It begins with Xander and Willow flirting around in the cemetery.  It looked as though Willow was going to get her wish and finally hook up with Xander but a vampire ruined it. Buffy showed up from her long summer vacation to save the day. The pair wanted to know what she was up to during the summer but Buffy pretty much gave them the cold shoulder. You could tell something was up.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

She was acting very mean to almost everyone. When Angel paid her a visit, she treated him like a cheating boyfriend. She even teased Xander to make Angel jealous. Cordy wondered what was up her skirt but couldn’t put her finger on it. Cordy ended up getting kidnapped before she can wreak revenge on the slayer. It seems like the anointed one was up to no good.

Buffy realized that the master’s bones were gone and went to Giles for help. Giles tried to tell her that a resurrection spell was useless to perform but Buffy’s hard head wouldn’t listen. She assumed that this was about her and wouldn’t let her friends help. This proved to be costly because the ritual couldn’t be performed without the ones who were there when the master died.  They needed their blood to bring back the master. Buffy fell for a trip and Xander assured her if she failed again that he would kill her. I can say that I don’t blame him for his statement.

She gathered what was left of the Scooby gang and freed her friends. She was able to save everyone without minor injuries. She killed a lot of vampires and proved that her summer training was affective. She was able to get over her attitude and save the day. Her friends forgive her and why not…she did save their lives again after all.

This episode showed the beginning of the Angel/Buffy relationship. You could tell that something was there. You knew in later episodes that it would grow into something special. You thought the same about Willow and Xander but Joss Whedon had other plans for them. It looked like Giles had a something special going on to with Ms. Calender. They do look good together and it would have been interesting if She stuck around longer.  Season two was a beginning of  a lot of thing s for the Buffy universe and I’m glad Joss had his chance to show it to it’s fullest.

Rating: 7.0

It begins with some disturbing news. The master will rise and kill the slayer. This sends Giles into a frenzy. He is looking at all his books trying to prove what he read is wrong. Ms. Calendar begins helping him. He asks her to ask a monk about the anointed one. It seems as though he is the one that will lead her to her death. When she finds out the truth she reacts like anyone else would, terrified.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

She tries to quit her duty of being a slayer but that was a dumb move. Her next was to throw books at Giles and have an outburst that reminded me of a rugrat. She told Giles and Angel where to stick it and ran home. Her mother inadvertently gave her words of wisdom. She told her to live her life to the fullest let nothing stand in your way. She hears news that Willow was in danger. Willow told her what happened and Buffy had no other choice but to be strong. She tells Giles that she is going to face the master her own way. He tries to stop her but she ends up knocking him out. She takes the tools she needs and goes off to find the master.

The anointed one found her first. He took her to see the master and it was there that she was killed. The master was able to defeat her with his mind control. He also tasted her blood that lead him to escape his prison. He left Buffy for dead. That was until Angel and Xander showed up. Xander was able to breathe life back into her. She awakes a new woman and a more powerful slayer. She will need her new strength to save her friends at the school. They are being ambushed by a three headed dragon and a legion of vampires.

Giles, Cordelier, Willow, and Ms. Calender were doing their best to fend off the intruders. Buffy was able to watch the school and have one last fight with the master. This time she was able to fight the master on her turf. Angel and Xander were holding back the vampires when Buffy throw the master through the roof landing on huge stick. The master dusted away into a skeleton, sending everything that came out the hell mouth back into their world. Buffy and her gang saved the day once again but it wasn’t the last time she had to deal with the master and his legion of followers.

This episode also featured a second storyline. This was the episode that had Xander show his true feelings for Buffy. Buffy didn’t return the favor and Xander heart was broken. He did show how much he loved by risking his life to save hers. He even forced angel to help him find the girl. This was his first act of extreme bravery. Xander wasn’t the brightest of characters but it did have a lot of heart.

