Three is Company, Four is a Scooby Gang

From the beginning of BtVS, we have seen the Scoobies unite as a gathering of loners. Prior to Buffy's arrival in Sunnydale, each was a loner in his or her own way. Buffy was alone because of her secret. Willow and Xander, though friends with each other, were still loners in that they were on the outside socially. Giles was alone in a country that wasn't his own, working in a job(s) that facilitated an isolated lifestyle (Watcher and librarian.) After the core Scooby group was formed, it became clear that there was power in their union. Alone each became smaller and unsure, but together they defeated every Big Bad that came through Sunnydale. Repeatedly, we've been shown that what each one seems to fear most is separation from the group and the connection and identity it provides.

The three episodes we watched for Thursday echo the theme that there is power in the Scoobies' numbers. Beginning in "The Yoko Factor," Adam and Spike recognize that Buffy's weakness is in separation from the group, and Spike works to divide them by playing on their insecurities. When the four quarrel, work comes to a standstill, and the bad guys make headway. Buffy is left baffled by the group's strange behavior and in a temper exclaims that she now understands why there's no prophecy about a slayer and her friends (a reference that comes into play in "Restless.")

The feuding Scoobies are reunited in "Primeval" when they finally recognize Spike's whisperings for what they are: clever plays on their tender places. As the fight against the Initiative culminates, it is only by uniting in a powerful spell that they are able to defeat Adam. Buffy alone was unable to fight him. Despite her friends' worries that they were superflous or irrelevant, they were, indeed, necessary and invaluable.

Their moment of sublime (or demonic) union arouses the spirit of the first Slayer, and "Restless," the season 4 finale, follows the four Scoobies' dreams as they fight the first Slayer's attempts to kill them. Though each has very different dreams, they spend much of their time searching for each other within their dreams. Once again, it is only through the dreams' internal conversations between the friends that Buffy is able to decipher the dream and fight off the first Slayer. While I am certain that the creepy, crazy guy with the cheese slices was suggestive of something that is to come, he also seems significant in that he was in all four dreams. Even in their separate dreams, the Scoobies are united. Together they are an unstoppable force that gives Buffy her distinctive power. After all, she has lived longer than the other previous slayers mentioned in the show.