Last time we plowed through the first half of S2, so now Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus – Season 2 Pt 2 will get to the second half followed by overall thoughts of the whole season.

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus…

2.12 Bad Eggs

• Written by Marti Noxon / Directed by David Greenwalt
• Worst episode ever. All the scenes of just the two Gorches should’ve been cut–they’re pointless, not at all amusing, and actually kind of painful. Security Guard finding the basement hole scene lifts right out, too. The Bezoar stuff isn’t great, either (what about the Hellmouth?). I do think it’s funny how everyone’s putting ~5% into their concrete breaking efforts. Also, I hate pratfalls. 
• For all Angel’s no kids talk, he might be surprised where he finds himself in a few years.

• “A hobby of mine, but having nothing to do with Buffy in any way” is a fun line for Giles and all, except he’s possessed by then so none of it makes much sense. Everyone still banters and acts otherwise normally until they don’t except later it seems like no one remembers what happened, so it’s best to forget about this one as much as possible.

• Buffy doesn’t have the best memory (it gets better before she takes the SATs next year) since she completely forgot her one task, but even so Joyce is kind of a jerk this week. “Saving the world from vampires” would be a loaded statement with Joyce’s previous history of concern about Buffy’s psychological concern, though as we’ve established Joyce is great at compartmentalizing.

• The egg lesson is dumb (Xander’s hard-boiled baby is like a damn rock) and I didn’t believe it was rooted in truth before my husband told me all about how he actually had that ridiculous assignment in which he learned eggs aren’t babies.
• Slayer Sense Fail: Buffy and Angel don’t notice the two idiot Gorches *right* there–too busy kissing. And it’s not really a sense but I can’t believe Buffy gets knocked out with one hit from Cordy.

2.13 Surprise

• Written by Marti Noxon / Directed by Michael Lange
• The first part of this “2-Night Event” sets the stage for the rest of the season like a pro, but I’ll start with Drusilla. Juliet Landau’s clearly having a ball as the re-vamped Dru, hungry for action after being stuck on the sidelines. What a wonderful display of demonic madness as she breaks bifocals, tears away wrong roses, dances to “Transylvanian Concubine,” and gleefully demands the Judge “Do it again! Do it again!” when he incinerates their book-loving vampire acolyte. Broken Spike gets a few good barbs in, of course, but this is Dru’s coming out party.

• Buffy & Angel’s musical theme debuts, of course just as things are about to go south. This whole episode is heavy on Buffy/Angel, which should come as no surprise considering his switch to evil, from their extended scene at his place where Angel looks past Buffy speaking gibberish (“We never saw [Dru’s] body”–well yeah, Buffy, it’d be dust) to the Claddagh ring dock farewell to the sexy wrap-up. I’m sure all the teenager girls were a’swooning. Angel diving in the water after Buffy seems silly, by the way–did she forget how to swim?

• Based on Buffy’s dream, Willow evidently told Buffy all the details about the animal cracker Oz flirtation from a few episodes ago.
• Oz really gets thrown in the deep end–“Hey, did everyone else see that guy just turn to dust?” & “Actually, it explains a lot” as well as arm in a box–and while he’s a wonderful audience surrogate it’s also still a great Oz moment. In fact, the whole not-party scene is a bunch of fun (Cordy’s over it all, who wants cake?) plus has the added value element of the Jenny reveal.

• Oh, and as for Jenny being a Romani (aka gypsy on the series) with ties to Angel I think it all actually works together pretty nicely. Jenny gets a bit more to do aside from be a love interest and some additional drama doesn’t hurt. I’m sure it helps having Vincent Shiavelli there to really sell the exposition well as Uncle Enyos, also. 

