| My Reviews | Other Reviews |
School Hard  An amusing, if not overly wonderful, introduction to Spike with some great one-liners. The only drawback, really, is the lack of a real plot. The episode only serves as an introduction to Spike. Oh, but what an introduction. |
 from Mitch Persons James Marsters, who bears a strong resemblance to David Bowie, brings just the right amount of menace and gallows humor to the role of Spike. Mitch Persons, Cinefantastique, Vol. 29, No. 11 |
Halloween  A fun episode with lots of laughs. Not much Spike, but what there is of him is golden. "Neat." Plus, any ep that shows Giles beating up some guy has got to be interesting. His biceps really bulge for all of two seconds there. And it's always nice seeing more Englih characters. So now we've got Giles, Spike, Dru and Ethan. | from Mitch Persons A fiendishly good segment. Bruce Seth Green, it appears, has a way with confrontations. An icy-cold verbal battle between Giles and Ethan--age-old enemies--is a chilling, suspenseful scene, accented by backlighting and the masterful acting of the two principals. Mitch Persons, Cinefantastique, Vol. 29, No. 11 |
Lie To Me  An amazing episode. A perfect episode. Moving, yet fun. Tragedy tinged with just the right amount of Buffy humor makes this episode a keeper. I would probably rate this episode as the best Buffy ever. | Lie To Me Angel reveals his dark past. "Things used to be pretty simple. One hundred years just hanging out, feeling guilty. I really honed my brooding skills--then she comes along." Watch out Bogart. Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine, #1 |
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What's My Line? (1 & 2)
Not great. Although Spike is his usual entertaining self, the overall plotline is idiotic. Back to talking about Spike, however ... his continued devotion to Drusilla is in character and his sarcastic asides are hysterical. More later. | What's My Line? (1 & 2) |
| Surprise and Innocence
Overall, the importance of these two episodes in the overall mythology is undisputed. One can break the second season into two eras: B.A. and A.A. : Before Angelus and After Angelus. The first half of the season can be seen as lighthearted, normal Buffy fun. The second half can be seen as darkly depressing and tragic with episodes such as Passion and Becoming dominating. Surprise in itself is unusually boring, however. Buffy's situation with Angel is somewhat ridiculous. How is the threat of pregnancy or STD's really shown here when the person she is sleeping with is dead and has been for two hundred odd years? True, consequences are shown, but ... one cannot get the impression that this was done more for dramatic impact than a wholehearted attempt at a teenage allegory. On the other hand, the interaction between Oz and Willow and Xander and Cordelia continue to be amusing. The Spike Quotient is low and Jenny's Uncle is a quiet intrustion, however. In Innocence, on the other hand, everything revs up and it all starts to get interesting again. From the very first scene, Angel's transformation into Angelus is fun and fascinating. You can sense how much fun the actor is having with his abrupt change of fortunes. Once again, Spike doesn't get much to do, but Drusilla's joy in having her old playmate around (despite the fact that she hates him) causes her to practically romp across the screen. The entire scene involving Xander and Cordelia breaking into the army base is as delightful as Oz and Willow's "romantic conversation" is charming. And finally, the scene between Jenny and Buffy at the end gives Robia LaMorte a chance to actually act. Which is cool. All in all, for the first time, the second part is better than the first (a trend which is followed up by Becoming. |
 There’s been a gradual move to soften the show in its second season, with the emphasis being shifted to the relationship between Buffy and Angel, perhaps in an effort to win more female viewers. Well, that’s all about to change. This aptly-named episode effectively re-writes the Buffy rulebook, and there are even more twists to come in the second part!(Next month folks...) Marti Noxon’s first solo script is a textbook example of good writing, with well-measured pacing, great character development and sharp dialogue. Michael Lange, (who has episodes of The X-Files and American Gothic to his credit), handles the whole thing perfectly, getting animated performances from his cast, and creating moments of genuine tension and intimacy. It’s nice to see Oz becoming more involved; hopefully it will ensure that Willow doesn’t get edged out. A couple of scenes are likely targets for the censor’s scissors: the death of the Judge’s first victim (one of the show’s most gruesome special effects scenes); and Spike’s description of Dalton, “He may be a wanker, but he’s the only one we’ve got with half a brain”. Stephen Foster, Shivers, Issue #56 out of 4 from XposeThis reviewer reacts very badly to hype. Therefore, when one is told six times in every hour that because of this amazing two-part Buffy episode as well as the astounding premier of the prime-time teen soap Dawson's Creek that one's life will forever be changed, one tends to await the coming let-down. I did not watch Dawson's Creek, but I am very glad that I watched Buffy. All the balls are kept in the air wonderfully: suspense is created masterfully and guts are wrenched by the emotional turbulence of rich, well-defined characters and performance. Xpose, Issue 20 |
