Spike aint got no body.

Written by: David Fury and Ben Edlund
Directed by: James A. Contner

Although Spike is now deader than undead, his spirit lives on. He can't touch anything and seems somehow tied to Angel and unable to leave Los Angeles. He's also slipping in and out of existence, getting one step closer to hell each time he vanishes.

Meanwhile, Angel attempts to deal with a necromancer, Hainsley, who procures bodies from Wolfram and Hart in order to transplant demon souls into them.

Hainsley makes Spike an offer - betray Angel in exchange for a new body. Spike double-crosses the necromancer, allowing Angel to decapitate him.

Quiz - ten quick questions.

Trivia:
Ticked off: Former Firefly writer Ben Edlund reportedly incorporated the spoon death scene as an homage to his comic creation The Tick. Star of his own short-lived comedy show, The Tick's battle cry was "Spoon!"

Cor blimey: James Marsters' Spike accent has strangely metamorphosised since the end of Buffy, almost as if he's temporarily forgotten how to do it after all that singing with his band, Ghost of the Robot over the summer.

Eurotrip: It's revealed that Buffy is currently in Europe; probably a good move considering her house is currently at the bottom of a very big hole. It's not known if she took anyone with her, but it may be no coincidence that Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn) is about to star in a film called Eurotrip.

Review:
Well, it could have gone so, so wrong - shoehorning Spike into his rival's show - but early signs are all good. Blondie's unexpected resurrection has already paid off with some bravura sniping, and a thrilling double-bluff double-cross that had me fooled, at least. All that, and one of TV's very few deaths by spoon.

The Spike/Angel relationship fizzes very nicely � quite a change from the soulful mopery of season four, and the "monster of the week" style is working well so far. One question though � is Spike's duster now a ghost coat?