AS YOU WERE; the return of Captain America

[Saturn 5]

AS YOU WERE

The Good;
I never really liked Riley when he was a regular but in small doses I find him much more agreeable (and indeed feel the same way for Connor on Angel)
The Bad;
One thing that always shakes me about this ep is that Riley's wife Sam looks so much like Warren's ex Katrina. Also rather a spoiler when Marc Blucas' name appears in the opening credits. Have a look at the scene where the demon attacks on Main Street Sunnydale, the couple sitting at the coffee shop don't react at all. Since when does Sunnydale have this huge dam just outside it? Why do Riley and Buffy have to dump most of their weapons to go down on the line together, can't they just go down one at a time?
Best line;
Buffy (staring shocked at Riley);"Were you always this tall?" (yes which is one of the reasons he and petite Buffy were so ridiculous as a couple)
Women good/men bad;
Riley says he is in command of Sam. She says 'He wishes'. Buffy says she's not defined by who's she with, the beginning of her cookie dough philosophy.
Jeez!;
Kinky dinky;
Riley walks in on Buffy and Spike. Buffy changes in front of him but he doesn't look (seen it all before?). Buffy and Spike against the tree right in the open outside the Summer's house. Some very risque comments about 'Letting you in' and 'Come outside' that could be open to interpretation. But Buffy's 'He's not getting any gentler' remark gives a different aspect to all this, it seems almost joyless for her. According to Spike he and Buffy have sex for five hours straight but this is the last time they ever will.
Captain Subtext;
Xander is starting to dream of flower bouquets. Riley comments that he's seen enough of Spike's 'dead body' for one night. Willow comments how as a little girl she used to dream about marrying Xander but now seems glad to have ducked the bullet. After the events of 'Older and Farther Away' Buffy and Dawn seem much closer, getting on better, Dawn happy to go to school and kissing an ecstatic Buffy before she leaves.
Spike seems to revel in flashing his nakedness in front of Riley, prompting him to comment that 'I've seen enough of your dead body for one evening'. Anya comments that if Xander is such a big fan of Riley he should just marry him. Buffy says she loves Riley's wife too.
Once again Buffy says of guns "These are never useful" foreshadowing the end of the season.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley's glad to be back in Sunnydale where he knows who to beat for information. Spike objects to Riley's search of his crypt as unconstitutional.
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: one vamp and a dozen demons for Buffy. Weirdly the vamp wears a peace symbol on his jacket.
Buffy: 104 vamps, 55 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 4 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 11
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

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

Scoobies shot: Buffy uses Riley's shotgun and tranquiliser gun but can't hit anything with either. She makes better use of his belt of grenades.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 1 possible, Dracula(?)
Angel: 1;Buffy
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; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Spike is dealing in demon eggs, evil as they come. This seems to open Buffy's eyes to his true nature although she still won't let Riley kill him.
Dawn in peril; 8
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6
Questions and observations;
Obvious allusions to Aliens and all the better for them, Angel;TS will do something very similar in season 5 (also a series with strong female heroine until pt3 ruined the series). Poor Buffy, you feel so sorry for her that she get's rejected for UCSD (but surely she wouldn't have the money to go anyway?). Nice to give Riley some closure after the strained nature of his departure in 'Into the Woods'. Riley comments that Dawn has grown one and a half feet, well probably just eight inches. Note Riley asks if Dawn wants to leave due to the gory details but Buffy now lets her stay for the grown up stuff. Check out Willow's expression at Sam's 'disposable cameras' idea.
What book is Spike reading when Buffy comes into his crypt? It's a very Angel like touch. Riley says that Buffy is the first woman he ever loved and the strongest he knows (better not tell the missus that!). Buffy's final goodbye to Spike is very emotional, especially when she calls him William, that means more than ALL the sex in the world between them.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

[zamolxis]

This is the middle of hypocrite Buffy towards soulless Spike. It begin in Dead Things with acknowledging that she's using him but continues non the less, in here she demands him to tell her he loves her out of her insecurities towards cardboard couple and culminates in Entropy with "it was love for you".

Tell me again who was soulless.

[Saturn 5]

Spike is soulless because he's selling demon eggs that could kill thousands and he doesn't care. Buffy is souled, human and in pain, she goes to Spike in need and he's happy to oblige. It's wrong but forgiveable

[Randi Giles]

I don't think Buffy was soulless she just wanted to feel wanted. And she did admit that she was wrong and being weak. I'm a huge Spuffy fan and non-Riley fan, so this is always a hard episode to watch. In the end though I actually felt bad for Spike and his baby blues, but at the same time it was good to see Buffy finally walk away to find herself and be strong again. 7/10

[emanuele]

Dec 6, 2009 5:45:06 GMT -5 Saturn 5 said:

Spike is soulless because he's selling demon eggs that could kill thousands and he doesn't care. Buffy is souled, human and in pain, she goes to Spike in need and he's happy to oblige. It's wrong but forgiveable

Spike selling demon eggs is the biggest crap written episode ever but it seems you appreciated it.

[Saturn 5]

I think they put the demon eggs in to remind everyone that Spike is evil, he doesn't change, he can't ever be good without his soul, it's to show how much he needs to get it back. It also makes it a lot easier for her to dump him