Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 57

B7.13 The Killer In Me
This episode feels a little weird as it left two major plot points hanging and not in a cliffhanging way. Giles not being the First, my favourite storyline is revealed but what actually happened when he encountered the Bringer is held back from a later episode, which is a little odd. Still it was very easy to feel the fear the gang felt when they thought Giles could the the First. Similarly Buffy's quest to get Spike's chip checked was also not resolved; we find out Buffy's answer in the next episode. However its good to see that Buffy and Riley are on good enough terms for him to help her with Spike. The government conspiracy/ flower shop thing was funny though.
The weakest aspect of the episode was the Kennedy/ Willow storyline. Whilst I think Willow did need to deal with her murdering Warren and her grief for Tara, having Warren appear, at Amy's doing, was not the funnest way to do it and honestly it was a little boring. Then there's the Kennedy relationship which I find hard to swallow for two reasons- Kennedy is 17/18 at most and so the age difference is a little icky (Willow and Cordy have a lot in common in these seasons!) and Tara has only been dead for a few months, so Willow moving into a new relationship is a little disrespectful. I know this is TV, so the process is usually speeded up but even Xander never really moves on from Anya! (6.5/10)

B7.14 First Date
As Giles comments by the end of this episode, the events here are very lighthearted, but Giles puts them mostly back on track for the remainder of the season. Poor Xander's date with a demon reeks of stunt casting, but at least it gave the opportunity to show that demons other than the bringers are aligning themselves with the First, which is what we would suspect. Andrew and the others attempting to tape the First was foolish; they could've sent Andrew in with questions and no tape recorder but it did bring about a very creepy scene with Jonathan/The First.
It was good to finally expose Principal Wood and its good to have another fighter on the side of good, one who is actually good at fighting. He and Buffy do have a nice chemistry so its sad they don't pursue that, since she's busy making googly eyes at Spike. I have to say, I;m kinda rooting for Wood here in his quest for revenge against Spike as revealed by The First as Spike is getting a tad annoying now. (7/10)

B7.15 Get It Done
Even though I'm not a fan of the creepier episodes but I really like this one. Getting to see how the first Slayer was made is a very important thing in the lead up to the finale. I must admit Buffy was a little judgmental in how the men made the first Slayer- does she think she got her super strength from flowers and puppies? She did make a valid point though in that the men who made her were cowards, in that they made her fight so they didn't have to.
Buffy's speech to the rest of the gang was a little annoying I must admit and its the start of her more annoying tendencies being very obvious. I understand that she was hard on the Slayers but on Willow and Xander? It was very unfair even if it did give Willow the kick she needed. Another odd point of the episode for me was Kennedy being in the inner circle when they opened the box. It was obvious later, but it was an annoying plot contrivance and her pushiness is part of what makes her such an unpopular character.
Still the episode was mostly highlights. I love Buffy's tour of the house with Robin, Spike getting back into the swing of things by wearing his coat. The sheer horror of Chloe's death made a nice impact as well, showing how far the First can go. (8.5/10)

A4.09 Long Day's Journey
This is a pretty thrilling episode and one of the best apocalypse ones. Though I would've liked more time spent on the Ra-tet, the fact that the killing of nearly all the members happened in one episode added to the sense of the ticking clock. Bringing Gwen back for the episode was a great idea, she rounded off the team nicely, bringing in a few extra super powers. Also knowing that its Jasmine inside Cordy, its easier to side with Gwen in their cat fight and not hate her.
The Beasts quest to blot out the sun is a good one and its more tangible idea than most apocalypse effects- destruction death etc. The Beast was menacing this episode even though he had more to say, which can often negate any scariness.
The ending of course was wonderful, the dramatic fight, the sun disappearing and the revelation that we need Angelus was an excellent cliffhanger ending. (9.5/10)