I've been reviewing Halloween and horror-themed movies and TV throughout this October. For a show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, every week is Halloween. Vampires, demons, ghosts and witches come all year round. But this episode is actually set on Halloween- how do you make it special? This episode comes close to being a stand-out but just falls short.
This episode introduces Ethan Rayne who becomes a recurring villain. He sells costumes to the people of Sunnydale, then casts a spell that makes everyone transform into what they were dressed as. Buffy becomes an eighteenth century noblewoman, Xander becomes a soldier, and Willow becomes a ghost. Spike tries to take advantage of one of Buffy's rare states of helplessness.
This episode isn't a favourite of mine. Maybe that's because I don't think we saw the full potential of the chaos that could have erupted in this scenario. They may have felt restrained in that, for example, Xander couldn't be shooting all these little demons, because then he would be shooting innocent kids. Buffy, meanwhile, is no longer a hero. When the spell is broken, it's good to have the old Buffy back, and to see her bash Spike good again. And what is Willow's sexy costume supposed to be? Giles is baffled by it too. The best part of the episode is where Giles confronts Ethan, and Ethan mentions Giles' dark past. A dark side to Giles is, at this point, unknown and intriguing, soon to be explored in The Dark Age, an episode I prefer to this one.
Happy Halloween.
This episode introduces Ethan Rayne who becomes a recurring villain. He sells costumes to the people of Sunnydale, then casts a spell that makes everyone transform into what they were dressed as. Buffy becomes an eighteenth century noblewoman, Xander becomes a soldier, and Willow becomes a ghost. Spike tries to take advantage of one of Buffy's rare states of helplessness.
This episode isn't a favourite of mine. Maybe that's because I don't think we saw the full potential of the chaos that could have erupted in this scenario. They may have felt restrained in that, for example, Xander couldn't be shooting all these little demons, because then he would be shooting innocent kids. Buffy, meanwhile, is no longer a hero. When the spell is broken, it's good to have the old Buffy back, and to see her bash Spike good again. And what is Willow's sexy costume supposed to be? Giles is baffled by it too. The best part of the episode is where Giles confronts Ethan, and Ethan mentions Giles' dark past. A dark side to Giles is, at this point, unknown and intriguing, soon to be explored in The Dark Age, an episode I prefer to this one.
Happy Halloween.