POTENTIAL; Amanda, Xander and Dawn's moment....

[joxerlives]

POTENTIAL

The Good;
Amanda, by far my favourite Potential, love her to bits, the way she talks is rather reminiscent of Dana Scully from the X-files. She comes just ahead of Vi who is also great (so nice to have Felicia on Dollhouse). Great stuff from Dawn too, fun training scenes and the final scene with Xander is too wonderful for words.

The Bad;
How can Spike attack the Potentials? What about his chip? Equally he can kill the Bringers, are they not wholly human?

Best line;
Xander; (to Dawn) "You're not special. You're extraordinary" (how true!)

Women good/men bad;
Andrew refers back to the female legacy of Eve. Actually we'll soon see where the real legacy of the Slayer began and it's not too empowering for the girls in question.

Jeez!;
Amanda wants to unleash the vamp on the marching band?

Kinky dinky;
During the training session Buffy ends up straddling Spike and feeling him up beneath his shirt. The Potentials comment that 'That's hot' and ask if they're expected to make out with the vampires? (they seem to like the idea but that's Slayers for you) They also wonder how Buffy knows that Spike's crypt is comfy and seem to be peeking at Xander whilst he's in the shower at the Summer's house. What a load of saucy minxes! Amanda thinks that a guy who picks on her is quite cute. A sadomasochistic fondness for bad boys who make her miserable? All the makings of a Slayer RIGHT THERE! She just needs to get tied up and knocked out a few times. Buffy obviously thinks the same as she draws a comparison between Amanda and her tormentor and her and Spike. Rhona says she likes the feel of wood in her hand (Joss gives 15 year old girls this kind of dialogue? Worse than Dawn's 'Meat party in my mouth' line). Andrew says he hate's his free will. Dawn may have injured 'something she'll need later in life' whilst climbing into the school. She considers Xander's army training sexy and get's a kiss from him at the end (awwwww!).

Captain Subtext;
The obvious subtext here is that Dawn finally has a house full of girls of her age but they're all special because they're Potentials and she's not, Buffy is spending all her time with them and giving them her attention and she's excluded even though she's already killed a vampire and a demon. So close but so far. Dawn admires a girl in her gym class as a 'glamazon', interesting phrasing! She also considers being a sailor as she likes the water, well you know what all the nice girls like? Vi says the demon bar is like a gay bar, has she been to many? Clem once again resembles Buffy's gay best friend whilst Xander is referred to as the one who sees which will have greater significance later in the season. Buffy and Spike getting closer and closer.

Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy and Spike lock the girls into a crypt with a vamp, awfully like the Cruciantenam?

Scoobies to the ER;

Missing scenes;

Apocalypses; 7,

Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 2
Dawn; 4
Spike; 2

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 20
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 15
Will: 9
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;7
Dawn; 4
Tara; 1
Spike; 1

Kills: Spike kills a Bringer as does Buffy. 1 vamp for Amanda and 1 vamp for Kennedy (although that's more of a group effort)
Buffy: 118 vamps, 60 demons, 6 monsters, 10 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human/1 god.
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human.
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon, 2 humans
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 9 vamps and 6 demons+1 human
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon
Kennedy; 1 human+1 vampire
Amanda; 1 vampire

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1
Buffy; 1
Spike; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1
Anya; 2

Recurring characters killed: 13
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara, Quentin Travers.

Sunnydale deaths;
103

Total number of scoobies: Add Amanda so 13. HOWEVER where is Chloe this week? (doesn't look good for her) Or Molly?
Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Anya, Spike, Giles, Kennedy, Molly, Vi, Chloe, Rhona, Amanda

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1
Buffy; 1
Tara; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 2 possible, Dracula+RJ(?)
Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore
Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya
Anya; 2 Spike and Xander

Dawn in peril; 14

Dawn the bashful virgin; 9

What the fanficcers thought;
No shortage of Dawn the Vampire Slayer fics out there. Also Dawn and Amanda are a pretty popular slashfic couple. www.fanfiction.net/s/3019594/1/The_Circle (don't worry, non adult)

Questions and observations;
Bloody long teaser, almost a mini-ep in itself. Rhona comments that the 'black chick always gets it first'. Actually one of the points of the Scream series was that black people were very seldom the victims (possibly because most slasher flicks are set in small, middle-class rural towns with an overwhelmingly white population). Buffy once again shows her mettle as a general, her training of the Potentials is masterful. She makes first reference to the big dessert at the end of the meal, believing in heaven and telling the Potentials to expect their big reward, very Christian. Dawn warns the Potentials to be careful with their crossbows hinting at Miss Kitty's fate. Love Dawn's little smile when Amanda says that people say Buffy is a high-functioning schizophrenic, again the Slayer an open secret. Dawn seems very innovative fighting the vamp and the Bringers, she's a regular MacGyver. Dawn seems to remember Oz and gives another little smile when Xander mentions him. Adore Amanda, Sarah Hagan is wonderful (was so proud of myself when I spotted her as one of Ally McBeals childhood friends in a flashback). You should check her out on IMDB, she's really blossomed, looks like Katy Perry now.

Marks out of 10; controversial I'm sure but I love Amanda, I love Dawn, I love the final scene and I love this ep so 10/10 from me.

[Jaz ♀♀]

How can Spike attack the Potentials? What about his chip? Equally he can kill the Bringers, are they not wholly human?

Hmm, it does look like Vi is in pain when he twists her arm behind her back, but maybe it's not activated because he knows he's not really out to harm her or the other girls. In season 5 ep "Fool for Love" when he and Buffy are in the alley fighting Buffy asks "It didn't hurt?" (the chip) and he says " If there's no intent to hurt you, then that chip they shoved up my brain never activates. If, on the other hand..." (then he vamps out and tries to seriously hurt her and without even touching her, he ends up in pain).

As for the Bringers, in episode "Storyteller", we see some possessed students go to the Hellmouth entrance and then we see them later turned into newbie Bringers. I'm guessing whatever ritual they did to become Bringers had some demon-y affects and now they have some part-demon in them which Spike is then able to harm.