Doppelgangland

Ex-vengeance demon Anya is bored of living a mortal life in Sunnydale; she asks to have her powers restored but is refused so decides she must find a way to get her necklace back. To this end she approaches Willow for magical help, claiming it was a lost family heirloom. As they perform the spell Willow gets a vision of the alternate reality that Anya created in 'The Wish'. There is no sign of Anya's necklace but it turns out the spell has brought Vampire-Willow to normal reality. This soon leads to confusion as various characters observe her and assume our Willow has been turned into a vampire then surprise when Willow appears as normal as always. Later Willow has a rather disturbing encounter with her alternate self!

If I were to compile a list of top 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' episodes this would certainly be on it; it is witty, action packed and also shows a new side to a main character. It was good to see Emma Caulfield returning as Anya but it was even better to see Vampire Willow again. To work this episode relied on a brilliant performance from Alyson Hannigan; for two and a half seasons we've grown used to her playing the mousy Willow but here she is totally believable as Vampire Willow; a supremely confident, very sexy character... the scene where Vampire Willow comes onto ordinary Willow, with the help of some impressive special effects was priceless! A subplot were Principal Snyder 'asks' Willow to help a sports star who is failing history also provides some good moments. Overall a great episode.