Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Enemies works hard to keep viewers off-kilter, and skilfully manages to use their preconceptions and expectations against them. In this respect the key scene is the mysterious shaman’s "lightshow", used by Angel to trick Faith into thinking that he had turned again, and by the writer (Douglas Petrie) and the director (David Grossman, making his Buffy debut) to mislead the audience.

The shaman must have been one of the cheapest demons the show has created, (only the hands and eyes needed to be made up), and yet he’s also one of the most effective. It’s a pity that his debt to Giles has been "repaid in full", since it would have been nice to see him turn up again.

Enemies is very much a "from point A to point B" episode, continuing to explore Faith's pact with the Mayor – just how naive is she? – and finally revealing her as a traitor to her former friends. Petrie uses the lull to successfully flesh out the character of the Mayor, an evil creature who encourages Faith to drink milk for the sake of her bones and teeth, and threatens to subject her to that most hideous of tortures: miniature golf! A dozen episodes have passed since the Mayor was introduced to the series (in Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔcoming), and until now he’s been a rather impotent villain.

Finally, Enemies sees the ongoing Buffy / Angel romance beginning to cool off, a sure sign that the end of the season is rapidly approaching.