Topic: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Marathon

[Critter]

2.13
Surprise

Plot: Buffy turns 17 and the Scoobies plan a surprise party. Meanwhile Drusilla plans her own celebration as Spike collects her presents: the disassembled pieces of The Judge, an ancient demon called to cleanse the world of humanity. Stymied at every turn, Buffy and Angel go back to his place to regroup, where they confess their deepest feelings and make love for the first time.

My Thoughts: Drusilla really is a fantastic and I think sometimes underrated villian of this show. Her characters mental instability makes her just that bit scarier than all the other average vamps around, especially when she returns to her full power. The transition from the weak child-like character before and her new stronger self is handled well as she does not go through too many dramatic changes. She may be stronger but she is still quite insane which makes her all the more unpredictable. I am always a little dissapointed when we find out Jenny Calanders true agenda of being a gypsy spy, whose job is to make Angels life horrible, yet as far as evil backstorys go I must admit that it's not as bad as it could have been. The idea that the gypsies who returned Angels soul all those years ago are still watching him is quite clever. All in all this episode is not a great stand-alone, it all seems to be building up to the second part, but it certainly leaves you hanging and the end.

Rating: 3/5

[Critter]

2.14
Innocence

Plot: Because he finds even "one moment of true happiness" in Buffy's arms, Angel's curse is nullified; he loses his soul and reverts to the vicious killer, Angelus. Jenny Calendar turns out to be a Gypsy spy. Devastated by these betrayals, Buffy still takes out the reputedly indestructible Judge using her birthday present from Xander—a stolen rocket launcher.

My Thoughts: This really is a heartbreaking episode, seeing Angel be just so cruel to Buffy is hard to endure. Alyson Hannigan really impressed as Willow in this episode. Her realisation of what Buffy and Angel had done before anyone else was powerful, and Giles' little speech towards the end really proved why Buffy doesn't need her actual father in this show, as he is as close as anything. The scene when Buffy bursts into class and attacks Ms Calander is memorable, as is of course, that final scene with the rocket launcher. This episode closes up a few things, such as the gang finally knowing about Cordelia and Xander, yet it doesn't offer much closure to the Angelus story yet.

Rating: 4/5

[Critter]

2.15
Phases

Plot: There's a werewolf at large in Sunnydale and the Scoobies discover that it's Oz. Buffy tries to protect Sunnydale residents from the beast's savagery, and protect the savage beast from a bounty hunter who doesn't care that his target is human 25 days out of 28. Angelus stirs up trouble. Willow convinces Oz she still wants to see him, despite everything.

My Thoughts: This is the Oz and Willow episode that I have been waiting for. It's a lovely introduction to the beginning of their relatioship and I love the twist that Oz is the werewolf. The way Oz himself figured it out was hilarious with that phone conversation, and Willow's acceptance of him was adorable. Caine was an interesting and quite cruel villian for the episode, and the scene with Xander and 'Larry' was fantastic, especially Xander's reaction afterwards. There was some of the Angelus storyline in this episode but they didn't dwell on it which is probably better, as the episode really was for Willow and Oz. Also, it was nice seeing Willow and Cordelia hanging out just as friends would, I love how Cordelia has been slowly dropping that shallow 'to good to talk to you' act that she had through season 1. I think it's important that she doesn't lose it alltogether though, I mean really, who doesn't love that brutal honesty of hers?

Rating: 4/5

[DJ Doena]

What always bothered me about Angelus's curse is the way it's executed. If he's happy he goes back to his evil days. Why would the Gypsies want that?

From a logical perspective (I know that it would have prevented that particular storyline) they would have told him what would happen if he had this moment. As ensouled Angel he'd done anything to prevent it, thus being eternally miserable. In not telling him they practically made sure the spell would break one day and since he didn't know, he couldn't fear that day.

[Critter]

Yes it doesn't really make sense from the gypsies point of view. Their curse worked for a long time but the moment with Buffy initially brought back the monster they were trying to punish. They only logical explanation is that they did tell Angel and he maybe thought he could fight it off or something, his reaction on the other hand suggested that he had no idea what was going on. I suppose it's just one of those little writing blunders we will learn to live with.

[Critter]

2.16
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Plot: Valentine's Day has everyone on edge. With secret reluctance, Cordelia dumps Xander to appease her friends. Crushed, Xander coerces Amy to cast a love spell, but it goes awry and every woman in Sunnydale, except Cordy, becomes pathologically attracted to him. A smitten Dru saves Xander from Angelus, but who will save him from the screaming mob?

