Buffy the Vampire Slayer + Angel Watchthrough

Well now he's just going to be confused when her sister turns up. Or was she a half sister or something?

Spoiler:

Great, now I'm suspecting some kind of evil clone thing.

Maybe she's another Ted?

Anne - Series Three, Episode One

Notes:
- Some unspecified time later, a vampire emerges from the ground. Xander, Willow and Oz are there to stop it, but they clearly aren't trained for it and the vampire escapes.
- Willow's got a new haircut! I don't like it.
- Oz's attempt to throw the stake was amazing.
- Buffy, still plagued by the dreams of Angel, lives in a grotty part of LA working as waitress under the name "Anne" (her middle name).
- Yay, we finally get a new title sequence. And Seth Green's part of the main cast now.
- Oh, a member of the Vampire cult from Lie To Me (who has since turned her life around) recognizes Buffy. During their increasingly awkward conversation, a crazy homeless man pushes past them and wanders into traffic. Buffy pushes him out of the way but gets hit herself.
- Afraid of the attention, Buffy runs away as people gather around to check if she's alright (Slayer healing? I guess?) She accidentally collides with Ken, a man who we've seen in the background handing out flyers to the homeless. Ken, while giving off a friendly neighbour kind of vibe, is almost undoubtedly going to turn out evil.
- I bet the Family Home thing harvests homeless people for food.
- What the fuck was that montage of the junkies on the street? This isn't a life time movie about living on the streets.
- Giles visits Buffy's Mum. Despite Giles investigating every single lead that he can find, Buffy's Mum still has a go at him. The bitch.
- Lily's boyfriend goes missing, so she asks Buffy to help her find him.
- While looking on the streets, Buffy finds the old man that she pushed out of the way of the car. He's downed a bottle of a drain cleaner and is quite dead. She recognizes a distinct tattoo on his forearm and realizes it's Ricky, aged decades within a few days.
- Lily obviously takes the news badly. Fortunately, Ken appears to comfort her...
- Meanwhile Scoobies formulate a plan: Cordelia will be bait to distract the vampire, and then the others will move in for the kill. Unfortunately, while Xander and Cordelia argue, a vampire looms behind Willow.
- Buffy arrives to stop Ken. In the chaos, Lily, Buffy and Ken all fall into the mysterious black pool. In the pool is a basement that leads to underground factory when demons force people to work as slaves. Ken removes his face to reveal he's a demon and then knocks Buffy out because Buffy's an idiot.
- Willow gets attacked, but the group manage to kill the vampire by accident. All is happy.
- Time moves quicker in the black pool. The demons work people until they grow old and then dump on the streets of the real world, where only a day has passed.
- Buffy beats up all the mooks she can find and Ken is eventually impaled by a gate.
- After Buffy exits the portal, it seals over. There were dozens of slaves in there, guys. Dozens of slaves and a bunch of pissed of demons. Jesus.
- What were demons making anyway? All they said was they were working humans until death, but never what for. If this gets answered down the line, great. If it doesn't, pfft.
- Buffy gives Lily her job at the diner, and then goes home.

Episode Rating

6/10

Lackluster at best.

Heh, Cordelia and Spike were in Supernatural today, playing a married couple.

