Buffy the Vampire Slayer + Angel Watchthrough

Hopefully I'll be able to supplement it with a decent first season of Angel though, right?

And of note, while I've been watching I've remember a couple more things from my childhood.

- I remember the fucking last episode of the show! At first I thought I had dreamed it or mixing it up with some other show, but the more I watch the more I remember the ending: the town gets destroyed and it ends with Buffy and some other people (hopefully the rest of the... Scoobies) standing in the desert next to a gigantic crater where Sunnydale used to be. Oh well, it doesn't really change the journey.
- I remember Giles and Spike shows up in Angel quite a bit, and Giles is related to the aforementioned 'Angel kills his son' plotline. I remember someone speaking to a giant burger mascot that's been possessed by a spirit.
- I remember Angel actually killing his son. His son holds some people hostage and Angel ends up... shooting him I think? I think they're in a bank. Maybe I got this from Bones, but I don't I think I did.
- I remember that Willow turns out to be a witch. Or maybe it's her girlfriend who turns out to be a witch. Maybe they're both witches.
- Willow turns evil at one point, doesn't she? That will be annoying for sure.

More will probably come to me. My friend must have made me sit through more episodes than I thought.

Angel's first season is very case of the week. It's the characters that carry that season (though it's probably the weakest of the Angel seasons).

For now, just watch crappy ass Bad Eggs and then the gamechanging two parter that truly marks the beginning of Whedon's trademark storytelling.

Sarbud wrote:

And of note, while I've been watching I've remember a couple more things from my childhood.

- I remember the fucking last episode of the show! At first I thought I had dreamed it or mixing it up with some other show, but the more I watch the more I remember the ending: the town gets destroyed and it ends with Buffy and some other people (hopefully the rest of the... Scoobies) standing in the desert next to a gigantic crater where Sunnydale used to be. Oh well, it doesn't really change the journey.
- I remember Giles and Spike shows up in Angel quite a bit, and Gile's related to the aforementioned 'Angel kills his son' plotline. I remember someone speaking to a giant burger mascot that's been possessed by a spirit.
- I remember Angel actually killing his son. His son holds some people hostage and Angel ends up... shooting him I think? I think they're in a bank. Maybe I got this from Bones, but I don't I think I did.
- I remember that Willow turns out to be a witch. Or maybe it's her girlfriend who turns out to be a witch. Maybe they're both witches.
- Willow turns evil at one point, doesn't she? That will be annoying for sure.

More will probably come to me. My friend must have made me sit through more episodes than I thought.

Some of that stuff happened, some of it didn't.

And Dark Willow is crazy awesome. That's all I'll say.

Bad Eggs - Series Two, Episode Twelve

Notes:
- Mothers and daughters don't talk like that Mr. Whedon.
- I hope the title means the episode is about demon chickens.
- "Y'know, this would work a lot better for me if you didn't talk."
- "Well, it'd work a lot better for me if the lights were off."
- Oh god, I just got the title. They're going to do that thing that they always do on TV where they have to protect an egg for a week, aren't they?
- I like Xander and Cordelia sniping one another in class.
- Heehee, Willow will never have to worry about pregnancy, amirite?
- Haha, when the class go to choose their partners, in the background you can see Willow try to talk to Xander but he rushes off to find Cordelia without noticing her.
- Do American school actually do this egg experiment? They didn't do it in Britain and they certainly didn't do it in Canada.
- Betting right now that Buffy's eggs is the only one that isn't broken by the end of the episode.
- Man, what is wrong with Xander's ears in this episode?
- I would laugh so hard if these turn out to be Shemantis eggs.
- Nope, they're just some kind of tentacle monster. We see Buffy's egg use it's tendrils to do something to Buffy while she's sleeping.
- Haha, Xander boiled his egg so that it wouldn't break, killing whatever's inside it.
- Angel says he doesn't know about parenting, but I know better than to believe that.
- Buffy's egg hatches and the resulting scorpion spider thing attacks her. She finishes off it off with some scissors after a laughable tense scene. Willow, however, is possessed by her hatchling.
- Why does Buffy even give her Mum the time of day? She can't exactly do anything to stop Buffy from doing what she wants.
- They used a musical sting from some other movie that I can't remember the name of.
- Cordelia gets possessed too, and together with Willow they knock out Buffy and Xander.
- Cordelia and WIllow, along with an army of students who were also possessed, grab pickaxes and other digging tools and enter a subterranean hole in the basement.
- God help me if Giles and Buffy's Mum get together.
- No, Giles got possessed too! I thought he was gonna be the one to save the day.
- It's been forever since Buffy and Xander have saved the day together. At least this episode isn't a complete lost cause.
- The possessed begin excavating eggs from the Bezoar, a prehistoric parasite who just happens to live under the school.
- Xander punching possessed Cordelia was hilarious.
- Buffy kills the Bezoar with a pick axe and all the hatchlings that are possessing the students die.

Episode Rating

3/10.

