BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.8: TABULA RASA

Welcome to the nancy tribe


WRITER: Rebecca Rand Kirshner

DIRECTOR: David Grossman

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

And the fallout from the events in OMWF begin to take shape. Giles tells an angry and petulant Buffy that he is going back to England permanently as he knows he is now standing in the way of her personal growth. Tara and Willow take a break from their relationship with Willow promising Tara that she'll give up magic for a week to prove that she doesn't have a major problem. And Spike pursues an in denial Buffy determined for them to talk about their big kiss...only to be interrupted by the arrival of a demonic loan shark demanding kittens he says Spike owes him. Later that night, the entire gang (including a hiding out Spike) gather at the Magic Box where Giles is about to tell them he's leaving permanently for England. But before he can break the news a spell Willow has secretly cast backfires and the gang suddenly lose all memory of who they really are. Meanwhile, outside the store, Mr Loan Shark and his goons have arrived looking for final payment from Spike.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Are we simply the sum of our memories and experiences or is there something else at work? Tabula rasa is Latin for 'blank slate' and in 1607 philosopher Francis Bacon put forward the idea that we are all born in to the world as a blank slate, knowing nothing and that personality is imprinted upon us through memory and experience. However Charles Darwin went on to put forward the idea that our emotions and actions are at least in part based upon instincts which are hereditary. These two competing ideas are tested in this episode with Joss and co. seeming to come down on the side of Darwin. Although Buffy and the gang have no idea who they are, they soon adopt roles based upon instinctual reactions (once they've gotten over the initial fear and confusion of not knowing who they are). For instance, Buffy and Dawn pretty quickly figure out they are sisters and Buffy takes on a leadership role as well as her muscle memory seeming to kick in what with her unthinking ability to fight and slay. But as well as the nature/nurture thing this episode is also about pushing the characters in to new and not so fun places. If OMWF exposed the lies and the secrets they'd all been concealing, then Tabula Rasa forces them to confront those lies and secrets head on and then do something about them. The most obvious examples being with Giles leaving Buffy, Tara leaving Willow, and Spike and Buffy finally (at least in part) resolving the emotional and physical dance they've been doing with each other.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Loan Shark and his vamp goons. And Willow too I guess.

WHY IT ROCKS

A perfect example of Buffyness: By which I mean that while it's not the best episode of the series ever, Tabula Rasa manages to encompass all of the things that are great about Buffy the show. For a start, the episode is about something with a central idea and theme. It is also character driven and pushes the characters forward (or possibly backward), delivering serious personal drama and serious emotional pain while also managing to be being gloriously silly in places and very, very funny thanks to a clever script and pitch perfect performances from the cast.

Randy Giles: James Marsters as Spike is on top form. After having his memory wiped Spike thinks he is Giles' son named Randy (due to them both being English and the label inside his tweed jacket that says 'property of Randy' – part of a disguise he's wearing to elude the loan shark). Spike aka Randy then acts all disgusted with his name and immediately assumes he and 'dad' have major father/son issues.

Giles and Anya sitting in a tree: Giles and Anya believing they are an engaged couple who run the Magic Box and that Anya is 'Randy's' new young step-mother-to-be. Much bickering ensues leading Giles to discover his one way plane ticket to London, thinking he was about to flee the engagement.

Bunnies: Desperately trying random spells to help the situation Anya accidentally conjours up a plague of bunnies which sends her atop a table in yelping horror.

Skeleton sword fight: in a wonderful homage to Jason and the Argonauts Giles sword fights a skeleton after another attempted spell of Anya's goes badly wrong.

Randy the Vampire: Spike aka Randy, in the midst of a fight alongside Buffy (calling herself Joan), suddenly goes all vamp faced much to both his and Buffy's surprise. This leads Spike to tell Buffy he is probably a good vampire, one with a soul, searching for redemption. To which Buffy snorts and says that is just so lame.

Xander's comedy faint.

Willow and Tara: Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson are both superb in their scenes together dealing with Willow's abuse of magic and their growing estrangement. But it is Amber as Tara who is the driving force and who makes the big decisions. She is terrific and really does bring on the lump in the throat moments.

The final few minutes: the sad conclusion to the episode is played out with no dialogue while Michelle Branch sings her emotional acoustic ballad 'Goodbye to You' live at the Bronze.

WHY IT SUCKS

The loan shark being an actual man with a shark's head is just a bit too silly for its own good. Plus they really want kittens that bad? What is it with kittens?

Buffy and Spike engage in a big, violent and noisy brawl with several of Loan Shark's vamp goons in the middle of a suburban street full of houses with their lights on and cars in the yard. And yet nobody comes out to see what all the ruckus is or at least calls the cops? Weird.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Goodbye to You: an emotional dialogue free denouement.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Xander: I just feel weird feeling bad that my friend's not dead. It's too mind-boggling. So I've decided to simplify the whole thing. Me like Buffy. Buffy's alive, so, me glad.

Giles: Spike?
Anya: Holy moly!
Spike (dressed in Tweed and bow tie): You need to give me asylum.
Xander: I'll say.

Giles: We'll get our memory back and it'll all be right as rain.
Spike: Oh, listen to Mary Poppins. He's got his crust all stiff and upper with that nancy-boy accent. You Englishmen are always so... Bloody hell! Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bollocks. Oh, god. I'm English.
Giles: Welcome to the nancy-tribe.

Spike: Oh, great -- a tarty step-mother who's half old Daddy's age.
Anya: Tarty?
Giles: Old?

Giles: Anyway, what did I call you?
Spike: (looks at jacket label) "Made with care for Randy." Randy Giles? Why not just call me "Horny Giles" or "Desperate-for-a-shag Giles"? I knew there was a reason I hated you.

Spike: Dad can drive. He's bound to have some classic mid-life crisis transport. Something red, shiny, shaped like a penis.

Buffy: Hey, stay away from Randy! (stakes Vamp)

Buffy: Ready, Randy?
Spike: Ready, Joan.

Buffy: I kill your kind.
Spike: And I bite yours. So how come I don't want to bite you? And why am I fighting other vampires? I must be a noble vampire. A good guy, on a mission of redemption. I help the helpless. I'm a vampire with a soul.
Buffy: A vampire with a soul? Oh my god, how lame is that?

Giles (surrounded by white fluffy bunnies): Clearly, that is not a helpful book, darling. Come down and we'll go about fixing this in a sensible fashion.
Anya (standing on a table): Sensible? You think it's sensible for me to go down into that pit of cotton-top hell, and let them hippety-hop all over my vulnerable flesh?

Xander: (laughs) Sorry, I just got back the memory of seeing "King Ralph".

AND ANOTHER THING

The tweed suit Spike wears for most of the episode is similar to the one he wore in Xander's dream in 4.22 Restless. In the dream Giles said he looked upon Spike as a son.

The tweed jacket and bow tie combo of Spike's bears a resemblance to Matt Smith's first costume as The Doctor in Doctor Who. Plus James Marsters played Captain John in the DWH spin-off show Torchwood while Tony Head appeared as an alien baddie in the David Tennant DWH episode School Reunion.

Michelle Branch's song Goodbye to You which she sings in the Bronze at the end of the episode was a pretty big hit taken from her platinum selling album The Spirit Room.

Giles does indeed have a red and shiny sports car. We first saw it in Real Me.

Buffy quotes Macbeth when she says 'What we did is done'.

Buffy names herself Joan. After Joan of Arc maybe? Seems she has something of an instinctive martyr complex having died twice already.

HOW MANY STAKES?

A hilarious and heartache-y 4 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.2: BARGAINING (PART 2)

Bring Me To Life

WRITER: David Fury

DIRECTOR: David Grossman

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Unbeknownst to Willow and the other Scoobies the ritual to bring Buffy back to life has worked. Our girl has regenerated and is alive and trapped in her coffin under the earth. Screaming in terror she begins to claw and fight her way free.

Meanwhile, up above, the evil demon bikers continue their rampage through Sunnydale.

