Season Four Wrap-Up

Contained below and in the next several posts is a wrap-up review of season four. I will warn you I am going to give away lots of SPOILER, so if you haven't seen season two yet or all of it, turn back now. First up, some comments on each epsiode, then some general coments to follow. Enjoy!

Season Four-The Episodes

The Freshman
Written and directed by Joss Whedon
Initial Rating: 8.5

In many ways, "The Freshman" could be considered to be like a second pilot for Buffy. It's an episode that is willing to move the characters foward and find a way for them to re-invent themselves. And on many of those levels it's very successful--it puts a lot of the cards that will be put into play during the season. We meet Riley (whether that's a good or bad thing seems to depend on your feelings about the characters), Professor Walsh, get to see Buffy's new college life and we see hints of the Initiative. All of these plotlines are intriguing enough and certainly have a lot of potential. But what really works well is the plotline of Sunday and her gang , a group of vampires preying up the "weak" college students by taking their lives as well as their stuff. The scene with the vamps and the bets on which poster the freshmen will have is very funny, as is Buffy's first battle with Sunday and the stoner's comment about the "massive sarcasm fest."

But while I liked "The Freshman" a great deal at the time, it hasn't aged well. Part of it may be simply realizing that the superb scenes with Xander in the Bronze will be some of the last really good Xander moments we'll see all year. The other part may be that Giles' begins a long descent (as a character) into not getting enough screen time. It's a shame when a show has such good characters and doesn't use them as much as they should and could be used.

But a lot of the season does come into focus. It's interesting to view Willow here--as the one who is very open to new ideas and excited about trying new things (esp. based on how events play out during the rest of the season). It's also interesting to watch Buffy try to re-establish her "comfort" zones by returning home and to Giles when she's in need of guidance. And to see that she has to be thrust into the next stage of her life, all of which is superbly shown by Sunday's snapping of her "class protector" award.

Revised Rating: 7.0

Living Conditions
Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by David Grossman
Initial Rating: 7.0

I have to admit that "Living Conditions" made a lot more sense the second time around. Part of it I think comes from the foreknowledge the the demons are after Kathy, not Buffy and another part of it has to be that it seemed a bit more believable that Buffy would channel her "inner-Joan Collins" becasue Kathy was sucking away her soul. The episode worked a lot better the second time and I found myself really enjoying it and feeling as if I'd underrated it the first time. Scenes that leap to mind are, of course, the wonderful scene with Xander and Oz discussing if they've tied Buffy tightly enough and the scenes in which Kathy and Buffy go out of their way to annoy each other.

Having the monster of the week tied in so concretely to the main character plotline certainly worked very well and it helped Marti Noxon to overcome one of her early script weaknesses (such as seen in "The Prom" or "Dead Man's Party") with having great character moments that are coupled with a less than convincing monster plotline.

One of my initial reactions to the episode was that I wished Kathy had been given longer to develop as the annoying roommate. In retrospect, I think one episode was enough. Part of it may be that Kathy is intentionally written as a one-note characters (i.e. annoying). But based on how complex the season-long arc became so quickly, there might not have enough room for Kathy in the long-term development.

Revised Rating: 7.5

The Harsh Light of Day
Written by Jane Esponsen
Directed by
Initial Rating: 8.5

Spike returns to the Sunnydale, looking for the Gem of Amarra, a "Holy Grail" to vampires as it will make them invulnerable and virtually unstoppable. Along the way, Anya returns to try and get Xander out of her mind and Buffy pushes her relationship (or supposed relationship anyway) with Parker ahead only to find out Parker is only interested in keeping things casual. There's a LOT of plot threads going on here, all of them interesting enough in the own right and each one handled well enough to keep the viewer interest going. Looking back, it's almost painful to watch Buffy make the wrong choice with Parker as she immediately jumps into a physical relationship, assuming that it will mean something more than it obviously ends up becoming.

The basic theme of the episode deals with the relationships between men and women and how some men are only after one thing. Each of the couplings on the show (Spike/Harmony, Buffy/Parker, Xander/Anya) all end up with the men being distracted by other things and spurning the one they have just been intimate with. It's an interesting parallel structure and one that Jane Esponson really uses well. Of the romantic relationships shown on the show, the only one that is in any way healthy is the Willow/Oz realtionship, which is ironic since this features the first glimpse of Veruca, who will eventually become the wedge that separates Willow from Oz (OK, it was also Seth Green's movie comitments...).

This episode had a lot of expectations on it the first time, most of which it met. As for being the third episode of the year, which in the past has been a pivotal one, it certainly held its own. And James Marsters get to have a lot of fun just being Spike. The only real overall negative point is Harmony who just gets more annoying with a repeat viewing. Why Spike vamped her, I have no idea.