My Thoughts: What an episode, there are just too many fantastic moments and fantastic lines in this one for me to cover them all. For one thing the show managed to yet again keep the balance between hilarious and serious. Okay, so this episode was more to the constantly funny side but there were some harsh outcomes of Xanders irresponsible actions. The least of all being Buffy turned into a rat, which I must admit was nice foreshadowing of what will happen too Amy in the not to distant future. Probably the repercussions that the whole ordeal will have on Willow is the saddest consequence from this spell. Out of all the characters though Oz really shone in this one, him punching Xander in the face then helping up afterwards was fantastic, and very much reflecting of his personality as he really isn't the type for mindless violence, not the mention the scenes when he was looking for 'Buffy Rat'. I found that the pacing of this episode was fantastic, the story never felt too rushed and the balance between the hilarious aftermath of the spell and the slow lead up to it in the beginning was perfect. And really, how could anyone not love Cordelias little rant at the end of this episode?
I couldn't leave without at least a couple of the best quotes from this ep.

Buffy: Hi, Oz!
Oz: Hi.
Buffy: I seem to be having a slight case of nudity here.
Oz: But you're not a rat. So call it an upside.

Buffy: I remember coming on to you. I remember begging you to undress me. And then a sudden need for cheese.

Rating: 5/5

[Critter]

2.17
Passion

Plot: Angelus kicks his terror campaign against Buffy and her friends into high gear, leading them to believe Joyce is his next target. Jenny makes progress rediscovering the gypsy Ritual of Restoration and, with Buffy's terse blessing, gets back together with Giles. Jenny and Giles also work with Buffy and Willow to ritually revoke Angel's invitations into their various homes. Angelus takes his anger out on Jenny with tragic results.

My Thoughts: This episode really is a credit to the show in general. Buffy is mainly an action-adventure show, yet when it deals with heart wrenching tragedy it deals with it in such a way that we as the audience cannot escape it. This is best seen in the season 5 episode The Body, yet Passion strikes us in a different way. As an audience we are put into the position of knowing Jenny Calanders fate before Giles does, which is an almost cruel place to be. We have no chance to escape from the horrible scene that is coming, and unlike the character, we know it is coming... so all we are left with is the dread of waiting.

The way Angelus prepared Ms Calander to be found by Giles is one of the most brutal things the show has done so far, everything in that scene, from the opera music, to the roses was eerie, and cruel. This episode is also a credit to the acting skills, Geller and Hannigan both deliver tear-jerking performances when they discover Ms Calanders fate, and the final moments between Giles and Buffy are priceless, they know just how much they need each other through this, and as Buffy said "I can't do this without you". Another highly important part of this episode is the fact that Buffy now see’s the truth, that Angel is completely lost to her, and that even though she has been trying to avoid it, there really is no way but to kill him.

Rating: 5/5

[Critter]

2.18
Killed by Death

Plot: After flu lands Buffy in the hospital, she rescues fevered children from Der Kindestod, a nightmare demon invisible to healthy people. When getting well means losing her ability to fight the demon, Buffy reinfects herself. In saving the other children, she also avenges her young cousin and puts her own hospital phobia to rest.

My Thoughts: Here was see something that is very rarely touched on throughout the show, and that is Buffy's childhood. Sure we only see a small amount of it, and it isn't the major focus point of the episode but it is still endearing to see the younger, brunette Buffy of 8 years old. The flashbacks fit well into the episode as she was initially dealing with a (literal) demon of her past. The gang really pulled together in this one and Xander and Willow really showed the true friends they are, and never once felt like sidekicks like they have in some previous episodes. Willow especially had a fantastic moment when she displayed her ability to think on her feet when she suddenly acted like a crazy person to create a diversion for Buffy. Cordelia had some great moments when she yet again proved she is more than just looks as she actually did most of the research in helping Buffy fight this demon off. This episode was almost strange to follow up such a sad episode like 'Passion' as it really didn't have much continuity for the whole season, but rather was a stand-alone episode. A highly entertaining one though, and with what is in my opinion one of their scariest monsters yet. The idea of a disfigured man sucking the life out of children while they are sick is well... as horrible as it sounds.

Rating: 3½/5

[Critter]

2.19
I Only Have Eyes for You

Plot: The tortured ghost of a former Sunnydale High student re-enacts a murder-suicide on the night of the school's Sadie Hawkins dance. Bespelled to play the parts, Buffy and Angelus change the tragic outcome just enough for the lovers' spirits to find peace, and for Buffy to learn the meaning of forgiveness.

My Thoughts: This episode once again goes very dark and puts poor Buffy through hell, especially towards the end with that horrible scene with Angel. So this is the episode that does ghosts, real ghosts this time, not just an invisible girl or a possesion but the spirit of a boy who is haunted by his own past, and in turn haunting the school. The tale is a dark one of love gone terrible wrong, ending in one murder and one suicide in the same night, an occurance which this angry ghost is reenacting with real live people, therefore putting innocent lives in danger. This episode is quite scary in some parts as this tortured ghost knows exactly how to scare us. Everything is more frightening when you are alone, and here we see our heroes separated from each other which is intensifies the fear instantly.

Rating: 4/5

[Critter]

2.20
Go Fish

Plot: Xander goes undercover on the Sunnydale swim team after members begin turning up dead. Apparently, the swim-team coach gives fish/steroid cocktails to the swim team to get them to perform, but it turns them into sea monsters.

