When I first went to the Bronze (and my first lurk was at the linear side), I was all set to post as "Closet Buffyholic" and when it was taken, I was so sad.

That is my all time favorite "I wish I had been there sooner and grabbed that posting name" name. That a lawgeeker got it is some consolation.

my Bronze handle was Xanderella.

I loved that name, too.

On this line of the Mayor's:

What happened to the courier? I'm supposed to pay him.

I read that as Vamp-Lackey=courier.

I read that as Vamp-Lackey=courier.

The problem with that reading is that the script distinguishes between the lackey and the courier, specifically, and that's who the Mayor refers to, specifically. If the mayor was not referring to the courier, the script would have said, "Fred, the Vampire-Lackey" and the Mayor would have said, "hey, where's Fred?"

One could wank it by saying that the lackey's briefcase was empty. But I think Cindy's right.

I read that as Vamp-Lackey=courier.

no, I think that Vamp Lackey was the one with the briefcase, and courier had the box

Right. That the Mayor could have been referring to the Lackey-vamp as "the courier" can't make any sense given the answer Faith gives to the Mayor, in response.

MAYOR: What happened to the courier? I'm supposed to pay him.

FAITH: I made him an offer he couldn't survive.

Faith didn't kill the Lackey Vamp. Buffy did, and Faith doesn't know about that, in fact, Buffy hasn't yet killed him when Faith brings the Mayor the Box of Gavrok.

right. the vamp lackey enticed the courier into the limo, jso that the courier could be killed by Faith. Faith then took the box in to the Mayor, who expected the courier, but realized that Faith had killed the courier/saved him a lot of money.

From earlier:

Ouch! This is from way back in March, but I just ran across a TV Guide quote about a former Angel star at TwoP:

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?: Elisabeth Rohm has gotten work again. As an actress.

On the upside, Briar and Graves did not get picked up. I got to see some dailies of it, and MAN did it suck. And if you think Rohm is a crappy actress now, you should see her in full takes, before an editor has had a chance to take to worst edges off. She really is just a terrible actress.

right. the vamp lackey enticed the courier into the limo, jso that the courier could be killed by Faith. Faith then took the box in to the Mayor, who expected the courier, but realized that Faith had killed the courier/saved him a lot of money.

Almost. The vamp lackey was going to chauffer the courier in the limo, to the Mayor, it seems, but he had the payment with him, in a briefcase (or at least said he had it).

The courier was put off that the Mayor didn't meet him in person, and said the price just went up. The courier never got in the limo, though. Faith was atop a building, and shot the courier with an arrow. This seemed to surprise the lackey vamp. Then the lackey vamp chauffered Faith back to City Hall, where she brought the Box of Gavrok to the Mayor. Buffy was hiding in the bushes, and saw them return. After Faith went in, the lackey vamp drove off in the limo (it wasn't clear why). While Faith was still in there, the lackey vamp returned with the limo. Buffy busted the window, and asked him what was in the box. When she returns to the library, she tells the others she dusted him when he could no longer control his aggressive tendencies, but after she at least found out the name of the Box.

You know what I think would have been kind of fun? If in one of the scenes where Gunn was giving Angel papers to sign, they had a throw away line about pardoning the slayer who escaped from jail and her accomplice.

Which Buffy (and/or Angel) episodes get you through the dark times? Which ones inspire you, get you fighting again, or otherwise lift your spirits?

Checkpoint is always a winner with me, when I feel defeated but need to kick some real world ass. And although The Body is one of the most frank and stunning portrayals of death I'm likely to ever see, it's never any comfort for me. When my father died, and even before, when I was missing my Nana, I found the next episode, Forever, much more cathartic, when a loss is hitting me particularly hard.

Prophecy Girl is good for a lift, which has as much to do with a few good lines, and SMG's heartbreaking, "Tell me my fortune!" breakdown, as anything else, but it works.

The Gift broke my heart when I first saw it. I knew SMG would be back, and back as Buffy, and that the series would be back, but I still cried for about a week, and I needed to believe she was dead. I needed to believe this young woman died to save the world, because she couldn't allow her sister to die to save the world. I don't find it uplifting, but I find it satisfying (despite any monks-made-her-from-me jazz hands I might employ) in a calming and reassuring sort of way--that a hero would die for the world. I like messiahs, though. I always have.

Fear, Itself, which I've just recently re-watched, really hit me the first time I ever saw it. I know it's a little clunky maybe, but when it first aired, I really needed the reminder that our fears feed the beast, and the fear demon is this tiny, crushable thing, in the end. It still speaks to me.

Finally, of course, there is Becoming. It's chocked full of inspirational goodness. When everything else is gone--what do you have left? Yourself. The big moments are gonna come, it's what you do afterwards that counts.

That's probably it for episodes I watch for a specifically inspirational purpose, and more often than not, I usually fall back on Checkpoint. I'm asking about it tonight, because it's been a while since I watched it, and after this week in the real world, I think I need a dose of it. There are lots of inspirational moments in episodes though, that are just as key, the episode as a whole may even inspire me, just not in a way that I turn to it, like a key that fits a certain lock.

I also have certain make-me-laugh episodes. Pangs still leaves me chuckling. There's also The Replacement, A New Man, Superstar, and I'm sure there are others I am forgetting.

Which episodes do you turn to, under which circumstances?