Dawn’s still dying, Buffy’s still aggravating, and Xander’s still being sneaky… maybe. With the return of both Willow and Spike, it looks like the Scoobies are coming together for a massive battle to come. The question is, will they all be on the same side?
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
Willow keeps trying her hardest to bring Dawn out of the coma, but even her magic doesn’t seem to be enough. It doesn’t help that Buffy’s alongside, constantly distracting and annoying the poor witch. Once again in this issue, I’m frustrated with how quick to forgive Buffy’s friends are. Willow actually thanks Buffy for her part in helping Willow reconcile her dark and light sides so that she could gain control of both. No, there shouldn’t be quick forgiveness here. Hang onto the blame, it’s deserved! But, alas, Willow is a forgiving soul who cannot remain bitter and mad for too long.
Xander, on the other hand, is intriguing me. Upon his return, beaten and bloody, he seemed quick to jump on the Buffy wagon, too. He explains the whole deal with Simon and Severin, how they wanted him to betray his best friend and deliver to Vampyr book to them. Honesty’s the best policy after all, right? So, with this knowledge, the trio sets out to find what exactly Severin and Simone might have been looking for within the pages. They narrow it down to a location, the Deeper Well — an entrance to the tomb of the first demons. There are actually two locations, one in England and one in New Zealand. To gain some more power for Willow, they must visit the entrance themselves.
And in the midst of all that, Dawn temporarily awakens as well. She’s still dying, still losing magic, and now she’s losing memories, too. Xander’s life has taken a whole lot of ups and downs lately. I’m not sure he could withstand finally losing Dawn, but he may well have to if their plan doesn’t succeed. The Scoobies leave her behind as they set out on their mission, yet she is soon joined by another beloved character — Spike. I’m glad to see that he did not return for Buffy, refusing to be her lapdog any longer, but instead came for Dawn. He may have issues with her older sister, but Dawn is still a cherished person in his life. Hurrah for Spike!
And hurrah for Xander, too, if the ending means what I think it does. All that honesty, all that talk about how he could never betray Buffy, was a ruse. He was playing Buffy all along. Xander knew that if he told her the plan, it would send her off to England in search of the rewards found there. When the England entrance was attacked, he knew the guards at the New Zealand entrance would rush off to help, thus leaving it unguarded and fair game for Simone and Severin. Well played, Xander. Well played indeed. I’m happy to see that he isn’t so quick to forgive and I’m definitely looking forward to how this whole thing is going to play out. Buffy has negatively affected Xander’s life on multiple occasions. Now it’s time for him to stand up and take back what happiness he’s managed to find lately, without Buffy’s help.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
