Everything is converging, with Willow and Xander right in the middle of it. We find out who is behind the coordinated plan and also are faced with a new twist on an old storyline. Very exciting developments to come!
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
As we kick off the issue, Xander is at Sunnydale High with his minions. He longs for Willow to join him, as their futures are destined to be intertwined. And perhaps this destiny will come sooner than they think, as Willow is about to walk down a very complicated path. She’s been watching the hooded figure at Giles’ house, which we know is former Slayer Morgan. But before Willow can intervene on Morgan’s plan of taking out our favorite Watcher, the locket that Anya presented her with takes control. It is doing Anya’s bidding of tapping into Willow’s true power, unleashing Dark!Willow. We all know how that turned out the first time around, so I am eager to see how this version plays out.
Elsewhere, the Slayers continue interrogating Xander’s minion, Grawilburrk. He talks about how Xander wants Willow to join him, how they are more powerful together. And that’s enough motivation for Faith to want to go out and find Xander herself so she can take care of the problem. Of course Wesley is supportive of his Slayer, but Buffy and Kendra aren’t on board. Instead, they want to wait for Giles to return so they can think through all their options. Yes, they might be blinded by personal connections, but going in too quickly without thought could backfire on them all. Plus, Buffy doesn’t think Willow would be feeding Xander information. Kendra thinks she might, but not knowingly. Either way, though, the duo are on the side of “think first, act later.”
The bickering between the group doesn’t seem to get them anywhere until Grailburrk interrupts. All this infighting is exactly what Xander wanted. With the Slayers divided, it would be easier for Xander to get Willow to join him. Some kind of plan must be made, and they have all got to be on the same side, else they are destined for failure. And that kicks off the domino effect where connections are made and the mastermind is revealed. Anya gave Willow the locket in order to unlock Dark!Willow’s power. She also sent Morgan out with the intent of killing Giles, as part of taking down the Watcher’s Council. One plan was interrupted, but the other is right on schedule. It all comes together at the high school.
In the school, Xander’s looking at Willow’s locker and awaits her arrival. Suddenly, Dark!Willow busts through the wall and it doesn’t take him long to realize it’s not his Willow. In the meantime, the team have gathered outside to take down Xander and save Willow, but it won’t be easy. An Edera demon shows up, which means Kendra and the others need to take care of that while Buffy runs inside to try and save her friend. But she’s not ready for Dark!Willow either. And Xander is very angry at the state of his friend, accusing Buffy of making Willow this way. The physical and verbal fight between Buffy and Xander meet no resolution before Dark!Willow turns on Xander and unleashes her power upon him. Will he survive? Will regular Willow be able to break free of Dark!Willow’s control? We must wait for next issue to find out.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
