Ok guys. It's now 3 on 1 and to be honest, though each one of you makes excellent points every time I try to defend my reasoning, (which, btw, I often agree with individually), I remain unconvinced where the bigger picture is concerned. Since it would be incredibly difficult to address the most recent onslaught of comments one by one, let me try to end this by trying to wrap everything together and addressing as many main points as I can.
1. All, or some of you, take issue with the lack of planning. I insisted, (and still do), that in this case there wasn't time for a great plan. There was Buffy's strength, a good place to fight with lots of things that could be used as weapons, and a powerful witch waiting to jump in and help.
You cite examples in which the Scoobies *did* plan ahead and insist that because they did it then, they can do it now. This situation was unique in that there was a lesson to be taught and a very short amount of time in which to do anything about the Ubervamp who they knew was coming to Buffy's house. Part of that lesson, btw, is that sometimes you don't have time, and you do have to think on your feet.
And by the way, if you think there was a better way to have handled it, please share--I'd love to hear it. I've addressed a couple of ideas on this thread already, stating why they either wouldn't work in my opinion, or would make for boring TV.
2. You insist that the Xander's choice of location had nothing to do with the fact that there was plenty of equipment that an expert like Buffy could use in her favor. I have to disagree--what more can I say? Putting Buffy in an arbitrary space with no weapons would be "suicidal," as you say. That's not what happened here. Why do you insist that it did? Let's give them more credit and say that they picked the site for a reason. I don't see a reason to believe otherwise, as it was always quite clear to me.
3. You think it's ridiculous that Buffy didn't bring traditional weapons with her. First of all, let's just be clear: there were certainly weapons of this kind in the hands of the girls. And as I've said a thousand times, the equipment could, and was, used as weaponry. I'm not making up the reasoning for that, btw. I'm taking it directly from Buffy's quote in Potential in which she explains that a Slayer should be able to defend herself using almost anything. Is that a reference to "improvisational" technique? Yes. Would Buffy have tried it if she didn't have a point to make, unless she was cornered and had no other choice? NO! Did she make her point loud and clear when she defeated the Ubervamp without traditional weapons? I think she did. Was the whole thing a bit of an exaggerated triumph? Yes. Did it make for a great story? Yes.
4. Some of you imply that I'm confusing blatant suicidal tendencies with emotional growth. What can I say? I watched Buffy's confidence develop on screen before me throughout the course of those 7 seasons, and I see incredible strength. I think, given the fact that it is her calling to be on the front lines all of the time, and given the fact that she accepts this and her overall mission as a Slayer, one could argue that there is something reckless in that. Lots of the positions she is put in are extremely dangerous, and even when a plan is well thought out, (by Scooby standards), there is never very much about which to be certain. Take Graduation Day for example. I mean, come on, let's think about that plan for a sec. "You guys, go tell all of the class of '99 that monsters are real and that they will need to fight for their lives against vampires and a giant snake demon, even though most of them have never so much as taken karate in their lives. Quickly. Then, I'm gonna appeal to the Mayor/snake/demon's human side in order to lure him into the school so we can blow it up. Oh, yeah, I can't actually guarantee that when the Mayor becomes a snake he'll still understand language or have any semblance of emotion or memory from when he was human, but I'm betting that he will. And I'm betting that you'll all be strong enough to defend yourselves with a bunch of weapons you've barely even held before, let alone used effectively. Now go!" I mean, NOTHING about that plan, as I see it, was a sure bet. Something to really hang your hat on. But she's the slayer, and she's got to do SOMETHING. Does that make her suicidal? No. It makes her a hero.
And that's what I took away from Showtime. By the time we reach this episode, Buffy has really grown. She believed in herself very much in Graduation, but even more so now. When she stood in that dining room with bruises all over her face and (possible) internal bleeding and said "there is only one thing on this Earth more powerful than evil. And that's us," I believed that she believed it.
She was enough because she had to be. She didn't know what was coming next but it was sure to be worse than one Ubervamp. If she couldn't take him out with all the skills and all the guts she'd developed over the years, (and oh yeah, a lot of cinderblocks and a powerful witch), then they probably weren't going to stand a chance.
