HALLOWEEN
SEASON 2 EPISODE 6
Ooh a Christmas episode! We open on Buffy fighting a vamp in a pumpkin patch, and okay...fine it's not a Christmas episode. Another vamp is hiding filming the thing to give to Spike so he can see how she fights, and devise a way to beat her. I always found this odd, because Spike is not that smart of a guy. At the Bronze, Angel is waiting for Buffy so they can get that cup of coffee, when Cordy steps in. Using rom-com knowledge, you KNOW that Buffy walks in and gets the wrong idea. It's pretty funny though, Angel's fake politeness is always a pleasure to watch. Angel goes over to talk to Buffy, and Cordelia decides to come by and say things about her looking bad...That's something that never really works on this show; Sarah Michelle Gellar is gorgeous, Cordy's insults hardly make sense. Similar things happen to Xander quite often; everyone is too attractive to be such social pariahs!
The next day at school, the gang gets volunteered by Fuhrer Snyder to take little kids trick or treating. Principal Snyder is often made out to be the super douche of the show, but he does have a really funny line right here. Buffy is none-too-pleased because apparently Halloween is one the one night that evil locks it's doors and tells kids to go away. Xander gets picked on at the vending machine by a brutish "Bulk from Power Rangers" kind of guy named Larry. Buffy comes to his rescue, which pisses Xander off because she makes him feel like he can't take care of himself.
"Halloween must be a big night for you: tossing eggs, keying cars, bobbing for apples...one pathetic cry for help after another."
While talking about Angel, Buff and Willow decide to look up anything they can about Angel in the Watcher's Diaries to see what his type of woman is. Buffy provides the distraction to Giles while Willow nabs the books. It's a bit silent filmy, but it's pretty hilarious, Sarah doesn't often get to show off her comedy too much. They look at the book and see the women of the period, which prompts Buffy to grab a pretty noblewoman dress from the new costume shop. Xander dressed up as a soldier, and Willow wants to go as a ghost. They meet the owner of the shop Ethan, who gives them a suspiciously good price.
Meanwhile Spike is reviewing Buffy's tape, and Dru gets a vision of something that's going to make Buffy weak on Halloween, so they decide that might be a good time to strike. Spike and Buff's relationship, while undeveloped at this point, is still pretty complex. Spike clearly admires Buffy, especially in her fighting style, and even at this point he kind of has an obsession with her, which will be fleshed out later on. Speaking of villains, Ethan from the costume shop is doing an eeeeevil spell!
So on Halloween night, they all try on their costumes and get ready to go out. Willow is dressed in a weird...hooker(?) outfit. But she gets embarrassed and puts a ghost outfit on top of it. At school, Cordy in a cat outfit shows up asking Oz where her boyfriend Devin is. Oz and Willow actually run into each other, but he doesn't recognize her as Eskimo girl from Inca Mummy Girl because she's covered in the ghost sheet. Xander actually makes a good army man, teaching the kids how to get more candy. During trick or treating, the spell is finally completed, and everyone becomes their costumes. Kids turn into monsters, Xander becomes a real soldier, Buffy becomes a clueless 18th century English girl, and Willow...dies, and becomes a ghost. Interestingly, Willow is the only one that retains her memories, everyone else is unaware of their previous lives.
They hide out in Buffy's house, and they see Cordy getting chased by Bigfoot, and they bring her in. Xander is definitely the highlight here; his soldier character is pretty hilarious. Meanwhile Spike is wandering around the havoc and basking in the craziness. Willow walks through walls all the way to the library to see if Giles knows what's going on. A big light bulb flashes above Giles's head when he finds out that everybody's costume who changed got theirs at Ethan's. Angel shows up at Buffy's and accidentally scares Buffy, and she bolts.
Meanwhile, while Giles is trying to break the spell, Spike and his band of little demon kids ambush the heroes in an alleyway. They hide out in a warehouse, but Buffy gets caught by Spike. Just as she's about to get all bitten and whatnot, Giles breaks the statue that holds the spell's power and everyone reverts to normal. Buffy gives a bad quip ("Hi honey, I'm home") and beats the Billy Idol snarl right off of Spike's face and he retreats, as does Ethan Rayne from Giles.
After everyone returns to normal, Willow wakes up where she died and almost puts the ghost sheet on, but decides to throw it away instead. As she's walking, Oz happens to be driving by and he notices her again. Cool pop-punk song playing the background too. Later that night Buffy and Angel are talking, and Angel says he didn't even like those 18th century girls. He likes Buffy just the way she is. Awww...how sweet!
Overall, there's really not a ton of character development in this episode, but it's really entertaining, and a lot of funny lines. It does reveal more about Giles's past, or at least give hints. And it does introduce a recurring villain in Ethan Rayne. And Willow does make another step towards self-confidence...so maybe there's more development than I thought. Fun Halloween episode! Too bad there's not another one until Season 4.
****
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