Perri's Review

Tara's secret is finally revealed and it's, well, rednecks. Which doesn't make this any less of an awesome episode.

Plot:
Willow and Tara lounge in their dorm room, playing with the kitten, as Tara spins a sleepy Willow a silly story. Tara tries to do some witch-type research, to be useful to the gang, but Willow reassures her and they wind up snuggling cutely. Across town, Buffy could use some snuggling -- she's breaking the news about Dawn to a stunned Giles. She determined to protect Dawn herself, and equally determined not to tell anyone else Dawn's secret. And in the ruins of the warehouse, the psycho blonde in the red dress -- Glory -- emerges from the wreckage. "Okay," she announces. "Now I'm upset."

Buffy is going to work immediately, moving back out the dorm room she just moved into a few days earlier, and bossing a press gang of her buddies. In between refereeing Xander/Riley wresting matches and worrying obsessively about Dawn's whereabouts, Buffy tells them that she wants to move home to take care of her mom, and to be close while Glory is on the prowl. Tara retreats after attempting an obscure joke no one else gets, and Willow takes the chance to rope everyone into coming to the Bronze the next night for Tara's birthday. Everyone accepts with varying levels of enthusiasm and lack thereof.

At the hospital, Ben the Intern deals with another mental case, then heads into the locker room. As he strips out of his scrubs (and can we just thank Joss again for remembering his female demographic? Yum!), he is entirely unaware of the particularly ugly demon stalking through the shadows towards him... and is abruptly stopped by Glory. "I need a favor," she informs it cheerfully, and drags it away.

At the magic shop, Anya is getting into the whole saleswoman thing, into being part of the system, and Giles is making no progress on tracking down Buffy's new opponent, hampered by the lack of a distinctive description. Xander and Buffy are trying to work up enthusiasm for Tara's birthday, but collectively can't think of a present. They don't really know her that well, they conclude, as anything other than Willow's girlfriend who is very nice. Buffy just doesn't need any more headaches -- so she's probably really happy she doesn't know that Spike is busy fantasizing about fighting her (among other things) as he snogs with Harmony in bed.

Research into possible presents and big bads continues at the magic shop, interrupted by a young guy with a hick accent and the general attitude of an annoying ninth-grader towards magic. He's saved from being smacked into unconsciousness on the principal of it all by Willow and Tara's arrival. Tara stops dead when she spots him; he straightens and smirks. "What's the matter? You don't have a hug for your big brother?"

Tara introduces Donnie the Obnoxious to the (stunned) Scooby Gang. "How did you find... I mean, how come you came?" Tara asks. She doesn't really get an answer before the door jingles and her father walks in, followed by her cousin Beth. They hug with a distinct lack of closeness, and Tara vaguely introduces him to the gang. After making dinner plans, he leaves again, pulling Donnie and Beth in his wake. Tara, visibly shaken, tries to hide it and slip into research mode. Research party over, Buffy heads home, where Riley has been unpacking the rest of Buffy's stuff. Cute flirting ends when Dawn swings in, announcing her intention to visit a friend across the street. Buffy wigs and forbids Dawn to leave, "It's family night. Besides, Melinda's a bad influence. I don't like you hanging out with someone that... short." Riley confronts Buffy about her psycho behavior, and figures out very quickly that she's keeping something major from him. When she refuses to tell him what's going on, he leaves, hurt. "If you decide you want to let me in on any of it, let me know. I'll come running."

Tara arrives home to just as much badness; her father is waiting for her. And he's seriously not happy. "I thought you'd gotten over the whole witchcraft thing," he says in tones of deep disappointment. Tara tries to defend herself; her father ignored it, reminding her that her birthday is coming up. "You're nearly 20. The same age your mother was when she... Do your friends even know?" Tara blinks, and lies. "Yes." Dad's not buying it; he wants to take Tara home with him. "You have evil inside of you and it's going to come out," he warns. "It doesn't feel evil, sir," Tara whispers, miserable. He's not impressed. "Evil never does." Laying a guilt trip, he tells her he doesn't feel like eating and leaves -- after telling her they're leaving by morning. He turns in the doorway for a parting shot. "Your family loves you, Tara. No matter what. How do you think your friends are going to feel when they see your true face?"

In her rooms -- which are essentially one huge closet, Glory interrogates her new demon toy, finding out Buffy is a Slayer and sending him and his friends out to kill her. (It's apparently declasse for her to fight a demon herself.

