Relationship conversations abound in this issue of the Buffy comic, mainly centered around Buffy herself. First she has to deal with her negative feelings towards Willow’s career choices, and then she has to solidify her relationship with Spike when Dylan enters the picture. In the end, we learn that perhaps talking it through is always the best solution.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
Willow’s settling into her job quite well. She finds that she can really contribute both on a technical level and a magical one. However, once she finds out that the company works with military contracts she has some reservations. Willow remembers the bad things that happened when the military were involved in her life before, but in time she recognizes the good that the military’s presence can do as well. They have money and resources that Willow and the Scooby gang cannot access, so working together seems to be a better choice. Now, if only she can convince Buffy of that.
Willow’s also getting closer to Lake Stevens, from the Department of Defense (Unified Supernatural Combatant Command). At first she’s just giving Willow the facts, about how there’s been an increase in portals, that they’ve been working with Kennedy and the Magic Council, D’Hoffryn and the rest. But down the line, she starts flirting with Willow and they get to have a date. Is there romance in the air? Quite possibly! Lake also helps Willow see that she and Buffy might not be on the same page anymore, but thankfully Willow doesn’t get rid of her old friend quite so easily. Instead, she and Buffy talk it out and realize that they will need to agree to disagree, as their friendship is more important.
Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike deal with the return of his old, short-term love interest Dylan. She comes to thank him for inspiring her to make a change in her life, to pursue her art. Dylan mentions that it all came to light after their separation, how she reacted and her feelings after Spike left. As a positive outcome, she pursued her passion and now she’s got her first gallery show next week. While Spike is concerned that Buffy might see this as a threat, and therefore hides the invitation from her, she finds it anyway and they have to talk about the mistrust and misunderstanding. She doesn’t care it’s an old girlfriend, but she doesn’t like that he’s keeping secrets. They get a bit tense with each other, but it ends okay and they go to the show together. Dylan even gives them an art piece for free before they head back home, so all’s well that ends well. I hope these positive outcomes can continue in the future!
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
