During the last three years, I’ve been slowly making my way through a re-watch of my all-time favorite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Here are my thoughts on the Season 2 episodes!
When She Was Bad **1/2 (out of ****)
I don’t like seeing Buffy manipulate others, no matter how bad she feels about killing the Master, but this is a decent season opener, also, surprisingly, written and directed by Whedon.
Some Assembly Required **
Not one of the best season two episodes… cool twist about who the Frankenstein guy is, but overall this one failed to engage me.
School Hard ***
The introduction of Spike!! Fun episode that gets Joyce in on a bit of the action.
Inca Mummy Girl ***
One of the best monster-of-the-week episodes, with a mummy who has to suck the life out of others to stay a beautiful teenage girl. Some nice moments with Buffy and Xander together. The introduction of Oz!!
Reptile Boy **1/2
Another Monster-of-the-Week episode that feels a little too familiar, but I liked the idea of frat boys being the monster.
Halloween ***1/2
One of the classic season 2 episodes that have the Scooby Gang turning into the real people they’re costumed as. Great fun!
Lie to Me ***
The second Spike-centric episode that features him try to kill Buffy… again. Nothing special, but still solid!
The Dark Age ***1/2
A great episode I forgot about. I love this show because it takes characters in directions you don’t expect, and here you see a different side of Giles that is scary and effective. Love it!
What’s My Line?: Part 1 ***
Such a clever idea to have Buffy’s brief death at the end of Season 1 create a new slayer who comes to Sunnydale. This is not one of my favorite Buffy two-parters, but it’s damn entertaining!
What’s My Line?: Part 2 ***
Love more Spike and Drusilla but this two-parter seems only a little long… I wonder if it could have been handled in one single episode. Even still, lots of great Buffy fights, and I love how the relationship between Buffy and Angel develops!
Ted ***1/2
I love this episode! John Ritter is so gleefully twisted as Joyce’s new boyfriend, and while the very end, where he turns out to be a robot, is silly, everything leading up to that is great, especially the scenes where Buffy thinks she has killed a man.
Bad Eggs **1/2
I remembered this one being one of the dogs of Season 2, but it actually entertained me more than I expected it to. The scenes of major characters walking with blank expressions on their faces made me laugh hard, it’s just so silly. But definitely not one of the stronger episodes!
Surprise ***
The last chapter of happiness for Buffy before everything changes… a pretty standard episode that ends with Buffy finally having sex with Angel… more a set-up to Innocence than anything else.
Innocence ****
This was it. This was the episode where Buffy transformed from a fun show I was really enjoying to something different, something special, something that would influence me beyond words. Angel’s moment of happiness makes him go bad, and now Buffy is faced with the ultimate villain, a man she loved so deeply but now has to kill. I always tell anyone starting Buffy, if they make it to Innocence, they’re in it for the long haul. The best episode Joss Whedon had written and directed to date, and probably the best in all of Season 2. Fantastic!
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