Innocence

Mark here... this episode of Buffy is called , "Innocence", and whoa! It was much better than the last! This episode had much more of the emotion involved in Buffy's choice to sleep with Angel and was much less of the young adult fawning.

So essentially this episode starts with Angel's curse being broken. He runs out of the bedroom with Buffy and it soon becomes clear he has lost his soul and become Angelus.  Angelus eventually confronts Buffy and tells her that sex essentially meant nothing and she wasn't that good.  This would be awful for anyone but for a teenager, so tough!  Buffy eventually realizes what's up.  She also realizes that Jenny Calendar is not what she seems, thanks to a prophetic dream.  She confronts Jenny and the curse is revealed,  and the fact that it's broken.  Willow figures it out first and shows the first signs of adult Willow.  Willow up until now had been portrayed as the mousy nerd, and now she's starting to show a more complex side.  For instance, she is very upset on discovering the Xander-Cordelia romance, but she starts to realize the appeal of Oz, who genuinely likes her.  Of course, this may not be the best choice long term for Oz... but he's awesome!

Anyway, the episode ends and changes the status quo.  Angelus is now evil...

Hi Laurel here...Nothing much to add except I am also super excited about signs of life from Willow.  She is obviously a genius and there's no reason for her to act so mousy and insecure all the time.  I know she has not found her witchy power potential yet but it's nice to see her start believing in herself at least a little.  You go Willow!

We give this one 4 stakes! Just because the writing was better at conveying emotion and we got the inkling of more complexity in Willow's personality.

Surprise

Mark here... we've just watched the next episode of Buffy.  This episode, "Surprise" is about the Buffy-Angel romance...like heavily.  It's interesting to watch this post Twilight and all the other vampire related stuff thats come after.  The whole episode hinges on the romance between 200-year old Angel and now 17 year old virgin Buffy.  At the time and to a teenage audience, I'm sure it played out differently.  As it is now, it was sort of entertaining, but also a little bit boring? I mean I guess part of it, is that I'm not buying the Angel Buffy chemistry.  In any case, the gang finds out that Drusilla is still alive and intent on reviving this super demon, The Judge.  His body parts have been separated and Drusilla has put the parts back together by the end of the episode.

The bigger plot points are that we find out that Jenny Calendar is not what she seems, as an uncle of hers shows up and reminds her of her duty.  Jenny being a gypsy who's job is to ensure that Angel's gypsy curse is never broken. What breaks this curse? A moment of true happiness.  And what could make a 200-year old vampire happier than doing it with a 17 year old virgin?!

It's funny because, when the event inevitably happens, Angel of course tells Buffy he loves her.  Which is clearly what a young teenage girl wants to hear. To my cynical older self though, I'm like, oh, he just wants to do it with you!  I get the whole Young Adult appeal, and this was clearly ground breaking at the time, but I'm a little jaded I guess.  It's not that I don't like Angel, but...  In any case, the episode ends on a cliffhanger, as Buffy and Angel have obviously spent the night and Angel awakes in pain....

Hey Laurel here...not much to add except that I totally agree with Mark!  I know we are watching this with 40 year old eyes.  Also 2014 eyes.  That being said, I can't help but to compare this to "True Blood"  I know they have the benefit of hindsight, but I feel like true blood does a pretty good job of acknowledging that the vampires on the show are hundreds of years old.  They are still in love with 20-something humans, but they address the fact that it's unlikely and find ways to make the relationships a little more plausible.  I know, Buffy is the first show of it's kind, it was the 90s, etc etc...but I can't unsee what I have seen and I really wish they would treat Angel like the 200 year old he really is.

Also I hate Drusilla so much!  Any episode she's in I totally stop paying attention as soon as she's on screen, then Mark has to explain to me what happens.  But this happens to Mark all the time, not just when Drusilla shows up.  I'm sorry Mark.

Also just a quick note that "the judge" who ends up getting re-assembled is totally a 90s raver demon. He's muscle bound with a blue face and baby horns.   I kind of miss 90s rave culture, both because I kind of believe in and and at the same time I love making fun of it.  Pacifers?  Come the fuck on!  but also I lost my virginity at burning man.  You can see why I am conflicted.

This one gets 3 stakes.  barely.  It wasn't the worst but not the best.

Bad Eggs

Hi Laurel here...we're back at it!  Mark made us an awesome dinner of stuffed squash...Acorn squash stuffed with sausage and quinoa topped with cheese.  Yum!  I know what you're thinking, the theme of the blog for this season of Buffy was supposed to be "bloodless"  aka all vegetarian.  Mark was going to make this recipe with veggie sausage but we both decided that would be a crime, so we made an exception to the vegetarian theme for tonight.  We are rebels that way.

So this episode was pretty good!  It borrowed HEAVILY from Alien, specifically Aliens (the sequel) but I'll let Mark fill you in on that, since he actually still has a functioning memory.  As you know, these days mine is not what it used to be.

