THE Andrea

2x17 Passion

Angelus's obsession with tormenting Buffy takes a dangerous turn when he starts edging closer to her heart and home, forcing Buffy to have a serious talk with her Mom. Meanwhile, Ms. Calendar tries to make amends for deceiving Buffy and Giles by attempting to translate the Gypsy curse to restore Angel's human soul, with dire consequences.

Angelus: To kill this girl, you have to love her.

Good episode. Perhaps great episode. It has drama on many levels, some action, some adventure, some horror, and a little bit of a keen serial killer vibe. Angel's method of going about killing Buffy is a slow and severely harsh one. Pick at her slowly, pick at all the people she cares about, until it just tears her apart. This is a very brutal Angel we see. The way he goes about killing Jenny Calendar is almost hard to watch. This is definitive proof that Angelus is not our old lovey-dovey Angel, and that the writers are willing to go where they need to for the story. It always sucks to see characters you like die. I didn't like her so much as I liked how Giles liked her. But despite that, I like to see when writers are willing to do something so harsh, cuz it means the story is king. Not characters. Shows generally never go wrong when they have this attitude.

2x18 Killed By Death

When a sick Buffy is admitted to the hospital with a raging fever, she encounters Ryan... a young boy who has the same flu virus she does. Ryan claims that Buffy is admitted to the hospital where she encounters a young child who brings with him nightmares of her past and present. Xander attempts to protect her from Angelus's fury while she's in her weakened state, which causes Cordelia to become jealous.

Willow: Buffy, that's 100% pure. It'll kill you in an instant.
Buffy: Oh. They really should put that on the label.

Has some good scares. Not terribly memorable. In fact, it all might be too familiar. This Buffy-ized version of the Boogyman feels too much like Freddy Krueger. There really isn't much here that we haven't already seen, and you don't see Der Kinderstood long enough for it to really make an impression.

However, there are some good bits here and there. I loved the cajones Xander revealed when he stood up to Angelus when he came to the hospital. There's also Cordelia's attempt at flirting with a nerdy security guard in order to distract him. That was awesome. But tack that on with the weak storyline of Buffy losing her cousin Celia, and the young Buffy and Celia actresses were just bad. In the end, not so bad if you ignore the main story.

2x19 I Only Have Eyes For You

As the Sadie Hawkins Dance nears, Buffy faces inner demons as she feels responsible for the loss of Angel's soul. Meanwhile, Sunnydale High is even more dangerous than usual as students and staff begin spontaneously reliving an old Sunnydale tragedy. Buffy enlists her friends to help a tortured spirit haunting the halls of Sunnydale High find peace. In the meantime, an anguished Giles tries to find out if the spirit is really Jenny trying to impart a final message to him from the beyond.

Buffy: Impulsive? Do you remember my ex-boyfriend, the vampire? I slept with him, he lost his soul, and now my boyfriend's gone forever, and the demon that wears his face is killing my friends. The next impulsive decision I make will involve my choice of dentures.

This is one of Joss Whedon's favorite episodes, and I generally think the man can do no wrong, but hmmm. Hmmmm. It seems a little too much. The love that the ghost couple has goes from passion to obsession. I didn't really buy their love to begin with, so the rest of the episode was just lost on me. I know the couple's relationship is suppose to mirror the love that Angel and Buffy have and that its as doomed as the ghosts love. I get that. I got over it. This makes me wonder if this may have been when I started to get disconnected from the Angel/Buffy relationship. I will explain later in more detail, but it's almost like their love has gotten way bigger than the two of them and become it's own thing. Hmmm... maybe the fact that it has me thinking these things about Buffy & Angel is the very point of the episode.

Touché, Mr. Whedon.

2x20 Go Fish

Apparently Sunnydale doesn't have much in the way of sports teams. Well, they have them, but they must not do very well. Probably something to do with how all the students/jocks die from weird random sorts of things quite frequently. However, the swim team is doing quite well suddenly and so, everyone must celebrate and treat them like stars.

