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.
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.
