"It obviously has paranormal origins."
"How can you tell?"
"Well, it's so shiny."

That's right, kids, it's that time again, time for Jean's Weekly Buffy & Angel Prattlings. Spoilers to follow ...


I love Xander Harris. He is exactly the kind of guy I tend to fall for in real life. That's neither here nor there, it just needed to be said, because lately I've found myself falling just a wee bit harder each week for our cranky pale blondie-bear, Spike. Xander will always be my first love, but ... Spike. Spike, Spike, Spike, Spike, Spike. I love you. You rule.

Sorry, I just needed to get that out of the way.

I hear that Riley's going to be leaving the show soon. Good.

The new Big Bad, the Beast, or the Unnamed Evil, whatever ... she was actually pretty funny.

My theory about Dawn was pretty much just wrong. So Buffy's stuck with a little sister, whom she knows is not really her little sister, but rather is the human embodiment of some kind of key to the immortal plane, but she has to go along with the charade to protect the key from falling into the hands of Red Dress and unleashing a terrible evil upon the world. And Dawn has no idea that she's not really Buffy's little sister.

This was really kind of a touching episode for me. Being the middle child, I have both a big sister and a little sister, so I could relate to both sides. I know what it's like to want to hang out with big sis, and how it feels to be ignored and shoved aside, so I really felt for Dawn. I couldn't get angry at Buffy for her attitude, though. See, my big sister is 10 years older than me, so by the time my little sister -- the baby -- was born, big sis was already out of the house and getting ready to start having kids of her own. So for the most part, it was just me and little sister. And do you know what? The baby of the family really does get special treatment, and it's really, REALLY hard to watch. The rules that applied to you and your older sibs just don't seem to apply any more, and if you point out that this is unfair, you're branded the bad guy and accused of being petty and immature. So I completely understood where Buffy was coming from.

However painful sibling rivalry is, though, I wouldn't trade my little sister for anything, so I really liked the ending, with Buffy accepting Dawn and making up with her, and maybe realizing that their relationship is as much a blessing as a curse. Sisters are funny that way.

I don't really have that much to say about Angel. Last night's episode felt a lot more like the season opener than the season opener did. Darla's human. That surprised me. If they mentioned that little tidbit befor, I missed it.

I saw Juliet Landau in the opening credits and said "Yay, Drusilla!" I also saw Elizabeth Rohm in the credits and said "Yay, Kate!" But then they got to Kate and I remembered that she's a whiney little bitch, so I don't think I'll be doing that again.

Gunn is still growing on me.

And I still have "Wang Chung" stuck in my head, but at least it's the original version and not Angel's rendition. Bless his untalented little unbeating heart.

That's it for Jean's Weekly Buffy & Angel Prattlings. Apparantly there won't be any prattlings next week, because there will be reruns. Which pretty much ruins my Halloween plans ...