Back at casa Summers, Spike tells Dawn they can’t stay there and have to leave as the neighbourhood burns. Hijacking a motorcycle Spike and Dawn take off, looking for safety.

In the woods, the Scoobies split up with Xander carrying an exhausted Willow while Tara and Anya head separately back in to town. The two girls soon arrive at the Magic Box and wait there for their loved ones to get there too.

Back to Buffy who has now escaped from her grave and is wandering dazed and confused through the burning, ransacked streets of Sunnydale. Soon she stumbles across the gathered throng of demon bikers and their leader who have the captured Buffybot chained by each limb to four different motorcycles. Real Buffy then watches horrified as the motorbikes proceed to speed away, ripping the poor Buffybot to pieces. Seeing real Buffy, the demons, thinking she is another robot, try to grab her too. But real Buffy runs off with the demons in hot pursuit.

Back in the woods, Xander and Willow are lost. But then a magic light appears to guide them home, a light Willow knows has been sent by Tara. Soon, Xan and Will arrive back at the Magic Box, reunited with Anya and Tara. Thinking the resurrection of Buffy failed, the gang determine that it is up to them to stop the demon horde, and tooling up, they head out to do battle.

Spike and Dawn, still on the bike, find the abandoned wreckage of the Buffybot. Spike knows she is done for but Dawn goes to her just in time to catch her final words. Buffybot saw the real Buffy and asks Dawn where “other Buffy” went? And with that the poor broken bot ‘dies’. Dawn, making a leap of faith, runs off, looking now for “other Buffy” with Spike not even noticing she has gone until it is too late. Furious he sets out to find the runaway niblet.

Eventually Willow, Xander, Tara and Anya run in to real Buffy in an alleyway. After initially thinking she is the Buffybot, Willow realises she is in fact the real thing. The gang are amazed and happy yet also worried by Buffy’s dazed and confused behavior. Right then, the demons arrive and a fight ensues. Thankfully some of the old Buff returns and she engages the horde in battle, beating them down. But then, battle done, she runs off, clearly traumatised by the whole affair, leaving Tara to finish off the nasty demon leader with a well placed axe to the back. Her first, she proudly announces.

Dawn arrives at Glory’s tower, which is still standing, but only barely. She looks up and sees someone up on top. She runs to the tower and ascends it as fast as she can.

Up on top of the tower, it is Buffy standing at it's edge. She is staring down at the ground far below as fragments of memories of her fatal sacrifice fill her mind.

Suddenly Dawn appears behind her.

Dawn, scared that the somehow newly returned Buffy is going to take another swan dive, begs her sister to come away from the edge, to come back home with her.

For a time Buffy seems unsure and appears more inclined to jump once more.

But as the rickety tower begins to shake and crumble, and as Dawn screams out in terror, Buffy snaps out of it. At the last moment she turns, grabs her little sister, and grabbing a cable, swings them both off of the tower and down to the ground and safety…just as the whole thing comes tumbling down behind them.

The episode ends with Dawn hugging tightly her returned and thoroughly confused looking big sister.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Nothing specific as this carries on directly from part 1. I guess there is something in there about putting those you love before your self.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Still the nasty demon biker gang

WHY IT ROCKS

Seamless: It’s a direct continuation of part 1 and the join is seamless even though it has a different writer.

Payoff: Part 1 was the set up and this is the resolution. As such there is a lot of action and running around and fights. And they are all great as per usual. The emotional beats hit home too, especially the loss of poor Buffybot and the real Buffy looking and acting so lost and traumatised throughout.

On your bike: Spike's flying kick, taking the demon rider off of his motorbike and Spike then nicking it. Very, very cool.

SMG: whether playing the demise of poor Buffybot or the newly returned Buffy she is tremendous. As Buffy she has virtually no dialogue relying almost entirely on body language and on a pretty face that tells a traumatic tale with nothing more than a simple look.

Go Tara! Great to see Tara getting in on the demon slaying action. Nice axe to the back, girl!

WHY IT SUCKS

Bye, bye Buffybot: She’s gone to electro heaven. Rest easy, sweet, funny robo babe. We miss you. :(

The Scoobies must have realised that they’d need to dig Buffy out of her grave. So why didn’t they bring tools to dig her out? And why didn’t they dig up the grave before doing the spell so Buffy wouldn’t suffocate?

SMG’s post-death shock wig is kinda…shocking.

Still no cops

And no fire-fighters either

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Spike’s flying kick to take out a motorcycle demon…and then nicking his ride. Cool.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Spike: A couple of stakes, holy water, one cross. (picks up cross) Ow! (drops it) Brilliant.

Willow: Xander, that's not the North star. It's an airplane.
Xander: No, that's not an airplane. That's definitely... a blimp. But I can see how one would make that airplane mistake.

Xander: Demons. Ah, there's something you don't see every day. Unless you're us.

Willow (following the tiny glowing light sent by Tara): Xander, it's not a bug. It's Tara.
Xander: And how long have you known that your girlfriend's Tinkerbell?

Xander: This place is NORAD when we're at DefCon 1. (The girls look at him blankly) Okay, I *so* need male friends.

Xander: I happen to be a very powerful man-witch myself. A male... (turns to Willow) is it a warlock? (turns back to the demon biker) Warlock.

Xander: Tara, nice axing.
Tara: My first!

AND ANOTHER THING

The location where Dawn finds Buffybot was the same place used for Glory and the monks' original hideout in 5.5 'No Place Like Home'.

This is the second time we’ve seen Buffy six feet under. There’s a scene in 1.10 'Nightmares' where Buffy is buried alive by the Master - it’s one of her fears.

HOW MANY STAKES?

Still a bargain at 4 (out of 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.1: BARGAINING (PART 1)

Promo

WRITER: Marti Noxon

DIRECTOR: David Grossman

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

And we’re back!

It’s been several months since Buffy died, sacrificing herself at Glory’s Tower to save her little sister as well as the rest of the world. Things in Sunnydale seem to have settled in to some sort of slaying routine, even without our deceased heroine being around. The gang, led by a mystic all seeing (and telepathic) Willow, are a well oiled slaying machine…kind of. They are all present and correct – Tara, Giles, Anya, Xander and Spike, all following Willow’s instructions to hunt down and slay a big fat vamp in the cemetery. Oh, and they have an ace up their sleeve. The Buffybot. The gang are using our reprogrammed electro girl to make the supernatural world think that the Slayer is still alive and kicking…their arses. And RoboBuffy has been doing a mighty fine job of it too, even cracking wise in a fight just like the real Buffster.

But no matter how good a copy she is, Buffybot is not the real Buffster.

The truth is Buffy’s demise has left a gaping hole in the lives of all the Scooby gang. They miss her terribly. Guilt is rife, especially from Giles and Spike. And poor Dawn, while putting a brave face on her loss, at night sneaks in to the room where the Buffybot recharges and secretly cuddles up to the robotic copy of her lost sister.

But unbeknownst to Dawn, Spike and Giles, Willow has a plan.

She’s refused to give up on the lost Slayer and has vowed to use whatever magic she can to bring Buffy back! Working secretly with Tara, Xander and Anya, she is preparing a dark and very dangerous spell to rescue Buffy from the eternal torment of the hell dimension in which she thinks Buffy is trapped. Willow declares that because Buffy died an unnatural death through mystic energy, they have a very good chance of bringing her back to life. Xander though is unsure, worried about the morality of what they plan to do. But Willow convinces him, mostly with the simple words: “It’s Buffy!” Xander can’t argue with that and agrees to help. The plan of resurrection is on for that very night.

Meanwhile, a weaselly little vampire has managed to cause a slight injury to Buffybot, exposing her electrical circuitry and damaging her navigational system, thus allowing the little monster to get away. He escapes with the knowledge that the Slayer is in fact nothing more than a machine and he ends up at an out of town bar where he tells his story to an ugly and vicious gang of motorcycle demons who all now know that with the real Slayer gone the Hellmouth is ripe for the taking. The vile gang heads off at top speed, violence on their minds, destination: Sunnydale.

