Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Selfless

"This isn't springy, high-flying fun!"

So here comes the Anya episode we were sort of expecting, and it's simultaneously hilarious and tragic. That'll be Buffy, then.

The hilarious bits are, of course, the flashbacks, starting with "Aud" back in 800 AD with her very Viking husband Olaf who we have, of course, met before. I love the Old Norse with witty translated dialogue, and the sepia tones with scratched picture quality- and the fact that Anya has always been Anya. The tale of how she became a vengeance demon may have no surprises but it’s fun, and that’s the point; the rest of the episode is pretty grim. Anya is back to her killing ways as a vengeance demon, guilt notwithstanding, and it seems Buffy has to kill her. This leads to a gripping argument between her and Xander which, the rather Judge Dredd line “I am the law” aside, is fascinating in both how Buffy as the Slayer is, in the end, always alone with the hard decisions- and, of course, she once had to send Angel (he gets a mention, despite the different network!) to Hell. It also eves that, hard though things may be, Buffy is over last season’s angst.

Other stuff happens; there’s a big CGI spider; Spike is still consumed with guilt over his attempted rape of Buffy; and Willow’s eyes and attitude go a bit Dark Willow for a few seconds as she casts a protection spell: interesting.

It’s Willow who summons D’Hoffryn to solve the whole mess; Anya is able to reverse the deaths she has caused, but for magic there is always a price. And, D’Hoffryn being the boss from Hell, literally, he lets Anya think she’s sacrificing herself only to sacrifice Halfrek instead, her best friend, just to be a bastard, and then fires her for good measure. I’m sure we’ve all had a manager like that at some point.

We end on a hopeful note, perhaps, with a strangely non-awkward scene between Anya and Xander, but are reminded, again, that “from beneath you, it devours”. Yep. That’ll be another bloody good episode.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lessons

"And stay away from hyena people. And any lizardy-type athletes..."

And so we're back to Buffy, and at last we're starting the final season. It's fantastic to find that this episode is written by Joss Whedon himself. Whatever happens later on, this season gets a fantastic start with a script so quotable it made choosing the quote a real problem. I mean, I could have gone for "Synchronised swimming. Complete mystery to me", which is a comment I have much sympathy with me.

We start, though, with a mysterious sequence in Istanbul where some cliche baddie monks catch a girl and brandish what looks awfully like a sacrificial knife. It looks potentially both nasty and arc-related; we will see.

We then move, following how last season ended, to Buffy teaching Dawn how to fight vampires, which is nice to see. And of course a contractual scene with Willow and Giles in the inevitably picturesque English countryside, where Willow is being taught to control her powers by an apparently cool yet unseen coven led by a suspiciously Marvelesque "Miss Harkness". Willow seems pretty together now, getting used to living with the guilt, the fear and Giles going "all Dumbledore" on her. Interesting that Giles mentions in passing that Willow's magic is not an addiction; an acknowledgement that it was always a clumsy metaphor?

But the big thing is the re-opening of Sunnydale High and the baddie of the week- some zombie-ghosts of people Buffy failed to save. Dawn's first day at school seems to parallel Buffy's, to the extent of her acquiring friends to parallel Willow and Xander, although fortunately there's no Jesse figure. The new Principal seems mysterious and interesting; he seems rather quick to offer Buffy a job as counsellor. I'm sure we will learn more.

Oh, and we find a confused Spike, or rather William, very vulnerable and completely losing his cool. But something is coming, something which Willow feels through the Earth and which Spike sees as brief cameos by Warren, Glory, Adam, Mayor Wilkins, Drusilla and the Master. Something which sets up the season to come with some elegant breaking of the fourth wall. There promises to be, indeed, quite a ride...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Entropy

"You're lesbians, so the hating of men will come in handy!"

Anya's back, looking for revenge! And... actually we get a rather witty and thoughtful episode that mixes comedy with very good characterisation, hitting exactly the right tone in the way that only Buffy can.

Xander starts the episode in a terrible state, drinking bottles of awful, undrinkable American lager. Fortunately, Anya's return at least saves him from that awful (though perhaps deserved) fate, in spite of going terribly wrong.

