Reception
Reviewer Mikelangelo Marinaro, giving the episode a B- (7.5 out of 10), praised the "sound effects used throughout the episode" and called the episode "a stand-alone which doesn't do much for character or plot development, but remains very fun nonetheless." Unlike other reviewers, Marinaro spends time talking about Giles: "Giles almost immediately gets the truth out of Buffy while at the same time illustrating the point that he is really at loose ends... We'll see even more of this as he begins to hang out with Xander a lot in upcoming episodes."
Another reviewer made an interesting point: "Not many episodes of Buffy have had the kind of focus this story got. The story remained mostly in the surface world (with only the dreams to hint at the supernatural) and explored every facet of the disintegrating roommate relationship."
A BBC reviewer praised actress "Dagney Kerr's nicely paced performance as Kathy" and added, "it's encouraging to find the regular cast so casually back together again after the worrying indications in the last episode that it would be difficult for the writers to find reasonable excuses for them to continue working as a team. This episode generally dispenses with explanations, and flows better because of it."
Read more about this topic: Living Conditions
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