Previously on Buffy, Spike chained Buffy up in "Crush," but she told him he had no chance with her. Buffy jumped into the portal and died. Her friends were sad. Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya schemed to raise Buffy from the grave, in part because of Willow's conviction that Buffy's soul was trapped in Hell. The spell to bring the Slayer back works, but Buffy is addled and scared. "You're alive and you're home," sniffles Dawn. Buffy looks blank.
We start where we left off, at the end of "Bargaining, Part Two." The Scooby gang hurries down an alley in search of Buffy. Willow is convinced the Slayer has gone home, and Xander promises to lead them there quickly. What? They need Xander to guide them home? It's not like Sunnydale is that big, plus they all found their way into the alley in the first place. Now they can't find their way out? Oh, I geddit, it's all a set-up for some "humor." Xander is reassuring the wimmins that he's large and in charge when a Hellion rides by on his hog and startles Xander into shrieking like a little girl. Hoo. Haw. Because of the death of their leader, or to wrap up dangling plot points from the premiere, we get some exposition about the Hellions fleeing Sunnydale. The gang frets about whether they actually saw Buffy, and whether she was brought back "broken." Willow is vehement that Buffy is fine, but is probably "disoriented" from her experiences in Hell. Yeah, just keep telling yourself that, Willow. Nothing to do with feeling her own rotten corpse re-manifest, or having to claw her way out of her grave, or that nasty-ass fashion disaster you guys buried her in. Tara worries that perhaps Buffy is now dangerous.
Buffy and Dawn are on the front walk of the Summers house. Dawn gently tells Buffy that she's home and Buffy just stares, her brow crinkled and her face stupefied.
Inside the house, Buffy blinks when Dawn turns on a light. The Buffster slowly surveys the living room and then frets, "It's different." Dawn, frantic to please, babbles on about Willow and Tara moving in and then about interior decorating changes they've made since Buffy, well, you know, died. I'd usually make fun, but poor Dawn. Wonder what she thinks brought Buffy back. Buffy notices a picture of her mom and then silently walks into the dining room. Dawn follows her, still babbling. Her sister gives her that crinkled-brow look and heads upstairs as Dawn chatters.
A little while later, Dawn and Buffy are in the bathroom. Buffy has changed her clothes and…washed, cut, colored, and deep-conditioned her hair, it looks like. Have to have your priorities, I guess. Dawn wets a washcloth in the sink and gently wipes some dirt off Buffy's neck, crooning to her like a mother to a child. It's really very touching, and I would sniffle if I weren't so curious as to how Buffy managed to do all that to her hair but not clean her neck. Dawn tries to crack a joke, but Buffy doesn't respond; she just stares into the mirror. Dawn suggests that Buffy button up her shirt and then notices Buffy's bloody, damaged hands. In a sad little gesture, Buffy hides her hands at her sides, fingers curled up tight. Dawn promises to bandage her sister's hands and then starts buttoning up her shirt. Buffy suddenly turns and walks away, into what was Joyce's room. She looks around at the changes that Willow and Tara's tenure have brought. Dawn tries to explain why the witches have taken that room, but when her sister wanders off again, she follows her and urgently asks, "Buffy? Do you want to stop? We can sit down and talk." Buffy is still not making eye contact and eventually says, "What else is different?" Dawn struggles to understand if Buffy means in the house or in general, and then tells her that Giles left. Buffy bows her head.
Morning. Dawn trundles down the front steps. She gets about halfway down the front walk before Buffy calls after her. Buffy is wearing bits and pieces of various beige fashion disasters all sewn together to make the biggest, beigest, baggiest, fashion-disastrous fashion disaster in the history of disastrous fashion. Buffy hands Dawn her lunch, and Dawn is absolutely touched. Buffy warns Dawn that she better get to school because "those of us who fail history are doomed to repeat it in summer school." Dawn tenderly hugs her big sis and searchingly asks Buffy if she's okay. "I'm going to start charging money to every person that asks me that," chides Buffy gently. Dawn explains that it's just because everyone cares about her so much. "But it'll be better now. Now that they can see you being happy." Buffy just blinks until Dawn goes on her way.
Der Zauber Kasten. Willow and Tara are shelving books and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! What is Willow wearing? It's…it's…red…and…fuzzy…and…wrong. She looks like a refugee from Fraggle Rock. Buffy comes in. The gang makes nervous small talk. Buffy starts to say her piece. "You brought me back. I was in…" and a small flick downward of her eyes belies her words. "…I was in hell…you guys gave me the world. I can't tell you what it means to me." Willow and the flayed pelt of Elmo nervously rush over to Buffy to hug her. They're quickly joined by Xander, who wraps his arms around them both. The Scoobies don't notice, but Buffy squeezes her eyes shut as if to blink back tears.
Buffy steps outside the side door of Der Zauber Kasten into a very bright and sunny alley. In the shadow of the building, Spike sits on a crate. He mentions the moment that the gang just shared, which I guess he heard with his super-duper vampire hearing, since he's sitting a good twenty feet away from the door. Buffy takes a seat to him, explaining that she just wanted some time alone. He gets up to shove off, but is stopped by the sun. Which makes no sense, because he must have had some way to get there in the first place. I know that, of all the issues surrounding Spike, this particular one probably shouldn't bother me so much, but it does. Vampires are creatures of the night. Not creatures of the gloomy day, or creatures of the indirect sunlight. It just makes them all the less potent, all the less tragic. Honestly, what's the difference between me and Spike right now? I eat things my friends are repulsed by and have to avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight because, I too, burn very easily. Whatever. Buffy tells him that he can stay, because she is able to "be alone with [Spike] here." Spike returns to sit to her and tells her that he'll be there for her if she needs him to be. Despite the fact that he hasn't "been to a hell dimension as of late," he does "know a thing or two about torment." Sigh. There was a time when, if Spike had said that line, we would have automatically assumed that he meant he knew a bit about causing torment. But now Schmoopy Shpikey-kins means only that he's just been so gosh-darned torn up by the death of Buffy. This is the impetus for Buffy to drop the bombshell that she was happy and at peace after she died. She tells him that she's not sure if she was in heaven or what, but she was warm and safe and knew that all of her peeps were fine. But most importantly, she was "finished. Complete." But now, thanks to her "friends," she's not there anymore. "Everything here is hard. And bright. And violent…this is hell." Well, at least it explains the clothes. Buffy glances at Spike and realizes that she might have said too much. She quickly rises to leave, but stops a few steps later and without turning around says, "They can never know. Never," before walking resolutely down the alley.