Buffy for Beginners 4.7: The Initiative

By Sabrina Boyer

I love that Spike is back in rotation. I love even more how he was tased by the stealthy military guys a.k.a. the Initiative. It looks like the slayer isn’t the only force down with trying to keep the bumpies and crawlies at bay. It’s just their way of doing things that’s not quite….right. But we’ll get to more of that later. Right now, Spike is locked in a very white room. This concerns me. Err, wait. Riley first.

Now I know that Riley comes in 3rd in the Buffy’s men rankings, but he’s adorable. And he’s also superhero like, at night, in military wardrobe. HOT. In the cafeteria, Riley and Forrest lust after Buffy (a girl’s so hot, she’s….buffy) except maybe the lusting on Riley’s part; he thinks there’s something “off” about her, like she’s about to take off any minute. He admits she’s easy on the eyes, but he asks, “would you really want to go out with her?” She’s all thumbs as they look on; there’s plenty of guys who want to get their hands on Buffy, and one of them is my boy Spike. He’s in a modern day cell locked up with other demony things.

Giles draws creepy fall fascism wear of the Initiative guys; Xander hangs, reading a book. They are not needed to help Buffy. But Buffy walks in recognizing her late night storm trooper pal. Giles asks her to patrol but she’s going to party since Will has been living in a black hole of despair. While she goes to find something slutty to wear to the party, Spikey is pacing back and forth trying to figure out where he is and how to get out. A blood bag gets dropped into his cell and just as he’s about to drink, a next door neighbor tells him don’t, it’s drugged. Next door vamp tells him they drug them, then they experiment on them. Last thing he remembers is running from the slayer then he woke up there. “I always wondered what would happen when that bitch got some funding,” Spike says. The thing is, Buffy works best with her own mystical quirky ways. In Psych class, Willow tells Riley he didn’t call Oz’s name as Professor Walsh bites her head off. Something about Will’s exception being the exception to the rule, telling her that it’s best that Oz not come back. “You know for someone who teaches human behavior you oughta try showing some,” Buffy tells her. Whiplash! Way to go Buff! Walsh agrees, saying “I like her.” Riley asks if she thinks she’s peculiar. Peculiar? Yes. That’s what makes her cool.

Xander and Giles hang some more in Xan’s basement as they lament the use of weapons against the military dudes. Cut to Riley and Forrest talking Buffy, and then they ask Parker what she’s like. He brags about being “physical.” “The word is stamina. Definitely a bunny in the sack, but later on, you know the difference between a freshman girl and a toilet seat? A toilet seat doesn’t follow you around after you use it.” And BAM! Riley punches him OUT! Finally! Parker gets his. So what does this mean? Riley didn’t like hearing him talk about Buffy that way. He likes her. His boys, however, already knew that he dug her. “Everybody knows, man.” Go get her Riley!

In the lab, Spike pretends to be passed out. “Got to go see a girl,” he says, and he also is talking about Buffy. He pulls some awesome fight moves, cause hello, he’s Spike, and escapes. Riley shows up at Buffy and Will’s dorm room. Will is….depressed.

“What’s up?” she asks.
“I was thinking of asking out Buffy,” Riley says.
“She’s not here,” Will says matter-of-factly.

But Will pulls a bitter woman bit, asking what happens when one of you one day leaves, tearing out the still beating heart of the other, leaving them a mockery of the human condition. Then Riley says, “I’ve never courted anyone like Buffy before.” Courted?!? Sigh.

Will tells him Buffy likes cheese, about Mr. Gordo, ice capades without the irony, and that she’s dragging her to a party, which happens to be at Riley’s place.

That night, cutest couple ever Xan and Giles stand in the woods looking for military guys; Buffy and Will go to party; as they arrive, Will makes contact with Riley, telling him Buffy’s wearing a halter and comfy shoes which means dancing and light conversation. Riley can’t dance; “funny is good but don’t be glib. Remember, if you hurt her I’ll beat you to death with a shovel; a vague disclaimer is nobody’s friend. Have fun!” Will says, slapping him on the arm. Except, it doesn’t go so well. He ends up asking her if she did the reading on chapter 9; “wow, some theories, huh? Cheese?” Yeah, he’s bombing.

