Xander at the end of the episode was the only thing that made this worth my time. Though there was the ever-present hope that Dawn would die horribly.

I rolled my eyes when Dawn decided to go off and fight a baddie on her own.

And she didn't take any weapons or use her brain to think "uh, maybe I should look up and see if the vampire is using it's talents to hang above the door."

And when they were in the lab she didn't use the gas flame on the highly flammable vampire - granted, she did use it on a Harbringer, but vamps are much more up-in-flamey.

Buffy tonight was all about that last Xander speech. All the other stuff was irrelevant. I did like the line "Cause the Black girl always dies first"

As I said in lite spoilers, I shed quite a few tears over that. Although I was really feeling for xander, NSM Dawn. Buffy is a horrific guidance counselor, although she is good with the potentials.

I sort of liked the new potential's skiniiness, in that it looked like genuine teen skinniness/gawkiness rather than Hollywood skinniness. I also keep thinking how OLD Willow, Xander, Anya and Buffy look compared to these kids. In a good way, I think.

I sort of liked the new potential's skiniiness, in that it looked like genuine teen skinniness/gawkiness rather than Hollywood skinniness.

It does make her seem more vulnerable and fragile than the other proto-slayers. Must mean that she's going to be the most powerful.

I agree with you Jon, that in contrast to the last two, this one was much better.

All the lecturing Buffy did at the beginning was tiresome. And seemed to be done with an irony, even though Buffy at that age wouldn't have shut up for even half of her little lecture. She's become the boring watcher she used to mock.

And how "watcher's council" was it for her to lock the 4 slayers in training into a crypt with the vampire?

Bufy is not doing a very good job training them. Using them as bait, sure.

And, yes, horrible, horrible counsellor.

I sort of liked the new potential's skiniiness, in that it looked like genuine teen skinniness/gawkiness rather than Hollywood skinniness.

I agree Sophia. She's the skinny of someone who hasn't finished puberty yet.

As I was watching it, I was thinking of someone (I am not sure who) commenting on Buffy's essential selfishness. I actually think they were rebutting your Willow-hatred with examples of xander's self-righteousness and Buffy's self-centeredness. At the time, I was thinking that Buffy wasn't really like that anymore. But of course, she is!