Surprise - Series Two, Episode Thirteen

Notes:
- Buffy has a Twin Peaks vision and sees Angel killed by Drusilla. She is appropriately shook up.
- And it's Buffy's birthday.
- How does Angel afford the rent on his apartment? Where does he get the money?
- Angel and Buffy's relationship gets complicated because they both clearly wanna bang one another but both have reservations: Buffy because she doesn't want to act rash and rush into anything, and Angel because he probably realizes that it's statutory rape.
- I get the feeling Mr. Whedon paired Willow and Oz together is because they're both ginger.
- The Scoobies are holding a surprise party for Buffy, but Giles is gonna be there too. That's kinda weird.
- Spike and Drusilla are both alive, though Spike's now hideously burned and confined to a wheelchair. Drusilla's powerful once more.
- Aspects of Buffy's dream comes true and she begins to get worried.
- It turns out that Jenny is actually from the tribe of gypsies who originally cursed Angel. Her real name is Janna and it turns out that her creepy uncle tasked her with the goal of ensuring that Angel suffers for his crimes as a vampire. I do not like this development in the slightest.
- On the way to the party, Buffy encounters some vampires stealing another relic. During the fight, she accidentally stumbles into the Bronze and ruins the surprise the Scoobies had planned. Inside the relic is a sentient hand that tries to choke Buffy. Angel realizes the relic is a part of The Judge, a demon that will bring forth Armageddon.
- Jenny suggests Angel try to hide it, something Angel agrees with. Buffy protests, but Angel tells her it will take months for him to find a remote enough location to hide The Judge's Hand in. Angel prepares to leave immediately.
- Angel and Buffy say their goodbyes on the docks, but are attacked by vampires. One of them throws Buffy into the water and Angel dives in to save her; the vampires escape with The Judge's Hand.
- While the Scoobies research ways to stop the judge, Buffy has another vision, this time of where Drusilla and Spike are located. She and Angel go to check it out.
- Drusilla assembles The Judge. He looks like a giant, evil Smurf.
- Buffy and Angel are captured and brought before The Judge, but manage to escape in the nick of time. They take refuge in Angel's apartment, where one thing leads to another and they have sex. Congratulations Angel, you are now considered a rapist in 11 states, including California.
- Afterwards, Angel suddenly experiences agonizing pain and rushes outside. As Buffy sleeps on, Angel screams her name from outside. To be continued.

Episode Rating

9/10.

Really good episode. For a little while I was experiencing season fatigue, but now I'm excited again to see what happens. I wish I had skipped straight from What's My Line to this one.

GET TO INNOCENSE RIGHT NOW

Innocence - Series Two, Episode Fourteen

Notes:
- So I haven't started watching yet, but it's pretty clear Angel's agonizing screams have something to do with him taking Buffy's virginity. Maybe her Slayer virginity is poisonous to vampires; maybe it's a byproduct of his gypsie curse, I dunno.
- Angel struggles on the floor and groans in pain. A nearby prostitute checks on him to see if he's okay and he seems to recover. He suddenly whirls on her, vampire face and all, and kills her.
- Buffy's Mum can smell Buffy's broken hymen.
- Angel swaggers back into the factory where Spike and Drusilla are hiding. The Judge touches him, but nothing happens. The Judge is supposed to incinerate anyone with humanity in them. It's apparent that the gypsy curse has been broken and Angel(us) is evil once more. They reunite like one big happy family.
- Also, Angelus smokes. Smoking is evil.
- Willow sees Xander and Cordelia smooching and takes it about as well as you'd expect.
- Angelus tracks down Buffy and shits all over her feelings. He wastes no time in breaking her spirit before he saunters out of there, leaving Buffy crying and alone.
- Jenny has a little pow wow with her creepy uncle. The uncle reveals that if Angel were to have experience a moment of true happiness, the curse would be broken. Welp.
- Xander and Willow have a little talk and seem to patch things up. Angelus suddenly appears and takes Willow hostage, planning to send a message to Buffy in the form of Willow's dead body. A stand off ensues when Buffy arrives, but Xander manages to blindside Angelus with a crucifix and rescue Willow. Angelus warns Buffy that things are about to get interesting before he walks out of there like it was no big thing.
- The Scoobies convene to discuss the new developments. Buffy realizes that she set the events into motion by sleeping with Angel and runs away. Xander formulates a plan to deal with The Judge.
- I love Angelus' rapport with Spike and Drusilla. As a unit, they're great to watch.
- Man, all the cast are knocking it out of the park today, especially SMG, Alyson Hannigan and David Balustrade.
- Buffy has another vision that implies Jenny had something to do with this whole mess. The next day, Buffy confronts Jenny at the school and demands to know what happened to Angel. Jenny reveals the truth about the curse to Buffy and Giles. Buffy demands that Jenny curse Angel again, but she can't do it. Buffy asks to be taken to someone who can.
- I love the fake out, where Jenny's smug uncle expects Buffy to arrive and instead it's Angelus. Serves him right, the prick.
- Xander and Cordelia sneak into a local army base. Using the knowledge that he retained from his Halloween transformation, Xander manages to talk his way into the armory so that he can steal weapons.
- "I'm 17, looking at linoleum makes me want to have sex."
- I love how casual and laid back Oz is about everything, whether it's vampires or Willow asking to make out.
- Buffy, Giles and Jenny arrive to find Jenny's uncle dead. Serves him right, the prick. Buffy finally accepts that she's going to have to kill Angelus.
- Angelus and Drusilla plan to make their move with The Judge. They leave the still-injured Spike behind.
- The Scoobies prepare for battle. Jenny tries to apologize, but both Buffy and Giles will have none of it. They tell her to get out.
- Angelus, Drusilla and The Judge, along with several vampires, enter a mall but The Scoobies arrive just in time to stop them beginning the slaughter. The Judge mocks Buffy, repeating a much-repeated phrase that "no weapon forged" can hurt him. Buffy replies that that was centuries ago, and shoots him with a fucking RPG.
- As the rest of the Scoobies pick up the pieces of the exploded Judge, Buffy pursues Angelus just as the sprinkler system activates.
- Buffy and Angel engage in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Buffy eventually gains the upper hand, but cannot bring herself to stake him. Angelus taunts her, but Buffy kicks him hard in the balls instead. She remarks that he just needs to give her time and walks away.
- Anthony Head ends the episode with some more stellar acting, as he tells Buffy that he doesn't blame her at all.

