7.18 - Dirty Girls

Caleb comes to town.

***

Holy crap, man. Holeeeeeeee crap.

Starts off with Nathan Fillion (hooray!) in a truck picking up a girl who's running from the Bringers. She thinks he's there to save her, but he's not. He's using her for a message. After a scummy faux religious speech, he brands her and kicks her out the door. The car behind them stops and Willow gets out to investigate, along with (!!!) Faith.

Just having Faith back brings a great new dynamic to the show. But that's not the only thing. Caleb is awesome. Now, I'm not happy about his southern preacher man persona, as Joss clearly has issues with religion, referring to God as the big bully in the sky. He's an atheist, and I think it colors his work sometimes in a negative and intolerant way, but I digress...I love Fillion, even if I find his southern accent annoying. He's also just what the show needed. A physical threat instead of some looming psychological oogy boogy.

The real impact comes at the end when Caleb kills a few potentials, kicks the crap out of Buffy, and then, in a really chilling and sad moment, puts out Xander's eye. This is the first time this season that I've felt the threat of looming consequences. As of this episode, I feel the stakes being raised, and I'm finally sensing the end coming. Because of that, I'm getting invested in the journey.

Rating: 8/10