S04.E21: Primeval

[lembergwatcher]

Quote

The Scooby Gang foil Adam's plan to create an army of hybrid cyborg monsters. Buffy magically joins with the rest of the gang to kill Adam after an intense fight.

"The Core Four's Last Stand" I'm gonna say (not in a way that it was their last battle, but rather the last time the world was saved by four people, who created the Scooby Gang after Buffy's arrival to Sunnydale in S.01). The original Scoobies perform the so-called "Enjoining spell" (a special ritual which calls upon the spirit of the First Slayer to combine essences and abilities of the participants): Willow acts as the spirit, Xander as the heart, Giles as the mind and Buffy as the hand. Amidst the slaughter that drives the last nail into the coffin of the Initiative, the Core Four defeats and finally (to my great delight) kills one of the most annoying big bads in the history of the show.

 Keep in mind that it was initially Xander's idea to combine the talents of the Slayer and her Slayerettes - thus all the claims of him being "useless" in the fight loose any credibility whatsoever ("comic relief", my ass). Among other notable things - little or no input from Scoobies' significant others. The actual absense of Tara and Anya (the two appear briefly at the beginning of an episode), while Riley mostly has to struggle with the aftermath of Mama Walsh's experiments on him before joining the fight closer to the episode's climax (only to cover for Buffy). Spike also hangs around: though the Scoobs discovered the bleached vamp to be very cunning manipulator, who nearly broke them up at the behest of Adam in The Yoko Factor, no repercussions followed. The ungrateful SOB, who was literally saved by the gang in the earlier episodes only to betray them without a second thought later, once again got away with everything. Yes, Adam tried to end his un-life after Captain Peroxide has done the dirty job, and I can see no reasons why shouldn't writers let the "Bio-mechanical demonoid" succeed.

Don't make the same mistake again (i. e. don't trust vamps), kiddos.

Spoiler

Unfortunately the Scoobies' gullibility proved to know no boundaries when it came to Buffy's future undead darling...

[Halting Hex]

Yes, but on the plus side, now that the four of them have actually shared consciousness, I'm sure they'll be closer than ever, right?  Right?  Sigh.

On the other hand, that elevator shaft hug is everything.  You could end the show right there, and I won't object, at ALL.

Also, Franken!Forrest is fricking hilarious.  Never let it be said that Adam didn't have a sense of humor.

Actually, all the Adam/Spike interaction is great:

Quote

SPIKE: Right. The Initiative. But getting her there--that's what the bleeding disks are for, isn't it? Our little witch gives her the info and pop--Alice heads back down the rabbit hole.

ADAM: The witch.

SPIKE: Uh, Willow. (uses his hands to demonstrate height) About so high, perky, good with math. [Ed note: Aww!] Natural choice.

ADAM: A friend.

SPIKE: Right.

ADAM: One of the friends from whom you so efficiently separated her.

SPIKE: Damn right I did. You should've seen her. They won't be talking to each other for a long, long--

Adam looks down at Spike.

SPIKE: Hang on. I think I might've detected a small flaw.

ADAM: So you failed.

SPIKE: Well, hey, you're supposed to be so smart. (he stands up) You let me plan this thing.

Adam glares.

SPIKE: Okay, let's not quibble about who failed who. The important thing is make sure the Slayer is where we want--

ADAM: Go.

SPIKE: Gone.

He starts to leave. Halfway out, he stops and turns to Adam.

SPIKE: So, uh, we'll do this chip thing when I get back.

Adam just looks at him. Spike nods his head in agreement and leaves. 

"Big Bad", my eye socket.  He's such a perfect little bitchy subvillain.   "Redemption" is so wasted on him.

(I also like how Fury is basically admitting that Petrie created a plot hole by dividing the Scoobs when the plan called for them to go to the Initiative together.  Remember Doug, the guy who writes the Part 2 has the final say…)

Edited September 1, 2018 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

6 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

On the other hand, that elevator shaft hug is everything.

Oh yeah... That was really sweet. Awww... ))

[lembergwatcher]

This is also priceless IMO:

 

 

Also I loved Maggie's total demise. From Evil Bitch-Monster of Death to Adam's zombiebitch - pretty fair price to pay for unleashing 314 and using the ones who trusted her (Riley and the team) as guinea pigs.

Edited September 1, 2018 by lembergwatcher

[lembergwatcher]

Btw, I always wondered why nearly every time Buffy wanted to recall good old days or when her friendship with the Slayerettes was in question, she picked almost the same photo (or different photos shot at the same photo session)?