no update, playing uc2 again

Dead Man's Party - Series Three, Episode Two

Notes:
- From the title I'm guessing... zombies?
- Yeah, those artifacts are cursed.
- Buffy's back, and the Summers household is pretty awkward.
- Buffy goes out to find Xander and Willow, and runs into the former while he's in the middle of hunting a vampire. Said vampire ambushes the two, but fortunately the rest of Scoobies show up and help finish it off.
- Buffy's ability to deal with run-of-the-mill vampires is entirely dependent upon the drama of the fight. If she's out on patrol, she mops those fuckers up. If there's any emotion in the scene at all, suddenly one of them is kicking her up and down the place and she only bests it after a five minute slap fight.
- David Barbiturate is still in the opening credits as one of the main cast. Was his eventual resurrection ever supposed to be a surprise?
- The gang takes Buffy to see Giles, who is relieved to see her.
- Oz: "You're not wanted for murder anymore."
- Buffy: "Good, that was such a drag."
- Buffy's eager to get back to normality, but she and her Mum are unable to convince Principal Snyder to let her back in to school.
- I'm really sick of frowny, mopey Buffy. She's worse than mean bitchy Buffy from early Season One.
- Yeah, the artifacts are cursed.
- Ahaha, the zombie cat ahahahaha.
- Oh. So David Barleycorn is relegated entirely to dream scenes this part of the season. Better he not show up at all rather than waste his time showing up for about a minute each episode.
- Man, Buffy's so annoying right now that I'm actually taking her Mum's side for once. This is so wrong.
- Buffy notices that everyone seems to have moved on without her and her being around is just awkward. A party meant to fix the awkwardness ends up exacerbating things when it turns into a kegger.
- The artifacts starts resurrecting the recently deceased all over Sunnydale.
- Once again, a character walks in on a conversation they weren't supposed to hear and makes a drastic and stupid choice. Whedon, you're a hack.
- Buffy decides to run away again when she hears her Mum say she almost wishes Buffy wasn't around.
- I hope Giles sets her straight. He's the only one who seemed entirely happy that Buffy came back.
- Zombies begin converging on the party. At his home, Giles realizes the nature of the artifacts.
- BUFFY IS SO FUCKING AGGRAVATING IN THIS EPISODE ARRRRRRRRGH
- Willow catches Buffy packing and let's her have it. Hell yeah, Willow.
- Buffy: "You don't know what I was going through."
- Willow: "I'd like to."
- Buffy: "You wouldn't understand." ARRRRRGH.
- Willow's offhand remark about Oz's werewolfism (I refuse to use the term lycanism) may be the first time it's been mentioned since Phases.
- Giles: *soprano* Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead! *muttering darkly* Americans...
- And now Buffy's Mum walks in on a conversation she wasn't made to hear and everything just gets worse. Whedon, I fucking hate you sometimes.
- Buffy's Mum: "You put me through THE RINGER, Buffy." Gasp!
- Buffy's Mum has a go at Buffy in front of entire crowd of partiers. The bitch.
- I did like the cameo of that kid from Go Fish.
- Xander, how dare you take Buffy's Mum's side!? Instant demotion to 3rd favorite character, buddy.
- This is like Cooperative Calligraphy from Community except without all the humor and likability. It's just taking a big old shit on the great relationships created during the last two seasons.
- See, if the dead hadn't suddenly burst in, we might have actually reached a satisfying conclusion to that big old mess. But nope... zombies.
- Oz with the title drop.
- Four people, including a Slayer who counts as like three people, couldn't hold the door shut against one zombie? ONE zombie?
- Buffy kills the evil artifact monster by stabbing it in the face with a shovel.
- Giles threatens Snyder into letting Buffy re-enroll.
- Turns out Willow's been getting more and more involved in pagan rituals and is now a witch. Not a fully fledged one, but getting there.

Episode Rating

I'm torn. Everything about this episode, the plot, the acting (especially the acting!), the resolution was good. But Buffy's character was intolerable, and that big fucking argument was so ridiculous. The cast did what they could, but the writing itself was just stupid. I'm so sick of character A walking in on B and C talking and then DRAMA. And there doesn't appear to be any repercussions whatsoever. That was a friendship-ending argument right there and no one cares.

I'll be generous:

7/10.

Faith, Hope and Trick - Series Three, Episode Three

Notes:
- Faith, Hope and Trick, huh? I'm pretty sure at least one of those is the name of a character who has yet to appear? Is Buffy's mysterious sister named Faith or Hope? Sound about right. My memory is faulty.
- Willow tries to hint to Buffy - who still hasn't been let back into school - that a guy named Scott Hope (dun, dun, dunnnnn) likes her.
- Willow: "But I think you're ready now. Or at least in the state of pre-readiness to make conversation, or to do that thing with your mouth that boys like!"
- Xander pained laughter after Buffy hit him was great. I've missed this. Shame it makes no sense considering last episode they were at each other's throats.
- Suave black demon and shadowy demon arrive in Sunnydale looking to kill The Slayer.
- Snyder lets Buffy back into school.
- Giles works on a binding spell in order to ensure that the demon from Becoming remains sealed. Willow is eager to get involved.
- A vampire shows up, but is dealt with quickly by Faith, another Slayer.
- I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume she's Kendra's replacement.
- Yep.
- Xander's got a crush on Faith.
- Faith is like a Mary Sue, everyone loves her and she's pretty much perfect.
- Faith's slang means not finishing some words ("fam", "B", etc.), and man is it pissing me off.
- Cordelia's the only one who dislikes Faith, which means Cordelia gets an instant promotion in terms of favorite character. She's above Xander now. Who saw that one coming?
- Mr. Trick (suave black demon) and his boss Kakistos discuss the new Slayer development.
- While out on patrol, Faith and Buffy have an argument. Buffy's pissed because Faith's stealing her life, Faith's pissed because Buffy's high strung. They are ambushed by vampires. Faith shows herself to have some anger issues and pounds relentlessly on a beaten vampire while Buffy gets manhandled by two others. Buffy gets away and finishes them off, but Faith dismisses Buffy's anger.
- Giles realizes that the vampires who attacked Buffy and Faith worked for Kakistos and becomes worried. Kakistos is a vampire so old that his hands and feet are cloven. Buffy suspects Faith is connected with Kakistos.
- Buffy needs to fucking move on and stop moping around and freaking out at any mention of Angel.
- Turns out Faith's watcher is dead. Buffy confronts her and learns that Kakistos has been stalking Faith for awhile ever since he killed her watcher. Faith tried to pawn Kakistos off on Buffy, but it didn't work. Kakistos suddenly arrives and attacks them both with a bunch of his henchmen vampires. After much gurning and wangst, Faith slays Kakistos. Mr. Trick leaves beforehand, saying as a "modern vampire" he knows when to call it quits.
- Giles agrees to watch Faith, so that means she's going to stick around. Fuck.
- Buffy finally admits to the others that Angel was cured before she killed him. Hopefully, that means she can fucking move on.
- And she does. She finally agrees to go out with Scott Hope, who she was a bitch to for the entire episode.
- Buffy says goodbye to Angel, returning to the scene of their battle and leaving a ring he gave her behind. After she leaves, the ring begins to stir and naked and traumatized Angel appears.
- What.