Episode Rating

10/10

Unequivocally.

"Did you have fun?"
"I got older."

Phases - Series Two, Episode Fifteen

Notes:
- I'm worried that the emotional weight of Angel's transformation will be lessened if he suddenly starts appearing every episode as the Big Bad. If Angelus is suddenly getting his ass kicked every week then it will go from being extremely poignant to extremely silly. ""I'll get you next time, Buffy!" *shakes fist*"
- Haha, I love the callback to the Witch episode. Oz is rapidly becoming my favorite character who isn't Xander, Giles, Willow or Spike.
- "I don't want to be the only girl in school without a real boyfriend." Too soon, Willow.
- "I've never gotten a meow before." Oh Willow, you are just adorable.
- Oh boy, Werewolves.
- Sunnydale is doing self defense classes. Man is it obvious whenever they swap out SMG for a stunt double.
- Giles laughing at Xander's lame joke was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
- Giles and Buffy meet a Werewolf hunter. I like they guy - he's a really casual dick - and I hope he doesn't meet an ironic death at the hands of a werewolf.
- Oh hey, Angelus is in this episode too. Depending on how this plays out, Mr Whedon gets a chance to either confirm my fears or quell them.
- I'd rather not consider the similarities to Twlight, thank you very much.
- Man, Angelus is about a thousand times better than Angel.
- When I was younger, I used to be scared shitless of werewolves in all their forms. Movies like Dog Soldiers and Ginger Snaps and really fucked me up. If I saw this as a kid, I would have been terrified - even though the costume is laughable at best. Then again, all werewolves movies have terrible looking werewolves.
- Pillock count: 1
- Holy shit, Oz is a werewolf. I knew he was too good to be true.
- Haha, Xander lets slip that he remembers what happened in The Pack and then brushes off it in spectacular Xander fashion.
- The Larry reveal was amazing. I was expecting him to do ballet or something. To be fair, I wasn't far off.

Episode Rating

9.5/10

The best stand alone this show has had.

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered - Series Two, Episode Sixteen

Notes:
- Fresh from the euphoria of the previous good episode, it seems Mr Whedon decided to shit all over that by doing the inevitable "Cordelia has to choose between The Scoobies and those bitchy old friends of hers who have no redeeming qualities whatsoever."
- Looks-wise, all four of the 'mean girls' were average at best.
- I saw Spike and Drusilla in the opening credits.
- Man, I like Xander, but he needs longer hair to hide those ears of his.
- I hope Giles never forgives Ms. Calender because if they ever get together then she will almost certainly die. I know your game, Mr Whedon.
- Giles warns Buffy that Angelus tends to go crazy on Valentine's Day.
- Spike gives Drusilla a necklace as gift. Angelus gives her a human heart, which she clearly prefers. Spike, you don't need this shit - you deserve better.
- The menage-a-trois between Angelus, Drusilla and Spike was fun at first but now it's just sad. I want the Spike from School Hard back.
- Ew ew ew, Buffy's Mom eats some popcorn and one falls into her cleavage and she just leaves it there.
- And there's the emotional baggage of the episode. Cordelia breaks up with Xander after he professes his love for her. Why? Beats me, her excuse was lame as hell and it was clear that Mr Whedon realized he couldn't do the plot of the episode if Xander and Cordelia were still together, so he ended it without warning. I imagine the status quo will be restored by the end of the episode though.
- Goddamn, I hope Xander burns down the fucking school.
- I gotta say, I get why Xander decided to exploit magic to get what he wants, but I feel it's out of character for him to do it.
- Xander plans to use a love spell to get revenge on Cordelia. He blackmails Amy - the daughter of the witch from... The Witch - into casting it for him.
- The plan is obviously to make Coredlia fall in love with him, but wacky hijinks such as these always go awry and then: Whoops! Turns out it's Buffy who wants Xander all up inside her.
- And that's exactly what happens because Mr Whedon is a hack.
- SMG has some wicked fake tan in this episode. Doesn't look good on her.
- Looks like every woman - except Cordelia - in the school suddenly wants a piece of Xander.
- I was all for this episode until Buffy got turned into a rat.
- Cordelia was really hot in this episode.
- Oh god, Xander and Cordelia seek refuge in Buffy's house while Giles searches for Rat Buffy. God help me if Buffy's Mum tries to seduce Xander.
- God help me.
- Okay, this is just me riffing, but would not now be the perfect time for Angelus to fucking kill... everybody? Obviously that won't happen because this is a light hearted episode and if anyone died then Xander would never hear the end of it. But man, there is no reason why Angelus couldn't have done something - especially since early on we hear that Angelus loves to go nuts on and around Valentine's Day. Cordelia even throws Buffy's Mum out of the house at one point, where was Angelus when you need him?
- Holy shit, I just finished typing that when Angelus appeared out of nowhere and dragged Xander out of a window. I take back everything I said; good job Mr Whedon. Still, no one's gonna die are they?
- Angelus prepares to bite Xander, but suddenly Drusilla appears out of nowhere. Yet again, I'm caught by complete surprise. The love spell even worked on her!
- An army of girls arrives in time to give Xander and Cordelia an opportunity to escape back into the house and into the basement.
- Haha, I love the recurring joke that Xander keeps barricading doors that open outwards.
- Giles and most of the female cast were great in this episode. Spike is still being horribly underused though.