This season ended on a very good note. The season finale was more entertaining than most other shows, including the ones that are on today. It closed up the storyline of the master and left us wondering what will happen with the anointed one. His fate was answered in the second season. The second season also delivered good television and many surprises. The love angle between Buffy and Angel went down in television history as being one of the best love stories ever told. The first season was only the beginning. The second season built the legacy.

Rating: 7.0

It begins with Cordelier being herself. She has everything going for her. She has a cute quarterback, an annoying lackey, and numerous amounts of followers. She also has an invisible woman stalking her! She beats up a boyfriend with a baseball bat to send a message. Buffy investigated and found nothing at the time. She went to Giles and he informed her that it might be a ghost. She believed that it was coming for Cordy. After her teacher gets brutal attack Cordy believes it too.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

She runs to Buffy and her Scooby gang hoping they could help her. The gang was a little hesitate due to the way Cordy treated them. She ensured them, in her own way, that she wouldn’t be a menace to them anymore. They didn’t buy it but they helped her anyway. Buffy was delighted to spend some time with the Sunnydale princess. At first Cordelier’s mouth was bothering buffy but that quickly changed. They came to an understanding of one another when Cordelier opened up. She told Buffy how lonely she is and Buffy could relate. They were having a heart to heart when the invisible woman kidnapped Cordy. Buffy tried to save her but got kidnapped as well.

Meanwhile, the Scooby gang tried to track down The woman. The followed the sound of the flute but realized it was all a setup. Marci Ross, played by Clea Devul, trapped them in the basement. She unleashed an unhealthy gas that could kill them all. They tried everything to get few but couldn’t. Angel popped up and saved them from certain death.

Buffy and Cordy managed to get tied up. The invisible woman wanted to play surgeon with their faces. Cordy cried like a wimpy child while Buffy stayed strong. Buffy managed to get free and was able to get a kick into Marci. Marci played the hide and seek game very well, hitting Buffy with every chance she good get. Buffy had to rely on her other senses to get the job done. She was able to find Marci and knock her out. The MIB showed up and took Marci off her hands. They claim they were going to try ad reinstate her into society. Unfortunately that meant making her into a killing machine!

I enjoyed this episode very much. It had good writing and it dealt with a teen issue. High school could be a dreadful place and being picked on or abused could make invisible. Well not really but it could make you life a living hell. Being a loner is not easy the show was trying to tell people to treat others the way you want to be treated. You never know what the person is thinking or feeling. I liked the interactions with the characters. This was the first episode that featured Angel and Giles communicating. It was also the first episode that showed Angel being a hero. He was a mystery character that fans wanted more of. For a moment there I thought Cordy was going to join the gang but peer pressure is always hard to overcome. Overall, this episode was on the best for the first season. The season finale was even better!

Rating: 7.0

Giles’ worst nightmare was based on his greatest strength: the ability to read and be knowledgeable. Giles was researching the recent phenomenon but couldn’t make sense of any of the words. He couldn’t read the books, computers, or the newspapers. Giles, for the first time in his life, was useless. Xander had to face not one but two of his worst nightmares. The first one was quite embarrassing giving the fact that he walked into one of his classes with just his boxers! The class had a riot with it but Xander was left being the class clown. Speaking of clowns, he was being chased by one later on during the episode. He had a fear of clowns since he was a child. He was able to overcome this fear by knocking the clown out. After all, it takes a real man to knock out a clown.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Willow’s worst nightmare was having to sing in front of a group of strangers. It doesn’t seem so bad if you think about it but if your dressed up like a Chinese doll and don’t have singing voice, it could leave some everlasting scars as an adult. Willow was able to escape that nightmare and enter Xander’s. She helped him gain some courage to knock out the clown so they could escape. It looks like these two truly need each other. In later episodes Xander gets to return the favor.

Buffy’s worst nightmares were quite interesting and a bit predictable. Her father was coming to town and you could tell that Buffy was happy and eager to see him. Once he arrived, he told her the reason why he divorced her mother. It was because of her! He said some pretty harsh things that left Buffy wanting to cry. She wanders into a cemetery and had to face her other worst nightmare, the master. The master was able to bite her and bury her in her own grave. Once Giles found her, we realized that dying wasn’t her worst nightmare but it was for Giles. Buffy arose from her grave a vampire and didn’t even realize it. Willow told her about her new face and it was made clear that Buffy’s worst nightmare was becoming a vampire herself.

