“Fine. I invite you in. Nimrod” – Xander
There is kind of a feeling of Deja Vu here as Dawn and soon Buffy, Anya and even Willow find themselves falling for a handsome quarterback R.J. at Sunnydale High which might have a lot more to do with his personality. So yes here we basically get a rehash of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” were Xander’s attempts to use a love spell caused him to suddenly become irresistible to every woman (bar Cordelia) in Sunnydale.
So it would seem that either the writing pool was getting a little dry at this point or perhaps there was just the belief that no one would remember the original episode. Still to cover for things it is hidden initially under the geise of a growing pains episode for Dawn, whose clumsy attempts to attract his attention inevitable go wrong most memorably as she ties out for the cheer squad which means we got to see the Buffy Cheer outfit again.
As the episode goes on the ladies of the scooby gang loose all control and launch into their own plans to impress R.J. with Buffy attempting to kill Principle Wood with a rocket launcher who is completely oblivious of what’s happening behind him as we get to see Spike comedic-ally wrestling the launcher from her. Willow meanwhile has plans to turn him into a girl and Anya more randomly still decides the best way to get his attention is to rob a bank!
Outside of the main plot there is the fun comedic pairing of Xander and Spike who Buffy moves into his apartment, knowing that the school basement is only driving him more insane since he got his soul back. While its great to not have to deal with the insane ramblings of Spike the issues with his character his previous actions still hang over him, but atleast this is a move to try and improve the character from were he’s been the last few episodes. The highlight for this pair coming when they discover that the source of A.J’s allure is in his Letterman jacket which has been passed down his family which we discover when we are introduced to his older brother and former jacket owner who without the jacket has turned into a slovenly layabout. Certainly it’s really saying something when even Xander considers you a loser.
A largely fun episode even though it does hit a dark climax with a rejected Dawn attempting to kill herself on the railway tracks, the plots of Buffy, Willow and Anya help carry it through, especially the slapstick battle for control of the rocket launcher between Buffy and Spike.
Next Episode: Coversations with dead People
Channel: Superhero 