2.14 Innocence

• Written & Directed by Joss Whedon
• Easily one of the BtVS top few episodes yet, if not outright best. Tragic, hilarious, romantic, and all kinds of other complimentary words plus Buffy blows up a demon with a rocket launcher! Buffy’s “That was then, this is now” as Angel & Dru flee in slo-motion and the oblivious Judge is blown to bits is as good as it gets–until a few minutes later, anyway, when a couple quiet moments somehow keep up with a bazooka (“If it’s guilt you’re looking for, Buffy, I’m not your man. All you will get from me is my support and my respect” & “I’ll just let it burn” re: birthday candle).

• Evil Angel’s a real dick to Buffy, quite successfully leaving her devastated (“Was it me? Was I not good?”) to the point of crying herself to sleep after realizing sex is what flipped him. Honestly, this development couldn’t be welcome enough to me as I was never a huge fan of him as Buffy’s lovesick puppy dog–he’s much better on his own show. Oh, and as cool as a shot as it is I’m not sure how him blowing smoke from that lady’s neck makes any sense. 

• How can I not mention Xander coming up with how to stop the Judge? Plus he saves Willow from Angel, so all-in-all I’d say that’s a pretty good week for him–except for the part where Willow’s devastated the Treasurer of the “We Hate Cordelia” Club is secretly sucking face with the enemy. Also, I’d guess there was a miscommunication with wardrobe at some point as the outfit Cordy has on when Xander tells her to dress “Trashy–er” looks like something a businesswoman might wear to work one day.

• “So, do you guys steal weapons from the army a lot?” Oz continues to be a source of laconic hilarity and has good romantic reasons for not wanting to kiss Willow just yet. Plus he helps with the pieces (“Our job sucks”-Cordy) while wisely not touching the stray judge arm himself after having seen it try to kill Buffy quite recently.

• It’s fun having Brian Thompson around again for this second pilot night (he played Luke in the series premiere & the Judge here)–pity they couldn’t stick him in the S6 premiere, too, as that’s another kind of pilot night.
• Jenny sides with the gang instead of her crazy uncle, for what it’s worth, even if Giles and Buffy are quite wounded from her betrayal.

• The business man incinerated by the Judge just never came home one day, gone without a trace. Why anyone would continue to live in Sunnydale is beyond me, though there could be some magical influences. The fact that the town Mayor Wilkins founded & presided over for a century dies in a spectacular fashion only a handful of years after the Mayor himself gets blown up certainly suggests he was doing *something* to keep it afloat.

2.15 Phases

• Written by Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali / Directed by Bruce Seth Green
• Despite the *truly crappy* costume, I enjoy Oz and his werewolf business. The casual reveal of werewolf Oz, how it’s because of a finger bite from little cousin Jordy, and that it “may take a couple days getting used to” is all perfectly droll. Also, Oz’s aunt/uncle seem like oblivious jerks if they’re so loose with a werewolf child.

• Next I can’t help but address Xander’s gay panic. Having a teen boy in the late ‘90s be weirded out & put off by anything having to do with The Gay is certainly more realistic than a friend of his being a werewolf, but it’s still disappointing and unnecessary (also not funny). Frankly, the fact that Larry is the most representation gay men get on the series and he’s dead by the end of S3 after only a half dozen appearances always stuck in my craw a bit. I’ll get to Andrew when the time comes…

• Was Oz just going to chain himself up in the dining room while fully clothed? What in the world was his plan before Willow barged in with “No, damn it, we’ll talk about this now!”? 

• Angel kills Theresa, her body is found & identified, then news outlets are informed and run with it–all between Angel bumping into her that evening and Buffy/Giles listening to the radio a few hours later. Hmm… Also, I wonder what the funeral home told Theresa’s family happened to her body as one minute it’s right there in the casket then it’s gone.

• Buffy goes to what’s apparently a popular makeout spot with Giles, the school librarian, and my favorite part of that is nobody at any point wondering about the pairing–old news. Giles taking a nap in the car with an open window while werewolf hunting? Genius move. Oh, and Giles’ tranquilizer gun makes a debut.

