The show jumped the shark when Zack worked with the Gorma-whatsit villain. Blame the writer's strike if you can, but after he was, gone, the dynamic of the show changed.

Didn't DB direct this episode? The Whedonesque feed has been making a big deal about it of late. Maybe he's just gotten so used to being the male part of the PTB's OTP that it's gone to his head? Because that episode made about as much sense as #34.