Also meanwhile, Giles has decided to leave. He’s realised that with Buffy gone he has no real reason to stay. And so he secretly heads to the airport to catch a plane back to England. But the Scoobies discover what he is doing and they just about manage to get to the airport for a heartfelt goodbye before the G man’s flight is called. And so Giles leaves, not knowing that Willow and co. are planning on Bringing Buffy back that very same night; a plan he is not informed of as Willow knows that he would try to stop her.

And so later that night, gathered around Buffy’s grave, Willow begins the ritual with Tara, Xander and Anya looking on concerned.

Said ritual is dark, and it is extremely painful on Willow. Her flesh is slashed, bugs crawl under her skin, and she vomits up a snake! Xander tries to stop it but Tara stops him, saying Willow told her this would happen, that it is a test. But just as the ritual is building to its climax the demon biker gang shows up pursuing the Buffybot who is damaged and has automatically sought out Willow for repair. Then, right at the crucial moment of the ritual, a demon’s motorcycle goes and breaks the Urn of Osiris, abruptly ending Willow’s resurrection spell. Heartbroken by the perceived failure and terrified by the rampaging demons, the Scoobies flee in to the woods leaving behind the damaged Buffybot to be taunted and tortured by the evil horde.

Meanwhile, underground, inside her coffin, the withered corpse of Buffy Anne Summers is enveloped by mystical energy and begins to regenerate. After a few shimmering seconds, the now newly regenerated slayer opens her eyes and gasps for air. She’s alive! ALIVE!

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Not too much in the way of underlying theme or subtext here. I guess the only obvious one is about how we each deal with loss - the refusal to believe it, to accept it, the guilt, the anger, the simple terrible absence in your life. All are shown here, though they are not explored in any great depth.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Demonic motorcycle gang The Hellions. Ugly bunch of suckers.

WHY IT ROCKS

Life goes on: the gang are all stepping up and dealing with life after Buffy. The world still thinks the Slayer is active. With Willow and Tara now living at 1630 Revello a new family unit has been created to look after Dawn and to keep things afloat. It all seems plausible and workable. And with Buffybot around, life, though different, appears not to be so bad. At least on the surface.

How we deal: There are some nice character beats throughout the ep. showing how the Scoobies are (and are not) dealing with the loss of the Buffster. Willow refuses to believe she is gone, being determined to put things right via magic at any cost (a portent of her fall from grace this season). Giles is feeling guilty and is full of self loathing, thinking he has finally achieved a Watchers role in life – to watch his Slayer die. Spike is angry with himself for having failed to save Buffy, for having failed to keep his promise to her to protect Dawn, and as a result has now turned in to Dawn’s constant babysitter, refusing to leave her on her own and unprotected. And Dawn, she is quietly accepting, though in secret she pines desperately for her sister. Only Xander seems to be the voice of reason and true acceptance. Of course that doesn’t last after Willow convinces him otherwise.

The set up: part 1 is of course all about showing where everyone is, physically, emotionally and mentally, and about getting them to the point of bringing Buffy back. The emotional beats provided by Marti Noxon’s functional yet emotionally engaging script are all honest and affecting. We feel the Scoobies sense of loss, of pain. We feel awful for poor Dawnie as she cuddles up at night to the Buffybot. We feel Giles’ stoic anguish, Willow’s stubborn refusal, and perhaps most of all, Spike’s barely restrained fury and pain. Soulless? No way.

Buffybot: Aw, I love her so much. The innocent, smiley, chirpy, ever helpful Buffybot. So cute. And SMG is fabulous at playing her. It’s such a great device to keep your star in the episode and the character around when she really isn’t. Plus she’s just so darn adorable. I especially like how Spike can’t look at her properly anymore and is devastated when a bit of her old ‘I adore Spike’ programming rears its head. It’s all about character.

The funny: for what could be a very depressing and mawkish episode Bargaining Part 1 defies those expectations to actually be very funny and charming. Much of this is thanks to Buffybot and to some great lines of dialogue from a cast so in tune with their characters and with each other.

Stylish: Willow et al sure do have stylish wardrobes this year. World of leather must have signed them up for a discount. They all look great. All the girls look gorgeous, dressed and made up to the nines. The lads all look great too, cool and handsome. The photography is glossy and lush and the FX top notch. The move to UPN seems to have done them all the world of good.

WHY IT SUCKS

Um, demon bikers? Okay, the demon biker gang The Hellions are a goofy idea much like the Knights who say Nee from season 5 (or whatever they were called). They are just a bunch of dumb violent lugs and nothing more. And how do they exist and operate in a world that is still largely unaware of the supernatural? They seem to ride around and hang out in bars without giving their appearance to humans a second thought.

Where are all the cops? So the demon gang discover that the Slayer is no more and decide it is open season on Sunnydale. They show up in town and promptly run riot, looting, destroying, burning… And where exactly are Sunnydale’s finest while all this is going down? Have they all gone out for doughnuts? Are they all on summer leave? C’mon! Buff wasn’t the only protection Sunnydale had from bad guys.

The headstone: So, if the gang are trying to make the world think Buffy is alive and well and still slaying, why then do they plant a great big headstone with her name on it in the cemetery where all can see, effectively telling the world she is dead? Duh!

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Lots of great moments but for pure shock value it has to be Willow, the cute baby deer, and the BIG knife! Oh my god, she killed Bambi!

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Spike: Oh, poor Watcher. Did your life pass before your eyes? Cup of tea, cup of tea, almost got shagged, cup of tea?

Buffybot: That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, Bingo!

Willow: And I got her off those knock-knock jokes.
Buffybot: Ooh, who's there?
Xander: You know, if we want her to be exactly...
Spike: She'll never be exactly.
Xander: I know.
Tara: The only really real Buffy is really Buffy.
Giles: And she's gone.
Buffybot: "You know, if we want her to be exactly, she'll never be exactly, the only really real Buffy is really Buffy, and she's gone" who?

Xander: House of chicks, relax. I'm a man, and I have a tool. (pause) Tools. Lots of plural tools, in my, uh, toolbox.

Spike (to Dawn): She responded to Buffy-Bot because a robot is predictable. Boring. A perfect teacher's pet. That's all school's are, you know. Just factories, spewing out mindless little automatons. (Guilty pause) Who go on to be very valuable and productive members of society, and you should go.

Tara: You found the last known Urn of Osiris on eBay?
Anya: Yeah, from this desert gnome in Cairo. He drove a really hard bargain, but I finally got him to throw in a limited-edition Backstreet Boys lunchbox for...
Xander: (coughs)
Anya: A friend.

Buffybot: Sorry I questioned you, Spike. You know I admire your brain almost as much as your washboard abs.

Anya (to Giles): I'll take really good care of your money.

AND ANOTHER THING

In the US part 1 was originally shown with part 2 as a feature-length special to celebrate Buffy's re-launch on the UPN network. On the UK DVD set it also plays as one long double episode.

Responding to the Buffybot's comment about "That'll put marzipan in your pie-plate bingo", Spike asks "Why the Dada-ism?" referring to the German absurdist art movement of the 1920s. Not many prime time US shows would casually refer to such things. Love it.

Tara gives Giles a little rubber monster as a leaving present and says "Grrr, argh" - clearly a reference to the monster in the Mutant Enemy logo at the end of every episode.

This episode is the first time that Anthony Stewart Head is listed as a guest star in the credits. Alyson Hannigan now appears in the opening sequence in the spot he used to occupy. Tony had decided to leave the show full time in order to spend more time with his family back in England and to pursue other roles. But he remained a big part of the show for its remaining two seasons.

Season six sees the writer of this episode Marti Noxon promoted to co-executive producer alongside Joss, taking on the day to day running of the show as Joss moved on to do other things. Thus her name now appears alongside Joss' in the end credits.