2.16 Bewitched, Bothered, & Bewildered

• Written by Marti Noxon / Directed by James A. Contner
• Xander’s jacket when he gives Cordy the necklace (“Thank you, it’s beautiful, I wanna break up”) has ridiculous shoulder pads. I’m aware I have no eye for fashion (it seems like a waste of time and energy), but surely even the fashionable have no place for shoulder pads.
• Cordy dumping Xander over what other people might think is nothing to cheer on, but him resorting to blackmail & magic for the purposes of making her miserable is way more douchey. For as helpful and heroic as Xander can be sometimes, he’s also a jerk and a moron on quite a few occasions–how human!

• As for the Fang Gang, I like how Spike’s already tired of Angel’s bullshit and just wants to leave town. He doesn’t need to get back at Buffy or prove himself–he just wants to go. Killing Buffy was always more a secondary concern, anyway, as the only reason they came to Sunnydale in the first place was for the Hellmouth energy (or whatever) to restore Drusilla.
• Once the spell-gone-wrong shenanigans kick in and every woman in Sunnydale from Buffy to her mom to Drusilla needs Xander’s love it’s just so much fun. There’s also a lively, upbeat score and the “Got the Love” hall walk to keep the hijinks flowing throughout.

• Oh, and how does Giles patrolling instead of Buffy make sense? If Angel’s out for blood, surely Buffy’s better equipped to handle him. Giles also takes the reins when it comes to spell-casting with Amy when pretty soon Willow will be the one doing all that heavy lifting.

• Okay, confession time: right around Buffy’s birthday two-parter a few episodes ago I fully realized I can’t exactly be objective. Between the show officially becoming pretty goddamn awesome right around then and it all being so inexorably linked with positive experiences from my own youth a continued attempt at episode-by-episode reviews or critical analysis will ultimately amount to “It was great & I loved it!” So, starting with the next episode I’m switching gears slightly and instead will be going what I guess is the “live-tweet” route (except Twitter isn’t for me and I barely exist on the internet). 

2.17 Passion

• Written by Ty King / Directed by Michael Gershman
• I wish they dropped the narration. I do my best to imagine it with just the creepy, foreboding music over Angel silently stalking the gang then watching Buffy sleep in the pre-credits sequence. 
• Slayer Sense Fail: Angel watches the gang in the Bronze then feeds as Buffy walks by, clueless.
• Angel’s various lady drawings are pretty good–if nothing else works out, he could always sell sketches or caricatures on a boardwalk somewhere.

• Hey look, Jonathan & friend come for library books–how bizarre.
• Cordy continues to be an effective audience surrogate as she wonders aloud why Angel doesn’t just kill Buffy in her sleep (“What? I’m trying to help”).
• “What if there’s a fire drill? What if there’s a fire?” Willow’s so interested in a doing well as a temporary substitute for Jenny she neglects to notice an empty fish tank or an ominous envelope on her bed–and it’s important for you to know I happened to have same exact multi-color bedspread as Willow.

• Spike still being too crippled to walk is weird, since he’s a vampire and all–I guess I’ll pretend he was nearly bisected. Surely that’d take a long time to recover from? The puppy Dru brings him gets to disappear into obscurity, so I choose to believe Dru made him a little vampire dog who has evil adventures like the anti-Benji. You cannot disprove it.
• Joyce’s oranges misdirect (often in film/TV oranges=death) as Angel tells her about having sex with Buffy is a fun nod, plus “Sorry, Angel, changed the locks” is a great moment. However, I can’t believe they didn’t pursue the invitation spell way before this. It’s nuts they didn’t.

• Giles and Jenny have a happy last interaction, for what it’s worth, also how can I not mention Jenny at least gets to look great in her farewell.
• The computer screen starts a fire? Huh? And I’ll always remember watching this that first time and being quite surprised. All throughout the Angel/Jenny chase I expected she’d make it away somehow or get saved only to suddenly get her neck broken.

• Willow & Giles’ back and forth about the sex talk Joyce is having with Buffy (“You do know, right?” & “Sure. Like, what would you say?”) somehow instantly switches gears from Jenny getting killed to fun silliness without missing a beat. As for Joyce–she both isn’t terribly supportive of Buffy and waited until 17 for the sex talk. Do better.

