DVD review - Buffy season 7 episodes 9, 10 and 11

Continuing my viewing/reviewing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 7 (final season)....

SPOILERS

B7-9: Never Leave Me (written by Drew Goddard, airdate 11/26/02)
B7-10: Bring On the Night (written by Noxon and Petrie, airdate 12/17/02)
B7-11: Showtime (written by David Fury, airdate 1/7/03)

It is with this trio of episodes that the first half of the final season ends. They also really set the tone of what is to come - the final acts in an all-out war with the First.

First we get the Summers' house turning into a place of prisoners - Spike kept so he doesn't kill anyone and Andrew kept to pretty much do the same. Loved Xander and Anya doing good-cop/bad-cop to get Andrew to talk. But it is the First that really is in control here, and they get Spike riled up enough to break free, attack Andrew and then, eventually, come for Spike. Where Andrew failed to open the seal with Jonathan's blood, they'll do it with Spikes. Nasty. Oh, and the Watchers Council goes boom.

Then Giles shows up with three girls in tow. These are potential Slayers, with more on the way. Giles also has a few notes he stole from the Council - but is it enough. Well, not likely - for the First have raised an ubervamp, an ancient evil who is more than a match for Buffy. She gets her butt kicked by it big time after it snacks on Annabelle, one of the potentials who runs off out of fear. Buffy knows she is up against the wall and needs help. She needs Spike, but she knows the only way to get to him is to get past the ubervamp. That's a tall order.

The girls get a lot more air time in this episode - as Kennedy keeps Willow up talking while the others disturb Xander and Andrew's sleep. Anya offers sex to a demon to gain access to an oracle - but when that fails leave it to Giles to offer violence instead. They do gain access only to find out that the reason the First is taking the opportunity now is because the Slayer is not as she should be (the spell used to bring her back in Season 6 has caused an opening that the First is more than willing to take advantage of). Meanwhile, the wolf in the fold is revealed to be "Eve" (the original betrayer, ironically). The girls feel unsure, unconfident. Buffy needs them to be strong and sets up a battle arena with the ubervamp. She shows the girls that they can do anything if they just believe - and she emphasizes it by slicing off the uber's head, dusting it. Nice. Final step - saving Spike now that his ugly captor is gone.

The final acts should be very interesting indeed.