The scene where Willow kills the deer is nasty enough but originally it was a lot gorier and had to be cut back in order to be suitable for transmission. Interestingly, the music playing during this scene is listed in the production notes as "Willow Stabs Bambi". Alyson Hannigan found it extremely difficult to film this scene. She was very upset at the thought of Willow doing such a thing and Marti Noxon says that Alyson cried the whole day it was being filmed.

In this episode we discover that Anya and Xander are engaged, but Xander doesn’t want to tell the others yet, causing tension between him and Anya.

Franc Ross, who played the lead hellion demon Razor, played ‘Monty Reynolds’ in Joss Whedon’s Firefly episode ‘Trash’.

The vampire who discovers that Buffy is a robot is wearing a Hanson t-shirt. Vampire or not, he is clearly evil.

HOW MANY STAKES?

It’s a bargain at 4 (out of 5)

BUFFY 4.12 ‘A NEW MAN’

A short promo for this episode.

WRITER: Jane Espenson

DIRECTOR: Michael Gershman

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

While the gang are all moving on in their lives with new college careers and/or new relationships taking up their time, poor Giles is feeling ignored, left out, forgotten. Buffy hardly calls on him anymore and has completely failed to mention the fact that she’s dating Riley and that Riley is part of The Initiative, an organisation Giles knows nothing about as he never got told by Buffy that the commandos he’s been investigating are in fact a secret government demon hunting outfit based beneath Sunnydale U. Giles is understandably annoyed at this, hearing it for the first time by accident from Willow. Later, an encounter with old nemesis Ethan Rayne leads Giles and his once-upon-a-time friend to go for a few beers, allowing Giles to drown his sorrows…only to wake up the next morning having been turned in to a huge, ugly Fyarl demon by dastardly Ethan. Naturally the ex-watcher seeks out the gang to help him. But they can’t understand his demon-speak and think he’s the rampaging monster who’s kidnapped the real Giles. Amazingly only Spike can understand him. And so, for cash, the mercenary vamp agrees to help Giles track down Ethan Rayne and reverse the spell, to hopefully return Giles to his old human self.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Giles is unintentionally sidelined, forgotten, ignored. Plus he also gets castigated by Professor Walsh who suggests that Buffy has lacked a strong father figure in her life, lacking discipline. And to top it all off, nasty ol’ Ethan Rayne gets him drunk and turns him in to a demon, hoping that an unwitting Buffy will then slay her former watcher. Becoming the demon personifies what Giles is feeling: old, angry, and not recognised by the gang anymore.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Ethan Rayne, The Initiative (kinda)

WHY IT ROCKS

A strong theme. Jane Espenson’s script is right on the mark. It’s meaningful, character driven and very funny indeed.

It’s the Giles and Spike show. For a significant portion of this episode Giles (albeit in demon form) teams up with Spike to find Ethan Rayne. The two together make a great odd couple team – bickering like a couple of old women. One might be evil but the pair share a certain unspoken bond what with being English an’ all.

A car chase. Yep, we get the first Buffy car chase as the Initiative pursue Spike and Demon Giles in Giles’s knacked out old car with Spike driving. It’s kinda small scale but quite cool and mostly played for laughs with Spike having trouble finding the gears.

Scaring Professor Walsh. The simply genius moment where Giles, in his demon form, makes Spike stop the car just so he can run out and scare Professor Walsh, then casually hops back in to the car feeling a little happier with life.

Robin Sachs. Yep, he’s back as chaos worshipping sorcerer/Giles nemesis Ethan Rayne. And he’s great. The scene with the pair of old mystics and one time friends getting drunk over a few pints is most amusing. While Giles is sharing his troubles, Ethan is busy trying to drunkenly pick up the waitress. It’s funny and is also a useful plot point for later on.

Tony Head. This is Giles’s episode. And Tony Head steps up to the mark. He really sells the tired, hurt, world weary Giles. And when he becomes a giant scary demon encased head to toe in prosthetics and creepy ram horns (great make-up BTW) he is obviously having a ball. His violent clumsiness is great as is his desperate attempts to make himself understood by the gang. But it’s the scaring Professor Walsh moment that is complete and utter genius.

That crappy Citroen finally gets totalled. Get a proper car Giles.

WHY IT SUCKS

It takes a while until Giles actually turns in to a demon.

Xander and co. don’t exactly do a proper search of Giles’s home before coming to the conclusion he isn’t there and that he’s been kidnapped/eaten by a demon.

The resolution is cute but pretty unbelievable. We’re expected to believe that Buffy stops at the last moment from killing Demon Giles by recognising the look of disappointment in his eyes. Huh?

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Demon Giles taking time out of hunting for Ethan to give Maggie Walsh a well deserved scare. Priceless.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Buffy (introducing Giles to Riley): “Giles was the librarian at my high school.”
Riley: “Ah, I've seen the library. It's gone downhill since you left.”

Buffy (about her surprise party): “Of course, you could smash in all my toes with a hammer and it would still be the bestest Buffy birthday bash in a big long while.”

Walsh: “So, the Slayer.”
Buffy: “Yeah, that's me.”
Walsh: “We thought you were a myth.”
Buffy: “Well, you were myth-taken.”

Giles: “What am I? I'm an unemployed librarian with a tendency to get knocked on the head.”

Ethan: “I've really got to learn to just do the damage and get out of town. It's the stay and gloat — gets me every time.”

Giles (about Ethan): “You have to help me find him. He must undo this, and then he needs a good being killed.”
Spike: “And I'm supposed to do this just out of the evilness of my heart?”

AND ANOTHER THING

In an online chat, Jane Espenson said about Spike after he crashed the car: "That was cut... for time. In fact, he got out of the car injured and he said 'I can kill demons. I can crash cars. Things are looking up!' It’s too bad this got cut. It was a nice moment. And now you know..."

HOW MANY STAKES?

Demon Head. 4 (out of 5)

BUFFY 4.09 ‘SOMETHING BLUE’

“Don’t I get a cookie?”

WRITER: Tracey Forbes
DIRECTOR: Nick Marck

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

Willow, still feeling terrible over Oz’s leaving, tries a spell to lessen her heartbreak. Unfortunately the spell goes wrong and unbeknownst to the misery stricken Wiccan what ever she says about the people she is closest to actually happens to them. Arguing with Giles, Willow says that he just doesn’t see anything. And a short time later Giles starts going blind. Then, angry at Xander over his advice to her about love, she tells him he’s in no position to give advice as he’s just a demon magnet. Pretty soon demons start showing up out of the blue, accosting poor Xan. Best of all though, Spike escapes from Giles’s place and Buffy has to leave Willow to go find and recapture the naughty vamp. Willow, upset that Buffy has left her to go find Spike, says that Buffy should just go marry him then. Next thing we know (much to Giles and Xander’s horror) Buffy and Spike are very much in love and planning their wedding, which leads to one confused conversation between Buffy and a totally flummoxed Riley. Things start getting even more out of hand as the gang is cornered by more and more demons out for Xander’s blood. At the same time, impressed by Willow’s curses on her friends, the great vengeance demon D'Hoffyrn goes and brings the unwittingly havoc wreaking girl to his dimension and offers her a job.

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Dealing with heartbreak. Friends helping those who are dealing with heartbreak.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

Willow (unwittingly), lots of various demons out to get Xander, and D'Hoffyrn.

WHY IT ROCKS

The script. Making up for some of the naffness of ‘Beer Bad’ Tracey Forbes writes a fun, frothy frolic of an episode. It’s not deep, it’s not clever, and it plays almost like a dose of fan fiction, but it is a lot of goofy fun.

Comedy. There is some broad and very funny comedy in this episode. A lot of it comes from Giles and his loss of sight and his exasperation and disgust at Buffy and Spike ‘in love’. The stuff at Giles’s house with Buffy and Spike being all lovey dovey is hilarious. After Xander arrives and sees Buffy and Spike canoodling, and then hearing that Giles is blind, he stares in horror at the mystically loved-up pair and says plaintively, “Can I be blind too?”