Episode Rating

8.5/10

This episode was touch and go. At first it was like a 7, because I liked the idea of a corrupt Xander. Then it dropped to a 5 when Buffy got turned into a rat. Then it dropped to a 4 when Buffy's Mum showed up. Then it shot up to a 8.5 when Angelus appeared out of nowhere and the episode coasted gracefully to a satisfying conclusion.

Passion - Series Two, Episode Seventeen

Notes:
- SMG's tan is distracting.
- The episode begins with Angelus slendermanning Buffy for a little while: watching her through windows, hanging around in her room while she sleeps, etc. etc. The group begin researching ways to keep Angelus out of Buffy's house.
- Giles and Jenny reconcile. She may as well paint a bullseye on her face because she's definitely going to die now. You don't betray the main character and live long afterwards, especially if you're the love interest of another beloved character. The opportunity to create drama through your death is too tempting to pass up for someone like Mr Whedon.
- Angelus sends a threat to Willow as well - having been invited into her house in the past as well. Willow stays over at Buffy's for the night.
- Why don't they all just stay at Xander's place?
- Drusilla, don't you dare kill that puppy.
- Why would anyone want to be with Drusilla? She's really weird looking.
- Jenny searches for a way to restore Angel's soul. The scene in the magic shop had some godawful expository dialogue though.
- Angelus harasses Buffy's Mum, and let's slip that he and Buffy did the dirty. Before he can do anything more however, a spell to revoke the invitation to allow him into Buffy's house that Giles found takes effect.
- If only Babelfish existed in 1998, none of this would ever have happened.
- Jenny transcribes the ritual that will restore Angel's soul, but Angelus appears just as she finishes transferring the data onto a floppy disk (lol). Jenny tries to run, but Angelus catches up with her and effortlessly snaps her neck. BAM. Called it.
- The scene with Willow and Giles was hilarious.
- God damn, Buffy's Mum I hate you.
- Giles arrives home, planning to spend a romantic evening with Jenny. Instead, he only finds Jenny's dead body, carelessly thrown on his bed by Angelus.
- Giles, nooooooooo. I knew this was gonna fucking happen.
- The Scoobies take the news hard. Giles snaps and tries to track down Angelus, intent on having his revenge.
- Giles arrives at the factory and begins kicking some ass. Angelus manages to fend him off and choke Giles into unconsciousness, but Buffy arrives and resumes the ass kicking. Eventually, she has to stop in order to save Giles from a rapidly growing fire. Angelus makes his escape, along with Drusilla and Spike. Giles lambasts Buffy for following him, but Buffy slugs him in the face and then hugs him - tearfully telling Giles that she needs him.
- The episode ends with Buffy and Giles over Jenny's grave. Buffy swears that she's now ready to kill Angelus. Meanwhile, the floppy disk that holds the ritual to restore Angel's soul falls between the gap in Jenny's old desk.

