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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Crichton" data-source="post: 867833" data-attributes="member: 4779">Re: Long, rambling thoughts on this episode.I have to disagree with Anya's "earned" statements.  Sure, Buffy didn't earn her powers but she has earned the right to continue to wield them, in spades.  Xander's speach in the previous ep was much more in line than Anya's.  However, because of the recent defeat and utter destruction they saw done by Caleb, everyone is thrown right now.  The only ones that are still on target are probably Spike & Faith.  Spike because he's attached to Buffy and because he seems to be thinking straight.  Same goes for Faith as she is basically being herself at this point.  More on her later.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Xander will bounce back.  He's just never been this badly hurt before.  And not only that but the thing that maimed him planted the heroine in one punch.  That's never happened before.  The ep I liken to The Empire Strikes Back because of its ominious feel and downer ending.The whole group is coming apart and they took it out on Buffy because she made a bad judgement call (which is out of character for her, but she is rattled just like the rest).Giles and Spike have never truely been at odds but the always seem to know what they have to do.  They also know their place, even if it hurts them emotionally.I've liked Faith from the very start; good & bad Faith.  As for her understanding "the game" for what it is, Buffy is still the best.  Faith has seen the dark side but she gave in which makes her still weak.  As for "breaking" during combat, Faith likes to hurt people.  She has to get in that extra blow just for punishment, even now.  That is not Buffy's style.  Buffy is efficient and just enough to get the job done.  Faith still needs to learn control.  She teeters from rage to control too easily (witness her fights on Angel and the fight against the cops).  She still holds back from time to time because she is scared of herself.  This period is just a hiccup for Buffy while for Faith it is a massive adjustment.I believe that Woods simply sees that Buffy made an error in judgement by wanting to go back into the fray so quickly.  What everyone else but the original Scoobs don't realize is that Buffy has a knack for figuring these things out and always has.  However this time her enemy is way too prepared and nasty.  Buffy is unnerved, has little to no support and is purely relying on herself.So going with her guts in a natural reaction and through the life of the show it has gotten her though.  But this time she is wrong but she doesn't know what else to do.  She is panicked, she hasn't even waited for Spike & Andrew to come back with info just yet.  She doesn't trust Giles, Willow has been destracted lately, Xander is injured and Spike isn't currently present.  So the support people that have helped her in the past and have made her one of the more successful slayers (Slayers don't typically live that long according to the show) aren't on their game.Add in all the additional lives that she has to deal with and that she has names (contrary to what Faith said) and faces to go along with them and the pressure just builds from there.  I'm also pretty certain that Faith being there hasn't helped her psyche at all.  Let's just say that Caleb "gave her a nudge."We have already seen a small reconciliation between Giles & Buffy as they are now on speaking terms and at least she values what he has to say although she may not agree with it.  I attribute the "big talk" as everyone being completely off their game, the SIT's getting fed up with Buffy's attitude towards them plus Buffy's one bad call.  If she didn't barge in and bark those orders none of it would have happened.  And since her support is gone at the moment she went back to what she has always done and relied on her gut because she is literally scare senseless.I agree that that whole end talk felt a little rushed and unnatural but the show was building towards it, especially with last ep's massacre.  It was designed to demoralize, scare and divide the group and it worked.Tsyr:  I quoted you but I don't disagree with everything you said.  Yours was just the post that got me thinking.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />:: edited for spelling & grammar :: </blockquote>

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