Episode Rating:

YOU CAN'T HAVE AN EPISODE DEDICATED TO GETTING OVER A CHARACTER AND THEN BRING HIM BACK AT THE END, THEREBY NEGATING THE ENTIRE THING.

FUCK.

WHAT WAS THE POINT IN ALL THE MOPEY BULLSHIT IF HE WAS ONLY GOING TO BE GONE FOR THREE EPISODES.

FUCK.

FUCK.

7/10.

I had completely forgotten Eliza Dushku was in this show. Yet another female cast member who was better looking than Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Faith is awesome.

Beauty and the Beasts - Series Three, Episode Four

Notes:
- If this is Angel's only appearance in this season, I will be okay with his revival so early on.
- First time we've seen Oz as a werewolf in forever. Of course he looks different from how he looked before, now he just looks like a cro-magnon guy.
- The group has established a routine of locking Oz up during the time around and during full moons. However, a student is mauled to death in the woods while Xander is supposed to be keeping watch. The possibility exists that Oz escaped during the night. He was back by daybreak in either case.
- Buffy has to visit the school counselor regularly as part of the conditions of her reacceptance into school.
- The next night, Oz is watched by Faith. That same night, Buffy encounters a crazed Angel during her patrols. He appears to have stolen some pants at some point.
- Angel attacks her, but Buffy manages to knock him out. She is appropriately shook up.
- Willow, Xander and Cordelia take a look at the student who was killed during the previous night to see if Oz did it or not.
- Buffy... uh... chains Angel to a wall in the place where she killed him. This looks like the scene I remember from the Sky One advert. Naked(ish) Angel all dusty and dirty looking. I am eagerly awaiting him saying "Buffy..." in a pleading tone of voice.
- So... why not tell Giles that Angel is back, Buffy?
- Faith's Boston accent comes and goes like the tide.
- Seriously, why not just tell Giles, Buffy? What do you gain from keeping it a secret?
- Buffy has a chat with Giles about what would happen if someone came back from the demon dimension. Thanks to time fuckery, someone could be tortured for hundreds of years in the space of months. Giles speculates that anyone who came back would be completely broken, and that it would take someone of extraordinary willpower to survive it.
- Poor Scott Hope. He's nothing by nice to Buffy and she always seems to be blowing him off. He deserves better.
- There's a Jekyll/Hyde subplot about one of the students who freaks out and is the one who's killing everyone (including the school counselor). It's pretty cool.
- Angel breaks free of his bonds. Uh oh.
- I'm pretty sure Seth Green's stunt double is about foot taller than him.
- The Hyde student attacks Oz just as he's about to transform into a werewolf. The rest of the gang show up; both monsters run away. Buffy goes after Hyde student, Faith and Willow chase Oz - whom they tranquilize shortly after.
- Hyde student kills his girlfriend and attacks Buffy, but Crazy Angel shows up looking for a fight as well. Angel snaps his neck and then turns on Buffy. But his vampire face reverts to his pretty David Bombardment face and he finally recognizes her. He says her name and hugs her.
- Scott Hope cannot catch a fucking break. Buffy's aloof and distant and his two best friends (Hyde student and Hyde student's girlfriend) die.
- Buffy decides to keep Angel a secret. She doesn't see fit to give him a shirt.

Episode Rating:

9/10

This was a great step up from the first three episodes. Faith took a backseat, which was welcome. Oz took a front seat, which was great. Buffy wasn't completely retarded for the entire episode. Yup, good episode.