Episode Rating

9.5/10

Killed By Death - Series Two, Episode Eighteen

Notes:
- Buffy's got the flu. The gang try to help with the patrol but they all get attacked by Angelus. He complete stomps the weakened Buffy, but before he can kill her, the others drive him away. Buffy passes out.
- I love the Scoobies' battle tactics: pull a burlap sack over Angelus' head, then kick the fucking shit out of him.
- Have I mentioned how good a villain Angelus is? Because he is the best.
- Buffy gets taken to a hospital, suffering from a fever and multiple fractures. When she regains consciousness, she panics and has to be sedated. Buffy's Mum (grrr) tells the others that Buffy has always been afraid of hospital ever since she was kid when she saw her cousin die in a hospital.
- Buffy's Mum, don't you dare put the moves on Giles.
- I love Cordelia's insistence that Buffy needs to get cosmetic surgery to fix "that thing" on her face.
- I'm not gonna lie, when the kid walked out of the door frame and that scary looking guy walked past I jumped. I like where this episode is going.
- Lil Buffy actually looks a lot like SMG. Same weird nose at least. Good casting.
- Buffy snoops around the hospital, and eaves drops on a conversation between two doctors. Children are apparently dying suspiciously. Buffy encounters two children who say that Death is killing them. Title drop.
- I hope no more children actors do anything this episode, because god damn they cannot act.
- Angelus shows up, but Xander flaunts his massive balls and shoos him away.
- Okay, there's this musical sting that keeps showing up in this show that I swear I've heard on The Simpsons before.
- Buffy's Slayer healing fixes her injuries, but the doctors insist she stay a little while longer to make sure her fever's gone.
- "Cordelia, have you ever actually heard of tact?"
- The actor for that security guard in the hospital really brought his A game to the role. He was hilarious.
- "Jealous?" "Of Rogaine boy? Hahaha I don't think so."
- Child actors, ugh.
- Cordelia really grew on me. I love her character now.
- Turns out Buffy's cousin was killed by the same monster.
- Buffy realizes that the only way to see the monster is to have a fever, so she exposes herself to a diluted form of the virus (diluted at Willow's insistence) so sh can see it.
- The children all try to run away from the monster themselves. On reflection, maybe it wasn't a good idea to put a stairway to the basement right in the middle of pediatrics, huh?
- Man, that monster is basically a big ol' fuck you to children watching everywhere. It's invisible, it exclusively targets children, and it eats people with it's eyes.
- Buffy fights the monster, but it has a clear advantage and knocks her around a bit.
- The monster then tries to eat Buffy, so she snaps it's neck. Yeah.
- The episode ends with Buffy, Xander and Willow hanging around in Buffy's room, watching cartoons while they make Buffy's Mum wait on them hand and foot. I like this ending.

Episode Rating

8.5/10

Pretty good standalone. Lots of good scenes and dialogue, with Xander as a clear winner for both. The child actors brought the episode down though.

And for fun, Top 5 characters:

Giles/Xander (interchangeable)
Angelus
Willow
Spike

Angelus is basically what Spike was when he was at his best, so it might be a little unfair to put him so high. But man, Angelus is awesome. I hope Spike gets one last evil hurrah before he turns good though.

To be fair, this was the first time Whedon did his thing where he kills a character off who just found happiness. It would've been a major shocker if Buffy was the first of his shows you saw.

No review tonight, but:



Xander, no!

If he were bald he'd look like John Malkovich.

I Only Have Eyes For You - Series Two, Episode Nineteen

Notes:
- Buffy still moping about Angel.
- Seems like the people at Sunnydale are reenacting scenes from the school's history. Specifically, a murder-suicide.
- "You just went OJ on your girlfriend!" Woah, too soon.
- Willow is still acting as Ms. Calender's replacement for her computer sciences class. I wonder if Chekhov's Floppy Disk is ever going to be found.
-Willow lets slip that she's been browsing pagan sites and the like on ~*the internet*~, which is some pretty dynamite foreshadowing if she does turn out to be a witch.
- Pretty sure a student was in a relationship with a teacher and then killed her and himself.
- If this season ends with Spike still in a wheelchair I dunno what I'll do. He's been in it for what feels like four years now.
- I like Angelus, but I hope the first thing Spike does when he regains the use of his legs is kick Angelus right in the balls.
- Aw, Giles believes that Jenny is the poltergeist. He can't be talked out of it.
- It took 20 minutes for Cordelia to make an appearance. Huh, I almost missed her.
- Oh wow. There's been hints before that Principal Snyder and the Police Chief are aware of the supernatural dealings that go on in Sunnydale, but this episode confirms that they know about Hellmouth.
- The group plans to perform an exorcism, no way is Giles gonna be okay with that.
- Angelus and Drusilla plot to do something involving a gate, deciding that Buffy isn't worth their time. Spike is incredulous.
- Yep, Giles plans to contact the ghost, absolutely convinced it's Jenny.
- It takes some pretty fucked up paranormal activity for Giles to see the truth.
- The exorcism fails and the school is suddenly infested with locusts.
- The Scoobies retreat and try to figure things out. The poltergeist is reliving his final moments because he wants forgiveness, but he can't change the outcome.
- Buffy falls under the poltergeist's influence and reenters the school. The others are alarmed, but figure because no man is in the school, Buffy should be safe.
- Angelus is in the school dun dun dun. Buffy begins to reenact the poltergeist's death, Angelus is at first unaffected, but eventually falls under the spell or whatever as well. Except the roles are reversed, so Buffy is the man and Angelus is the woman. Huh.
- Buffy shoots Angelus, and then goes to kill herself. But because Angelus is vampire, he survives and the poltergeist is put to rest.
- Buffy and Angelus, locked in a kiss, part roughly once the spell wears off. Buffy is left shaken after Angelus flees. As always.
- The episode ends with Angelus furious scrubbing himself clean. He and Drusilla leave Spike to do some unspecified plans. Spike, left alone, smirks and finally stands up, yessssss.

Episode Rating

7/10

This was 6.5 all over. Nothing special, more unnecessary BuffyxAngel drama. Meh. The extra point .5 is for Spike finally be back to full strength.

