Spoiler Slayer

First I have to be pretty honest about two things.

1) I was extremely disturbed by the bathroom scene in 'Seeing Red'. I was keeping an open mind, avoided the early wildfeed that was floating around the net, and was ready for an intense scene. None of which prepared me for the reality of actually seeing it.

2) As much as I hated that it happened, I would be lying if I said that Tara's death really shocked me. Much like Jenny Calendar's death, the reaction was more one of 'Wow' over the brutality, more than the actual death itself (what can I say, I'm a guy, I go for the quality kills).

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, time to focus on what actually went on in the episode. Might as well start with Spike.

I really don't want to get into the issue of what happened in the bathroom, we all saw it and will likely draw our own conclusions. I don't want to get mired in the discussion of whether or not it proves Spike is evil and soulless, or it if was or wasn't attempted rape. It was violent, it was disturbing, which was the entire point of the scene.

The important thing is what happened afterwards and the reaction of both Spike and Buffy. Because neither party is innocent, at least in light of the events which led up to this point. Buffy is in the wrong, because she was either using Spike or she's hiding how she really feels. Spike is in the wrong, because he pushed too hard and too far. It doesn't excuse the fact of what happened, but based on the reactions of the characters, there is still a good deal of soul-searching left to be done on the part of both parties.

The violence and intensity of the scene, along with Spike's own words later, leave me thinking that the writer's are trying to lead us to the conclusion that Spike is going to try and return to being the 'Big Bad'. Which usually means that exactly the opposite will happen.

If all Spike really wants to do is deactivate the chip, certainly it would be simple enough storyline to base in Sunnydale. He certainly is aware of the Troika and one could imagine he has more resources at this disposal in Sunnydale than anywhere else. Nothing other than his feelings are standing in the way of killing the Slayer, which seems to echo his situation in 'Fool For Love'; It will hurt him temporarily, but she'll still be dead.

I find it very interesting that the writers are not only hinting that Spike is bad, but they are getting him out of town as well. As I've always said, I can't see devoting this much time to building a character, only to return him to what he was in Season Two. Actually splitting his storyline from the activity in Sunnydale, convinces me even further that big changes are in store for Spike. Not necessarily redemption, but one of atonement (which I have a strange feeling is going to be a major theme for Season Seven - especially in terms of Willow and her upcoming actions). Which makes a lot of sense, based on the storylines in 'Seeing Red'

In 'Seeing Red' there was quite a bit of juxtaposition between the characters and storylines. Anya and Xander both had similar scenes, whereas Spike and Warren also seemed to be on similar paths. We even see both teams (The Scoobies and the Troika) broken apart by inner conflict. The question is if anyone has found a resolution by the end of the episode, and although the Buffy/Xander reconciliation was touching; it really didn't answer any of the questions. In stark contrast to this chaos was the reunited couple of Willow and Tara, but that may have been the point.

If we are to accept the lengths that Willow is about take to exact her revenge, it had to be a shocking and dramatic death. Which is why I aired my suspicions a few weeks ago about the timing and proximity of Willow the Tara's death. Not only do we feel her pain, but we want Warren to suffer for what he did. In a way, it keeps her character redeemable (but that will be a conversation for after the season finale airs).

BTW, I loved the use of the color red throughout the episode.