Episode Title: Tough Love
Original Air Date: May 1st 2001
“Did anybody order an apocalypse?” – Glory
Does anyone remember when this was a show about high school kids battling the supernatural? Certainly something which came to mind this week as Buffy struggles to adapt to her new parental responsibilities. At the same time Glory’s hunt for “The Key” threatens another member of the group with devastating results.
Episode Title: Intervention
Original Air Date: April 24th 2001
“Yeah, damn right. I’m impure. I’m as impure as a driven yellow snow.” – Spike
So after a rough couple of weeks in the show with the double header of “The Body” and “Forever”, this week things get back on track as Glory continues her unrelenting quest to find the key still unknown that its Dawn only that Buffy is hiding it from her. Meanwhile Spike is getting in trouble all round as Warren delivers his “Buffybot” which not only causes confusion amongst the Scoobies but also leads to him being captured by Glory after her minions mistaken him as being the key. Elsewhere the real Buffy concerned that her Slayer training is leaving her cold and emotionless to the world around her and embarks on a spirit quest with Giles to contact the first Slayer.
Episode Title: The Body
Original Air Date: February 27th 2001
“No, I mean, it’s a myth that it’s a myth. There is a Santa Claus.” – Anya
So this was one of the episodes I was dreading having to cover, not because its a bad episode, infact it might be one of the most important episodes in the whole series as following on from the stinger of the previous episode here we get to rewatch Buffy return home to find her mother slumped on the couch having died from a brain aneurysm.
Joyce’s death came as a major surprise to fans of the show especially when she’d always been such a background presence on the show, helping to keep Buffy grounded especially when her slaying duties were putting a strain on her and while Joyce might not always have known how to handle her daughters calling she was always there for her. As such to have her ripped out only makes her departure all the more emotional, more so when the episode highlights just how much she meant to the group aswell. Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:05 Ep:16
Episode Title: I Was Made To Love You
Original Air Date: February 20th 2001
“Ow. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had it with super-strong little women who aren’t me.” – Buffy
Despite on the surface seemingly like another monster of the week episode, this one actually when viewed knowing what lies ahead for the series really marks a lot of key moments for the series. The main focus though is on a robot girlfriend who arrives in Sunnydale looking for her creator while at the same time harbouring a serious jealous streak which could spell trouble for anyone who gets in her way.
Episode Title: Crush
Original Air Date: February 13th 2001
“I gave you the best … bunch of months of my life!” – Harmony
Love is in the air in Sunnydale be it old, current are unrequited the three meet in a head on collision this week for Spike as Buffy finds out about the crush he has on her. At the same time Harmony and Drusilla have returned each with plans to reclaim their man.
Episode Title: Blood Ties
Original Air Date: February 6th 2001
“Glory is evil. And powerful. And in no way prettier than me.” – Buffy
This week should have been another big moment for the series as Dawn finally discovers the truth about herself along with the rest of the Scoobies. Unfortunately for Dawn, Glory is closing in while the truth about her connection to Ben is also revealed.
With all this going on you’d expect this to be an action packed episode but what we get instead is a somewhat plodding experience in which more of the focus seems to be on the fact its Buffy’s Birthday despite the fact that the group have just learned that Glory is infact a god rather than the regular run of the mill demon that they assumed she was which of course poses all kinds of problems but hey what does that matter when there is a party to plan right?
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.
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.
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.
Channel: Superhero 