Geoff's Comments about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2

Last updated: 5 February 2004

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2.1 When She Was Bad (6)

The first, and best, of four below-par episodes out of the first five. Buffy is unusually bitchy here, and for good reasons, but the episode is rather slow and shot through with a strange atmosphere, a bit like Joss forgot who he or Buffy was. Perhaps this, along with the other poor episodes, is an aftereffect of nobody being sure if there would be a second season.

2.2 Some Assembly Required (4)

An uninvolving and derivative mixture of Bride of Frankenstein and Weird Science; despite a few good bits, the best of which is Xander's rescue of Cordelia, this never really gets going and doesn't involve the viewer. As with some of the other weak episodes this season (in particular 2.12 Bad Eggs and 2.5 Reptile Boy), it seems content to stay within the genre rather than try to bust it and steal plots from elsewhere, something which also marred Angel's first season.

2.3 School Hard (8)

A classic Buffy episode, beginning a shift away from the first season's parodies of teen comedy-drama to something much darker and more serious. Much of this is thanks to Spike and Drusilla, surely among the most fun baddies ever created for TV, and with very good English accents given the actors are American. They're apparently based on Sid'n'Nancy, but Spike is actually more of a combination of football-hooligan and punk, while Juliet Landau's portrayal of the insane Drusilla is especially unnerving.

2.4 Inca Mummy Girl (5)

No Spike'n'Dru here, nor Angel, which doesn't help. This is a rather silly story which, despite some realigning of the relationships, frequently veers close to falling apart; it is ultimately saved by Willow's Eskimo costume and the undeniably lovely [and former Miss Texas] Ara Celi. It's also the first episode with Oz and (not counting the unaired pilot) the ubiquitous Johnathan.

2.5 Reptile Boy (4)

Another half-assed filler, with a heavy-handed subtext about drinking alcohol. Has everyone walked onto the set of Animal House by mistake, or something? It really won't do.

2.6 Halloween (7)

The season gets back on track with an episode which is somewhat light-hearted, but good fun; having Halloween as a traditional night off for the undead is a clever twist. It's the first of an occasional series in which the characters get to play against type, with the beginnings of Willow's confidence-building contrasting amusingly with her outfit.

2.7 Lie To Me (7)

A bit of a slow-burner, but an effective examination of deceit and betrayal all the same. The underground vampire club full of wannabees is a great touch, and the contrast between the myth ("those we call the Lonely Ones") and the reality is well-played. This is amusingly undermined by the scene in which Angel moans that the wannabe vampires don't know how real vampires dress, only to be confronted by a wannabe dressed the same as he is.

2.8 The Dark Age (8)

A standalone, with less emphasis on the humour; there's no mention of Spike'n'Dru, for example. It's one of only two episodes centred around Giles - that is his head, but it's Sid Vicious's body! Nonetheless it all works very well, at times straining to become something like a low-budget psychological horror movie, with some effective CGI to round the story off. Highlight: Willow losing her temper in the library.

2.9 2.10 What's My Line (8 and 8)

The first of three two-parters, more than in any other season. The format allows the storyline to expand along with Buffy's world - Sunnydale, formerly a "one-Starbuck's town", is now revealed to have an airport and ice-rink - and brings the impressive first part to a triple cliffhanger. The second part runs out of material, but there's still plenty to savour: Buffy's ice-skating scenes, the unexected relationship between Xander and Cordelia, the second Slayer whose methods contrast so sharply with Buffy's, and a terrific climax.

2.11 Ted (7)

Like 1.8 I Robot, You Jane, an episode which is more sci-fi than Buffy's usual comedy-horror, not to mention another which everyone else seems to hate. The best thing about it is John Ritter's memorably sinister performance as Joyce's Stepford-esque boyfriend, which underpins the episode with a palpable fear of domestic violence. It's let down by feeling rushed in parts, and the domestic violence "issue" is undermined by the need for a supernatural explanation: not the first time this would happen.

2.12 Bad Eggs (5)

An interesting start, but this never manages to rise above a trite rehash of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The two cowboy vampires are hardly a serious threat, and the whole thing is just silly rather than actually funny. As with some of the earlier weak episodes, there's no obvious reason for this one's existence.

2.13 2.14 Surprise (9) / Innocence (9)

The start of a run of five of Buffy's most memorable episodes, during which it suddenly turns into a different show entirely; the relationship between Buffy and Angel is turned into something far more adult than the genre usually allows, and it surely sets new standards for the genre in the process. Events slide perilously out of control in 2.13 Surprise, the first of what would become a tradition of Buffy's Disastrous Birthday Episodes; it's a surprisingly passionate and serious episode in which the the entirely human moment at the end turns out to have terrible consequences. These are played out in 2.14 Innocence, and none is more shocking than the appearance of the sarcastic and palpably dangerous Angelus. There is intentionally little to the Judge subplot, and he turns out to be pretty impotent, but this allows the script to focus on the climax, which is all the more effective for it: the scene with the rocket-launcher is gloriously over the top, and Buffy's extremely painful revenge on Angelus in the following sprinkler-soaked catharsis is just what a boyfriend would deserve in the circumstances. Something of a masterpiece.