Spike and Buffy sitting in a tree… Spike and Buffy start out the episode at each others throats (well, Spike would be if he could actually hurt her). The platinum vamp is chained up in Giles’s bathtub being fed blood from a novelty mug while Buffy taunts him with her bare pulsing throat. They continue to go at it until Willow’s spell does its thing and suddenly the pair is in blissful love and all over each other, planning their wedding. The chemistry between them is great and they are so darn funny together.

Giles. Tony Head is fab. He sells the growing blindness so well not to mention his wonderfully judged air of horrific exasperation at everything that’s going on. Very funny indeed. He even gets to do a spot on pratfall.

The Amy rat. Very briefly we get to see Amy turned back human again, albeit for a split second behind an unwitting Willow and Buffy’s backs. It’s a swift gag. But it’s a nice nod to continuity (something Buffy does brilliantly) and is rather chucklesome.

WHY IT SUCKS

Rubbery demons. Some of the demons attacking Xander are kinda rubbery and not too convincing.

Poor Willow. The gang’s rather insensitive attitude to Willow (mostly behind her back) is pretty grim and not very nice. Lest they forget Buffy had only recently stopped obsessing over nasty Parker. Cut the poor redhead some slack people!

Fluffy Buffy. This ep is a lot of goofy fun but is entirely fluff and doesn’t add anything weighty to the season.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

Giles’s reaction to seeing Buffy and Spike ‘together’.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Xander (watching Willow dancing energetically at the Bronze): "I believe that's the dance of a brave little toaster."

Giles: “We can't let you go until we're sure that you're impotent or —“
Spike: “Hey!”
Giles: “Sorry, poor choice of words. Until we know that you're...”
Buffy: “Flaccid?”
Spike: “You are one step away, missy!

Buffy (faux-sexy): “Look at my poor neck — all bare, and tender, and exposed. All that blood, just pumping away.”
Spike (angrily): “Giles, make her stop!”
Giles (to Willow, exasperated): “If those two don't kill each other, I might lend a hand.”

Spike (yelling): “Passions is on! Timmy's down the bloody well, and if you make me miss it I'll —“
Giles: “Do what? Lick me to death?”

Giles (hearing Spike and Buffy kissing): “Stop that right now! I can hear the smacking.”

Buffy (gleeful): “Spike and I are getting married!”
Xander (stunned): “How? What? How?”
Giles: “Three excellent questions.”

Buffy (to Willow): “And the bad boy thing? Over it. Okay, I totally get it. I'd be really happy to be in a nice relationship with a decent, reliable… Oh my God, Riley thinks I'm engaged!”

HOW MANY STAKES?

Willow didn’t mean to do it. 3 (out of 5)

BUFFY: 4.04 ‘FEAR, ITSELF’

Short episode promo

WRITER: David Fury
DIRECTOR: Tucker Gates

WHAT’S THE SITCH?

It’s Halloween and one of the frat houses is throwing a Scary House Halloween party. Said house has been prepared to be everything innocently spooky and scary for the soon to arrive party guests. But unbeknownst to the frat house boys, a symbol they found in a book and then painted on to the floor for creepy effect is really a mystical symbol designed to bring forth the terrible fear demon Gachnar. All the symbol needs to start its work is some human blood, which Oz accidentally supplies after cutting himself while fixing the party’s sound system. Later on that night, Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander arrive at the frat house ready for some silly, creepy seasonal frolics…only to find it seemingly deserted. After venturing inside, the house then traps them, separates them, and begins to subject each of them to their deepest personal fears…

WHAT’S THE SITCH BENEATH THE SITCH?

Well, the whole thing is really just a big ol’ Halloween fest. An excuse to have some creepy good fun. Thematically though we are in fairly obvious territory: facing and conquering your fears, not letting them control you. The gang’s fears have changed now that they’ve grown older. Back in season one’s ‘Nightmares’ Willow’s biggest fear was being on stage. Now it is one of her spells going wrong and turning on her. Xander’s fear was clowns. Now it is being invisible to his friends. Of course Oz wasn’t in season one but his fear is of losing control and turning in to a werewolf and hurting Willow. Meanwhile Buffy’s fear is no longer rejection by her father. Now it is that no matter what she does, how hard she fights, she won’t be able to save people. As the gang has matured so have their fears.

WHO’S GIVING US THE WIGGINS THIS WEEK?

A scary house which includes knife-wielding corpses, transforming werewolves, vampires buried in the basement, bats, spiders, eyeballs and all sorts of creepy stuff. Oh, and Gachnar, the fear demon. And Anya dressed as a bunny.

WHY IT ROCKS

The story. David Fury wrote a fun rollercoaster spooky house tale for Halloween that has decent thematic depth and is all about the characters.

Giles fully embracing the spirit of Halloween…in a sombrero. And Buffy’s reaction.

Gleeful Giles with his toy Frankenstein’s Monster. “It’s alive!”

Anya and the thing that scares her the most: bunnies.

Anya in her giant bunny costume. So cute. So funny.

Giles with a chainsaw.

Buffy as Little Red Riding Hood. She looks real cute in her blood red cloak. It harkens back to season three’s ‘Helpless’ where we last saw her wearing a red hooded cloak whilst fleeing from psycho vampire Zachary Kralik.

Xander dressed in a tux just in case they all get turned in to their costumes again ala season two’s ‘Halloween’. If they do, then Xander wants to be James Bond. Buffy thinks he’ll more likely be a waiter.

Oz’s Halloween costume. Willow has come as Joan of Arc as she appreciates Joan’s close relationship with God. When the gang ask a normally dressed Oz what he’s come as, Oz silently reveals a small nametag on his jacket. It reads simply ‘God’. Heh.

The ‘big’ reveal of Gachnar.

WHY IT SUCKS

It’s a standalone episode and a token Halloween episode so doesn’t really add anything to the season. Still, it’s a lot of fun.

IT’S BUFFTASTIC

It’s a toss up between Anya in bunny costume and the hilarious final reveal.

DIALOGUE TO DIE FOR

Xander: “Well, that's the funny thing about me. I tend to hear the actual words people say and accept them at face value.”
Anya: “That's stupid!”
Xander: “I accept that.”

Buffy: “Thank the Lord.”
Oz: “You're welcome.”

Buffy: "Conjuring? Will, let's be realistic here, okay? Your basic spells are usually only about 50-50."
Willow (angrily): "Oh yeah? Well... so's your face!"
Buffy: "What?"

Xander (taunting the fear demon in a silly voice): "Who's the little fear demon? Come on, who's the little fear demon?"
Giles: "Don't taunt the fear demon."
Xander (worried now): "Why? Can he hurt me?"
Giles: "No, it's just... tacky."

Giles (annoyed, suddenly realising what the caption under the drawing of Gachnar says): “Actual size.”

HOW MANY STAKES?

A fearful 4 (out of 5)

Buffy: 3.2 'Dead Man's Party'

This episode remade in Lego in under 3 mins. Silly.


Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: James Whitmore Jr

What's the sitch?

Buffy is back in Sunnydale. But things are tough. Her mom is overjoyed to have her home but is terrified her daughter will run off again...plus she is also secretly furious at Buffy for what she did. And Buffy's friends, though seemingly glad to have her back, are rather distant and awkward around her. There is a lot of pent up resentment and anger brewing that's about to explode. Only Giles is utterly relieved and overjoyed to have Buffy back, with no apparent bitterness towards her. So, in an attempt to make things better, Buffy's friends along with her mom decide to throw her a welcome home party at her house. Unfortunately that very same night an ancient African tribal mask that Joyce has brought home goes and turns all the recently deceased in town in to lumbering, murderous zombies. And said zombies then proceed to converge on the Summers’ house and crash Buffy's party just as tensions between Buffy, her mom, and her friends reaach breaking point.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

The meat of this episode is the character stuff and the fallout from Buffy's running away. The zombie malarkey is there just to show how when the chips are down Buffy and her friends will fall back in to Scooby mode and be there for each other. The most blatant metaphor at work here is Joyce and Buffy's row in front of a house full of people with Buffy blaming Joyce for telling her to leave when she discovered her daughter was the Slayer. Joyce defends herself by saying you don't just drop such a sudden bombshell on someone and expect them to deal and to act perfectly. This is an obvious continuation of the gay metaphor played up by Joss in Becoming – part 2.

