BtVS
S05E14 Crush

Dru's back in town, Spike's head-over-heels for the Slayer, and Harmony... poor Harmony...

I liked!

  1. James! This episode is Spike at his absolute peak. Opening the door like a gentleman, the nausea-inducing Buffy sketches, his little jump when he and Dawn get scared — and more Dawn & Spike babysitting hour? Perfection.
  2. Buffy sitting inside the tape outline of the body.
  3. Harmony! Much maligned, but she gets a shot off. Good for her!

I disliked!

  1. Spike hurting poor Harm.

Rating

I love BtVS the best when they're giving real-world issues the magical treatment. This and the next episode are a one-two punch for shitty boyfriends, and both of them nail it for me.

Spike doesn't have a soul — his love was always going to be twisted and evil. This episode pitches that perfectly: he's pathetic, desperate, wrong. He only knows how to hurt people. Where the show ends up taking it? Eh, don't worry about it.