User Reviews

I can't believe that this episode doesn't pick up immediately after the scene with Spike and Buffy in the church in "Beneath Me." What a complete rip off! How could Buffy just let Spike go back to the basement now that she know he has a soul? Every time I see "Same Time, Same Place" it bugs me. That said, this is actually a pretty good episode. It's nice to finally have Willow back in Sunnydale and (eventually) reunited with the Scoobies. If you're watching the season, you shouldn't skip this episode.

"Same Time, Same Place" revolves around Willow's return to Sunnydale. She shows up at the airport and realizes that no one has come to meet her. Hurt, she heads to the Summers' house and waits for her friends to show up. But she never sees them. At the same time, The Scoobies are searching for Willow. They were at the airport waiting for her, but she was completely invisible to them. Willow can't see the Scoobies and the Scoobies can't see her. Willow goes to Anya and Spike to ask if they've seen Xander and Buffy. But, at the school, she finds a skinless body and panics. Buffy and Xander see it, too, and wonder if Willow might be back to her Dark Willow flaying activities.

Willow and Anya preform a spell to try and find the demon who killed the man. The Scoobies do their investigation using a computer and Spike's sense of smell. They all come up with a plan to search a cave in the Sunnydale woods. Inside is Gnarl, a demon with paralyzing fingernails and a desire to eat human flesh. Dawn is cut by his fingernails and can't move. Willow is inadvertently trapped inside the cave with Gnarl, as the Xander and Buffy rush Dawn home. Then, Anya tells them that Willow went to the cave, and they hurry back. Gnarl is eating Willow's skin and Buffy has to fight it. Willow, Buffy and Xander finally begin to see each other. Willow realizes that she was scared that her friends wouldn't accept her and accidentally cast an invisibility spell. Buffy and Willow reaffirm their friendship and bond.

There are some really good parts to this episode. I think it's really cute that Xander made his "Welcome Home, Willow" sign with yellow crayons. And I love the scene with Anya and Willow trying to preform their locater spell. They're so funny together as Anya worries about her carpet and warns Willow not to try anything sexy. Willow scoffs at the very idea and soon launches into a long speech about their common fears that they will loose themselves in their powers. Finally, Anya says, "Wow, that did get a little sexy, didn't it?" and Willow makes a "Yeah, kinna" sort of face. It just cracks me up. Also, the scene with Willow, Buffy and Xander all talking to Spike in the basement is really cool. Willow can't see Buffy and Xander and they can't see her. They all talk to Spike at the same time, so he's carrying on fractured conversations with all of them. Spike is now crazy, but tries to figure out what's happening. He still has enough presence of mind to ask if there's any blood with the body, which sort of ties in with Dawn's later investigation of Gnarl. He's also trying to remember a "word that means gleaming" which references back to season five's "Fool for Love." But, when Buffy says "Please Spike," in an attempt to get him to concentrate, he freaks out. He's reminded of Buffy's words the night that he tried to rape her and cringes away from her. It's sweet that Spike still warns Willow that the Slayer and "her boy" are going to blame her for the death, though. Like he was trying to protect Willow even in the midst of his breakdown. And Xander's incredulous, "Now, I'm 'her boy?!'" is just hilarious.

On the down side, am I really suppose to believe that with Willow missing and possibly going evil again, Giles went to an all day Council meeting where he's completely unreachable? Come on. That's just dumb. Also, they can show Dawn working on that computer and researching demons from now until the next apocalypse. I'm still never gonna buy that she's now "watcher junior." Sorry.

My favorite part of the episode: Spike leading the Scoobies through the forest. From his muttering that its "suppose to help to help" (which is a nice little nod to "Angel"), to Xander's face when Spike grabs him and whispers fiercely, "keep your ticket, you'll need that," to Spike just leaving them there and stalking back to his basement, it just all works really well.

Willow's return to Sunnydale proves problematic, despite being in the same time and place, Willow can't see her friends and her friends can't see her. A flesh eating demon has killed and skinned a demon and Buffy, knowing that Willow has returned, suspects that Willow may have done the killing. Willow goes to Anya and then Spike for help, thinking Buffy had abandoned her.

Why It's So Good - The usual Jane Espenson humour and a great way to bring back Willow into the series. Willow's fear of not being accepted back by her friends is a strong theme, and this is a great concept to play with. The villain, Gnarl, is genuinely horrifying.

Watch Out For - Paralysing scratches.

