Wrecked (#6.10)

"Dawnie, I'm so sorry!"

The regulars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Marsters, and Alyson Hannigan.
Guest stars: Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy Madison; Jeff Kober as Rack; and Amber Benson as Tara Maclay.
Written by: Marti Noxon ("I Only Have Eyes for You", "The Prom")
Directed by: David Solomon ("Beer Bad", "All the Way")

The one where... Willow's addiction takes a turn for the worst, Willow and Dawn get into an accident and Dawn slaps Willow in the face. GO DAWN!

Resident evil: Rack and that creepy monster. Amy and Willow are pretty evil in this as well, as Amy gets Willow involved with even darker magic and Willow endangers Dawn's life.

The rewatch: HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE! I just cringe when I look at those scenes at Rack's. Yes, addiction is bad. I get it. Stop hitting me over the head with it. I was cheering when Dawn finally slapped Willow in the face.

Amy seems like a different character compared to "Gingerbread". What we learn in this ep is that she already visited Rack before she turned herself into a rat, but in "Gingerbread" Amy didn't appear to be into dark magic. I know she was more advanced than Willow, but she seemed pretty harmless.

Hate all the Spuffy scenes.

Extra tidbit: Jeff Kober played crazy vamp Zachary Kralik in the season 3 episode "Helpless".

The episode is dedicated to J.D. Peralta, Marti Noxon's assistant who passed away during the filming of this ep.

Rating: I don't understand all the "Beer Bad" hate, when this ep exists.

Smashed (#6.09)

"WARREN!"

The regulars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Marsters, and Alyson Hannigan.

Guest stars: Danny Strong as Jonathan; Adam Busch as Warren; Tom Lenk as Andrew; Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy; and Amber Benson as Tara Maclay.

Written by: Drew Z. Greenberg ("Older and Far Away", "Him")

Directed by: Turi Meyer (Angel eps "Offspring", "Forgiving")

The one where... Amy is no longer a rat, the Trio steal a diamond and freeze a guy, and Spuffy get it on.

Resident evil: The Trio.

The rewatch: It isn't as bad as I remembered it. Well, that's what I thought until I got to the Bronze scene, where Willow and Amy have 'fun' with magic. And later, the Spuffy sex. Now I remember clearly why I hate this episode, because it's the start of many MANY Spuffy sexual encounters in future episodes.

I did like the Trio stealing the diamond (and Andrew doing it Mission Impossible style), their interaction with Spike and the Tara/Dawn scenes. Too bad there was little room for Xander and Anya in this ep. They are my favorites.

I liked Amy in "Witch", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" and "Gingerbread" and I always wondered when they were going to de-rat her (excluding "Something Blue"). At first I was happy to see her in this ep. Her interactions with Willow and Buffy early in the ep are fun, but it all goes downhill from The Bronze scene. More about this in my "Wrecked" rewatch.

I miss Giles!

Extra tidbit: One of the only reasons American Dreamz is worth watching is Adam Busch.

Rating: In my opinion, one of the worst eps of the entire show.