Just finished BS7×01 - Lessons, the first Buffy episode I’ve seen in almost three months. Cause enough to celebrate with a post here, if you ask me. But what to say? And where to begin? How about… umm, I dunno… the beginning, perhaps? :P

Woops. Almost forgot to add this: SPOILERS.

It was good to see Buffy and Dawn again. And it was nice to see that Buffy’s statement in BS6×22 - Grave wasn’t just an empty promise: She didn’t try to keep Dawn away from the world, but rather show it to her. And the potential double meaning of their comments as they walked away from the open grave was also a clever touch, especially combined with all the references to a diabolical future event.

After the intro (or possibly before the Buffy/Dawn part; but that’s irrelevant), both Xander, Willow and Giles appeared, and it was a relief to see them in the state that they were. I was afraid that something bad had happened to Willow after her rampage in the last couple of episodes of season 6 (because this is fiction, and fiction has a nasty habit of treating people even more unfair than the real world does, and that’s saying something…), but luckily, she’d just been sent to a place where she could relax and recuperate. That Giles was in the episode at all came as something of a surprise, really, as I’d imagined that he’d want to retire back to his, er, retirement. This “logic”, however, is flawed, because it’d be completely out of character for him to leave Willow alone when she’s in such a fragile state of mind. Not to mention that her stability of mind is of the utmost importance for the world’s survival…
As for Xander, I was relieved on his behalf because it seemed as if he had a stable job, and a ditto life, something which he’s deserved for a very long time now.

So, to the plot.
The evil spirits had a very monster of the week-like feel to them, a feeling that was emphasized by the lack of reference to any particular incidents earlier in the series. They all blamed Buffy for their deaths, but in a very general manner, with accusations of how she’d been unable to protect them, or how she’d failed, and so on and so forth. The fact that there was only three of them seems to underscore this perception. After all, how many thousands, or at least hundreds, had died at Sunnydale High up throughout history? And how many just in the three years Buffy attended classes there?

However, the last scene changed all this. We return to Spike, in the room below Sunnydale High where Buffy met him (and where I seemed to hear that he said, “There are only the three of us here.”), where he has company. At first, it was Glory, the main villain from BS5, before morphing into amongst others Adam, The Master, Mayor Wilkins, and finally Buffy herself. This.. creature… gives a small speech, but I’m unable to remember much of it. All I can recall, is some mention of something that’s coming, and the always entertaining saying abou there being no good or evil, only power.

So, despite of the rather dull plot (which never the less managed to make me jump in my chair a couple of times), the episode was good. The last scene made it part of an arc (which is always good), and there were some nice character moments - most notably the ones where people keep mistaking Buffy for Dawn’s mom. ;D

Oh, and there was a Harry Potter reference! Willow said that she’d expected punishment and torture in a magic dungeon, but instead, Giles’d “gone all Dumbledore” on her. Yayz0r.

Can’t wait to see the next episode tomorrow. :)