• Giles coming home to the wine, roses, etc only to find Jenny dead in his bed is forever a gut punch. It’s horrible, tragic, and pushes BtVS further into “amazing.”
• The voyeuristic shot through the window as Buffy & Willow get the bad news phone call from Giles is already great, but would’ve been perfect without the narration.
• Cordy’s car covered in crosses/garlic/holy water/etc would be amusing to pull up next to at a stop light.

• Giles must have had pretty good answers for the cops as to the whole macabre scene of a dead coworker in his bed–though as we learn often Sunnydale isn’t like other places, so who knows.

• All the ADR lines at the end could go, too, while I’m fan editing. ”Are you trying to get yourself killed?” & “You can’t leave me, I can’t do this alone” as well as a few other Buffy V.O. bits–just leave it all out and let us soak in the moment. Even with the unnecessary narration, though, it’s easily one of BtVS‘s best episodes yet.

2.18 Killed By Death

• Written by Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali / Directed by Deran Sarafian
• Angel can’t take an under-the-weather Buffy and a few teenagers? What a badass…
• Buffy rambles about vampires in front of Joyce at the hospital, which is yet another case of Joyce selectively remembering Buffy was briefly institutionalized for believing she was a vampire slayer. Maybe Joyce simply reacted to this ugly chapter of their past rearing its head again in private and didn’t want to involve her friends.
• The “Ssh, hospital zone, no singing” rule won’t always hold firm.

• Eight year old Buffy watching her cousin Celia get killed by an invisible demon surely seems like it’d leave a mark on a child–Celia definitely didn’t go quietly.
• Joyce has no interest in why the school librarian is at the hospital before her? Or at all? I wonder what Buffy long ago told Joyce offscreen as to why Giles is such a present figure in her life.
• This whole hospital is such a sad, drab, dimly lit place with a strange basement access door in the kid’s ward. Poor planning.

• I bet Xander felt like a big man standing up to Angel at the hospital. Also, I can definitely understand why Xander never quite manages to like Angel at all–I wouldn’t if I were him.
• Giles brings Buffy grapes and we see later she didn’t eat them–rude. At least the coffee & donuts Cordy brings for Xander don’t go to waste. Also, I find Cordy’s blunt nature wonderfully timeless–“Tact is just not saying true stuff.”

• Hey look, it’s the late Willie Garson as a security guard with a “Perfect nose, [he] must work out.”
• Hm. The stunt guy who gets killed by Der Kindestod has brown hair except the character has white hair–somebody dropped the ball.

• Giles diplomatically asking Buffy “This is…your work?” in regards to the child’s drawing of a monster gets a laugh from me every time, as does “Why do I have to have…” in response to getting assistance from Cordy (who helps by asking endless questions of him).
• So the Der Kindestod will just invisibly rot in the basement? People are going to wonder what the freakish stench of death is at some point, I guess.

2.19 I Only Have Eyes For You

• Written by Marti Noxon / Directed by James Whitmore, Jr.
• Buffy rejects a nice, normal guy (as far as we know, anyway) because she’s still reeling from Angel, but let’s face it–“nice” & “normal” aren’t things Buffy will ever find terribly interesting.
• Willow still teaching Jenny’s class doesn’t seem above-board, exactly, though Snyder surely doesn’t care–one less teacher to pay.
• How would today’s moral police take the ’50s teacher having an illicit relationship with a student and not being painted as a monster for doing so?

• I remember from various episode commentaries how the cast/crew kind of dreaded filming the many library-based exposition scenes from a production/narrative flow POV, but I can’t recall ever being tired of the Scooby Gang working in the library.
• Giles should have just let the janitor (played by future Oscar nominee John Hawkes) kill himself while possessed. I mean, obviously that’s not ideal but neither is the guy going to prison for murder when he’s not actually responsible for killing anyone. Oh well, sucks for him and the dead teacher.