Why it rocks

Lots of great character stuff with anger and resentment bubbling under before eventually boiling over.

A zombie cat. Heh.

Oz thinking the zombie cat is cool and wanting to name it 'Patches'.

Buffy's very funny near-panicked shout-out for her mom after opening the front door to Joyce's new busybody friend Pat.

Giles is so damn cool. He's the only one who doesn't give Buffy a hard time, being just so (secretly) overjoyed to have her back safe.

Snyder is on good odious form. His battle with Joyce over readmitting Buffy to school is entertaining. But he turns out to be no match for a sinister and threatening Giles, Buffy's heroic father figure who will do anything to get her back in school and her life back on track.

Why it sucks

The demon mask/zombie story is pretty lame. It just feels like a needless distraction from the real drama and character stuff.

The trashing of Buffy's house is a bit extreme. How does Joyce get all of that fixed? Oh, and the smashing in of the front door looks terrible. It looks like it's made out of paper.

What kind of museum lets someone (i.e. Joyce) take an ancient exhibit home to be hung on their bedroom wall?

Buffy's friends and her mom are way too hostile towards her and seem only too happy to humiliate poor Buffy in public. I mean what did she really do that was so bad? So she took off for a few weeks. So what? Considering what she went through this is some pretty bloody sadistic behaviour from Xander, Willow and Joyce towards the poor girl. Lest they forget she's a seventeen year old kid with the weight of the world on her shoulders who'd been forced in to doing something utterly awful. Have a heart people.

It's Buftastic

Oz and his zombie cat

Dialogue to die for

Buffy: I'd like to find Willow and Xander.
Joyce: Will you be slaying?
Buffy: Only if they give me lip.

Cordelia (after Giles brings the dead cat to the library): Nice pet, Giles. Don't you like anything regular? Golf, USA Today, or anything?

Giles (muttering to himself as he drives): 'Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead.' Americans!

And another thing

This episode introduces a new location, a downtown corner plaza with an espresso bar.

Director James Whitmore Jr is the son of James Whitmore who played prison librarian Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption.

Rating

This party's kinda dead. 2 (out of 5)

Buffy: 2.17 ‘Passion’

Angelus's 'Passion' monologue over some clips.


Writer: Ty King
Director: Michael E. Gershman

What's the sitch?

Angelus’s torment of Buffy continues. He leaves drawings on her bed of her sleeping at night, thus showing how easily he could have killed her if he wanted. He also leaves a picture of Buffy’s mom too. He is demonstrating his power over the Summers women. As a result, Giles finds a spell to revoke Angelus's invitation to the house. Meanwhile Jenny has found an ancient gypsy spell to restore Angelus' soul, but Drusilla finds out what Jenny is up to through her clairvoyant powers. Later, at Buffy’s house, Angelus confronts Buffy’s mom, acting as a deranged spurned lover. He tells Joyce that he and Buffy slept together. Shocked, Joyce goes inside and Angelus goes to follow… but he cannot enter as Buffy has cast the uninvitation spell. Soon after, finding out what Jenny is up to, Angelus goes to Sunnydale High, where the guilt-ridden teacher is busy translating the soul restoration spell onto a floppy disk. Angelus chases Jenny through the school and finally corners and kills her. A short time later and Giles returns to his house to find Jenny's body laid out on his bed. As the police arrive he calls Buffy and tells her what has happened. Buffy knows that Giles, blinded by hate and grief, will try to kill Angelus in revenge. And so the gang heads to his house to stop him. But they are too late. Giles has taken his weapons and gone to the old factory looking for flaming vengeance against the monster that murdered the woman he loved.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

It’s what the title says. This is all about passion and what it can drive you to do. Passion is what drives Angelus. It is the passion for cruelty and despair, which he indulges hugely in this episode. Before he lost his soul he was passionate about Buffy, passionate with love. Now he is soulless he is still passionate about her, with hate and cruelty. As Willow says, even now, Buffy is still the only thing he thinks about. And Buffy is still passionate about Angel, which means she still can’t kill him. And that is her major weakness. Early on in this episode, Giles tells her she doesn’t have the luxury of letting her passion rule her. If only it were that simple. Because by episodes end it is Giles who gives in to blind passion and almost gets killed as a result.

Who's giving us the wiggins this week?

Angelus

Why it rocks

Passion is an utter gem of an episode and another classic from Season 2. After Joss’s two-part season ender ‘Becoming’ parts1 & 2, and his earlier episode ‘Innocence’, this is the best of Buffy series 2. And Joss didn’t even write or direct it. Passion is a devilishly dark, tragic horror story from start to finish. Gleeful mental torment gradually builds to the eventual cold blooded murder of a season regular, an event which has a profound effect on the remainder of the season, and arguably the rest of the series.

David Boreanaz. As Angelus he has the tendency to slip in to panto land in his villainy. It got even worse when he got his own series. But here, in this episode, for the most part he is excellent, being subtly cruel and sadistic, lurking and watching in the shadows as the pain he has caused unfolds and the people he now hates start to fall apart. The most panto part of his performance comes with the most shocking moment – when he is chasing and then killing Jenny with it being maybe a little too big and moustache twirly. But the impact of what he’s done is intense and he still cuts a suitably cruel and scary figure. Better is his scene with Buffy’s mom where he is acting all unstable jilted lover before dropping the news to Joyce that her little girl is no longer a virgin. His deranged playfulness is very creepy and very good.

Passion has a fabulous script by Ty King. It is darkly poetic, scary and filled with great character stuff, thematic depth and major life altering events. Angelus’s voiceover at the beginning and end about the nature of passion and what it does to us is beautifully disturbing and sums up nicely the place both he and Buffy are at.

Michael E. Gershman’s direction is top notch too. He creates such a well-crafted atmosphere of dread, tension, horror and despair. Witness the scene shot from Angelus’s POV outside Buffy’s house as he watches her answer the phone to Giles who then tells her what has happened to Jenny. The sound inside is muted but we see Buffy and then Willow break down while Joyce tries to comfort them. All the while Angelus watches from outside, smiling. And also the extremely powerful previous scene where Giles comes home to find Jenny’s body left on his bed by Angelus. This scene in particular is beautifully shot by Gershman and equally beautifully performed by Tony Head with the mournful ‘O soave fanciulla’ from Puccini’s La Bohème playing loudly and building to a crescendo as Giles sees Jenny laying on his bed, her lifeless face staring at him.

The entire cast is once again digging deep. Witness Buffy and Joyce having ‘The Talk’; the Willow & Buffy breakdown; Buffy’s earlier selfless talk to Jenny saying how Giles misses her and Buffy doesn't want him to be alone. And then Buffy’s final angry/tearful/fearful confrontation with Giles where she is so scared that she might lose him. But all in all, this episode belongs to Tony Head. It is his heart we see break and his passion that becomes seriously riled. Great, great work.

Why it sucks

How did Angelus get in to Giles’ house with out being invited? I guess we have to presume he was once invited on an occasion we didn’t see.

It's Buftastic

Giles arriving home to champagne, flowers and Puccini, following a trail of roses up his stairs…only to find the lifeless body of Jenny staring blankly at him from his bed as the opera reaches its crescendo. Powerful stuff.

Dialogue to die for

Angelus: You went shopping at the local boogedy-boogedy store.

Xander: I'm sorry, but let's not forget that I hated Angel long before you guys jumped on the bandwagon. So I think I deserve a little something for not saying 'I told you so' long before now. And if Giles wants to go after the, uh, fiend that murdered his girlfriend, I say, 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'

Drusilla: But, Spike, the bad teacher was going to restore Angel's soul.
Spike: What if she did? If you ask me, I find myself preferring the old Buffy-whipped Angelus. This new, improved one is not playing with a full sack. I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke, but his little pranks will only leave us with one incredibly brassed-off Slayer!

