Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Restless

"Sometimes, I think about two women doing a spell. Then I do a spell by myself…"

Wow. Don't get me wrong, that was brilliant, but it was well weird. For the first time, the Season Finale is not a climax but an epilogue. It's a radical departure from the expected format but, then again, what else would you expect from an episode both written and directed by Joss Whedon.

Obviously, the whole conceit of the first Slayer, and the threat she poses, is all bound up with the idea that Buffy's strength comes from her friends first and foremost: the first Slayer is "not the source of [her] power". This rather brilliantly means that the adversary is easy to defeat, and we can concentrate on the fun to be had in our four protagonists' weird dreams. There are also probably loads of allusions to Apocalypse Now but, er, I haven't actually seen that yet. I will, soonish.

It's a bit convenient that Riley is no longer in trouble with the US government, but it was probably a necessary bit of handwaving. Given the overall coolness of the episode, I'm willing to overlook it. Especially as we get to see not only Joyce and Oz, but also Harmony, Principal Snyder and even a make-up free version of Adam. There are also lots of nods back to earlier in the series- Willow's dream harks back to The Puppet Show way back in the early days, while the sequence of Giles hypnotising Buffy recalls his betrayal of her in Helpless, which is without a doubt the fulcrum of his entire arc. There are some really nice touches, from Willows beautiful calligraphy of a Sappho poem, in Ancient Greek, on Tara's body- fairly obvious subtext there!- to the many other suggestions of sexual guilt and fear of homophobic hostility. And the insecurities of her nerdy past haven't gone away either.

Xander's dream, like Willows, focuses on something that's been shown all season, namely concerns about his direction in life. The scene where everyone starts talking French is a sign that he feels undereducated compared to his peers, and that he's slipping behind. The bit with Giles and Spike on swings, though, is just random coolness. And Giles' dream is a wonderful deconstruction of his exposition-spouting narrative function, managing to combine this with his recent musical exploits by having him sing the exposition. Also, Anya's stand up is gleefully toe-curling. The people waving lighters are a nice touch too, although they don't half date the episode; no one waves lighters at gigs these days, because no bugger smokes.

Buffy's dream, obviously, does all the stuff that I mentioned in the first couple of paragraphs. But there's also an interesting examination of a potential fault line with Riley, with whom I still don't think she's going to stay for long. He's identified with evil government conspiracies, whether they involve thinking coffee makers or not. There's also the hilarious scene with Joyce living in a hole in the wall, a clear signpost towards Buffy's guilt at neglecting her supportive mother.

Finally, there are more interesting hints towards the future and things that will happen, alluding to the bed that appeared in our last dream sequence at the end of last season between Buffy and Faith. Something's going to happen…