Mallory Rubin

That's all I need.

I don't know, it's interesting because like we started to get into in our season four part one pod last week, and I think is even more keenly felt in this back half of the season, which is like very initiative Adam, Riley's crisis of faith about his role in the initiative centric.

I think that a lot of the like...

questions and themes and ideas are interesting, but the execution leaves me wanting.

I think there are in season four, across season four, particularly in the first half on the college front when we're in, there's barely any college in these 10 episodes.

It's almost incidental that they're at college, though there's a very core thematic aspect to what does it mean to move from high school.

to college in terms of growing apart for people that will come into play.

But it's really rooted around the initiative.

And so would certain tweaks like that on the timing front have made things more effective or impactful?

I think it's possible.

At the end of the day, I think...

think that this is just like not as compelling as the big bads who came before whether that's like something you know as wonderful as the mayor and everything that happens with faith or the master or of course angel into angelus and spike and drusilla and you know i i think that the beginning of these episodes that we're talking about today

something happens that is quite, I think, emblematic of this, right?

On the, like, this is intriguing and interesting.

Would it have been more effective over a different, like, if it had been dispersed over a different period of time?

I don't know.

Buffy going, like, kind of all in on the initiative and having these moments with Willow of, like, wait...

don't you think we should be asking more questions?

The Giles, don't you think we should be asking more questions?

Especially because part of what makes the end of season three such a absolute wallop in the best possible way is graduation in more than one form.