With That Accent, Of Course He's Evil

We’re almost done with the series, and Joss is once again making full use of the metaphors behind the show. Finally. For the latter part of the show, I feel like there has been so much going on just on the literal level, that a lot of the symbolic meaning has taken a back seat, and just been hinted at. Not as many metaphors have been embodied because all the bodies are busy driving the show towards its conclusion. We’re starting to see a more even mix again, with deeper significance to the action, rather than the simple good versus evil of the last few episodes.

In Potential, Dawn brings another girl into the fold and willing steps out of the spotlight. This is a huge jump for her character from her childish and self-centered focus on her own isolation. Dawn uses her knowledge and skills to fight a vampire without big sister’s help, but rather than hanging on to her new-found power, she gives it up- symbolically at least- to Amanda without a second thought. We see Dawn really reach her potential here, to be as much of an asset to the Scoobies as Xander. And, maybe we don’t have to worry about her lying down in front of anymore trains when she doesn’t get her way.

Lies My Parents Told Me takes a step back from the main issue to focus on a bunch of little boys working through their mommy issues. Even though we’ve been with Spike for four seasons, we just now learn one of the most important aspects of his character in this episode. The poor mama’s boy was crushed by his mother’s comments right at the beginning of his vampiric life. Talk about childhood trauma. I think we see Wood going through the same thing, trying to correlate his mother’s less than affectionate actions with his love for her. After an impressively masculine fight, Principal Wood is left a weepy blob on the floor, who should know better. Spike himself says “It was just the demon talking” in reference to his horrible memories of his mom. Here, we have another vampire twisting Wood’s perception of his mom and leaving him, even though it’s just the demon, this time Spike himself, talking.

Dirty Girls uses all the religious parody we can handle. Caleb, as creepy and disgustingly misogynistic as he is, is still one of the most interesting characters in the entire series. I think he’s unexpectedly scary because- if you take away the supernatural strength and his control of the Ray Charles Brigade- Caleb is a recognizable character. Religious fanaticism is an all-too-human concept which walks the line between familiar and frightening. In fact, when Caleb first appears, he’s presented as a random good Samaritan. Even though, in the Buffyverse, that means he’s likely to end up cannon fodder, his average Joe presentation emphasizes how easily the ‘normal’ world can change to the dangerously supernatural.