My son, grumpily heading off to bed:

"Why did Spike have to die instead of Angel?"

BWAH! Pure BOMM (that is Beer instead of Coffee)

For all his big throwing around of the C-word, Angel is so not the type to actually DIE to save the world.

Well he's done it as many times as Spike. Maybe not voluntarily, but...

I adore Pete's take, but I seriously think Oz would have given us another pateneted "Huh." not "Oh." You all may debate that as you will.

I adore Pete's take, but I seriously think Oz would have given us another pateneted "Huh." not "Oh." You all may debate that as you will.

Whoa! I was just going to post that.

I think we need to collect all the fanwanks in one place when we create the ultimate Buffista BtVS guide. Plus Anya-recaps for all of them.

and I'm already tired of telling my "I got arrested" story and having to explain why it matters what I was watching. And I am happy I can tell it here - where I don't have to explain.

Tina, that's AWFUL. You had to EXPLAIN?

Barbarians!

The discussion's still going! Great!

I also liked the passing around of Excalibaxe, Victor. It seemed to be the only cutting implement wielded that night that could actually do its job. t /still a little bitter at the Wood thing

Maybe not voluntarily, but...

See, now that to me is key. Plus he didn't actually die. *Plus* he was the one to start the whole problem in the first place! So it's more like he had to spend time in a really gnarly dentention hall.

Re-watched. Cried with big gulpy sobs when we saw all the Slayers around the world getting the big whammy of power.

And the look on that baseball!girl's face? She KNEW she was going to POUND that ball.

I didn't realize until this viewing what it was that happened with Spike and the Big Gay Amulet. (Sorry, but it was sooooo queeny.) That initial blast of power shot through the top of the Hellmouth cavern, and through the roof of the school building. Spike was, essentially, and aided by mystical mojo shit, channelling sunlight. Which dusted the vamps. WAY cool.

He also said exactly (though not verbatim) what Buffy said before she jumped in The Gift -- "I gotta do this." (Buffy: "This is the work I was meant to do.")

So, I take back my displeasure at Spike saving the world. After all, I didn't bitch when Xander saved the world.

Oh, I love the cookie dough speech. Which may just be My Issues. But it does go so nicely with the Girl Power theme of the episode, too. Slayers don't *need* boys; they just need an axe.

I'm listening to RANDY NEWMAN'S FAUST right now AIFG! I would kvell to hear ASH as the Lord and JM as Lucifer perform "Relax, Enjoy Yourself". t /hijack

Who else would love to see the meeting of Kennedy and Oz? Hey, does Oz even know about poor Tara's death? I can imagine him looking at Wil, looking at Kennedy, looking at Wil, and arching an eyebrow until Xander (the only one with tact) pulls him quietly aside and explains. I'd love to see Wil stammer to Kennedy that no, she's not a LUG, Oz was her first and only boyfriend, and it doesn't mean that I don't love you and I didn't love Tara, gay now, really sweetie...etc., etc.

And the look on that baseball!girl's face? She KNEW she was going to POUND that ball.

...or that it would be okay if she didn't.

I liked (?) the one being abused. She didn't need to hit back. She just needed to stop that fist.

That's the whole mistress of their own fate gift, that the slayersplit gave them.

edited to add... and don't think I didn't wonder how to work the phrase "sacredpreschoolbussex" into this post :)

OK - really going back to being a mostly lurker after this - but I just remembered wanting to tell all the frustrated with Giles this season folks my sad three-season long waiting for Giles' whole story - story.

I always forget the name of this episode - S3 - Beauty and the Beasts - after Buffy first sees that Angel is back - from the moment in the library on the stairs where she asks Giles if he thought someone could return from hell and if they could be helped if they did - I thought - really and truly - from that moment until Grave and the borrowed magicks - that Giles had been to and returned from hell and AT SOMEPOINT we were going to find out all about it. And it was going to be great.

Don't ask me now why I was so sure, season after season. It was the way ASH portrayed it on the stairs - about what hell would have done to even the strongest person - the look in his eyes convinced me for three seasons that he knew intimately of what he spoke.

So - my Giles reading is a little off - and I stayed far away from it this season - and it was really strange because this was the first season since then that I didn't look at him and think - at least for a second - come on! why were you in Hell already??. But I did wonder - why the hell aren't you acting like Giles??

edited to get the right episode title and say - that I mean the real Hell where Angel went and not a metaphorical Hell and .... you know what I mean.

I liked (?) the one being abused. She didn't need to hit back. She just needed to stop that fist.

Oh, hell yeah. She had this perfect look of "Just TRY it again, motherfucker!"