nickcharisma1.jpg (10542 bytes)   Summaries / Reviews buffxand_reviews.JPG (6619 bytes)   

(Pics from The Buffy Cross & Stake or Sunnydale High School - but any alterations in them have been made by me.)                                                                            

Ted

Buffy catches her mom smoochin' in the kitchen with her boyfriend - and immediately dislikes him. The rest of the gang doesn't understand her suspicions towards him, they think he's pretty much a swell guy. but maybe that has something to do with the cookies he bake... When ted looses his senses when spotting Buffy cheating in minature golfing, she knows something's wrong. She tries to talk to her mother, but she's too blind to see what's going on. When Ted attacks Buffy, she kicks him hard down the stairs, and his neck snaps. Having killed a human being, Buffy's devestated. Until someone makes a hasty recovery...

My review: Well, not one of my favourite episodes, not seeing an Angel here..., at least not a lot of him.I wouldn't say this episode qualifies as something extraordinary, but I mean, it's Buffy, how can you top that?

Bad Eggs

As part of a science project, the students are given eggs to symbolize a baby. Some people take the "faux parenting gig" a little too lightly - Xander boils his, so that it won't break - but then again, he may have been on the right track... At night, scary looking tentacles comes out of the egg, and reaches into peoples' ears. One night, Buffy sees hers move, and, being the Slayer she is, kills it. In school, people are starting to act really weird, the little creatures has taken over their bodies, controlling them completely, hence why Willow knocks Xander out with a shovel or something.
It turns out that in the basement, the mother of these creatures wants to get out, and all the students are there to dig her up. Buffy of course saves the day, and all is good.

My review: This is a really good episode, I laughed so hard the first time I read it (yes, you're not mistaking, I read it! through written transcripts, but I saw it later on) when Xander dropped his egg - and it didn't break, and he came with a line about minutes in water. The reaction from Willow and Buffy was priceless.

Surprise

Well, it's the big day. Buffy's turning seventeen, and boy, is she in for a big surprise... It turns out that Jenny Calender is really a member of the same gipsy clan which reatored Angel's soul, and had been sent to Sunnydale to see that he doesn't achieve any happiness. Things were going good, until her old uncle shows up, telling her that her watching days are over, and that she is to do everything in her power to keep Buffy away from Angel, or maybe the other way around. Obviously, she doesn't do her job very weel, because on the night of Buffy's birthday they're still together. Meanwhile, Spike and Drusilla are planning a birthday party of their own - for Dru. Spike, now in a wheelchair, has his men bringing Dru boxes from all over the world, with a very interesting content. When one box accidently falls into the hands of Buffy, Angel understands what they're doing - reassembling an old demon called the Judge, with the power to burn the life out of people with a mere look. Miss Calender tells Angel that he has to take the box as far away as possible. When Buffy and Angel are saying goodbye down at the docks, they're attacked and the box stolen by Spike's men. The go to the factory where Spike and Dru are holding up. They're discovered, but manages to escape, out into the falling rain. They go back to Angel's place, and let's just say that the forbidden moment of total happiness comes to Angel... Later that night, he wakes with a start, and in pain hurries out the door, collapsing on the street outside, he calls out to Buffy, but she can't hear him, sound asleep inside, in his bed...

My review:

Wonderful! I think that about sums it up... The ending is so tragic it hurts my heart. Also the parting scene by the docks are a sure tissue-warning. More beautiful music than which is played in this episode, and also in Becoming, is hard to find.

Innocence

This is what you can call the second part of Surprise. The new Angel - or the old Angelus, if you prefer that term - has risen. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Angel goes to the factory where Spike, Dru, and the Judge is held up. Spike sends the Judge out to burn Angel, but when nothing happens - they all stare in awe. "Maybe he's broken", Angel says. The Judge responds "this one can not be burned, there's no humanity in him..." Scary, huh? Anyway, needless to say, Spike and Dru are thrilled to have the old Angelus back. They want to go and destroy the world, but Angel has other things on his mind. He wants to hurt Buffy - by driving her insane, just as he did Dru once upon a time. The gang agrees to postpone their attack for awhile, so that Angel can turn the slayer into "nothing even resembling a threat". When Buffy comes looking for him at his apartment the following morning, he's there to tell her not-all-that-nice things about what kind of bedfellow she is. He leaves her completely torn apart. That evening, Angel comes over to school, where the "Scooby-gang" is researching the Judge. (Where Willow has just seen Xander and Cordelia kissing). He grabs Willow, sporting his game face, just as Ms. Calender comes in, holding a cross. When Buffy then enters, he turns around, with Willow still in his arms. Just as he moves in for the bite, Xander shoves a cross in his face, which hurts him so that he lets go of Willow and instead rushes for the door. On his way out, he grabs Buffy, whispers in her ear: Things are about to become very interesting..., and throws her against the wall.

 

*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*

                                 

1