Mr. Pointy's Review: No Place Like Home (Buffy 5.05 spoilers)
so...@xs4all.nl
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
No Place Like Home
Season: 5, Episode 5
Rating: 2 out of 5 stakes
Summary
Joyce's headaches are getting worse and Buffy suspects they're caused by
magic. She goes into a trance to allow her to see magical influences, but
she finds nothing. She discovers that Dawn isn't her sister, though.
Later, she finds a monk who explains that Dawn is a key made flesh and
hidden with the Slayer for protection. She also meets Glory, who is looking
for the key. They fight and Buffy is clearly outmatched until Glory
accidentally collapses the building on herself.
My Opinion
This episode had plenty of plots moving along at a rapid pace, but the end
result still didn't feel very memorable. I really had to struggle to find a
few good quotes. I think what's missing from this episode is the balance of
real life problems mirrored by supernatural problems. Joyce's illness and
Dawn's true identity don't mirror eachother, they're just two different
problems Buffy is faced with at the same time.
The episode wasn't bad, though, but most of the good parts consisted of this
season's plot moving along at a brisk pace. Joyce's illness, Glory, Dawn,
Spike's crush, Giles' magic shop, Anya's new job and Riley's insecurity all
promise to play a big part in this season.
Memorable Moments
Buffy fears that something is very wrong with her mother, so when she finds
a possible magical explanation for it, she clings to it. Magic is something
she can fight, it can be undone. She can't fight a more mundane, physical
threat like a serious illness, though.
Spike has a serious crush on Buffy. He waits in front of her house and when
she confronts him (mostly by nearly breaking his nose), he starts babbling
like a twelve year old in love: "... and I never really liked you anyway
and... and you have stupid hair." He's got it bad.
It's ironic that Buffy doesn't give Dawn much of a chance until she finds
out she isn't really her sister. Then she goes after her to apologize and
comfort her. With Joyce's illness, they're going to need eachother's
support. Buffy doesn't even tell Dawn what she really is. On one hand,
it's just common sense, because Dawn isn't very good at keeping secrets, but
I think the real reason is that she doesn't want to put Dawn through that.
Buffy is finally turning into a real big sister. Strong, supporting,
protecting.
Quotes
Buffy is working on a ritual to see spells when the silence is broken by
a knock on the door.
Dawn: (outside) What are you doing?
Buffy: (frustrated) My boyfriend. Go away.
Buffy finds Spike hiding near her house and hits him in the nose.
Buffy: What are you doing here? Five words or less.
Spike: (Spike counts the words on his fingers.) Out... for...
a... walk... (realizes he still has one word spare, so he decides to use
it wisely) bitch.
Buffy Reviews: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sotty/buffy.html
Angel Reviews: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sotty/angel.html
--
Patrick Scheele (so...@xs4all.nl)
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=*= The Magic Chest: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sotty/magic.html =*=
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