But this is the Buffy-verse. So, if something is going right, that means something is going very very wrong. In this case, it's very fishy. A monster starts preying on members of said swim team. Buffy takes it upon herself to become the protector of the star players, and Xander goes undercover to see what he can discover from the inside.

Xander: All I'm saying is, it's a stupid idea to have a victory party at the beach. It's officially nippy. So say my nips.

Mr. Wentworth Miller of Prison Break fame is one of the players under the Slayer's watch. I thought it was going to be awful, because his first line sounded so horribly "bad surfer". Later, his next line was a little less surfer, so that helped. I could have done without the scene where we see his skin peeling off. I wasn't believing his pain. The scream was too pansy. Dude, your skin is pealing off. Make me feel it.

On the shocking tip, Xander looked HAWT as hell in his swim team speedos. Wow, my eyes have been opened to the hotness that is Xander's body. He may play a dork of extreme proportions, but dang. Sporting the hot bod. Dig it.

2x13 Surprise

The fate of the world is at stake when Spike and Drusilla gather the dismembered body parts of the Judge to use as the ultimate weapon against Buffy. Meanwhile Angel's ability to feel human emotion is jeopardized when an intimate moment with Buffy threatens to destroy his soul.

Giles: His touch can literally burn the humanity out of you. A true creature of evil can survive the process. No human ever has.
Xander: What's the problem? We send Cordy to fight this guy, and we go for pizza.

This episode reminded me of where I got my Claddagh ring fetish. Angels gives one to Buffy and explains to her what it means. It was so beautiful, and stuff, that I had to have one, and I've had it ever since.

Watching these episodes at the rate I'm doing it, which is like super mega fast, and not once a week like originally, is making some of my favorite episodes seem less meaningful or something. Or just more cheesy. I see why I liked them, but I can now see the ultra-mega-velveeta factor that I believe I missed the first go around. Like, the whole "I love you" and "Me too" bit they do before their big intimate moment almost had me gagging. Their heavy breathing even seemed funny. Now, I will admit, that this could all just be coming from jealousy.

And by intimate moment, I mean, they got it on. Beast with two backs and all that. Except, you know, sexy beasts with sexy backs. Damn that Boreanaz looks good with his shirt off. Well, back then. He's gone through some pudge phases that I wouldn't have really wanted to see sans top. But this was not during that one. Sexy mofo. But I digress, yah, our vampiric Romeo & Juliet get it on, then Angel disappears outside to writhe in sexy pain... and in the rain. *faint*

2x14 Innocence

After Buffy and Angel's intimate moment transforms him back into Angelus, aka Angel without a soul, Buffy realizes that she must destroy him. Giles' relationship with Jenny Calendar takes on a new twist, and Willow's hopes are dashed when she discovers Xander and Cordelia's secret romance, aka make out fests in random rooms whenever possible. This particular relationship has that car wreck aspect to it. You can't believe it's happening, and yet you still must watch.

Spike: I know you haven't been in the game for a while, mate, but we do still kill people. It's sort of our raison d'etre, you know.

This is so hard to watch. Not in the awful episode way, but in the "How can Angel be so mean to Buffy right after he boffed her?" He does get very cruel. And she seems every bit of the 17 year old girl she's supposed to be. How much would that suck? Your first time seems all poetic and perfect. You're gonna get jiggy with your own personal Romeo and he's all googly eyes and sonnet-speaking back to you. You have your stellar night, it couldn't have been better. Then you wake up and your Romeo is all, "HAHA nice ass, thanks for playing, buh-bye!" Brutal dude.

2x15 Phases

When a werewolf descends on Sunnydale, it is up to Buffy and the Gang to protect the mostly-human being from an evil poacher. Werewolf skins are très chic, yanno. What? You don't have one? How gauche. But Willow is completely unaware of the danger she is about to face after she turns her romantic interests from Xander to Oz. She does seem to love the mens with the unique names.

