I must say I'm impressed. "The Long Way Home Pt. 2" is a solid improvement over part one mainly because it's not just a bunch of setup. Here we jump right into the plot, character issues, and even have ourselves a fascinating Buffy-esque dream/nightmare sequence, which we all (hopefully) know always means something extremely important. This issue proves to give me a lot more to think about. In addition to all this, Giles, Andrew, and Willow all make their appearances! So without anymore delay, lets get right into it.

The opening whirlwind tour of several groups of slayers in training is great stuff. We are introduced to this issue by a surprisingly brief Giles who tells the new slayers that they're an "impressive force," but are ultimately useless because they fight as individuals rather than as a team. This lesson is ironic when recalling the nature and mantra of the Slayer: "In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer." Giles' comment seamlessly transitions to Buffy, who is also training a group of slayers, relaying similar advice. The difference is that Buffy is actually able to show her group the weaknesses inherent in too much individuality by wiping the floor with three other slayers while still cracking witty comments. These comments then seamlessly transition to a poorly drawn Andrew who, fortunately, still has his personality intact as he tells a group of slayers about Lando Calrissian's pants.

I feel I need to elaborate on Andrew's involvement in all of this. First of all, I've got to wonder just why he's playing such an important role in this operation. What qualifications does he have at all besides demon summoner and murderer? I'm a bit concerned they'd give Andrew this much power and control, which leads me to hope that this is better explained in future issues. For now, though, I'm content just enjoying the entertainment that spews out of Andrew's mouth.

Well, mostly entertainment that is. One slayer asks Andrew why they always use a bunch of old medieval style weapons -- a completely valid question. Instead of an intelligent and prepared answer this slayer gets the giant, excessively lame, sidestep. Since Whedon took the time to say something about this, so will I. Buffy has never preferred gun-like weapons, true, but she still used them when necessary: tranquilizers and taser rifles being the most common. Both of those items are classified under the 'gun' category. I guess Whedon just doesn't like the use of guns of the bullet-shaped variety? I can buy Buffy not liking these kind of guns, but if she's to impose her beliefs on this entire slayer 'organization' she'd better come up with a hell of a lot better reason than 'because I said so.' How is using your authority to shut people up who have different -- and valid -- opinions ever a good argument? I genuinely hope Whedon, down the line, actually approaches this subject with real intelligence. Count me as disappointed on this issue so far.

Anyway, Dawn and Xander get some awesome action here... wait, that sounded kind of weird, didn't it? Regardless, the tension between Buffy and Dawn is elaborated on a bit more thanks to Xander, who is able to pry a hint out of Dawn that her "bigness" might be attributed to her own doing in order to get Buffy's attention. That attention is, of course, divided between all the new slayers ('sisters') she's taken under her wing since "Chosen" (7x22). Oh Dawn, how like you to whine and splash poor Xander for a not-so-unreasonable suggestion. It really feels like Dawn's headed in a direction where she'll be forced to grow up. Or, at least that's what I'm hoping for. So far so good on this character thread.

Later on, we see Xander and Buffy talking together in a castle hallway about Dawn's reaction to Xander's probing, but this turn out to apparently all be a dream. Dream or not, there's some good dialogue in here that likely alludes to information Xander already told Buffy. The issue at hand is abandonment -- how the deaths of Tara, Joyce, and even Buffy herself all combine with the fact that Dawn was created by a bunch of monks to form the foundation of a uniquely troubled girl. Buffy feels like this line of dialogue is leading to an "everyone blames Buffy" session, but Xander snaps back with an amusingly appropiate response, "Oh, don't go there. There smells of you, you've been there so often. With the guilt." But lets remember that this is all likely Dream Xander speaking, so all of this back-and-forth could be a product of Buffy's own thoughts, which is interesting to consider.

It's at this point where the dream makes itself apparent by throwing us into shock-mode... Buffy says, "Just tell me now, so we don't have to do a whole awkward-dance... are you coming to bed?" I must admit, even I was completely caught off guard when I read that... I think I even made some odd noises that can be roughly translated into "woah, holy shit!" In my review of "The Long Way Home Pt. 1" (8x01) I made mention of how the two of them seemed to be clicking at a closer, "Lessons" (7x01)-like, level and that I'd be interested seeing a relationship slowly grow out of their deep friendship for one another.

