Episode Title: Real Me
Original Air Date: October 3rd 2000
“You’d think a Slayer’s house would have more weapons!” – Anya
One of the issues for any long running series is how to bring new viewers in when your already deep into the series length let alone how you can grab them without them having to play catch up ib the previous four seasons. This issue however is something that the show runners perhaps unwittingly manage to do with this episode shot from the prospective of Dawn.
Episode Title: Buffy Vs. Dracula
Original Air Date: September 26, 2000
“Oh, good show, Giles. Uhh… at least you didn’t get knocked out for a change” – Giles
So after the mixed results of the diversive season 4 we have a chance to tidy up some of the chaos as we rejoin the group in something of a down period as they hang out on the beach, where the only slaying being done is to the football Buffy is tossing back and forth with Riley. At the same time Willow shows off some of her new control over the elements as she uses her powers to light the barbecue because that’s not an abuse of power or anything. Still its during these opening scenes its established just how restless Buffy has been as she lays awake at night, sneaking out to slay a vampire before being able to finally sleep.
While the previous seasons have opened to Buffy being in transitional state and usually struggling to deal with the events of the previous season, so its something of a change of pace to see her happy for a change. Of course this being Sunnydale it can’t last as the peace is disrupted by the arrival of the legendary vampire Dracula. Okay Okay this might sound like a crappy cash in but here somehow it works here despite the episode not originally being written to feature Dracula as they envisioned just a generic evil vampire for Buffy to face until writer Marti Noxon suggested Dracula which when Joss Wheldon realised that the rights to Dracula where in the public domain was more than happy to change the story to give us this legendary showdown.
So here we are at the end of another season and what a diversive season this one has been which was the general opinion going into it, with some fan regarding it as the worse while I proclaimed it my favourite.
Revisiting this season in a more critical frame of mind it unquestionably has been clear this time round how many ups and down this season has had as we essentially saw the group being divided as Buffy, Willow and Oz headed off to College. Xander hit the road and Giles celebrated his new unemployed status by hooking up with old friends and giving us the occasional musical moment. Unquestionably it was a transformative season and perhaps because of the division these various life paths caused with the group that it failed to sit with some fans who perhaps would have preferred more of the group mentality we got with those first three seasons.
Episode Title: Restless
Original Air Date: May 23, 2000
“It’s a shame that I never got to tell you how happy I am that you were eaten by a giant snake.” – Xander
So while last week should have in a normal world been the finale to this forth season as we saw Adam vanquished but strangely this episode was the one which they choose to end the season on and in doing so causing the show to fall into the same trap as “The Walking Dead” were the season ends one later than it should have.
Episode Title: Primeval
Original Air Date: May 16, 2000
“Xander, just because this is never going to work, there’s no need to be negative.” – Giles
So after a season of up and downs we finally reach the final climatic showdown with Adam…well it would be had the show runners not had the bright idea of randomly making this the penultimate episode instead of the finale. Still after spending most of the season since he was introduced hiding in his lair hidden within the Initiative facility its kind of a relief to know he actually had a plan, as it turns out all those extra demons being captured by the Initiative were infact him pulling his own version of a Trojan horse making for a fantastic climax to the episode.
Episode Title: The Yoko Factor
Original Air Date: May 9, 2000
“So…I guess I’m starting to understand why there’s no ancient prophecy about a Chosen One … and her friends.” – Buffy
So finally this week the writers decide to address the elephant in the room and finally address how the group have slowly grown apart this season as they’ve pursued relationships and their own individual paths, but seeing how late in the season this revelation is coming said elephant is more of a rotting festering corpse than something I could really care about, but this what Adam plans to exploit.
Episode Title: New Moon Rising
Original Air Date: May 2, 2000
Giles – “How did you get in?”
Spike – “The door was unlocked. You might want to watch that, Rupert. Someone dangerous could get in.”
Buffy – “Or, someone formerly dangerous and currently annoying.”
This week is kind of a confusing episode seeing how its more caught up in teen romance drama than any real monster action as Oz returns to Sunnydale now able to control his werewolf side thanks the spiritual quest he embarked upon at the end of “Wild At Heart” where his werewolf side saw him cheating on Willow with the female werewolf Veruca. Of course since he’s been gone things have changed leaving Tara no longer sure where her relationship with Willow now stands.
Episode Title: Where The Wild Things Are
Original Air Date: April 25, 2000
“Okay, you get Fangs, I’ll get Horny. I mean…” – Buffy
It’s a sense of Deja Vu which this episode comes with as strange things are happening at Riley’s frat house / Initiative hide out while Buffy and Riley suddenly find themselves unable to keep their hands off each other. Needless to say its hardly the best time for the house to host a party either which only serves to make matters worse when all kinds of ghostly chaos is suddenly unleashed on the guests.
It’s a real meh feeling that comes with this episode as Buffy and Riley spend most of it having sex, which I’m sure back when the episode was first aired back in 2000 was much more of a big deal for us seeing how they where much more innocent times and gratuitous sex scenes where far from the norm and pornography was something you stumbled across in the woods rather than the ease of access to endless stream of smut the internet now provides. Still the cast are unquestionably sexed up this week as Anya questions the direction her relationship with Xander is heading. Willow meanwhile continues to grow closer to Tara only to find their blossoming relationship hampered by the spirits in the house.
Episode Title: Superstar
Original Air Date: April 4, 2000
“These spells, they really work? I mean, can you really turn your enemies inside out? Or…Learn to excrete gold coins.” – Riley
Opening with Buffy and the Scoobies battling a group of vampires (big surprise there) only to stumble upon a nest and in a rare moment for the group decide that they might actually need some back up. But who do you call you deal with such an issue? Riley and the Initiative? Spike?
No for a job like this you need former high school nerd turned man of action Jonathan Levinson!
Episode Title: Who Are You?
Original Air Date: February 29, 2000
“Giles, you turned into a demon, and I knew it was you. I mean, can’t you just look in my eyes and be all intuitive?” – Buffy
So last week things weren’t looking great for Buffy for not only had the rogue slayer Faith woke up from her coma with revenge on her mind, but by the end of the episode she’d swapped bodies with Buffy leaving Buffy now in Faith’s body to be carted off by the cops. Needless to say things were looking pretty rosy for Faith as she had essentially claimed Buffy’s life for herself while putting all her many issues onto Buffy who not in Faith’s body not only initially has to deal with the cops but soon the operatives sent by the Watchers Council who plan to ship her back to England.
Channel: Superhero 