Willow: Well, I like you. You're nice, and you're funny, and you don't smoke. Yeah, okay, werewolf, but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'm not much fun to be around either.

Love the Seth Green. Adore the Seth Green. So, any episode where we see more of him is a good one. His character Oz, becomes even more a part of the gang by being a werewolf. If he weren't a werewolf, what use would he be to the gang. He has to have some use to our storyline here. So, bang, werewolf you be.

2x16 Betwitched, Bothered and Bewildered

When Cordelia succumbs to peer pressure and breaks up with Xander on Valentine's Day, he convinces a witch to put a spell on her. But the spell backfires and soon all the women in Sunnydale begin to see Xander in a whole new light. Seeing Buffy's mom going after him though, is quite disturbing.

Giles: I cannot believe that you are fool enough to do something like this. Xander: Oh, no, I'm twice the fool it takes to do something like this.

A Xander-centric episode, and the only thing he has going for him is Cordelia. So, yay!, let's take that away and create some conflict. After Buffy hits on him quite strongly, she gets turned into a rat by the witch, and we don't see her til the end of the episode. Where Oz finally finds her, but she's all naked and stuff. So, I guess if Buffy can't really be in the episode much, might as well hint at some nudity to dull the hit.

2x09 What's My Line, Part 1

It's "Career Week" at Sunnydale High, and Buffy is faced with the reality that she has no future apart from her destiny as the Slayer. Meanwhile, in order to stop Buffy from interfering in his plans, Spike sends four deadly assassins to ensure the Slayer has no future. Also, a mysterious girl is following Buffy and Angel around, and Xander and Cordelia are trapped in Buffy's house after being attacked by one of the assassins.

Spike: (about Buffy) She's the gnat in my ear. The gristle in my teeth. She's the bloody thorn in my bloody side!

I can't even tell you how I feel about this one really. I can't get over that gawdawful accent of "Keeeyenndrah, da Vampeeiire Slayah". Every episode with our new bud Kendra is a very very very painful one. Maybe if I turn the volume down it would help. I mean, she's kinda cute, no?

2x10 What's My Line, Part 2

Buffy is attacked by the mysterious girl and during the fight learns that her name is Kendra and that she is a Vampire Slayer. Apparently, Buffy's temporary death at the hands of the Master was enough to activate the next Slayer, and she has come to Sunnydale. They call a truce, and Giles convinces them to work together to save Angel from Spike and Drusilla. Meanwhile, Xander and Cordelia have a close encounter of their own kind at Buffy's house.

Spike: Talk, and I'll have your guts for garters.

So, since Buffy technically "died" in Season 1's finale, this apparently activated the next slayer. But, yanno, since she's not dead, that becomes a problem. But they decide to play nice and fight together. As they say in tandem while punching Spike, "Two Slayers", "No waiting". Again, Kendra has got to be one of my least favorite characters to ever come on this show. It might have been ok if I didn't have to endure that damn accent. What were they thinking?

2x11 Ted

Buffy has parental issues when Joyce comes home with a boyfriend, the computer expert and master chef Ted, whose charming personality impresses everyone. Everyone except Buffy that is, who is not at all willing to give her mother up to someone new. Even Willow and Xander seem to love him, and Buffy must find a way to prove that her fears about Ted are something more than simple jealousy. Over in "not everything is always about Buffy" world, Giles tries to repair his relationship with Ms Calendar, and Xander and Cordelia continue to hide theirs.

Buffy: (about Ted) I just have so much to deal with, I don't need some new guy in my life.
Angel: Well, maybe your mom does.
Buffy: Well sure, if you're gonna use wisdom.

Yah, that's John Ritter over there. He's a cool cucumber. This was interesting. Buffy comes across as a whiny teenager that doesn't like her mom's new BF, but her spidy-senses are a-tingling. This would be a very easy time for her to use her Slayer status as an excuse for her dislike of all things Ted, and of course that's what everything is thinking.

