Spoiler Slayer

'Showtime' Pictures

Fraz posted some images for 'Showtime' at FanForum, and has kindly sent along the links. However, it appears that there are some issue with these links. They are also up at Comics Continuum now, so the link below will take you there.

Showtime Pictures

Bring On The Night Thoughts

One word comes to mind when I think about this episode, and that's 'Finally!!!'. After nine episodes of build-up, we finally get to the meat of this Season. The gang finally knows what they are up against, and the 'Slayers-In-Training' have begun to arrive.

Personally, I'm glad that they've chosen the 'Slayers-In-Training' storyline this season. Though I think some kudos should be directed at Christopher Golden for the original idea (in the novel, 'Pretty Maids All In A Row'). While it's good to see the Slayer mythos developed further, I would have still liked to have seen a bit more of the Council of Watchers. Perhaps a little more exposition earlier in the season, rather than the two quick (and ultimately final) scenes in the last episode.

Now that they've arrived, I think it's going to add a bit more fun to the mix. The core Scoobies are going to have serious matters to deal with, so there may not be much opportunity for lightness within their ranks. Having a gaggle of SIT's hanging around the house will help lighten the mood a bit (well, except for when they're getting killed by the Ubervamp).

Especially Kennedy, as she's obviously set her sights on Willow (and we know that it's going to end up being a mutual attraction). I really do like Kennedy, she's being portrayed as very no-nonsense. She reminds me of the early Anya, which is a good thing. I'm glad to know that there are bigger plans for her in the upcoming episodes.

The big question is really Giles, is it really him? I know there's been much debate on what defines 'touching' and what 'The First' has touched in the past. I just don't see any reason to nitpick the show on that level. The truth is that the overall impression that we are supposed to get is that 'The First' does not touch things, so we should have some concern about Giles. There's more than a bit of subterfuge going on at the moment, and it's going to continue (not only with Giles) over the next few episodes.

Spike, well not much to say about him in this episode. In fact, if it weren't for the return of faux-Drusilla, the scenes would have been pretty much pointless. Lots of violence and torture, all to get Spike to utter the single line "Because she believes in me". Like I said yesterday, there's just a bit too much of 'Kick The Spike' going on.

It's also good to see Joyce again, although I'm still unsure what she represents. Is it really Joyce, is it 'The First', or is it just Buffy's inner-self telling her to stop pushing herself so hard. Which is classic-Buffy, she always gets herself in trouble when she pushes herself too hard. Which is probably why the Ubervamp cleaned her clock not once, but twice. The only thing that saved her was the fact that 'The First' doesn't want her dead just yet. On a sidenote, the 'Terminator' homage was a nice touch.

In the meantime, there's a tad bit more intrigue involving Principal Wood, Willow's still having her magic issues, Andrew is still kicking around, and Xander's still fixing the scenery. Which is ironic, considering he's rapidly becoming a piece of the scenery himself. (and the lack of a Xander storyline is irritating me as much as the J.B. storyline for Spike).

If I did have one complaint about this episode, I think it would have aired better as a two-parter (or at least without a three-week gap in between). When 'Showtime' airs, It's only going to feel like we are covering the same ground, with just a little difference in the ending. But that is one of my main complaints of the season (one of the few that I actually have), we seem to be covering the same ground over and over, with little development of the story in-between.

Oh, and that speech at the end. I just think that for long-time Buffy fans, speeches like that are not needed. We know who Buffy is, we know that she will fight to the bitter end. So rather than killing some time with a rah-rah speech, I'd rather have a few other scenes that would have added a bit more to the story. Speaking of which...

There were a couple of things missing from this episode from my early info. First, as I mentioned a while back, there was to be a scene where Willow and Kennedy are talking and Miss Kitty is mentioned along with a reference to a painting that Tara had done. This was cut from the episode for some reason. In addition, Kennedy was supposed to have a bit of a chip on her shoulder about Buffy. I know this was more than just speculation, but I don't know why both of these bits were not in the actual episode. I certainly would have liked to see this exposition rather than the rather pointless scenes of Spike torture, or Xander's version of 'This Old Hellmouth'.

But overall, it's another good episode and pointing to some rather exciting times to come. It's just a shame that we have to deal with the dreaded holiday repeats.