Buffy Reviews

Homecoming

Character - by Jenny68

     Buffy's relationship between slaying and a social life has been scrutinized quite a bit since the season premiere. She has always maintained that having a social life was very important to her, and slaying would never take that over. Yet, here she is, third season, nearly shut out from the outside world.
     First off, Buffy is thrown into plans for the homecoming dance by her friends. Seeing as she's already purchased tickets, she considers, but as Cordelia and Willow tie a somewhat hesitant Scott into the deal, Buffy agrees to take part. Scott immediately offers to buy her another drink hoping to keep their conversation going, but Buffy bails from the situation immediately. Buffy seems to have a major problem sticking with Scott, even though she claims to like him a lot. It seems that she likes the idea of having Scott as a boyfriend, rather than actually spending time with him. Buffy still has her heart elsewhere, specifically Angel, and the mansion is where she goes. Buffy tells Angel about Scott, and how solid and dependable he is. She also tells him that Scott makes her happy. Angel seems to accept this, knowing that it would be nearly impossible to have Buffy back with all he's done and now with his current state. Apparently Angel remembers what he had done while completely soul-less. Buffy flinches when Angel reaches for her though, thinking perhaps he might freak at the news, but Angel simply fixes her collar and she relaxes. The next day, Buffy's decision to keep Scott as the main man is crushed when he dumps her. Some may call Scott shallow to have dumped Buffy, but he just finally realized what she had been doing all along. She never tried to make time for him, and in his view almost plainly avoided him He knew it would never last, so he broke it off. It's too bad for Scott that the girl he figured was so full of life, has all of her attention and energy directed towards something he's could never be a part of.
     Buffy takes Scott's words to heart, and realizes she's hardly living a life outside of slaying. She ponders her thoughts in the cafeteria with the gang, but nobody really listens to her. They're too busy playing with their food to pay much attention though. It seems that even her small group of friends have backed away from her, and Buffy realizes she's not really the centre of the group anymore. Xander does have time to inform Buffy that she wont be in the yearbook because she missed picture taking. Cordelia was in charge of reminding Buffy of the fact, but in her quest for homecoming queen, she had forgotten. Cordy gives Buffy the perfect opportunity to get back into the social fold, but jokingly suggesting she run for homecoming queen. Buffy stinging from the shots Cordy has taken, namely about her only talent being slaying, accepts the challenge and vows to beat Cordy at her own game.
     Meanwhile, Xander and Willow try on their outfits for the dance. Both friends prod each other for info on their relationships, but neither reveals anything. Transformed with formal dress, they forget themselves and end up in a kiss. Appalled by their action, they quickly try to figure out why it had happened, and determine the clothes were the reason they indulged. This seems to have the look of the beginning of the Xander/Cordy relationship .... uh oh. Because of this, they over compensate their support for their significant others, Cordelia and Oz, which coincidentally leaves Buffy out of the fold again. Buffy has plunged herself into winning the title of homecoming queen, and is taking it quite seriously. She has charts and tasks for her friends to ensure a good chance of winning the title. The gang has next to no interest though, and before Buffy can finish her briefing, Cordelia walks into the library. This is round two of the fight between Cordy and Buffy, and both have no intention of having it end. Buffy offers a half-assed truce based on her cocky assurance that she'll be the victor, while Cordy simply waits for the gang to jump to her requests, then assures Buffy in a syrupy tone that she agrees they should hold a truce. Buffy is hurt and confused, but is determined to continue on without the help of her friends. It's just no longer fun and games. Buffy throws herself into winning over her peers, while also pressuring information out of her best friend, Willow. Buffy shows herself to be almost possessed by the desire to become popular. She goes out of character and reminds Willow of all the times she's saved her life, and naturally Willow folds, and allows Buffy access to whatever she wants. Her campaign efforts are bested by Cordelia though, who seems to have never ending resources at her disposal. Buffy confronts Cordelia about this, and a verbal match ensures. Cordelia, in complete bitca mode, lets the insults fly hoping to deter Buffy away from competing with her. Buffy knows Cordelia is her main competition, so Buffy's participation takes away from Cordelia's vote. Buffy doesn't seem bothered much by the insults, and resorts to her usual Cordy-bashing. Cordelia makes the mistake of touching Buffy, but before Buffy can break bones or anything, the gang intervenes. Willow, and eventually Xander, blame themselves for the rift between Buffy and Cordelia, and put together a plan with the rest of the group to help bring the two girls back to being friends.
     On the night of the dance, Buffy and Cordelia find themselves stuck with each other until they can sort out their differences. Of course they would never actually do this, so they stick with insults until they're forced to talk to each other .... as a matter of survival. With the help of the bad guys, Buffy and Cordelia are stuck in the middle of nowhere with no help but each other. Cordelia freaks out and blames Buffy for always being stuck in this kind of situation, to which Buffy tells her it isn't her fault and reminds her that she's still hoping to win the title of homecoming queen. Cordelia knows she's being played, but still lets herself get angry. Buffy ends up telling Cordelia why she's competing with her, and why she feels the need to suddenly be seen. Slaying is all she does anymore, and she wants to be known for more than that. She wants to have a social life again, and she picked this opportunity to try and be among her peers once again. Cordelia seems to accept this, but the rivalry for homecoming queen still stands. Cordelia makes a point of this when she talks down the vampire in the library after Buffy is taken out of commission for a while. She's still the queen of society, and she's still bitch of the year. Hail Queen Cordelia. Buffy and Cordy end up resolving their rift, and once again hold their semi-friendship. Unfortunately though, both end up losers in the homecoming race, but they seem to bond in the loss. This is probably a good thing, considering the huge battle of egos the two would indulge in had they both been crowned homecoming queen.
     For an episode that actually used an assortment of main characters, as well as Faith's wicked way of getting Scott back for dumping Buffy .... not to mention Giles dressed in a modern suit and acting out of character, I give Homecoming 5 ehs out of 5.