Revised Rating: 7.5

Fear Itself
Written by David Fury
Directed by
Initial Rating: 6.5

Buffy's second Halloween-themed episode certainly has its entertaining moments, but it stills falls horribly flat in the final analysis. The Scooby gang, attempting to break Buffy out of her Parker-induced funk, attends a Halloween party on campus. The only problem is the brothers of the frat house have conjured up a fear demon that is forcing party-goers to come face-to-face with their inner most fears.

My initial reaction is that this episode has been done before in season one with Nightmares, to some extend. Seeing the Scooby gang face up to their fears is certainly a good concept, but one that is hit or miss. Xander's fear of being ignored and lost is interesting, especially since this is exactly what happens as the sesaon progresses. Also, Oz's fear of not being able to control his wolf-side works well and it sets up the arc for his deparature from Sunnydale in two episodes. Willow's not taken seriously as a witch works well and the sequence and her arguement with Buffy are paralleled later by "Restless" in which Willow fears she's not as cool as she thinks she's become over the past few years. All-in-all, all of these fears work well and are nicely realized. But what doesn't work is Buffy's fear. It's a standard horror cliche of being forced to battle demons in a basement. There is groundwork put down for Buffy's fear of rejection by her friends and family or even issues of abandonment (at this point, both men she's been intimately involved with have immedialy abandoned here). Certainly having David Borenaz cameo as Angelus might have been welcome and intereting. Or even have Spike taunt her a bit as the manifestation of her fears. Or even her mother.

However, none of this potential is realized and thus, makes what had a potentially great episode just an enjoyable one.

Of course, I'd be remiss in not pointing out the humor in this one, culminating in the demon actually being very tiny. And Gile's translation of the caption as reading "actual size" is probably one of the bigger laugh out loud moments of the year.

Revised Rating: 6.0

Bad Beer
Written by
Directed by
Initial Rating: 4.0

As I stated when my initial review of this episode came out, it's no coincidence that that the word "bad" is in the title. But in re-watching this episode, I found myself reacting very much like I did in season two to a second viewing of "Some Assembly Required." I found the first act to be wonderfully done and wondered why I'd rated the episode so low. Then, the main plotline kicked in and I remembered why. Don't get me wrong--there's a lot to like in the first few minutes (Buffy's dreams of wanting to save Parker and have him realize how much he loves her, Xander's getting the job and his first talks with the college women). But once we realize that someone is doing some thing to the beer, it all goes downhill. Part of the problem is that I find it extremely hard to believe that Buffy's gang of drinking buddies were the only ones affected by the beer. (Indeed, at one point, we see the guys who order a pitcher get the same beer that affects Buffy and her friends). Surely they can't be the only ones who drink copious amounts of the stuff. And the bartender's motivation seemed a bit off.

But, as with all Buffy in the middle of badness, there is something worth watching. Namely, "Bad Beer" is worth enduring simply to see Willow confront Parker and the "How guillable do you think I am?" line. Also, seeing Buffy club Parker is nicely done as well.

Revised rating: 2.5

Wild at Heart
Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by
Initial Rating: 9.5

After an early string of hitting singles and doubles, Buffy steps up to the plate and delivers a shot over the wall. If not for "Hush", "Wild at Heart" would be my favorite episode of the entire first half of season four. Virtually everything works on the show--from the slow but deliberate eroding of the trust between Willow and Oz, to Oz's confusion about Veruca and his attempts to hide her identity for the Scooby gang. Seth Green delivers an amazingly nuance performance as Oz, who is caught between a rocka and a hard place but only digs the hole deeper by not confiding in Willow about what's going on. Paige Moss as Veruca works well, because she's manipulative enough that you enjoy disliking her, but you can also realize she's got a couple of points and is hitting home to Oz with what she's saying. The slow, but deliberate destruction of Oz and Willow is nicely realized and Marti Noxon delivers the exact dialogue that each of the scenes need so they ring absolutely true.

(I also loved the throw-back in terms of directing to when Oz first discovered his wolf side in "Phases" of him waking up in the woods)

I liked a lot of the character choices--from having Willow attempt to perform a spell to hurt Oz and Veruca, to Buffy's telling Oz that he best keep quiet, to Veruca's attempts to destroy Willow to Oz's having to kill to save Willow, they all work well. There's a point from Buffy's promising to stop Veruca to Oz as a wolf being tranquilized that the show kicks into high gear and it's virtually impossible to take your eyes of the screen.

This episode begins the Emmy campaign for Allyson Hannigan for me. She gets the first of what will be several strong scripts and begins to really develop Willow a great deal.

The only bad part is that it also begins the disapperance of Xander and Giles from the show until the late stages.