My Thoughts: As far as things go this is a fairly weak episode. It was very much a stand-alone story with hardly any continuity to other stories for this season. The story is interesting, and there are a few great one-liners in the episode but I just couldn't really grasp the whole swim team turning into sea monster thing, I just couldn't take it seriously as an episode. There was one fantastic scene though where Cordelia went on a little rant about how she would still love Xander even if he were a fish man. Of all the characters she has had the most dramatic character development and I think that scene really reflected that. Overall though this episode really felt like filler more than anything.

Rating: 2/5

[Critter]

2.21
Becoming: Part One

Plot: Kendra's Watcher sends her back to Sunnydale because a dark power is rising: Angelus has found a demon called Acathla and plans to perform the ritual that will allow Acathla to suck every living thing on the planet into hell.

My Thoughts: How can so much even fit into one 40 minute episode... and this is only the first half! This episode was an amazing start to the finale of season 2. The flashbacks throughout Angels life were fantastic, as well as the realisation that Angel had been somewhat following Buffy's process as the slayer since her life in Los Angeles. The introduction of 'Whistler' was an interesting one as he is one of the first 'good' demons we ever see on the show. It was fantastic to see both Kendra and Darla making short guest appearances. This episode was exciting from start to finish, but one critical moment in particular was extremly powerful, the realisation Buffy has when she figures out how much danger her friends are in is crucial, and the slow-motion running scene shortly after this was an excellent way to highlight it's importance. I can't wait to watch the second episode to wrap all of this up.

Rating: 5/5

[Critter]

2.22
Becoming: Part Two

Plot: With Kendra murdered by Drusilla, Willow in the hospital with head trauma and Giles kidnapped by Angelus, Buffy must decode Whistler's cryptic clues and accept help from an unexpected source to be able to prevent the world from being sucked into Acathla's hell dimension.

My Thoughts: An extremly climactic, heartbreaking and exciting way to close season two. Joss Whedon proves yet again why he is one of the master storytellers in television as he really just loves to jerk his audience in every direction. Watching Buffy you never really know what to expect, with each new episode you could end up crying, laughing, enthralled in action or even questioning your own sanity yet he makes everything work. This episode saw Buffy brought down in life to an absolutly cruel level, having her loved ones and friends hurt, or even tortured, having her Mum throw her out only minutes before she was going to face the ordeal of murdering her ex boyfriend is amoung only some of what she faced.

Spikes sudden act of helping Buffy added an element of humour to this otherwise dark episode, the scene with him and Joyce trying to make small talk was absolutly hilarious. The action in this episode was fantastic, the Angel and Buffy sword fight was intense and well choreographed and the writers seem to have discovered one of the worst forms of torture in that heartwrenching scene with Giles and the appiration of Jenny. The ending to this episode is enough to tear anyone apart, Buffy is driven to believe that she has nothing left, and the final moments of her, alone and on a bus is a lasting image of a season ending in shatters. The fact that the creators of this show manage to piece these shatters all together for another five enthralling seasons is just another credit to it's genious.

Rating: 5/5

[Critter]

So, 34 episodes watched and 110 to go. I am going to take a couple of days before I start up series three. I think I might watch a few more animated films for my marathon as I have neglected that for a fair while. I must say though I am definiatly looking foward to not watching the season 2 DVD's for a while. Not the episodes... but I just find the DVD menus in season 2 so annoying. For anyone who has watched them would know what I mean. All that time spinning around a little computer generated graveyard in between episodes was frustrating to me. I just wanted to click the button and watch the episode but instead I had to spend minutes wizzing around this little graveyard. Maybe I am just impatient... but either way I don't think it was the best idea for the menu.

[Najemikon]

While I think the best single episodes are yet to come, not only do I think the arc and finale of season two is Buffy's best, I'd also argue that modern genre television has never been better.

It's always frustrated me that the usual suspects get the awards and Buffy was always dismissed. I was a huge fan of The Sopranos and when I get underway with season 2, I'm sure I'll be wetting myself over The Wire again. But nothing I've seen in either compared with the elegant balance of those Buffy S2 final episodes. Fantastic stuff.

[Critter]

Season two did indeed have the best finale of Buffy, closly followed I think by season 5's final moments. Rewatching these episodes is just making me more sad that Whedon shows today are not being given the chance they should. Firefly, even Dollhouse were cancelled before their time.

Whedon has proved that his shows develop over time and weave intricate storylines in a way that few other shows can. His shows have such a flow from season to season that a character we may have only seen once or twice in season one, suddenly appears as a recurring character in season four. Not too mention all the dialogue that refers to both past episodes and his fantastic foreshadowing to the future. It's a very depressing subject to think about what we were robbed of with Firefly being cancelled. You could just tell that Whedon was already developing stories to unfold over a long period of time and then it was brutally ripped away from us.

I have not watched The Sopranos or The Wire (although oddly enough I do have a Wire hat). Your praise however makes me want to check them out.