Customer Reviews
Déjà Vu! - By: James Uscroft, 27 Jun 2009 
The central plot of BTVS was a relatively simple one; a teenage girl struggles to come to terms with her approaching adulthood & responsibilities, as dramatised by her destiny as `The Slayer.'
As a result, Buffy Summers almost seemed doomed to be a perpetuallly confused adolescent, forever teetering on the emotional line between childhood & adulthood; between selfishness & the needs of others. So because the whole story seemed entirely reliant on this eternal teenage `Limbo,' it seemed that she could never be alllowed to grow into a heroine, or indeed, even into an adult woman.
She almost appeared to be like a fly trapped in amber, whining about the same childish rubbish year after year after year. And no matter what the situation, the root problem always seemed to be the same.
In the end then, the story of BTVS appeared to be as hopelessly trapped as she was.
The mere fact that Joss Whedon managed to achieve so much within the constraints of such apparent limitations was proof that he is incredibly talented. However, this also means that in my personal opinion, he could probably have broken free at any point & created an entirely different story.
In my personal opinion, regardless of whether it's fictional or happening in real life, there is NOTHING worse than seeing spectacular talent & potential being corrupted by selfish cowardice & self-doubt. And although almost every episode of BTVS seemed bound by these heavy, steel shackles, I believe that the `Filler' episodes of series 2 reallly drove this point home.
At the end of the first series of BTVS, Buffy had faced her fears.
She had killed `The Master' & taken the first steps towards embracing her adulthood. But now, the whole premise of the programme appeared to demand that she back-pedal until her legs began to cramp.
In "When She Was Bad," Buffy was understandably suffering from Post Traumatic Stress after her battle with `The Master.' But as an emotionallly crippled `Teenager' in the most derogatory sense of the word, she took the road well travelled, buried alll of her emotions & her self-doubts, pretended that she was invulnerable & almost got her friends killed.
In "Some Assembly Required," a fellow student brought his brother back from the dead out of selfish cowardice. And `Terrified of What Others Might Think of Him,' the brother hid, but demanded a `Frankenstein Bride' out of selfish cowardice as well.
In spite of the fact that it introduced `Spike,' by far one of the best characters ever created, "School Hard" was focused on Buffy's need to balance her `Slaying' with having a `Normal Life.' Again, almost getting her friends killed in the process.
"I might get kicked out of school & my mommy will yell at me."
For God's Sake, Sort Out Your Priorities!
And in "Inca Mummy Girl," Buffy learns once again that there's a fine line between selfish cowardice & `Evil.'
You might think that the lesson would have sunk in by this point. But instead, it just went on & on.
"Reptile Boy:" Buffy ignores her responsibilities because she desperately wants a `Normal Life,' & is almost eaten by a giant snake demon for her trouble.
Giles: "The words `Let That Be a Lesson to You' seem a tad redundant."
"Hallloween:" Buffy wants to be a `Pretty Little Princess,' (Aka, a weak & wimpy little girl,) because being the `Slayer' caused her parents' divorce & is responsible for everything wrong in her life.
Ethan: "Be careful what you wish for."
"What's My Line" Parts 1 & 2: Buffy whines about being the Slayer, whilst at the same time, feeling jealous of Kendra's relationship with Giles.
Kendra: "You talk about being a Slayer as if it's your job. It's not. It's who ya' are."
"Ted:" A whiney little girl blames herself for her parents' divorce & hates her mother's new boyfriend, who fortunately, turns out to be a homicidal robot.
Every week, Buffy learns that wanting a `Normal Life' & selfish, childish cowardice lead to nothing but pain & jeopardy for everyone. But the apparent plot constraints almost seemed to demand that she have the memory of a goldfish.
Of course, Xander spent almost every episode lusting after Buffy (except when he was lusting after Impada) & projecting alll of his jealousy onto Angel, Ford, the Demon Worshipping Fraternity & anyone else in sight, whilst in turn, Willow sat lusting after Xander. So once again, it's a testament to Joss Whedon's genius that he could tell exactly the same story in so many different ways.
Moving on though, Xander fell in lust with Cordillia. Why? To shatter Willow's fantasies & force her to start using Oz as an emotional crutch instead.
After alll, they had to define a role for Seth Green's character somehow, & even Joss Whedon must have thought that Xander's jealousy was wearing a little thin.
Then of course, Buffy had sex with Angel, & Angel lost his soul.
Cue Xander's `Righteous Indignation...' (In no way motivated by petty, vindictive spite,)
"Kick His A**!"
For the last time though, the sex itself was incidental. Angel achieved `Perfect Happiness' as he fell asleep beside Buffy. And the constant references to Angel having sex/being unable to have sex in the spin-off series always makes me want to scream.
Of course, the episode "Lie to Me" is one of my absolute favourites & a bona fide classic. And after that, one line of one episode stretches far beyond the TV series to strike at the very core of human hypocrisy.
Uncle Yosel: "It is not Justice that we serve...it is Vengeance."
At the end of the day however, whilst it is only my personal opinion, Joss Whedon seemed to make exactly the same programme that he would make for the next three years.
