With Spike and Buffy now happily together, you know things
are about to get strange and trouble is round the corner.
This arc firmly puts the spotlight on Spike and Buffy, but
the Scooby Gang also have enough material to involve them, whether it is Giles
seeing the pros and cons of de-aging or Andrew coming to terms with his new
found awareness.
Christos Gage effectively adds to the Buffy Mythos in a big
way that elevates it to a new height, going back into the origins of vampires.
Rebekkah Issacs is also on form here – as her detailed
artwork really helps sell the story being told.
SPOILERS FOLLOW…………..
Spike is rather jumpy about what he saw in his ‘vision’ and
Buffy doesn’t help when she mentions Angel losing his soul right after she
slept with him – it’s a thin line that vampires with souls straddle.
Getting a call from Downing, he realizes that the dream had
some element of truth to it – as he comes face to face with the victims in it.
Spike keeps the dream a secret from Buffy, but turns to
Xander and more reluctantly, Giles and Willow
– who are all too willing to torture Spike to get results. Spike goes through
with it out of love for Buffy. Xander is tasked on the other hand with
distracting the Slayer and he decides to call an intervention on a reclusive
Andrew.
It was only last issue that Andrew found he is gay, and the
shock (not to mention Xander’s excessive awkward support) has kept him an
introvert since. It’s only after Buffy forces some sense into Andrew
(especially the many times where he and his friends managed to screw up her
life – good times) that being gay isn’t being weak or a different person. It’s
okay to be different, something Buffy knows far too well.
Giles’, using Spike’s visions, draws Buffy and Xander to a close-by vampire nest – where the recently dead couple attacks them as newly
turned vampires. Killing them (in what was obviously a trap)
Giles’ over eagerness to find what’s wrong with Spike
results in Buffy walking in on him and Willow torturing the vampire. Spike
decides to come clean.
Finding no other way, Giles and Willow entrust Buffy with going into Spike’s
mind and finding the source of his mental link with the killings. Once inside,
Buffy is confronted by everything – love, hate, fear….but all through it she
realizes that Spike truly loves her. Not in a naïve way, but a realistic one.
Going farther back into Spike’s sordid past, she unwillingly
gets caught in a whirlwind that goes before Drusilla (who sired Spike), Angelus
(who sired Dru), Darla (who sired Angelus) and the Master (who sired Darla) –
meeting up with the demon that created the vampire lineage Archaeus. Spike
forcibly waking up spares Buffy from getting her head ripped off by the
powerful Old One.
A mental link while under the spell informs Buffy where
Archaeus is hidden in the real world, but the Scooby Gang proves too
underpowered to take down Archeus.
Things take a nasty turn when the Old One uses Spike’s
vampiric essence to attack Buffy. After a long battle, Spike is able to push it
off and then Willow
collapses the building to signal a retreat.
Coming back home, Xander finally confronts the amnesiac Dawn
about their relationship, but assures her that he hopes it will come naturally
just like the first time. While Spike is forced by Giles to call in the last
person he wants to – Angel.
Romance has been a key factor including compatibility. And
we saw four people take three different stances throughout these three issues –
while Spike and Buffy decided to take a chance, Willow ended hers with Alywth
and Xander told Dawn straight what he wanted but made sure not to put pressure
on her. The latter two felt a little jarring, given they came out of nowhere
and served more as filler for the main arc.
SPOILERS END………………
Gage went into some interesting territory here – the
Spike/Buffy romance, Spike’s life and insecurities and the vampyr mythos.
He handled all of these aspects particularly well but the
jarring effects came in the rest of the cast’s interactions with each other and
supporting characters.
Issacs’ art through is a joy to watch. Too often artists try
to capture the main live action actors instead of treat these characters as
themselves – Issacs definitely knows which is more important.
So, I give this a 8.5 out of 10.
+Some great character moments from Spike and Buffy
+Nice additions to the Buffyverse mythos
+Excellent artwork
-The B-plots didn’t hit their mark
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