But, "Wild at Heart" is still just as wonderful as it when it first aired and easily ranks as one of the top five of season four.

Revised Rating: 10.0

The Initiative
Written by Douglas Petrie
Directed by James A. Contner
Original Rating: 7.0

It's amazing what a bit of perspective can do for an episode. Two years ago, "When She Was Bad" rose in my estimation from just an average episode to a great one based on a bit of hindsight in seeing it later. A similar thing happened with "The Initiative". OK, The Initiative didnt' make as big a jump as WSWB did (WSWB jumped up two full points in my final estimation and I still rank it as one of the top four to five episodes of season two), but it still was a lot more enjoyable on a second viewing.

Part of this may have been the fact that the episode spent a lot of time putting plotlines into play that wouldn't just be played out over the course of an episode but over the course of the entire year. Also, we got to see that in the beginning Riley had his own version of the Scooby gang in terms of his friends in the Initiative. It certainly begins one of the longer runing themes of season four about how new relationships of any kind, but especially romantic ones, can create a great deal of distance between old friends. Watch Riley and Forrest interact here with a natural give and take. Also, watch Willow and Buffy's conversations. Parallel that with the rift that develops (and develops quickly) as the season goes along and comes to a head in "The Yoko Factor."

All in all, the Initiative as an episode works and works well here.

Revised Rating: 8.0

Pangs
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Michael Lange
Initial Rating: 7.0

Pangs didn't really move up or down for me in the final tally.

The strengths of the episode are still in evidence--Buffy's yearning for a normal Thanksgiving and her transformation into Martha Stewart from hell to do it, the progression of Spike's arc and some of the beginnings of conflict in the Scooby gang. What still doesn't work is the motivation for Angel's return (the evil Buffy fights seems no more ruthless than any other form of evil she's yet faced) and Willow's being forced to become the PC person who feels the Native American spirit might just have a point. I understand the motivation of wanting to have a character bring this viewpoint out but the words that come from Willow are not consistent with the character we've come to know and love over the past four years.

A lot of people hold this up as a great episode from season four. I find it an enjoyable one but certainly not up there on the same level as Hush or New Moon Rising.

Revised Rating: 7.0

Something Blue
Written by Tracey Forbes
Directed by Nick Marck
Initial Rating: 7.5

Early in the pre-season four hype, there were rumors that Spike might become romantically involved with one of the Scooby gang members (possibly Willow). My first reaction was--please dear heavens, no! My second was, "If they're going to do that, please dear heavens, let it only be for one episode."

"Something Blue" at least grants the second wish. Don't get me wrong--seeing Spike and Buffy go goo-goo eyed for each other is funny and certainly leads to some great moments, including Giles' being glad that he's gone blind.

But as with most of the humorous episodes that Star Trek has produced of late, there's a problem--namely that the normally intelligent, interesting characters we've come to know and love have to be dumbed down a bit or made a bit more shallow in order to get to the humor. I point namely to the Scooby gang's pretty much callous attitude toward Willow and her break-up. Is this the same girl that has seen Buffy through Angel's fall to an evil bloodsucker and the eventual break-up last year? I can't really blame her for being upset at the Scooby gang because they talk about her and not to her. Or better yet listen. It really takes down one of the strengths of the Scooby gang--which is that everyone cared about each other. I know season four is about the breakdown of the Scooby gang and it certainly is evident here. But it's far too evident for my liking.

It's interesting to note that this is one of the last episodes to feature any large Scooby gang interaction until the eventual breakdown in the Yoko Factor.

Revised Rating: 5.5

Hush
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon
Initial Rating: 10.0

The words "instant classic" do not even begin to do this episode justice. Easily the most enjoyable episode since "The Becoming, Part II" this is an episode that does everything Buffy does well perfectly. It's dark, it's creepy and it's imaginative. In an episode where every choice can make or break the episode, Joss and company choose the correct ones that make it. From the creepy appearance of the Gentlemen to the Danny Elfman-like score it all clicks. Chalk it up to great direction but also great performances by the actors. For the entire crew to bring emotion and be able to communicate thoughts and feelings without saying a word but through body language is superbly done. It creates one of the more memorable scenes of season four in the auditorium with Giles conveying what the Gentlemen are.

Surely if there were any justice in this world, this episode should have earned Buffy at least a nod for Best Drama Series. But, of course it didn't. However, it did allow Joss to get his foot in the door with a well deserved Emmy for writing and direction.

This is Buffy at the best.