Homecoming - Series Three, Episode Five

Notes:
- It's the Homecoming Dance for all the seniors at Sunnydale and the gang are discussing their plans. Homecoming is also similar to the word Becoming. That's deep, right?
- Angel's managed to track down a shirt. Buffy is still intent on keeping Angel's revival a secret.
- Scott Hope breaks it off with Buffy. Good for him, he deserves better.
- Oh my god, first cell phone of the series! 1998 was a good year.
- Mr. Trick is back, and he's monitoring Buffy.
- We finally meet The Mayor, who has been frequently mentioned by Snyder. He's very obviously evil.
- Buffy's sad that no one seems to remember her, so she decides to campaign for Homecoming Queen against Cordelia. Whedon loves writing powerful women.
- Mr. Trick assembles a rag tag team of demons, vampires and German terrorists to kill the Slayers.
- While trying on their Homecoming clothes, Willow and Xander have a moment. D'aww, this seems so wrong on the account that Willow's a lesbian.
- Ahahaha, Buffy makes a chart of all the competition's strengths and weaknesses. One of Cordelia's weaknesses is "Xander".
- Buffy tries to enlist the help of Xander, Willow and Oz, but Cordelia beat her to it. Buffy has to campaign by herself and starts using underhanded tactics to keep up.
- I love that the kid from Go Fish keeps showing up. He's my favorite recurring minor character.
- Cordelia can dish out ice burns like no one else. She's definitely my favorite female character.
- Xander and Willow now have a barely contained spark between them. Man, Xander gets Willow and Cordelia. I still kinda want him to have a go with Buffy, though. I remember Season 1, dammit.
- On the night of the dance, the group forces Buffy and Cordelia to ride alone so they can work out their problems. Unfortunately, this mucks up Mr. Trick's plan to ambush Buffy and Faith while they were in the limo,
- I love Giles attempt to pull a joke. Worst possible time, GIles.
- Man, Faith ruins Scott's Hope night for no reason. The bitch.
- In their Homecoming dresses, Buffy and Cordelia (well, Buffy) manage to fight off a few of hunters and make it back into town, but are attacked by two vampires who expected them to make it back and lay in wait. Fucking campers!
- Mr. Trick is arrested. Huh. I'm guessing the Mayor is behind it.
- Okay, Buffy kills a vampire with a spatula. By stabbing her in the stomach. Y'know what? Whatever. If Whedon wants to do stupid shit, let him do stupid shit.
- Cordelia then proves herself to the best character by bluffing the other vampire and encouraging him to run away.
- Richard Wilkins - the Mayor - meets with Mr. Trick. Mayor Wilkins offers Mr. Trick to 'join his team'. Mr. Trick refuses, but Mayor Wilkins doesn't seem concerned...
- Buffy and Cordelia arrive at the dance just in time to hear the results of the Homecoming Queen election. It's a tie. Between two of the other candidates. Buffy and Cordelia are not impressed.
- Hey, guys. Remember Angel?

Episode Rating:

10/10

Really good episode. Kinda zany and contrived but I liked it a lot.

Band Candy - Series Three, Episode Six

Notes:
- Mayor Wilkins employs Mr. Trick to do something.
- Snyder gives chocolate to everyone and tells them to sell it so the school band can buy new uniforms. The chocolate is obviously tainted or cursed or something.
- Buffy's Mum makes her first appearance in three episodes and establishes herself as a bitch in about three seconds.
- David Byzantine's must have spent a good 70% of his screen time so far this season shirtless.
- Buffy's Mum and Giles catch Buffy lying about her whereabouts. They begin to chastise her but seem too preoccupied with eating the chocolate Buffy sold them to really care.
- Yeah, the chocolate's evil. Who would have guessed. Ethan (the guy from Giles' past) is shown to be working for the Mayor and involved in the production the chocolate.
- Xander and Willow continue to flirt with each other. Xander's going to turn her lesbian isn't he?
- Eating the chocolate has a side effect of making older people more informal, youthful and relaxed.
- Oh god, don't tell me the chocolate is making Giles bang Buffy's Mum. No no no no no.
- Giles acting younger is awesome.
- As a consequence of Giles regressing in the way he acts, the Ripper personality that we've heard so much about starts to reassert itself.
- Buffy, Willow and Oz realize something is happening to the adults and resolve to find out the cause. A mentally-regressed Snyder tags along.
- Young, rebellious Giles is awesome.
- Uh oh, at one point Giles and Buffy's Mum start macking on the hood of a police cruiser. Next scene they're somehwere completely different. I think we're supposed to think they had sex the interim. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
- Buffy figures out it's the candy and sends Willow and Oz to go research it. Buffy and Snyder go to 'the source'. On the way, she finds Giles and her Mum snogging. Traumatized, she drags her mum into the factory. Giles and Snyder follow.
- Inside, they find Ethan. Ethan explains he's helping the Mayor collect a tribute for some demon.
- I fucking love how Anthony Head speaks when he's acting young. He normally puts on a cultured accent when he's Giles, but when he's pretending to be young he speaks with a yobbish form of his normal voice.
- The plan was to use the chocolate to encourage chaos and apathy in the staff of the hospital, so no one would bat an eyelid when vampires stroll into the maternity ward and take babies to be used as a sacrifice to the demon.
- Young Giles remembers that the demon lurks in the sewers, so off they go.
- by the way, the demon is a giant cgi snake. a ridiculously bad cgi snake.
- Buffy does a thing and burns the snake to death. Mr. Trick escapes. Mayor Wilkins is not pleased that the snake demon is dead.
- Willow: "Kiss rocks? Why would anyone wanna kiss ro- Oh I get it."
- God help me if Giles and Buffy's Mum actually start something. Though the fact she's going to die only make it more likely. Giles can't catch a break after all.