2.15 Phases (8)

In which the werewolf - "one of the classics", as Giles correctly notes - makes its entry into the Buffyverse, albeit in a famously silly costume. A much cheaper-looking and lower-key episode than its epic predecessors, but it transcends its budget with a tightly-written storyline which fully integrates Oz into the Scooby Gang and offers some amusing looks at masculinity - the scene where Larry comes out, complete with Xander's reactions, is particularly funny. Note, too, how effectively Angel's brief appearance is worked into the story.

2.16 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered (9)

Marti Noxon's fifth episode in eight, and an undeniable comedy classic. It takes a simple idea to a berserk and utterly hilarious extreme, made all the funnier by the contrast between the mildly deranged music and everyone playing it straight. The scene when Xander walks down the school corridor to AWB's "Got the Love" with all the love-spell-affected girls looking expectantly on is pure brilliance; surely not even the most hormone-addled teenage boy would want to swap places with him. Such, indeed, is the quality of the writing that it even manages to work in some unsettling references to the Angel storyline. This episode and the following, poles apart in style and emotional content, are superb examples of just how good Buffy can be.

2.17 Passion (9)

Angelus's closing voice-over says, "without passion we'd be truly dead", and if the previous episode is an unforgettable distillation of the best of Buffy's wacky comedy elements, then this one is an equally memorable object lesson in its crueller, more adult moments. Playing its ex-boyfriend-turned-stalker theme expertly, it's distinctly nervous to begin with, seeming to reach a climax with the casual yet shocking murder of Jenny Calendar - only to trump it three further times before the end, winding up with an appropriately violent dénouement. The contrast between the happy quartet leaving the Bronze at the beginning, and Buffy and Willow hearing about Jenny's death near the end, is horribly effective.

2.18 Killed by Death (7)

Buffy as horror flick; the first of a trio of episodes which take a breather and explore other storylines. The dark mood of 2.17 Passion is still in evidence here; the tale of Der Kindestod is certainly atmospheric, but the pacing is a bit off, and so it turns out feeling rather slow to begin with. In context it's a bit of a letdown after the recent rich pickings; it's rather routine too, with a silly ending.

2.19 I Only have Eyes for You (7)

One of Buffy's more emotional episodes, mixing the Buffy-Angel relationship - in a well-played gender-reversal - into a nicely written story about a poltergeist. There's little actually wrong with it, but despite the undertow of obsessive love it doesn't quite catch fire and isn't as good as it thinks.

2.20 Go Fish (6)

A lighter episode; its main plot-line is a welcome cynical look at the American school sports mentality. However it's let down by the heavy-handed moralising about steroid abuse, and while there are some amusing scenes (such as Willow's interrogation of Johnathan), it seems rushed at the beginning and peters out in its last third. Ultimately it feels too much like a filler to be particularly involving.

2.21 2.22 Becoming (9 and 9)

With the possible exception of 7.22 Chosen, this is Buffy's most memorable season finale. There's a heightened sense of tension and uneasiness in the first part, offset with the flashbacks illustrating key events in Angel's past and the delightful scene where the fifteen-year-old Buffy slays her first vampire. Boreanaz delivers his finest acting to date - his mischevious smirk as he watches Buffy fight at the beginning is particularly telling - and it builds up to a fine cliffhanger with a simple but very effective lurch into slow motion. Much of the second part coasts, but it puts things into place for its climactic final act, at the shattering end of which only the stone-hearted could admit to not being moved. The use of Sarah MacLachlan's "Full of Grace" could justifiably be accused of not-very-subtle emotional manipulation, but the ending is just as powerful without sound. And there's some nice comedic touches too, like the lovely scene with Spike and Buffy's Mom unable to speak to each other. Joss Whedon's finest work to date.

The DVDs

Four commentaries this time round. David Greenwalt's for 2.5 Reptile Boy is little more than merely adequate, and Marti Noxon's for 2.9 2.10 What's My Line tends to ramble. But Joss Whedon's for 2.14 Innocence is another classic; you'll find out more than you ever wanted about what Tony Head wears in certain scenes. The three "making of" featurettes are very interesting, and among the best extras on any of the DVDs; it's more than a little unsettling to hear James Marsters, Juliet Landau and Alexis Denisof speaking in their normal accents.