Alright, so maybe I should tell you a little more about last night's Buffy. Here are some quick thoughts, but not a replay. It doesn't deserve a replay. It was painful enough to sit through once without having to rehash the whole thing.

I think Jane Espenson is also on my list now.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

<SPOILERS>

This episode brought me very little joy. It had some nice moments, but overall, I didn't care much for it.

The good:

-Joyce looked so young and pretty at the beginning, and I loved her interaction with her girls. "Maybe he's a gigolo. Was his shirt shiny?" Cute.

-Joyce looked so, um, well, dead at the end, and I'm really trying not to dwell on that part right now. I did immediately go and tell my own mommy that I love her as soon as the ep ended, though.

-Cute!Sweet!Xander! How I've missed him.

-Anya cracked me up. "Computers, whoa! I'm 1,100 years old. I had trouble adjusting to the idea of Lutherans." Also, her hair looked very pretty, and she seems to have become awfully secure in her relationship with Xander.

-Unlike Tara, who was laying on the jealousy a bit thick, but I'm not going to complain because she actually seemed to have something of a personality tonight. "Just trying out a little spicey talk." Heh.

-Glory: "She turned us down?" Heh.

-Oz! Okay, he wasn't actually there, but thanks to Xander his presence was felt.

-Spike, at the party. You know the line. Followed by the suggestive smirk and eyebrow waggle. That may very well be my single favorite Spike moment ever. Too bad that wasn't his only scene in the show. But what I wouldn't give to know what he whispered in April's ear.

-Ripper. 'Cause he's just so cool.

-Buffy's new found independence, which I've long been wanting despite my 'shipper hopes.

-Britney Spears wasn't available for this ep. If she had been, that would have put it right up over the intolerable scale for me.

The bad:

-Ben's acting.

-Jinx. Is Dreg just gone for good now?

-The shot of April breaking the see-saw looked laughably fake.

-Spike trying to ingratiate himself to the SG was cringe inducing. Oh Snarky Big Bad, where art thou?

The Ugly:

-Ben.

-Dawn's and Anya's treatment of Spike. I expected as much from the rest of the SG, but Anya has always been sympathetic towards Spike, and Dawn's 180 had no context. Maybe if we'd seen or even heard mention that Buffy convinced Dawn that Spike is bad, it wouldn't have been so jarring. But just last week he was her favorite person on the planet, and out of the blue she's all "stay away from me." What's that all about?

-The obliteration of the last remaining shreds of Spike's dignity.

-Just the very idea of Spike ordering up a BuffyBot, especially juxtaposed with Joyce's apparant death.

-Everything that the BuffyBot implies. Please, Joss Whedon, I beg of you, no robot sex. Ever. I'd almost rather watch Buffy make her O face with Ben.

Eww, I just made myself retch.

Overall, this ep left me feeling pretty down. Also, tonight's Angel kicked it's ass on every level, which is rare, but I'm glad I had something to get excited about before I turned off my telly. It actually was recap worthy, but unfortunately I cued the tape wrong, and it ran out less than halfway through the episode, and I don't want to go by memory after just one viewing. Just know that it kicked ass. If you need a summary, Loey's got one.


</SPOILERS>