How did everyone’s nightmare come true you ask? A little boy by the name of Billy was put into a coma by his father. The was living his worst nightmare over and over in his coma. Since this is the Hellmouth misery loves company. The boy was inadvertently making everyone’s nightmare come true. His was an ugly image of his father beating him with a baseball bat. This master was able to attack other people as well sending them to the hospital. Buffy had to fight this thing in order to wake the boy up. Once the monster was defeated, the boy awoke and everything went back to normal. The father paid a visit but Buffy had some stern words for him before she left. Let’s hope it sunk in so the Scooby gang doesn’t have to relive their nightmares all over again.

This episode was very intriguing. Their nightmares fit well with their personalities and nothing was too far fetched. One of their classmates were scared of being attacked by his dead spider collection, Cordelia having a real bad hair day, mangled hands, and flying killer bees. It was an action packed episode that starts from the very beginning. I enjoyed this episode and consider it the best one of the first season.

Rating: 7.5

The episode begins with Giles picking out students for the Sunnydale talent show. The gang decides to join him and rag on the other students. Unfortunately, Principal Snyder overheard all of their jokes and decided to put them into the talent show as contestants. If that wasn’t bad enough, one of the talent contestants got murdered by an unknown evil. It’s too bad cause she was really talented. Giles and the gang were on the hunt to find who could of done this. After some research, Giles found out that it wasn’t a demon but a human!

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

The gang suits up and starts to investigate the possible culprits. After a few interviews and Xander having to deal with the corky Cordelia, they established one possible killer, Morgan, played by Rich Werner. He is an amateur ventriloquist that has a dummy for his best friend. Their act is quite funny. Morgan is the shy loner while the dummy is very horny. Buffy tried talking to Morgan a few times but the dummy was too busy trying to get in her pants. Most of the time, she thought it was Morgan but unfortunately it turns to actually be the dummy. The dummy was once a man and was once a demon hunter like Buffy. One of his nemesises trapped him inside the dummy for centuries. He asked Buffy if she could help him free his soul by killing the last demon. She eagerly agreed but there is one problem. Who is the demon that they need to kill?

The dummy told Buffy that the demon is pretending to be human and is one of the contestants. Giles went to the talent show to look for this mystery demon. He was on the watch for anything suspicious. Principal Snyder was lurking around backstage of the show and you could tell he was up to something. He wasn’t the demon but he does have something up his sleeve. In later episodes we will find out what he is all about. He knows more than what he lets on. Back in the library the gang finds out that the demon needs one more body part to complete its transformation into a permanent human. All he needs is a smart brain. This is bad news for Giles.

One of the contestants tricks Giles into helping him with his magic act. It was an evil scheme to get Giles all tied up so he could take his brain. Buffy and the gang shows up before the demon can cut off Giles head. It was actually Xander who saved him from being beheaded while Buffy was beating up the demon. The Demon got the better of her but the Dummy pops up behind it and stabs it to death. Once it died, the demon hunter’s soul was finally released. Buffy seemed sad because throughout the episode you could tell that they had chemistry. During the end credits, we were treated to their talent show performance. To say the least they had the crowd sitting in awe!

This episode was one of the best standalone episodes of the show’s entire run. I couldn’t find one actor who didn’t play their part well enough. For their first year budget this looked quite good. I was every standalone episode could be this entertaining but even great writers have bad days. The first season really was that bad at all.

Rating: 7.0

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

The episode started with a bunch of monks, talking in some funky language, about banishing a demon named Moloch, being voiced by Mark Deakins. They explained about how dangerous this demon is and prayed that no one reads the book that they trapped him in. These monks had no clue that one day Moloch would released, not by a human but by a computer. Willow unknowingly scanned the book into the school’s computer. Moloch was unleashed into cyberspace where he was able to chat up a couple of lonely teenagers looking for a friend. It was sad seeing Willow being one them. She told Buffy that it’s not every day that a guy shows interest in her. She was so intrigued by his words that she fell in love with the demon. She didn’t know that he was a demon but you could tell what the creators were trying to say.