Edited September 1, 2018 by lembergwatcher

[lembergwatcher]

Sarah Michelle Gellar attending the party for WB network to present their Fall 2000 TV line-up in NYC, 16.05.2000. Photo by Evan Agostini (taken the day Primeval episode was aired).

[Halting Hex]

Sheer wonderfulness:

Buffy's eyes here are everything to me.  A beautiful valentine to the B/W bond, and the Scoobs as a unit.

Spoiler

Pity it's essentially invalidated by the next three seasons, but fuck the Monks of Mindfuck and the Dawnverse.  That's not real.

Heck, even Anya gets some good girlfriend moments in this one:

Heh.  Always a favorite.  Silly doves and machine-gun arm and non-staking of Spike and all.

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎01‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 2:40 AM, lembergwatcher said:

"The Core Four's Last Stand" I'm gonna say (not in a way that it was their last battle, but rather the last time the world was saved by four people, who created the Scooby Gang after Buffy's arrival to Sunnydale in S.01). The original Scoobies perform the so-called "Enjoining spell" (a special ritual which calls upon the spirit of the First Slayer to combine essences and abilities of the participants): Willow acts as the spirit, Xander as the heart, Giles as the mind and Buffy as the hand. Amidst the slaughter that drives the last nail into the coffin of the Initiative, the Core Four defeats and finally (to my great delight) kills one of the most annoying big bads in the history of the show.

 Keep in mind that it was initially Xander's idea to combine the talents of the Slayer and her Slayerettes - thus all the claims of him being "useless" in the fight loose any credibility whatsoever ("comic relief", my ass). Among other notable things - little or no input from Scoobies' significant others. The actual absense of Tara and Anya (the two appear briefly at the beginning of an episode), while Riley mostly has to struggle with the aftermath of Mama Walsh's experiments on him before joining the fight closer to the episode's climax (only to cover for Buffy). Spike also hangs around: though the Scoobs discovered the bleached vamp to be very cunning manipulator, who nearly broke them up at the behest of Adam in The Yoko Factor, no repercussions followed. The ungrateful SOB, who was literally saved by the gang in the earlier episodes only to betray them without a second thought later, once again got away with everything. Yes, Adam tried to end his un-life after Captain Peroxide has done the dirty job, and I can see no reasons why shouldn't writers let the "Bio-mechanical demonoid" succeed.

Don't make the same mistake again (i. e. don't trust vamps), kiddos.

  Hide contents

Unfortunately the Scoobies' gullibility proved to know no boundaries when it came to Buffy's future undead darling...

Good point although Anya does play a minor role in their plan by shutting the power off. Adam was never annoying her was just dull and decidedly unsexy. Plus Spike does save them during the battle. 

On ‎01‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 5:24 AM, Halting Hex said:

Yes, but on the plus side, now that the four of them have actually shared consciousness, I'm sure they'll be closer than ever, right?  Right?  Sigh.

On the other hand, that elevator shaft hug is everything.  You could end the show right there, and I won't object, at ALL.

Also, Franken!Forrest is fricking hilarious.  Never let it be said that Adam didn't have a sense of humor.

Actually, all the Adam/Spike interaction is great:

"Big Bad", my eye socket.  He's such a perfect little bitchy subvillain.   "Redemption" is so wasted on him.

(I also like how Fury is basically admitting that Petrie created a plot hole by dividing the Scoobs when the plan called for them to go to the Initiative together.  Remember Doug, the guy who writes the Part 2 has the final say…)

I actually think this season would have been better if Adam and Spike had hooked up earlier, he'd have been a better villain with someone to play off. 

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎01‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 12:29 PM, lembergwatcher said:

This is also priceless IMO:

 

 

Also I loved Maggie's total demise. From Evil Bitch-Monster of Death to Adam's zombiebitch - pretty fair price to pay for unleashing 314 and using the ones who trusted her (Riley and the team) as guinea pigs.

One theory I've heard is that this is all linked in to Cabin in the Woods, Walsh is part of The Conspiracy which sabotages the sacrifices as they've been working on ways to defeat the Hellgods (Adam one of their projects that went wrong). 

On ‎03‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 12:47 AM, Halting Hex said:

Sheer wonderfulness:

Buffy's eyes here are everything to me.  A beautiful valentine to the B/W bond, and the Scoobs as a unit.

  Hide contents

Pity it's essentially invalidated by the next three seasons, but fuck the Monks of Mindfuck and the Dawnverse.  That's not real.

Heck, even Anya gets some good girlfriend moments in this one:

Heh.  Always a favorite.  Silly doves and machine-gun arm and non-staking of Spike and all.

I love Anya's 'sassy practicality'. Maybe I have a dirty mind but if you look at the clips it's as if Buffy and Will are rubbing themselves suggestively against the ropes?

