Author: Elwood Jones

 

Episode Title:  Checkpoint

Original Air Date: January 23 2001

“Sunnydale’s got too many demons and not enough retail outlets.” – Glory

Continuing the upbeat mood of the previous episode “Triangle” this week Buffy and the Scoobies find themselves under the scrutiny of the Watchers Council who have returned to Sunnydale with information on Glory, only they won’t share this information until they have carried out a review of Buffy’s skills to see if she is able to handle it. Considering the fact that the last time the council were in Sunnydale in “Helpless” they pitted Buffy against a psychotic vampire without her Slayer powers, its easy to understand why she is less than thrilled by their reappearance let alone the fact that they might be the only ones capable to finding the information she needs to defeat Glory. Still it’s funny to think that Buffy has officially been free of the Council since way back in Season 3 and while they have been given the occasional passing mention its been assumed that they have just been back in England though doing what its still unclear. Of course this doesn’t stop them steam rolling into Sunnydale lead by Senior Watcher Quentin Travers as they quickly take over the Magic box and start making demands while scrutinising every aspect of Buffy’s life including the Scoobies.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:12

Episode Title:  Triangle

Original Air Date: January 9 2001

“Anya, I have faith in you. There is no one you cannot piss off.” – Willow

Depending on whether you liked or hated Riley really controls what mood you’ll be entering into this episode, seeing how the last episode saw him leaving Sunnydale and ending his relationship with Buffy, something which is usually a warning sign that the next episode will be another rough ride of having to deal with a zoned out Buffy which we usually get with most season openers. Surprisingly this episode chooses to take a different track as we open to a convent were we are lead to belive that Buffy has run away to, only for her to show up as the stylish bad-ass and slaying a vampire before then asking questions about the life of being a nun to one of the frazzled nuns. Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:11

Episode Title:  Into The Woods

Original Air Date: 19th December 2000

“Well, I guess everybody jumped ship once the word got out that the Slayer found their crib. (Pause) I just want to apologize for the use of the word “Crib.” – Xander

So the previous episode was kind of a heavy one despite the sci-fi elements and seeing how we open to Joyce pulling through her surgery and looking to be on the mend you’d expect that this week would be maybe a little lighter…..sadly this isn’t the case especially in Sunnydale were one problem solved is often followed by another as Buffy and Riley’s relationship heads towards a crossroads.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:10

Episode Title:  Listening To Fear

Original Air Date: November 28th 2000

“You got her a book on spells? The girl who can break things by just looking at them, now has a book to teach her to break things by looking at ‘em?” – Buffy

Something of an odd mix of genres we get here this week as Joyce awaits her operation to remove her brain tumour as her condition only worsens leading her further into bouts of babbling. At the same time a meteorite hits Sunnydale containing a nasty little alien which feeds on crazy people.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:09

Episode Title:  Shadow

Original Air Date: November 21st 2000

“Just once I would like to run into a cult of bunny-worshipers.” – Xander

So after a strong start to the series this episode starts to see things get bogged down in issues facing the group distracting from the outside threats we’d no doubt rather be seeing. As such a large portion of the episode is based around Buffy handling her mother’s illness as she undergoes a CAT scan while trying to also deal with Glory’s latest plan to locate “The Key” by casting a Sobekian transmogrification spell.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep: 08

Episode Title:  Fool For Love

Original Air Date: November 14th 2000

“Look, I realise that every Slayer comes with an expiration mark on the package. But I want mine to be a long time from now. Like a Cheeto.” – Buffy

Last week we got to learn the background for Tara who this week is noticeably absent throughout and with no reason given for were she might be we can only assume that her family must have succeeded in carting her back home to the farm. Still the history lessons continue as following a failed patrol which leaves Buffy being stabbed with her own stake she decides to find out how Spike killed two Slayers in an attempt to avoid a similar fate to her predecessors.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:07

Episode Title:  No Place Like Home

Original Air Date: October 24th 2000

Vampire – “I’ve always wanted to kill the Slayer.”

Buffy – “And I’ve always wanted piano lessons. So really… who’s surprised we’ve got this unexpressed rage? But honestly, I think I express mine better. Tell you what… you find yourself a good anger management class, and I’ll jam this pokey wood stick through your heart.”

So after last week’s misfire of an episode its great to see this episode getting things back on track if perhaps at the same time serving as something of an info dump as we get several big moments through the episode including the introduction of the series big bad “Glory”, Giles reopens the Magic Box, Joyce gets more sick and most key here we find out the truth about Dawn. it’s really a jam packed episode.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:05

Episode Title: Out of My Mind

Original Air Date: October 17th 2000

“I so don’t want to deal with Spike right now. The guy is really starting to bug me in that special “I want to shove something wooden through his heart” kind of way.” – Buffy

So after the run of great episodes this season has had so far it kind of comes to crashing halt this week as Riley finds himself suffering the side effects of his time with “The Initiative” which has now left him on the verge of having a heart attack while also unable to feel pain. However it soon becomes clear that Buffy is not the only one concerned for his health as the “The Initiative” try to also convince him to see their surgeon and get his health issues fixed. Elsewhere seeing an opportunity to get the chip removed from his brain Spike kidnaps the surgeon.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:04