Willow returns home to pick Tara up for a Scooby meeting to discuss Glory, but Tara begs off, unintentionally hurting Willow with her brusqueness. As Willow leaves, she bends to her research. Then, as Giles lectures to the gang about safety, she sneaks into the magic shop and whispers a chant, then blows something out of her palm. The light extends out and enters the eyes of the Scoobies. They blink, then move on. Near tears, Tara sneaks back out, unobserved.

It seems to be brood over Buffy night. Riley heads for a familiar locale to lick his wounds -- he's apparently taken up residence at Willy's bar, against the warnings of the human bartender. A cute brunette tries to pick him up; he up for a flirtation and buys her a drink, then brushes her off. "I don't go out with vampires. They're never interested in my intellect." And across town, Spike finds out from a bubbling Harmony that there's a gang of demons heading out to kill the Slayer. This is interesting; Spike puts on his jacket and heads out to watch the show.

Tara makes her way back across campus alone, and runs into sweet cousin Beth. She wanted to make sure Tara was okay, and see if she needed any help packing. "I'm not coming back with you," Tara tries to assert, and Beth's sweetness melts away. "You selfish bitch," she snarls, and accusations fly -- apparently Tara should be home taking care of her father and brother instead of living "god knows what kind of life". In the process of setting women's lib back 30 years, Beth accidentally stumbles on Tara's recent spellcasting, and is ready to run right off to snitch to her father. "It was just so they wouldn't see the demon part of me," Tara explains frantically, near tears. And at the magic shop, Willow opens the door at a knock -- and stares right past the demons standing there. Like she doesn't even see them.

"Don't you see how out of control you are?" Beth pushes the point home, circling her miserable cousin. But she's right about one thing; she wants Tara to tell her friends her secret, before Tara's father can. Research continues happily in the shop, everyone completely undisturbed by the demons wandering through their midst. Even the Slayer, working out in back, notices nothing wrong -- until something invisible to her grabs her around the throat. All hell breaks loose as Xander runs to help, and is thrown across the room. Giles hastily gets Dawn out of the line of fire as Spike wanders past -- equally unseen -- and into the practice area. He enjoys the sight of Buffy losing a fight... until one of the demons picks up something sharp and deadly, and advances on the captive Slayer. With a disgusted expression, he dives into the fray, pulling off one of her attackers.

Buffy, suddenly freed, heads into the shop, where the Scoobies are in deep trouble against their unseen attackers. "Buffy, behind you!" Tara suddenly warns from the doorway. Realization hits, and the girl has just enough time to break her spell before a demon knocks her into the front counter. But works; with her opponents visible, Buffy finishes them off easily -- in front of Tara's family, who arrive on the scene just in time for a rather spectacular demon neck-breaking. "What the hell is that?" Tara's father demands. "I don't understand."

"I'm so sorry," Tara babbles. "I was trying to hide. I didn't want you to see what I am."

"The women in our family have demon in them," Tara's father explains bitterly. "It's where the magic comes from." The pieces fall into place for Buffy; Tara's spell nearly got all of them killed.

"I'll go," Tara sniffles, "I'm very sorry." But things are also sinking in for Willow, and she stops Tara before she can go very far. Over the continued protests of Tara's father, who apparently really believes that Tara has to be "controlled," and that only he and her brother can do it, Willow makes Tara look at her. "I trusted you more than anyone in my life. Was that all a lie?" Tara denies it, shakily denies that she wants to leave, but her father isn't having any of it. "The girl belongs with her family. I hope that's clear to the rest of you."

"It is," Buffy says thoughtfully. "You want her, Mr. Maclay? You can go ahead and take her. You just gotta go through me." She turns to face him, and Dawn instantly jumps forward to do the same. One by one, the rest of the Scooby gang (sans Spike) steps forward to form a wall between Tara and the Maclays. Her father is stunned and outraged.

"We are her blood kin," he declares. "Who the hell are you?"

Buffy doesn't budge. "We're family," she says simply, as Tara begins to cry grateful, joyful tears.

Donnie makes one more try at taking his sister, and is neatly headed off by Xander, Beth goes bitchy and is outclassed by Anya, and Spike gets tired of the whole thing and pops Tara in the nose. She shouts in pain... and so does Spike. "There's no demon in there," he shrugs through the pain from the chip. "There's no demon in there. It's just a family legend, am I right? Just a bit of spin to keep the ladies in line?" Mr. Maclay makes one more try, but Tara faces him down. "Just go," she says quietly, and smiles happily as they leave. And at her birthday party, she's in her element, surrounded by her new friends -- including Riley, who shows up near the end. Willow finally drags her onto the floor for a dance, and they get a chance to talk, Willow reassuring Tara that she loves her more, knowing what she came from, and how she's overcome it. "Even when I'm at my worst, you always make me feel special," Tara whispers, overwhelmed. "How do you do that?"

