Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Who’s responsible? Teleplay is credited to Drew Greenberg ("Him").

What did Herc say about this one in his Jan. 24 "Buffy" spoilers? The Scoobs come to suspect Giles isn’t Giles, and the circumstances behind the former watcher’s brush with harbinger death are at last laid bare. Spike’s brainchip starts sparking and smoking, and the Initiative gets re-involved. Former rodent Amy returns just as Kennedy starts sitting much closer to Willow.

What does TV Guide say? "Willow undergoes a disturbing change in appearance following a night out with Kennedy (Iyari Limon); Spike is beset by unexplained headaches; Giles takes the Potentials on a mystical retreat. Amy: Elizabeth Anne Allen. Giles: Anthony Stewart Head. Andrew: Tom Lenk. Warren: Adam Busch."

The big news? Willow not only looks like Warren, she’s actually turning into Warren, getting all evil and murderous.

The bigger news? When The Initiative finally shows up (sans Marc Blucas), Buffy has a choice to make: "Agent Finn said it was your call, ma’am," reveals the commanding officer. "All decisions regarding Hostile 17 are to be left in your hands. This chip: We can either repair it - or remove it."

Is Giles really Morphy? Or did a magical forcefield spare our favorite watcher? Giles turns out to be highly touchable, but we don’t learn this week many specifics of how he avoided becoming Nearly Headless Rupert. We do learn that Robson, the watcher Giles was talking to during the near-decapitation, also survived.

Does Spike finally lose the brain-chip the Initiative installed three and a half years ago? Not this week.

I heard Willow turns into Warren. What’s that about? Is fellow witch Amy involved? Willow theorizes she’s done something to herself, as she did last autumn in "Same Time, Same Place." When Willow seeks the assistance of her old campus coven, she’s surprised to find Amy among them.

Just how close does Willow sit to Kennedy? Close enough for their lips to make contact? Yep! (Willow’s first post-Tara smooch is actually what seems to trigger her Warrenocity.

How many "potential guys" turn up this week? Only Kennedy appears this week; the other potentials are always lurking just off camera

Why wasn’t Chloe around last week? Was she helping Giles pick up the Chinese slayerette? No light is shed on this matter.

How does Buffy react to the news two episodes ago that Morphy’s plans are somehow tied to one of Buffy’s resurrections? This revelation again goes undiscussed. So perhaps it wasn’t really as important or useful as anticipated?

What’s doing with Xander, Anya, Dawn and Andrew? Buffy is busy helping Spike, so when Robson phones in his suspicion, the rest of the Scoobs take it upon themselves to rescue the potentials from a potentially fake Giles.

Does the suspicious Principal Wood lurk about? Not this week.

What’s good? The hot lesbian dating action, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s reading of "That’s not exactly how I put it," the unexpected choice afforded Buffy, the context in which Xander calls Andrew "loser."

What’s not so good? There’s a joke about touching girls on a camping trip that may strike many as terribly out of character. We don’t get to learn this week what Buffy decides. As with the last handful of episodes, one senses that series mastermind Joss Whedon didn’t put a lot of time into a polish.

How does it end, spoiler-boy? "I’ll make you some tea."