While there's still no guarantees about what's happening in Buffy's dream, one thing's very clear to me: she's thinking about Xander in a much more relationship-y way than ever before. A sort of proof that the Xander parts of Buffy's dream are real -- not part of Amy's induced nightmare -- is the fact that she tells him "I'll be gentle this time." This implies she's had a dream like this before and that she took a more agressive posture with him. In "The Long Way Home Pt. 1" (8x01) she was also thinking about missing sex, so I suppose all this could be her night-time coping mechanism. I seriously doubt, though, that she'd be dreaming about Xander if she wasn't at least subconciously interested. The fact Amy later taunts Xander to kiss Buffy ties all of this together even more. All of this dialogue and imagery is inherently fascinating to dwell on and I, for one, can't wait to see where Whedon takes this.

Judging by Buffy's demeaner, the nightmare part of her dream begins when she gets pulled out of the window. On her way out she yells, "No, no, I can't go outside, I'm afraid of the dark." Xander's head responds, "Buffy, you are the dark." Buffy comes back saying "that's what I meant," which proves that she knows what she's dealing with (after what she's been through, I should hope so) and is simply afraid of going back to that place. As she gets pulled out into the dark, Buffy gets literally crucified -- symbolism that I'm completely clueless as to its meaning at this point -- by a demon's pointy nails and then burned alive, which is a striking image. All of this leads to the image of Buffy huddled in the black ("I'm scared of the dark") saying "please... it hurts too much..." This is when our mystery man (who could be the floaty guy from the first issue) makes his appearance saying "I have so much I need to show you... my love." Is it just me, or does that feel very Dracula-like in dialogue? At this point I think this guy could be anyone, though, so I'm not even going to try to actually guess.

Outside of Buffy's nightmare we have a bunch of action involving an angry Amy trying to stab Buffy in her sleep. The frame where Amy has her knife raised with Buffy tied to the bed is a whole lot more fascinating than it appears on first glance. We've got the obvious: Amy wanting to kill Buffy. But we also have a portrait of Queen Elizabeth (the "Virgin Queen" who never married), which appears to be 'watching over' a Buffy who's wearing a white -- traditionally symbolizing virginity, or chastity -- nightgown. This is all, of course, in contrast to Buffy dreaming about sex. What does all this imagery mean? To be completely honest, I'm not quite sure yet. I don't feel like I have enough information to put together a reasonable case for an opinion one way or another. I do know that comparisons between Buffy and the Queen make sense: they are/were both strong female leaders who must put aside their personal desires for their respective duties. I can also safely say that I'm utterly compelled and excited to see where this leads. Excellent stuff!

As the Amy action continues, we find out that the only thing that can reawake Buffy is the "kiss of true love." Interesting little spell of hers, but I must still pose the question of 'why!?' Is all this just a short-term tactic to have Buffy incapacitated while Amy's undead army storms the castle? This kind of thing seems fairly easy to fix as there's a lot of people that love Buffy. Even I love Buffy... wait a minute.. I never said that. The mystery man could play into the resolution of this, possibly even giving her a dream kiss to awaken her. Amy never said the kiss had to physically be on Buffy's lips. This is all a lot of speculation right now because I don't have any more information. But it's safe to say there's a lot happening that I can't wait to see resolved.

To finish up loose threads, I must say things are looking slightly up for General Voll in this issue, as he proves to be a bit less annoying in his one-dimensionality -- but only a bit. At least we discover that he's a part of the same 'sunset' organization Buffy and group stampeded in on in "The Long Way Home Pt. 1" (8x01). This makes his ridiculously one-sided attitude about her a little more tolerable. Unfortunately, he's still characterized as a moron. I just wish we could get a reasonably characterized military person in here as it'd be a lot more meaningful, intelligent, and interesting.

All in all, "The Long Way Home Pt. 2" is very good and a solid, noticeable improvement over the first issue. The reintroduction of complex imagery, themes, and symbolism really bring to life some of the key elements that made Buffy so transcendent and inter-connected. The character work is, overall, quite well done as well and offers us a lot to think about while also hinting at some possible directions it may be headed in. Mix in some Giles, Willow, Andrew, and a bunch of sharp humor, and we're looking at an issue that's a winner. The only things holding it back just a bit are the lapse in characterization of General Voll and the so-far botched anti-gun message. In the end, though, I can't wait for "The Long Way Home Pt. 3" (8x03).