(Season 2, Episodes 19-22)

Good lord, I’m not sure if more could have happened in two episodes than we got in these final two installments of season two. What a completely satisfying ending that absolutely makes me beyond anxious to get on with season three and see what comes next. We got major developments for Spike, Buffy, Willow, Angel, Kendra and even Buffy’s mother, Joyce. Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 2, Episodes 12-14)

Things certainly didn’t slow down in the middle of the second season. I’d say the game changer presented here must have been a real blow to many fans of the show at the time. It certainly came as a surprise to me, though one that just deepens the emotional impact of the series, and the Slayer’s life on poor Buffy.

In a way, these three episodes sync up well, even if the latter two are the only ones explicitly linked. In “Bad Eggs,” the class is asked what some of the negative consequences are of having sex and in the next two episodes we find out in the worst possible way.
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So far in my summer series on TV MacGuffins and mythologies I have discussed the unhinging of Twin Peaks (my sweet, precious Twin Peaks … and yes, I am wringing my hands like Gollum right now), and the part time mystery of The X-Files. This week I turn my focus to one of my other favorite shows of all time: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I think Buffy is one show that excelled in MacGuffin management. Buffy’s answer to the MacGuffin conundrum was simple and straightforward: pick a new one each season.

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(Season 2, Episodes 9-11)

The plan is to do two three-episode installments in the middle of these 22-episode seasons. That way we don’t have to have an awkward two-episode one at the end of each season. I don’t want to run two seasons together, because I want to feel the dramatic pause the creators intend at those finales. So it’s three this week and three next week.

It actually works out pretty well, because these three episodes take us up to the 1997 holiday break for the series. I guess I need to break out the eggnog for this week. Anybody know where you can find some in June?

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(Season 2, Episodes 5-8)

I know adults are people, too. Hell I play one in reality. And yet, like Buffy, I never bothered to think much of Giles beyond his role as a Watcher. Now I’m going to be suspicious that everyone with a British accent might have hung with Rupert back in the day. I think he, Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell used to all hang out and pass judgment on all the other kids.

We’re also making steady progress on integrating Cordelia more into the Scooby gang. She’s even less god-awful annoying, though Xander doesn’t think so yet. As for Oz: in four episodes, he had exactly two scenes, where he pined after Willow. When does Seth Green really join this show?

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(Season 2, Episodes 1-4)

Wow, the second season of Buffy really started things off with a bang! There are so many questions based on one scene at the end of “School Hard” about the whole of Sunnydale. Not to mention in that same episode, the debut of Spike; does James Marster just eat up the scenery every time he’s on camera?

In just four episodes, one of which was actually pretty terrible, this show just became about as compelling television as I’ve ever seen. And it really all comes down to these characters. Willow is so tragically sweet that you pine for her to find happiness (which I know she will). I don’t know Xander’s ultimate fate, but he’s proven himself a real hero. Cordy is getting roped more and more into the storylines, and even though I know she’s destined for a whole different spin-off, I’m really curious how she gets from here to there. Read the rest of this entry »