• I’d forgotten just how integral Jenny was in Willow’s magical ascension, even if it is in death. Willow looking through Jenny’s witchy computer files is the beginning of her journey to an almost god-like witch who’s easily one of the most powerful figures in the Buffyverse. She travels through time and space, wanders different dimensions, and all kinds of craziness as she & Buffy remake the essence of magic and the future of the world into something better.

• Snyder mentions the Hellmouth while his hi-talking colleague brings up the Mayor for the first time and it’s finally clear that people in Sunnydale know more than they let on.
• The Fang Gang’s castle mansion debuts, with Dru taking note of the night blooming Jasmine (Angel will be grandfather to another night blooming Jasmine one day…) while Spike’s completely over their little trio. If he never saw Angel again Spike would be a happy camper and he’ll try to make that happen “Sooner than you think.”

• Xander gleefully suggests destroying the school over the wasp wall and in about a year he’ll live out that dream–then a few years after he’ll get paid to help build a brand new school.
• Buffy & Angel’s reversed roles possession scene works so well it leads to David Boreanaz getting his own show as Angel, per Joss Whedon over the years.

2.20 Go Fish

• Written by David Fury & Elin Hampton / Directed by David Semel
• A beach party? Based on what we learn of the geography in “Chosen” they must have had a bit of a drive there & back. Also, why is Buffy wasting her time talking to idiot Cameron? He’s a schmuck right away. Hey look, Wentworth Miller! Shane West and the late Conchata Ferrell also add to the roster of current/future familiar faces.
• Snyder asks Willow to change some grades and I guess we learn part of the reason he was happy to let Willow keep teaching.

• David Fury makes his debut as co-writer (with wife Elin Hampton). Like Marti Noxon, this name will pop up much more over the course of the series.
• Cam tries to sexually assault Buffy then Buffy gets blamed for how she dresses? Ugh. I’m *so glad* all these garbage people either mutate into sea monsters or get eaten by something.

• Willow’s first Jonathan interrogation. While she doesn’t get the desired intel, Willow does manage to get a confession: he peed in the pool. Based on what I learned in high school I’m sorry to say it’s doubtful he was the only one.

• “When you’re nude? I meant to say changing”–I think it’s kind of weird that during swim practice it’s acceptable for a bunch of students to ogle at classmates in speedos. I mean, they have popcorn and stop just short of salivating at the sight of their classmates’ dick bulges. 
• We learn later on many vampires like to feed on drugged out humans (for a few reasons), but I guess steroids don’t taste very good as made clear by Angel spitting Gage’s blood out all over.

• I like how the school nurse says Buffy “might” want to have the family doctor have a look at the sea monster bite–no big deal in Sunnydale, right?
• Giles rounds up the swim team and I want someone to walk in the library right then to find a bunch of half naked/naked teens locked in the book cage if only to hear Giles’ excuse.
• Am I the only one who assumes the swim team monsters rape their coach before a post-coital chow down?

2.21 Becoming, Pt 1

• Written & Directed by Joss Whedon
• Since my feelings on narration should be clear by now, going forward I’ll simply say “Narration, boo!” and let that be the end of it. So, Boo!!
• The 1753 flashback to drunk Angel (technically still Liam) provides an amusingly horrible Irish accent in addition to more Darla. Yeah, she died last season but as any good Buffyverse viewer knows when it comes to death & Darla it’s always more than once before it takes.

• For all Angel’s big bad posturing he really doesn’t amount to much without a woman there to drive him or perform for–Darla, Drusilla, Buffy, and more as we’ll see on his own series.
• Oz finally reappears after being last seen in episode 2.16, but he doesn’t really have anything to do in this two part finale aside from be in the room with regular characters.

