"Why can't you just masturbate like the rest of us?"
We’ve just had an episode of Angel all about redemption; now it’s time for Buffy, and Andrew, to do the same. And who better to handle the required mix of comedy and serious themes than Jane Espenson?
It’s always risky to handle a character like Andrew who is, as we are forcefully reminded, a murderer, and use him as a comic foil. It’s to Buffy’s credit that, looked at overall, they get the balance right. It’s clever to frame the episode around Andrew filming the Scoobies for a supposed documentary, to have all kinds of funny and court-wall breaking fun, but then to undercut that, as the episode does, that Andrew is simply playing the outside observer role to escape from the terrible thing he did when being active. He tells stories to his own advantage, and this is where Buffy forces him to face up to the truth.
The ending is edgy, of course, as Buffy seems about to kill him- again emphasising the hard edge she’s had of late, with the prospect of the biggest armageddon yet. And we end with the unanswered question of “What if the tears didn’t work?”
This is all cleverly mixed in with the urgent need to close that door in the cellar, of course, which is causing unsustainably enormous Hellmouth activity. This loose end is tied up, but Robin’s vengeful hatred for Spike continues. And it appears that Anya and Xander may be reconciling as they have some good sex- is this a one-off, or...?
Jane Espenson seldom disappoints. Is this her last episode? Is this the last light-hearted episode? It’s tome to ask those questions: not too long to go now.
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