Season 3, Episode 8: Lover's Walk
Best episode of the season so far. The return of Spike was glorious and he was the cog that lead to a ****load of stuff happening. It was very interesting how seriousness and humor were balanced throughout the episode, even down to the very end.
Right, so big thing number one: Spike's return. He hasn't missed a step, and in fact has gained one. He made every scene he was in. Drunk scenes, the scene with Buffy's mom, the fight scene, his speech at the end. All of it was brilliant. I hope he comes back soon after he's done doing his thing with Drusilla.
Big thing number two: the dissolution of so many relationships. Goodbye Xander/Cordelia. Goodbye Willow/Oz. Goodbye Buffy/Angel. And oddly enough, I'm sad to see all of them go. Okay, maybe I'm not all that bummed about Buffy/Angel being dumped, but I'm still sad for Angel. A great final scene with all the mourning people (followed by a joyous Spike for the lulz).
Big things number three: the Cordelia death swerve. I'm not really going to beat around the bush with this one: I was pretty pissed that I knew Cordelia wasn't dead since I had been told she would be in Angel and I'm not happy I didn't get the full effect of the scene. That fall and then seeing a rod having been rammed straight through her was quite the "wtf" moment. And then that cut to a funeral was just "WTF" and then finding out it was a swerve was "oh u." And then Cordelia telling Xander to get away from her was "sadface." Cordelia did a great job this episode.
This episode obviously showed that when Giles is gone, bad things happen. Obviously he shouldn't leave ever again.
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