5/10 Back during the lockdowns of 2020 (I wish I could forget), a friend recommended this as one of her favorite shows so I watched the debut season. It was silly and cheesy but enjoyable if you keep your expectations in check and enjoy the characters, who were a lot of fun. Since the show didn’t blow me away I took my time in getting to the second season (after re-watching the first to refresh my memory) and it is essentially is the same as season one in terms of making your enjoyment based upon your expectations. While season one was a brisk 12 episodes, once the show got picked up, every following season clocks in at 22 episodes, which is actually somewhat of a time commitment when episodes range between 41-43 minutes. Episodes are rather formulaic and almost feel like a live action “Scooby-Doo” (makes sense considering Sarah Michelle Gellar went on to play Daphne is two live action “Scooby-Doo” movies) in the sense that we get a “monster of the week” that our characters have to dispatch of in just under 45 minutes. While the main threat always remains vampires, it is wise of the writers to change things up, especially with so many episodes to cover. I wonder if the writers will be able to not run out of ideas with the new 22 episode count across seasons two through seven. While I actually preferred the first season being a bit shorter, there are both good and bad to this sophomore season. Before I get into specifics, I will comment on what stayed the same. The characters are still a ton of fun to spend time with and despite the change in number of episodes, the episodes themselves still fly by rather quickly. However, both seasons are still incredibly cheesy/silly with many things flat out not making any sense. From mutilated school children to literal school shootings to attempted and successful murders to disappearances and monster sightings, there is no way that families would still live in Sunnydale or let their children attend this high school that puts their kids in danger every week (you thought Hawkins, Indiana was bad). Realistically, the school would be completely shut down. I know that none of this can happen for the show to continue but that doesn’t make it any less ridiculous. In terms of what was better about this season than the debut season, this is a much more emotional season, due to the fact that we have more time to develop specific situations and characters. The best emotional moments come out of romantic relationships and one episode featuring a death of a beloved character had me in tears. Buffy and Angel’s relationship definitely provides a roller coaster of emotions and strengthened the season overall. While some episodes feel like filler, others do push the overarching narrative of the season forward, with a couple of new people learning that Buffy is the slayer. It was also fun seeing cameos from some famous stars back in the day of before their careers took off like John Ritter, John Hawkes, Wentworth Miller, Conchata Ferrell, Shane West, etc. As for what didn’t work, this show has the most coincidences in all of television with characters always showing up at exactly the right moment and always being able to find who they are looking for (despite no way to track them since this is all pre-cell phone days) in a decently sized city. There are also silly moments like Xander having a broken arm with a cast on and later on in the episode he punches a bad guy with the broken arm and doesn’t so much as flinch. The music is cheesy and the high school might have the worst vetting process for finding staff and faculty as several teachers end up being psychopaths (the principal too). Our protagonists are always able to get into their unlocked school at any time of day or night and they seemingly miss half of their classes from hanging out in the library with Giles. Overall, if you liked the first season, you will enjoy the second season and vice versa. This show is all about your expectations so if you don’t mind some cheesy, nostalgic fun with rather low quality, Buffy might just be right for you.
#SlayerHater / #OnlyOnSpikeTV / #PerfectCasting / #AnthonyStewartHeadMaster / #SteamTeam / #FreeGilly
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