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.

Touched

• Immediately following Buffy’s departure, this big group seriously cannot get it together.
• Willow points out that they’re arguing about how to argue.
• Faith tells everyone to get some sleep and they’ll tackle the big stuff in the morning.
• But just before everyone can not panic, the power shuts off.
• All over town…
• Buffy breaks into a house she thinks has been abandoned, but encounters the homeowner wielding a shotgun.
• He takes off when she rambles on about how it’s not his house… or his town…
• Because she sounds like a crazy person and she showed no fear in taking away his gun.
• She wanders into the kitchen and looks in the fridge and asks the guy (who’s now long gone) if he’s got any Tab.
• Uh… It’s not 1987, so I’m guessing not.
• Unless Tab is still a big thing in California?
• Any California readers out there want to chime in?
• Is Tab still a thing?
• Spike and Andrew are still stuck at the monastery until sunset comes back around.
• Faith, the Scoobies, and the Potentials meet in the basement.
• Kennedy is still a spoiled little brat who doesn’t want to follow the leader, even though they were all in agreement that Faith should be in charge last night.
• But Faith puts her in her spoiled brat place.
• And I love her for that!
• Faith’s suggestion is to kidnap one of the Bringers to see if they can get some information from him.
• Meanwhile, Caleb and The First are overseeing a group of Bringers who are hard at work cutting into some pretty solid stone.
• They’re digging for something that they absolutely do not want the Slayer to get her hands on first.
• Kennedy walks through an alley, seemingly pissed about being shut down by Faith.
• Turns out she’s the bait…
• She’s attacked by three Bringers and the others spring the trap, killing two of the Bringers and capturing the third.
• Interrogation doesn’t go so well starting out… since the Bringers are mute, with their tongues being removed and all.
• Dawn suggests a spell she’s read about that can have someone speak for another who is unable to speak for themselves.
• Spike and Andrew return to the house…
• Spike says he thinks they have a lead and asks where Buffy is.
• Willow informs him of what went down the previous night.
• He’s pissed.
• Spike gives them all a dose of patented Spike truth before Faith steps in and a fight breaks out between the two of them.
• Spike is the first to back down after they both get a few good hits in, then he leaves to track down Buffy.
• Down in the basement, Willow performs the spell and then Andrew begins speaking for the captured Bringer.
• The Bringer has no fear of telling the good guys what they’re all up to… killing the Slayer line off… digging for something important… building weapons to prepare for the coming war…
• He says that they will laugh as they all die one by one…
• By this point, Giles has heard enough and slashes the Bringer’s throat, breaking Andrew out of the spell.
• Spike finds Buffy in the house where she’s crashing.
• He points out that he doesn’t even need an invite anymore… the town really does belong to them now.
• Buffy is wallowing in self pity and asks Spike to leave.
• But he informs her of what he and Andrew learned at the monastery.
• Spike thinks she was spot on about why Caleb and the Bringers are at the vineyard.
• He tries to break Buffy out of her depression, but it’s really no use at the moment.
• Faith and Giles look at a map, trying to decide where to attack the next day, taking the fight to wherever the Bringers are digging.
• Giles tells Faith she’s doing all right, seeing that she doubts herself.
• But when he leaves, The First appears as Mayor Richard Wilkins III, trying to get into Faith’s head.
• Buffy talks things through with Spike…
• She cut herself off from the Potentials, knowing some of them would inevitably die.
• She shuts people out… she always has.
• Because to be the Slayer is to be alone.
• But Spike gives her a good talking to…
• And it’s an incredible speech.
• After this, I can understand why there are still people out there who are Team Spike over Team Angel when it comes to Buffy’s affections.
• He finally shows her that he understands what it means to love her…
• It’s not about wanting her and it’s not about him… it’s about who she is… what she is.
• If a woman gave me the same kind of speech, I’d fall for her right back.
• The First really gets into Faith’s head and Robin walks in just after it vanishes.
• Faith and Robin bond over their First encounters… and they wind up sleeping together.
• Willow goes to her room to inform the Potentials of the plan for tomorrow, but finds only Kennedy.
• Seriously, this relationship makes no sense.
• Kennedy is thoroughly unlikable as a person… I hate that they felt the need to manufacture this relationship for Willow.
• I mean… I kind of get it… but I just don’t buy Willow with this girl.
• So there’s a lot of sex happening the night before the big battle…
• But Spike and Buffy just hold each other.
• The First and Caleb discuss what it’s like for people to be able to feel.
• It’s envious… it wants to feel… to feel its hands wrap around a neck and feel it crack.
• Faith leads a group of Potentials to a potential arsenal and directs the core Scoobies to do some recon on Buffy just to make sure she’s okay.
• Back at the vineyard, Buffy interrupts Caleb and The First by tossing a Bringer down the stairs.
• “Hey! Heard you’ve got something of mine!”
• Uh… Buff… that didn’t work out so well last time.
• At least this time she’s alone, so no Potential fodder.
• Buffy pulls some moves worthy of The Matrix and Caleb can’t even land a punch.
• Faith and her crew find an arsenal of weapons in a dark underground lair.
• But they’re not alone… many Bringers jump out and attack.
• The girls kill six Bringers for sure… probably more.
• Caleb gets mad in his attacks and makes a mistake, revealing the underground cave to Buffy…
• She slides in and finds a pretty mythical looking scythe embedded in stone.
• That’s the good news.
• The bad news is that Faith and the Potentials uncover a bomb that has a timer.
• And that timer is fast approaching zero.
• Body count: Bringers – 9