Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Episode Title: The Prom

Original Air Date: May 11, 1999

“Once again, the Hellmouth puts the “special” in “special occasion”.” – Oz

So with the season finale just around the corner it of course makes perfect sense to have a monster of the week episode. For while Buffy and the Scoobies are busy making plans for prom, it would seem that someone else has their own prom plans for a bunch of hellhounds.
Okay so perhaps it’s not just another straightforward episode as the threat of being mauled by hellhounds is more of a secondary plot here as the writers attempt to tie up loose plot threads in the run up to the Sunnydale High prom.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:20

Episode Title: Choices

Original Air Date: May 4, 1999

“Raise your hand if you’re invulnerable…” – Mayor Wilkins

So here we are on the final few episodes of the season and it’s this week that the various pieces are finally starting to be brought together and that we also get the first real showdown between the Scoobies and the Mayor as they learn about his plans to obtain the “Box of Gavrok” essential for his Ascension. Things however don’t go according to plan as while trying to obtain the artefact Willow ends up being captured by the Mayor and leaving the two groups heading towards an inevitable confrontation

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:19

Episode Title: Earshot

Original Air Date: September 21, 1999

“Well, I thought I saw a four-legged demon. But it was just a dog” – Buffy

So with the Mayor still on his path to ascendtion and Faith seemingly occupied elsewhere it leaves Buffy free this week to instead get wrapped up in another one shot mystery as after being splashed with the blood of a recently slayed demon she finds herself suddenly able to hear everyone’s thoughts. However it’s not long before this new power starts to overwhelm her while worse still someone is plotting to kill the students of Sunnydale High.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep: 18

Episode Title: Enemies

Original Air Date: March 16, 1999

“Demons after money. Whatever happened to the still-beating heart of a virgin? No one has any standards anymore.” – Giles

Another big week for the series as after weeks of posturing and teasing things out with his super nice guy evil style, the Mayor finally makes a move against Buffy and the Scoobies, as he plots to turn Angel back into Angelous. At the same time Faith also goes fully rogue as her alliance with the mayor is revealed setting everyone on the path now toward the forthcoming showdown between the two groups.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:17

Episode Title: Dopplegangland

Original Air Date: February 23, 1999

“Old reliable? Yeah, great! Here’s a sexy nickname.” – Willow

Another of Joss Wheldon’s favourite episodes as this week we see the return of Vampire Willow a a character he seemingly liked so much that he wrote the episode specifically to bring her character back with Anya still attempting to regain her powers after being made mortal following the events of “The Wish”. Now she hits upon the idea of pulling the destroyed necklace which was the source of her power from an alternative dimension recruiting Willow to help her perform the spell. However when Willow screws up the ritual the Vampire Willow is instead pulled into their dimension.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:16

Episode Title: Consequences

Original Air Date: February 16, 1999

“But, see, it’s that exact thing that-that’s just ticking me off! It’s this whole ‘Slayers only’ attitude. I mean, since when wouldn’t I understand? You, you talk to me about everything. I-it’s like all of a sudden I-I’m not cool enough for you because I can’t kill things with my bare hands.” – Willow

So regular readers of this column might have noticed that there was no review last Thursday and seeing how ho- hum this week’s episode is I wouldn’t have blamed you for thinking I’d tossed in the towel and headed to the woods to live with the squirrels. Still it’s time to bite the bullet and get this one out of the way.

Picking up after the events of the previous episode with Buffy still wrecked with guilt over her part in the accidently slaying of the mayor’s aide while Faith continues to show little remorse for her actions. Meanwhile the police start to investigate his murder after Faith’s plans to dispose of his body fall though.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:15

Episode Title: Bad Girls

Original Air Date: February 9, 1999

“Whenever Giles sends me on a mission, he always says ‘please’. And afterwards I get a cookie.” – Buffy

A piviotal episode of this current series while also one whose impact will reverb thoughout not only the Buffyverse but the Angelverse as well with this being another of the best episodes of the series as not only to we have the introduction of the new Watcher Wesley Wyndam-Pryce but also the turning point for Faith who here we get to see starting to make her transition to the dark side.

Opening to Buffy and Faith teaming up together for their patrols somthing which certainly pays off when a cult of sword welding vampire seemingly ripped from the crusades turn up in Sunnydale led by the grotesquely bloated demon Balthazar who is looking for the amulet which was once the source of his power. At the same time the more time Buffy spends with Faith the more she starts to feed off her bad girl lifestyle and the love of the fight which is soon threatening to send them both down a very dark path.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:14

Episode Title: The Zeppo

Original Air Date: January 26, 1999

“You know, it’s not like I haven’t helped before. I’ve done some quality violence for these people.” – Xander

Time for another underrated episode this week aswell one of the more creative pieces of writing on the show as we are given one plotline only for the real focus to be on the B plotline as the episode uses the same kind of misdirection we got with “Big Trouble In Little China” were the viewer is lead to believe they are following the hero only to in fact discover it’s the sidekick they’ve been following. This episode also being noted as key inspiration for not only the “Doctor Who” episode “Love and Monsters” while Joss Wheldon would go on to refer to “Agents of Shield” as being “The Zeppo Tv Show” which is probably a nicer description than the one I would give for that show.

Opening to Buffy and the Scoobies battling a group of demons in an underground nest which results in Xander being hurt after he is buried by rubble leaving Buffy to fear for the safety of her friend and suggesting that he stays out of the fighting and in turn leaving Xander struggling to find his place within the group especially as he is the only member of the group with any disenable power outside of his ability to collect a donut order and crack wise with the puns.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:13

Episode Title: Helpess

Original Air Date: January 19, 1999

“If I was at full Slayer power, I’d be punning right about now.” – Buffy

One of the great things about revisiting this show with a more critical eye is that it really makes you realise how certain seasons play out which seemingly so far has been completely different than I remember. This is also something which can be certainly said for this season were I was sure at this point the Mayor was much more involved than he currently is. Of course this isn’t a bad thing, especially knowing what is still to come and more so when we get classic episodes like this one.

Here we find Buffy approaching her 18^th birthday and looking forward to going to an ice show with her father, which she is also using to distract herself from the feeling that her Slayer powers appear to be fading more so when she is almost killed by a vampire attempting to use her own stake on her. Little does she now that her fading powers are all part of a test being setup by head Watcher Quentin Travers who plans to test the now weakened Buffy by locking her in a building with the powerful and insane vampire Zachary Kralik played here with gusto by Jeff Kober and making it little surprise they would bring him back as rack in Season 6, another advantage of heavy make up I guess.

Continue reading Buffy The Vampire Slayer S:03 Ep:12