DVD Shop: Buy Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Second Season Online

Average Rating:

The story arcs in the second season are brilliant. The romance between Angel and Buffy reached gothic heights with Surprise/Innocence (Surprise is astonishing). When Angel turns bad, David Boreanaz manages to do a sensational job of acting the transition (the episodes "Passion" and "I Only Have Eyes For You" are incredible in detailing this, and Buffy's reaction). Willow's romance with Oz is wonderful, and Giles attachment to Jenny Calendar a welcome addition.

This show still manages to be surprisingly funny (as seen in Halloween, and Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered) and packs a wallop (the two part season ender, Becoming I & II, are essential viewing for any Buffy fans. They are incredibly moving). Yes, there are some clunkers (Killed by Death, Bad Eggs), but they are more than redeemed.

My favourites are: Becoming I & II, Surprise/Innocence, I Only Have Eyes for You, Passion, School Hard, When She Was Bad, and Lie To Me

For a show set in high school, the writers have neatly side-stepped making a caricature of Anthony Stewart Head's librarian/Watcher Giles. His befuddled sexiness is immensely appealing. Alyson Hannigan's performance as wallflower Willow blooming into a witch (her growing powers are smartly charted by writers all the way through season six) is strong, and having the animosity between Xander and Cordelia boil over into lust was a masterstroke. Finally, we have to give the star her due. Sarah Michelle Gellar proved with this season that she's actually a capable actress, both with comic timing (Halloween) and pathos (Surprise/Innocence).

The second season was an immense improvement over the first season (a solid debut) and the quality continues. In my mind, the second and third season need to be bought together (or at least both bought). Story arcs introduced in the second season are wrapped up in the third season. Buy this set, you won't be disappointed.

During the 2nd season, the series started to take itself more seriously. The humor is still there, but it's not as light hearted as season one was. Since the first season served as an introduction to the people and themes of the series, the second one starts developing them. The caracters (especially the minor ones) are no longer caricatures (such as "Cordelia the Shallow Cheerleader" or "Jenny the Cool Computer Teacher") but beacome real people. More background is given about Angel's past. Even though there are a few 'unrelated' chapters (such as 'Bad Eggs' or 'Ted'), there were a few prominent plot arcs (such as the Angel / Buffy love story) which were viewed and analyzed through different chapters.

'Taking itself more seriously' also means that the question 'what being a slayer means' is explored in depth. In 'Ted', the question of Buffy harming a non - vampire / demon / monster human comes up. We realize how lucky Buffy is to have her supporting network of friends when we realize that Kendra, the 2nd slayer (who had been activated when Buffy died at the end of season 1) has a completely different (and solitary) life. At the end of the season, Buffy comes to realize how alone she is anyway, does what she has to do, but then leaves it all behind.

And then Angel turns bad (then good again for the last few meanutes of the season). This was not only THE major plot twist of the season, but also gives the 2 main actors a chance to show how good they are. Sarah Michelle Gellar does a great job in portraying Buffys pain and confusion while confronting the 'bad' Angel (or rather 'Angelus', as he is called in his soul - less stage), but also her power and decision during the last 2 chapters of the season, by doing what has to be done - alone. David Boreanaz finally gets a chance to portray something different than a depressed, brooding vampire with a soul ,and seems to enjoy doing it.

And last (but not least) - Spike and Drussila. This is another point where season one had a flat - one - faced evil (The Master) while season 2 has a more complex and deeper pair of vilains to go against Buffy.

The season begins with When She Was Bad. Written and directed by none other than Joss Whedon, it sees Buffy return to Sunnydale after a summer in LA with her father. It is apparent that Buffy has changed - for the better. The storylines are stronger and more consistent with a lot more character development than the previous season. Episodes such as Some Assembly Required, Inca Mummy Girl, Ted, Bad Eggs, Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered, I Only Have Eyes For You and Go Fish follow a similar pattern as that of Season 1 in the way they are singular episodes that do not have a knock-on effect in the future. School Hard sees the arrival of Spike and Drusilla in Sunnydale. Spike is 124 years old (he reminds us in Season 4 that he is "only 126") and has killed two Slayers in the Boxer Rebellion and New York. Drusilla is Spike's companion; drove insane by Angel when she was a human who killed everyone she loved before finally turning her into a vampire. They make many attempts to kill Buffy and end the world in episodes such as School Hard, Halloween, Lie To Me and What's My Line Parts 1 and 2 before becoming a bigger threat to Buffy as the season chugs along.

Love plays a bigger role in the second season than it does in the first with almost every member of the Scooby Gang finding themselves in love. Giles continues to hide his attraction from Jenny Calendar - that is until she asks him to a Football game on a date. Their relationship is an on/off one that has its fair share of highs and lows before Jenny's subsequent death later on. While Xander continues to pine for Buffy, he realises he's getting no where as Buffy is more interested in Angel and finds himself secretly falling for Cordelia and vice versa. Willow has been rather unlucky in love. She starts to date Oz, a super-cool guitarist. Her love for him is proved when she finds out, in the worst possible way, that he is a werewolf. Their relationship is strong and lasted until Season 4. But when it comes to relationships in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, none is more troubled, tormented, certain and passionate than that of Buffy and Angel. Their love for each other is legendary as he is a vampire and she is a vampire Slayer. They continue to see each other in almost every episode of the first half of Season 2, but become more romantically inclined in the episode What's My Line Part 2. Angel is almost killed at the hands of Spike as he tries to transfer Angel's strength to Drusilla. They are both deeply and madly in love by the episode Surprise and end up sleeping together on Buffy's 17th birthday. She unknowingly undoes Angel's curse which results in him losing his soul and turning back into the evil, demented vampire that he was eighty years previously. He goes to Spike and Drusilla, who are still trying to work on a way to kill the Slayer, and offers to work side by side with them to kill Buffy. He goes after the people she loves, like he did with Drusilla, and attempts to kill them.

The season finale, Becoming Part 1 and Becoming Part 2 are both written and directed by Joss Whedon and represent his best work on Season 2. Angelus plans to open the portal to Hell through the statue of Acathla which will suck everything on Earth into Hell where every living being with a soul will experience unbearable torment and eternal hell. Only Angel's blood can open the portal and therefore, only his blood can close it. Willow works on the spell of restoration and returns Angel's soul after he opens the portal. No matter what, the only way it can be closed is if Angel is killed. His soul is restored, but Buffy knows the only way to save the world is to send Angel to Hell. This makes it all the more gut-wrenching and heart-breaking for Buffy and the audience - not only because Angel has been restored, but because he will have to suffer eternal torment and torture in Hell now that he has a soul. Buffy kisses Angel before plunging him into Hell. This all proves too much for Buffy now that her mum has found out that she is the Slayer, something she doesn't accept. Becoming is truly an astounding accomplishment in the history of dramatic television that deserves all the praise it has received.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Many fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer consider Season 2 to be the best of the entire series. I'm not sure about that, but it sure does have some of the best episodes of Season 2 - Surprise, Innocence, Passion and Becoming Parts 1 and 2 are all undeniable proof of this and are true classics in TV history. It's a shame that Buffy as a TV show doesn't get enough recognition because it really is good. People who don't watch the show are put off by te show's name and see it as a sexy girl who scuttles around killing vampires - but the show is so much more than that. If everyone between ages 15 and 40 watched Season 2 of Buffy, I could guarantee that more than 80% would love it to bits.