Spoiler

The Dawnster doesn't detract from anything, she's a plus, if anything Giles leaving is more significant. 

[Joe Hellandback]

The Scoobies get back together and have a stonking great battle. What's not to love? Actually Adam's mingun arm looks pretty stupid.

Best line; Adam; 'You can't last much longer'

Possessed Buffy 'We can. We are FOREVER'

The female power of the Slayer overcomes the male power of Adam. Xander sleeps naked, Anya doesn't think that the unemployment office will accept him nude (really depends what job he's going for? the fabulous ladies nightclub?) Buffy and Willow have great big girly hug and tell one another they love them, awww! The writer/director also comment on the Willow/Xander/Buffy group hug. Oddly Xander wants Giles to join in. Is this really an apocalypse? A couple of hundred Adams running around would be a bad thing but not the end of the world? We see alternate Buffy as the uber-Slayer

Scoobies shot: Adam has a Predator style minigun but it's no match for Buffy's magic. The Colonel orders his men to get to the armoury which seems sensible. Xander zaps at least one demon with his taser.

Fanfic; read an interesting one where Buffy dies but the Initiative (or what replaces them) clone her as a supersoldier. But when the project is destroyed the clone survives and finds herself drawn irresistibly back to Revello Drive....

The end of the Initiative and it's a great battle, rather reminds me of The Spy Who Love Me. I don't think the season 4 storyline was all that good, the show still finding it's feet outside High School and having lost CC and Angel but still the best thing on TV.

Marks out of 10; 7/10, good enough ep but glad this wasn't the season finale

[lembergwatcher]

I like kinda Primeval.

There aren't too many episodes with Scoobs hugging each other.

There aren't too many episodes where Buffy & Willow tell Xander they love him.

One can't help but cherish such moments - 

Spoiler

especially when they become scarcity in the following seasons.

 

[lembergwatcher]

Apparently Xander feels so abandoned by his kinda friends throughout the first post-high school year that when B/W do have a rare moment of showing Xander their affection, our Zeppo boy assumes that's because death is imminent...

 

Edited June 17, 2021 by lembergwatcher

[Halting Hex]

Well, apparently he still has fond memories of those "imminent-death exemption" smoochies he shared with Willow in Lovers Walk.  (Subsequent complications [including Xander's current girlfriend] aside.)

[Halting Hex]

Because I have to:

Quote

FRANKEN!FORREST: I'm surging with life!

ME:  Stop talking about your penis, Forrest!

But, more importantly, courtesy of Monty Ashley:

Quote

Xander: "Does anyone else miss the Mayor?"

Hey, here's an idea. When you're in the midst of a poor supervillain, don't mention the entertaining ones of seasons past.

True, true.  Of course, Wilkins might be fondly-remembered, but he mostly just sat back and waited for the season-finale, so not exactly dynamic, either.  As I've said about Enemies, the fact that we're all really jazzed to see "Angelus" again indicates that talking about an "Ascension" doesn't really do it, threat-wise.

(Especially since, as Jane Espenson reveals on the DVD commentary for Earshot, at that point even Joss didn't know what the Mayor was planning.  So no wonder hints were rather thin on the ground.)

One hopes next season's villain won't be so lame as to have us longing for Adam to return.  Or we'll all be quoting Cordelia:  "Oh, wait.  Here's a lower place."

Monty, re the Enjoining Spell:

Quote

What, Xander gets credit for coming up with the clever idea of "working together"?

Hey!

A) It's a little more sophisticated than that.  (Not much more, but still.)

B) We need all the Xander-affirmation we can get on this show, in case you haven't noticed.

and

C) Given that the group hasn't worked together since Doomed (okay, a few people went with Buffy to the Initiative in New Moon Rising, but they just stood around and there really wasn't a conflict going on there, bar Riley punching the colonel) and this is arguably only the third time all year there's been a group effort (pretty much just 4.01 and 4.11; Riley's helped about half the time since Hush and Xander occasionally cameos, but…) and given that Buffy specifically told them all to go whistle just last episode, I think that "working together" almost qualifies as a radical concept these days.  Sigh…

[watcher1006]

This brings up the question of when a season finale actually lives up the buildup that preceded it. No, technically "Primeval" wasn't the season finale but it was the culmination of the main season arc, with "Restless" being more of a coda. Season 3 had a great buildup to the ascension then capped it off with the silliest looking giant snake. Sure they went for broke in "Graduation Day Pt. 2" with Angel, Faith, Percy, Harmony, heck the whole high school getting in on the action but I thought it fell short of all the anticipation. In that respect, "Primeval" was less of a disappointment since the season arc never cohered all that well.