Buffy had her suspicions about her new boyfriend. She started to snoop around, asking questions. She noticed that a couple of the other boys were very protective over willow. She first thought that maybe one of them was her online boyfriend. She quickly realized that wasn’t the case. The demon Moloch knew that Buffy was getting close to the truth. He told one of his followers to kill Buffy. He almost did but changed his mind. He told Buffy of her impending doom just in the nick of time. Moloch was not happy and told one of his other followers to kill the boy. Buffy and the others figured out that Moloch was released into cyberspace and tried to delete the file. It didn’t work. The demon showed his love for Willow and Buffy knew she had to act fast.

Willow on the other hand knew better. The demon gave her a clue that something was wrong with him and she decided not to talk to him anymore. That ended up being a big mistake because she was kidnapped by his followers. They took her to the place where she could finally meet Moloch face to face. He had his followers build a robot that would fit his image. Once created, they loaded him into the machine, making him mobile. Willow was disgusted by the site of him. Moloch still wanted to be with Willow but Giles wasn’t having it. He and Jenny calendar, played by Robia Lamorte, were able to take Moloch out of cyberspace. Unfortunately he was stuck in his robotic body. Moloch busted through walls to get to the slayer and Willow for revenge. Buffy was able to use her brain instead of her brawn to defeat the evil once and for all. At episodes end they joked about her bad their relationships in the future were going to be. They never knew how right they were.

The message in this episode was to tell people to be careful when they are dating online. You never know who you are talking to. They could end up being a monster. This episode also brought in a new character. Jenny Calendar is a computer teacher who has an interesting past. In future episodes, she will be a love interest for Giles. This was the episode that started Giles crush on Jenny. Xander was funny as usually and the episode was able to flow at a decent pace. This episode deserves a good score because of the message they were trying to preach. Be careful who you talk to!

Rating: 7.0

They ran all the way to Buffy’s home. After lying to her mother about who Angel really is, she was able to sneak him upstairs. Don’t worry, she kept her virginity but lost her heart. After tending to his wounds, you could tell that Buffy had fallen head over feet for him. She was so excited about the new development between her and Sngel; she went and blab it to Willow. Xander was about to find out about it and you can guess how he felt.

When night fall hit she returned home to find Angel still in her room. Buffy overreacted to a situation involving her dairy that Angel had nothing to do with. He found her reaction so cute he finally told her his true feelings. Buffy finally received the kiss she had been waiting since the first night she saw him. I guess the kiss was a real mind opener because Angel turned into his true form, a vampire!

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Buffy was in shock. She told her friends and Giles all about it. Giles was able to find information about Angel. It said that he was the most ruthless killer of his time but when he arrived in America all that changed. He became a loner and stopped feeding on humans. Buffy had some hope that Angel was a good guy. That came crashing down when Darla tricked Angel into almost biting Buffy’s mother. She pretended to be one of Buffy’s friends to get into the house. Angel heard her scream and run in to protect Joyce. Darla threw Joyce at him and walked away. Buffy came in and saw him in a very awkward position with her mother. As a result, she threw him out the house! She was able to get her to the hospital before she bled to death. Buffy was hungry for revenge on Angel. She geared with her best fighting tool and went on the hunt. With the encouragement of Darla, Angel was ready for the showdown.

Angel and Buffy met up on the closed Bronze and had some words for one another. Buffy tried to kill him but he is just too quick. Buffy came to her senses and realized that Angel couldn’t have done that to her mother and let her guard down. Darla, who was watching in the shadows, was disappointed that Buffy’s feelings got in the way. Darla opened up fire by shooting at Angel and Buffy! Giles and the rest of the gang learned that it was Darla who did it when Joyce awoke from the hospital. They were able to distract Darla long enough for Buffy and Angel to get the upper hand. Angel was able to stake Darla in the back before she could make her next move. The master was not happy and showed remorse after learning of Darla’s death. Buffy and Angel were able to get on the same page again but chose to keep their feelings for one another on a tight lease. We all know that leash gets broken in later seasons.

