Riley is on the verge of a sudden death as the experiments done on him by the Initiative threaten to push him too far. Can he be saved in time?

This is an interesting episode. Written by a newcomer to the series, it has the perfect sense of humour, with some wonderful touches and neat one-liners. There’s also a lot going on without a lot being seen to happen, leaving you wondering where everything’s going. And where it does go, although in retrospect it seems so obvious, is a complete surprise.

The Riley storyline is pretty light, as our hunksome hero decides to go out fighting rather than become the boring, normal man Buffy won’t be interested in. By telling him she doesn’t mind what he’s like outwardly, Buffy manages to convince him to go and get himself fixed, something which in the end seems extremely simple.

Meanwhile, there are hints about Dawn’s part in things when Joyce suddenly realizes she only has one daughter, Giles gets to show off his shop, Buffy gets a training area, we learn of Xander’s insecurities, Willow casts some powerful magic to the surprise of Tara and Harmony goes on the lam, hiding in Spike’s crypt. All of these little touches give some depth to the story and provide plenty of things to be followed up later on in the season. Even what’s happened to the people from the Initiative is worth further examination. Having said that, I like the sense of mystery building up, and I don’t know if I want to know what’s going on as I feel I’ll be disappointed. Still, we’ll see.

It’s the fact that Spike is finally back that makes this episode, though. Despite still having the chip in his head, he’s clever enough to realize that Harmony can be used to his benefit and formulates a rather clever plan. Hopefully their relationship can be used again to bring Spike more into the action. It all ends with a truly shocking and somehow oddly believable scene that makes a perfect coda to an unpredictable episode.

****

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