• Juliet Landau is always a welcome sight as Drusilla and she continues to be flawless, both as the evil Dru we’ve come to know and the tragic human Drusilla of 1860. I’d guess Joss Whedon & company felt pretty similarly considering they brought her back many times over the years but could never bring themselves to kill her. Fun fact: she’s the only Fang Gang vamp who never died.
• Spike continues to be ridiculously entertaining (“It’s a rock. I can’t wait to tell my friends. They don’t have a rock this big.” & “Someone wasn’t worthy.”) and a lot of fun.

• I understand the Romani mindset Uncle Enyos previously explained of how “vengeance is a living thing” etc, but cursing Angel like they did seems pretty idiotic. The guys kills a loved one so the recourse is to magically make him feel really sad, but should he ever be happy he’ll become an guilt-free evil murderer again. That’ll show ’em!
• Giles telling Willow how performing the spell to ensoul Angel “may open a door you may not be able to close” is a glorious foreshadow of what’s to come over the next several years.

• The library argument of what to do about Angel is a high point, though as I said before I’m a sucker for any group scenes of Scoobies in the library.
• Angel being a gross, homeless sad sack for decades who only cleans himself up and tries to do “right” for the chance at wooing a pretty teenager is certainly a solid example of him needing a woman to drive him/perform for.

• I always wondered why Dru let all Kendra’s slayer blood go to waste since apparently it’s quite delicious, powerful, intoxicating, etc based on what we learn over the years.
• The climax of this one nicely bookends the premiere as Buffy heads out for a fight (“I can take care of myself”) while everyone else gets ambushed at the library–only this time everyone’s on the same page and it still goes poorly. Maybe Kendra should have used the crappy looking sword against Dru or held onto Mr. Pointy a little while longer…

2.22 Becoming, Pt 2

• Written & Directed by Joss Whedon
• Whoa, a cop *opens fire* in a high school on a teenage girl for fleeing the scene of a crime. That’s…well, that’s probably what they were trained to do here in gun-crazy, shoot first & ask questions later America, but it’s still completely nuts.
• Willow certainly looks clammy and under-the-weather like some unconscious hospital people I’ve seen in my life, so kudos on making me believe her comatose state.
• I’m not a huge fan of Max Perlich as Whistler. Something about his performance just doesn’t do it for me and I feel like I can see him acting.

• “Hello, cutie”–Spike & Buffy’s detente/alliance begins a relationship that’ll go from “I hate you” to “I love you” in five short years.
• Xander having Willow feelings isn’t a storyline I’m exactly partial to, honestly. And hey, Xander, what about Cordy? Any idea what happened to her when she fled the library?
• Giles takes the torture like a pro–“You must perform the ritual in a tutu, pillock.”

• Buffy telling Joyce she’s in a band with Spike (“Well…I sing”) right before dusting a vampire in front of her is delightfully lame and YAY for Joyce finally being in the know.
• First off, Buffy leaving Joyce/Spike alone is without a doubt a bad idea. Having said that, the awkward silence while they sit on the couch followed by “You hit me with an axe one time, ‘Get the hell away from my daughter!’” & “So, do you live here in town?” small talk is kind of amazing.
• Joyce trying to keep up as Buffy & Spike talks terms continues the funny, but I also love Buffy’s resolute “If Giles dies, [Dru] dies” to Spike.

• Buffy’s farewell argument with Joyce veers from humor to pathos to the point of physical altercation and while this certainly seems like the time for either to mention Buffy’s previous issues with being briefly institutionalized, it isn’t horribly contradictory to that eventual retcon.
• “The police of Sunnydale are deeply stupid”–Snyder’s not wrong, but I think one could make the case the idiocy of police is something the Mayor engineered for his benefit.

• I enjoy how by the end of this season it’s Buffy & Willow doing all the heavy lifting while everyone else is more in support mode or simply tries not to die.
• Xander almost relaying Willow’s message before spouting out “Kick his ass” is a juicy character morsel that almost never comes up again…until it does.
• Buffy takes way too long with one random vampire and how does Spike choke Drusilla out if they don’t breath? Also, “Oh god, he’s gonna kill her. Eh” is an iconic Spike moment.

