The Watchers' Rewatch

Buffy's 17th birthday is approaching, as are the various body parts of The Judge. Emotions will be high, plots will be revealed, foiled, and brought to completion. Character revelations will be... revealed! And Buffy will go through *three* outfits in one night due to getting the first one wet and the second one... look, there's apparently a lot of water in this one, ok?

Buffy finds herself inside a story about a hive mind that is controlling people, only it's a really really *poor* version of that story unlike Ender's Game, The Borg, The Faculty, or anything tangential like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And we are both *very* grumpy about how badly this episode presents almost everything. If you thought I was harsh on 'Witch' then hold onto your stakes because we have almost nothing positive to say about this episode!

After an incredibly underwhelming explanation of why the Order of Taraka are no longer chasing Buffy ("Angel's contacts say the contract is off" - How? Why? Since when does Mr. Brooding have 'sources' with access to this level of information? When did their raison d'être shift so significantly? I WANT A COMIC TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS) she, along with the audience, discover that Joyce has a new boyfriend. A new boyfriend who is very likeable and has massive boundary issues that he hides with 'mini pizzas' (if it's not thin crust it's not a pizza don't EVEN get me started on top of this Order of Taraka nonsense) and software upgrades. Things get worse, then a *lot* worse, then a different kind of worse which is kinda better.Discord link to join our server for any budding Watchers out there: https://discord.gg/8RGd3Y64

How will Buffy escape the inescapable Order of Taraka? Will Drusilla be revived? Will Angel survive the OBVIOUS DIRECT SUNLIGHT THAT HE'S DRAGGED THROUGH? Find out the answers to... some of these questions and more as we explore this week's tangent-a-palooza on The Watchers' Rewatch!

It's career fair day.... week.... generic period of time that we prove doesn't start on a Monday but is retroactively referred to as 'week' even after the initial banner doesn't specify that.... ANYWAY... Spike is working on restoring Dru to full strength and doesn't want the Slayer's interference. He sends in the 'big guns', the Order of Taraka to keep her busy. One of the suspected members of the order turns out to be... someone unexpected. Is it a suspicious ploy? Are there members of this order that we haven't noticed? Why do I use '....' so much? Some (but not all) of these answers await!

People that Giles used to know are turning up dead (sometimes shortly after turning up alive). At least that means we get to see more Ethan in this episode! Also, more versions of Jenny! Flirty Jenny, amorous Jenny, scared Jenny, questionable skincare Jenny, glowing eyes Jenny and even Jenny with extra protrusions!

A cute boy from Buffy's past reemerges so, as you've probably guessed, villain. But seriously, he's *gorgeous*.

It's Halloween in the Buffyverse, which is actually a night of non-demonic activity in the canon. Which of course means that it's a massive night for demonic activity in this episode. Princess Buffy, Soldier Xander, Ghost Willow and not-a-cat-girl Cordelia will have some spooky goings-on to contend with.

Buffy decides to go to a frat party after a lovely young man ignores her initial disinterest and uses social manipulation until he gets the answer he wants. The moral of the story? Don't drink alcohol, apparently.