Buffy The Vampire Slayer

From Tildanet.com :

Holy crap, Caleb is one bad mamba-jamba. I’m sorry to admit it, but I’m a confessed spoiler junkie. I knew what would be going down on "Dirty Girls" a few weeks ago, so the surprise of meeting a wicked cleric named Caleb for the first time was a bit lost on me, but it was still a heck of an episode. This stands as absolute proof that things are most definitely heating up for the big finale. I don’t know about you, but the finale suspense is killing me. Now that that’s been said, let’s get into the story development…

As far as things go between the Wood/Giles/Spike murder plot, it looks things didn’t blow up quite as much as you’d think it would have, but it’s pretty obvious that the hate-tension is really building underneath. We also learn that some of the SIT’s are crashing at Xander’s abode, causing him to have some of the most hilarious dreams ever to be televised. Faith’s arrival was also played quite well, what with Buffy being a bit jittery about the whole deal, but still accepting that it’s for the common good that Faith return to the Slayer Circle. But, the biggest story development that took place would have to be Caleb’s arrival. It seems that The First has a shiny new second-in-command to lead down the dark path.

The character happenings in "Dirty Girls" were also pretty darn high on the ole’ chart, too, I might say. First off, an all new character, Caleb, was introduced. Now we finally know exactly how The First orchestrated the Watcher’s Council bombing, and all the other stuff he’s been doing. I’m also wondering how he got so darn strong, maybe The First endowed him with some uber-mumbo-jumbo. After that, we have some SIT’s biting the big one, due to Caleb’s extremely strong hands. Apart from that, we have Faith and Spike doing some bonding at the chained-up bedside. Did anyone else notice the pissed off, curious look on Buffy’s face when she came down the stairs?

Another large hap was Xander becoming all pirate-esque. I can’t believe they’d do something that drastic to one of the core Scoobs, and it not be like a season finale, or something. After that, there’s no doubt in my mind that they are gonna be pulling out all the stops over the next month or so. I’m gonna start bracing now for some big Scooby deaths that may be coming.

What was great in this one? The comedy, for one thing. Andrew’s confused, Star Trek mix-up explaining of Faith was hilarious, not to mention the visual of Faith at fisticuffs with a Vulcan. Now that is quality TV. Another funny bit was "I made some doodles", that one was pretty good, too. All in all, this stands in my Top 5 episodes for the season. Here’s hoping the next few are able to knock it outta the running.

On the infamous Score-O-Rama, I’m gonna have to give "Dirty Girls" a 4.6/5.0. It rocked major socks.

From Khom.de :

It has started! This week’s "Dirty Girls" was the official start of this season’s Buffy finale, and since it’s the last season, the greatest finale ever - at least, that’s what we all expect.;-) O, how I’ll miss the series! "Dirty Girls" jumpkicked the finale, and it simply was awesome. A new player is in town, a FE priest called Caleb (played by Firefly’s "Cpt. Tight Pants" Nathan Fillion). Since he’s veeeeeery strong, things won’t run too smoothly, even with Faith being back. Is he invincible? Though he wasn’t hurt, I wouldn’t claim he is. Even the Ubervamp seemed to be very strong and could be killed.

If you’ve been disappointed by the last two eps of Angel, don’t be afraid. Awwwwwesome, didn’t I say that just now? Hehe. Let’s focus on the big things:

The FE: Killing the slayerline isn’t everything the FE wants. It seems so preoccupied with other things, it barely finds time to kill all SIT’s, and I guess, that’s why the Bringers and Caleb are around. While the FE did some planning (or cooking, who knows?) the last shows, it’s now back on the slayerline track. After Caleb blew up the Council, he’s now in charge for the killing mission. It seems as if he was one of those fallen priests who like to label girls as "dirty" (hence the title) and kill them, but the FE turned him, and when I got this correctly, he now sees SIT’s (ans slayers) as dirty and - can you guess? - wants to kill them. We may assume he had his share of rituals, since when fighting he went kinda matrixy. Caleb is a servant, "only" a servant as I may add. Possibly, there are more out there - and if the FE is able to make a human being that strong, I am frightened to think of its supernatural allies. However, the coming of Caleb means, whatever the FE has in stock, the Big Bang is near.