| Passion A darkly dramatic story. The Jenny-Giles storyline is resolved -- but her death is partly what resolves it. The voice-over is slightly annoying, but does set a creepy mood that is appropriate to the storyline. At once deeply romantic and deeply tragic, this episode is also somewhat grotesque and morbid -- shown by Angelus' psychotic manipulations and the romantic setup for Giles' discovery of Jenny's body. The Spike quotient is barely there, but what is shown nicely sets up later episodes and stokes the fans desire to see Spike get out of the damn chair. | Passion |
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I Only Have Eyes For You An excellent episode, despite the lack of any subsantial Spike scenes. However, the last scene where Spike kicks the crap out of his wheelchair is priceless! The love story between the teacher and the student caused some serious controversy on email lists everywhere, but ultimately the sympathy evoked for the two was overwhelming. The manner in which their relationship mirrored Buffy and Angel's was fantastic and, when reviewed after the season finale of Becoming, all the more poignant and overloaded with foreshadowing. | I Only Have Eyes For You out of 5 For the first half hour or so, I Only have Eyes for You seems to simply rehash old ideas, and certainly follows a familiar formula. The ending is so clever, though, and features such a compelling twist, that suddenly it seems like the rest of the episode was written to explain the finale (with Buffy and Angel forced to play poignantly out of character - Ed), rather than the other way round, which is usually the case. When all the pieces fall into place, you can’t help feeling exhilarated and thrilled by the way that the events unfold. This is one of the rare instances in the series when there is any sense of the wheels of destiny at work: but how else could the cycle have been broken? Half the credit for the success of the episode must go to writer Marti Noxon but there is also some beautiful direction by James Whitmore. The last scene, however, although a very welcome development, diffuses some of the tension, drags the episode back to the routine, and sets up the season’s finale story: Becoming. Stephen Foster, Shivers, Issue #58 |
| Becoming (1 & 2)
If, for some bizarre and alternate universe reason, Buffy had been cancelled after second season, this would have been the way to go. Slightly reminiscent of the final episodes of Forever Knight and Blake's 7 where almost all the characters are killed off, the end of the final episode is gut-wrenching and had many a Buffer bawling like a baby. But the rest of the episodes ... wow! Becoming, Part 1 begins with a beautiful flashback sequence - Julie Benz is gorgeous as an 18th century Darla and Angel is boyishly cute with long hair and does a passable Irish accent! From there, the costumes (both past and present - who can forget that kick-ass blue suit that Buffy wears at the end), the choreography, the writing and the acting perfect an otherwise slightly off-kilter plot. The dialogue sparkles, especially the scene between Angel and Buffy where he taunts her about thinking that everything is always about her, the fight in the library and Kendra's death exacerbate the already tragic overtones of Season Two. But it's Becoming Part 2 that is truly remarkable. Again, wonderful dialogue, splendid choreography and punch-worthy acting combine to make this episode rival Lie To Me as the best episode of the entire season. To top it all off, Spike gets his best scene since his introduction. Finally out of his wheelchair, Spike allies with Buffy in a scene so humorous that it had me in hysterics. One would think that wouldn't work in a dark episode, but Part Two only gets truly dark in its last ten minutes. At that point, all of Buffy's actions and mistakes catch up with her and she kills the one person she loves most. Add to that, Xander's big lie, Willow's dabbling in witchcraft and you have the setup for what could be a very interesting third season. | Becoming (1 & 2) (part 1) (part 2) Whedon's two-part season finale is crammed with continuity references, as well as depictions of events mentioned, but not seen, in previous stories: Darla turning Angel into a vampire, in Galway, in 1753 (Angel), Angel driving Drusilla insane (Lie to Me), and Angel being cursed by the gypsies (Angel). There's also a very amusing look at Buffy's first staking. Buffy's fellow slayer, Kendra (from What's My Line) makes a welcome return, as does Darla (who was killed in Angel), but neither are given much to do, and it hardly seems worth bringing them back. The arrival of Whistler ... a meddlesome demon, complicates things somewhat. It's not clear why he's involved, or what his agenda is. Becoming Part 1 is a great episode for the series' loyal fans (although there's a palpable sense of deja vu, as elements previously used in Innocence and When She Was Bad are recycled), but it must be rather confusing for less dedicated viewers. Whedon seems preoccupied with plotting, resulting in an episode that lacks his usual vitality. Whedon gets the story back on the rails [in Part 2], and takes his usual delight in causing havoc with his characters, creating another pivotal episode. There seems to be no good reason why Spike and Drusilla should be written out, as there must be plenty of mileage left in their characters. James Marsters was rather short-changed by being stuck in a wheel-chair for much of the season, and Juliet Landau has made Drusilla one of the show's best characters. It must be said that this is not as thrilling a season cliffhanger as last year's Prophesy Girl, but it has taken the show and given it a good shaking. "Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square" indeed ... Stephen Foster, Issue #59 |
