"Tough Love" (5x19) quick link here "The Weight Of The World" (5x21) quick link here
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1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
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“Spiral” is a pretty great episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” that is often forgotten about in the grand scheme of things. How often is it mentioned as one of the best episodes of the fifth season? How often does it get discussed as a memorable episode? Rarely, which is a shame. While “Spiral” does have a few glaring plot holes, there’s certainly more good than bad here. One of the biggest reasons why I love this episode is that almost the entirety of it takes place outside of Sunnydale! How often does this happen? A certain amount of “Anne” took place in Los Angeles, but that’s pretty much it. It’s just so exciting to see this! For the first time ever, Buffy can’t defeat the evil in front of her. She can’t stake the enemy or blow it up with a rocket launcher, or pull out a uranium power core. Glory is a GOD! A God that Buffy hasn’t been able to remotely hurt since she arrived in Sunnydale. The closest anyone has come to hurting Glory was Willow in the last episode, but even a dark-eyed, veiny Willow could only hold Glory at bay for a few minutes. Of course, having an enemy this unstoppable does come with problems...how can you top Glory from a threat standpoint? How can you raise the stakes (hehe) in the next season? I’m getting ahead of myself. In the here and now, nobody is safe. Glory is perfectly capable of killing any of the Scoobies with the flick of her wrist, and let’s face it, it makes for captivating television.
Due to this unstoppable threat, Buffy makes the choice to run away. She actively chooses to flee. This is a big moment for Buffy’s character, as it’s something we’ve never seen her do before. Time and time again, Buffy’s been able to defeat the most insurmountable odds and save the day. She’s stopped how many apocalypses by this point? Yet, here, she knows she can’t win. She can’t fight, can’t hide, can’t save her sister...all she can do now is run. Remember, this is before Buffy knows that the ritual can only take place at a certain time. She’s not running to wait out the clock and stop Glory, she’s literally running for her life and the lives of her friends and family. This is horrific to watch as a fan because you don’t want any of the characters to die, but there’s no denying the excitement level. That’s a part of the reason why shows like “Game Of Thrones” and “The Walking Dead” have become so popular. Any character can die at any minute. If the leading character of “Game Of Thrones” can lose his head before the first season draws to a close, why would anyone else not be expendable? But, Joss wouldn’t be daring enough to kill Buffy Summers, a hero and idol of generations of people, would he? When Giles gets speared through the ribcage and tells Buffy that he couldn’t be prouder of her, I genuinely thought he was going to die. Buffy lost her mother a couple of months ago and now her father figure is going to die as well, leaving Buffy parentless and having no adult support system to rely on. It’s classic fantasy storytelling, so you can understand why my eleven-year-old self was screaming at the television when I first saw this episode. I love that Giles finally told Buffy how proud he is of her and how much she means to him. When Buffy dies at the end of the season, Giles can at least live in the knowledge that he told Buffy this before she sacrificed herself to save the world.
Fittingly, the episode opens right where “Tough Love” left off, with Glory discovering that Dawn is The Key because mind-melted Tara referred to her as pure green energy in Glory’s presence. Oops. Willow uses a force-field spell to try to hold Glory at bay, while Buffy grabs Dawn and tries to escape. I do have to mention that the visual effects of this scene are masterfully handled and they’re not something the show would have been capable of just a few years previously. Glory’s super-strength and super-speed chasing after Buffy and Dawn looks spectacular on screen. Glory catches up to Buffy and Dawn, and in that moment something became crystal clear to me, just like it did to Buffy...Glory cannot be beaten. However, she can be slowed down...
Glory: “Last words, slay-runt?”
Buffy: “Just one...truck.”
*a truck smashes into Glory*
Why do villains continue to offer people last words or requests? It never ends well for them. Why not just kill the hero and stroll off into the sunset, swaggering with a pimp cane at their success? The truck steamrolling into Glory and Glory’s subsequent turning into Ben gives Buffy and Dawn the time to escape to Xander and Anya’s apartment. Here, it’s make or break time. Either come up with a genuine, realistic plan to stop Glory or run away, run away and never return. After much deliberating and debating, Buffy decides to run. However, I don’t think she gave Anya’s plan enough thought before deciding to leave Sunnydale. I mean, it’s clearly a winner...
