So, I Just Watched Tonight's Episode of Buffy... (Warning: Major Spoilers!)

I have to admit, I've been a little disappointed in Buffy recently. After a spectacular buildup, the last couple of episodes were pretty lackluster, and this one didn't exactly break the streak the way I was hoping. On the other hand, it did redeem itself a great deal in the last ten minutes or so. Truly, I spent the vast majority of the episode thinking "Oh, gee, Dawn as the next slayer. Wow, who didn't see that coming? You know, it's just really not like the Buffy writers to go for the obvious plot twist like that and then act like it's all shocking..." Well, I was right, it's not like them, and I should have had a bit more faith.

And, hey, speaking of Faith... OK, I'm officially confused. I thought I had the whole slayer mythology sorted out, but recent eps seem to be telling me otherwise (and this one was pretty darned explicit about it). Here's how I thought it worked: Buffy's (temporary) death in the first season triggered the calling of Kendra. Kendra's death triggered the calling of Faith. When Buffy died the second time (which episode I still haven't seen, but I'll doubtless get to it eventually), no new slayer was called, because technically the succession had already passed from Buffy and the fact that she was still walking around alive up 'til that point was something of a fluke. All of this would seem to indicate that, whatever might happen to Buffy in the meantime, no new slayer will be called until Faith dies. Yes? So why is Buffy telling these kids that one of them will be called when she (Buffy) dies? Continuity? Hello? I mean, did I just miss an episode where they explained everything, or is this as big a gaffe as it seems to be?

On the up side, I loved the line comparing Andrew to a mushroom...