Caleb is a classical BtVS villain again, and THANK JOSS he is, no Evil Cordy or Smiling Jasmine style. Since he’s been mentally deranged, he turns out be quite a fanatic, but one with the belief to do the right - and the power to give even a bunch of SIT’s with two slayers a headache. Imagine that! After all those demons Buffy fought alone, we were pretty sure, she’s kinda invincible. And then Faith - at least as strong as Buffy. Not even Snaky Mayor had a chance to survive with Buffy at his heels - two slayers means two gigantic snaky demons, and Caleb didn’t have a problem facing them. He’s more dangerous (and stronger) than two demons, and that means a lot. Or is he?

The strike against him was kinda strange. Not only that it obviously was a trap, but the gang didn’t have anything that remotely looked like a plan. I understand that Buffy wanted action, and I think, from her point of view it was the best thing to do. But action and storming into the trap even with allies doesn’t have to go along. Why didn’t they think of ANY surprise for the bad guys?

Ok, Buffy knew about most of her enemies more than she did now when facing them, and she didn’t know Caleb is more than just a priest. Did she? Well, Shannon told her, he said, the Bringers are his boys - and if this doesn’t indicate, he’s more than a man dressing up like a priest, I don’t know what is.

We don’t know yet what the FE is up to. The big masterplan is still kept secret and there was nothing new to learn (or guess) about it. We had two major theories on this website. I was suggesting in my review of GID, we’ll see in the finale how Buffy will have to close the hellmouth (which implies it has to be opened first) and turn out to be the guardian, not the slayer. Any new hints? I didn’t see any, but at least, it’s still very possible. The second theory suggested, the final battle will end with the banning of all magic and demons from Earth.

Xander: Xander lost one of his eyes. A sign of even worse things to happen to the Scooby Gang? Will it heal? Will Willow make it heal? Why did Caleb didn’t kill him? It wouldn’t have been a problem. He easily broke necks and arms. Does he have plans with Xander? Is the blinding part of some quick ritual? And what does it do? Does it enable Caleb to see through Xander’s eyes? Has it some meaning or is the only reason Caleb didn’t kill Xander the fact that it’s Xander and you can’t kill him like that after seven years of Buffy? No, I don’t think it’s that cheap. I guess, there’s something coming up with that eye.

Faith: Faith is great. She’s the coolest slayer ever. I loved seeing the heat between her and Spike. Gosh, she really was locked up for a long time. But Spike seemed to like that kinda talk, didn’t he? Though she’s an ally now and self-reliant enough to not switch sides again, it’s fun to watch the interaction of both slayers. It’s a shame there won’t be a Faith spin-off next season.

Giles: Things between him and Buffy still are bad - and that’s strange, since Buffy was eager to reconcile with Wood, but not with Giles. Why was that? Most probably, it’s because Wood has a reason to act as he did. After all, Spike killed his mother, so his feelings are understandable. Giles doesn’t have issues with Spike, so perhaps she’s especially angry about what she could see as his betrayal. On the other hand, Giles didn’t try to come to terms with Buffy neither, and that really IS strange. He’s quite sensible and I was sure he’d try to make a first step.

Dawn: I was looking forward to her interaction with Faith. She wasn’t Buffy’s sister in season 3, nor in season 4, and I wasn’t sure if Faith was part of the monk’s spell so she’d remember things that never happened. Faith seemed to know Dawn as far as I could tell, and Dawn definitely knew Faith - and she hated her for trying to kill Buffy.

All in one, it was a worthy kickstart for the finale. The Scoobies lost some SIT’s, Xander an eye - some more are injured. The future looks grim, and it’s gonna be thrilling to see how they turn the tide.;-)

What did you think of this week’s BtVS? Let me know!

Shortcuts: BtVS 7.18. Dirty Girls

What happened? Caleb comes to town, a FE priest. He has supernatural strength, lures Buffy into a trap, kills some SIT’s (and Xander’s right eye) and sets everything up for the big finish. Neither Giles nor Buffy tried to reconcile, Faith had a gorgeous scene with Spike (*gasp*), and at the end, Caleb won the confrontation.

Topics addressed? The development of the Buffy/Giles relationship stalled, and things focussed on the FE and its ally, Caleb.