The gang has the classic assignment in school to take care of an egg baby for a week.  Mark said he never had this assignment, but I did and I failed.  I think I put my egg in the fridge and Barb ate it. Sign from the universe?

Anyway it's Buffy so it turns out there's something fishy about these eggs...They are full of creatures that hatch and take over your body, in service of their queen.  Everyone gets taken over by them except for Buffy and Xander.  Willow and Cordelia end up clocking both of them and knocking them out, which was oddly satisfying.  But like I said I'll let Mark tell you the rest.

Also of note this episode, Xander and Cordelia are hooking up on the reg...but they still hate each other.

Mark here... I liked this episode too.  As Laurel said, it's sort of an "homage" to Aliens and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  The whole thing as a B-movie feel, mostly due to the special effects.  Not that that's a bad thing,  but some scenes are clearly direct from Aliens, except in a high school.  The demons/aliens that are in the eggs are clearly just like the aliens from the movie.  The scenes also play out pretty similarly.  The scene where Buffy confronts her alien from the egg in her room plays out exactly like Ripley and Newt confronting the alien in the med lab in Aliens.  Also, the dissection scene is similar to Aliens dissection.

Once the gang is "infected", it moves into Body Snatchers territory.  I think even though it might not be the most original it's a fun twist, setting this all in a high school, similar to the movie, "The Faculty" which I also enjoyed.

Separately, Buffy's mom is starting to lay down the law with Buffy and tell her to be more responsible.  Of course we know she's not really as irresponsible as she lets on, it's just all the vampire slaying.

All in all, we'd give this episode 3 and a half stakes.  It wasn't brilliant plotwise, but the writing was fun and it played out fun....

Ted

Mark here... we're watching the next episode of Buffy season 2, "Ted".  Boy they really nailed it with this one! John Ritter guest stars as Ted, the guy who Buffy's mom Joyce has been dating.  He is perfectly cast and plays it with an appropriate degree of campiness and creepiness.  Basically, we meet Ted, and Buffy is instantly creeped out by him. Her friends however are impressed by him.  He bakes them cookies and clearly Joyce is taken with him.

Ted is a very "perfect" guy.  He cooks for Joyce and is  a great boyfriend..seemingly.  He shows a dark side initially, but just to Buffy.  Ina game of miniature golf, he threatens Buffy after she cheats at the game. Later Buffy comes to blows with him and he apparently dies after Buffy knocks him down the stairs.  This is a bit of a first for the series, Buffy apparently killing a human.  The writing is a bit weak in that regard. Giles sort of has nothing to say about the matter, except that he will do vampire patrol for a while?  At the same time he makes up with Jenny "Melrose Place" Calendar.

Anyhow, Ted is turns out to be a robot who kills women. It's a simple concept but the show plays it, and John Ritter, perfectly.  In the end, Joyce remembers him as just a bad boyfriend.

Hey Laurel here...this episode was so good!  John Ritter is amazing as the creepy too perfect guy.  Then when he turns on Buffy he amazing as the creepy super creepy guy.

This episode also shows how the gang sticks together and supports each other.  Buffy's mom doesn't believe her when she tries to warn her that Ted is two-faced.  But when Buffy ends up killing Ted, the gang of course whole heartedly believes that there must be something wrong with Ted for Buffy to have killed him, even if it was by accident.

The gang does some digging while Buffy and her mom are feeling guilty/mourning, and discover that he has had 4 marriages but no divorces.  Then when they figure out where he lives they discover all of the wives in the closet!  Gross! But way to go gang!

So Mark and me both agree this is a really good one.  Drumroll please...our first award of 5 stakes!  Check this one out people.

What's my Line? pt 2

Hey Laurel here...So we just wrapped the second part of a 2 part episode where we find out there are 2 Slayers!

In this part Buffy and the other slayer Kendra become pals.  At first Buffy is a little jealous of Kendra because she is a super good slayer technically, and has a lot to nerd out about with Giles, but then she realizes she has her strengths too that Kendra is lacking.  Like a personality for example.

Also in this part Spike and Drusilla execute their plan to cure Drusilla by abducting Angel and tying him up with her so she can drain his life force or something.  It gets a little sexy between the 3 of them but I will let Mark tell you about that part.  Anyway their party gets busted up by the whole gang...Buffy, Kendra, Giles, Willow, Zander, and the 2 remaining bounty hunters.  Kendra and Buffy succeed in rescuing Angel together, and everyone gets out of the burning church except Spike and Drusilla.  But as we find out in the end Drusilla's cure was effective even though they were interrupted...and it seems as though she is going to be able to save Spike too.

