Here’s the podcast for Season 7, Episode 8 – Sleeper
Spike and the Big Bad
Download: Sleeper
RSS Feed: The Buffy Rewatch
The next podcast will appear on Monday 30th December 2013 for episode nine of Season Seven: “Never Leave Me.” The one where Spike moves into the Summers home and he may not be the only one.
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The Buffy Rewatch 
In response to your confusion over what “the first” is trying to achieve. I was actually just listening to another podcast that was covering “Amends” and they were musing over how “the first” didn’t seem to have a clear purpose in that episode either. In that episode “The first” claimed to have brought Angel back to kill Buffy but then when Angel decided to kill himself instead “the first” said that that wasn’t the plan but that it would do. This doesn’t really make sense either. So I was thinking that maybe because the first is for some reason making others do its bidding and apparently has been doing so for a long time maybe it’s just used to people not following exact directions due to free will and adapting its plans accordingly. That or “the first” is a just poorly planned out plot device either way I thought it was an interesting parallel that I wanted to share with you guys.
By: Danae on December 24, 2013
at 8:12 pm
Now I didn’t feel the same way about “Sleeper” as you guys did and while I thought it was mostly “meh” it impressed me with how plausible it was that Buffy didn’t kill Spike.
Now “Never Leave Me” I can’t say anything impressed me in this one. I hated so much about this episode that I’m going to list all my grievances in a list. Think Martin Luther’s 95 Theses but without all the boring religious stuff and a lot more hilarious.
-I have no problem with Buffy keeping Spike in the house but hey how bout you tied up to the chains first, Buff? Not the little wooden chair in your room with your walls that are so thin I’m surprised the weight of the wallpaper doesn’t send them falling down.
-Speaking of the walls how did Joyce never find out Buffy was the slayer in a house that is only slightly more sturdy then one made out of cards? Was there a plot point were Joyce was partially deaf that I’m forgetting?
-Also no problem that Spike isn’t on the end of stake but does Buffy have to look so pained he’s all tied up? THIS SHOULD BE THIS EMOTIONALLY DRAINING FOR YOU
-If you are going to kill off an recurring secondary character and a nentire organization that has been around since the pilot maybe make it a bit more obvious. Sure the Watcher’s Council could be more accurately named British Asshole Society but vagueness is no one’s friend.
-Haha Willow made a killing Anya joke, isn’t that hilarious? No it’s incredibly distasteful and completely out of Willow’s character since she’s ALL DISGUSTED WITH HERSELF FOR KILLING WARREN.
(Sidenote: why don’t Buffy and Willow like Anya. I understand she is strange and doesn’t act like normal people but no one on Buffy acts like a normal person, its a TV show! Why is Anya so ostracized?)
-Moving on, so Principal Batman’s-sidekick Aroused-penis is burying a body and acting all chill about it. Wow what a layer to a character we know nothing about despite being featured in almost every episode up to this point. Who doesn’t love mystery on top of mystery?
-Andrew is not slapped nearly enough to be tolerable in this episode .
-Andrew tells them he is going to tell them everything, hours pass, an attack happens and he still hasn’t told them a damn thing.
-Buffy saw Spike change you know in that in that combined two minutes of screen-time when he wasn’t out of his mind rambling and/or under the control of the First.
-They bring back a villain that was featured in only one episode that aired five years and except the audience to know who they are talking about.
-Buffy cleans the blood off the killer vampire like he was a toddler who got a little too antsy while being fed.
-Xander getting way too dark.
-The trio continue to have scenes together despite 2/3 of them being dead.
-The 1/3 of the Trio still alive is Andrew.
By: Derek on December 26, 2013
at 11:23 pm
I don’t think the First has a plan, he seems to have an end goal and probably some things that need to be done before that, but what he does inbetween seems rather random and illogical. Like, why did Andrew have to kill Jonathan? Why didn’t the First know that Jonathan wouln’t have enough blood if he knows so much about everything and everyone else? Why did he want to use Andrew’s blood instead when Spike was supposed to kill him to stop him from talking? Opening the seal could have been accomplished so much easier had he used his bringers, but I guess that would be boring. At least the First knows to appreciate a nice upper body.
It’s nice to know the Watcher’s Council is as useless as ever. Not telling the slayer what’s going on is always a good idea. I also had to laugh at their map with these huge rectangles all over it, that seemed useful.
Three episodes ago Buffy was still flinching when Spike barely touched her, but I guess she’s totally over that now. And why would she not use the chains she conveniently already has in the basement?
I’m glad you discussed the street/party scene in Sleeper, because that was my main thought during that episode: Is that a new street, and where did all these people come from?
By: Mareike on December 27, 2013
at 6:54 pm