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season seven  >   same time, same place



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Same Time, Same Place, but thankfully not the same time and place as last season: episode review


We never recapped same time, same place? Really? I’d completely forgotten about that. Well, fine. Let’s recap it then, shall we? I’m not doing anything but avoiding work anyway!

We open on the Sunnydale airport. It’s probably an International airport, too. Tiny little one starbuck towns always have international airports. Buffy, Xander and Dawn watch the passengers disembark. There’s a girl being obnoxious to her brother so we’ll be sure to notice them. Xander holds a sign in yellow crayon and Buffy and Dawn are actually snarky to the Xandman. What’s up with that, beotches? How many times did Xander have to listen to Buffy’s “blah blah blah, killed my boyfriend to save the world” story? Okay, probably never, but that’s not the point. As stupid as the yellow crayon was, he saved the world. So there.


I think Buffy’s just jealous.


The gang is supposedly nervous that Willow’s home. Especially when they hear that she didn’t finish not being evil. Giles, with infinite wisdom only he possesses, chose to stay home and ride horses off screen [dammit, dammit - SP] while Willow the not completely not evil person was sent home alone. You know, I love Giles, but I think hanging out with the Scoobs for so long has diminished his mental capabilities. He’s not playing with a full deck anymore. I’m sorry SP, he’s just not. [He sucks for not coming back to Sunnydale with Willow, but that's OK. We still have that clip of him on the horse that I can watch again, right?]


Everyone’s off the plane, and the Scoobs are all “hey, where’s psycho girl?” She’s not there. Only she is! Oh ho ho! We cut to the same opening scene of the clock, the same girl being mean to her brother (didja notice them? Didja notice?) and then, right behind them, it’s Willow! Only she can’t see anyone there to greet her. Really, she did try to kill them all in fairly horrible fashions. People’s beloveds die often, and you don’t see them going all ballistic. Heck, Buffy had to kill her “one” “true” “love”, and you didn’t see her going all dark phoenix, did you? Nope, she went all mopey instead, which is really the preferred method of working out your grief. Not trying to kill everyone around you, idiot. So, like, how were they supposed to respond? Of course, we’re talking about the Scooby Gang, and they’ve all pretty much tried to kill one another at one point, so the forgiveness should probably be flowing like Jaeger at a dive bar.


Willow arrives at the Summers’ home, and I hope she subconsciously used a spell to unlock that back door she walks through, or I’m going to be seriously disappointed with out little Slayer and her ball of green energy sister. Seriously disappointed. How many times have people tried to kill you? Of course, the people that tend to want to kill her can get in anyway, doors be damned, but still. Lock the door.


Willow goes upstairs and many people have noticed, not I, that Buffy’s moved into Joyce’s room, making her the symbolic head of the household once again. Like I said, I didn’t notice. [Yeah, I was all, what, Buffy's 12 with the whole putting her name on her bedroom door thing? I didn't realize it was just supposed to be a clue that Joyce's old room was now Buffy's. Just went right on by me. This is why I should continue to read spoilers. So I don't miss the meaning of half the episode while I watch it.] Willow stands at the window, remembers the shot [*SOB*], goes through Buffy’s organizer and sees there’s no mention of her [but several phone numbers for the others! which might come in handy if you're wondering where they are, Willow! Remember, you're the smart one! Sheesh.], then hears a noise and goes downstairs. The noise would be Xander slamming the front door, but we don’ t know that yet, because we’re in Willow’s world, not his. She sees no one, but doesn't think of calling one of the cell phone numbers she found in the organizer, or calling Giles, or trying to figure out where everyone is. No, the best course of action, of course, is to curl up on the couch and fall asleep.


As previously alluded to, the other Scoobs come home. They called Giles, and he’s not in a council meeting when they call, unlike when Willow calls later, because he loves them more and they haven’t bitch- slapped him and tried to kill him recently [Yeah, what's up with them getting through when Willow doesn't? Does Buffy have the number to his secret bat phone? Wouldn't you want to give the not-quite-done-being-evil girl your secret, reach-me-anytime number instead? Maybe it's Buffy's alluring outfit of a see-through dress and jeans that made the difference. My god this Cynthia wannabe is goin all out.], and they bitch and moan about Willow being MIA. Xander slams the door, they hear footsteps that are Willow’s but aren’t, and then they sit on Willow on the couch. Though they don’t know it, and Willow doesn’t seem to mind. Two points for Dawn for breaking through the all the moroseness and pointing out that they should be blaming Willow, not Dawn. Yep. Blame the psycho. It’s that easy.