Willow smiles. "Magic." And as the two girls snuggle together, moving slowly to the music, they begin to float off the floor, dancing in midair.

Continuity:
Tara is confirmed as a hereditary witch/sorceress/what have you, raised by a rather, ah, rural family who firmly believed her powers to be demonic, which they don't appear to be.

Glory (the new Big Bad) is still intent on tracking down The Key, and getting Buffy out of the way to do so.

Relationships:
Willow and Tara are more solid than ever.

Riley seems to be having some testosterone issues; hopefully, he'll get over them before it really screws up his relationship with Buffy.

Spike may be in denial, but he can't stand to see Buffy in serious danger.

Characters:
You know, I think the thing that killed me the most about Tara's family is seeing how she started stuttering he second she laid eyes on them. She's been doing so well, loosening up around the Scoobies and trying to make jokes, to fit in. And it all goes to hell the second her family shows up -- which just tells volumes about how she was raised. Willow is absolutely right; the fact that Tara had the courage to bail, to get the hell out of Dodge and try to make a better life for herself (one that involves fighting monsters on a regular basis), especially considering how shy she is, incredibly impressive. Her passive-aggressive bitch of a cousin alone would have made me run screaming, entirely aside from her control-freak of a father. As for the source of Tara's powers... we still don't know, actually. Spike certainly perceives her as human, and the spell didn't make her invisible, but neither of these things says anything about what she really is, being it simply a powerful human or... something else. Methinks we haven't seen the last of Tara's story.

And Willow shines defending her -- making certain that leaving or staying would be Tara's choice, without the kind of pressure Tara's father (and I use the term loosely) was using. Her love for Tara is very deep and very genuine, with the kind of sweet consideration we've always expected from Will. What I really like is that Tara has started to take something of an equal role in the relationship; she's the one telling the silly bedtime story and indulging her sleepy lover. She's giving instead of only being on the receiving end of Willow's sweetness and protection, which is important.

And how proud was I of the Scoobies? Dawn popping up instantly to defend Tara, Giles very deliberately making his stand, Xander and Anya spoiling for a fight... Very, very cool. This makes Tara and official Scooby Ganger now -- which I think she's been considered by the rest of the group for some time. But now she believes it. It actually says a lot for the entire group that, even not knowing much about Tara other than, she's nice and she's powerful and Willow loves her, they are willing to accept her as one of their own, and fight for her accordingly. Xander was particularly lovely, threatening Donnie on the only level Donnie would understand, and I think he could have taken him!

Anya was just amusing through the entire episode. She's been as much of an outsider in her own way as Tara, accepted into the gang more as Xander's girlfriend than anything else. And she was feeling it, judging from how gleeful she is about finding a place -- in the gang, in the system, in the world. Working in the magic shop has already begun to make its mark on her; I think she'll learn a lot from Giles.

And yes, I was very proud of Buffy, too. The stress of the season is beginning to show, but she's not giving in. Unlike the whiner of last season, this season's Slayer is sucking it up and dealing, taking care of the responsibility of her family, of guarding "The Key", dealing with Glory, and still finding the energy and spirit to defend Tara. Which is not to say that she's not having her little psycho moments, especially concerning Dawn. The difference is, this time around, she's earning them! And, of course, there was that interesting bit of conversation with Giles about "When my dad bailed on us...." We've known Mr. Summers was an absentee parent for quite some time, but this is the first time we've heard Buffy discuss it, heard any of her bitterness. Not too important, but a little look at the Summers family dynamics.

Oh, Spike. Spike, Spike, Spike... I feel for you, dude, really, even more since you can't stand to see your formerly worst-enemy in mortal danger. Poor baby, he's trying to hard to stay evil, and it's so not working.... But you do have to admire his simple, straightforward solution to problems. < g >

Okay, I can understand Riley being hurt that Buffy isn't telling him everything that's going on. Coming on top of his demonstrated (and partially justifiable) insecurity about loosing his 'superpowers', he's feeling demachoed and very sensitive. Which he shouldn't be but hey, he's a guy, one accustomed to meeting Buffy as an equal. I can see her point in not telling Riley about Dawn, not wanting Dawn treated differently, but she needs to tell him something. And, frankly, it wouldn't hurt for at least one other person to know, seeing as how Buffy and Giles will be on the front lines of any battle to protect Dawn. But Riley does need to take a chill.