Story - by JaKaL

Villian - by Kaboo

     In Homecoming, the villains abound in both human and supernatural form. The Homecoming dance sets the stage for Buffy's duel with familiar and new villains. In fact, the Homecoming celebrations gives rise to a new event "Slayerfest '98," an occasion for the foes of the Slayer (as opposed to foes of Buffy the Prom Queen) to compete against each other in a race to rid the earth of the Slayer.
     Mr. Trick, the newest addition to the Sunnydale vamp collection, shows his creativity in setting up the Slayerfest. He invites the Gorches, a werewolf hunter, high tech german assassins, and a "pointy headed" creature to participate, the winner taking a pool of money supplied by an entry fee. (Again, Mr. Trick shows his head for business.)
     The sheer variety of villains makes this episode interesting. The return of the surviving Gorch brother, with his new hillbilly vampiric bride, adds to the comic tone of the episode. The "pointy headed" creature makes reference to his clan, and seems quite proud of his abilities as an assassin: the terrible looking knives that he seems to create within his arms, added to his intimidating countenance, make him one of the more unique villains to arrive in Sunnydale. The werewolf hunter (identified by his werewolf coat and the collection of animal teeth in his necklace), seems to be one of Kane's colleagues, and is as ruthless and cruel as the first werewolf hunter to come to Sunnydale; this time however, the inhumane traps are for Buffy and Faith, not Oz. Apparently hunting humans is only a step up from hunting werewolves. Finally, the Germans show Buffy matching wits with human assassins, who are dangerous not because of their supernatural abilities, but their technological prowness.
     It would seem that Buffy and Faith, who are the targets of this group attack, are facing a mighty challenge. The challenge turns into almost impossible odds when Buffy must confront these villains with only Cordelia's help. To make matters worse, Cordelia herself has chosen to show her own villainic face, doing everything possible to snatch the Homecoming crown from Buffy. Yet, destpite the revival of first season Cordelia, the bitca, when faced with the foes of Slayerfest, Cordelia proves her willingness to work in Buffy's team.
     Only Cordelia's warning prevents Buffy from stepping into "Jungle Bob's" trap. The "pointy headed guy" meets his doom because he cannot work with the competition, and thus the German team launch a grenade at him as well as Buffy and Cordelia. Cordelia's confrontation with Gorch after Buffy's victorius battle with his wife shows not only Gorch's limited dedication to revenge and his lack of reasoning skills, but also Cordelia's ability to face danger bravely. Finally, the German's are outwitted because of their reliance on high technology, the very skill that made them deadly foes.
     Despite this interesting menagerie of villains, the most threatening of villains is one who has not confronted Buffy directly: the Mayor. Mr. Wilkens meeting with Mr. Trick shows that the Mayor is aware of Buffy's mission as Slayer, as well as the existence of vampires. His secret agenda, alluded to briefly in the conversation with Trick demonstrate that the Mayor will be a formidable foe for Buffy: his is powerful within mainstream life in Sunnydale, as opposed to the secret power held by vampires. The Mayor's recruitment of Mr. Trick onto his team bodes ill for the Scooby Gang.
     I give this epidsode 3.5 out of 5 Ehs.