We fade back to Willow being on the couch. It’s morning. She doesn’t feel the need to shower or change her clothes after a transatlantic flight apparently, maybe she did some spell without realizing it to clean herself up. Willow then tries to call Giles on speed dial [speed dial or a very very short international phone number], and it turns out he’s in a Council meeting. Watcher’s council? Town council? PTA? Who knows, Who cares, he’s not there. [And really, knowing Willow is not really finished her treatment for not being evil, and knowing that she's going back to where she saw the love of her life die, which is what caused her to go all veiny and homicidal and apocalypsey in the first place, would he really be in a council meeting? Or would he be looking for Willow? His magic's-part-of-you charge? Fucking come back already, fucking Giles!]


Just got back as in, you're all better, or just got back to bring a fiery apocalypse of death?


Anyway, Willow sets out for the magic shop [You know, where she recently went all evil and destroyed everything]. Anya is coming out with boxes. It’s a bit torn up, a bit condemned, and Anya’s a bit bitter. She’s also a bit on crack this episode. I don’t get it. Perhaps Emma Caulfield was getting odd stage instructions from the director, but she seriously played this like Anya had the mental abilities of an eight year old high on fruit loops. Her delivery, her actions, her sweaters…it was all very odd [and high heels for cleaning up a condemned building?]. But, anyway, she’s rude to Willow for awhile and then it loses the thrill for her and they sit and chat. For a bit. Willow’s just using her for information, really, and as soon as she hears that they might all be at the school for one reason or the other, Willow’s off like a shot.


Here's something you should know about Vengeance demons. We don't ruth with the sorry. We prefer 'oh god, please stop hitting me with my own rib-bones...


Willow climbs down into Xander’s work pit, and why they have such a large work pit on the grounds of an open school we’ll never know, but one can assume it probably has something to do with Xander milking the job for all he can, in heels that she would probably trip and die in in the real world. But this is Willow world, and she’s just fine in that quarry-type place. Instead of Xander she finds an empty pit and a dead body [a dead skinned body! Dum, dum, da dum!]. The body of a boy that was spray painting in the quarry the previous night. Did I forget to mention that? Probably. Willow makes a vomit face and scrambles out as fast as her thin little legs can take her. Except we don’t see it, we hear it as the camera has panned around and we now see Buffy and Xander staring at the dead body, wondering if Willow’s back after all.


Willow goes to find Spike in the basement. It’s a very painful conversation which I’m not going to transcribe. It makes Spike sound crazy, that’s all you need to know. This would be because he can see Willow, and is holding a conversation with her, and he can see Buffy and Xander, who have also come to the basement seeking his wisdom. Willow wants to know what can tear skin off like that, and Spike reminds her that she can. Two points for Spike. Spike comments on Buffy’s glowiness, and I swear to god that if she turns out to be half demon or pregnant, I’m going to make some very snarky wallpapers. I’m just saying. Spike realizes that everyone’s talking to him, but not each other, but being crazy he does nothing about it, of course. Everyone’s about to leave him when he says “button button who’s got the button, my money’s on the Witch.” Somehow, this just makes Xander and Buffy more suspicious. Because a crazy vampire with a soul and a chip is always a good person to listen to.




This isn't gonna get all sexy, is it?

Willow goes to Anya’s apartment, they ask each other if they flailed anyone lately and then Willow asks for help. With a spell. Some of the more astute out there may recognize this as the spell Tara botched up in season four [ooh! Like when Anya asked Willow to help her do a spell in Doppelgangland, only the other way around! Anya should have told her to look for her human-flailing demon friend under the sofa in hell!]. A spell that Anya only agrees to after finding out if it’s going to take a lot of effort on her part and after getting reassurances that it will not turn sexy. We here at B&BT thank you for that, Anya.


So they do the spell and for some reason the century old vengeance demon is directed to play it stupid. Willow has to tell her what the dots mean. Anya’s a demon, she should damn well know what they mean. Perhaps she was distracted by the hellmouthy part of the map setting her carpet on fire. Anya, desperate for something, anything human contacty, pats Willow on the back and asserts that it got a bit sexy. Willow beats a hasty retreat, first mentioning that she tried the locating spell to find her friends, but it said they didn’t exist. Dooo doo doo dooooooooooooooo. [Also, Anya talks about how the vengeance just isn't as fulfilling as it used to be. Willow understands how inflicting pain with your tremendous power can be a hollow joy. Ah, the camaraderie of two scary powerful vengeancey girls. Of course they're meant to be together. If only to have someone to share that hollow joy with.]