Episode Rating:

8/10

Yeah, that sounds about right. Too much Buffy's Mum to be any higher.

Revelations - Series Three, Episode Seven

Notes:
- A smug British woman shows up and introduces herself as Mrs. Post, Faith's new watcher. As a secondary focus, she's also supposed to report back on GIles, who the Council thinks is becoming "too American".
- Ms. Post wants to hunt for a demon named Lagos, who will be searching for a glove that will give it power.
- Angel's still shirtless. Angel is clearly worried when Buffy says she's going to hunt Lagos.
- Xander and Willow continue to try and fight their growing attraction, and it's not working.
- The gang track down where the glove is located and Xander volunteers to check it out so he can get away from Willow. Turns out it's the same place where Angel is hidden. Dun dun dun. About damn time.
- Xander follows Angel and finds him snogging Buffy. Angel tells Buffy he tracked down the glove she was looking for.
- Xander rushes to tell Giles. I may not agree with what Xander's doing, but I'm glad he's at least forcing Angel plot to move on.
- The next day, the Scoobies confront Buffy in what can only be described as an intervention.
- Giles disbands them when things get heated, and then privately lambasts Buffy for her irresponsibility and selfishness.
- Xander lets slip to Faith that Angel's still around and that he has the evil power glove, and together they resolve that it would just be better if they kill Angel.
- When Giles tells Ms. Post that he knows where the glove is, she knocks him out when his back is turned.
- Xander and Faith find Giles unconscious. Believing it to be Angel, Faith rushes off. Xander hesitates - thinking that it's not Angel's style - and stays to make sure Giles gets medical attention.
- Buffy learns of Faith's intentions and rushes off to stop her. Xander does not appear remorseful, but helps Willow create the living flame that will destroy the glove.
- Mrs. Post beats them both to it and manages to blindside Angel. He fights back, and Faith arrives just as he's about to finish Mrs. Post off.
- Xander and Willow finish amassing the ingredients that will create a living flame and rush off to join the fray.
- Buffy arrives in time to stop Faith from killing Angel. Buffy tries to talk Faith down, but Mrs. Post urges her on. The two Slayers fight but are pretty much equally matched. During the commotion, Xander and Willow arrive and Mrs. Post gets the glove.
- Mrs. Post puts on the glove, and gets magic lightning powers. Angel saves Willow from being lightning to death. Mrs. Post gets a whole minute or so of ULTIMATE POWER before Buffy cuts off the hand wearing the glove and the crazy lady is killed by lightning.
- Buffy mends her relationship with her friends, but Faith is resistant. A happy ending then.

Episode Rating:

9/10

Lovers Walk - Series Three, Episode Eight

Notes:
- Spike's back! And drunk. And sans-Drusilla. This is literally perfect.
- Buffy aced the SATs. But now she's worried about her future. Blech.
- As Xander and Willow get closer I just feel worse. First of all, I like Oz and Cordelia. Second of all, I like Xander and either way he's not gonna be happy because Willow's a lesbian, Buffy's Buffy and Cordelia gonna leave and be on Angel or something. Either way, everyone loses.
- I am so glad I know that Angel gets his own show, because right now he's condemned to sitting around, waiting for Buffy to come around.
- Spike swears revenge on Angel. He goes to a gypsy store and tries to buy a curse, but runs into Willow instead. He gets a better idea.
- Willow wants to make a anti-lust spell to get rid of the sexual tension between her and Xander, but Spike shows up and kidnaps them both after braining Xander in the head with a microscope.
- Spike forces Willow to prepare to a love spell that will make Drusilla love him again. Willow tells him she lacks a spell book she needs to complete the spell.
- Spike visits Buffy's Mum, who still believes he is a friend of Buffy's. Angel, probably looking to visit Buffy, sees Spike and freaks out. He tries to enter the house, but he was uninvited as Angelus and is unable to cross the threshold. Unfortunately, Buffy arrives and pins Spike down and invites Angel in. Before she can stake him, Spike warns Buffy that he has Willow and Xander, and that is she kills him she'll never find them.
- Oz and Cordelia - who were on their way to get Giles - instead stop on the outskirts of town. Oz realizes he can track Willow's scent thanks to his residual werewolf powers. Alright, whatever Mr. Whedon.
- Spike, sobering up, leads Buffy and Angel though town, reminiscing fondly of all the good times he had with Drusilla. Buffy and Angel aren't moved.
- Xander comes to, suffering from a pretty severe head wound. As he and Willow comfort each other, they start making out. Unfortunately, that's the moment Oz and Cordelia find them. Cordelia runs away, crying, but the stairway she's on collapses and she is impaled in the abdomen by a loose piece of rebar. Noooooooooooo.
- Literally, that entire scene I was like "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK." It's pretty much my favorite characters (sans Giles and Spike) ruining each other's relationships and then to top it off: some grievous bodily injury.
- On the way back to the factory where the others are, Spike, Angel and Buffy run into a group of vampires with a bone to pick with Spike. A fight breaks out. The power trio eventually emerge victorious. The violence reawakens Spike's drive and he realizes the best way to get Drusilla back will be to just go back to acting like he was (yesssssss). He tells Buffy and Angel where to find the others and departs.
- This would be a lot more emotional if I didn't know that Cordelia survived, but eh.
- Oz goes to get help, while Xander and Cordelia share a moment. Whedon tries a fake out to think she died, but it's half-hearted at best.
- In the aftermath, Oz isn't speaking to Willow and Cordelia tells Xander to stay away from her. D:
- At long last, Buffy realizes that it can never work between her and Angel, and she makes the difficult choice to sever contact.
- The silly sad montage of all the Scoobies being depressed was redeemed by Spike rocking out in his car.

Episode Rating:

10/10

Are all these episodes really that good or did your standards drop?

Mostly the former, maybe a bit of the latter. I was certainly relieved that Buffy stopped being an unlikable mopey bitch and the scores for the episode where she began to get better might have reflected that. Plus, Faith and Buffy's Mum have both had very small roles so far, so the focus has been mainly on the people I know and like.

Also, I've really grown to like the Scoobies. In earlier episodes, I judged the episodes by the strength of the villain and the plot, but I've started focusing rather on the characters, their relationships and the overarching theme of the seasons (1. Fear 2. Change 3. Love).

But yes, the episodes have been generally a higher quality and much more consistent than in previous seasons.

However, if there's another Inca Mummy Girl waiting around the corner, I'll still lambast it.