Best Moments:
Tara's amusement at sleepy Willow during the entire far-too-cute bedtime story. The cuddling following was also massively cute; Joss rocks.

Xander and Riley wrestling in Buffy's room. Those two are so cute, and it's so good for Xander to have another guy around to bond with. Giles just doesn't cut it for some things.

Anya exulting over her place in the system. She's cute.

Buffy's crack about Glory being like Cordelia. I love that this show doesn't forget characters when they leave... and she's not wrong!

Tara and her father in her dorm room. Horribly tense and hurtful and painful for Tara. < sniffle > "You're in a magic shop, and you can't think what Tara would like. I believe you're both profoundly stupid." -- I love Giles for saying this, and I love his relationship with the Scoobies that makes it so that he can say it! Who knew, when they first met....

Glory and the demon. I know she's evil, but she is also damned amusing!

Riley and Sandy. < snicker > I was prepared to scream at his lousy dialogue until he fixed it all by knowing she was a vampire. Just a priceless scene; I love Riley when he's snarky.

Spike giving in and saving Buffy. < snicker > The poor dear....

The entire fight scene; good performances against the invisible demons from everyone, and nice fight choreography. Love the new guy.

Giles helping Dawn out from under the desk after the fight. His body language is wonderful, completely paternal and protective. A really lovely, subtle bit of business.

The confrontation against the Maclays. Scooby bonding, the stuff we missed so desperately last year. Dawn popping to the front was particularly cute, as was the brief muscle contest between Donnie and Xander. Willow, of course, rocked. Way too cool.

The party scene. Nicely directed and edited, and the dance between Willow and Tara was just the sweetest thing ever. Until they started levitating, which I really could have lived without. Too cheesy.

Questions and Comments:
Like I said, we still haven't got a, to my satisfaction, definitive answer about Tara's powers. What was her mother? What happened to her mother?

I repeat -- so. What's up with Intern Ben?

Joss has been listening to Canadian singers again -- Tara Maclay is close enough to Tara MacLean that it can't be an accident. Cool.

< pout > Got Willy's, but no Willy! Want!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. An absolutely stand-out performance from Amber Benson; the revelation on Tara was a bit anticlimactic, but the wonderful character development throughout more than made up for it.

Valerie's Comments

So Tara's big secret is...her family is rednecks! *dramatic chord*

I started with that because it's what Jack said when I walked in from rehearsal about 20 minutes into the ep. He was kidding, but he turned out to be right.

And I like it. In dramatic terms, that is; in terms of what Tara has gone through psychologically, it *sucks*. But in dramatic terms, I love that this Big Secret we've been waiting for is completely mythical, that it was something wrongfully heaped on her by her supposedly well-meaning but UTTERLY wrong-headed family. Specifically her father, who presumably taught brother Donny and cousin Beth to think the same way. Whom I actually believe when he says he cares about her and wants what's best for her...just like any other psychological abuser.

I love that they didn't shy away from this, or even cloak it entirely in a supernatural metaphor. There still is one, in the same way that the witchcraft issue has done double duty for both Tara and Willow throughout their relationship--both as a direct issue of its own (albeit more fanciful than the real-life version), and standing in for the arguably thornier issue of their sexuality. But the choice to have Tara be a perfectly normal, entirely human young woman who happens to have a tremendous gift is a much stronger one, IMHO, than having her turn out to be part demon.

That said, my highest praise for this ep is reserved for how, and more importantly *when*, they revealed that she is entirely human...namely, *after* the gang had made it abundantly clear that they would love, accept and defend her as a demon. This was absolutely necessary to keep her humanity from turning into a copout, and it was beautifully handled. And what a thoroughly, wonderfully Buffy moment! I mean, where else would you get someone announcing through joyful tears that "He hurt my nose!" :-)

My second-highest praise is also in the category of non-copout: the complete lack of sudden conversion on the part of her family. Their beliefs about the way the world works, and about what constitutes good and evil, have been shaken to the core...and they have responded in the hyper-defensive, and unfortunately highly realistic, manner of closing their minds even tighter.