It did get a little sexy, didn't it? ...Willow, um, Isn't there another spell?


Willow trucks it on over, alone, without the demon Anya at her side, to the cave in some part of remote Sunnydale. There are woods. It’s all I can tell. She tried to get Anya to teleport over there to check it out, but Anya’s been suspended of all teleporting privileges because she reversed Ronnie last week. So she goes it alone. Climbs into the cave alone. Outside, her friends are right behind her. But she doesn’t know that. Because they no longer exist.


Well, that's why you teleport over there, real quick like a bunn— real quick, and uh, see if I'm right.


Rather than doing a sexy spell with Anya, the gang decided to use the crazy vampire as a blood hound. I would think, and this is just me applying logic to the sitch, that there would be a lot of blood around Sunnydale. Especially if they cut through the cemetery, as they seem to be doing. Now, did they take Spike to the body, which should be in the hands of the authorities by now, have him sniff the victim, then follow that trail? Or did they just set him loose and go “find the demon, boy. That’s a good boy”? And should I care this much?


No. I shouldn’t. They get to the cave, Spike goes all spooky on Xander’s ass and tells him to hold on to his ticket, then leaves.


There's a cave in it... I'm insane, what's his excuse?


The gang crawls into the cave, but the Gollum-like creature slashes Dawn and paralyzes her. Oh, yeah. That. I forgot to mention all that, didn’t I? Earlier Dawn was being first season Willow and looking up demons on the net. She found one that fit the description, Buffy and Xander were all “nuh uh”, but then it turned out to be that demon and now Dawn’s all excited about doing some cross-referencing database, which I thought Willow was working on in season four or five, but whatever. Obviously no one but me remembers the whole Giles feeling unneeded and Willow was just going to scan his books and that would make him even more unneeded subplot. So, anyway, we’re not there now, we’re at the bad guys cave and Buffy and Xander are dragging Dawn out and blocking up the hole. Which Willow doesn’t appreciate.



Gollum-lite taunts Willow with “you're alone. All alone” rhetoric. He makes Willow cry. And magic doesn’t touch him, conveniently. He paralyzes Willow and then starts to eat her one strip at a time. It’s rather disgusting. [I swear, it was so disgusting it would turn me vegetarian if I didn't like meat so damn much.]


Back at Casa d’Buffy, they lay Dawn on the couch, find out the paralyzation can only be reversed by the death of the demon and call Anya over to Dawn sit. Except when Anya gets there she finds out Dawn’s poseable, wackiness ensues, she lets slip that she knows what the Gnarl demon (aka Gollum) is and Buffy decides she’s going with them. So they leave Dawn with the TV remote in her hand, which is really sort of cruel. [I know! She can't even click it!] Oh, and Anya lets slip that she’s seen Willow and that Willow went to the cave. So they have to go save Willow too.


Wouldn't it be tragic if you were here being kind of silly with your comically paralyzed sister while Willow was dying?


And we’re back at the cave. Buffy fights, Xander steps in Willow, Anya talks all comfortingly to Willow and Buffy pokes out the demon’s eyes. With her fingers. I’m not sure if I could’ve done that, not for a glowing ball of energy and a psycho best friend. But I’m not Buff, we all know that. Willow pops back into this dimension and they all go home to live happily ever after.


Except Willow, who has to regrow her skin through mother earth which she can do on the second floor while sitting on her bed because everything’s connected. Giles told her so. And he knows everything. Except when to get his ass back to Sunnydale, but other than that. He knows everything.


Blah blah blah, it turns out Willow did the spell on accident and Buffy just barely manages to conceal her horror. What if Willow got really pissed at her one day for borrowing a skirt or something? What if Willow was so mad she just sort of wished Buffy was a toad or something? Yeah, you better be afraid Slayer. And all ye who do not please the Willow best quake in fear too.


To make up for thinking that Willow was a psycho killer, even though Willow thinks it’s okay since she’s the Slayer and all, so she offers up her energy since Willow’s getting weak [and Buffy's given Willow her old room too. Perhaps there's some symmetry here we're missing. Or something. Nah...]. Better hope that Apocalypse doesn’t come tomorrow, Buffy. I’d hate for you to be caught with your Slayer pants down. I’m sure it wouldn’t, that’d be awfully early in the season and I think Buffy knows that, and it is best to stay on the good side of the person that can fry you into little bits. It’s just good form.



That's magic, right? When most people meditate, they don't get new skin. Cause Clem should, like, cut back...




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