Spiral

Spiral
Written by Stephen DeKnight
Directed by James A. Contner

Original Airdate: April 24, 2001

Plot: Buffy and Dawn barely escape Glory after the hell-god discovers the true identity of the key. In order to get away from Glory, Buffy and the Scooby-gang flee in Spike's Winnebago. However, the Knights of Byzantium pursue the Key, intent on destroying it.

Review

Warning: The power of the SPOILERS for the latest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Spiral" is simply overwhelming. The simplest thing to do ot avoid them is to turn back now.

In short: Another solid outing.

Last week, Buffy left us at a major crossroads--at long last, Glory found her Key. Now, the question was--what would she do about it?

The answer is: pursue it at all costs.

And the other question--what will Buffy do about it?

Of course, on some level, as a fan, I realize that in order for Glory's plan to come to fruition, she will have to capture Dawn. But what I didn't realize is just how entertaining, suspenseful and edge-of-your-seat Joss and company would make that journey.

I've got to give credit, once again, to Stephen DeKnight for a nicely done script. His last script was "Family Ties" back in January when Dawn found out her true identity. And now, here we have a story dealing once again with secrets revealed and their consequences. And all of it was nicely done.

I've also got to give credit to James A. Contner for the direction of the scenes in the Winnebago. The battle around the Winnebago and on top of it was some of the best directed and edited I've seen on the show. And for a series that makes a lot of its bread and butter on believable fight scenes, that is high praise. There was obviously a lot of dedication--not only from the director, but from the actors and the stunt doubles and the technical people who all brought that to life. That scene along was unnerving and compelling. Watching Buffy battle the Knights on top of the Winnebago remidned me in a lot of ways of the battle on the tank from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

But, one battle scene doesn't a good episode make.

What made this episode a nicely done one was the character scenes and the sheer amount of information we found out about Glory and her plan. Indeed, ever since Ben almost revealed the true nature of the Key and Glory's power back in January, I've been eagerly anticipating getting some larger details of the entire picture. And, at long last, we got some.

The idea that Glory is a deposed ruler of a hell-like dimension--and that she was thrown out for being too cruel is interesting. It also explains her all-consuming desire to get back home and to find the Key. And to hear the exact nature of what the Key is and what it can do was nicely done. I can even buy that the fate of the entire universe is at stake (no pun intended) this time instead of just the world. (But then again, I'm a Doctor Who fan and the Doctor and company save the entire universe on a pretty consistent basis, so it's not really anything new there!)

And we certainly found out that Glory's had other plans for her victims other than just feeding off them. (Why she feeds off them is something I'm not quite clear on yet..but we do have two more episodes to find out). But, it appears as though it wasn't just feeding, but it was a task of raising more minions for her. If that's so, then it brings up a question--when Ben becomes Glory at the deserted gas station, why doesn't Tara side with Glory? It's interesting. Perhaps it's only a signal to now come forward and the real task of defending Glory will come as the true use for the Key begins.

Another point that was nicely done was Buffy's continued self-reliance. Indeed, she became almost general-like in the story. She was the one making the decisions, trying to plot strategies. She also kept herself at a distance from her troops. Indeed, in the Winnebago, Buffy retreats to a back room to think and we constantly see her as being apart from the Scooby gang. Also, we see her forcefulness as she insists that Spike has to come along as it's of good strategic value in trying to go up against Glory. Buffy's also rock solid determination that no one will die on her watch is superbly done. And it certainly makes the final scene that much more powerful as Buffy finally is forced to retreat not only physically from her friends but mentally as well. How this plays out in the next two episodes should be interesting.

Another point of interest is the magical power Willow has.

And how much of it seems to be a dark power. We saw last week that her eyes turned black when she used the dark powers to confront Glory. And this week, we saw this come through again. It honestly makes me wonder if Willow hasn't opened a door and is now on a path that will lead her to greater danger than before. She certainly has shown she can cast dark spells and will do it. I wonder if without Tara's centering influence, if her journey to the dark side of magic might not be accelerated. And I also noticed this week and last that her eyes got to look like Doc's when he was casting spells a few weeks back. That is certainly something to keep watch for in the coming weeks.

And, again, all of the supporting cast got moments to shine. Again, I will point out just how good Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters and Michelle Trachtenberg were. And Nicholas Brendon got some nice time as well--and I have to admit I enjoyed Xander's Sergeant Rock references--though I wondered if he might not be more of the G.I. Joe generation.

Overall, I really liked the episode. It's certainly set the stage for the story to come. And it did it in a way that was utterly edge-of-your-seat.

But, that doesn't mean it was perfect.

One big thing really comes to mind.

Namely, Ben coming to help Giles. Now, I understand that Buffy called him and he came.

But, way back in "Blood Ties" Dawn witnessed Ben transform into Glory. And it seems as though she might warn Buffy of this danger. Or at the very least, Ben should have left as soon a he was done stabilizing Giles. Indeed, his line of "wearing out his welcome" came true in a huge way when he transformed from himself into Glory.

But that kept bugging me--simply that Dawn should have warned Buffy.

But, I will admit that the scene had me going, "Get him out of there!" and talking back to the TV while it played out. And I've rarely spoken to the on-screen characters. Well, at least not since the Farscape season finale when I was literally yelling for Crichton to do something to save Aeyrn. (If you've seen it, you know what I'm referring to. If not, why aren't your watching Farscape yet?!? Outside of Buffy, it's the best show on TV, hands down).

Well, that's about it for now, except a few small things...

--Anya's wanting to cook Spam was pretty funny. I wonder if she knows just how bad Spam really is.

--Spike's getting his hands sliced open to buy Buffy time to kick some Knights of Byzantium behind was nicely done. The scream of pain from Spike as she goes up top to battle the Knight was great.

--I loved the scenes between Dawn and Buffy. The writers have really got the whole big sister/little sister relationship down.

Well, that's about it for now. All in all, a nice episode that kept the momentum toward the season finale coming. This story is picking up speed each week and, honestly, seven days are far too many to wait for the next installment.

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Glory's got the Key and Buffy is MIA inside her own mind...