I didn't like it. Seemed like lots of drama with no real story. Buffy pushes him and he falls down the stairs and he "dies". But this wasn't a monster. She's killed a human. Egads. DramaDramaDrama. Woe-is-me, I killed a person. Au contraire. We find out that Ted has been married 4 times, he keeps them in a closet in his basement... and he's a Robot. Wuh? A serial killing robot. He comes back, gets all glitchy which freaks out Buffy's mom, then Buffy slays him. See, it's called killing when they are non-monsters, and slaying when they are monsters. Obvi.

2x12 Bad Eggs

School really stinks when an assignment that introduces Buffy and the Gang to parenting takes a rotten turn, and things get worse when two wild west vampires come to town hunting for Buffy. While Buffy and Angel continue to rendezvous, Xander and Cordelia keep their liaison secret.

Giles: I suppose there is a sort of Machiavellian ingenuity to your transgression.
Xander: I resent that! Or possibly thank you.

Not sure if you've caught the fact that a lot of the episodes are very similar to old monster movies. Well, this is the body snatchers-type episode. It reminded me a little of The Faculty. Except not as good. And if anyone has seen The Faculty,  you know how extreme that statement is. At least the movie had a mega-uber-extra cheese factor that works for it. It's so bad it's good. But that's not the case for the episode.

2x05 Reptile Girl

Giles is pushing Buffy in her Slayer training, her mother’s rules are becoming more and more strict, and Angel is growing more over-protective. Buffy is feeling pulled apart. When Cordelia’s college crush shows up on campus with a friend who has eyes for Buffy, Cordelia convinces Buffy to come with her to the frat party. But the party soon turns sinister, and Buffy learns the connection between the fraternity and the local girls who have recently gone missing. Xander, Giles, Angel and Willow must crash the party before all Hell breaks loose.

Cordelia: Buffy! Did you lose weight? And your hair... Alright, I respect you too much to be dishonest. The hair's a little... Well, that really isn't the point here, is it?

This was weird. I recognized a number of faces in this episode, so I went and looked 'em up. We have Coby Bell, who was once on Third Watch. Jordana Spiro, who is currently in My Boys. Greg Vaughan, from General Hospital. Just a random bit of info for you there.

Cordelia and Buffy get wonky after one drink, and I guess it was suppose to be drugged, but I don't remember them really saying that it was. So, I guess it's just suppose to be really evil to drink. So evil in face that you're gonna get eaten by a snake monster. Other than the obvious phallic nature of a lizard man that comes up from a huge hole underneath a frat house, there wasn't too much entertaining here.

2x06 Halloween

On Halloween Buffy, Willow and Xander are "volunteered" by Principal Snyder to take groups of kids trick-or-treating. Buffy seizes the opportunity to impress Angel by dressing as a woman from the time when he was human. When most of the kids in Sunnydale magically (or is it magickally? so hard to tell) become whatever they were dressed as, it is up to soldier-Xander and ghost-Willow to find a way to break the spell and defend Buffy, who is now a weak and frail 18th century noblewoman.

Drusilla: Do you love my insides? The parts you can't see?
Spike: Eyeballs to entrails, my sweet.

This was kind of fun. Our gang gets to be completely different people thanks to a pleasant spell from an old friend of Giles'. Xander goes all commando as a rough-and-tough soldier. Poor Willow could have been a hottie slayer-type chica, but at the last minute throws a sheet on over her revealing clothing, so she just gets to walk through walls and whatnot. And Buffy gets to be the damsel in distress. Who faints at everything. If the timing were right, I would have almost expected her to claim she was gonna have the "vapors". No such luck.

This episode marks the second time that Oz has seen our Willow, and says "Who is that girl?"again. He also sees her looking like quite the hottie in her original revealing costume. I like the build-up of this inevitable relationship.

2x07 Lie to Me

Ford, an old friend of Buffy’s from L.A., shows up unexpectedly in Sunnydale, and seems to know that she is the Slayer. When Xander, Willow, and Angel discover that he is involved with a cultish group of disillusioned teens who idolize vampires, they must find out Ford’s true agenda before it’s too late. In the meantime, current flame Angel admits his past relationship with Drusilla.

