Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Something Blue

Buffy, The Vampire Slayer
Season 4, Episode "Something Blue"

Cast:

Buffy: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Willow: Alyson Hannigan
Spike: James Marsters
Xander: Nicholas Brendan
Giles: Anthony Stewart Head
Riley: Mark Blucas


SYNOPSIS

Prologue
Willow, the witch whose werewolf boyfriend Oz just left, mopes around in his dorm room, while cute TA Riley makes picnic plans with Buffy. Buffy worries that true love cannot exist without danger, so maybe he’s too normal. (He’s not.)

Act 1
Spike the Vampire has been chained up at Giles’ place since Thanksgiving, trading information for sips of pig’s blood from the Slayer Gang. Spike has information about the strange commandoes who captured and defanged him, as it were. Buffy enjoys taunting Spike, but Willow and Giles decide to whip up a “truth spell,” which Willow promises to return to work on in the morning.
But Willow goes for a loop when she finds Oz’ room cleared out. She forgets to come over to Giles’ and instead depresses Buffy and Riley before going on a beer bender until Buffy takes her forcibly home.
Determined to take a big shortcut around the healing pain of breaking up, Willow casts a spell in her (remarkably cavernous) bathroom-- a spell to make “her will be done.”

Act 2
Giles comes over to ask why Willow never showed, and in an argument she curses him idly with “You don’t see anything.” Giles starts going blind, giving Spike the opportunity to lift Giles’ key and escape.
When Buffy rushes off to catch Spike, Willow is irritated and declares that she’ll find him immediately, which she does-- in the yard outside. “Spike’s more important than me,” Will says petulantly, “why doesn’t she just go marry him.” At which point, the squinting Giles finds Spike on bended knee, and the slayer and vampire celebrating their new engagement.

Act 3
Xander’s next; Willow runs down the list of weird loves he’s had and pronounces him a “demon magnet.” Meanwhile, Giles is not blind enough yet to be spared the vision of Buffy and Spike cooing and planning their registry. (Buffy asks Giles to give her away.) When his vision cuts out, Buffy and Giles search for a reversal spell. Buffy runs into Riley, telling him all about her nuptials.
Anya and Xander’s makeout session in Xander’s Mom’s basement is interrupted by one big demon after another. At Giles’ place, Xander figures out what’s going on, but back on campus, a new demon has come for Willow.

Act 4
D’Hoffryn, the demon who created Anya, has heard Willow’s psychic scream and whisks Willow off to his dimension to offer her the same demon gig he gave Anya. Anya figures this out and they try to pursue before being waylaid by demons; Willow learns of their danger and rushes back to reverse her “harmful spell.” (She says no to the demon’s offer.) And as we close, the Gang eats cookies and Buffy and Spike hate one another once more, meaning the Slayer has to go back and convince Riley she’s still single. That’s easy.

NOTES

My will be done? That’s what Willow asks for? Not to be over her grief, not to have Oz back, but "her will be done," which is like asking a genii asking for more wishes. Still, it was a powerful spell Willow cast, and one wonders if her non-grief-riddled spells might backfire less.

Willow is offered a life as a demon! She nearly gets to be the new Anya, in fact. It's nice to see Anya put to some use, as well, even though Anya's attempts at opening a portal backfire. (But it's good to get a reminder about Anya, who just last season was trying to get Willow to join her in black magic.)

Once again, Xander nearly saves the day by figuring everything out-- except that he doesn't really save anything; Willow pretty much just notices she's caused a lot of trouble and cuts it out.

Really, this was one of those episodes that are funny but not particularly momentous. The running gag involving Buffy and Spike preparing to marry is wonderful, of course. I think my favorite moment is when Amy the rat becomes human, then goes back again, at Willow's completely unaware whim.

Three minor notes:
* What is all this business about Buffy not knowing anything about driving? This is California, for crying out loud.

* I continue to be amazed at how the show is morphing Giles into a regular guy, far less the dweeb he was in the first season. He's become almost normal character.

*For those who keep track, now nearly the whole cast has new hair. Willow and Xander were re-done at the start of the season, and now Anya's cut hers to an off-shoulder bob, while Buffy's going with a crimpy-wavy thing that, all in all, suits her. I can't believe I noticed this.

QUOTES

“Just think of my lips as the fruit roll-ups of love... okay, that was just gross.”
-- Xander to Anya, who loves her some fruit roll-ups

“This is the crack team that foils my every plan? I am deeply shamed.”
-- Spike,