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Season 7 Episode 3 "Same Time, Same Place"

Buffy, Dawn, & Xander at the airport (Sunnydale has an airport?) nervously awaiting Willow's arrival. Xander has a sign in yellow crayon which is impossible to read, but is in reference to last season's finale where he turned Dark Willow back to the good side of the force. Xander repeatedly reminds Buffy & Dawn of this.  People disembark from the plane and Willow is nowhere to be found.  The three wonder if Willow has fallen off the wagon. Dawn seems especially hard on Willow. The opening scene repeats, but this time we can see Willow, but not Buffy, Dawn, or Xander. Willow forlornly looks around for her friends but does not see them. A young punk is spraying graffiti on a wall, and is being stalked by something with the creepiest voice ever recorded. People/things with voices like this rarely turn out to be good guys. And indeed the young punk is attacked.

Willow arrives at Buffy's. She goes to her old room and is reminded of Tara's death. Willow hears a noise downstairs and goes to investigate. Finding the house empty she lays down on a couch and drifts off to sleep. Buffy, Dawn, and Xander arrive and ruminate Willow's missing status. They've investigated and know that she was on the plane leaving England, but that she might have departed at any of the stopovers. What? No direct London-Sunnydale flights? They hear a noise upstairs but find nothing.

The next morning Willow goes to the old magic shop and runs into Anya, who can see & hear her. Anya is at her loveable best here, doing her all to make Willow feel guilty. They have a discussion about the travails of power and the hollow feeling of hurting people with it. Could these two actually be bonding? Willow learns that everyone is hanging out at the high school these days. Willow goes to the construction area of the school attempting to find Xander, but instead finds the skinned body of the graffiti spewing punk from the opening. At the same moment Buffy & Xander are viewing the skinned body and remembering Warren's fate, and wonder if Willow is responsible. Willow goes into the school basement to seek out Spike. Spike is babbling incoherently but its revealed that he's simultaneously having conversations with Willow & Buffy & Xander. This explains his insane comments here, but which unseen people was he talking to previously this season? I find crazy Spike annoying. I prefer Drusilla as far as insane vampires go. Spike is able to reason out that Willow can't see Buffy and vice versa. Buffy suspects that Spike knows something about Willow. 

Willow goes to Anya for help with the skinned body. More hilarity ensues as Anya steals yet another scene. Willow gets Anya to help her cast a spell locating all demons around Sunnydale. Something huge is by the Hellmouth (uh oh) but they locate a demon they think responsible for the attack. Buffy, Dawn & Xander are likewise trying to solve the mystery, when Dawn checking out the demon database at Demon.com, finds an entry for a likely suspect...a demon called Gnarl. Buffy grabs Spike from the school basement and uses him as bloodhound to follow the faint trail of blood which Gnarl left behind after his attack. This leads the gang to a hidden cave. The unseen Willow is already investigating inside the cave. As Buffy, Dawn, & Xander enter the cave the extremely creepy Gnarl scratches Dawn. Gnarl's scratch induces paralysis, so Buffy & Xander carry Dawn out of the cave and seal the entrance...inadvertently sealing Willow up as well. Gnarl decides that he just isn't creepy enough and begins a rhyming chant with that hideous voice. Yikes. Gnarl is immune to magic (a lame way to overcome Willow's god-like powers) so Willow is vulnerable to his attack. Gnarl paralyzes Willow and starts scraping away the skin of her stomach and eating it, while sucking up the blood. We really didn't need to see this.

Back at Buffy's, they realize the only way to cure Dawn's paralysis is to kill Gnarl. There's a funny moment here as Xander & Buffy discuss the possibility of Dawn choking on her own vomit, while Dawn mumbles, "Stop talking about vomit!". The fun continues as they call Anya over to look after Dawn, while Buffy & Xander try to kill Gnarl. Anya starts posing Dawn as one would a life-sized doll. Anya mentions in passing that not only is Willow in town, she's also investigating Gnarl. Buffy, Xander & Anya all run back to the cave.

In the cave, Gnarl is slowly eating Willow, telling Willow her friends have abandoned her to him. The gang arrive and start attacking Gnarl, while Anya attends to the badly injured Willow. Anya & Willow have a touching scene as Anya assures Willow that Buffy & Xander did not abandon her and that they're currently fighting to save her. Buffy is able to kill Gnarl, thus removing the paralysis on Dawn & Willow. Back at Buffy's place, a now visible Willow is meditating, self-healing herself from Gnarl's attack. Willow reveals their mutual invisibility was a spell unconsciously cast by her, such was her stress of meeting her friends. Buffy admits that she considered Willow a suspect in the skinning of the young punk. Willow understands. Buffy lends Willow a hand, helping her heal. This was a very powerful scene.

What I liked: Gnarl was an original creation, who I fear will haunt the vacant recesses of my mind for some time. Anya again was golden in every scene. The last scene shows just how talented Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan are. I challenge anyone to name two stronger actresses on one show.

What I didn't like: The mechanics of the mutual invisibility seemed clumsy. People could hear noises the others made, but not their voice? You can cast spells unconsciously? Dawn getting attacked yet again. Mumbling, rambling Spike. Dawn's ease of finding Gnarl information on the net. Gnarl's feasting on Willow was unnecessary. This series usually avoids gratuitous gore, not sure why this was included.

Rating: (out of 6) 3. 

Comments, questions, answers? Happily agree, or violently disagree? Email me and let me know.

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