Xander: That's Angel. He's Buffy's special friend.
Ford: He's not in school right? He looks older than her.
Xander: You're not wrong.

Jason Behr, who eventually gets his own show -- Roswell, shows up mysteriously. Wow, he has some ears, huh? He's still cute. Loved him more in Roswell. He ends up having tumors all up in his head, so he wants to become a vampire so he doesn't die. Understandable. But you don't go through the slayer to get to the vampires to bite you. Uncool. In the end, he learns a very valuable lesson. Vampires aren't trustworthy. I think Buffy could have told him that if he wasn't busy trying to use her as a bargaining tool.

Buffy appears to be blonder too. I don't remember if I missed the exact moment it happened, but she looks more like the teeny-bopper type chic that is into shopping and shoes. The Buffy we kind of truly expect, I think.

2x08 The Dark Age

The secrets of Giles's dark past come back to haunt him when an old friend turns up dead in Sunnydale. As a troubled youth, Giles (known then as "Ripper") and his friends summoned a demon called Eyghon, The Sleepwalker. Now, Eyghon has returned and is hunting down the people who used to raise him for their amusement. And the only two left are Ethan Rayne... and Rupert Giles.

Xander: Oh, gang, didja hear that? A bonus day of class plus Cordelia! Mix in a little rectal surgery and it's my best day ever!

Giles was a rebel in his youth. Getting his "high" from summoning a demon dude. Not just your average librarian, I suppose. I like this, cuz we start to really get some depth for Giles as a character. He's not as one-dimensional as originally thought.

However, why must the monster/demon of the week just be this blue goop that gets absorbed by dead or unconscious people? It was like they were low on the costume or special effects budget that week, and just got lazy. In the end, Angel takes the hit for the team and absorbs it. This could have been a really good episode, but it just seemed to fall flat.

2x01 When She Was Bad

Summer's over and Buffy's on a bummer, which makes Xander and Willow worried and had Buffy further distancing herself from Angel. When Cordelia and Ms Calendar are kidnapped, Buffy is convinced that the fight to save them and the world rests on her weary shoulders.

Buffy: You're a vampire. Oh, I'm sorry, was that an offensive term? Should I say "Undead American"?

We continue with emo-Buffy. At least now she has reason. Dude, she died. Big evil vamp dude totally killed her. That would put a crimp in anyone's  'tude. I think I've been watching too much Buffy in too short a time span. I'm starting to sound like Buffy and the gang.

In all her moodiness, she decides she wants nothing to do with Angel. However, as any girl would want to do, she has to make him really really jealous by dancing all sexy with Xander. Hmmm... bad strategy here. In what alternate universe would an Angel type get jealous of a Xander type. Well, when you see how Buffy grinds all up and down on Xander, then maybe, sure, that could happen.  In the end, she has a therapeutic crushing session with the Master's bones, and POOF... emo-Buffy is gone.. only to pop-up sporadically as the series needs.

2x02 Some Assembly Required

Cordelia's about to lose her head - literally! The bodies of several recently deceased teen girls are stolen from their graves, and most of the parts are discovered in a dumpster on school grounds. From the missing pieces, the gang deduces that someone has collected almost enough parts to build their own girl. Now, all they need is a head, and it has to be fresh...

Willow: Love makes you do the wacky.

Um, a jock frankenstein dude wants his own personal frankenstein lady, cuz all the live normal girls would think he's icky. He looked pretty icky pre-resurrection, so he may have had to go this route regardless. Didn't love this episode though. It was just kinda nasty, and not on that interesting tip either.

2x03 School Hard

A dangerous new vampire named Spike comes to town, hoping to use the power of the Hellmouth to restore his love, Drusilla, to health. He has killed two Slayers before, and he decides to make Buffy the third, attacking Sunnydale High on Parent Teacher Night. Buffy must find a way to stop Spike and his vampire minions, lead her mom and the other parents and students to safety, and keep them from finding out that she is the Slayer.