Anya: “Piano.”
Xander: “Because that’s what we used to kill that big demon that one time!...No, wait, that was a rocket launcher. An., what are you talking about?”
Anya: “We should drop a piano on her. It always works for that creepy cartoon rabbit when he’s running from that nice man with the speech impediment.”
Giles: “Yes, or perhaps we could paint a convincing tunnel on the side of a mountain.”
...It could work. I ask you this, gentle readers, is Anya’s plan any worse than Buffy’s plan, which consists of cramming everyone into a barely functional Winnebago? Spike mentions to Dawn a little later that he should have stolen the Porsche he had his eye on, which had just enough room for him, Dawn, and Buffy. I’m left asking the question “why the hell didn’t he?!”. Why didn’t Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara, and Giles go into hiding, while Buffy, Dawn, and Spike escaped from Sunnydale at a speed above 30mph?! If you’re trying to outrun a God, why choose the world’s slowest vehicle? Alternatively, if you didn’t want to leave anyone behind, why not get two cars and drive away swiftly? Buffy’s plan makes absolutely zero sense! I know she’s stressed, I know she’s scared, but surely even she can see the absurdity of her plan? Can you say ‘convenient vehicle for plot related fighting on top of it’?
Buffy’s oh-so-brilliant Winnebago idea does lead to something positive. For the first time, well, ever Spike’s a member of the team. Sure, Giles and Xander both resent him and his appearance on the Winnebago, but progress is being made. Spike’s character progression over the last seven episodes has been highly interesting. He went from helping Buffy find Dawn after she ran away from home, to tying Buffy up and trying to force her to love him (who said romance is dead?), to being quite literally closed out of Buffy’s life, to buying a replica Buffy robot to have naughty fun with, to bringing Joyce flowers out of selfless respect, to helping Dawn try to resurrect Joyce (once again selfless behaviour), to not giving up Dawn’s Key-like status under torture (more selfless behaviour), to leaving his crypt and life behind to run away with Buffy and Dawn to help protect them. This tells me that Buffy slamming the door in Spike’s face made him think about his behaviour. He knew that Buffy would never, ever love him. Once he had that confirmed, he could stop trying to win her affections because he knew he’d never get them. He could continue to love and support Buffy, but without the desperate neediness or trying to get Buffy’s attention. This has led to some real, genuine character growth for Spike. How often have we seen Spike do something completely selfless before “Forever”? Have we ever seen Spike do something completely selfless before then? Now, he’s done it three or four times in as many episodes. In fact, in this episode, Spike catches a sword with his bare hands to protect the humans inside of the Winnebago!
Ahh, the Knights of Byzantium...what a pointless, wasted opportunity this group has become. It feels as though they were going to be important at one point, then the writers forgot that they existed and suddenly remembered them while writing “Spiral”, as they don’t naturally fit into this story at all. Firstly, how did this band of walking and horsed warriors catch up with a moving vehicle? Secondly, how did they know where The Key was? Have they low-jacked The Key? Did the knights implant a tracking chip in Buffy’s ass during their skirmish in “Checkpoint”? There’s no denying that the Buffy vs. Knights of Byzantium fight scene on top of the Winnebago was excellent, but it’s diminished by the Knights’ lack of importance or build. Also, Anya smacking one of them with a frying pan will never, ever not be funny.
Another great addition to this episode is the power of Willow’s magical abilities. After her attacking Glory in “Tough Love” and the power of her force-field here, there’s no denying that Willow is a badass Wicca. Tara is gone (mentally), the Scoobies are trapped, and the only thing there to save them is Willow’s magical strength. Of course, this will become Willow’s curse in the next season, but for the moment Willow’ magical prowess is a humongous asset to the Scoobies.
Ben: “I didn’t ask for any of this. I just want to be normal.”
