6/10

Well we're moving along at a reasonable pace this season. See you guys next time! (if anyone is actually reading this thing anymore.)