Spike: Any of you want to test who's got the biggest wrinklies 'round here... step on up!

Yay!!! The time has come. Spike is here! Spike is here! I had almost forgotten about Drusilla. She is absolutely awesome in her insanity. And they fit so well together. She may be bat-shit nuts, but Spike loves his pet, Drusilla. There's nothing he won't do for her. And the best lines come from this pair. Love it. It only gets better from here with these two.

Spike: Oh, please! If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock... I was actually at Woodstock. That was a weird gig. Fed off a flower person and spent the next six hours watching my hand move.

2x04 Inca Mummy Girl

While on a field trip to the local museum, one of the students breaks a ceramic seal in the coffin of an Incan mummy. The mummy rises and must consume the life-force of others in order to remain alive and retain her human appearance. She tries to fit in with the students at Sunnydale, and even starts to develop real feelings for Xander. But when Buffy, Willow, and Giles realize who and what she really is, they may have to rescue Xander before he becomes the mummy’s next victim.

Cordelia: This whole student exchange thing has been a nightmare. They don't even speak American.

There must be some sort of initiative for the show, that Xander can never be interested in anyone that a) likes him back or b) isn't some weird creature that they will all have to destroy. Yah. No Spike or Dru. Bored already. Blah.

1x09 The Puppet Show

The new principal forces Giles to run Sunnydale High's annual talent show, and Buffy, Willow and Xander have to perform against their will. As if this isn't bad enough, things go further awry when one of the talent show participants is found with her heart removed. Buffy and the gang race against the clock to find the killer, and all the clues point to Morgan and his ventriloquist dummy, Sid.

Principal Snyder: My predecessor, Mr. Flutie, may have gone in for all that touchy-feely relating nonsense, but he was eaten. Your in my world now and Sunnydale has touched and felt for the last time.

Who doesn't like a foul-mouthed flirty lap dummy? That's all I got folks. Nothing here to motivate the wit and sarcasm.

1x10 Nightmares

When strange things start happening to the students at Sunnydale High, well, MORE strange things, it seems that everyone is living their worst nightmares. Buffy has to draw on her mental strength, ha! I made a funny,  to stop the phenomena before reality and the nightmare world become one.

Xander: I'm not worried. If there's something bad out there we'll find, you'll slay, we'll party!

Look, it's like a string of boring episodes or something. They aren't awful, by any means, but I just found myself thinking "NEXT!"

1x11 Out of Mind, Out of Sight

You ever feel like everyone ignores you, and you wish you could just disappear? Yah, this is about that, but with a vengeance. If you could walk around invisible, wouldn't you go after all the bitches that made you feel invisible before you actually were? Natch. When Cordelia campaigns for the May Queen Crown, the supernatural force of said unpopular girl conspires to make Miss Cordy suffer like she has.

Xander: I'd give anything to be able to turn invisible! Well, I wouldn't use my power to beat people up, but I'd use my power to protect the girls' locker room.

This one was weird. I totally understood how this girl felt. Not that people have treated me quite as bad as her, but man, I certainly have felt invisible in a crowd of people. But I think it would really suck for that to actually happen. But then again, I'd never have to worry about my weight anymore. Well, I would, but I wouldn't worry about people staring at me cuz I'm a fattie. How nice would that be? But, that would of course be the time when I dropped all my weight, and no one would be able to see it and appreciate all that hard work. Ok, yah, my imagination was more interesting than the episode it would appear.

1x12 Prophecy Girl

Buffy's future looks bleak when Giles discovers an ancient prophecy that foretells her death by the Master and the end of the world. She breaks down, who wouldn't?, and thinks she can just quit being the slayer. But when the Master's vampire flunkies massacre a group of students on campus, she becomes determined to survive and party at the spring fling. Save the world, then boogie!

The Master: Ah, the feeble banter portion of the fight.