Gronx: “We play the hand we’re dealt.”
Ben: “Nothing’s mine, is it? This life, this body, it’s all infected. The only thing I ever cared about she’s taken away from me. You know why I wanted to be a doctor?”
Gronx: “Flattering drawstring pants?”
Ben: “To be close to people. To witness their lives and their deaths, to be there alongside them, a part of everyday humanity.”
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Gronx: “True, this oh-so-appealing form will of necessity be shrugged off.”
Ben: “Not if I get The Key first.”
Gronx: “And if you did, what then? Could you do it? Take a human life with your own hands? Oblivion is such a small inconvenience in the service of a deity. Accept your fate. I mean, you said it yourself, this life was never really yours anyway, was it?”
Ben: “It doesn’t matter how I came by it, it’s mine, and I plan on keeping it.”
The first part of this conversation could easily have been uttered by Dawn and still have made sense. These two characters have more similarities than differences and it’s not until the next episode that these differences become more apparent. Both Ben and Dawn have abnormal origins. Dawn started life as a mystical ball of green energy that could somehow break down the walls between dimensional portals. She was turned human by some monks trying to hide ‘The Key’ from Glory about nine months prior to this episode. Comparingly, when Ben was a newborn male, the freshly banished ‘beast’ (Glory) attached herself to him in order to survive in this wicked new world. She was cast out from her own dimension and was being forced to live and die alongside this human host. Neither Ben nor Dawn asked for this. Dawn didn’t have a choice in being turned human by the monks. She doesn’t remember being this mystical ball of energy, she has no idea what The Key’s purpose is (until later in this episode). Ben didn’t ask to be body-snatched. He doesn’t want to share his life with a God, waking up in random places, wearing random things and not knowing what he did while he wasn’t consciously in control of his body. However, to both Dawn and Ben’s credit, they’re trying to make the best of their situations. It doesn’t matter that they have abnormal lives or come from unusual beginnings, they’re both here now and it’s their actions that will create their legacies, not their origins.
It’s these actions that will separate the two in the next episode. Until now, Ben has been desperately trying to live a normal life. He became a doctor to be a part of everyday humanity because he’s always felt separated from it due to Glory’s body-snatching. In the above conversation with Gronx, it’s obvious that Ben isn’t willing to kill Dawn to stop Glory...yet. By the next episode, Ben isn’t willing to kill Dawn to stop Glory, but he is willing to allow Glory to bleed Dawn in order to get home, as Glory reveals to Ben that she has the power to save his life. Ben chooses himself over an innocent, freshly made human being. Ben’s actions make him a villain ultimately. Well, perhaps not a ‘villain’, but certainly not a good guy or a selfless man. Therefore, when Giles decides to suffocate him in “The Gift”, I can see the logic behind it. It’s not just because Glory would have survived and may take revenge on Buffy at a later point, it’s also because Ben chose himself over the fate of the world. Who’s to say he wouldn’t do the same again if Glory regained some power? That’s the biggest difference between Ben and Dawn when all is said and done. Dawn is willing to bleed and die to save the world (until Buffy does it instead), whereas Ben chose his own future and wellbeing. It’s a pretty cool message to send into the world if you’re paying enough attention to see it...it doesn’t matter where you came from or how you started life, your actions are still your own and they will determine how you’re remembered. Ben does toy with the idea of killing The Key here to stop Glory (he holds a syringe out and looks as though he may inject Dawn with it), but he’s not yet reached that point.
Speaking of Dawn, I very much enjoyed the scene where Gregor explains to Buffy and Dawn what The Key’s purpose is, how Glory came to Earth, and what her intentions are. It was chilling to discover that Glory was willing to burn Earth to the ground in order to get home. It’s oddly sweet, isn’t it? In a disturbing, perverse sort of way. This powerful, unstoppable, fashion-obsessed God is merely trying to go home. If we were witnessing this season from Glory’s perspective, it would be a Disney movie. Dawn takes this news very maturely. How do you react when someone tells you that you were created to tear down the walls between dimensions, which will leave Earth in eternal agony and torment? Gregor does offer up one other important piece of information...if Ben dies, so does Glory. Glory can be killed while Ben is at the helm of the body they share. Now all Buffy needs to do is be willing to kill a human (a friend at that) and she can save her sister. Why didn’t they bust Faith out of prison to shank Ben? Faith would totally do it.