I also like that this was done without making them stereotypical bible-thumpers--the closest they got to that was that Tara's dad made more colloquial mentions of God than probably any character we've yet seen on Buffy. It was very refreshing to have them be quite reasonable-seeming, basically socially functional people with some serious but real-life-size issues. The endless retreads of Carrie's mother (did you know Piper Laurie thought that was a satire when she first accepted that role?) we typically see just don't cut it. A parent doesn't have to be flipped-out psychotic for his/her beliefs to damage a child. An uncomfortable, even scary truth--just the kind that Buffy likes to take on. Yet another example of why I can't fathom the people who still think of it as a teeny-bopper show. (Then again, when even the people we're supposed to choose from to run our country are all about packaging, because they've learned that it's all most people seem to care about, I can't actually be surprised by that...)

Isn't it interesting that, at the end of the day, my (and several other folks', if I remember correctly) very first instinct about the source of Tara's issues turned out to be absolutely correct: her mother was a misunderstood witch, and something bad happened to her because of it. And even as we get confirmation of this, we're effectively back to Square One, because we still don't know *what* happened to her mom. Was her dad responsible? Was there an accident involving demons or a miscast spell? Has anyone ever told her the truth, or even their version of it? And, perhaps most importantly, is her mom still alive somewhere? Her dad's utter vagueness about what happened certainly leaves that possibility open. All we know is that something happened, and she's no longer in the picture. Since whatever-it-was happened (or at least started) when Mom was only 20, it seems likely that Tara barely knew her, if at all. Is she locked away somewhere? Or having a life somewhere else, maybe afraid to challenge a custody ruling denying her access to her daughter?

In other words, as usual, we got more new questions than answers.

SunSpeak

"The network might've forbid a kiss, but Joss seems quite happy with that, as he's getting a very sweet revenge against the network. There's many more ways to show love between two people than kissing, and Joss is using most of them." -- Judy

"...when Tara first saw her she called her "cousin Beth". So Beth has a double dose of the superiority complex--because she's from a "pure" branch of the family, not part of the supposed "demonic" line; and also because she's presumably living her life the "right" way for a woman: decorative and taking care of her men. Gives a little extra punch to her self-righteous routine, since she implied that she was taking care of *Tara's* poor, lonely men because Tara was supposedly shirking the responsibility. All of which makes her *really* someone it's obnoxious to be inducted in the Namesake Club for, huh, Beth?" -- Valerie

"First fun thing: Memory Girl strikes again. The vamp in the bar, Sandy? Was the chick who died in "Doppelgangland", turned by alterna-vamp Willow. I *knew* I'd seen that girl somewhere before. Second time through, it clicked. Ha! And nice one for Riley, about the vamps are never interested in his mind. If he keeps up that level of snark, there may be hope for him yet." -- Chris

"Much as I'm despising Tara's family, I couldn't actually work up fear/worry about them. And as obnoxious as her menfolk are, I found Beth much more objectionable. Treacherous, selfish little brat. Run yourself, you silly little twit, if you don't want to play housekeeper to Ward and the Beaver. Just because you don't have the guts is no reason to punish Tara. The family, as a whole, were just too... I dunno, bland? Easy? Cruel to Tara, certainly (and I still like the running lesbian/witch parallel they had going here, especially with Buffy and Xander trying to come up with presents) but not actually all that ... interesting. Half the reason I'm feeling like this is because they struck me as too stupid to know the difference between demon, witch, wicca, magic, bad magic, etc. We're too used to people not understanding; the idea that they knew all along that Tara wasn't an evil demon, and that they were just trying to control her, might have been right, but it equally strikes me that they may have been sincere. Not that it matters; they're gone now." -- Chris

"Anyway, I knew Tara wasn't a demon when she walked in and no one had any problem seeing her. If she was part demon, I'd assume they *couldn't* have seen her at all. Although I shudder to think what her dad's method of controlling her 'problem' would involve." -- Chris