This is our first real "dark Buffy" episode. She's usually so light and witty and kickass-y. But, deep down, she has emotions and shit. So, when Giles accidentally tells her she's going to die and there's nothing they can do, she gets very emo-teenage girl-like. But this was kinda pre-emo. So, it just looks hormonal. Once she gets over that, and realizes who she is... Duh, Chosen ONE. Not like there is someone waiting in the wings with superhuman strength and vampire killing skills. She takes her destiny like a champ. Then, Angel finds dead Buffy, Xander does the breathing in her mouth thing (Angel=Dead=No Breath), and Voila! Not dead anymore. Guess the prophecy was cut short.

I like this episode. It seems like it's the true start of some of the more darker stuff we see in Season 2. Death will do that to a girl.

1x05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Craving the life of a normal teenager girl, Buffy agrees to a date with the mysterious and brooding Owen. Giles discovers a prophecy of coming danger which would interfere with her plans, but she chooses Owen over battling the forces of darkness. When Giles goes out on his own and is trapped by a group of vampires, Buffy must figure out a way to balance dating and Slaying. Oh, the woes of the Chosen One.

Owen: You see that? He tried to bite me! What a sissy!

This was just a meh episode. I can't even really think of anything bad or good to say. Well, Owen ends up wanting to date her cuz of the adrenaline rush she can help induce with the fights/slaying she gets herself into to. If this were the case, would you really tell someone that? Yah, let's date, cuz your bad luck gets me all high. Yah, that relationship didn't go far.

1x06 The Pack

After enduring the annual field trip to the zoo, Buffy and Willow discover that all men are animals when Xander and the other boys from school are possessed by bloodthirsty demonic hyenas. After Buffy notices this significant change in Xander's personality, she must figure out what happened and how to reverse it before something terrible happens. Er, something more terrible I suppose.

Buffy: It shouldn't be too hard to find a new principal. Unless they ask what happened to the last one.

Look, Xander gets new friends! But not cuz he's cool or friend-worthy. Just cuz they all get possessed together. That'll make any group all bond-y and such. I found this episode slightly annoying. The hyena-like laugh the pack all develop was worse than nails on a chalkboard. However, the scene where most of the pack eye a little caged piglet was entertaining. Even with said obnoxious laugh. Ok, yah, not gonna waste more text on this one.

1x07 Angel

After Angel saves Buffy from a gang of vampire warriors, their relationship starts to become more intense. As their love blooms, Buffy learns that Angel has been hiding a dark secret. She hesitates, not sure what to believe, but when Angel's secret puts someone she loves in danger, she knows what she has to do.

The Master: Angel. He was the most vicious creature I ever met. I miss him.

So, yah, Buffy discovers that Angel is *gasp* a vampire. Ok, this might have been crazy shocking the first go-round. But it lost it's impact this time. Still cool to see Buffy scream bloody murder after Angel gets all vampire-y after they have their first kiss. See, I guess he vamps out when he's all hot and bothered. That has to get awkward at times, right? You probably wouldn't want him going downtown, if you know what I'm saying? Yeoooooouuuuuch. Unless you're into that, then, that's cool.

Not only is dear Angel a vampire, but he's cursed. Cursed with a soul. He feasted on the wrong gypsy girl a hundred or so years ago and her people put the whammy on him. He's special, he's the only vampire around with a conscience. For that reason, he has bagged blood and helps the slayer with cryptic warnings. You rebel. As the pic shows, we get a good shot of sexy Angel's back with a tattoo. I could care less about the ink, but bare skin is HAWT. One gets their thrills as they can, ok?

1x08 I, Robot... You, Jane

Reading can be fun - unless there's a demon trapped in the book. In 1418, a group of Italian priests use magick to trap the demon Moloch in a book, only to be released if the book is ever read aloud. This being the digital age that it is, the book isn't read, but scanned for archiving purposes. And this is done, of course, by the students of Sunnydale High. So, he gets released alright, but into the 'net. Bwahahaha. Meanwhile, Willow meets a nice boy online. His name is Malcolm. Get it? Moloch/Malcolm? Crazy kids.

