Buffy the Vampire Slayer - When She Was Bad - S02E01 Review

WHEN SHE WAS BAD
SEASON 2 EPISODE 1

Time for Season 2, probably my personal favorite of the series. Don't think that the show peaks here, it's just that this season takes that cheesy/good formula from Season 1, and perfects it. The cheesiness is reduced (although little hints remain; JUST enough) and the good is tripled! We start out with a cool "Last Season on Buffy" recap, which is a neat little thing that I'm sad to see get cut out from later seasons. I know it's not important, but it's kind of the same thing as including the movie trailers on DVDs, they're fun to watch.

Anyway, we open up with Xander and Willow walking home from getting ice cream, through the park/graveyard. Why do people insist on going through the graveyard at night? Buffy has been gone to see her dad all summer and Willow and Xander have been all alone. This scene really re-establishes their tight friendship; Willow is at her cutest and Xander at his most charming. They almost kiss, but a vamp (who looks really goofy) has to show up and ruin the mood. Xander bravely tries to take him on but gets discarded before Buffy (and her new hair) shows up and makes quick work of the vamp.

They all share a hug, but right away there's something slightly off about Buffy. She calls them losers, sort of jokingly even, but it's still quite out of character. We also see Buffy's dad Hank talking to Joyce. The series as a whole paints Hank as a big jerk, but most of his appearances depict him as a caring, albeit distant dad. Back at school, everyone is settling into the groove of normalcy: Cordy is semi-vapid still, Giles and Jenny are flirting like crazy, and Snyder is a wad. Everything seems to be fine, but Buffy seems off, which is clearly evident to Giles. So off that she's having nightmares about being in school and the Master returning. The dream sequence is fantastic, it's quite startling in it's suddenness.

Buffy awakens to see Angel at her window. I hate to bring up the T-word, but Buffy did it first, people! She's a complete jerk to him. So far they're doing pretty well at making Buffy unlikable. The next day she disses Cordelia too, and everybody starts to get worried. Later at the Bronze, a horrible horrible band is playing, and Buffy shows up and does a sexy dance with Xander just to make an onlooking Angel jealous.

Willow: Why is she acting like such a B-I-T-C-H?
Xander: A...bitca?

Meanwhile, the Anointed One and his vampire extras are digging up some Master bones. They show up at the Bronze to kidnap Cordy right after she tells Buffy to stop being so self-destructive. When Cordelia wakes up she finds that they've kidnapped Jenny as well. The gang figures out that the Anointed One is going to try to revive the Master, but they need the blood of the people closest to the Master when he died. Buffy receives a threat from the vamps to head to the Bronze. The gang tries to dissuade her from going because they think it's a trap. And it is. But it's a trap to lure Buffy away so they can capture Willow and Giles because they were near the Master when he died.

Buffy returns to the library to find a knocked out Xander, who then explodes at Buffy. This is the beginning of a weird dynamic in the Xander/Buffy relationship. While Willow tends to soften blows to Buffy, Xander straight up tells her to man up and stop being a douche. He tells her "If they hurt Willow, I'll kill you", which is such a powerful line. Buffy finds a vamp at the Bronze and, taking some notes from Jack Bauer, tortures her for information to the gang's whereabouts.

Buffy, Angel, and Xander find the ritual taking place and Buffy starts taking on all the vamps by herself. What a weird collection of vampires. Poor poor extras can not pull off that makeup convincingly. This fight scene is evidence that this season has a much higher budget than Season 1, there's a lot going on here, including a vamp getting disintegrated with a torch! Afterwards, she takes a big sledgehammer to the Master bones and grinds him up, thus working out her issues.

I still don't quite understand what her problem was; maybe because I've never had a real near-death experience, but it seems odd that it would change her entire personality, and smashing up the Master's bones just fixes it. And she smashes his ribs like forty times. But man, that's a pretty piano theme in the background! The next day at school, Buffy has to face her friends, who are surprisingly forgiving. It's a really sweet scene. And all is well!

Overall, it's a good season premiere, though it's hard to watch Buffy be a jerk. Some of it seems a bit TOO out of character, but other than that, I have no qualms with the episode. It's a solid opener.

***1/2