Character - by Jenny68
Buffy's relationship between slaying and a social life has been scrutinized quite a bit since the season premiere. She has always maintained that having a social life was very important to her, and slaying would never take that over. Yet, here she is, third season, nearly shut out from the outside world. First off, Buffy is thrown into plans for the homecoming dance by her friends. Seeing as she's already purchased tickets, she considers, but as Cordelia and Willow tie a somewhat hesitant Scott into the deal, Buffy agrees to take part. Scott immediately offers to buy her another drink hoping to keep their conversation going, but Buffy bails from the situation immediately. Buffy seems to have a major problem sticking with Scott, even though she claims to like him a lot. It seems that she likes the idea of having Scott as a boyfriend, rather than actually spending time with him. Buffy still has her heart elsewhere, specifically Angel, and the mansion is where she goes. Buffy tells Angel about Scott, and how solid and dependable he is. She also tells him that Scott makes her happy. Angel seems to accept this, knowing that it would be nearly impossible to have Buffy back with all he's done and now with his current state. Apparently Angel remembers what he had done while completely soul-less. Buffy flinches when Angel reaches for her though, thinking perhaps he might freak at the news, but Angel simply fixes her collar and she relaxes. The next day, Buffy's decision to keep Scott as the main man is crushed when he dumps her. Some may call Scott shallow to have dumped Buffy, but he just finally realized what she had been doing all along. She never tried to make time for him, and in his view almost plainly avoided him He knew it would never last, so he broke it off. It's too bad for Scott that the girl he figured was so full of life, has all of her attention and energy directed towards something he's could never be a part of. Buffy takes Scott's words to heart, and realizes she's hardly living a life outside of slaying. She ponders her thoughts in the cafeteria with the gang, but nobody really listens to her. They're too busy playing with their food to pay much attention though. It seems that even her small group of friends have backed away from her, and Buffy realizes she's not really the centre of the group anymore. Xander does have time to inform Buffy that she wont be in the yearbook because she missed picture taking. Cordelia was in charge of reminding Buffy of the fact, but in her quest for homecoming queen, she had forgotten. Cordy gives Buffy the perfect opportunity to get back into the social fold, but jokingly suggesting she run for homecoming queen. Buffy stinging from the shots Cordy has taken, namely about her only talent being slaying, accepts the challenge and vows to beat Cordy at her own game. Meanwhile, Xander and Willow try on their outfits for the dance. Both friends prod each other for info on their relationships, but neither reveals anything. Transformed with formal dress, they forget themselves and end up in a kiss. Appalled by their action, they quickly try to figure out why it had happened, and determine the clothes were the reason they indulged. This seems to have the look of the beginning of the Xander/Cordy relationship .... uh oh. Because of this, they over compensate their support for their significant others, Cordelia and Oz, which coincidentally leaves Buffy out of the fold again. Buffy has plunged herself into winning the title of homecoming queen, and is taking it quite seriously. She has charts and tasks for her friends to ensure a good chance of winning the title. The gang has next to no interest though, and before Buffy can finish her briefing, Cordelia walks into the library. This is round two of the fight between Cordy and Buffy, and both have no intention of having it end. Buffy offers a half-assed truce based on her cocky assurance that she'll be the victor, while Cordy simply waits for the gang to jump to her requests, then assures Buffy in a syrupy tone that she agrees they should hold a truce. Buffy is hurt and confused, but is determined to continue on without the help of her friends. It's just no longer fun and games. Buffy throws herself into winning over her peers, while also pressuring information out of her best friend, Willow. Buffy shows herself to be almost possessed by the desire to become popular. She goes out of character and reminds Willow of all the times she's saved her life, and naturally Willow folds, and allows Buffy access to whatever she wants. Her campaign efforts are bested by Cordelia though, who seems to have never ending resources at her disposal. Buffy confronts Cordelia about this, and a verbal match ensures. Cordelia, in complete bitca mode, lets the insults fly hoping to deter Buffy away from competing with her. Buffy knows Cordelia is her main competition, so Buffy's participation takes away from Cordelia's vote. Buffy doesn't seem bothered much by the insults, and resorts to her usual Cordy-bashing. Cordelia makes the mistake of touching Buffy, but before Buffy can break bones or anything, the gang intervenes. Willow, and eventually Xander, blame themselves for the rift between Buffy and Cordelia, and put together a plan with the rest of the group to help bring the two girls back to being friends. On the night of the dance, Buffy and Cordelia find themselves stuck with each other until they can sort out their differences. Of course they would never actually do this, so they stick with insults until they're forced to talk to each other .... as a matter of survival. With the help of the bad guys, Buffy and Cordelia are stuck in the middle of nowhere with no help but each other. Cordelia freaks out and blames Buffy for always being stuck in this kind of situation, to which Buffy tells her it isn't her fault and reminds her that she's still hoping to win the title of homecoming queen. Cordelia knows she's being played, but still lets herself get angry. Buffy ends up telling Cordelia why she's competing with her, and why she feels the need to suddenly be seen. Slaying is all she does anymore, and she wants to be known for more than that. She wants to have a social life again, and she picked this opportunity to try and be among her peers once again. Cordelia seems to accept this, but the rivalry for homecoming queen still stands. Cordelia makes a point of this when she talks down the vampire in the library after Buffy is taken out of commission for a while. She's still the queen of society, and she's still bitch of the year. Hail Queen Cordelia. Buffy and Cordy end up resolving their rift, and once again hold their semi-friendship. Unfortunately though, both end up losers in the homecoming race, but they seem to bond in the loss. This is probably a good thing, considering the huge battle of egos the two would indulge in had they both been crowned homecoming queen. For an episode that actually used an assortment of main characters, as well as Faith's wicked way of getting Scott back for dumping Buffy .... not to mention Giles dressed in a modern suit and acting out of character, I give Homecoming 5 ehs out of 5.