UGH, Buffy, of all the people in the entire world, why call Ben and ask him for help?! It makes sense because Ben’s a doctor and Giles is dying, but still...BEN IS GLORY, GLORY IS BEN.
Dawn: “Thanks.”
Buffy: “For what?”
Dawn: “Pretty much everything.”
Buffy: “Yeah, I’m doing a great job.”
Dawn: “You are.”
Buffy: “I’m the Slayer, the Chosen One, all mythic and defendery. Evil nasties are supposed to flee from me, not the other way around.”
Dawn: “You’re not fleeing, you’re...moving at a brisk pace.”
Buffy: “Quaintly referred to in some cultures as the big scaredy runaway.”
Dawn: “It’s the most amazing thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
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Buffy: “It just keeps coming...Glory, Riley, Tara...Mom.”
Dawn: “I know, but there’s a bright side.”
Buffy: “There is?”
Dawn: “At least things can’t get any crazier, right?”
*A flaming arrow fires through the room*
Buffy: “...You know this is your fault for saying that.”
Wow, Dawn is even overly dramatic and angsty when she says ‘thank you’, isn’t she? I will admit, I love that Dawn thanked Buffy. Buffy has left her home, her education, and her life behind to look after Dawn and protect her, so it’s only fitting that Dawn acknowledges this. Dawn didn’t ask to be created, but neither did Buffy. Buffy knows that Dawn isn’t her sister in the way that she always thought, but she’s willing to risk everything and die for Dawn anyway. Also, Buffy’s mental state is an interesting thing to dissect throughout this episode too. Buffy is clearly struggling. She’s been struggling to keep her head above water since her mother died, but now she’s reaching catatonia. She snaps at Giles and Xander when they protest to Spike being on the Winnebago, she breaks down when talking to Dawn about how life has sucked recently...can anyone blame Buffy though? Her entire arc throughout this season has been one disaster after another. Her mother’s tumour, Riley allowing himself to be bitten by vampires, Riley leaving, Buffy being staked through the stomach, her mother’s death, discovering her sister isn’t real, all the Glory drama...I’m surprised Buffy hasn’t broken before the end of this episode. The title of the next episode, “The Weight Of The World”, is apt because that’s been Buffy’s life for six years! She’s been burdened with the responsibility of the world on her shoulders since she was FIFTEEN! She didn’t ask for this, she didn’t apply for the job, it was forced upon her. In this episode, Buffy is depressed. She’s terrified, isolated, on the run, and just wants all the drama and heartache to stop. When Dawn is taken by Glory at the end of the episode, it’s the final nail in Buffy’s coffin mentally. She’s lost everything (in her mind). She blames herself for losing Dawn after she promised her mother that she’d always protect Dawn. This moment has been building all season, the pieces have slowly been moving into place since “Buffy vs. Dracula”, and now they’ve finally fit together. Buffy reaches catatonia and shuts down as the episode fades to black.
Quote Of The Episode
Anya: “Shouldn’t somebody be asking ‘are we there yet?’, isn’t that what small entertaining children do?”
Dawn: “That kinda only works if you know where you’re going.”
Anya: “Do we know where we’re going yet?!”
Spike: “We’d already be somewhere if Captain Slowpoke would give up the wheel. Hey, gramps, bloody step on it!”
Giles: “Step on what?! I’ve driven tricycles with more power.”
FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10
What are your thoughts on "Spiral"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
I very much enjoy this episode but always wonder why they didn't take cars. Which is probably why the horses could catch up because they were going so damn slow. And I too thought Giles was going to die. I very much look forward to your review of The Weight of The World because is there some kind of connection between Ben and Glory??
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