Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Part 3
Season 2
Since the first season was so short, Season 2 of Buffy gives us more of a chance to learn about our main characters while we are introduced to a couple new individuals. The very first episode demonstrates just how deep and intense Buffy's contradicting feelings are regarding her life (including a beautifully done scene involving Buffy, Xander and Cibo Matto). It's obvious that she has a love/hate relationship with her role as the Slayer, but there's something so much more raw going on underneath that. It's only hinted at during most of the series, until the final season when we finally have a chance to understand how deeply Buffy is affected and how delicate a balance she keeps in her mind and heart. There's always a sense of loneliness about her-- the loneliness of leadership-- but I don't think anyone could foresee just how much she suffers and what a life as the Slayer has done to her.
Heading back into this season, one of my impressions when gazing at the episode list is one of amazement. How Buffy and her friends keep their sanity is beyond me. Around every corner there's some beast, ghoul, ghost, meanie, waiting to do something horrible. I know, it's the Hellmouth... and I know, we wouldn't have a show if that weren't the case... but looking at it realistically it's hard to imagine having to deal with that volume of eerie and dangerous incidents. Which makes the first point I made more and more understandable.
There are a few real gems in this season. The arch that drapes around the rest of the plot is Buffy's relationship with Angel. They fall in love and end up consummating their relationship which, unbeknownst to either party, releases Angel's soul. The real brilliance in this is David Boreanaz's ability to play two very different characters and how well he does it. You know without confirmation from other characters when he is Angelus and when he's Angel based on his body language and facial expressions alone. "Innocence" captures this really well.
Buffy is faced with double trouble: first of all, Angelus is back and dedicated to destroying her life and the people in it. Second, even if she did get him his soul back they could never have a complete relationship. The second matter is not explored as much in this season, although it certainly exists-- it will be a huge part of season 3's common thread.
One of the greatest episodes of the entire series happens to be in season 2, called "I Only Have Eyes for You." The way that the subplot of the episode layers perfectly with the general plot of the season is beautiful, and the story is touching. Like any of the best episodes, part of the reason this episode works so wonderfully is because of the music chosen. "Passion" is another episode in which music heightens the effect, although it also utilizes some philosophical narration by Angel which I thought really contributed to the message of the episode as a whole.
It being my favorite holiday, I have a soft spot for the Halloween episode in this season-- the first of the series. It's established here that apparently demons find it too tacky to do any bit of evil on Halloween, leaving Buffy supposedly without work for one night of her life. Of course this doesn't always happen, leading to the three Halloween episodes that do exist in the series. The other two are "All the Way" in season 6 and "Fear, Itself" in season 4.
By the end of season 2, Buffy is in the worst of spots. She's been expelled from school, the police are after her regarding Kendra's death, her mother finds out she's the Slayer and then basically kicks her out of the house, and worst of all she ends up killing Angel, even after Willow's spell to bring his soul back works. At the end of the last episode, Buffy leaves town. Once again, the burden of being the Slayer forces her (in her mind) into isolation.
Since the first season was so short, Season 2 of Buffy gives us more of a chance to learn about our main characters while we are introduced to a couple new individuals. The very first episode demonstrates just how deep and intense Buffy's contradicting feelings are regarding her life (including a beautifully done scene involving Buffy, Xander and Cibo Matto). It's obvious that she has a love/hate relationship with her role as the Slayer, but there's something so much more raw going on underneath that. It's only hinted at during most of the series, until the final season when we finally have a chance to understand how deeply Buffy is affected and how delicate a balance she keeps in her mind and heart. There's always a sense of loneliness about her-- the loneliness of leadership-- but I don't think anyone could foresee just how much she suffers and what a life as the Slayer has done to her.
Heading back into this season, one of my impressions when gazing at the episode list is one of amazement. How Buffy and her friends keep their sanity is beyond me. Around every corner there's some beast, ghoul, ghost, meanie, waiting to do something horrible. I know, it's the Hellmouth... and I know, we wouldn't have a show if that weren't the case... but looking at it realistically it's hard to imagine having to deal with that volume of eerie and dangerous incidents. Which makes the first point I made more and more understandable.
There are a few real gems in this season. The arch that drapes around the rest of the plot is Buffy's relationship with Angel. They fall in love and end up consummating their relationship which, unbeknownst to either party, releases Angel's soul. The real brilliance in this is David Boreanaz's ability to play two very different characters and how well he does it. You know without confirmation from other characters when he is Angelus and when he's Angel based on his body language and facial expressions alone. "Innocence" captures this really well.
Buffy is faced with double trouble: first of all, Angelus is back and dedicated to destroying her life and the people in it. Second, even if she did get him his soul back they could never have a complete relationship. The second matter is not explored as much in this season, although it certainly exists-- it will be a huge part of season 3's common thread.
One of the greatest episodes of the entire series happens to be in season 2, called "I Only Have Eyes for You." The way that the subplot of the episode layers perfectly with the general plot of the season is beautiful, and the story is touching. Like any of the best episodes, part of the reason this episode works so wonderfully is because of the music chosen. "Passion" is another episode in which music heightens the effect, although it also utilizes some philosophical narration by Angel which I thought really contributed to the message of the episode as a whole.
It being my favorite holiday, I have a soft spot for the Halloween episode in this season-- the first of the series. It's established here that apparently demons find it too tacky to do any bit of evil on Halloween, leaving Buffy supposedly without work for one night of her life. Of course this doesn't always happen, leading to the three Halloween episodes that do exist in the series. The other two are "All the Way" in season 6 and "Fear, Itself" in season 4.
By the end of season 2, Buffy is in the worst of spots. She's been expelled from school, the police are after her regarding Kendra's death, her mother finds out she's the Slayer and then basically kicks her out of the house, and worst of all she ends up killing Angel, even after Willow's spell to bring his soul back works. At the end of the last episode, Buffy leaves town. Once again, the burden of being the Slayer forces her (in her mind) into isolation.
Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Horror, TV
posted by Rachel Storm at
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