• So, I f*cking LOVE Buffy catching the sword (“…what’s left?” “Me.”) before putting Angel in his place without outside interference–just Buffy vs Angel. SMG nails everything about her last few scenes with Angel as it leads to a bookended “Close your eyes.”

• Giles’ face as he says “Perhaps” to Willow theorizing Buffy’s off with Angel somewhere suggests to me he doesn’t *want* Angel to be alive–understandably.
• Now leaving Sunnydale…

I need a hug.

With that bus ride out of town, the sun sets on BtVS S2.

If S1 felt a little like it was finding its feet and learning what works best on-the-night, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus – Season 2 instead gets a second year that’s a different beast. Any innocent, premiere-like aspect to things is immediately gone and everything from before seems like a lifetime ago–mostly because for Buffy it was.

Sarah Michelle Gellar builds off her top-notch season one finale performance by adding more layers to a character who grows richer by the episode. I appreciate how damaged Buffy is from dying in S1 and that it isn’t an easy fix to suddenly be fine (heads up–I’m a S6 fan). First she takes a few months to avoid what happened to her as well as life in general, then immediately upon returning chooses to alienate everyone closest to her. Buffy’s motivations aren’t malicious, though, so of course everybody’s easy to forgive–unless you’re the Anointed One, anyway.

Good riddance to him and that whole brand of vampire, by the way. Once Spike & Dru show up and put the religious hierarchy stuff to bed the personality-free acolyte-types become a rare breed. Spike & Dru drip with personality and big picture plans so they’re perfect as very entertaining antagonists before coming into their own more in the season’s latter half when they’re intimately involved in Buffy’s personal affairs via Angel.

The sarcastic & bitter wheelchair Spike who allows his hatred of Angel to push him into an alliance with Buffy continues his evolution from temporary villain to longtime ally, but let’s not forget how funny he can be. A menacing vampire is great, don’t get me wrong, there’s just something about his annoyed barbs that work well. Plus, when there’s an empowered Drusilla around being creepy, nuts, and happily evil as well as Angel hamming it up it doesn’t hurt to have a guy there to roll his eyes with a wry aside.

The disparity in the Buffy/Angel relationship, what with her being a teenage girl and him being a 240+ year old vampire, has certainly been written about extensively and everyone has their own thoughts about it. To me, Buffy has the blanket excuse of being a teenager as far as questionable lust-based choices go and while Angel’s definitely got a lot of years on her it isn’t as if he spent all that time growing as a person. Also, one of the series’ repeated themes is an unwillingness to accept fate or traditional roles and do as you choose so it’s inevitable they give it a try.

The viewer learns more of Angel’s past once he gets his own series so I’ll delve into it more when the time comes, but Angel spent his human life as Liam being a drunken, whoring layabout and a terrible disappointment to his parents who dies at Darla’s choosing in his mid 20’s. His next 240+ years as a demon aren’t exactly built on a foundation of emotional stability and wise romantic choices, to be kind, so dating a teenager built to kill him seems right up his alley the more you get to know him. 

The rest of the cast all get a lot more to do as far as new relationships go, as well. There’s Xander & Cordelia constantly bickering in so many life-or-death situations their emotions erupt in an unwanted attraction, the beginning of Willow & Oz, Giles & Jenny pursuing each other despite constant obstacles ultimately leading to a tragic outcome, and of course the aforementioned series-altering introduction of Spike & Dru.

Plus, it’s only fair for Giles & Jenny to play–adults like life partners, too, after all. The viewer has a front row seat to quite a lot of their pairing, which makes eventual developments sting all the more. Jenny’s death is also the last time I’d say Giles has what he considers a true peer in the Scooby Gang, at least during the course of the TV series. Sure, there’s Wesley next year and Joyce is more involved in the proceedings circa S5 but they both feel more like special mentions. Principal Wood is a maybe, I guess, but he and Giles barely overlap.

