Welcome to Rewatching Buffy, the part of the blog where I rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each Tuesday evening, you’re invited to join me as I attempt to rediscover what made me love this show so many years ago.

Entropy

• The nerd trio are chasing down a vampire duo on ATVs.
• I think that’s cheating.
• They need some kind of disc that they’re carrying.
• The vampires get away, but not for long.
• Because Buffy.
• Warren manages to grab the dropped disc while Buffy is fighting and Spike is holding back the second vampire.
• Spike threatens to drop the other vampire while she’s busy with the first one unless she tells her friends about them.
• She points out that she tried to kill her friends and Dawn last week and they don’t hate her, so she doesn’t much care if Spike drops that news.
• In the meantime, Buffy has no problem dusting both vamps.
• Xander’s at home, drinking alone.
• When he leaves, we see that Anya is back in town and keeping an eye on him as he walks away.
• Willow and Tara are building back toward relationship status with more awkward encounters in the halls of UC Sunnydale.
• Buffy takes Dawn out for a “sisters day” but they can’t really go into any stores because they’re all places where Dawn got caught stealing.
• She’s returned most of what she stole and what she couldn’t return, she’s working on paying for.
• Back in the Nerdcave, Jonathan is working on some sort of chemistry/magic experiment that has something to do with the disc dropped by the vampires earlier.
• He’s clearly regretting the whole super villain shtick.
• Warren and Andrew aren’t really saying it, but the implication is that they’re going to eliminate Jonathan soon.
• Xander returns home and Anya is sitting there waiting.
• She won’t let him get close to her, but he tries to explain what he did.
• He still loves her and wants to take away the pain he caused…
• But that’s not so easy to do.
• What it boils down to is that Xander just doesn’t want to get married, despite how he feels about Anya.
• His honesty is only pissing her off.
• He tells her that he wishes things could just go back to the way they were before.
• And Anya’s face transforms as she wishes Xander had never been born!
• Oh, but a vengeance demon can’t grant her own wishes.
• So Xander still exists.
• Anya tries to wish other torturous things, but nothing’s happening.
• Clearly she’s not aware of the thing where she can’t grant her own wishes.
• Frustrated, she walks out.
• Then she meets Halfrek for coffee.
• Halfrek breaks the news that she can’t exact vengeance on her own behalf.
• She suggests trying to get someone to make the wish for her.
• Buffy is continually trying to make up for the guilt she feels over the whole basement thing.
• This time it’s making Dawn a huge breakfast.
• Dawn suggests that instead of Buffy hanging out with her, that she hang out with Buffy… patrolling.
• Buffy’s not sure she’s ready for Dawn to be involved in that kind of danger.
• But let’s think about this… Dawn is about the same age as Buffy was when she started slaying in the first place.
• Anya “bumps into” Willow and Tara at the coffee shop.
• She wants one of them to wish something horrible on Xander.
• Then she tries with Dawn.
• Then she tries with Buffy.
• Doesn’t really work…
• Xander shows up while Anya is talking with Buffy in front of the house.
• Buffy stops Xander from following Anya as she storms off.
• In his frustration, he kicks and breaks a garden gnome, leading to the discovery of a spy camera.
• Who could try to spy on Buffy?
• Xander thinks it’s Spike… so Buffy goes to confront him.
• Of course, for the audience, the obvious answer is the nerd herd.
• Why wouldn’t that be the first guess for the Scooby Gang?
• It’s not like the trio has been super stealthy about anything else they’ve done.
• Anya and Halfrek discuss the Xander problem some more, since she’s having trouble coming up with someone who doesn’t care if Xander gets hurt.
• Enter Spike looking for something magical to get rid of his pesky Buffy feelings.
• Instead of magic, Anya suggests whiskey.
• Willow is able to connect the spy camera to the computer to trace the signal back to the nerds.
• Because that’s just something everyone could do in the early 2000s.
• In the Nerdcave, Jonathan uses the disc to locate something on the map of Sunnydale.
• But what are they trying to locate?
• Spike and Anya get nice and drunk, but Spike just won’t use the words “I wish…”
• Willow gets closer to hacking the signal…
• Instead of finding the nerds, she unlocks other cameras.
• Including the Magic Box…
• Where the drunken Spike and Anya begin “comforting” each other… if you know what I mean…
• Well, if Anya wanted to hurt Xander, this is one way to definitely do it.
• And Willow notices the hurt look on Buffy’s face, too.
• Xander grabs an ax and heads off toward the Magic Box.
• Dawn talks with Buffy in the back yard…
• Yep… Buffy and Spike were a thing, but it’s over.
• Spike leaves the store in time for Xander to miss with the swing of the ax.
• Xander starts throwing Spike around.
• Buffy and Anya both arrive to stop Xander.
• In the middle of the verbal tirade, Spike lets it slip that “it was good enough for Buffy.”
• And Xander just walks away… ‘Cause that’s what he does these days.
• Everyone else is heartbroken, but Willow and Tara are back together.
• Guess it’s good that someone can be happy… right?
• Let’s not hold our collective breath, shall we?
• Body count: Vampires – 2