Quote - " Wow. That's magic, right? I mean, when most people when they meditate don't get extra skin, right. 'Cause Clem should, like, cut back." - Buffy.

The Good; Some lovely emotional stuff between Willow and her friends, some funny stuff with Anya and Willow but best of all paralysed Dawn is hysterical, especially love the remote control gag.

The Bad; Not much

Best line; Dawn (unable to move her lips) "Stop talking about vomit!"

Jeez!; Skinned vandals and eyeless Gnarl. Gnarl cutting Willow and eating her flesh in front of her is awful.

Captain Subtext; Dawn wonders when anyone in the Scoobs are ever going to ask for help when they need it, still some emotional baggage from Normal Again. Anya observes that the spell she and Willow do is a 'little sexy'. Willow seems to agree then catches herself on. Note Anya wants to do more spells afterwards but Willow refuses.Why not Winya? They could both share Xander between them and he'd sure be happy. Remember Anya eschewed the company of men for a thousand years, maybe she and Halfrek were more than just friends?

Scoobies to the ER; Nope, Willow heals herself

Apocalypses; 7,

Scoobies in bondage: Buffy: 8 Giles: 4 Cordy: 5 Will: 4 Jenny: 1 Angel: 4 Oz: 1 Faith: 3 Joyce: 1 Wes: 1 Xander; 2 Dawn; 4

Scoobies knocked out: Buffy: 19 Giles: 12 Cordy: 6 Xander: 14 Will: 8 Jenny: 2 Angel: 6 Oz: 3 Faith: 1 Joyce: 3 Wes: 1 Anya;5 Dawn; 4 Tara; 1

Kills: 1 demon for Buffy Buffy: 108 vamps, 59 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god. Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human. Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon, Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons Spike; 8 vamps and 6 demons Buffybot; 2 vamps Tara; 1 demon Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon

Scoobies go evil: Giles: 1 Cordy: 1 Will: 3 Jenny: 1 Angel: 1 Oz: 1 Joyce: 1 Xander: 4 Anya; 1 Dawn; 1 Buffy; 1

Alternate scoobies: Buffy: 8 Giles: 4 Cordy: 1 Will: 5 Jenny: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 2 Joyce: 2 Xander: 4 Tara; 1 Dawn;1 Spike; 1 Anya; 2

Recurring characters killed: 12 Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara

Sunnydale deaths; the vandal 98

Total number of scoobies: the Dawnster is finally part of the Scoobies, about time too Xander, Buffy, Dawn

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?) Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: Giles: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 4 Riley; 1 Buffy; 1 Tara; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes? Cordy: 1? Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 1 possible, Dracula(?) Angel: 1;Buffy Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?) Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley Xander: 2; Faith, Anya Willow: 2;Oz and Tara Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya Anya; 2 Spike and Xander

Dawn in peril; 12

Dawn the bashful virgin; 9

What the fanficcers thought; Anya places Dawn in a Girl Scout pose, read more than a few dodgy adult fanfics over the years that place her in THAT uniform! 'Love, Trust and Monsters'+'Thanks for taking care of my body, Faith'

Questions and observations; Nice that we still have Joyce's picture scattered around the house but who are the couple in the pic by the phone? Aunt Arlene? Grandma and grandpa Summers? Note the scorched mummy hand in the box Anya brings from the Magic Box. Dawn seems to be a CSI fan. Surely she hardly needs high heels she already towers over all the other girls.

Marks out of 10; 7/10

I love this episode. It's so good. It's such a smart idea, that I have never heard of or seen before or since seeing this episode.

In this episode, Willow returns home from England. She's hoping everyone will be supportive, as she's in a very delicate state. Buffy, Xander and Dawn are all waiting at the airport, to pick her up. But she never comes off the plane. Then we see the exact same scene, without Dawn, Buffy and Xander, and instead we see Willow. She can't see them. They can't see her. A demon is killing lots of people in Sunnydale. Skinning them. Everyone, sadly, thinks it's Willow. I mean, she did skin Warren alive, but it doesn't mean she's up to her old tricks. Xander, Buffy and Dawn don't want to believe that it's her, but they think it's the only logical explanation. Willow goes to see Anya, and try and get help, trying to find out where the gang is. Willow also goes to see Spike who is crazy in the basement of Sunnydale High School. Buffy and Xander are the there at the same time, but still can't see her. But Spike can. He has a conversation with both Willow and Xander and Buffy at the same time. Neither of which, make sense without hearing the other persons part. For example, Xander and Buffy's conversation doesn't make sense without being able to hear Willow. And vice versa. Eventually, Willow goes to find the skin eating demon, and she gets in big trouble.

