We are extremely “nay” on these episodes this week! Buffy was just boring, and Angel was just gross. Both shows also insist on missing the point of what is interesting in favor of…what, we aren’t sure. But that said, Faith is back and we are loving it!
It’s a great episode of Buffy as Dawn confronts her future as a Potential, and then the idea that she’ll just be normal in a world of friends with extraordinary powers. Fortunately, Xander is there as an example. On Angel, this week’s burning question: what does “Calvary” mean? Which definition are they going for here? We aren’t really sure. We also get more time with Angelus, but we’re starting to wonder if he’s really a conniving genius or just a petty gossip.
This week in burning questions, is there only one bathroom in the Summers house? Also, we might understand the motivations of the First now! Maybe? And Buffy puts on a great show for the Potentials by killing the neander-vamp. In LA, Angelus is here, but actually he’s not that fun! He doesn’t really answer any questions about the beast, but he stalls long enough for his soul to go missing. And to be clear, we are not trying to coin the term “Fresley” ok?
We didn’t like this Buffy episode. The First is too broad a villain at this point and the story is too unfocused as a result. And then half of us got duped by the Angel episode, yikes! But we’re ready for Angelus next time!
On Buffy, the scoobies try to figure out what Spike knows and what’s been happening to him, while an unexpected run in with Andrew brings more chaos and harbingers to the house. In L.A., Angel and co. are joined by Gwen, who has witnessed the Beast at work and may provide clues for what he’s up to.
We’re getting deeper into the season with the Big Bad for Buffy and still totally lost as to the motivations. Why is this happening again? Is this Bad just too Big to be effective? For Angel, this week’s episode has the best name ever and is a lot of fun, but forever marred by the fact it’s also the aftermath of the Cordelia and Connor nonsense.
We have a pared down cast this week on Buffy, as the slayer, Willow, and Dawn all meet the enemy and are told disturbing revelations. On Angel, we swallow our vomit as Connor and Cordelia get icky and apocalypse brings a big demon and fire to the skies of L.A.
“Him” is kind of a nothing and we don’t have too much to say about it, or at least not as much as usual. Meanwhile, Angel has it’s own “Tabula Rasa” episode with “Spin the Bottle” but this time, a memory spell stops everyone’s memories at age 17, to mostly entertaining results but we see the end starting to happen for Cordelia and We.Don’t.Like.It.
We’ve got a couple retcon episodes this week, as Buffy tries to answer the question, Who is Anya when she isn’t with Xander? She has over 1100 years of history to try and answer that, but even so, she can’t, and the show does a great job of using the character’s one-dimensionality to explore this in a surprisingly rich way. On Angel, it’s revealed a former professor is the one who sent Fred to Pylea, and this revelation causes her to wrestle with her traumatic past, with devastating repercussions for Gunn.
We didn’t really like Angel this week, but it happened, so we talked about it. Wesley and Lila continue to be a better show. On Buffy, the slayer’s first week as school counselor gets off to a rough start with Cassie, a teen convinced she’s about to die.
This week, we must correctly define a parasite, as we confront maybe the grossest demon in the Buffyverse? Yes? And, as Willow returns to Sunnydale, the show and her friends both refuse to just let her off the hook for her actions, which we appreciate. On Angel, we take a trip to Las Vegas to find out what Lorne is up to!
This week, we have to again talk about the problematic corner the show has written Spike into, and how his treatment is different than the treatment of Anya. On Angel, Wesley continues his cool streak and Angle tangles with a super-powered thief to get information about Cordelia’s whereabouts. Also, did one of Buffy’s most famous plots borrow from Sailor Moon?
We’re going right back to the beginning and we’re going to learn about ourselves in the process! Welcome to Buffy Season 7 and Angel Season 4! We’re almost done with Buffy eps and we’re not crying, you’re crying! In “Lessons” we are re-world building, as Buffy returns to the newly re-opened Sunnydale High, still inconveniently located on top of the Hellmouth. In LA, Angel is still underwater and Cordelia is missing, but Wesley and Lila have their best moments, maybe ever, and We. Are. Loving. It!
We made it to the last season of Buffy! To paraphrase the Master, we are going right back to the beginning and we are going to learn about ourselves in the process. Buffy finds herself back at her Sunnydale beginnings, back at the newly re-built Sunnydale High, complete with Hellmouth. “From beneath you it devours” indeed. We’ll meet new enemies, new slayers, and old friends.
On Angel, he surfaces while Cordelia eventually descends back to earth, only to get grossly mistreated by the show (in our opinions). We can’t wait?
It’s finale time this week, as we discuss “Grave” and “Tomorrow.” Willow is still on the rampage in Sunnyvale and even Giles can’t stop her, but maybe Xander can, with the power of wuv. We still disagree on Spike’s intentions, but he gets something out of his trials that may or may not be what he was after. In LA, Angel tries to bond with Connor, who only has revenge on his mind. Cordelia finds herself swept up to a new existence.
This week, Willow is on the hunt for Jonathan and Andrew as Buffy and Xander desperately try to keep her from crossing further over the line by killing them. On Angel, Connor spends time with the team and Holtz carries out his final plans.
In “Villains,” the aftermath of Warren’s attack proves deadly, as Willow sets out for vengeance at any magical cost, and Buffy and Xander try to stop her (we admit we found it kind of cathartic watching Warren get his). On Angel, Connor is back, but he’s grown up and has a massive chip on his shoulder toward Angel. Bored now.
This week, we arrive at “Seeing Red” and it’s a big one. Ultimately, humans are going to be the most dangerous foe for Buffy and friends. Monsters may haunt Sunnyvale, but it’s guns that are the most terrifying. In LA, magic, water hogging slugs invade the hotel, but mostly Angel is still the worst. We want justice for Wesley!! And for Tara, she didn’t deserve to go out like that.
The Scoobies begin to descend into (more) disorder this week, as Anya’s quest for revenge on Xander leads to revelations about Buffy and Spike. On Angel, Cordelia returns and offers comfort to Angel, while Fred and Gunn contend with their own relationship and a demon returned from Gunn’s past.
Everything is normal again! Not so much, as a poison-addled Buffy must differentiate between two different realities. But, mostly, txt this be remembered as the episode where Buffy committed the unforgivable sin of pouring liquids into a trash can. Meanwhile, Angel’s toxic masculinity is showing, and our patience is thinning. We see the consequences of no meaningful interactions between Angel and Wesley since Pylea, as the team tries to sift through the fallout of Connor’s kidnapping and we try to figure why this show continually undermines itself.
Hell’s Bells! Xander and Anya make it to their wedding day but not down the aisle, thanks to a plotting demon and Xander’s truly terrible family. On Angel, Wesley’s attempts to thwart prophecy have catastrophic consequences.
