The Witch Trial:
"Into every generation there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer."
Well surely we can't leave one girl to fight on her own; we must ride to her aid and offer our assistance...
Who:
Director: Joss Whedon, Bruce Seth Green and others
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, David Boreanaz, Anthony Stewart Head, Charisma Carpenter
What:
Horror/Drama
Why:
Season 2
When:
Released 1997/98
Where:
Set in Sunnydale...on the Hellmouth!
The Case For:
Next year will see the 20th anniversary of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer first airing on television. Who would have thought a show about a teenage girl battling all sorts of things that go bump in the night would have such a massive impact. It is a show that not only had a wide group of loyal followers but also showed the way to make a successful television show that many others have tried to copy. While some have reached the same heights; there are far more examples of others who have failed to capture the same lightning in a bottle.
I was a bit late in coming to the party as I started watching partway through season two. I admit that the premise had turned me off originally; a girl in high school fighting vampires didn't really inspire me. Considering season two was my first experience of the
Buffyverse I felt it my duty to put this particular season of the demon hunter in the dock and see how well she and the Scooby gang pass cross examination.
My first experience of actually giving the show a go came when I watched
Inca Mummy Girl. Without the knowledge of what had occurred in the earlier episodes I didn't get the reference that Xander was attracted to yet another bad choice for a potential girlfriend; but I would rectify that in the future. From viewing that first episode I was hooked and didn't miss a show after it; whilst also going back and watching season one when I managed to get my hands on it.
My first impressions were that Buffy was a badass kicking vampire and demon butt and helping people and her friends out of dangerous situations. Those friends were privy to her true nature and rallied around her helping out where they could. They had to do research about who they were coming up against and find a way to eliminate the threat rather than just resorting to brute force, although in a lot of cases that still worked.
This wasn't just some teenager tripe only there for mild entertainment. Buffy dealt with issues that kids growing up all over the world come across every day. I don't mean zombies attacking your home; but dealing with emotions, handling relationships, making and losing friendships, coping with the loss of loved ones and many, many others.
After a few episodes I started to take note of these things and realized that I was really invested in these characters and could relate to them on so many levels. There were many traits in more than one person that I could see were a reflection of my own persona. I may not have been in school at the time but those memories of what they were going through were still fresh in my mind. Who hasn't experienced rejection or come across a bully in school? The situations and the way they handled them in most cases felt real.
It is the reality of the show that resonates most with audiences. You can empathize with the characters because their experiences in everyday life are normal occurrences. The fantastical element of the show only helps to enhance or place more emphasis on those experiences.
Take Angel for instance. He appears to be the perfect boyfriend but turns out to be a monster. They literally turn Buffy's ex-boyfriend into a monster and I bet there are plenty of girls who have felt that way about their ex. The pain Buffy goes through during this breakup is heartbreaking to witness. It is helped by the reactions of her friends too. Willow is the shoulder to cry on; Xander is the one saying I told you he was no good. Again these reactions are ones you would see in the real world and therefore have more impact for the viewer.
You only get this invested in characters when they are developed to a high degree and because the writing of Whedon and his team is so good; each and every one of the main cast have their personality presented to us as fully fleshed out people. The decisions they make have consequences and as the show progresses we get to view how their choices affect not only themselves but the people around them.
Having good heroes is one thing, but they would be nothing without developing some terrific villains and in season two we get two of the best the show has to offer in Spike and Drusilla. One thing they do very well at the start of the season is have you think that the Anointed One, who is carried over from season one, is going to be the main antagonist. However he proves to be just a MacGuffin once Spike and Dru appear on the scene.
Straight from the off you know Spike is going to be a vampire different in appearance and mannerisms to The Master; her previous main foe. You know he means business as soon as he is introduced and he does not disappoint when it comes to terrorizing Buffy and her friends.
His beau Drusilla is another thing entirely. At first she appears to be totally unhinged and extremely weak. You get the impression that she is going to be Spike's Achilles heel. As the story unfolds though she comes into her own and is equally, if not more of a scary proposition for our protagonists. Juliet Landau plays her perfectly, giving her childlike qualities when she appears at her most vulnerable and then transforming into a she-devil to truly be feared once she regains her strength. Likewise James Marsters plays off her so well and the two of them together are a formidable duo.
Of course their nastiness pales into the background once Angelus makes an appearance. It says a lot for the writing and acting again; what David Boreanaz is able to achieve in just nineteen episode appearances. For much of season one he is little more than a supporting character right up until the episode
Angel and he only appears twice more in that season. He becomes a regular cast member for season two and so it is really only fourteen episodes in which we establish he is a vampire with a soul who falls in love before losing said soul and reverting to his evil alter-ego: Angelus.
