Checkpoint. Something that one must pass through to have their identity checked (ala the former Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin). The Council stated it was a test of Buffy’s methods. It was also a test of her maturity and her insight into human nature. She was asked to deal with "grown ups" and she passed the test with flying colors.

Checkpoint was an arc-heavy episode and almost too much happened in the short 45 minutes that it was on the air. Most importantly, we met the new Big Bad and it wasn’t Glory. It wasn’t Ben.

One of the season’s major themes (the blurring of the line between good and evil) was very much in evidence. When the Scoobies find out that the Council of Watchers is coming to town, Tara innocently asks why everyone is so worried. The Council of Watchers is good after all. Giles explains that indeed they are on the same side, that they both want to save the world and fight demons . . . Here Anya pipes in, "Kill the
current demons." While this line is funny, it’s not simply a throw away. Anya is reminding everyone that she was a demon, and she might actually be in danger if the Council came to town as they tend to see the world in black and white. Once a demon, always a demon.

Another significant moment was the classroom scene. The professor (why are all the professors at UC Sunnydale evil?) is rattling on about Rasputin. He says that the notion that Rasputin was evil came from those who unsuccessfully tried to kill him. Incidentally, if one were inclined to read way too much into this scene (which I am) one could say that the people who unsuccessfully tried to kill Rasputin and labeled him "evil" are very similar to the Watcher's Council who also label their foes "evil." That’s what you do in a
"war." Buffy, however, responds with an answer that shows she is thinking "outside of the box." She questions the professor’s "facts" and asks if they might not look at history from another perspective. In short, she is questioning the professor’s notion of reality. Buffy knows better. She knows what it is to fight evil. She also is beginning to realize that the line between good and evil is sometimes quite blurry.  What is my evidence for this assertion? Buffy takes her mother and sister to stay with Spike.

Just a few months ago in "Out of My Mind" Spike completely betrayed Buffy. She asked him for help and he sold Riley down the river. Why would Buffy trust him now? They had just said some incredibly hurtful things to each other in the cemetery. Buffy told Spike, "I don’t need you. I never need you, Spike." In fact, she found she did need him. He was the only one "strong enough" to protect her sister and mother from
Glory (although I must say, if Glory wanted to kill Spike, she could do it in a heartbeat—a big flaw in the writers’ logic). Yes, desperation makes one do funny things. She couldn’t turn to the Watcher’s Council, she couldn’t turn to the Scoobies, she couldn’t turn to the Initiative. Who else could help her? Spike. To turn to him, she had to trust him. If she thought Spike wanted to hurt her she would never have given him
Joyce and Dawn (the Key for pete’s sake!!). If Buffy thought Spike was pure evil, she would assume that he would feed Joyce and Dawn to Harmony for dinner. Why would she trust Spike? Because Buffy, as we saw in this episode, is a very perceptive girl, and I think she’s beginning to figure out why Spike has been acting so strangely. She is thinking "outside the box" and is willing (or forced) to ask for help from this "evil" creature who seems to have an odd desire to protect her. I am sure that something very significant
will happen as a result of Spike’s protecting Joyce and Dawn. I also suspect that the outcome will be quite tragic.

Another example of Buffy’s ability to think "outside the box" was her brilliant final speech to the Watcher’s Council. She realizes that they need her more than she needs them. She now truly understands the nature of her power and how she can use it to her advantage. She has learned how to manipulate people to achieve the greater good. She has become an adult. Brava Buffy!

Now I come to the issue of the current Big Bad: Glory. This episode made me question just how big she is.  She must rely on drinking peoples’ sanity in order to survive. She is not infallible. She wants the key. We don’t know exactly why. We know she wants power. We know she wants to go home. The scene between Buffy and Glory in Buffy’s home was extremely effective (I’d been wondering for weeks why Glory didn’t talk to Ben and then just look up Buffy in the phone book). Glory’s threats of harm to Buffy’s
family were chilling and when Dawn walked in the tension level escalated. But Glory didn’t know that Dawn was the key. For a god she’s certainly not that omnipotent! Interesting. The plot thickens!

I suspect we met the real Big Bad at the end of the episode: the Knights of Byzantium. These gents in chain mail seem to have the religious fervor of the Knights of the Crusades. They will stop at nothing to wipe out "evil" (Glory, the Key) from the earth. And if Buffy or anyone else gets in their way, the Knights (who are incapable of thinking "outside of the box") will simply kill them. No fuss, no muss. It’s a war! Some of the
most vicious horrible acts have been done in the name of religion, and I believe that the Knights of Byzantium will be willing to use some fairly brutal tactics to achieve their goals. Buffy might have to break her own rule and kill humans. Sometimes humans can be more evil than demons, or brain-sucking goddesses, or even soulless vampires.

There were many good things about this episode. Buffy’s maturity, her reassertion of the Scoobies importance to her (including Xander and all the "field time" he’s clocked—go Xander!), the discovery of Glory’s fatal flaw, the return of the Watcher’s Council, the reinstatement of Giles with back pay, and the introduction of the Knights of Byzantium. Unfortunately, there were several major problems with plot and characterization. Why would the Watcher’s Council go to Spike, an "evil" vampire, and interview him
about Buffy? That scene, while amusing, made absolutely no sense! Plus, Spike inadvertently let the Watcher’s know (unless they’re completely stupid) that he has feelings for the Slayer. He says she has "man troubles" and that sooner or later she’ll go to him. The female watcher responds with "Do you want that?" Spike obfuscates, flirting with the bespectacled female watcher, but I suspect they’ve figured it out, especially after he expresses concern for Buffy, asking how she’s doing on the test (this after he’d just said that her performance was slipping . . . Spike! Pick a side already!) The only logical reason I can think of as to why the Council didn’t stake Spike is that they know something about him we don’t. Logically he should be dust in the wind (sorry ‘bout that ;-) Furthermore, while I liked this plot development, why would Buffy have Spike protect her mother and sister? He can’t protect them any more effectively than she could. Of course, Glory might not think to look in a vampire’s crypt for the vampire slayer’s mother and sister.

In spite of my brief carping above, I really liked this episode. Doug Petrie is the best. Jane Espenson is a master of the funny stuff (the interview scenes had her fingerprints all over them). I’m just sad that we all have to wait two weeks for more.