Revised Rating: 10.0

Doomed
Written by Marti Noxon, David Fury, Jane Esponson
Directed by James A. Contner
Initial Rating: 7.5

The old addage goes that "too many cooks spoil the soup" and that addage hold true here. An episode that has three usually strong writers for the show and ends up being a hit-or-miss affair (mostly miss). Which is a shame as there's tons of ideas here--namely from the reopening of the Hellmouth to Buffy's going over and becoming part of the Initiative to the discussions with Riley of just who they both really are and how their secret identities work. Part of it mayb be there is enough here for at least two episodes worth of interesting material to dig into here and not enough of it gets the time it deserve. This episode is easily the one that I could see falling the most in my final analysis and it does fall quite a bit.

Revised Rating: 5.5

A New Man
Written by Jane Esponson
Directed by Michael Gerhsun
Initial Rating: 6.5

The mid-season slump continues a bit for Buffy with an episode that on paper has lots of potential--Giles becomes a demon, Giles faces a midlife crisis and wonders the exact nature of his role with the Scooby gang and Ethan returns to town. What we end up with is an episode that has a strong opening act--highlighted by Giles and Ethan getting drunk in the bar and their conversation, hints of the new 341 that the demons are all scared to death of and Giles' reaction to Buffy telling him that she's joined the Initiative without at least telling him. All of that really, really clicks and makes a whole lot of good sense.

But where the episode ultimately fails is that once Giles becomes the demon, it becomes a series of bad jokes put together. Yes, I guess on some level it's nice to see Maggie get her one-ups by Giles (indeed, his only chance to really get her goat as she is gone in a few episodes) and to see him having to bribe Spike in order to help him. All of that works. But on some level, I found myself wishing that Giles had gotten his revenge on Maggie due to his intelligence and wit and experience at being Buffy's watcher rather than simply chasing her down the street as a demon.

Revises Rating: 6.0

The I in Team
Written by David Fury
Directed by James A. Contner
Initial Rating: 5.5

Boy, does a lot happen very quickly on Buffy. In my initial review, I pointed out that the season had started a bit slowly, but suddenly kicked the Initiative arc into high gear, starting with "Doomed" and continuing here. How foolish I was at the time--namely because I was so caught up in the commando guys that I missed the arc that Joss really wanted us to follow.

That still doesn't help "The I in Team" as much as you might think.

Yes, in retrospect the splintering of the team is that much more apparent here--namely that we never get any of Giles' reaction to Buffy revealing her secret identity to the entire free world of Sunnydale just about.

The second time around, seeing where the plotlines are going certainly helps lend a bit more crediablity to the overall episode. But the major drags are still there--a sense of rushing and of too many plot threads trying to come together. Also, while the death of Walsh is disconcerting, I'm not sure it works. Yes, I am certain large portions of the audience were happy to see her get her reward for trying to do in Buffy, but once the shock value of her being killed wears off, I'm not sure if the move makes that much sense. From a character standpoint, there was a lot more potential and potential for conflict between characters (imagine how much harder Riley's decision to betray the Initiative becomes if Walsh is still alive) that is not explored.

Revised Rating: 5.5

Goodbye Iowa
Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by David Soloman
Initial Rating: 9.0

Leave it to Marti Noxon to, once again, salvage the plotline. Marti takes the chance to slow down the speed of the plotlines and really concentrate on Riley. Whether this is good or bad, I guess depends on how you feel about Riley. Personally, I don't find his character as horrifyingly bad as other out there do--but to each his/her own.

Marc Blucas shows that if you give the man some material he can do wonders with it. And he does really well here. Riley's slow descent into madness as the effects of the drugs wears off is nicely conveyed. His horror at finding out just how involved with demons Buffy is and the amount of interaction she has with them is nicely realized. Also, seeing him obssessed with avenging Walsh's death works.

It's just too bad that Riley wasn't given a lot more episodes like this as I think that material like this makes the character more interesting and gives the audience at least some way to connect to him more.

And for one of the few times, Adam seems dark and ominous. I love the obvious parallels to the story of Frankenstein (esp. with the whole scene with the little girl.) We see that Adam has potential as a villain, which make it sadder that it's not realized in the final run of episodes.

Finally, seeing Spike get chastized by the demon community for helping Buffy is nicely done. With Angel, we knew that he didn't care if he was aliennated from the demon community. But here we get to see that with every choice the character makes, there comes some kind of consequences--whether seen or unseen.

Revised Rating: 8.5

This Year's Girl
Written by Douglas Petrie
Directed by Michael Gershman
Initial Rating: 8.0

When in doubt, play to your strengths. And Eliza Dushku has shown time and again that she is one of the strongest links in the entire Buffy-verse.

Faith wakes up from her coma, expecting to find the mayor in power and hell loose on Earth. What she finds is eight months of her life gone and the mayor defeated--and she's none to happy about it. Seeing the Scooby gang's reaction to Faith's return is full of tension. Coupled with Who Am I? these are two of the most edge-of-you-seat stories of the year. Indeed, the violent ballet that is Buffy and Faith fighting works so well here. Also seeing each of the different character's reactions to the news that Faith is alive and well is nicely done. A brilliant set-up for part two.