Go Fish - Series Two, Episode Twenty

Notes:
- Oh god, the swim team are going to turn out to be fish monsters aren't they? I'm onto you Mr. Whedon.
- I am so fucking sick of Buffy sulking. Fucking grow up.
- Some guy with a fish tattoo get shredded and then some creature wanders into the town's sewer system. Yum.
- Oh Willow, don't change the grades. Don't fall for Principal Snyder's silly stereotyped implications.
- I fucking hate this episode. I know this shit actually happens (prized athletes sexually assaulting girls and then leading the entire school against them by accusing them of being a slut), but I could do without it in my Vampire fiction. Buffy should just kill everyone.
- Seriously, Snyder and that Coach would both lose their job if Buffy told anyone about what he was doing. I'm almost offended by it.
- Snyder needs to die. I sorta liked him in the beginning but now he's just an evil principal like in any other high school sitcom thing. Last episode suggested he knew about the Hellmouth, why does he care about the swim meet?
- Oh my fucking lol, it's the Creature From The Black Lagoon.
- So the monster roared at Xander and then.... what? He went home? They couldn't have shown it run away?
- Buffy escapes rape just days ago, and decides the best course of action is to then try and seduce Gauge, another swim team member. Fuck you Mr. Whedon and fuck this shitty, shitty episode.
- Angelus tries to turn one of the swim team members, but Gauge's blood disgusts him. Buffy and Willow speculate that it's because Gauge and the other swim team members use steroids. They also guesses that's what's attracting the Creature From The Black Lagoon.
- Okay, redeeming quality of this episode is Xander joining the swim team and the girls' reaction to it.
- The guy who plays Gauge looks really, really familiar.
- Turns out the Creature From The Black Lagoon doesn't eat people, it transforms them into another Creature From The Black Lagoon.
- Buffy gets bitten by one of the Creatures. Uh oh.
- Turns out the coach is dosing the swimmers with steroids in the steam room.
- God damn this was a terrible episode.

Episode Rating

1/10

The worst episode. Nothing like the threat of gang rape by fishmen to solidify that fact.

Sarbud wrote:

The guy who plays Gauge looks really, really familiar.

He played Chris Redfield in RE: Afterlife.

Oh, I looked him up. He was that guy from Prison Break. I recognized him from the commercials.

Before I begin the season finales, I should note that going into it, averaged out, the score for Season 2 so far is 7.025/10. That's sorta fair. This season had higher peaks (School Hard, WML, Innocence, Passion), but it's had much lower valleys (Inca, Egg, Ted, Fish). There was a lot of fluff that could have been (should have been) cut out. I feel like it could've been a really strong 13 episode season if they'd done some trimming and splicing here and there. Oh well, allons-y.

Becoming, Part One - Series Two, Episode Twenty One

Notes:
- David Ballistocardiograph has a terrible Irish accent.
- Galway, 1753. We see how Angel originally became a vampire after being bitten by what's her face... Darla. Also of note, Darla's hotter than a remember. Her human form, I mean.
- Meanwhile, Buffy gets tired of waiting for Angel to make a move and becomes more aggressive, intent on taking the fight to him.
- Giles investigates a relic that was recently unearthed near Sunnydale.
- Okay. 1860 London. We see how Angelus first met Drusilla. Drusilla still has a terrible English accent, ugh.
- Present day Drusilla has a vision involving the relic that Giles is studying.
- Willow tutors Buffy in Jenny's classroom, but Buffy accidentally drops her pen and looks between the desks. At long last, Buffy finds the Floppy Disk containing the Soul restoration ritual that can fix Angel.
- Rumanian Woods, 1898. The gypsies cast the restoration spell on Angelus transforming into the Angel we all know and love and know. The gypsies do it to make Angel suffer the guilt for the crimes he committed as a vampire. It works, and the true revelation of what he's done haunts him.
- Buffy and Willow present the spell to Giles. The spell requires a knowledge of magic beyond what Giles knows, but Willow volunteers, saying she's been reading up on the black arts in her free time. Giles warns her that doing so could open a door that is impossible to close again.
- Xander is the first to bring up the fact that maybe restoring Angel's soul would be a bad thing. He says Angel is killer, no matter which way you spin it.
- Holy acting talent Mr. Nicholas Brenden.
- Holy acting talent Mr. Anthony Head.
- Holy acting talent, Scoobies.
- Drusilla and Angelus steal the relic, which is actually a tomb.
- Buffy is unsure of how to proceed, but when she finds a ring that Angel gave to her, she seems to make up her mind.
- Kendra returns; it goes without saying it has something to do with the tomb.
- Spike: "It's a big rock. I can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big."
- The tomb contains a demon with the power to destroy the world. The demon is sealed by sword that is sealed within it's chest. Removing the sword will release the demon. Ayep.
- The demon looks ridiculous.
- Manhattan, 1996. A tormented and scraggly Angel lives on the streets, drinking rat's blood to satiate his thirst. A mysterious stranger who knows about Angel's situation. The man introduces himself as Whistler, he's a demon. Whistler tells Angel that he can be something more than a smelly hermit,, and tells Angel that he wants to show him something.
- Los Angeles, 1996. Angel watches as Buffy the valley girl is first approached by her original Watcher who tells her she is the Chosen One. Angel continues to watch her; he sees her slay her first vampire, he sees her struggle with her parents incoming divorce. Angel decides he wants to help her in anyway that he can and asks Whistler to teach him how to help.
- In the present, Angelus performs the ritual to release the demon but he is unable to remove the sword embedded in its chest. Frustrated, he sends a vampire (in broad daylight) to deliver a message to Buffy telling her to meet him that night. The vampire is incinerated.
- Buffy and Angelus battle in a cemetery while Willow and the rest of the Scoobies prepares the soul restoration ritual. The vampires attack however, and interrupt the ritual. Buffy realizes that Angelus is just distracting her and races back to the rest of the Scoobies. The battle in the library is going badly, Kendra manages to kill one, but is swarmed by the rest. Giles is knocked unconscious, Willow is crushed under a book case and Xander's arm is broken. Just as things look their worst, Drusilla arrives and calls the vampires off, deciding to battle Kendra alone.
- Drusilla has a clear advantage and uses some previously unseen powers to hypnotize Kendra. She then slits Kendra's throat using her fingernails.
- I knew it. Kendra was doomed from the start. But does this mean we get a new, new Slayer? Every time one dies, another is awakened. You can't surprise me twice, Mr. Whedon.
- Their job done, Drusilla and the other vampires kidnap Giles.
- Gratuitous slow mo as Buffy arrives too late and finds Kendra's dead body. As Buffy mourns the loss of her fellow Slayer, someone points a gun at Buffy and tells her to freeze.