Overall, I love this episode and I give it a 10 out of 10.

In "Same Time, Same Place", Willow returns home from her education abroad with Giles... sort of. Willow is incapable of seeing her friends and vice versa. The gang is worried when Willow isn't at the airport and a body shows up at a construction site with all of its skin removed. Buffy believes Willow might have regressed back to the dark arts. In actuality, a demon named Gnarl with an appetite for skin is behind the body. Willow tries to hunt down Gnarl to clear her good name. The gang tries to follow the evidence as well to get to the bottom of it. With a little help from Spike and Anya, everyone converges on Gnarl. He traps Willow but the gang shows up in time and kills the demon. Willow figures out that she had accidentally placed a spell over herself because she was so scared of her friends rejecting her and not wanting to see her. She is now so powerful that this type of thing can happen. The gang welcomes her back with open arms.

After a slightly lackluster beginning to the final season, this episode feels like the show's starting to hit its stride a little bit. I enjoyed this one. We got a cool villain in the creepy Gnarl, some fun hijinks with Willow's disappearing act, and a decent amount of overall plot development. That's good enough for me!

With Willow's return, we may start seeing less of Giles again. Very unfortunate. I thought that we were going to get less of Anya too due to her no longer having a magic store or a place in the gang but she continues to wander in and out of the various plots thus far. We'll see if this continues in the future. I'm not sure what to make of Spike. One minute he's crazy, the next he's coherent. Maybe the writers aren't quite sure either. I hope they figure it out.

As another reviewer already stated, this episode starts off on the wrong foot by not continuing at the end of the previous episode. But that's apparently par for the course in season 7. It's like this series has been relegated to "Buffy By Committee". And it shows.

I also wholeheartedly agree with another reviewer who lamented the fact that Willow is now back to mope mode. What a waste. (I know we can't have Dark Willow back. But some upgrade over plain old mopey Willow would have been nice.)

But what really sinks this episode -- like so many others -- is the dialog. It's like it was written by 8th graders. There's no energy. There's no flow. There's no continuity. There's no magic. There's no nothing.

Using the previous episode as an example -- there's that whole build up to Buffy becoming a counselor at the school, and then, faster than you can say "Where is Spike?", she's running off to the basement to find Spike, never even SEEING a student! It's beyond pointless.

And the whole premise in "Same Time, Same Place" -- that Willow was invisible to the Scoobies and vise versa because she wasn't ready to see them/didn't want them to see her because she felt all guilty, and that's what caused everyone to disappear -- is just plain stupid. This episode felt like it had been on for 30 minutes at the 9 minute mark.

And the blatant Gollum rip-off? Obviously, Whedon has no shame. And no gas left in the tank.

Spike, as usual, is the only one who provides a top notch performance. It's simply not enough to carry the whole load.

And with regard to Xander's suggestion that they put a leash on Spike? Someone seriously needs to put a muzzle on Xander.

The lines that best describe this episode? They come from Xander and Buffy: "It's tough to look at". "And yet...my eyes refuse to look away. Stupid eyes".

Or...if you prefer...Spike to Xander: "I'm insane...what's HIS excuse?"

ANY redeeming qualities? Well...Gnarl's nose is funnier looking than Buffy's. (A stretch...I know...but I can only work with what the show gives me.)

And way over the top in the in "ick!" factor. Willow finally returns from her rehab in England but, because she is so nervous about facing the people she harmed at the end of Season 6, she inadvertently makes herself invisible to them, and vice versa (again with the invisibility?) All this happens as a new baste appears in town by the name of Gnarl. Gnarl appears to be a poorly devised riff on Gollum from the LOTR movies who eats the skin off of his victims alive (hence the ICK!). Of course, Willow flayed a victim alive in Season 6 so it's only natural that her best friends think that she's the culprit and with friends like those . . . ahem.

Everything is wrong with this episode. The performances are flat which makes Camden Toy's performance as the Gnarl all that more fey and yucky. And the scenes of him torturing Willow are far to gratuitous and go on way too long; it's as if the writers wanted to make sure Willow was punished for her actions in Season 6. And Hannigan, always one of the best performers in the series goes into mope mode with this episode. That has to be the biggest disappointment of the season that Willow's character goes from being a strong, self-willed woman to the quivering mass of nerves for the entire season. It was just plain stupid.