Revised Rating: 8.5

Who Am I?
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon
Initial Rating: 8.0

Both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Eliza Dushku prove that Buffy is indeed worthy of an best-actress Emmy nod for either one of them in this superbly done episode. Each actress is amazingly able to get small mannerisms that show us that it's the same body but inhabited by a different character. Seeing how SMG carries herself as Faith and how ED carries herself as Buffy works well. Also, the scene in which Buffy as Faith pleads with Giles to understand that it's Buffy trapped inside works extremely well. And we also get some character development for Faith as she turns back to stop Adam's evil plot at church is nicely done. It also sets up a lot of the character development and Faith's eventual break-down on Angel in a few episodes. All in all, a nicely realized two parters.

Revised Rating: 8.5

Superstar
Written by Jane Esponson
Directed by David Grossman
Initial Rating: 7.0

There used to be an old Marvel Comic Books series called "What if" which basically took the basic premise on which superhero legends were based and asked the vital question--"What if..."

This is the exact premise for Superstar and while the first half works well, the second half doesn't Basically it's a one joke premise that is stretched out too far. The idea of Jonathan having the entire universe revolve around him is amusing ,at first. However, it fails to go farther. It brings up too many other interesting other issues in my mind that are never addressed or resolved--like the fact that it seems Jonathan has a bit of a crush on Buffy and why he wouldn't create the universe to address this. Or the fact that while he's the undisputed "center" of the universe and yet doesn't seem to take as much advantage of it as he could.

Part of it is that the episode has no internal consistency. It's like the Back to the Future movies--the changes have to be all or nothing.

Revised Rating: 4.5

Where the Wild Things Are
Written by Tracey Forbes
Directed by David Soloman
Initial Rating: 6.0

Should have been called--"Where They're Doing the Wild Thing". An episode whose main purpose is to give Sarah Michelle Gellar a bit of an off week in order to go to Angel and film Sanctuary.

The episode should have given us the view from the other side--namely how the other members of the Scooby gang about Buffy and Riley being together all the time. It does in parts ,but it's not enough.

And that's a shame as there was a lot of potential here and most of went it out the window.

Also, the Buffy/Riley relationship becomes a bit of a one-note relationship--namely they only want to sleep together. And it had, at times, glimmers of being more.

Revised Rating: 5.5

New Moon Rising
Written by Marti Noxon
Directed by James A. Contner
Initial Rating: 10.0

Again, just as Buffy seems to be going down for the count, Marti Noxon comes in with a slam-bang episode that is emotionally intense and incredibly satisfying. Without showing a single on-screen moment, Joss and company take Willow and Tara to the next level, just as Oz returns. And we find Oz has found his inner wolf and is at peace with him. Until he discovers Willow loves another....

An amazing hour that flies by far too quickly and has far too many emotional explosions to detail here. Knowing that Willow feels strongly for Tara and she for Willow was spoiled too far in advance for me but it certainly still had some impact. And Seth Green once again instills more emotion into a "Hey" than other actor do in an entire paragraph of dialogue.

In the running for the best of season four...

Revised Rating: 10.0

The Yoko Factor
Written by Douglas Petrie
Directed by James Grossman
Initial Rating: 9.0

Another strong offering that brings to the surface everything the gang has struggled with all year. Seeing Spike sow seeds of discontent among the Scooby gang is marvellously done. It's the Spike of old and I, for one, am glad to see him. Also, seeing the Scooby gang erupt at each other as well as Tara and Anya hide out in the bathroom is nicely done. I admit that I gave this one high marks at the time, but I still stand by them. It is a superbly enjoyable and fun episode. And it certainly raised some great questions about Riley and his origins--which hopefully this won't all be forgotten in season five.

Revised Rating: 9.0

Primevil
Written by David Fury
Directed by James A. Contner
Initial Rating: 7.0

Buffy takes a book from the Sopranos and ends the main arc of the season a week earlier than most other shows. And while it works for the overall arc of the season, the episode isn't as effective as I'd hoped. Adam is wasted as he becomes a relative non-threat in the final analysis. Also, the wrap-up to the season-long Initiative plotline is too hastily done. In many ways, it feels as if Joss and company are trying to create an X-Files like atmosphere on the show with a vast government conspiracy. Unfortunately that never really develops well enough to be of great interest. I, for one ,would have loved a show where we saw Ethan or some other long-term character in charge of the Initiative (heck, even Dru might have been something). Instead it ends with a whimper rather than a bang....