The Wish - Series Three, Episode Nine

Notes:
- Relations are still sore among the Scoobies; none more so than Cordelia, who's sole link to group was really only through Xander. As such, she spends her time cutting his face out of photographs and burning them. Women, amirite? No. No, I'm not right. Because I really like Cordelia.
- Cordelia looks in remarkably good nick for someone who as impaled recently.
- When is Cordelia gonna learn that her old friends were bitches.
- Willow tries to patch things up with Oz, but he tells her he needs space.
- Cordelia finds that her reputation has been completely ruined thanks to her relationship with Xander. Dunno how a girl as banging as Charisma Carpenter (circa 1998, even though she's like 28 at the time) could ever be unpopular in a high school.
- A girl named Anya befriends Cordelia however. She's obviously evil.
- Xander's fake laugh is amazing.
- Cordelia snaps, and decides that Buffy's to blame for all her problems (which, to be fair, is fairly accurate) and wishes that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. Anya - who turns out to be a demon (go figure) - gives her ~*magical necklace*~ that makes the wish come true.
- Oh yes. I love What If Episodes.
- A flash of white light occurs, and Cordelia finds herself in a substantially less populated Sunnydale High. Her old friends like her again, but the school is closed the next day for the "monthly memorial", and there is curfew in place. Also, Xander and Willow are dead. Whoops.
- Sunnydale is a ghost town, and people are terrified of remaining outside after dusk.
- Cordelia runs into Xander while walking home and whaddya know: he's a vampire.
- Hello, Vampire Willow.
- The two of them attack Cordelia, but she is saved by the 'white hats': Giles, Oz and two other randoms.
- Man, I just know that everyone is going to die. I don't think I can handle seeing Giles die.
- The Bronze is now a vampire hangout, and Xander and Willow head there after Cordelia escapes. It's a pretty grim: hordes of vampires, human sacrifices, and techno.
- Oh shit it's The Master Vampire. And he's written how he was in Prophecy Girl. Good. I don't want him ruining this.
- The Master Vampire tasks Willow and Xander with tracking down Cordelia, for he fears she may be able to contact the Slayer.
- Cordelia wakes up and Giles is there to meet her. She rambles on about Buffy and his role as the Watcher, and he's confused as to how she knows so much. Unfortunately, Willow and Xander appear and trap Giles in the library cage and then kill Cordelia. Welp. Now what?
- Before Oz and the other guy (the other other random was killed) take Cordelia to the incinerator (brutal), Giles removes the ~*magical necklace*~. I am okay with this being a Giles centric from now on.
- The Master Vampire is pleased that Willow and Xander succeeded, and rewards Willow's by granting her request to 'play with the puppy'. I'm guessing the puppy is Angel.
- Turns out Angel tried to stop this all from happening but he failed and was captured. Willow takes a sick pleasure in torturing him now for sport.
- Giles researches the necklace and discovers it's a symbol of Anyanka - the patron saint of scorned women. He returns home to research home further, but stops along the way to rescue some humans who are being rounded up by vampires. Things turn sour and Giles is very nearly killed, but suddenly the vampires are beaten down by an unseen fighter. Giles looks up and sees a scarred Buffy standing over him.
- Together they return to Giles' home and learns that Anyanka's power centre must be destroyed in order to reverse the wishes she's made. Buffy is skeptical and decides hunting the Master Vampire would be a much more valuable use of her time. Giles has no choice but to comply.
- Has no one thought of burning down the Bronze during the daytime while all the vampires are asleep? No? Alright then.
- Buffy finds the Bronze empty, but encounters Angel locked in his cage. He convinces her to let him lead her to The Master.
- Giles summons Anyanka, while The Master Vampire delivers a speech to the vampires: he will using human technology to mass-produce vampires using captured humans.
- Buffy attempts to assassinate The Master Vampire with a crossbow, but he blocks the shot using Xander as a shield. (Xander survives.) Most vampires panic and flee and Buffy distracts the rest while Angel frees the human captives. Oz and the other guy join the fray.
- Giles quizzes Anynaka on the nature of Cordelia's wish and then tells her to revert the wish. She laughs in his face.
- Xander and Willow attack Buffy, and she manages to repel them. Xander almost blindsides Buffy using the crossbow bolt she shot him with, but Angel protects her at the cost of his own life. He dies saying her name. Damn, that was tough to watch. Looks like I like Angel more than I thought.
- In a slow dramatic scene - as Anyanka explains that this real life now - Buffy slays Xander and Oz slays Willow. Damn, I knew everyone was going to die. I'm still holding out that Giles survives though. He can do it. Please.
- Giles snatches the necklace from Anyanka and pushes her away. Buffy confronts The Master but he gets the better of her. Giles prepares to smash the pendant, but Anyanka questions how he can really believe that the alternative world is any better than the one he knows. As The Master Vampire snaps Buffy's neck, Giles declares that the other world is better "because it has to be" and destroys the necklace. Fuck yeah, Giles. Fuck yeah.
- Time reverts to the point when Cordelia first made the wish. While Anya tries repeatedly grant the wish, Cordelia's wishes get gradually more ludicrous ('I wish Buffy was never born, I wish Xander would never again know the touch of a woman', etc.) Enraptured by the thoughts of these magnificent wishes, Cordelia wanders away chatting excitedly, leaving a flustered and impotent Anya behind.

Episode Rating:

10/10.

I love What If episodes, usually cause it gives a writers a chance to cut loose and kill indiscriminately. This episode reminds me very much of the episode Turn Left of Doctor Who, and episode that similarly examined the effects of what would happen if the protagonist was absent for all those times he saved the day? The answer is the world sucks and pretty much everyone dies. Cheery, cheery episode and also one of the best. Like this one.

Keep an eye out for Anya.

I quite liked zombie Xander, and how GIles was leading a small resistance force despite no slayer, that whole episode was great.

