SLEEPER; something nasty in the basement....

[joxerlives]

SLEEPER

The Good;
Love the gag that Billy Idol stole his image from Spike rather than the other way around. Some very effective horror and some nice comedy with Anya and Spike .

The Bad;
Nothing bad but this is a bridging episode

Best line;
Anya; "If I get bitten I'm going to come back as a vampire and bite your ass!"
Xander (smiling) "Wouldn't be the first time"

Women good/men bad;
When Spike rejects her Anya fears she's fat? (One of my favourite aspects of Terminator;SCC was Cameron's attempts to fit in as an American high school girl which she largely mastered by remembering the phrases "Bitchwhore much?" and "Does this make me look fat?")

Jeez!;
Spike biting pretty coeds

Kinky dinky;
Naked Spike under the sheets. Anya suggests some kinky stuff with the stake and says unsouled Spike would have her upside down and halfway to her happy place when souled Spike rejects her. Spike has no problem picking up women who seem a satire on the Spikettes. Xander seems to have a pornographic magazine on his table when Spike walks out. The bouncer is happy to let a girl as hot as Buffy in the club for free. She describes Spike as sallow but in a hot way. See also best line.

Captain Subtext;
The vamp at the Bronze suggests she'll take the boy and Spike can take the girl or 'the other way around'.

Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;

Missing scenes;

Apocalypses; 7,

Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage: Spike at the end for the first time since he became a Scooby.
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; 1

Scoobies knocked out: Xander by Spike
Buffy: 19
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 15
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;5
Dawn; 4
Tara; 1

Kills: 1 vamp Spike, 7 vamps for Buffy (will she reach the magic 200 kills before the end of the series?)
Buffy: 117 vamps, 60 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+1 human.
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; 9 vamps and 6 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon

Scoobies go evil: Spike and how
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: 12
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara

Sunnydale deaths; another 2 civies
101

Total number of scoobies: 6,
Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, 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:
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?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 2 possible, Dracula+RJ(?)
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; 2 Buffy and Anya
Anya; 2 Spike and Xander
Dawn in peril; 13
Dawn the bashful virgin; 9
What the fanficcers thought;

Questions and observations;
Xander refers to CSI (another point against Normal Again being true). He also remembers Holden Webster from SDH referring to him as 'Webs' (but then he'd have gone to school with him longer than Buffy did). One assumes the harmonica player Buffy passes is The First as he plays 'early one morning' and The First knows what Buffy is wearing when it appears later. Aimie Mann is great and she plays one of my favourite tunes from the Radio Sunnydale album. Oddly the vamp at the Bronz speaks of her and Spike being 'soul mates'. Vamps in the basement are very Evil Dead. What's the First's plan for them, is it just building an army to try and take over Sunnydale?
Marks out of 10; 7/10

[Jaz ♀♀]

What's the First's plan for them, is it just building an army to try and take over Sunnydale?

I didn't really get that too. I just assume that the more evil roaming around in Sunnydale, the better so the First wanted Spike to do it. But for someone as important as Spike, the task seems pretty mundane and the First could have gotten anyone else to do it. So maybe the First was also testing his 'sleeper' song to see if it's working on Spike to the First's satisfaction and the First had him do that?

[Randi Giles]

Dec 21, 2009 3:57:04 GMT -5 joxerlives said:

One assumes the harmonica player Buffy passes is The First as he plays 'early one morning.

I always wondered about that.

BTW - one of my favorite scenes in this episode is when Spike and Buffy are arguing in his room. Just thought it was good acting from the both of them. Especially SMG.

Plus another bad in this episode. Spike crying begging Buffy to stake him. I can't bare to watch that scene. It annoys the hell out of me.