Revised Rating: 6.0

Restless
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon
Initial Rating: 10.0

An emotional, character driven coda to the season that really, really works. It resolves some issues from the year while foreshadowing more and more. The entire cast delivers superb performances in their dream worlds. I love the little touches such as Willow's nerdy dress, Xander's homage to Apocolypse Now, Giles at the swingset ,Spike outside in the daylight and Buffy's fight with the original Slayer. Tara as the dream guide opens up far too many doors that simply scream to be explored next year. And also, seeing Riley and Adam sitting at the table disucssing Buffy is nicely done. All in all, a great episode that has laid some great groundwork for next year.

Revised Rating: 10.0

Season Four-General Comments

Like it or not, season four of Buffy certainly proved to be one of the more interesting and controversial the show has yet seen--and not just because of the Willow/Tara romance. In many aspects, the entire season served to polarize fans into one camp or the other--namely those who liked Riley and those who didn't. Some fans stated that Buffy lost it's way and got away from the elements that made it so great way back when while others enjoyed the series' willingness to reinvent itself. The arguement have certainly made life around the Net and discussion groups very interesting .

These arguements are nothing that I haven't ever heard before for any other successful show that lasts more than two to three seasons. (Heck, try being a Doctor Who fan with no less than eight actors who have played the lead and 26 total season!) Indeed, these argument are never, ever going to die. But if you look at it, at least Buffy has been on TV long enough to create these arguments among the fandom.

I found that Joss's willingness to have the show reinvent itself worked fairly well. Buffy has been built upon these characters and their relationships. It's a show built on the ever changing dynamics of human relationships. I think that if you left things as a status-quo, you'd end up alienating fans who have come to expect the series and the characters to grow and change over the course of four years. And in looking back, you can see that Joss had a plan for the season, but it wasn't what we all assumed it would be in the beginning. From the beginning, Joss gave us the big red herring for the year--which was the Initiative. He and the rest of the writing staff took great pains to distract our attention from the real, overall plotline for the year, which is examining what happens to people when they go off to college.

And really, in looking back, I've got to say that he really, really got it right.

Going off to college is a major transition in most young adult's lives. (Or leaving home and being on your own for the first time). And each member of the Scooby gang handles it a bit different. The entire first half of the season was spent attempting to remove the comfort zone that each of our members of the Scooby gang had built up over the past three years. In some ways it was obvious--such as Friday snapping Buffy's class protector award to Willow's break-up with Oz. You also had Giles' being forced into a mid-life crisis because he wasn't the librarian anymore and didn't have a job to define him and his role in the Scooby gang. Spike had to face the fact that he was no longer the biggest, badest vampire around (something he's taken a great deal of pride and comfort in the past few years--just look at the end of Lover's Walk) and you had Xander who sought to retreat into a world of comfort and found that he couldn't stay there--namely his parents basement.

Buffy, as the star of the show, certainly had a lot of choices go badly for her early on. Certainly the biggest was her deicison to express her emotional comitment (or what she thought was an emotional comitment) to Parker in a physical way. Indeed, while many questioned why Buffy would do this, it certainly makes sense. Buffy is at Sunnydale University and trying to reinvent herself. She is trying to move on past her love for Angel (which in all likelihood she will never get over...she will always love Angel, but I don't think they can honestly ever get back together) and as she states, she makes a choice to sleep with Parker. Yes, it ends up being a bad choice as all Parker wants is her body and doesn't care anything more about her than his fun. To see Buffy have to not only deal with her choice but also the fantasy that maybe Parker's life is miserable without her worked well. And it certainly set up some things that led her to choose Riley as her new boyfriend. Certainly, Riley is stable, mature and intelligent (despite the fact that his dialogue can at times be corny). He understands her role as the Slayer (well, he comes to) and he is accepted as part of the Scooby gang. In some ways, he does have Angel-like qualities and on a character level you can see why Buffy would be drawn to him--at least in the initial stages.

It's once Buffy and Riley get together that problems come in. For one thing, the intesity of Buffy and Riley, which started off slowly and delibately, got out of control way too quickly. It's hard to believe that Riley, the guy who knows nothing about relationships early in the year becomes so quickly and totally the relationship man we later see him to be. I can understand the whole Buffy and Riley's lust consuming them to some degree, but I just don't see the steps that got us there. Certainly the revelation that they are working against each other that we found in Hush worked well. But it was the events after that the bugged me.

I can understand that part of the point of having them get together and become so absorbed in each other was to show the splintering of the Scooby gang. And for that it worked. And while I like the dramatic points that came up because Buffy and Riley were so into each other, I'm not sure if I liked the journey to it. It seemed a bit rushed for my liking. And it certainly seemed much more so watching the episodes in rapid succession as I dd in preparation for this review.

