Episode Guide
When She Was Bad Some Assembly Required School Hard Inca Mummy Girl Reptile Boy Halloween Lie To Me The Dark Age What’s My Line?: Part 1 What’s My Line?: Part 2 Ted Bad Eggs Surprise Innocence Phases Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered Passion Killed By Death I Only Have Eyes For You Go Fish Becoming: Part 1 Becoming: Part 2 Following a successful first season, Buffy The Vampire Slayer returns for and improves in every area. With a more complicated plot line involving multiple antagonists, great character development and a longer run time, the second season of Buffy manages to nail the feel of the show whilst improving in the areas that let it down last year. With the characters already established, the second season sees more emphasis on the supporting cast, helping to solidify Buffy as one of the best vampire shows out there. The story begins where it left off last year with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) still suffering from the effects of The Master. Two new vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) appear in Sunnydale and begin wreaking havoc. To make things worse, Angel finds himself turning into his evil alter ego Angelus in a stunning performance by David Boreanaz. Seth Green also makes a cameo appearance as guitarist Oz and his dynamic with Willow (Alyson Hannigan) is one of the stand outs this year. The increased emphasis on the supporting cast whilst balancing focus on the overarching plot and monster-of-the-week episodes show off just how strong the script writing is this year. Buffy is still the focal point of the show though and this year sees a little more lore and mythology around the slayer and her role in the apocalypse. Increased activity from the Hell Mouth sees all manner of monsters appear this year and coupled with the trio of vampires at the helm of the show, brings a great variety to the series. The biggest gripe from last year mainly revolved around the underdevelopment of The Master. With the introduction of three dangerous vampires this year, it feels like a statement of intent from creator Joss Whedon and with such a strong antagonistic presence, helps bring an added level of tension to the episodes. The finale is outstanding too and arguably one of the best finales to a show in recent memory. Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s second season is a massive improvement over last year. The supporting characters are developed in more detail and given their own character arcs, the plot line is more complicated but not at expense of feeling convoluted and the 22 episode length feels like a more natural fit for the show. The balance between comedy and drama is maintained this year despite a darker tone overall and the added emphasis on fleshing out the characters whilst never losing the charming appeal of the show helps Buffy The Vampire Slayer stand out from others like it. There really is nothing like Buffy out there and this groundbreaking show proves once again it can deliver the goods in an outstanding second season.
