I've been off work on medical leave since the end of May. (Treatment for cancer - seems like I'll be fine. Maybe I'll write about it sometime.) Since then I've read many books, watched some shows, and that includes continuing a re-watch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
When I finished season 3, it was with a heavy sigh that I loaded up the DVDs for 4. I've always thought that four was not only the weakest season story wise, but also generally terrible. To give an idea of how terrible it's regarded, one friend referred to it as "hot garbage." But something weird happened. I found myself NOT HATING IT. Even the generally reviled episode "Beer Bad," because let's be honest, it's funny AF when she clubs Parker upside the head with, well, a club. Twice.
In the first episode, when she looks small and lost on the first day at UC Sunnydale, my husband remarked that Buffy in college was like him in high school and I realized it was me, too. Feeling small, lost, not quite sure what was going on or who to join in with. (I also felt the same way at college.) To see Riley for the first time - clean-cut, square-jawed, all-American hero type and be reminded how handsome & innocent he seemed. But also note that during the first meeting, he seemed more taken with Willow because she was the more knowledgeable of the two.
I cried all over again when Veruca showed up. She showed Oz what the life of an unfettered werewolf could be & his losses of control scared him so badly that he up & left with no explanation, breaking Willow's heart into a million pieces.
The other romantic relationships were great too, Anya & Xander - more Anya time is always welcome. Tara & Willow's burgeoning friendship that turns into more. Watching Riley & Buffy go from sweet awkwardness to can't-get-enough-of-each-other; while also noticing his feelings start to become more insecure as he realizes she can kick his ass.
Season 4 also has 2 amazing episodes - Hush and A New Man. The former is the iconic episode where monsters called The Gentelmen come to Sunnydale & steal everyone's voices; it is also the ep where Buffy & Riley see the first look at each other's secret lives. A New Man is where Giles meets up with his old rival Ethan Rayne who drops some hints about the Initiative and spikes Giles' drink to turn him into a Fyarl demon. Thus forming an episode long alliance with Spike since he's the only one who speaks Fyarl. Funniest bit is when Giles asks Spike to stop the car so he can get out & scare Prof. Walsh and one of the best overall moments is when Buffy is about to slay Giles, looks into his eyes and realizes it's him. "Your eyes. You're the only person in the world that can look that annoyed with me."Not to mention the fantastic 2 episode story where Faith comes out of the coma! (And drops some hints about Dawn - which I absolutely did not catch the first time around.) She's given a magical whatsit that allows her to switch bodies with Buffy. Seeing her (in Buffy) react to the way others see Buffy starts to change her so that by the end, she actually does want to fight the good fight...at least a little bit. Buffy also gets a strong dose of being Faith and it seems to freak her out. Although a good deal of her time being Faith is spent simply trying to survive since the Watcher Council sent a hit squad after Faith, she manages to subdue them, escape, and get help from her friends. In the end of course, magic prevails, they switch back, and Faith takes off. (To L.A., where she crosses over in an Angel episode & then turns herself in.) The Scooby Gang is left to pick up the pieces & deal with the repercussions of having Faith running around with Buffy's face.
And who could forget Superstar?!? Jonathan - who will later show up with the Trio & has been a background character since the beginning - does a spell to try & make everyone like him. This results in tweaking the world so that he is excellent at everything. Jane Espenson wrote this episode & it is a joy. To carry the story through, even the intro has been altered to include Jonathan doing heroic things. The story still manages to be relevant to the other plots going on, though, since at various times, Jonathan dispenses helpful advice to Riley & Buffy as well as lets the other Initiative members in on some important intel.
By the end of the season, I still think that as far as over-arching stories go, the Initiative was pretty weak and still dumb. BUT, the season as a whole was not as bad as I recall. It was them showing us the characters developing as young adults, on their own, away from the familiar confines of previous seasons. I first watched Buffy in my early 20s, so I don't have any of the leftover feelings of how it was when I was a kid, but 20 years of life can sometimes change one's perspective. Really looking forward to digging in to season 5 this week.
