"Retreat"

Public opinion is against them. The demons have decided to organize. Twilight still wants to put the Slayers in their proper places. It's time to regroup and retreat. Whedon has very cleverly set up a definite challenge for Buffy and her army.

I did not enjoy the execution of Espenson's pivotal Buffy the Vampire Slayer chapter. It dropped Harmony in Hollywood and exposed vampires to the world. The bulk of the story was too much of an insider's joke. However, the tale served as a catalyst to Whedon's long game. I am still foggy on what his long game happens to be and have seldom been able to dope these far reaching schemes in the past. Whedon slew the only character that logically could not die at the end of the fifth season. After that, all bets were off.

I know what Whedon will not do. Whedon is not going to make Buffy the Chosen One again. Emphasis on the one. Whedon found loopholes in the Chosen One rule early. He killed Buffy at the end of the first season. Her death triggered the birth of Kendra the Slayer. Kendra's death called Faith. Thus, early on, there were always two Slayers operating simultaneously in the series about the Chosen One. Making Buffy the only Slayer would be a massive step backward and Whedon never walks that way.

Several Slayers die in this issue. Most of the deaths are impersonal. The artwork made me feel some sorrow, but I did not really know these Slayers. They were part of Buffy's army. They died like warriors. That is how a Slayer should die. The authors do give a few newer Slayers personality in dialogue and they have Jeanty focus on their demises. It may surprise some readers, but this tiny bit of concentration is enough. Just a touch of Espenson's and Whedon's characterization and/or the art team's attentiveness is all that's necessary for a harder felt impact. Such feeling is a testament to the creative team's skill.

Despite the overwhelming odds, despite the death of her crusaders, Buffy and her army still win. While they do not exactly defeat their enemies, they win by beating enough of them and exiting stage right. Angel suggested that heroes cannot win the war against evil. He believed that the best the hero can do is hurt the villain. What Buffy and her army do in this chapter is humiliate the opposition.

Because Buffy’s viewpoint shapes the story, the battle does not seem like a solid win. It really is though. With all their manpower and ammunition, Buffy's enemies still cannot breach her inner circle. In addition, their strategies lack anticipatory functions. The bad guys simply react to what they know rather than imagine what they do not know. Furthermore, the demons and Twilight's organization simply lack coordination and battle prowess. At one point, Faith kicks a demon in such a way that he stabs himself in the neck with his own knife. That's just sad. Funny, but sad. Jeanty perfectly choreographs the scene. His judgement draws all the comedy and coolness from the potential, and he does this in one, just one, panel.

Because Amy, the bad witch of the west, jumps the gun, Warren's scheme of seduction fails. Mark my words. That failure will play a part in his future downfall. Buffy will use his belief in Andrew being a weak link against the skinless loser. Warren looks particularly ghoulish and Madsen emphasizes the horrific elements by judiciously addding red stains to Warren's white suit. It's very subtle shading, and it works on an almost subconscious sensory level to make you queasy.

Buffy worries over her troops, but at the same time she shows greater confidence as a leader. She no longer displays the doubts she had when facing the First and her army of Neandervamps in the seventh season. These doubts shifted loyalties to Faith, but Buffy is supreme in this issue. Nevertheless, privately, she is the same old Buffy.

Thanks to the return of Giles and Faith to the fold, Buffy now has her confidant back, and she pours her heart out to him. She's concerned about pushing Willow. During this talk, Whedon teases the reader about what appears to be the impending future of Fray where, "every girl who wants to be a Slayer," cannot be a Slayer. You can steer a submarine through that red herring. I'm not falling for it. I still believe Fray's future is an alternative, not a certainty.

Indeed, Whedon may have already taken the steps necessary to preclude that future by having Buffy visit it and having Willow's lamia ex-girlfriend protect her with a simple blindfold. It's far more likely that Whedon will bring Fray and her sister to the Slayer's present as permanent paradoxes. In the past, Willow’s vampire doppelganger (created as a result of a wish by Cordelia) visited the reality of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So this type of travel is a possibility.

During her talk with Giles, Buffy seems to have an epiphany. I have no idea at what it hints, but I'm sure it's going to be damn good. With this issue, Whedon takes control of his characters and directs them to the future spelled out by his long game. Espenson re-establishes herself as one of the top Buffy writers, and Georges Jeanty, Any Owens, and Michelle Madsen create an exciting visual narrative with points of drama and comedy shared among a wicked number of cast members.

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