Other stuff is happening, of course; Jonathan is doing some spell type thingy, while the rest of the gang (well, Warren) seem to have ominous plans for him. Spike is still threatening to tell everyone about him and Buffy. Buffy and Dawn are slowly reconnecting. But much of the episode, played for comedy and performed with superb comic timing by Emma Caulfield, consists of Anya trying to get each member of the cast in turn to curse Xander. Eventually she connects with spike, over a bottle of bourbon. Very well, in fact. To the point of doinky doinky. Unfortunately this happens right in front of one of many cameras installed by the three nerds, just as it's been hacked by the Scoobies- and everyone sees. Including Buffy and Xander, both heartbroken. And this time the anger between Anya and Xander is mutual. The whole fallout is simply brutal.

And then we get a final scene, perfectly scripted, where Willow and Tara, the sweetest couple ever, get back together. This is the perfect ending to an episode that really does demonstrate this programme's absolute mastery of tone. Magnificent telly.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hell's Bells

"Nothing on Earth can stop this wedding now...”

We all know what television wedding episodes are like- Light-hearted, funny, relaxing, with a little bit of drama but everything turning out ok in the end. Except this is a Joss Whedon Show. So we get most of the above aside from the ending, which takes your heart and repeatedly stomps on it.

Still, most of the episode is fun, witty, and let’s the characters breathe in contexts we don’t usually see, with Buffy as best man while Willow and Tara bond again, and Spike brings some ransomed as a date to get at Buffy, except that this ends up in the kind of bizarrely heartwarming conversation between the two of them that few lesser shows would do. We finally get to see Xander’s family, and they are every bit as awful as we might imagine- and his parents’ marriage is a big part of why we get the ending we do.

But then it ends, and Xander can’t go through with the wedding, not because of the token baddie but his own innate, pathetic, yet very human fears and, having seen his family, we are horrified but can sort of understand. Like Willow, we feel we should hate him but can’t. Anya, though? It’s heartbreaking how her loving monologue is juxtaposed with Xander’s doubtful body language, and the blow is utterly devastating in a brutal piece of televisual excellent. In the end she’s back with D’Hoffryn- to be a vengeance demon again? Heart-wrenching telly.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Older and Far Away

"We do not joke about eating people in this house!"

It's the "Buffy's birthday" episode (Buffy is now 21, which means she can now legally drink in the United States: hallelujah. How on earth do young Americans put up with that?) and so, as tradition dictates, it all goes horribly wrong. There's humour, there's character stuff, this isn't a particularly standout episode but it's all rather good.

So the party is planned, and there is awkwardness: Willow and Tara are both invited, as are two non-Scooby "friends"- I wonder if there will be any follow-up to the weirdness that they witness? Spike turns up with his poker-playing demon friend Clem, who is explained away as having a "skin condition". This is all mined rather nicely for humour. I love the bit when Willow explains all about her present for Buffy, a "massage device", and then Buffy and Spike exchange a naughty look...!

And then the magic happens; they are all trapped in the house forever, including the two outsiders, as part of a wish that Dawn was trapped int making and the consequences of which are obviously not going to do her any good. It soon becomes obvious that it was Halfrek who, in a nice touch, is a vengeance demon specialising in bad parents. The resolution is neat and funny, but unfortunately in the process it's revealed that Dawn has been shoplifting...

Oh, and Halfrek and Spike know each other, it seems. I wonder if anything will come of this...?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Doublemeat Palace

"You're better than this!"

Yes, I know: it's been far too long. But from now on, aside from a mini-break between seasons, there'll be no non-current TV in this blog that isn't Buffyverse. Promise. I'm going to finish this marathon and enjoy myself in the process.

Anyway, this is an intrinsically depressing episode about the awfulness of fast food and the sheer soul-destroying and profound bleakness of working in such a restaurant, with its crushingly monotonous processes, made much worse by the fact that, as Dawn insightfully points out, Buffy is the Slayer and will therefore be doing such soul-crushing work for the rest of her short, violent life. So let's get Jane Espenson to write it and leaven all this with wit and humour, although I suspect I may see a moderately subtle vegetarian subtext here. But it's a nice little one-off tale, with a nice twist, and shows us the depressing economic reality of being the Slayer.

Oh, and this is the first episode of Buffy I ever saw, at uni, courtesy of my housemate. It kept my attention, although I took a while to become hooked.

Sub-plots include Willow's cold turkey from magic, this season's rather strained metaphor for drugs, with Amy as her bad influence friend whom she finally rejects- yay Willow- and Anya's and Xander's festering doubts about their upcoming nuptials. Anya's old demon mate is fantastic; I don't usually single out guest stars but Kali Rocha is brilliant.

This isn't, perhaps, a particularly great episode to return to, and there's a certain hint of mid-season treading of water. But even a mediocre episode of Buffy is superior to most other telly. It's good to be back.