Mark here... yeah so we find out that Buffy's drowning at the end of season 1 resulted in Kendra being "called".  So for the first time in Buffy's universe there are 2 slayers.  Kendra is presented as the "good" slayer while Buffy is the unconventional one.  It's interesting but unfortunately Kendra's accent is too distracting to take her seriously.  It's too bad, as Laurel said before, the actress never really had a chance.

We also see the first sparks of romance in this episode...specifically between Xander and Cordelia, and Willow and Oz.  Oz is amazing in every scene.  He is only briefly in the episode but has a subtle charm.  Xander and Cordelia are cornered by one of the bounty hunters and the desperation fires up some passion between them.  It's pretty amusing.

The Spike-Drusilla-Angel dynamic has some sexual tension.  Drusilla tortures Angel and then Angel taunts Spike in a way that has a strong menage a trois vibe.  Anyway, By the end of the episode, Drusilla has recovered but Spike has been weakened.  Burning in a church will do that.  As far as the gang knows, Spike and Dru have bought the farm and Kendra ships out for now, and she and Buffy make amends.

We give this episode 4 stakes.  It was definitely really entertaining and pushed the plot forward, with a second slayer, 2 potential romances and a renewed Drusilla...

What's My Line Part 1

Mark here...Laurel and I have just sat down to the next episode of Buffy season 2, "What's My Line, Pt 1".  I've made us Jamie Oliver's Sweet Potato Chili with Nigella's Guacamole.  Laurel made us a cocktail to go along, called A Salty Chihuahua! It was all very tasty!

Anyway, on to the episode! It's career day at Sunnydale High and the gang is all worried about their career futures...all except Willow, who is singled out as having a promising future by a software company.  Buffy however is stressing out over the fact that she can't go away to college...or really leave Sunnydale.  Seeing how Sunnydale sits on the Hellmouth and she's the slayer...the one and only slayer.  She reminds us again that there is only one slayer and until she dies, she's the one.

Meanwhile, Spike is trying to cure the sick Drusilla and contacts a trio of demon bounty hunters to take out Buffy.  The first one strikes while Buffy is taking a break ice skating.  In a weird montage Buffy opts for some "Me time" on the rink after Angel tells her about it.  It's a weird segment.  I'm convinced it was written in so we could see Buffy take out the demon with her ice skates.  Then we see another of the trio, a weirdo made up of maggots. Also, there is a mysterious girl who arrives in Sunnydale.  We're lead to believe she's the third bounty hunter until the end of the episode. While fighting with Buffy, she says she's "Kendra the Vampire Slayer".

The episode ends on a cliffhanger as we know (but Buffy etc., do not) that Kendra has trapped Angel in a cage by a window.  Once the sun comes up, Angel will be dust...

Hey Laurel here...Not much to add except that the only other student at Sunnydale who is being recruited by the software company besides Willow is...wait for it...Oz!  Romance is brewing?

Also poor Kendra the vampire slayer.  She has the worst accent I've ever heard.  Mark was telling me that she is supposed to be Jamaican, and they brought in an accent coach to teach her the accent only 2 days in advance of shooting.  It ends up sounds kind of Jamaicain/Scottish/???.  This poor actress never stood a chance.

Mark here...one more thing that's weird. After Giles tells Buffy how dangerous this trio of Bounty Hunters is, he lets her leave and walk home alone...and then wonders where she is?!?  Kind of weird and out of character.

In any case, we give this episode 3 stakes.

The Dark Age

Mark here... this next episode of Buffy is called, "The Dark Age".  This one delves a little into Giles' past.  Apparently, Giles and some friends from high school conjured a demon back in the day for kicks and now the demon is back for revenge.  The demon takes hold of dead or unconscious people. In the course of events he possesses Jenny Calendar.  In the end, Willow realizes the best way to defeat this demon is to have it possess Angel, who already has a demon inside him.

It's a fun episode I thought. We get a bit of Giles' past.  He dropped out of Oxford and abandoned his destiny as a Watcher for a time.  Falling into a crowd of rowdy occult-loving punks in London, as you do.  Also, he had the nickname "Ripper" during this time...a bit more punk rock than Rupert.

Otherwise, there's not too much else for me to say about the episode, except that I thought it would've made a better Halloween episode. The Halloween episode first introduced us to Giles' former friend Ethan Rayne as a villain, but here he shows up in a way that's much more integral to the plot. Also, he represents Giles' past as a bad boy.  In the episode, Ethan attempt to sic the demon on Buffy but fails and disappears...

Hey Laurel here..not much to add except about how much Jenni Calendar sucks.  Mark and I have talked about this at length, she is horribly miss-cast.  They really missed an opportunity here to cast a unique, smart, funny, off the beaten path woman, which is what Joss Whedon seems to be into, but instead we get Melrose place.  Her character could be so much more interesting, but alas, it is what is is.  Wah wah.

Overall, this episode gets 4 stakes, on the basis of fun Giles character development...