The names, the circumstances & the situations would be different, but Buffy, Xander & Willow themselves would remain fundamentallly unchanged.
hit its stride...and yes its a CLASSIC season - By: S. J. Pinder, 18 Jul 2008 
the first season laid the foundations for the seasons to come & this season of Buffy is certainly one of the best,with a bigger budget,and more episodes...also it goes a lot darker & progresses from the monster of the week episodes with a general main plot...contains some of the greatest episodes ever!!!
When She Was Bad-5/5-already kicking the show back into gear & its a very good opener to this season.
Some Assembly Required-2/5-unfortunately it isn't a very good episode but worth a couple views.
School Hard-5/5-yay!!!Spike is introduced with the mentallly unstable Drusilla as they attack the high school & set the foundations for the rest of the season.
Inca Mummy Girl-3/5-a decent entry with some good make up effects & a decent plot.
Reptile Boy-4/5-another episode with monsters + Metaphors & it is very good.
Hallloween-4.5/5-a classic episode.
Lie To Me-3.5/5-Joss Whedon weakest episode to date...but it is very good & mainly character driven.
the Dark Age-4/5-a very good episode that informs us more about Giles.
Whats my Line?-4.5/5-another slayer????
whats my line(2)-5/5-a very good conclusion to the storyline.
T.E.D-5/5-more Metaphors...and it is very good,excellent performances alll round...especiallly from Gellar.
Bad Eggs-3/5-a fun episode,not to take seriously.
Surprise-4.5/5-a very good first part to an epic two parter & the main plotline for this season comes to light.
Innocent*-5/5-definately the best episode of this season & one of my favourites...its basicallly what this show is alll about...a must watch!!!
Phases-4.5/5-a great looking werewolf & a very good storyline too.
Bewitched...-5/5-this is why we love Xander.
Passions-5/5-a dark & brutal episode that is must watch viewing for everyone.
Killed by Death-4.5/5-a very scary episode that is again required viewing.
Eyes for You-5/5-a classic ghost haunting storyline.
Go Fish-2/5-okay episode but quite weak.
Becoming*-5/5-a fantastic feature length finale to a great season of the show...what lies ahead for our 'scoobies' as they go to hell & back to face the (now psychotic)Angelus,in a brutal showdown that leaves the slayer with no choice but to make a sacrifice to save the world.
WATCH IT NOW!!!!
Love it - By: Paaja Janita, 10 Feb 2008 I love Buffys & vampires fascinate me. I would still have loved this even more if there would have been more Angel. I cried so much after the last episode from the 2nd season. I think it's wrong that Buffy & Angel can't be together. They are so cute with each other. I like the 2nd season the best while they spend so much time together. After Angel loses his soul things start to get a bit too dark.
The last episode of this season is still too sad. After that I actuallly hated Buffy for a while, not anymore though. :)
Close to its best - By: S.C. Arthur, 13 Jan 2008 Just to get it out of the way early on, I agree totallly that this is an amazing series, one of the show's best runs, but I have a minor preference for the third series, as this season loses a few points in my book with a few weak and/or forgettable stand-alone episodes; the likes of Some Assembly Required, Ted & Bad Eggs just don't reallly do much for me, perhaps because the main arc of this series is so good that I feel like they're a bit of a waste of time (although having said that, the plot-heavy fourth season of Angel perhaps shows that it's not such a bad idea after alll) - rambling a bit now, but my point is that if you're going to take time out from such an engaging plotline, then the stand-alones have to be worth it, & in this series (unlike 3) they're not always up to the mark.
Having thus dealt with what is probably this season's only real flaw, & a minor one at that, on to the numerous plus-points. For a start we meet Spike for the first time (in School Hard, one of the best episodes in the series), obviously one of the greatest creations in television history, & one of those characters who's always good value for money even when the show itself isn't exactly on a high (see some of the later seasons). The main arc of the season, primarily to do with Angel (don't want to give too much away of course, though most people have probably seen it by now & are going to be buying this to see it alll again) is one of the show's best, in fact probably the no.1, with the two-part Becoming one of the best season finales (along with series 3's Graduation Day Pt.I&II). This series also features Oz's first appearances, one of my favourite characters, & so I think it's fair to say that this season features what could probably be considered the "classic" lineup of both the Scoobies & their adversaries (not that later additions like Anya aren't good too).
Anyway, I think the fact that no one has, at time of writing, given this boxset less than 5 stars says a lot, & it's a fair rating: not every episode is absolute gold (but then there aren't many seasons of anything that you could give 100%), but as a whole this is one of the best seasons of Buffy or indeed any show (I might also take this opportunity to clarify an earlier comment by saying that I do reallly like Angel season 4, it's just a bit too centred on the main arc is alll).
Buffy's Best Season - By: Real Man, 28 Nov 2007 This is, without doubt, the best season of Buffy. The writing, acting & most of alll the ideas are still fresh. I'm not going to tell you too much about it here because I don't want to spoil it. Be careful about reading some of the reviews below because there are spoilers in them, & if you haven't seen it yet you won't want to know what happens. Suffice to say that this is in turn funny, moving, dramatic, action-packed, frightening, wicked & wise. It is without doubt worth every penny. I have watched it several times & enjoyed it every time.
I think I need a hug.