Amends - Series Three, Episode Ten

Notes:
- It's 1838 and we're in Dublin. David Bestiocracy once again gets to show off his amazing Irish accent. A recently vamparized Angel kills a young man named Daniel because Daniel couldn't pay his gambling debt.
- It's Christmas, and Angel is still haunted by all the wrong he's committed throughout his life. I still don't know if he remembers his time as Angelus during Season 2 though. Has anyone even told him he killed Jenny yet?
- Angel begins seeing visions of those he killed, including Daniel.
- Why would the producers think it would be a good idea to list the characters the guest stars play in the opening credits? Now I know Jenny's going to appear.
- Oz and Willow make up. Yay.
- Buffy's Mum wants Buffy to invite Faith to Christmas dinner. Although Faith has been distant recently, Buffy eventually agrees. However, when Buffy brings up the idea of inviting Giles, Buffy's Mum adamantly refuses. Oh shit, they really did have sex.
- Buffy tries to invite Faith, but she rejects the offer and lies about having plans.
- Angel has some really fucked up dreams involving a man with his eye sewn shut. He needs help, so he pays a visit to Giles. Giles is not happy to see him. Angel asks for help and Giles bitterly laughs at him, but agrees to help. Granted, on the condition that he holds Angel at crossbow-point.
- Angel understand that he's supposed to be trapped in the demon dimension and doesn't understand why he was freed. Unfortunately, Angel begins having visions of Jenny and becomes overwhelmed. Angel leaves in a hurry.
- Angel has a dream about the time he killed a maid a century ago. However, he awakes with a start when he sees Buffy standing in his past. Buffy wakes up as well. A shared dream, eh?
- Angel has an extended conversation with a hallucination of guilt.
- Buffy talks to Giles about her weird dream. She fears that something is wrong with him. Giles admits that Angel came to him, looking for help. Buffy and Giles decide they have to help him. Xander appears out of nowhere and says he wants to help too. Willow gets roped in as well. That's convenient.
- I just realized that Angel is being haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past. Well, not entirely. But I bet that's what Whedon was going for.
- Angel is coaxed to sleep by his hallucinations, while Buffy passes out while researching a way to help Angel. They have a shared dream of the time they had sex, except suddenly the man with his eyes sown shut appears and Angel transforms into a vampire and bites her. They both wake up in cold sweats.
- Angel's hallucinations encourage him to kill Buffy and admit that's why they brought him back. Uh oh.
- Giles finds information about the men with their eyes sown shut. They're called Bringers or Harbingers and they're high priests of The First.
- What the hell is The First?
- The Bringers use their evil power to manipulate people into doing their bidding. Uh oh.
- Buffy wants to fight, but Giles warns that she can't fight The First because it's not a physical being. She instead says she'll fight The Bringers.
- Serious what the hell is The First?
- Buffy and Xander try to get information out of Willy, the crooked bartender from Season 2. He tells them that things that have been living under Sunnydale have been leaving en masse, and tells them the priests might be down there. I think Willy's lying, and that the priests are actually are in the bar. We'll see.
- Willow wants to make things up to Oz properly and offers herself to him. Oz turns how down (gently) and tells her she doesn't need to prove anything.
- At the Summers household, Faith shows up and admits she lied. Buffy's happy she came. Buffy goes upstairs to get present, and an agitated Angel surprises her in her room. He tries to tell her to stay away, but his mind is pretty much in shambles now. Before the Jenny spirit convinces him to do something rapey, Angel dives out the window. Buffy pursues.
- Unable to fight it much longer, Angel decides to let himself be killed by sunlight. The Jenny spirit says, "It's not the plan. But it'll do."
- Buffy figures out where the priests are at and rushes off to confront them. She finds the priests and disrupts the ritual, but is suddenly confronted by Jenny spirit. She introduces herself as The First Evil. Buffy taunts it, but it warns Buffy that Angel will be dead by sunrise.
- Buffy rushes off and finds Angel standing on a hilltop overlooking Sunnydale, waiting for dawn.
- Buffy: "There's only a few minutes left!" It's pitch black out you dozy bitch.
- Angel wants to be left alone. Buffy won't let him. They talk. And yell. And cry. Angel knows he can never be with Buffy because that will break the curse again. Buffy wants him to fight and be strong. It begins snowing because it wasn't dramatic enough already.
- Turns out the snow is going to block the sun. Fuck me, that's contrived as hell.
- Angel and Buffy walk hand in hand through the snowy streets. The end.

Episode Rating:

8.5/10.

The 'snow' ending ruined it. Why couldn't Buffy just talk him down? Ugh.

This episode more or less gives Angel the mission statement for his own series.

"Wah, I'm not good enough to live. I'm weak. I'm a monster. Let me die."?

"Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day."

Well that's better I suppose. I wish Buffy would follow her own advice though. When this new fling with Angel ends she's inevitably going mope about it.

I think it's acknowledged in either season 4 or 5 that Buffy is a sad sack of shit whenever she's single.

The next episode is really bad BTW.