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.
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.
Episode Title: Emily Dates a Henchman
Original Airdate: 2-23-17
While I’m still not entirely sold on either the continued reliance on Batman or the overall chemistry of the cast, I will say right here at the start that this has been my favorite episode of this show so far. It had the right mix of absurdity, comic book references, and self-deprecating humor that totally worked for me. The episode itself is pretty self-explanatory after reading the title as Emily inadvertently starts dating a henchman. Of course, not just any henchman, but one played by Robert Buckley of iZombie fame.
Continue reading Powerless S:01 E:04
Episode Title: Chapter 3
Originally Aired February 22nd 2017
“Have you heard the one about the poor woodsman and his wife?” A simple story about things not being what they seem and leaving well enough alone, told to us by a Pee-Wee Herman inspired coffee maker, hints at the underlying themes of the show. Is everyone who they say they are, or are they even who they think they are?
An aggressive visit from Lenny makes David question Melanie’s motives and his own reasoning for not going to save Amy. Is he unwilling to risk this new life where he is surrounded by people who don’t think he is crazy, they even think he is important, and of course Syd is there. By the end of the episode, we no longer wonder where his loyalties lie, Amy and Syd are one and 1a in a distant second is Melanie’s compound. Who is David is he just a misunderstood powerful mutant who will one day be the one who turns the tide in the war against Division 3, is he a scared child stuck in an adult’s body? Is he James McAvoy from Split, with an untold number of personalities fighting for control, or is he actually the yellow eye demon? How does the thing with the yellow eyes have so much control over what is going on in David’s head, is he trying to control him, steal his powers or is he just an underlying personality trying to exert itself.
Those three possibilities give us an idea of who the villain of the season actually is. If he is trying to steal David’s abilities, he may be a reimagining of the comic character the Shadow King. The Shadow King is a powerful psychic who is always trying to challenge other telepaths in an effort to control them and increase his power. We have no idea how powerful David actually is, each week we seem him do something we’ve never seen before. At one point Ptonomy even asks David “what are you” after he teleported the three of them 600 feet into a building while he was in a trance.
If they wanted to tie the show into the movies in a small way then the demon could be Professor Y. He is a comic character that is the manifestation of David’s resentment for his father Professor X. This seems unlikely for multiple reasons, most notably because it would be the only major tie in to the X-men other than hints and random x’s around the building; it is its own story. We also got a strong indicator to the time that this story is taking place. Melanie’s husband inherited the compound in the 1940’s and he spent 30 years building it with Cary. That means we are somewhere in the 70’s or early 80’s at the most. That would explain the outfits and most of the technology. The items we cannot explain can be chalked up to mutants made it or secret government agencies kept it to themselves.
If the true identity of the yellow-eyed devil is Mojo then the most popular fan theory will be correct. Mojo is a character known for putting others into battles to the death or other intense situations all for TV ratings. In a previous episode, we see a field of TVs showing moments of David’s life, which could hint at this being true. Maybe every time they access David’s mind they are coming one-step closer to revealing the truth and releasing David from the Matrix. All three outcomes have something different and exciting to offer that at this point I still cannot decide if I have a way I want it to go. We could end up with a psychological thriller as a man battles his own mind because of his past. Alternatively, we might get a different take on how our society views TV and the harm it could be doing to us, and the people behind our favorite reality shows. Finally, we could end up with an all-out psychic battle, which would be the most exciting to watch. With the reliance on visuals that has played a large role in the series to this point, a psychic battle could give us some very interesting images.
The relationship between David and Syd is still my favorite part of this show. The funny moments as they discuss what they did or did not do while in control of the other person’s body. They also have an intimate moment when Syd wants to be there when they go back into his mind and David is terrified that when she sees him at his worst she won’t want him anymore. The confirmation of the existence of the soul was particularly fun, as we hear about some of the other bodies Syd has taken for a ride.
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.
Channel: Superhero 