I’m particularly impressed by your paragraph of analysis on the Whiskey/Echo duality — that hadn’t even occurred to me, but you’re right that they’re both on a search for humanity and identity, while starting from practically opposite points. What a shame the show can’t center around both of them!

The core of the episode was definitely the Saunders/Topher “seduction” scene, which I’d call some of Joss’ best writing ever. Practically every line is a gem, but I think the most important moment is Saunders saying that she doesn’t want to die — even though she knows she’s in someone else’s body. That raises all the same questions that Epitaph One did — who has a right to that body, the original owner (even the original soul, if you wish), or the human who has lived in it and developed her own personality and feelings and hatreds? Does a personality automatically have a soul? What happens when you have too many personalities, all clamoring to be alive, but not enough bodies?

That’s what was so fascinating about little-Caroline’s final line, “I hope we find me alive.” Yes, it’s good writing, and yes, it’s evocative, but what will happen when they do find big-Caroline? Little-Caroline will have had all kinds of formative experiences along the way, they won’t be the same person any more — so we’ll have two versions of Caroline and no version of the original owner of the little girl’s body. It’s a possession-rights nightmare.

God, I love this show!