It's Friday, which means it's time to talk Buffy.
"Lie to me" sees the appearance of an old friend of Buffy's from LA. Fun fact here: the actor that plays "Ford" is Jason Behr, who played tortured alien "Max" in the 1999 TV show "Roswell". But in this episode, Ford is not exactly tortured over his decision to trade Buffy to Spike for a chance at becoming a Vampire. At first this appears to be just totally insane and dickish, but he soon explains that he's dying any way, "In six months what they bury won't even look like me. It'll be bald, and it'll smell bad." I do have a moment of sympathy for the character, dying of cancer at any age is brutally unfair. Ford gets his wish, and becomes a vampire, only to have Buffy stake him the moment he's out of his grave.
"The Dark Ages" is when we see how truly dark and disturbing Giles was when he was younger. I love the reappearance of Ethan Raine, who was seriously under used in this show. He's got that "I'm diabolical and selfish, but ain't I kinda cute?" brashness about him, which is helped by the smarmy smiles and jabs at Ripper/Giles' transformation from bad ass demon raiser to tweed clad demon fighter. But the rather clumsy way they separate Jenni and Giles is pretty annoying. I mean really, would you break up with a hot English guy just because a demon he conjured like twenty years ago possess you for a couple hours?
"What's my line?" parts one and two are two of my FAVORITE episodes of this season. We've got some romantic Buffy and Angel action, with an interesting "Vampires on Ice" fight scene. Three interesting assassins, Oz and Willow FINALLY meeting and the first time Cordelia and Xander get all smoochy. The Latvian bug guy is the best assassin, and the scene of him raining his little buggy parts all over Cordy is one of the grosser things in this show. Funny moment: Xander is hosing the bugs off Cordy and there's a moment where he's pointing the hose at her chest and staring hypnotically. We also have the first appearance of slayer #2, Kendra, who accidentally helps Spike capture Angel so he can rejuvenate Drusilla. At the end of the show, the assassins are taken care of, Oz and Willow are cutely flirting over a box of animal crackers and Drusilla carries Spike out of the rubble of the burning building where they supposedly were killed.
"Ted" has one of the best guest stars in the entire show: John Ritter. He's truly chilling as Ted, a robot who's obsessed with Joyce and intent on getting Buffy out of the way. There's lots of great dialogue that points to the fact that good ole Ted isn't what he appears to be, but it's hidden in everyday phrases like "I'm just not wired that way" and "Oh, you mean 'The Machine'?" I adore John Ritter, have since "Three's Company" Dan made an interesting point that John Ritter is one of those actors who never quite found the right vehicle at the right moment. I wish he had.
"Bad Eggs" is an interesting body snatcher kind of ep with a huge pulsating blob that lives in the school basement (which let's be honest, EVERYTHING lives in the frickin' school basement). It honestly looks and feels a bit more alien than demon, but throw in some cowboy vampires with an ax to grind and you've got a pretty good one.
The show really hits it's stride this season, so many good one liners, with Xander delivering most of them. I know a lot of people talk about the angsty quality of this show, but compared to other teen vampire stories like "Twilight" I honestly don't mind. I think it's because it's angst with quality story telling.
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