It’s roommate fun times two as the Scooby Gang moves into their respective apartments and living situations are explored. With a division of guys versus girls, it’s bound to be an interesting take on friends turned cohabitants. That is, if they can let go of the angst long enough.
Note: This recap may contain spoilers!
Always nice to see Spike and Xander snarking each other, just like old times. It wasn’t clear at the very beginning how the apartments would be divided between the group, but soon we learn that the guys (Xander and Spike) are living in one place and the girls (Dawn, Buffy, and Willow) are living in the other. Mini!Giles has apparently regained control of his money, so he could afford to go it alone. Not that the scenario makes me believe it will be safe, but a Watcher’s got to have his space.
The group certainly has their hands full. Between moving in and working on rewriting the rules of magic, it’s a wonder they have time to get anything else done. And poor Xander and Dawn are just as awkward as ever when they’re around each other. He’s trying to regain the love they lost, even attempting to get her to go out on dates, but Dawn is still a bit hesitant and not ready to dive back into the dating pool. What’s a guy to do? Well, there’s always the option to grab your new roommate and go out drinking to drown your sorrows.
Both Spike and Xander are in the same boat, loving women that don’t love them back. They have the magic book and could, theoretically write their loved ones into compliance, but neither of them want to see Buffy or Dawn put into that situation, whether because it’s wrong or because something might go haywire in the process. If Xander’s going to win back Dawn, he’s got to do it the old fashioned way. And he’s going to do it with Spike’s help, since the vampire seems to have a way with Dawn and knows what she needs even when it defies Xander’s comprehension. It’s a sad situation, one that requires loads of alcohol.
And where there is much drinking, there is also much trouble. The duo falls under the spell of two lovely ladies who pick them up at the bar, locking into their individual interests and seeming to be too good to be true. Yeah, they are. Instead of being just two ladies looking for a good time, they’re actually Sirens looking for a good victim or two. Ghost!Anya tries as well as she can to break Xander out of the control, and it takes her a while, but finally Xander gets a brief period of lucidity. He manages to pull Spike out of it, but the vampire is on his own after that, as Xander falls right back under. Human frailty, it’s a burden.
After Spike finally wins, and the spell is broken, they retreat back to the bar to drown their sorrows yet again. They are joined by Dowling, who communes with Spike when Xander goes off to talk with Ghost!Anya. It seems Dowling sees through Spike’s façade as well, and asks if the vampire is still in love with Buffy. Spike admits that, yes, the feelings still linger. Will he act on them? I hope so. And I hope that the Slayer can see him for the good man that he is.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
