"I have to get away from that bad boy thing. There's no good there."
It's good that we have an episode focusing on Willow, and the way she's still hurting from the Oz thing, as she naturally would be. Once again, Alyson Hannigan is amazing. Willow may be a very sensible and level-headed person, and able to hide the pain she's feeling, but she's very brittle- and it's interesting that only Spike can see this. Once again he shows himself to be a shrewd judge of character.
This episode goes in two directions, though. On the one hand it's a comedy, and a very, very good one. On the other, watching it with the benefit of hindsight it seems full of foreshadowing. It's an episode about Willow dangerously abusing her magical powers while in a state of grief. There's even an allusion to lesbianism, which has to be deliberate foreshadowing. (And, yes, I heard Riley say "I think it's not straight" while adjusting the banner. Groan.)
I could make similar comments about what happens to the other characters. Yes, it all works very well indeed as comedy. It's funny to see Buffy and Spike all lovey-dovey and forever switching between fighting and getting it on but…. Well, foreshadowing. As for Xander being a demon magnet and Giles being blind, well… that's biting character commentary for you. Giles is more and more outside the loop this season and Xander…. Well, is an explanation even necessary? This is all very metatextual, and metatextual fun is one of the best things in the world.
The single best moment, though, is the one second of naked, smiling Amy! Funniest thing since, well, the last thing I declared to be the funniest thing since whatever the funniest thing before that was. Or something.
There's just one thing I don't like about the whole Willow side of the episode, though; Buffy, Xander and Anya are downright horrible to her in the Bronze. It's not as though she's an alcoholic, or even someone who normally drinks at all. Using drink to drown you sorrows is not generally a good thing to do very often (the whole point of alcohol is fun with your friends), but Willow's doing it just this once, which strikes me as perfectly healthy, normal and even constructive in that a bit of fun will do her good. She doesn't even seem to be that drunk, and there's a suspicious lack of hangover in the morning. The Scoobies, and Xander especially, are mean and horrible for taking Willow's beer away from her. Although, it must be said, that lager looks horrid. Give me a pint of Beacon any day.
Also, Buffy's hair is permy and bad. This must change, and soon.
Other stuff? The Buffy / Riley stuff continues to tread water (it can't do that much more), but it's good that Buffy seems finally to be over her ex. Spike continues to be fun, and the whole premise of this episode is a clever way of subtly inserting him properly into the Scooby Gang dynamics. Also, I enjoyed the impotence metaphors early on. And the completely reasonably attitude of D'Hoffryn when Willow refuses the offer to become a vengeance demon. He leaves her his talisman, though…
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