"Bugged by the use of "Wicca", again. I thought we'd gotten past this misguided attempt to be PC. To borrow phrasing from someone offlist, Willow is not Wiccan (and she's certainly not *a* Wicca!); she's a Jew who practices magic. They had gotten back in the habit of using "witch" and "witchcraft" for a while, which are perfectly appropriate to Will and Tara as very much non-religious practitioners. Now all of a sudden we get Buffy with the "Wicca" lines again. (And at least it was just Buffy, with a case-in-point demonstration of her lack of grasp on the nature of their studies and practice.) It's a smallish thing, and the continuing flip-flopping of usage indicates that the may be getting feedback to "correct" it in conflicting ways; but it still bugs me."
"I don't think they're ever gonna get this right, honestly. I'm not certain they want to get into the details. Which is very sloppy of them. On the other hand, it gets into something they've been avoiding in the Jewish and Christian realm too: religious beliefs, faith, and any hint of God (aside from whatever made it snow so Angel couldn't kill himself, and that was left pretty damn vague too). Frankly, I think if they just went back to witch and witchcraft instead of wicca, they'd be in the clear--- but I get the feeling they think they're trying to undo the bad green-skinned child-eating connotations of the word by mixing Wicca in with it." -- Valerie and Chris

"Been thinking about Tara's position as speaker for the SlayerSource in "Restless", and how I theorized at the time that she was a representative/manifestation of an equal and opposite counterpart force, generative to the SlayerSource's destructive. For a couple days, I thought that was Jossed by the revelation that she's completely human--or at least non-demonic. By the yardstick that measured this (i.e. Spike getting a neural zap for hurting her), tho, *Buffy* is completely human. And the strong implication that maybe she isn't is still hanging out there.So, for the moment, I still think Tara could be the "Chosen One" of this other force...and now that the burden of her family's belief that she is innately evil has been lifted, we just might see her starting to show it more."
Good point. And it just may not have happened yet, for Tara; whatever demonic thing may still be left, could be in abeyance and leave her on the side of the angels." -- Valerie and Chris

"Buffy's comment about Glory being "kind of like Cordelia" cracked me up. Ashamed to say I never saw it coming. Then again, Cordy's changed so much, and Glory's level of arrogance and self-absorption makes even early-first-season Cordy look like Mother Teresa..." -- Valerie

"I was so glad that Buffy went to Giles with Dawn's secret. After the whole Angel fiasco, it could have been really damaging to the Giles/Buffy relationship not to tell. Of course, it won't make things any easier with Riley, but that's another matter entirely."
"Yes, the Slayer can be taught. Eventually. :> Maybe she should tell Riley, maybe not... but a little *trust* from him, and a little less ego, would be nice. It'd be cool if he'd believe that she wasn't telling him for a reason, not just because he's not SuperHero Guy." -- Kimberly and Chris

"Boy, Riley's still cruisin' for trouble, isn't he? And *giggles* about the Sandy bit. When she first sat down, I thought, "They've used this actress before, haven't they?" Then she introduced herself, and I about lost it. Once again, like Harmony, someone presumed dead by vampire bite has been turned. And in both cases it seems to have been an accident (i.e., we at least didn't *see* the whole big sucking thing). Without getting too much into the mechanics of how the blood exchange actually occurred in either of these cases, it's interesting. (If we did get into it, I'd get a headache. I'm sure it could be explained, but it would take more energy than I have right now.)" -- Valerie

"I like that Buffy chose to tell Giles, and only Giles, about Dawn's true nature. For all that I've railed at her in the past for not telling her friends important things, this time I think she's right: knowing wouldn't do them, or Dawn, any good. And if/when the time comes when they *do* need to know specifics of why it's so important to protect her, and what could happen if Glory gets hold of her, at this point I trust Buffy to tell them. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I believe she's finally learned that lesson. Giles, though, needed to know now, to help her decide what to do about it. That's what a Watcher is for...or at least should be. Yay! " -- Valerie

"How long has the family legend been going around? Just since her mother married into it? Is it a "Welcome to the family, Son. By the way, your new bride might try to cast some spells. Just tell her she's a demon and everything will be fine" thing?" -- Kimberly

"A little surprised that her father didn't comment on the double bed in a room meant for two, but that was the metaphor thing, so I won't make too big a deal about it." -- Kimberly

"Spike hitting Tara doesn't seem like any sort of proof that Tara isn't (at least part) demon--I can't imagine the chip is so advanced that it automatically tags whatever beings Spike encounters as demon/non-demon, etc. It just means that he *thinks* of her as human--hence, the no-attack-without-repercussions block." -- Jeff

"Personally, Glory the Beast now strikes me as far too... I dunno, real?... to be the First any more. She may be *one* of the biggest Bads, but they were a helluva lot more subtle."
Well, I think she's new to this form. Perhaps she will develop more...nuances. On the other hand, new to this form she may be but she has an AWFUL lot of shoes. I admire a demon with ample closet space." -- Chris and Deb