As for Willow and Oz finally coming together, it works as well as it does thanks to the slow build of the first half before they finally connect. It’s a little odd how Oz disappears after the 16th episode and when he does finally show up again in the finale it largely consists of simply existing in the room, but I assume behind the scenes scheduling or budget issues are to blame.

Willow’s future gayness also dovetails pretty well, I think, as neither her childhood crush on Xander or her connection with Oz come across as based in physical/sexual attraction. I could see the argument being made that Tara isn’t necessarily a sexual interest at first, either, but to me their connection seems quite strong from the start–there’s a spark of something there almost immediately.

Xander and Cordy are…well, they’re clearly more of a lust-based example of heightened emotions and teen hormones run amok. These two are fun while it lasts and even though she won’t admit it for a long time, Cordy enjoys making a difference where she can. I suppose part of her learning process is that life or death passion doesn’t necessarily mean love is in the air–in fact, I’d guess this weighs a little on why she’s so hesitant to pursue things with Angel in a few years.

Dating isn’t the only point of existence, obviously, but pairing up is a large part of many people’s lives so it makes sense for teens with raging hormones and vampires with unrestrained ids to follow those impulses almost at will.

Even with all the human/human-ish pair-bonding going on many non-romance based relationships deepen this year. Buffy/Giles scenes are always a highlight, frankly, and while Joyce can be kind of a jerk sometimes she’s also clearly trying to be a good mom to Buffy. I’m just glad Joyce finally learns the truth and gets to be more involved in things next season.

I said S1 looked as if the production had about an $8 budget and thankfully S2 has improved by leaps and bounds (looks like they had *at least* $100 this time). However, it isn’t until the third season the picture quality and SFX really start being an added value element instead of a low-budget quirk. BtVS becoming such a hit also appears to have helped the casting department as in the latter half of S2 you really start seeing a lot more familiar faces–both in the sense of already established actors wanting to appear on this very popular up-and-coming series in addition to the stars of tomorrow seeing a BtVS guest spot as a good career move.

The music also finally shows signs of life thanks to Christophe Beck. He shoulders composer duties for a handful of the season’s first half before becoming a larger presence in the second half (then a fixture for a couple years more) so thankfully Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus now features a score noteworthy for the right reasons.

S1 was genuinely funny on a few occasions and inspired many smiles and smirks, however I don’t think it was reliably laugh out loud funny. S2, on the other hand, had me laughing at least a few times in most episodes with some that are actually rather hilarious. Between the cast chemistry and dialogue there’s always something amusing around the corner.

While S1 ended with a triumphant Buffy and the gang all heading off into the night together, S2 finds an emotionally drained & devastated Buffy fleeing Sunnydale alone to leave it all behind. I mean, getting expelled from school and kicked out of home is already a lot for a 17 year old to take so if you add being wanted for the murder of a friend as well as having to kill your lover then watch as he’s sucked into a hell dimension I think Buffy’s reaction is understandable.

BtVS consistently reveling in character first like that is what made for appointment viewing throughout the various couplings, betrayals, killings, and more all delivered with an increasingly complex cast expertly brought to life. Whatever adventure the gang found themselves dealing with was only fun because Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles and the rest of the Scoobies were the ones involved.

Putting aside the misfire of “Bad Eggs” (boo!) S2 increasingly nails the balance of character development, ongoing storylines, and MOTW fun as every episode builds off what came before in both overt and subtle ways that reward attentive/longtime viewers for paying attention. 

Alrighty, now I’ll bid adieu until next time when Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus – Season 2 becomes *wink* Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus – Season 3 and the show continues it’s critical and pop cultural ascension. 

Here are Buffy the Vampire Slayer: A Retrospecticus – Season 2 Pt 2’s trivia questions for those who wish to test their might.

1. What are the names of Xander’s parents?
2. Who did Marcie Ross attack with a baseball bat?
3. What’s the license plate number on Giles’ Citroen?

*Last week’s answers: 1) July 4, 1980, 2) Nebraska