Angelus (voice over): Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... ...waiting... And though unwanted... ...unbidden... it will stir... ...open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us... guides us... Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank... Without passion, we'd be truly dead.

And another thing

On the piece of music that starts as Buffy hugs Giles in front of the burning factory and carries over into the scene at Ms. Calendar's grave, the vocals are provided by Anthony Stewart Head.

One thing Buffy always did really well was continuity from week to week and year to year. In this episode we get Willow’s original reference to her and Xander watching ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ every holiday season and Xander always doing "the Snoopy dance." This will come back in the season 5 episode ‘The Replacement’ where we actually get to see Xander do the dance. Heh.

How many stakes?

I’m passionate about this one. 5 (out of 5)

Buffy: 2.8 ‘The Dark Age’

Writer: Dean Batali, Rob Des Hotel
Director: Bruce Seth Green

What's the sitch?

An old friend of Giles from his youth comes to Sunnydale looking for him but is found dead. He bears a mysterious tattoo, which Giles also bears. This sends Giles a bit loopy especially when he discovers all of his old gang are now dead except for him and a certain troublemaker called Ethan Rayne. Shutting himself away from Buffy and everyone else, Giles desperately tries to find out what has happened while Buffy and the gang are looking to find out what Giles has done in his past to make him act so strange. Pretty soon they discover the truth. In their youth, Giles and co had been messing with dark powers and had raised a powerful demon, which then killed one of their group. They managed to banish the demon but now it is back and looking to finish the job. Only Giles and Ethan now remain. Can Buffy discover how to save her watcher before it’s too late?


What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

Giles is having flashbacks to his drug experimenting days as a rebellious teen with the stuff he did back now coming back to haunt him. Yeah, it ain’t too subtle in the metaphor. One of their original gang OD’d on the ‘demon raising’. This is about the sins of the past and past mistakes that eventually come back to bite you with the drugs one being the most obvious. But it works pretty well as a metaphor with the whole drugs hurt those around you and not just you thing. What is great here is that basically Buffy and Giles reverse roles here. She becomes the sensible responsible one who must take control and get the truth and figure out what’s happening and solve it. She becomes the adult to Giles’ wayward, withdrawn, angry teen. And she really does step up, showing how much she cares for her watcher.


Who's giving us the wiggins this week?

The demon Eyghon who can briefly possess the dead or anyone unconscious for much longer. And Ethan as well to a lesser extent.

Why it rocks

Another metaphor show and it works pretty well.

We get to know a bit more about Giles’s past. His ‘Ripper’ years. He wasn’t always stuffy and tweed wearing. He was a full-on bad boy.

Tony Head does a great job showing Giles’s panic and emotional deterioration as he flounders about what to do and as a result pushes people away and turns to drink. Sarah matches him by Buffy stepping up to the mark and taking charge. But this is Tony Head’s show and he rocks.

The demon Eyghon is pretty darn creepy especially when it possesses Jenny Calendar. Great make-up and Fx in general.

Robin Sachs is back as Ethan. Always fun to watch.

Why it sucks

Sorry, but Giles liked the Bay City Rollers? I think not.

If the demon uses the tattoo to track and target its victim then why didn’t Ethan and Giles and the rest get it removed years ago?

It's Buftastic

Willow yells at Xander and Cordy, telling them to get out of ‘her’ library.

Dialogue to die for

Xander: "Giles lived for school. He's actually still bitter that there are only twelve grades."
Buffy: "He probably sat in math class thinking, 'There should be more math. This could be mathier.'"

Xander: "Ooh, gang, didja hear that? A bonus day of class plus Cordelia! Mix in a little rectal surgery and it's my best day ever!"

Buffy: "Don't be sorry, be Giles. C'mon, we fight monsters. This is what we do. They show up, they scare us, I beat 'em up and they go away. This isn't any different!"

And another thing

The photo that Xander finds of young Giles playing a bass guitar is actually Tony Head’s face from a photo when he was seventeen stuck over a picture of Sid Vicious.

This episode was rated as TV14 in the US although there is no blood or gory violence.

How many stakes?

I’ll give it 3.5 or else Ripper will beat me up. 3.5 (out of 5)

Buffy: 2.6 'Halloween'

The Dutchess of Buffonia and Willow the (soon to be) Sexy Ghost


Writer: Carl Ellsworth
Director: Bruce Seth Green

What's the sitch?

It’s Halloween in Sunnydale. Surely a time to fear with all the monsters and whatnot? Apparently not. The real boogeymen think Halloween is tacky and always take the night off. This allows Buffy and her pals to dress up and go out trick or treating after they’ve been ‘volunteered’ by Principle Snyder to shepherd around groups of little kids as is the High School’s tradition. However a new bad guy has come to town and has cursed all the costumes from his shop so that the wearers will actually become what ever it is they are wearing. Buffy, thinking that Angel prefers old style 18th century noblewomen to 20th century teenage girls, dresses up as one. And as the curse takes hold she actually becomes one – complete with simpering attitude and fainting fits. Meanwhile Xander becomes a soldier and Willow, despite being helped to ‘hot up’ by Buffy, goes and dresses as a ghost - and so becomes a ghost. At the same time vampire Drusilla has a vision telling how the Slayer will become vulnerable on Halloween. This leads our old friend Spike to break the monsters-staying-in-on-Halloween rule as he takes his vamp buds out on the town hunting for some fresh Slayer blood.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

The theme here is all about identity and the roles we play in life. It’s about what we show to the world and what the world sees in us. Primarily it’s about our insecurities over who and what we are. The two main examples being Buffy and Willow. Feeling insecure over her relationship with Angel, Buffy is convinced after reading the Watcher Diaries that Angel prefers the whole 18th century noblewoman type. So when she sees a dress like that at the costume store she has to have it and thus adopts that identity for Halloween night. Literally as it turns out. She becomes a simpering, fainting, frightened girl. Whereas Willow, even though Buffy glams her up with a sexy outfit, is deeply insecure about being seen like that and insists on wearing her ghost costume over the top. But when the bad spell takes hold, ghost costumed Willow collapses revealing actual ghost Willow in her sexy outfit. And she literally steps out of herself and takes charge of the entire situation. She is also seen later by Oz as he drives past, saying yet again, “Who IS that girl?” Eventually, after the threat has passed, Buffy discovers Angel hated the women of the past and vastly prefers modern women – especially Buffy just as she is. Her insecurity was of her own making as was Willow’s who has now gained more confidence and will very soon be getting together with Oz

Who's giving us the wiggins this week?

Giles’s old mucker Ethan Rayne, countless little kids turned in to demons and Spike and his vamp mates.

Why it rocks

Now this is more like it.

Quite simply this episode is enormous fun. The story is neat and simple, the concept smart and clever, the themes strong and the writing helps to further the evolution of the characters.

Ethan Rayne. This is the first time we meet Giles’s old friend and now chaos worshipping sorcerer. Robin Sachs is fab in the role being suitably charismatic, smarmy and sly.

Ripper. This is the first time we hear of Giles's younger, darker alter ego. We will soon find out he got up to some pretty bad stuff in his youth and garnered quite the reputation hinted at here when Giles lashes out at Ethan and physically beats him in to submission. It’s quite a shock to see bookish, tweed-clad Giles suddenly turn in to a brutal, remorseless ass-kicker. And Tony Head is splendid at doing so and is clearly having a fine old time.

The entire cast is on fine form but Ally Hannigan as Willow steals the show. Her insular insecure Willow is so darn cute with her ghostly sexy Willow being even cuter.

Sarah's perfectly timed comedy faint as noblewoman Buffy. I laughed loudly. A perfect pratfall.

The cool opening Buffy vs. vampire smackdown in a pumpkin patch while another vamp secretly films the fight with a video camera.