Buffy: (to Willow) So, you've been seeing a guy, and you don't know what he looks like? Okay, this is a puzzle. No, wait, I'm good at these. Does it involve a midget and a block of ice?

It was so weird to see such big lunky computers with no graphical interface really. And, I almost forgot about floppy disks. Wow, pre-CD era. How did we cope? How far we've come. But some things haven't changed... you can still find sleeze balls trying to find chicks that are way younger than them online. I guess there are some themes that are just universal.

For whatever reason, I have had this idea to watch all of the Buffy episodes again. I mean, I own the big honkin' DVD set, I should actually use it.  Oh wait, I do know the reason. I've been listening to some audiobooks of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, which are narrated by James Marsters, aka Spike. I guess it got my mind-a-yearnin' for some Spike and friends. And on a side note, Mr. Marsters has totally spoiled me for audiobooks. He is awesome. Maybe it's the difference between an actor reading a book, and a reader reading a book. Cuz I've recently discovered some of the most annoying voices, as well as some seriously monotone readers. Why can't he just read all my books to me? End side note.

In order to make myself feel like I'm actually doing something useful and not just watching hours of old television, I shall review BTVS as I go. I know you're so stoked.

We begin...

Season 1, Disc 1

1x01 Welcome to the Hellmouth & 1x02 The Harvest

Wow. I watch this now, and I have a hard time believing I saw this back in 1996, and thought... yah, I want to watch this every week and get all weird & giddy about it. I'm thinking it must have been a few episodes in before I had this aforementioned giddiness.

Giles: Something's coming, something, something... something is, is gonna happen here. Soon!
Buffy: Gee, can you vague that up for me?

After the events of Joss Whedon's original Buffy Motion Picture script (not the actual end result, that he did not like), Buffy has to relocate to a new school. She thinks this means she can forget about the whole "chosen vampire slayer" thing.  She quickly learns this isn't the case, due to the whole mystical convergence at the mouth of hell, which happens to be right under the town Buffy just moved to.

The writing is awesome, the acting was a little less awesome. But I can't blame them, they were young, it's a first episode. They haven't had a chance to really get settled into the characters. But still, it's Buffy. I love it. Cheese and all.

Cordelia: I just am not the type to settle, you know? It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more.

And no Mike, that is not my personal motto :P

1x03 The Witch

Cheerleading tryouts are in full swing, and our Miss Summers wants to try to capture that glory she once had in her pre-Slayer days.  But of course nothing can be that easy in Sunnydale. Many of the cheerleaders start dropping off the squad like flies via spontaneous combustion, sudden blindness and a mouth that just goes missing. Buffy and the gang think that dark magicks are involved. Magicks are different than magics. Cuz it looks cooler, and it's probably all old-school or something.

Catherine: She said I was wasting my youth. So she took it.

This feels a bit better. A little low looking on the production values. But I guess the whole first season has this feeling. Story is your basic girl is young, but doesn't do anything with it, so jealous mom decides she'll use her youth for her. Who hasn't had that thought? I thought the two actresses playing mother and daughter did really well together. They played each other really well. Believable as that sort of situation can be.

1x04 Teacher's Pet

A teacher finally believes that Buffy isn't a complete delinquent and we see a bit of a spark in her because of it. So, naturally, this teacher must die immediately and gruesomely. And of course a new mysterious substitute hottie of a teacher takes his place. No, she can't possibly have anything to do with any of the bad stuff going on.

Principal Flutie: We all need help with our feelings. Otherwise, we bottle them up, and before you know it powerful laxatives are involved.

The lady ends up being this bug critter who's seducing and devouring people. And the most annoying part? The chic's accent. It was one of those - is there an accent? but there's obviously an accent, but you can't tell what it is really. Annoying. And the special effects were cheesy, but not the cool cheesy. Just cheesy.