Any strange things? The gang didn’t make any plan for storming Caleb’s shelter - which is quite strange, since they saw the Harbringers gathering around the place and they DID know or at least could have guessed, the FE is involved. Though Caleb had the means to, he didn’t kill Xander - which could mean, his eye is not just lost. Giles was passive and didn’t try to reconcile with Buffy. Anya wasn’t seen around, and there was no explanation given why she was away.

Was it good or not? The fight preparations could have been better (it’s not clear how easily Caleb can be defeated if there is plan), but it still was great. Five stakes out of five! And don’t complain this time - there are only four shows left.

What do you hope for? Well, I really hope UPN doesn’t suspend BtVS again.;-)

Feedback (updated frequently)

Caleb: Carl writes, he really liked the priest. A marvellous actor, performing marvellously a marvellous script. I cannot but agree.;-) I especially liked the scene where Caleb used the FE to replay his murders. In BtVS, villains always got more exposition and we even were allowed to watch their spare-time activities - it’s a shame they temporarily suspended that scheme with Evil Cordy and Jasmine on AtS - and it’s great they let us have a villain like that before Buffy leaves the screen. To Drew Goddard (who’s credited as a writer for 7.18.): I love you - well, in a non-gay, more admiring-your-work way, I mean.

Giles: Many of you were disappointed about Giles and Buffy not even trying to reconcile. I know, most of you feel very strong about their relationship - it has something like father/daughter on it. But I am sure, they’ll reconcile, so please put those sleeping pills back under mom’s underwear. They just need time to redefine who they are - and to realize they are peers now.

From EWeekly :

Faith and Spike spark a demon love. Buffy’s other slayer returns for the series’ final five episodes, and you won’t believe the trouble she’s courting, says Rachel Lovinger

This week’s ’’Buffy the Vampire Slayer’’ could make a long-time viewer feel miserable. Is it because the episode, ’’Dirty Girls,’’ had clichéd characters, half-hearted attempts at witty banter, and subplots that were left to dangle disappointingly? Or is it because this history-rich hour was so tense and stunningly brutal it left us feeling that things are kind of hopeless for the Scooby Gang? It may be five more weeks before we get the full story and know for sure. But my guess is the latter.

Two highly anticipated returns were featured this week. Both fell a little short of what viewers may have been expecting, yet both yielded surprise results. First, Faith’s arrival in Sunnydale wasn’t exactly received with balloons and Welcome Home banners (despite her sarcastic notions to the contrary). But eventually Buffy grudgingly admitted she was glad to have the OTHER ’’one and only’’ slayer around to pitch in.

Faith’s initial fight with Spike, with the accompanying argument about who reformed first, was priceless. But who would have expected the other kind of sparks to fly between them, as they bonded over reminiscence of the indecent things Faith said to the vamp back when they were both evil and she briefly inhabited Buffy’s body (Season 4). These two have a natural affinity, for obvious reasons. But they both barely contain their explosive personalities, and seeing them on screen together is like having someone holler ’’Of course!’’ in one ear while someone else screams ’’Anything but that!’’ in the other.

The other ’’return’’ was Nathan Fillion, from the recently cancelled ’’Firefly,’’ whose very first appearance on ’’Buffy’’ constituted a reinstatement on a Joss Whedon created show. It’s no surprising to learn that Fillion’s Caleb is an ex-preacher doing The First’s bidding. Nonetheless, his ’’evil Southern Baptist’’ shtick and over-the-top psycho-sexual posturing were disappointing shortcuts for character development. But maybe it was necessary, because when it came to the big battle, his easy ruthlessness was riveting. He inflicted a lot of damage during that fight. And when Caleb stuck his thumb through Xander’s eye, it was somehow more shocking than if the fallen priest had actually killed him.

And what about Buffy? Is she reaching the pinnacle of her skills and readiness? Or is she totally deluded and off-base? At least she had the good sense to smooth things over, somewhat, with Giles and Wood. She can’t afford to alienate allies right now, even if they did conspire to kill Spike behind her back. But clearly it was a mistake for Buffy to lead her soldiers knowingly into Caleb’s trap. It still isn’t clear if she’s making difficult but necessary decisions, or just stubbornly exercising poor judgment. One thing’s for sure, though. You’re going to want to tune in two weeks from now to catch the last month of ’’Buffy’’ and find out which it is.