This was an amusing episode at first, seeing Jonathan's fever dream of being the hero. I liked the tone of a Saturday morning spy cartoon at the beginning, bringing reminiscence to my childhood cartoons. But then it dragged on way too long. Way, way, too, long. Jeez, is it not over yet?
All joking aside, this Jonathan storyline would've been better served as a single minute montage, with him imagining what could've been. THAT would've been fine on its own, not when it's this entire dragged out episode that (like others have said) disrupted the pacing of the mid-season that was just building momentum with Faith's return. Also, that "Class Protector" joke was a low blow. It was pretty much one of the most meaningful things for Buffy in season 3, period, and now it's reduced to a cheap gag here. Not funny at all.
Being bored throughout most of this episode, all I could think about was why Biley didn't click with me. There's enough justified reasons to like the guy, and the only time I had a real problem with him so far was in one episode, when he was being pushy about Buffy not wanting to be with him. His awkward speech patterns aside, there just isn't that much wrong with him... And yet, I just don't feel the chemistry in Biley at all.
I remember feeling this way back when Angel and Buffy first hooked up. That relationship felt kinda sudden too as I kept trying to search for the one moment when they "fell in love" with each other, trying to find a reason for it (that isn't "the writers needed a romance"). But at least with Angel, I could eventually come to accept that he's this dark, brooding bad boy who made Buffy feel safe. With Riley, I guess the reasoning would be "Buffy wants a normal guy," but then she only "fell in love" with him (AKA kissing him) AFTER she learned he's NOT a normal guy and was involved with the shady Institute organization, so... logic? I don't know. The whole Biley relationship, whenever they come on screen, just feels so contrived for me, like it's only there because the writers needed a relationship, not because it has chemistry. Even when Riley tries to be nice to Buffy in this episode, it's only after he insulted her ("It sounds like nonsense"). It would've been okay for him to be so awkward if he is a comic relief character like Xander, but not when he's supposed to be Buffy's better-half or her soulmate.
Speaking of Xander, he has this one disingenuous line that reminds me of why I disliked him and his sarcasm in earlier seasons: "He blinks? The man blinks and we're having a meeting about it." I initially wrote an entire tirade in this post (which I trimmed) about his annoying role as a comic relief, but considering how much he has grown over the seasons, I felt that it's probably a little unfair to gripe about him over one line (not to mention that it isn't really his fault he's defending Jonathan).
Xander at the end of the episode: "You know what I'll always remember? I'll always remember the way he made me feel about me. Valued, respected. Sort of tingly. And now I'm just... empty."
Okay, fair enough - Xander can be cute and funny in a dorky way sometimes.
And speaking of characters I have a problem with, Spike is NOT giving me a better impression of the upcoming Spuffy relationship with the rapey way he caressed Buffy in this episode. Bleck. Of course, in fairness, Soulless Angel probably have said and done things to Buffy in season 2 that weren't as wholesome either, so I guess I'll let this pass for now. Also, Spike's probably acting this way because of Faith-Buffy's seduction last episode. Still doesn't excuse his actions or make me feel any less uncomfortable towards Spike asserting his sexual dominance over brainwashed Buffy.
The end of the episode made me feel kinda sorry for Jonathan, I guess, but I just can't help thinking that in this episode, the metaphor is that Jonathan stole Buffy's confidence as a person to make himself feel better, and making other women feel small and weak just to boost your own self-esteem is a pretty scummy thing to do, inadvertent or not. I didn't really realize this until the end of the episode when Buffy gets her powers back and realizes she's the powerful woman she's always been, something that was erased by Jonathan's actions. Jonathan doesn't get my forgiveness here unfortunately.
