Buffy is back, but there's something very wrong. Will she snap back to her normal self or has something gone wrong with her resurrection? And what is the strange presence that is haunting Willow and Tara?

I'd dearly like to give this episode four stars, but I can't quite manage it as it's too predictable. Now, this may partly be because I read interviews with Joss Whedon during the hiatus where he pretty much revealed the twist at the end of this story, but even if I hadn't known, I doubt I would have been that surprised with Buffy's revelation that she was ripped from Heaven, not Hell.

There are a lot of reasons to like this story. Firstly, the writing of the characters has rarely been better. Xander has finally come into his own, with Nicholas Brendon still getting comedy but interspersed with some powerful dramatic speeches that demonstrate just how he feels about Buffy's return. Anya also seems to have evolved, and while she is still very tactless, someone plain-speaking is exactly what the group needs right now to appreciate exactly what they've done.

It doesn't all go the way I was expecting. I thought Buffy's first reaction would be 'What the hell have you done?' to her friends, but it's more subtle than that. Her confiding in Spike is a clever way to demonstrate the change in her, and her acceptance of him as a friend who knows what it is like to come back from the dead. James Marsters gives one of his best performances as Spike reacts to what has happened, having a very telling talk with Xander and show real depth of emotion that is incredibly affecting to watch.

There is a lot of high emotion here delivered exceptionally well by all involved, but my couple of problems with the story are the fact that this gets in the way of a real plot, which seems to be stitched in to provide a villain and that it is wrapped up way too obviously and easily. I'd rather it concentrated on one or the other rather than trying to prise both in together. It's definitely close to being four stars, but it's not quite pacy enough to make it in my opinion.

***

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