Of course, while Buffy was getting sucked into Rileys' universe, the other Scooby gang members had their own crises to face. And the one member of the gang who got a lion's share of the great moments from the season was Willow. If anything, from Wild at Heart onward seemed to be a campaign by Joss and company (most notably Marti Noxon) to get Allyson Hannigan an Emmy nod. And to be honest, she really deserved it. Hannigan took the role in new and wonderful directions this year--ending up with a showcase effort in New Moon Rising. Seeing Willow's torment at being forced to pick between two people she cares very deeply about was nicely done and Hannigan showed us the torment in her eyes, her body langauge and the way she delivered her lines. It was a superb performance and I think the Emmy voters were blind to not see how great it was.

It was certainly interesting the dynamics that were created. Characters broke off into pairs--Willow and Tara, Buffy and Riley, Xander and Anya. Certainly there were a lot of relationships going on on the show and the series gave them a great deal of attention.

So, in looking back, it's interesting to see that really from the end of "The Freshman" on until the shouting match in "The Yoko Factor" how the Scooby gang breaks down. The only time they really band together in that time is at the return of Faith--and that may have been more of sense of residual self-preservation that our favorite rogue slayer brings to the table.

And it certainly was interesting how subtle Joss was about the whole thing.

Indeed, it was easy to get caught up in the Initiative plotline--from Walsh to Riley to Adam.

It's with the Initiative plotline that my biggest disappointment for season four comes. In the beginning, the mystery of the commando soldiers and what they were up to seemed to work well. We were given bits and pieces of the mystery. There was something going on but the Scooby gang wasn't sure just what. Rumors and speculation abounded and part of my disappointment may have been that I imagined the way the plotline could go and it never materialized. Part of that is silly expectations on my part, but another part is how hollow the Initiative plotline turned out to be. I understand that parts of it had to be shuffled around. Apparently, Lindsay Crouch couldn't be on the show all year and so that necessitated bringing Adam into the picture earlier and killing off her characters. But we've seen that Joss can effectively change gears in the season. We got that last year when Mr. Trick didn't quite work out as they'd hope and the focus changed from Trick to Faith and the Mayor.

Adam's role had potential. I could easily have seen him being a David Koresch type of leader to the demons of Sunnydale--raising an army of demons to do his bidding and sending them against Sunnydale. Indeed, we saw early flashes of his ability to do this. And while it can be argued that he did this to some sense in "Primevil" it certainly would have made more sense of Adam wasn't directly leading the fight. I saw him as a bit more of a general who would manipulate his army and send them into battle against the Initiative and Buffy and the Scooby gang. Unfortunately, what we got to see was Adam studying Buffy and the Initiative but never making any substantial move against them. Again, Adam terrorized Sunnydale early on, gathering data, but then slunk into the background and became a bit of a non-factor. And that's a shame as of all the villians that we saw, he had some potential.

The role that had nothing and was very one note was the colonel who stepped into Professor Walsh's role in the late goings. This character seemed hastily created and didn't really do much to sustain the tension. I could have easily lived without him or it might have been better if he'd shown up earlier in the season. Maybe if he's had some kind of conflict with Walsh or a disagreement over leadership styles and her treatment of Riley. (who was a bit of favored son status).

Another criticism of the whole plotline involving the Initiative is how it ended. It all came to and end with a thud rather than a bang. In one episode, Buffy and the gang defeat Adam, using special effects right out of the Matrix and the Initiative is closed down. Again, my main point is that Buffy tried to attempt a plotline that involved a mistrust of the government that is right out of X-Files. However, where X-Files has a leg up on Buffy is that Fox Mulder has a reason to mistrust the government and a motivation that is actually born out of several season's of being thrown a curve every time he comes closer to the truth. Also, we can root for Mulder because he is going up against a government that has a big Truth hidden--namely the existence of aliens and their agenda. (No matter how convoluted the conspiracy has become, it still all boils down to this essential point.) Buffy tried to do this here and it didn't work. Part of it is that there is no hidden Truth out there for Buffy and crew to find. I honesty had hoped that we'd find out that there was some force or foe actually behind the Initiative. Maybe Ethan or even Dru as I suggested in my thoughts on "Primevil." However, it never came to fruition and that left a bit of an empty feeling when it came to the final resolution of the entire Initiative plotline.

But I will admit that the Initiative did serve as a red herring in what became the entire season arc--namely the emotional break-down of the Scooby gang and their splintering apart. It's so much clearer in the final analysis that it helps make earlier episodes that much more enjoyable (except for "Bad Beer" which nothing out there will help). It also made the mid-season slump where the episodes lost focus a bit that much more intolerable.