Episode Rating

10/10.

Yeah, that was good.

Becoming, Part Two - Series Two, Episode Twenty Two

Notes:
- A group of police officers arrive and arrest Buffy. She escapes.
- What police officer shoots at an unarmed suspect who is fleeing? That's ridiculously dangerous and in real life, the police officer would lose their badge
- Also, the police officer says Buffy is approximately 16. No she isn't. She's 17, Whedon you hack.
- Keeping a low profile, Buffy visits the hospital to check on her friends. She finds Xander, nursing a broken arm and distraught about something. Xander tells Buffy that Willow has fallen into a coma after being crushed by the bookcase. After Cordelia, who fled the scene on Xander's orders, arrives and tells them she hasn't seen Giles, Buffy realizes that he has been taken.
- Giles awakes in Angelus' captivity. Angelus tells Giles that he needs his hope to awaken the demon, but hopes that Giles will resist so he will have a reason to torture him.
- Buffy rushes to Giles' apartment, but finds Whistler there instead. Whistler tells her that she needs to know how use the sword if she wants to deal the demon, but she leaves before he can finish telling her.
- While wandering though town, Buffy is cornered by a police officer but is rescued by the unlikeliest of allies: Spike.
- "Hello, cutie."
- Spike calls a truce with Buffy - he wants her help in stopping Angelus, because Spike doesn't want to destroy the world. He enjoys too many things: like dog racing and Manchester United. And because he wants Drusilla to himself again.
- Back at the hospital, Xander tearfully tells Willow that he love her, when suddenlyy she begins to wake up. Oz arrives at the same time, and Xander quickly leaves.
- Angelus continues to torture Giles, but Giles shows no signs of breaking.
- Buffy's Mum finds Buffy and Spike. Having been visited by police, she demands to know what's happening but a vampire appears out of nowhere and attacks her (yesssss). Buffy and Spike make short work of it right in front of Buffy's Mum. Having no other choice, Buffy finally comes clean. Hopefully that means Buffy's Mum can die now.
- Buffy's Mum and Spike sitting in the living room together was great.
- I hope Buffy is the one to kill her Mum.
- Hell yeah Buffy, push you mother over.
- "Resolve face." Willow decides to try the soul restoration ritual again, and sends Xander to tell Buffy to stall for time.
- Pillock count: 2. Hell yeah, Giles.
- Buffy returns to the library to retrieve the sword. She encounters Snyder on the way, who tells her that she is expelled. Buffy takes it in her stride.
- Spike - back in a wheelchair to maintain the facade - convinces Angelus to let Drusilla try and coerce Giles into spilling his secrets. Drusilla uses her powers to make Giles see her as Jenny, and manages to get the info she needs: Angel needs to use his own blood for the ritual to awaken the demon - previously he had used some other person's blood.
- Buffy returns to Whistler and asks him about the sword. He tells him that Buffy needs to shed Angel's blood with the sword to close the gate to Hell. Buffy stoically says she is okay with it, as she has nothing left to lose. After she leaves, Whistler remarks that she's wrong: she has one more thing to lose.
- Xander catches up to Buffy before she reaches the house, but doesn't tell her about Willow retrying the restoration ritual. Xander, noooooooo.
- Angelus prepares to begin the ritual, but Buffy arrives. Spike makes his move and attacks Angelus from behind. Meanwhile, Willow begins the soul restoration ritual.
- Spike has a perfect shot of Angelus' back, and chooses to brain him with a crowbar rather than stab him with a stake? Seriously? Why?!
- As Spike pounds the shit out of Angelus, Buffy and Xander fight the other lesser vampires who are hanging around.
- Drusilla pushes Spike away from Angelus: "I don't want to hurt you baby. *smack* Doesn't mean I won't."
- Xander rescues Giles. Drusilla and Spike remain locked in combat while Buffy finishes off the last vampire henchman. Angelus, having recovered slightly, stumbles forwards and grabs the sword embedded in the demon's chest and removes it.
- With seconds to go before the demon awakens, Buffy and Angelus engage in a sword fight.
- Willow has increasing difficulty reciting the incantation, when suddenly a change occurs and she begins reciting Latin at a feverish pace.
- Spike puts Drusilla in a sleeper hold and knocks her out. Angelus gains the upperhand in the sword fight and the demon begins to stir.
- "God he's gonna killer her... *shrugs and walks away*" Spike - with Drusilla in his arms - leaves Buffy to die.
- Buffy gets her second wind and attacks with renewed aggression. She disarms Angelus and prepares to kill him.
- Possessed-Willow completes the ritual. Angelus suddenly gasps as a light flashes in his eyes. Buffy hesitates as Angel looks back up at her, disoriented and amnesiac.
- They embrace, but Buffy sees the demon statue begin to open its mouth and a portal begin to appear andrealizes what she has to do. Kissing Angel one last time, she asks Angel to close his eyes, much like Darla did when she originally turned him (you can't say I don't notice this kind of stuff) and stabs him in the chest. He manages to say her name one last time before the he is absorbed into the portal before it vanishes.
- Buffy haunted by what she's done, returns home to grab some clothes and leave a note behind for her mother before she gets on a bus and leaves Sunnydale.... for[s]ever[/s] 11 hours, if my torrent ETA is right.