The trials and tribulations that Buffy and Angel go through before the series climax really helps to build the tension and boost the emotional gut punch that occurs once Buffy is faced with the ultimate decision in the season finale. There is real beauty and sadness on display and again I can only applaud the actors and the script they were working from.
They truly nail the relationships between the characters and their love interests and this is not only true of our two leads but the wider cast too. We get the most unromantic, incompatible of couples in Xander and Cordelia and while it is presented in an amusing way; it also resonates as not out of the realms of possibility as these two opposites attract.
The sweetest coupling by far is that between Willow and Oz. For Willow the whole romantic relationship is a brand new experience and she fumbles her way through it with all the excitement and nervousness that comes with starting to date someone. Oz proves to be a perfect gentleman and the way he nurtures Willow through her awkwardness would have plenty of ladies swooning wanting to take her place. His self effacing nature goes a long way to putting Willow at ease as she comes to realize that what truly matters is only what concerns herself and Oz and not how others view them.
Not only are the teenage relationships presented well but also those of the adult variety. Spike and Dru might have a rather tempestuous relationship but it is one built on an (undead) lifetime together; both knowing what buttons to push to get the reaction they are looking for. You can see the understanding of each other they have developed which only comes from a long term relationship.
Giles' feelings towards Jenny Calendar; and the way she is onto him from the beginning; and the way she playfully toys with his romantic bumbling is handled in a lovely manner. She reciprocates those same feelings but doesn't play easy to get. This only adds to the affection you feel towards them as the viewer, once they do finally get together. It also adds greatly to the emotional impact when tragedy befalls them later on.
There is a respect shown to all the age groups of the characters by the writers and it is no wonder that the scripts are one of the shows main strengths. It also comes as no surprise that most of the writers for
Buffy have gone on to other shows with some acclaim.
One of the things that I do notice now more than ever is how much foreshadowing and set up the writers incorporate as the season progresses. There are some things that come to fruition in a couple of episodes but then there are others which won't truly see the light of day until future seasons.
For example the word passion is used a couple of times in the earlier episodes and it just seems like a throwaway line when it crops up; that is until we get to the episode
Passion and then it takes on an entirely new sinister meaning. I have to say it is one of my most favorite episodes from the show as a whole; the narration that opens and closes the episode and the way the cameraman shoots Angelus at the end fit perfectly together.
I didn't realize that it was this early on that Willow would start to show an interest and aptitude for magic. This is something that will grow and become more prevalent as season's progress culminating in one of the most powerful foes the show produced in season six. Whether this was planned from the beginning who knows, but they definitely started laying the groundwork here. We also see Giles question Willow on a couple of occasions and warn her of the dangers about dabbling with the mystical arts; as we come to learn about Giles own history with abusing magical forces.
When we start to get a bit of back-story for Giles in
Halloween we also are introduced to another great villain in Ethan Rayne. He proves to be a terrific little nemesis; or a more accurate description would be an annoying stone in the shoe of Buffy and the Scooby gang. His appearances in later seasons were always much welcomed by myself.
Ethan isn't the only minor character whose part in the Buffyverse is established here. Other people who would go on to become more involved as the story continues such as Jonathan Levinson, Harmony Kendall and Amy Madison would start to make more appearances. It is those repeat appearances which help strengthen the show and helped coin the term
Buffyverse. This is a show intent on world building and having characters constantly interacting with each other; in much the same way as people do in superhero comics.
There are a couple of bottle episodes that really stand out as favorites of mine. Xander Harris gets to be the main focus of
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered and it is one of the funniest from the whole canon.
Killed By Death has a creepier tone to it and one of the scariest demons in Der Kindestod. I can't help but wonder if the makers of
The Babadook took inspiration from this design as there are some similarities between the two.
Overall I consider season two to be the strongest, most consistently entertaining of all seven seasons. I might have a bit of nostalgia related to that opinion with it being my first; but I don't think I would be alone in that assessment. It is the season that saw me fall in love with this universe; whose inhabitants would go on to provide me with hours of emotional roller coasters of entertainment.
The Case Against:
After all that praise I guess you are wondering if there is anything that I do not like about the second series. While there is very little that I have against it; there are still some moments that particularly irk me.
I loved the idea that Buffy would be dealing with some post traumatic stress disorder after her ordeal with The Master; but it was dealt with during the first episode. They could have drawn this out a bit more to cover a couple of episodes and delved deeper into what it means to have come so close to dying - permanently, I realize Buffy was technically dead for a short period of time.
The episode I hate the most appears during this season and taking that mantle is:
Ted. I don't know what it is about this in particular, but I don't find anything about this story enjoyable. I am not a fan at all of John Ritter so that might have something to do with it. His appearance feels like a "special guest starring" role which annoys me in any show where they use gimmick casting to try and draw in a particular audience or demographic.
