This episdoe in excellent both for what it does and doesn;t do as an alternate-reality story. The setup is very well done; too often, tv shows start with a character expressing some discontent (feeling pressured, neglected, taken for granted, etc) which everything in first third or so of the episode aggravates. Here, there's really no indication which way things will go. When they alternative world (or at least, alternative Sunnydale) is entered, no one takes the role of Mr. Or Ms. Exposition to tell Cordelia what's happened over the past couple of years; compare to Stephen King's "11/22/63" in which a time traveler changes a past event, returns to an altered present, encounters someone he knows and promptly gets a rundown of recent history by claiming he has amnesia of everything since the altered event; not having this sort of infodump is a refreshing change. Exploring the dark side of all the characters is insightful while also scary. This episode also marks Anya's first appearance in the series. One of the series better episodes, and also sets up "Doppelgangland" one of the very best!
Review of The Wish