Episode Rating

10/10

Perfect ending to the Angelus storyline. Every cast member knocked it of the park and I was genuinely sad at Angel's fate. Unfortunately, I of course know he'll come back* what with the show named after him and all. Season review to come.


* and watching the series has awakened another memory, so I now remember where he comes back.

Season Two Episode Rankings:

1. Innocence (10/10)
2. Becoming, Part Two (10/10)
3. What's My Line, Part Two (10/10)
4. Becoming, Part One (10/10)
5. School Hard (9.5/10)
6. Passion (9.5/10)
7. Phases (9.5/10)
8. Surprise (9/10)
9. What's My Line, Part One (9/10)
10. Bewitched, Bewildered and Bothered (8.5/10)
11. Killed By Death (8.5/10)
12. The Dark Age (8.5/10)
13. Halloween (8/10)
14. When She Was Bad (8/10)
15. I Only Have Eyes For You (7/10)
16. Lie To Me (6.5/10)
17. Some Assembly Required (6/10)
18. Reptile Boy (5/10)
19. Ted (3/10)
20. Bad Eggs (3/10)
21. Inca Mummy Girl (1/10)
22. Go Fish (1/10)

Season Two Rating:

7.3/10

Hm. That's the averaged score. I feel the season was stronger than that, maybe an 8 overall. Averaged out though, even with those last four episodes on the list dragging it down, the season was still stronger than the first season. I hope this trend continues.

The Angelus arc was amazing. I just wish the season hadn't been so stunted by poor episodes and that the main plot had started sooner. Like I mentioned before, if you cut out the filler, you could make a really, really strong 13 episode season. If it's good enough for The Wire, then it's good enough for this show.

Potential 13 episode list:

When She Was Bad - School Hard - Halloween - The Dark Age - What's My Line One and Two - Surprise - Innocence - Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered - Passion - Killed By Death - Becoming One and Two

Phases isn't on there because - as good as the episode is - the Oz is a werewolf storyline didn't go anywhere and was never mentioned again.

I look forward to Spike in the future seasons, and I hope he gets more chances to be evil before he is inevitably ensouled.
I look forward to the hints of Willow's foray into witchcraft. She's still with Oz, so her lesbianism clearly isn't sight quite yet. But it's comin'.

Xander especially grew a lot this season. His interactions with Angelus were consistently grade A, and no other character captures the campy humor and the serious bits as well as Nicholas Brendan. He's my favorite character.

I have a memory in the back of my mind of a Sky One advert for Buffy, that shows a naked(ish?) and dirty Angel lying in rubble saying Buffy's name in a pleading tone. Is that his resurrection or whatever? Only time will tell.

List of The Scoobies, in order of preference, as of the end of Season 2:

1. Xander
2. Giles
3. Willow
4. Cordelia
5. Buffy
6. Oz

If I was included other characters, Spike would be between Giles and Willow. Angel would be between Cordelia and Buffy. Drusilla and Buffy's Mum and Snyder are way, way, way down.

Season 3 finishes downloading in 5 hours.

Also, Kendra died. That means there must be a new Slayer out there somewhere.

AND another thing I remembered: Buffy has a sister! The weirdest thing triggered this memory: Moose's topic about Weird and What made me remember this one show that used to air on TV called Truth or Scare. My friend always remarked when we watched it that the girl who hosts it is Buffy's sister.

SMALL WORLD. HOPE THAT ISN'T A BIG DEAL. DAMMIT.

Go Fish is my most hated episode too, Becoming Part 2 is possibly my favourite.

Season 3 is more consistent. It doesn't have any bad episodes, but it's main arc isn't nearly as good as season 2's. Still very good though.

Buffy is an only child.