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Episode 5.05: No Place Like Home | Episode 5.067: Fool For Love
Characters:
| Buffy | Xander | Willow |
| Giles | Spike | Riley |
| Anya | Dawn | Tara |
Overall (7/10)
Buffy:
Buffy learns from past mistakes and tells Giles immediately about Dawn being the Key. However, she chooses not to tell her friends.
Given their reactions in Blood Ties when they do find out, this is probably for the best. One of the burdens of being the Slayer is having to isolate herself for the good of others. The information that Dawn is the Key is very important and dangerous knowledge to have. Buffy makes the tough call of keeping it quiet except for herself and Giles.
She's also moving back home with her mother. Partially because of her mother's illness, partially because of Dawn. In addition, she becomes a bit hyper-protective of Dawn. Especially noteworthy is that Buffy is more willing now to take on her role as a sister now that it's connected with her Slaying.
Buffy: They sent her to me, Giles. I think I have to take care of her. I want to.
This is a far cry from the Buffy who had been complaining about Dawn up to this point. However, she takes her Slaying seriously, and, once she finds out that Dawn is a part of that world, she accepts it as her responsibility.
In this episode, they're largely researching Glory and trying to figure out what they can about her...which isn't much. In lighter news, Tara's having a birthday, and Buffy doesn't know what to get her.
She's also concerned about being the odd one out at the birthday party among Tara's Wiccan friends.
Buffy: I just hope we fit in. Not awkward.
This is an especially amusing line considering how awkward Tara apparently feels with the Scoobies. It shows the flip side: that the individual Scoobies are also afraid of feeling awkward outside of their group.
It's telling at the end that Buffy is the first one who speaks up for Tara (besides Willow). Buffy is the leader now. That scene shows the "family" that will be at play by the end of the season.
Xander:
There's a lot of references to the Scoobies as a team in this episode. When Buffy is talking about getting beat up by Glory, Dawn gives some encouragement, and Xander adds his thoughts:
Xander: 'Cause you'll have back up, baby. She's messin' with all of us.
If you mess with one Scooby, you mess with them all. They've become a family-in-practice.
Xander also gets a nice scene commisserating with Buffy about not being sure about Tara.
Xander: With Willow, it's like she's got this whole new thing in her life, but she's still Willow, I can always figure her out. But Tara, I just know she likes Willow, and she already has one of those.
This is emphasizing how very little the Scoobies know about Tara. Tara still feels peripheral to the group. Oddly enough, this is in contrast to Anya, who has assimilated quite well with everyone. Of course, Anya is more outspoken than Tara.
Willow:
Willow attempts to support Tara as best she can in this episode. She's been Tara's advocate for a while, trying to get Tara to be a part of the group. In this episode, she continues this pattern.
They have a bit of a relationship bump when Tara's family stops by the shop. Tara introduces Giles but fails to mention Willow (for obvious reasons), and it obviously bothers Willow. Then there's the confrontation in Tara's room after Tara's father had left. Things are alright by the end, though, which is what matters.
Giles plays an interesting role, now. Due to Buffy's expanded Slayer training, he's more active as her Watcher. He's also the first and only one she tells about Dawn. However, even as she "reports" to him, he still leaves it up to her as to what to do. While Giles acts as a guide and mentor, he still defers to her leadership, which will be important this season. He acts in a supporting capacity.
Again, we get references to how the Scoobies back each other up:
Giles: People help each other out, Anya. It's one of our strange customs.
Spike continues his romantic obsession, engaging in...um...fantasies of fighting Buffy while having sex with Harmony. It is interesting the form his fantasy takes. It's a straight-out fight, which Spike surely misses now that he's chipped. Additionally, there's a sexual subtext under it (Buffy's straddle of Spike's face and her final line that she's "coming"). It highlights how tangled up sex and violence are for vampires.
We also see Spike's waffling about helping Buffy. He at first goes to watch her get killed. However, he reluctantly enters the fight, himself, in order to help out.
Again, going back to the statements Giles and Xander make: people help each other. Spike's presence in the "family" scene isn't coincidence. By the end of the season, Spike will be fighting alongside the others.
Why does Spike dive in to help Buffy? He probably doesn't even know, and probably would deny it. He likely would say that he wants to be the one who kills her. I think it comes down to the unconscious affection he has for her borne from his obsession that compels him to help her when needed.
Further, Spike also helps clear up the question of whether Tara is a demon or not. Despite his protestations that he doesn't care, he obviously is taking some interest in the Scoobies and their issues.
Oh, Riley. This was doomed from the get-go.
After witnessing Buffy's uber-protectiveness of Dawn, Riley catches on that there's something Buffy isn't telling him. And he doesn't like it. He sees it as her not trusting him or not feeling close enough to confide in him.
In fact, it's just another case of Riley not "getting" her Slayer duties. That, for his protection, there may be things that she can't tell him.
He suggests calling in the government, which Buffy understandably reacts poorly, too. The last thing she likely wants is the government involved when her sister is a mystical key.
Riley misinterprets Buffy's reluctance to talk to him and takes it as a personal rejection.
After he feels he's been pushed away from her world by her, he goes to a bar that's firmly situated in that world. It's his way of exploring what he feels Buffy doesn't want him to see.
It's also notable in that he's not in the "family" scene. As Tara is accepted into the group, Riley gets further and further removed from it.
Anya is, apparently, quite happy working at the magic shop. She's finally found an outside interest.
Dawn actually spends quite a bit of time hanging out with the Scoobies in this episode. It seems that Buffy's keeping Dawn close to her.
And we finally get a Tara episode. This is an episode that was set up in S4's Goodbye, Iowa, and now we finally get the pay-off.
Tara's background is not very surprising. Her family doesn't approve of her magic-use, and they have a family legend that their women turn into demons at the age of 20. This is used to keep the women in line and make them easy to control. This background does explain a lot of Tara's nervous, withdrawn behavior.
There's also the easy-to-make analogy of her family also not approving of her lesbianism. In S4, magic was used as a lesbian metaphor, and it partially continues that function here. Her father hoping she'd "get over" it if he let her go. But now they want to take her back and take care of her, themselves.
There's also the obvious sexism inherent in the family "philosophy" that Tara attempts to free herself from.
However, it is only with Buffy's (and subsequently the rest of the Scooby gang's) help that she finally is able to do so.
Tara is obviously worried about her place with the Scoobies. She's made mention several times this season that she doesn't feel as if she belongs with the group. However, she finally gets full acceptance here.
Despite the fact that Buffy's not too sure about Tara and thinks she's weird, Buffy considers her "family", and will protect her as such. This is a strong message that plays to one of the central themes of the season. This fervor to protect their own will lead to Buffy's sacrifice at the end of the season.
Tara's family stops by to try to oppress her. Buffy says "no" to that nonsense.
The bad guy is Tara's family and their attempt to take Tara away.
Glory does make an appearance. There's a carefully-shot scene that hints at the Ben/Glory connection, and we also get more indications that Glory's a Really Big Bad.
This episode works largely for its commentary on the theme of the season. Taken on its own, it's a decent enough episode. However, considering it in light of the larger picture, it becomes even better.
Special performance award goes to Megan Gray as Sandy. Let's give a hand to her for coming back to reprise her bit role in S3's Doppelgangland.
7 out of 10.
The "family" moment. It shows us who will fight and the end, and it's notable for who's not there.
Episode 5.05: No Place Like Home | Episode 5.067: Fool For Love
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