Story - by JaKaL


Villian - by Kaboo
In Homecoming, the villains abound in both human and supernatural form. The Homecoming dance sets the stage for Buffy's duel with familiar and new villains. In fact, the Homecoming celebrations gives rise to a new event "Slayerfest '98," an occasion for the foes of the Slayer (as opposed to foes of Buffy the Prom Queen) to compete against each other in a race to rid the earth of the Slayer. Mr. Trick, the newest addition to the Sunnydale vamp collection, shows his creativity in setting up the Slayerfest. He invites the Gorches, a werewolf hunter, high tech german assassins, and a "pointy headed" creature to participate, the winner taking a pool of money supplied by an entry fee. (Again, Mr. Trick shows his head for business.) The sheer variety of villains makes this episode interesting. The return of the surviving Gorch brother, with his new hillbilly vampiric bride, adds to the comic tone of the episode. The "pointy headed" creature makes reference to his clan, and seems quite proud of his abilities as an assassin: the terrible looking knives that he seems to create within his arms, added to his intimidating countenance, make him one of the more unique villains to arrive in Sunnydale. The werewolf hunter (identified by his werewolf coat and the collection of animal teeth in his necklace), seems to be one of Kane's colleagues, and is as ruthless and cruel as the first werewolf hunter to come to Sunnydale; this time however, the inhumane traps are for Buffy and Faith, not Oz. Apparently hunting humans is only a step up from hunting werewolves. Finally, the Germans show Buffy matching wits with human assassins, who are dangerous not because of their supernatural abilities, but their technological prowness. It would seem that Buffy and Faith, who are the targets of this group attack, are facing a mighty challenge. The challenge turns into almost impossible odds when Buffy must confront these villains with only Cordelia's help. To make matters worse, Cordelia herself has chosen to show her own villainic face, doing everything possible to snatch the Homecoming crown from Buffy. Yet, destpite the revival of first season Cordelia, the bitca, when faced with the foes of Slayerfest, Cordelia proves her willingness to work in Buffy's team. Only Cordelia's warning prevents Buffy from stepping into "Jungle Bob's" trap. The "pointy headed guy" meets his doom because he cannot work with the competition, and thus the German team launch a grenade at him as well as Buffy and Cordelia. Cordelia's confrontation with Gorch after Buffy's victorius battle with his wife shows not only Gorch's limited dedication to revenge and his lack of reasoning skills, but also Cordelia's ability to face danger bravely. Finally, the German's are outwitted because of their reliance on high technology, the very skill that made them deadly foes. Despite this interesting menagerie of villains, the most threatening of villains is one who has not confronted Buffy directly: the Mayor. Mr. Wilkens meeting with Mr. Trick shows that the Mayor is aware of Buffy's mission as Slayer, as well as the existence of vampires. His secret agenda, alluded to briefly in the conversation with Trick demonstrate that the Mayor will be a formidable foe for Buffy: his is powerful within mainstream life in Sunnydale, as opposed to the secret power held by vampires. The Mayor's recruitment of Mr. Trick onto his team bodes ill for the Scooby Gang. I give this epidsode 3.5 out of 5 Ehs.

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