Guest Starring:           Eliza Dushku:     (Faith)           Emma Caulfield:     (Anya)           Alexis Denisof:     (Wesley Wyndham-Price)           Harry Groener:     (Mayor Richard Wilkins)           Ethan Erickson:     (Percy)           Armin Shimerman:     (Principal Snyder)

16. Doppelgangland.           A mis-cast spell brings a vampire doppelganger of Willow to Sunnydale.           Great quotes:           Evil Willow. Anya: "For a thousand years a wielded the power of the wish, I brought ruin to the hearts of unfaithful men... I was feared and worshipped across the mortal globe. Now I'm at Sunnydale high, mortal, child; and I'm flunking math." The Mayor tells Faith that there were "...immoral liaisons going on in that hotel..." Faith agrees: "Yeah, plus all the screwing." Willow asks Anya about the spell: "Is it dangerous?", when Anya says it isn't Willow replies: "Can we pretend it is?" Willow asks Anya "...did you try looking behind the sofa; in hell?!" for her pendant. Percy tells Principal Snyder he's challenged, "You're lazy, self-involved and spoilt. That's quite a challenge." comes the reply. Oz: "Professional bands can sometimes play 6 or 7 entirely different chords." Willow, after the Scoobies tell her she's dead and a vampire "Hey! You didn't all happen to do a buncha drugs did ya?" Two Willows, oh-er! Evil Willow: "Bored now..." Willow's rebellion: "I'm eating this banana, lunch time be dammed!" Willow: "I'm a blood-sucking fiend! Look at my outfit." Willow: "That's me as a vampire? I'm horrible, I'm so skanky; and I think I'm kinda gay..." That line was funny then, even better now.     Fantastic moments:           The best scene of the episode (and that's saying something) is when the Scoobies sit around and lament Willow's 'death'. Giles notes that "She (Willow) was the finest of us all.", "Way better than me." replies Xander. Then Willow comes in they all do double takes, Xander shakes a crucifix as if it isn't working and they all hug her (Willow: "Oxygen becoming and issue..."), even Giles. There's a great battle in the Bronze in which Buffy and Angel use all sorts of 'bar room brawl' techniques to good effect in doing away with Evil Willow's vampires. This episode contains the first of many scenes in which the Mayor and Faith interact as Father and Daughter. These scenes are all brilliant because we get to see the 'bad guys' from their own point of view. The juvenile delight that the mayor takes in his schemes is really funny.     Duff Bits:           One minor problem (and I'm really picking at the plot now) is that a sleeping draught fired from a dart shouldn't affect someone without a blood supply, i.e. evil Willow.     Dean's comments:           The Scoobies contemplate Willow's 'death'. Well we've seen Buffy's alter ego, now it's time for Willow's. Once again Joss Wheden comes out with an absolute gem of an episode that revisits territory covered in an old episode yet brings something totally fresh and entertaining. The re-appearance of evil Willow is a joy; Alyson Hannigan's acting range is at the top of the bill, this girl can do anything. The return of Anya signals the arrival of a new permanent character, one that will essentially replace Cordelia by season 4. The message in the episode is that the life we lead can sometimes be hard, people don't always act sensibly and relationships are difficult. Now that's a lot to cover; but this show's seamless ability to do comedy, action and drama all in one go (even in the same scene) makes it possible. Evil Willow sums it up "...this world's no fun..." and Willow agrees with her. This is the first 'Willow' episode in a long time and it does wonders for her character. She starts out trodden on by her Principal, school Jocks and friends but eventually grows to a point where takes on the responsibility of impersonating her 'evil' self (once again top class acting), gets respect from Evil Willow sorts Percy out. Percy and quite literally matures as a woman (she spots her own breasts). The episode doesn't give us a clear-cut ending either, would Willow be better off behaving like her alter-self? Probably not, but it has its perks. The message? Life's difficult, we all know that, but there isn't a clear-cut answer.           10/10

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