BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

SEASON TWO

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: witchcraft, violence, sensuality

Rated:

It was the year Angel went bad, and Spike came to town. After the success of the first half-season of Buffy, the WB signed on for a second year. Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), slayer of all things evil, has spent an uneventful summer with her dad in LA trying to recover from her dance with death at the hand of the Vampire Master. She successfully killed the dark power, but not without great cost. Haunted by the memories of her momentary death, Buffy endures mind-numbing nightmares that often prove to be prophecy. While dealing with her insecurity and fear that the Master will return, Buffy teams up with her friends Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) to conspire against newcomers to the vampire coven. Eccentric and lovesick Drusilla (Juliet Landau) and Spike (James Marsters) have come to the hellmouth to battle the slayer.

Buffy's greatest assistance into the workings of criminal minds comes in the form of Angel (David Boreanaz), a tormented two hundred year old vampire cursed into retaining his humanity, making him unable to feed on humans. Drawn to assisting Buffy in the continuing battle over Sunnydale, Angel and Buffy's relationship intensifies. Knowing their relationship would never work, Buffy spends her days alternately dreaming of and dreading spending time with her black-clad angel of darkness and training with bookish Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). While reading up on all manner of demonic forces in the ancient stacks of his library, Giles entertains the flirtatious attentions of the school computer teacher, Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte). As their relationship grows deeper, it soon becomes apparent that neither Jenny or Giles are all they appear to be. Both have a secret past that may threaten the outcome of the battles to come.

With Drusilla weakened from being staked by a mob in Prague, Spike conspires to bring her back to full health and wreck havoc on Sunnydale, little knowing he soon will have an unexpected ally.

What started out as a cheesy attempt to cash in on the Goth rage transformed into a decent show in the second season. Buffy has many faults, but its first three seasons don't reflect the worldly mindset of later episodes. The material is heavy in emotional form but doesn't involve too much occult-related material. There are the usual vampires, demons, mummies, monsters, werewolves, zombies, and every other form of walking terror you could imagine, but at the heart builds the story of relationships between the characters. Giles and his unlikely romance with Jenny, Xander unexpectedly falling for self-centered Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), Willow abandoning her life-long crush on Xander for drummer Oz (Seth Green), Spike and his curious affection for Drusilla, who is mentally deranged, and above all, Buffy and Angel who are ultimately forced to battle one another in a painful showdown.

Violence is expected and intense, with Buffy pitted constantly against creatures with murderous intentions. Numerous vampires are staked through the heart, turning to dust. Characters are kicked through walls and windows, punched in the face, hit over the head with various pieces of equipment, burned with holy water and sunlight, tied up, chased through dark alleys, and bitten on the neck. Spike and Drusilla like to play with their victims before eating them. There is some blood, as well as rituals by the vampires in order to restore health to their numbers. An occult in Sunnydale has college boys kidnapping teenage girls and feeding them to a giant underground-dwelling demon-snake. Buffy and her friends find severed body parts in a dumpster. Boys gruesomely shed their skin, leaving it in ribbons on the floor. A zombie comes to life and terrorizes females; a mummy attacks and sucks the life-force from men in order to stay alive. In one episode, a ghost possesses people and forces them to relive a crime from the 1950's. A woman's neck is snapped. There is occasional British slang, and profanity.

Sexual content is not without consequences. Angel and Buffy consummate their love one rainy night, and the next morning Buffy wakes up to find him gone. Because he enjoyed a moment of pure happiness, Angel has lost his soul and reverted back to his demonic state. Buffy has to deal with his rejection and mockery of her lost virginity. (Her mother is very upset when she learns the truth.) The scene is tame, but the next episode has a racy flashback. There are many instances of passionate kissing, a few discussions on sex, and mild innuendo. It's implied that Buffy is wearing nothing underneath a raincoat and comes on to Xander while under a spell; Willow tries to plead him into bed in the same episode. Jenny becomes very forward with Giles. Xander discovers that one of his classmates is gay; the guy assumes that Xander is too. Buffy and Cordelia wear tight, short skirts, and low-cut tops.

Witchcraft is involved in some episodes. Jenny is a techno-pagan (witch), but isn't shown casting any spells. She researches to find out how to curse Angel's soul back into existence; Willow later performs the spell, channeling energy and dark powers. Xander teams up with the school witch to make Cordelia fall in love with him, and instead turns the entire female population of Sunnydale wacko. The only mention of religion is coupled with the term "freaky," implying that all faiths are suspect. The first season of Buffy made me very uneasy. I could feel an evil undercurrent to many of the episodes, but that wasn't prevalent in the follow-up. I absolutely loved how funny, frightening, and intense the saga of Spike and Drusilla's invasion was. This season is well worth watching, if only to see what becomes of Buffy's bad choices.