This was a very good episode that involved everyone essential to the season’s major plotline. We saw the beginning of the Buffy and Angel love fest that ended with the death of Darla. The character does return on the spin off series of angel but this was the last time that character ever appeared on Buffy. I thought the ending could have been done better but given its budget for the 1^st season, I don’t think it was possible. Despite that this series delivered a solid episode.

Rating: 7.0

This episode begins with the gang on a field trip. They were taken to The Sunnydale Zoo where they were able to see many different foreign animals. These animals, well just the Hyenas, can possess a human and take control of their bodies. Unfortunately Xander didn’t know how to mind his business and got possessed by one of the hyenas. Not to worry; he wasn’t the only one. The school bullies also joined in on the fun and boy did they have a good time.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

They enjoyed themselves by praying on the weak. The bullies ganged up on a nerd in gym class and even went as far as eating a pig, Xander included! Xander also had his fun playing games with Willow. He teased her a lot to the point where her heart was broken. Buffy didn’t like this and threatened Xander. She couldn’t pin point what was up with Xander’s attitude. She went to Giles for guidance and he was able to find out what could of happened to Xander and the others. I bet he wished he found out sooner because then the principal may have survived the episode instead of ending up as a human waste product!

Buffy was able to capture Xander before he could do anymore harm. It wasn’t hard; all she had to do was let Xander think he was capable of raping her! It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. She knocks him out and throws him in a cage. Giles orders to find the others while he searches for a way to reverse the possession. Willow is left to watch over Xander. Xander puts his charm on and tries to get Willow to release him but Willow isn’t stupid. She ignores him until his friends come to break him free. They chase her around the school before Giles and Buffy shows up to save her. She kicks their butts and they flee to find a weaker opponent. Willow and Giles goes back to the zoo to help Mr. Anderson with the reversal of the hyena possession.

Giles was able to learn a lot from Mr. Anderson. After all, he has studied them most of his life. That should have raised a red flag for Giles. He ended up turning out to be a bad guy that wanted to be possessed by the hyenas! He wasn’t happy that a bunch of kids beat him to the chase. Buffy was able to lore the pack back to the zoo only to find willow being held by Mr. Anderson with a knife to her throat! Once the pack arrives he reverses the possessions and sends all the bad spirits into himself. He briefly fights Buffy only to be knocked in the hyena pit. He gets eaten alive and gets exactly what he wanted. He finally was part of the hyena kingdom.

Everything is back to usually by episode’s end. The gang is back together laughing and joking and Giles is still pondering his thoughts about why he is still among them. This episode was a great way to show the media how creative they can be without going over the top. Despite the budget it was still well directed and the special effects were as good as it can get. This series only got better from here on.

Rating: 8.0

Buffy is in the library talking to Giles when her crush of the week pops in. His name is Owen Thurman played by Chris Wiehl. He’s a shy kid who doesn’t get out much. This drives the girls crazy. Cordelia and Buffy literally bump into each other just to grab a seat next to him. He tells the girls that he will be at the Bronze and he hopes to see Buffy there. She was so excited that he was interested in her she forgot that she was the slayer. Giles heard about the anointed one was coming and wanted Buffy to check it out. She does reluctantly but gets excused by Giles later on after nothing pops up in the cemetery. She arrives at the Bronze to find Cordy all up on her man. Buffy feels hurt and leaves. Don’t worry, she will get a second chance.