Xan runs into Harm burying Spike’s crap, they exchange words then start to fight like two young girls. They slap, they stomp on feet, they pull each other’s hair. It’s like, the funniest thing EVER. “I’m so gonna bite you!” Harm warns. She also lets slip that Spike’s after Buffy. Back at the party, Riley is shocked that he failed. “You really really did,” Will says. He’s not used to failing; Will tells him to relax. She goes home and tells Riley to tell Buffy to give him something to say. As he’s about to ask her out, she runs out with Xander. Graham, Forrest and Riley go downstairs of their “house” and they get retinal scans and voice recognition in their….elevator? Underground?? They’re part of the initiative!!!! Riley asks what girl would be down with a guy who goes all demon hunter by night? Um, the slayer maybe? Whhhaaaattt?? Holy operative conditioning! These dudes are experimenting on these demons! And Walsh is the boss!!! Hostile 17 has escaped. Who is Hostile 17? SPIKE. This show is just too good.

Riley’s in charge and it’s clear that Walsh sees him like a son. And maybe a little bit of Freudish love interest. Ew. Buffy plans to find and kill Spike. Tonight. Spike does a little sleuthing and looks her up on the student directory and finds her dorm room. Riley and the boys find Buffy sitting on a park bench as they hunt, and Riley plans on getting her out of there. They both make up excuses to get the other one gone, each not knowing the other is an awesome demon fighter.

As Will gets more drunk on her depression, she accidentally says “come in” at a knock at her door and who happens to come in? Spike. What ensues next is kind of a rape-like scene, with Spike on top of Willow struggling, the music turned up loud. Cut to the end of the song and Spike says “I don’t understand. This sort of thing’s never happened to me before.”

“Maybe you were nervous,” Will says. He tries again and just as he’s about to bite, has unbelievable pain in his head.
“Doesn’t this happen to every vampire?”
“Not to me it doesn’t” Spike says.
“It’s me isn’t it? You came looking for Buffy and you settled. I know I’m not the kind of girl vamps like to sink their teeth into. It’s like ‘oh, you’re like a sister to me or oh, you’re a friend.’”

Greatest double entendre EVER. As Spike tells her he would’ve liked to bite her in the fuzzy pink number with the lilac underneath, Will tells him he played the bloodlust kinda cool. “I don’t like being obvious, all fangy and grrrr.” Then suddenly, they have switched into a new kind of relationship, and it’s awesome the writers here play with vampire and biting as an obvious historical and literary metaphor for sex. Will escapes as the military guys rush in to try to capture Spike, and as this is going on, Buffy shows up too. She’s battling the boys as Spike battles back. It’s all dusty after Buffy shoots off the flair; no one can really see anything. Spike gets away.

Later the boys argue that “Spike’s accomplice” was big, strong, and was able to escape description. Yeah, that big strong guy….is a woman! But Walsh’s implant in Spike worked, which means that must’ve been what kept him from biting. Oooh, plot thickens. Later the next day, Riley and Buffy talk and walk and it’s obvious they like each other as he asks if Willow told her he likes cheese and Buffy calls him peculiar.

What do you think of Riley?

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About Sabrina Boyer: As a kid my dad would sneak scary movies past my mom and let me indulge in his horror movie fetish. I grew up watching V, Alien Nation, The Thing, The Fog (all originals) and then, in 1992 when Buffy the movie came out, I became obsessed with vampires, girl power, and all things gothic. I once stayed home from school, faked sick, and watched BTVS: the movie 6 times in a row. I know the beginning cheerleading dance by heart (still). Currently, I’m obsessing over Laurell K. Hamilton novels, and dream about Anita Blake being my best friend.