Buffy 7.2 FAQ
What’s it called?
“Beneath You.”
Who’s responsible?
Teleplay is credited to Doug Petrie (“As You Were,” “Two To Go”).
What does TV Guide say?
Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) reluctantly teams with Spike (James Marsters) to slug it out with a gigantic worm, but there's a bigger surprise in store for the Slayer. Soon after Buffy reports for her first day as Sunnydale High's student counselor, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) introduces her to a woman whose dog was eaten by the oversized annelid. Suspecting demon activity, Buffy volunteers to find the creature, and Spike, who's being tormented by an unknown force, shows up to offer his assistance. Willow (Alyson Hannigan), meanwhile, prepares to return home.
What did Herc say about this one in his Aug. 13 spoilers?
“Xander gets involved with a girl named Nancy who, like Xander, is getting over a relationship with a demon. Nancy’s ex is a big bitter wormy shapeshifter dude named Ronnie. Anya learns through her demon powers that Spike has his soul back.”
Does a hooded figure chase another slayer-in-training this week?
In Frankfurt. The scene strongly evokes both last week’s adventure in Istanbul and 1998’s “Lola rennt.” This proto-slayer appears to Buffy in a dream – and with an ominous verbal warning.
The big news?
This week brings us a highly Spike-centric affair.
Has Spike dealt with his grooming?
Not at first. But he’s much nattier by the end of act one. He also manages to reign in his schizoid ramblings, however momentarily.
Is the slayer finally all “grrr” and fist-shaky?
She and what’s left of her circle. When a sane-seeming Spike turns up at Casa del Summers to help investigate the series of quakes rocking Sunnydale, everyone is of course angry about last season’s almost-rape, but the blonde vampire insists his pursuit of the slayer is no longer on the agenda.
Is Willow all better now?
She and Giles appear only in one brief scene early on. Giles insists that she’s needed back home, but Will is terrified of what awaits her there. She fears not only a reactivated hellmouth, but also the reception she’ll get from the Scooby pals she tried to kill last time she saw them.
Is it true, as we’ve heard, that Anya is responsible for Ronnie’s worm-like nature?
It’s true. (Ronnie’s actually a “Sluggoth Demon” now.) No one puts this together until halfway through the episode.
Last week the principal said Sunnydale High already had a counselor. So what does Buffy put down on her tax return now under “occupation”?
Buffy’s just lucky April 15 is still months away. “Look, I doubt we'll even see each other,” Buffy tells Dawn as they carpool with Xander to work. “Assuming I even half-understand my fuzzy job description.” When ther slayer arrives at work, the principal dispenses these instructions: “Don't evaluate them. Just listen. They need to feel like there's someone around here who actually understands them.”
Is Morphy back?
Not this week.
What’s great?
Everything with Spike. Especially the ending, which can only leave fans craving more.
What’s not so great?
If "Lessons" was a 10 on the comedy scale, then "Beneath You" dials it perhaps back to a 3. Many insist Herc’s ratings placetoo much emphasis on the show’s often extraordinary comic acumen, but I think last week's installment reminded us that it’s the show’s stratospheric wit that separates “Buffy” from flaccid imitators like “Charmed.” Still, Spike’s behavior is so compelling, one hardly notices the relative dearth of yuks.
How does it end, spoiler-boy?
Buffy learns of Spike's soul, and Spike has a smoke. “Can – can we rest now? Buffy? Can we rest?”
Herc’s rating for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” 7.2?
***1/2
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
8 p.m. Tuesday. UPN.
