Week Twenty

The theme of the week is finding one's role and either living up to it or shunning it entirely in order to follow one's own desires. For some this is a practice in finding themselves, while others devote themselves entirely to pleasing those who would push their expectations onto them.

What's My Line (Part 2)

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Spike kidnaps Angel for use in a ritual to restore Drusilla's sanity, while Buffy contends with the fact that there's a new Slayer in town in the form of Kendra, the girl called after Buffy died at the hands of the Master.

What's My Line (Part 1)

_***½

Buffy tries to work out what the future has in store for her as Sunnydale High's career fair heats up; meanwhile, Spike hires a group of assassins to take care of the town's Slayer threat, potentially risking Angel's life in the process.

Coming Up: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday

Multi-Part episodes, a series of webisodes, and an editorial ranking the top 3 episodes are what you can expect from this week, as Buffy presents a Slayer-related event, the Life on Mars specials come to an end, and Firefly readies itself for the big damn movie.

Week Nineteen

The theme of the week is the end of relationships, in one form or another, whether those relationships are romantic, friendly, or simply of having known one another. The results vary, with some friendships broken, others culminating in a kiss, and a few that end in caskets.

The Dark Age

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Ethan Rayne returns, this time with a demon from Giles' past in tow, revealing a darker side to Giles' history that could put the lives of everyone he loves in jeopardy.

Week Eighteen

The theme of the week are the lies that we tell ourselves, the lies that we tell to others, and the lies that we are lead to believe. Whether the lies told are about who you really are, or what's really happening around you, ultimately we all know the truth about ourselves.

Lie to Me

_****

One of Buffy's old classmates from Los Angeles transfers to Sunnydale High, proving to know far more about Buffy's destiny than he ever previously let on. Unfortunately his interest in her nocturnal activities proves dangerous when he gets himself involved with Spike and Drusilla.

Week Seventeen

The theme of the week is becoming something that's expected of you, or to abandon those expectations in favor of your own desires. For some this could mean anything as simple as a costume change, while for others it could be the catalyst to an entirely different way of life.

Halloween

_****

Halloween is, as Buffy explains, an opportunity to "come as you aren't" and show the world what you could be under different circumstances. Unfortunately, the costumes provided to Buffy and her friends are enchanted, changing their identities based on their masks and robbing Sunnydale of its Slayer.

Week Sixteen

The theme of the week is trying to be something that you're not, either to impress someone of a different social status, or to hide in plain sight.

Reptile Boy

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Cordelia convinces Buffy to shirk her responsibilities for one night to go to a frat party with her, only to find that they've been invited not as guests, but as offerings to a demon. While Xander does what he can to help the girls, he instead is made the target of college humor when he's discovered as a party crasher.

Week Fifteen

The theme of the week is the end of relationships, whether romantic in nature or platonic, and the struggle one has in dealing with said situation. Some are left weeping over all the lost moments they never got to have, while others manage to mend their ties and renew their bonds stronger than ever before.

Inca Mummy Girl

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Buffy's mother takes in a foreign exchange student who turns out to be more than she appears, but will Buffy and Willow be able to uncover the truth behind her past before Xander falls in love with her?

Week Fourteen

The theme of the week is the search for forgiveness as people make mistakes and do their best to repent for them. Some are for past transgressions, some for imagined blunders, and others for mistaken identity, but in every case the characters look to be absolved of their crimes.

School Hard

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Angel's old friends Spike and Drusilla come into town just in time to crash Sunnydale High's parent-teacher conference, putting Buffy's mother in the path of danger for the first time and forcing Buffy to create a ruse in order to protect her identity as the Slayer.

Week Thirteen

The theme of the week is taking a secondary option when the first choice doesn't quite pan out, either out of necessity to the situation, or simply a desire to move on to something else. Whether it's a relationship that's better off forgotten, or a campaign that needs to be spoken for, our characters here learn valuable lessons about what it means to settle for something less.

Some Assembly Required

_**½

Giles takes the night off and attends Sunnydale's football game on a date with Ms. Calendar, but that's not the only romance brewing as Cordelia's former flame Daryl also comes back into the picture.

Week Twelve

The theme of the week is about dealing with death, whether literally experiencing the loss of a loved one, or symbolically losing a piece of one's self. This week high school heroes fall, reputations are tarnished, relationships are destroyed, and the nature of identity is put into question as our protagonists try to make sense of the world around them.

When She Was Bad

_***½

Buffy is found suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from her encounter with the Master, made worse when the Anointed One steals the Master's bones for use in a ritual that will bring him back to life.