Checkpoint

Checkpoint
Written by Douglas Petrie & Jane Esponsen
Directed by Nick Marck

Original Airdate: January 23, 2001

Plot: The Watcher's Council arrives in Sunnydale with news on who Glory is and how to stop her. However, they refuse to share the information until Buffy paces a series of tests to prove she is worthy to have the information. And Glory steps up her campaign to find out where the Key is.

Review

Warning: This is the final "Checkpoint" to be SPOILER free for the latest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you haven't seen it yet and want to be SPOILER free, I strongly suggest you turn back now.

In short: An intriguing episode with a lot of revelations.

One of the things that I've come to respect the most about Buffy over the years is the fact that episodes that have a major impact on the season-long story arch don't necessarily have to take place during a "sweeps" event. Instead, Joss Whedon and company have rewarded long-time viewers by giving vital clues to the growing season dilemma over the course of the entire season, which is something that I really like. For one thing, it makes every episode of Buffy virtually a "must-see" and for another it keeps the season-long momentum going over the course of the entire season instead of sporadically coming up.

And once again, Joss and company have done that with "Checkpoint."

There were certainly quite a few revelations about the season-long plotline revealed. All of them interesting. And, yet again, Joss and company have made the two-week wait for a new episode to see how some of these revelations begin to play out, seem that much longer.

The first thing I liked about "Checkpoint" was the long-term continuity issues that were dealt with. Ever since Buffy quit the Watcher's Council at the end of season three, I have been patiently waiting for there to be some long-term consequences to that choice. Or at least some fall-out or ramifications to it. It's nice to see that finally came to a head with "Checkpoint." I liked seeing the Council try to have Buffy jump through hoops in order to gain the information she so desperately needs in order to defeat Glory.

I found it fairly predictable that the Council would be unhappy with Buffy and her training methods. But I liked it. Basically because it's shown how far Giles as a character has grown over the past five years. In the beginning of Buffy, Giles was just as stuffy as the rest of the Watcher's Council was portrayed in this episode. But over the years, a bond has grown between he and Buffy. He has become more of a father-figure to her and a friend than just her Watcher. He's become a confidant for the most earth-shattering of news from Buffy and has been very supportive. (Indeed, as I think about it, I doubt that five years ago, Buffy could have or would have shared the news with Giles that Dawn in the Key, simply because they don't have the trust and the inherent give-and-take relationship they do now).

And I also liked Buffy's intense loyalty to Giles and the rest of the Scooby gang. Buffy's confrontation of the Council at the end of the episode was riveting and definitely in keeping with the theme of the season about reunifitying the Scooby gang. That scene had echoes of "Family" with the Scooby gang standing together as a united front against whatever the world may throw at them. Buffy's speech to the Council that they needed her more than she needed them was nicely done and extremely stirring. (In most cases with episodes written by two writers, you can sort of tell who wrote which scene, but this one threw me. Both Petrie and Espenson have proved they have the ability to create this kind of intense, dramatic scene in the past, so I can't really give credit to one of the other. However, I will give credit to both of them for crafting this remarkable scene).

And certainly the Council's reaction to Buffy was nicely done. Indeed, the whole room felt and looked like a series of clones of Wesley from when he first arrived. And to see them taken aback by the sheer in-your-face power of the Slayer was nicely done.

And while we've closed one chapter of Buffy's life--being estranged from the Council--we've opened another--her working with them again. It will be interesting to see if and how life has changed in the past two years.

This sense of closure to that long running plot thread gives me hope that some new ones will develop over the course of this season and the next . (And I've got to wonder how the Council will react to finding out how closely in touch with the First Slayer Buffy got in "Restless" last year).

As for the rest of the plot, it was hit or miss.

I found the plotline of Glory to be the most intriguing. Her search for the Key has certainly taken on a new intensity. The scene at Buffy's house where she confronted the Slayer about the exact location of the Key was superbly done. The tension throughout the scene was palatable. All the actresses involved--Sarah Michelle Gellar, Claire Kramer and Michelle Trachtenburg, deserve a thumbs up for making it so delightfully tense. It also brought up an interesting plotpoint--obviously Glory can't recognize the Key just by looking at it. So, on that level, Dawn is safe is she just passes Glory while walking down the street. Or at least that's what I assume based on the scenes that transpired here.

However, while I liked Glory's stepped up campaign to find the key, it felt a bit odd. We've not heard from her for several episodes. I find it hard to believe that she's just sat around all this time waiting for something to happen. I wish we'd seen a scene or two with her searching for the key or getting frustrated by not being able to find it. That would have made her decision to step up the intensity to find the Key a bit more interesting.

As for the revelation, that she's a god, we'll have to wait and see how this plays out. Certainly it will be interesting to see Buffy go up against her. And I'd love to see more of Glory's background revealed over the next couple of episodes.

As for Ben, I was less convinced. He's had so little impact on the storyline other than be revealed as the one who has come to clean up Glory's mess. And he didn't really seem all the convincing here. I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. But I will admit that this character screams for some background and soon. He can't just be Mr. Goodguy who cleans up after Glory's evil. I'd like to see a few scenes that deal with his motivation or his reasons for doing this. Or maybe if he and Glory had a falling out and how.

So, I guess that's about it for now, except a few small things...

Joyce and Spike bonding over "Passions" was classic...

--I liked the interrogation of the Scooby gang by the Council. All of those scenes were extremely funny.

--Again, Willow and Tara's sexuality. The past two episodes with Jane's name of them, the subject of it has become more of a joke and a way to define the characters than who they are. I don't mind that Buffy has two characters who are gay, but I do mind that it's only being brought up for a cheap laugh. If I wanted to see cheap laughs based on misunderstandings about sexual identity, I'd watch "Three's Company." OK, off soap box now..

--Glory's a god...but she doesn't know how to use a phone book to look up Buffy?

--Speaking of which--just how did she find Bufy's house? I'm assuming that the address would be under Joyce Summers, not Buffy Summers if she did go the whole phone book route. As would Joyce's hospital records, which her minions might have looked at.

--I want to know why Glory needs to feed on human brains. What is that she takes from them that keeps her sane? Is this her weakness? Can it be exploited?

--I loved the scene with her minion where she got perilously close to sucking his sanity out.

--Isn't about the time for Buffy to celebrate her b'day? I figured this episode might have some mention of it.

So, all-in-all, I've got to admit that I liked this one. It had some definite plotpoints and it gave us some hints to the future. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. (Man, is it going to be a long two weeks!)

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: A repeat...and then four new episodes. See you in two weeks!