Spike and Dru. Woo hoo!

Why it sucks

Ethan’s motivations are never explained. What exactly is he getting out of going to all the trouble of setting up a shop and buying stock and casting spells? And why would he come to Sunnydale where he must know Giles is and then call his shop Ethan’s? That’s just asking for trouble from old Ripper.

Angel’s age gets mixed up here with Willow saying he’s older than has already been established.

A vampire sneaks in to Buffy’s house. How? Not invited.


It's Buftastic

Giles’s startled reaction when sexy ghost Willow suddenly walks out of the wall in front of him. Very funny indeed.

Dialogue to die for

Willow: Oh, I don't get wild. Wild on me equals spaz.

Xander (seeing Buffy in her noblewoman costume): Private Harris reporting for... Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe! I completely renounce spandex!

Willow (exasperated over simpering Buffy): She couldn't have dressed up like Xena?

Giles (confused by sexy ghost-Willow after she appears to him): And your costume?
Willow: I’m a ghost.
Giles: Yes. Um, the ghost of what exactly?

And another thing

A much younger Robin Sachs starred as Heinrich the vampire acrobat in the 1971 Hammer horror film Vampire Circus.

Cordelia still doesn’t know that Angel is a vampire.

How many stakes?

No trick, just one big ol’ treat. 4 (out of 5)

Buffy: 2.5 ‘Reptile Boy’

And so here we are again. Basement, chains, monsters...

Writer: David Greenwalt
Director: David Greenwalt

What's the sitch?

Cordelia’s chasing college guys and gets invited to a frat party…on one condition: that she also brings that cute little blond girl called Buffy the frat guys saw her hanging with. Cordy manages to convince Buffy to go with her as our girl is feeling put upon and taken for granted by Giles and also hurt by a dismissive Angel after she tries to ask him out on a proper date. So after lying to Giles that her mom is sick, Buffy gets all pretty and heads off with Queen C to the frat house party. But at the same time the gang discover that several young girls have been going missing from the area with a major clue turning up very near to the frat house that Buffy and Cordy are looking to party at. It seems frat boys are up to no good with demon worship and female sacrifice. And Cordy and Buffy are due to be their next offerings.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?

The main theme here is about teenage pressures and rebellion against often pushy, unfeeling and dismissive adults. It’s once again about Buffy’s continual struggle to be just a normal teenage girl and do normal teenage things. There’s also the underlying message to beware predatory men who smooth talk but will take advantage of the naivety of young girls to get what they want. Sadly something that is very much in the headlines here in the UK at the moment. As a result both Buffy and Cordy end up drugged and sleepy at the frat party and go to a bedroom to lie down. Next thing you see is a creepy frat boy about to grope an unconscious Buffy before he’s stopped by someone else…because in this story the girls are there as a demon tribute and not for the boy’s own perverted sexual enjoyment. Having said that, the metaphor here is most definitely about girls being taken advantage of sexually. The demon at the end is a big ol’ phallic snake who gets bigger and bigger while looking to ‘devour’ our chained up heroine. Thankfully Buffy gets loose and does what any super cool kick ass girl who was about to be ‘devoured’ would do – she takes a big axe and slices the big snake off at it’s base.

Who's giving us the wiggins this week?

Creepy, slimy frat boys and the big ol’ snake demon.

Why it rocks

As always the themes and the metaphors are solid and designed to make a point and to make the viewer think.

It’s a reasonably decent character piece for Buffy and for her emotional struggles – her maturity vs. her immaturity. It’s a sound part of her ongoing learning curve. And not just for her either. Both Giles and Angel realise how poorly they’ve been behaving…largely thanks to wonderful Willow who’s been put in the awkward spot of having to cover for Buffy despite the obvious danger. When she finally tells Giles and Angel where Buffy is she does so in a way that effectively castigates them both and tells them what’s what. Overall Willow is the most mature and sensible character in this episode.

Sarah Michelle Gellar once again delivers a strong and affecting performance, even if the material is not all that. She does vulnerable and pouty better than anyone. And then she does witty kick-ass even better.

Cordelia is wonderfully shallow and her terrible driving skills are most amusing.

Why it sucks

The main frat boy who charms Buffy is so obviously cheesy and spinning her a line you wonder how on earth she ever fell for it. But then this is about the naivety of young girls and Buffy is in a vulnerable emotional place so I can just about let it slide.

The big snake demon is not terribly convincing to say the least.

The overall story, though fairly solid, is nothing overly special and doesn’t really push the show or the characters anywhere new.

I could have done without seeing Xander being so emasculated and made to dress in drag and continually told he’s a loser. Poor guy.

Angel rushes in to the frat house without being invited. Oops!

No Spike and Dru. Boo!

It's Buftastic

Buffy does the ultimate avenging woman thing and literally cuts the big evil man snake down to size.

Dialogue to die for

Willow: What happened with Angel?
Buffy: Nothing, as usual. A whole lotta nothing with Angel.
Xander: Bummer.
Willow: I don't understand. I mean, he likes you. More than likes.
Buffy: Angel barely says two words to me.
Xander: Don't you hate that?
Buffy: And when he does, he treats me like I'm a child.
Xander: That bastard!

Xander: Whoa! Whoa-ho-ho, rewind. Since when do they have orgies, and why aren't I on the mailing list?

Willow (all flustered to Giles and Angel): Well... Well, why do you think she went to that party? Because you gave her the brush-off! And you, you never let her do anything except work and patrol! And I know she's the Chosen One, but you're killing her with the pressure! I mean, she's sixteen going on forty! And you! I mean, you're gonna live forever! You don't have time for a cup of coffee?! Okay, I don't feel better now, and we've gotta help Buffy.

And another thing

This is writer/producer David Greenwalt’s first stab at directing. He does a solid job.

Jonathan, played by Danny Strong and introduced in ‘Inca Mummy Girl,’ re-appears at the end of this episode and is named for the first time.

How many stakes?

Buffy fails to charm the snake. 2 (out of 5)

It's Whedon brilliant!

I've now bought and devoured SFX magazine's Joss Whedon special where they review every single episode of television he's produced. And may I say what a great job SFX have done with this double issue ode to the man many geeks call god. It's utterly comprehensive and full of new interviews and mucho other cool stuff. If you are at all a fan of the man then I highly recommend you rush out and purchase it asap.

However, after an online conversation with a fellow Whedonite, as well as not agreeing with the SFX opinion on some of the Buffy eps, I've decided to undertake my own little episode guide/review for all seven years of slayage. Okay, so maybe it's just an excuse to break out the DVD's and rewatch them again right from the start, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for the Slayer. And after I'm done with the Bufmeister I may then carry on to Angel and Firefly if the excitement still has me. And if I haven't found anything more meaningful to do with my time.

Anyway, back to Buff. Here's the format for the guide:

- Episode number and title
- Writer
- Director
- What's the sitch? (basic plot outline)
- What's the sitch beneath the sitch? (episode metaphor)
- Who's giving us the wiggins this week? (episode villain(s))
- Why it rocks (what's really good about the episode)
- Why it sucks (what's not so good about the episode)
- It's Buftastic (single best moment of the episode)
- Dialogue to die for (best line in the episode)
- And another thing (any other points of note)
- How many stakes? (an overall episode rating out of five)

I'll post individual episodes as and when I rewatch them and amongst the rest of the usual rubbish I put on here.

So lets get cracking.

The time: early 1997. The place: the seemingly quiet and unassuming town of Sunnydale, California.

However looks can be deceiving. For Sunnydale lies smack bang on top of a hellmouth, a mystical convergence attracting all sorts of dark and dangerous forces to it, forces that threaten the world and could even bring about an apocalypse or two. But luckily for us a very special teenage girl is about to arrive in town. And although she doesn't want to, she'll be forced to battle the forces of darkness and keep a lid on all things hellmouthy while trying to have some kind of a normal life.

So grab yourself an extra pointy stake and prepare for a major case of the wiggins cuz things are gonna get freaky.