In fact, the most enjoyable episodes of the year came from those that were more stand-alone in nature rather than concerned with advancing the red herring plot. I refer, of course, to the instant classic Hush, and Marti Noxon's two offerings of New Moon Rising and Wild at Heart. Buffy had its best episodes when it looked at the characters we've come to know and love or brought back old villians--such as the two part appearance by Faith. All of these episodes worked a lot better than others because they gave us a chance to connect with the characters. They also played on the show's history and gave us some much needed closure to events that occurred throughout the course of the show. In these stories, Buffy was very Babylon Five like--basically, you had long-term consequences to events. And the two Faith-driven episodes also served to move her character forward and show that while she had fallen, Faith could have redemption.

These episodes proved to be even more satisfying on second viewing than did most of the later Initiative plotlines. While I don't think we could have really sustained an entire season on Faith and her arc (though it certainly did work for four total episodes on two shows), it was one of the best things about season four.

And I get the feeling that just from watching Restless, that Joss has more of the playing with the shows past and building on it planned for season five. It will certainly be interesting to see what has been foreshadowed and how it comes to fruition. Obvious questions that must be answered are...

--What does the Little Miss Muffett and sister reference that Faith made in Buffy's dream mean? Will we find out? (If you've been reading SPOILERS you know the answer)

--Will Faith be back?

--What exactly is up with Anya? At some point, she's got to evolve as a character.

--Why did Tara spoil the spell with Willow? And will we find out why she did it?

--Will Spike get the chip out of his head? If so, will he then turn on Buffy? He has been pretty much cast out by the demon community, so where does he go now?

--Will Giles get a new job?

--Why hasn't the council done more to Buffy? Will they?

A lot of questions are out there. And I can only keep my fingers crossed that they answer them as the fifth season begins the end of September.

And one of the things I'm really hoping we see in the new sesaon is more Scooby-gang time on-screen. I understand that the point of the season was the splintering of the Scooby gang, but I think some of the characters got the short end of the stick. Of course, the two obvious candidates are Giles and Xander. At least Giles got an entire episode devoted to him in the mix with "A New Man." And we did have his mid-life crisis, which I am imagining he'd want to keep secret from the rest of the gang.

As for Xander, he really only had one great episode in which he had any impact at all--"The Freshman." Last year he questioned his role in the Scooby gang in the horrifically bad "The Zeppo" and since then he's disappeared further and further off the radar. It was nice to see this issue addressed in "Restless" and it will be interesting to see how this develops (and based on early reports out of the Buffy camp, it sounds like he will have some bit of an expanded role in events that unfold). But, I also have to say that we need to see Xander have an episode that focuses on him. Nicholas Brendan is a splendidly talented actor and he deserves a great episode. Xander needs the type of attention that Willow got this year with such episodes as "New Moon Rising" or even "Something Blue."

Of course, there were also some other supporting cast members who got the short end of the stick. The biggest one that sticks out in Anya. Initially, I was very supportive of Emma Caulfield's joining the cast full-time as I felt that Anya offered a great deal of possible conflict to the Scooby gang. Also, her grasp of relationships as having been a vengeance demon all these years would have been priceless. Instead, by mid-season all she was a one-dimensional character that was Xander's girlfriend. And I see this as wasted (at least to this point) potential. I can only hope we see some yearning next year by Anya to return to her old way of life. She was a vengeance demon for hundreds of years. And now she's not. That has to have some character impact.

Finally, there's Spike. Spike got some good screen time and it was nice to see James Marsters as a permanent part of the show. I enjoyed his arc and esp. the work done with the character in the late run of episodes. I hope that Spike gets that chip out of his head and soon. He needs to go back to his old, evil vampire ways.

So, all in all, I've got to admit that there was a lot to enjoy in season four. But a lot that caused concern.

Is it the best season of Buffy ever? No.

But again, I think we'd be hard pressed to agree on which was the best. And I don't want to open that can of worms again if I can help it.

As for the best of the season, I'll have to say that honor goes to Hush, just barely. Restless came on strong in the end but it may take seeing how season five plays out before I can jump it up to best of season.

As for the worst of season, I am tempted to pick Superstar, an episode that proved to be a one-joke premise taken too far. But I still stick with my Bad Beer judgment. Not as bad as Killed by Death, but still not a fun one to rewatch.

So, I guess that's about it for now. Sorry that this review took longer than I thought it would to write. I got a bit caught up in the Sorpanos (which if you haven't watched yet, it's amazingly good!) and so didn't have as much time to devote to Buffy.

And if you're waiting and wondering, yes, my season wrap-up of Angel is coming.

So, the only thing left to do is give my rating for the season. Please note that this is NOT an average of my scores, but an overall grade given to the season.

See you in a couple of weeks!

Season Four Rating: 7.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Season five starts in late September...I'm counting days already.

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