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Owen finds Buffy and invites her on a date. He gives her his watch so she will have no excuses this time. She asks Willow and Xander for help on her wardrobe but Xander acts like the father figure. Buffy does find something attractive to wear with the help of Willow. She hears the doorbell ring and runs down the stairs only to find Giles. An incident happened where a group of passengers on a bus got murdered. Giles thought that one of these was the anointed one and wanted Buffy to check it out. She tells Giles that she has a date and she can’t miss it. She convinces Giles that she can do both and he lets her go free. Instead, he checks out the morgue and finds more than he can bargain for. He encounters a few vampires but manages to escape. He gets word out to Willow and Xander about his current troubles and he wants them to find Buffy. They find her at the Bronze with not just Owen but Angel too! He showed up to warn her about the potential danger. Willow and Xander slips the info to Buffy and she is off to save her watcher but before she leaves she gives Owen a kiss on the cheek! It must have been some kiss because Owen follows her to the morgue. Buffy now has to not only protect Owen but her secret as well. She does an okay job with the help of her friends. She does manage to kill the most dangerous vampire of the bunch but only after she thinks that he killed Owen. She goes into a frenzy beating up the vampire and throws him into the oven to burn and turn into dust.

Owen gets up and tells Buffy that he has to go. She believes that she has lost her chance at Owen but Owen delivers a surprise the next day. He wants to hang out with her more because he thinks that she is exciting and dangerous. Buffy tells him no and she sets him free from her heart. She tells Giles that she would be the death of him and she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if that came to pass. Meanwhile it looked like the master has got what he wanted. The vampire that she killed wasn’t the anointed. The anointed rose before Giles arrived. How is Buffy to kill a vampire that took the form of a child?

This episode was one of the better ones this season. The acting was good and the special effects keep getting better. The mood was darker than usual but I can understand it with the anointed storyline. This episode was one of my favorites and I believe this was the episode that helped jump start the phenomenon.

Rating: 7.0

Later at The Bronze, Xander is being teased about his manhood and he tries to prove that he is no virgin. He tries to get Willow and Buffy to help him impress the guys but Buffy spots Angel and floats to him like a dog craving water. He warns her that danger is coming and he has the wounds to prove it. It looks like he got in a fight with wolverine! Back in school the students are wondering where their bio teacher is. They find him stuffed somewhere with his head chopped off! Buffy was not pleased with this and went to Giles for help. He and the gang went through many different scenarios but nothing concrete. Then something strange happened. Xander formed a crush on the new sub Ms. French, played by Musetta Vander. This teacher is beautiful and it seems she has a thing for young men. I wished she was my bio teacher in high school!

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

During one of Buffy’s hunts, she came across the vampire that attacked Angel and noticed that he was afraid of someone. The vampire tried attacking Ms. French but backed off in a fright. Buffy knew something was off about her if vampires were afraid to attack her. She did some investigating and found out that the teacher can move her head back like The Exorcist. She came across that by accident of course. After giving the information to Giles, he realized that she may be some form of an ancient insect that rapes men! It has a good reason of course. It needs their special babies to fertilize her eggs. This thing is a major freak!

Buffy tries to warn Xander but like any other horny boy that is hot for the teacher, he doesn’t listen. He wishes that he did because once captured, one of the other prisoners informs him of what she can do. First she lays her eggs and then she mates with you. During the mating, she proceeds to bite your head off! Yeah, that’s not a good way to lose your virginity.

Buffy figures out her plan and rushes to save them. Too bad she got the wrong address and doesn’t know where she lives. She does a very smart thing however and uses the clawed vampire to sniff her out. It works and she finds her home. The clawed vampire escapes and almost kills Buffy but she gets the upper hand and stakes him in the heart.

Buffy arrives in the nick of time and saves the two boys. She goes to town cutting up the freaky insect and shows how much she really cares for Xander.

This episode was decent at best. The pace was slow and the acting seemed flat. Anthony Head and Sarah Gellar didn’t seem much into this episode. Maybe it was because Nicholas had a lot of screen time. He performed well and he proved that he can hold an episode on his own. Other than his performance, everyone else didn’t give it their all and you could tell. This is one of those episodes that you can skip. You wouldn’t be missing much!

Rating: 5.0