While I have said how much I enjoy the main villains in Angelus, Spike, Drusilla and a couple of the lesser ones like Ethan Rayne and Der Kindestod; there are some duds present too and not just the aforementioned Ted. Top of that list are the assassins sent from the Order of Taraka. If these are supposed to be members of an order of the most deadly assassins ever, then there must have been a shortage of skilled applicants when they inducted these three.
Each one is dealt with very easily; the first one in particular. Patrice, the assassin who has disguised herself as a police woman, acts like the T1000; she even does the role-call in a deadpan voice "Buffy Summers" then KAPOW she starts blazing away! She has no regard for stealth or a facial disguise so she can continue operating once the contract has been fulfilled on Buffy. I am sure she would have had her face plastered everywhere and headlines reading: "Woman impersonates officer, goes on shooting rampage in school".
For what is essentially the midway point of the season and a double episode to boot; I just felt that these antagonists were a bit weak. Even Norman Pfister, the Bug Man, whilst having a cool ability is just squished to death. Overall they are poorly presented assailants if ever there were some.
I do get a bit confused as to the conflicting logic of Spike. He appears to go along with the idea to use The Judge to destroy humanity in
Surprise and
Innocence; which would affect his "happy meals on legs" philosophy. Later on however he turns against Angelus when he wants to use Acathla for the similar purpose of ending the world as we know it.
Is it because he has regained his strength so feels like he can now go against Angelus and Drusilla which in turn would allow him to escape to continue his existence with Dru? Whereas previously he wasn't at his full power when they had The Judge. If so then that does make sense; but it still seems like he is doing a bit of a back flip later on with the Acathla plan.
The romance between Buffy and Angel can be a little melodramatic at times. I get the impression this is on purpose to try and portray the emotional turmoil both are feeling; Angel because of his age and vampirism; and Buffy because she is just starting to mature. It isn't a major gripe but can feel a little overdone shall we say at times.
I am going to say it: I think Joyce Summers is a bitch who rides her daughter way too much. That felt good!
Buffy has been taken from her home town and has made some nice new friends who don't seem to have any major social or violent behavior issues. She is shown to be studying and seeking help when she needs it. Her principal obviously has it in for her as Snyder is always trying to catch her out and label her, unjustly in most cases, as a troublemaker. Giles has spoken highly to Joyce about Buffy which you would think should carry some weight and help her cause.
So why does Joyce always give her such a hard time? Out of all the characters in the show I don't think they ever got Joyce right. I understand Buffy had issues at her old school and Joyce thought that the change of scenery would improve matters. From what we are presented with that seems to be the case. Joyce rarely sees the dangers Buffy faces from her encounters or sees her acting out in a violent manner; so I just don't get her logic for being so unreasonable with her daughter.
The other main character who I take umbrage with is Xander Harris. Some of his actions and decisions make him appear to be one of the most selfish people in the show. His constant pining for Buffy's affections is so irritating and at times makes him out to be a little bit of a stalker. There are times during this season where I wonder why Buffy and Willow remain friends with him. I still like him but if I was Buffy I would have to restrain myself from hitting him on occasion.
Some of his actions I do feel come from his own insecurity and sense of feeling inferior to these powerful women in his life. That is all well and good but he can act like a total douche bag from time to time!
As you would expect with a show set in a high school location you do get the usual stereotypes appearing. From the recurring cast there is the nerdy Jonathan who is a prime example. Harmony as a vacuous bimbo is another one. A number of the episodes feature others, such as the jocks from
Go Fish and the beefed up (undead) quarterback in
Some Assembly Required. It is an understandable trait and makes the characters relatable; but is that only because we see these tropes so often, is it a true reflection of what school life is like? They are easy characters to knock out during the writing process and I do think sometimes it can be a bit lazy on the writer's behalf.
I would like to finish off with a slight moan about another bit of poor scripting. At the start of
Becoming Part 2 Buffy flees from the police after striking the officer holding her. As she runs away - unarmed and with her back to the officers, one of them tells her to freeze before OPENING FIRE ON HER!
Now I know American law enforcement have a bit of a reputation for shoot first ask questions later; but it feels far too excessive to shoot at an unarmed teenage girl just because she is fleeing the scene of a crime! I would have loved to see Joyce Summers in court the following season seeking damages for the traumatic experience the police put her poor daughter through.
I might seem like I am wailing on about the writers as I close out here, but trust me I am not. I mentioned in 'The Case For' how much I admire the tautness of the script writing for
Buffy. Overall the writing team does a superb job for a twenty two episode season. However when there are parts that don't quite gel, and there are bound to be one or two dud moments, I do feel I have to point them out for 'The Case Against'.
