Dead Man's Party

These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
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Buffy returns home, but finds that picking up the pieces of the life she left behind may not be as easy as she had hoped. Her mother is trying to accept her back with open arms, but she doesn't seem to trust that Buffy won't just run away again. Her friends seem happy to see her, but their odd behavior makes it appear that they silently resent Buffy for taking off. And, of course, before these problems can be laid to rest, the dead of Sunnydale start to rise.
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Oz: Well, a gathering is brie, mellow song stylings; shindig, dip, less mellow song stylings, perhaps a large amount of malt beverage; and hootenanny, well, it's chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny.


OK character development, average dialogue and a so-so plot.

While Buffy finds it easy to face monsters and demons, she doesn't really find it at all easy to face up to her friends and how they feel. It's much easier to deal with clear cut conflicts between good and evil and with externalized enemies. But Buffy is forced to recognize that evil exists even within the best people - even Willow is less than kind and many of the things said during the argument are cruel. And the toughest enemies sometimes are the ones you don't see.

While everyone is apparently a lot happier by the end of this episode, many of the problems really aren't resolved. The fact that they all work as a team to destroy the zombies says something about the strength of their friendship. It also reassures Buffy's mom who realizes her daughter is not truly alone in her battle against demons. Plus it also gives Buffy's friends a chance to show what they can do and to accept Buffy back in her role as Slayer.



Foreshadowing

Buffy: (to Xander) Didn't anyone ever warn you about playing with pointy sticks? It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.




My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Spike - absent
Angel - neutral
Oz - like

Overall I consider this a poor episode compared to the rest of the season.

Some Assembly Required

These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.

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The bodies of several recently deceased teen girls are stolen from their graves, and most of the parts are discovered in a dumpster on school grounds. From the missing pieces, the gang deduces that someone has collected almost enough parts to build their own girl. Now, all they need is a head, and it has to be fresh...

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Willow:  Jealous of what?
Buffy:  Of Xander.
Willow:  Because you did that sexy dance with him?
Buffy:  Am I ever gonna live that down?
Willow:  No.


Frankenstein / Bride of Frankenstein doesn't really work for this episode, or for that matter for the latter half of season 4.

Although there are no angry villagers for the finale, the monster does die by fire.

This marks the beginning of Jenny and Giles dating.

The end scene with Angel and Buffy, where they express the poignant yet doomed love for each other.


Foreshadowing

The morality of bringing a person back from the dead.

Xander:  ... I'll tell you this: people don't fall in love with what's right in front of them. People want the dream. What they can't have. The more unattainable, the more attractive.



My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Angel - neutral


Overall I consider this a poor episode compared to the rest of the season.

The Harvest

These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.

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Buffy rescues Willow and Xander, but Jesse is left in the hands of  the vampires. Buffy no longer resists her calling, but immediately  begins to plan a rescue. Because they are already involved, Giles  tells Xander and Willow about vampires and demons, and that Buffy  is the Slayer.

They are overwhelmed by it all, but they insist on helping Buffy.  Meanwhile, Luke and the other vampires are planning to begin  The Harvest, a dark ritual that will free the Master from his  underground prison. Needing to slaughter innocents for the ritual,  they descend upon The Bronze to feed. And only the Slayer stands  in their way.

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"One thing's for sure. Nothing is ever gonna be the same. "

This was originally aired along with part 1. Obviously this doesn't mean much when viewing these on DVD. It continues with Luke in the mausoleum getting ready to bite Buffy. He's then scared off by her cross(?). Seems kind of wimpy for a bad ass vamp who's hundreds(?) of years old. Especially when in the same episode Jesse, a newly turned vamp, knocks a cross out of Xander's hand relatively easily.

We get an explanation of the vampire mythos in the Buffyverse. Vampires were created by the last demon to leave the earth when he intermingled his blood with a humans after feeding on them. Thus the first vampire was created, and have spawned since.

We also get an explanation for all the tunnels underneath Sunnydale the vamps use, they're electrical tunnels.

Like the little scene with Cordelia and Willow in the computer lab. Cordelia  puts down Buffy and Willow has her delete the program she's writing.

As has been pointed out by several people the weapons chest Buffy has is a very good visual of what is going on in her life here. When Buffy opens the chest we see all the trappings of a normal life that a girl might keep, but hidden underneath we see all the accouterments of the Slayer.

My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - undecided
Cordelia - dislike
Angel - undecided
The Master - leaning towards like (for a bad guy)


Overall I consider this a poor episode compared to part one as well as the rest of the season.

Opening bookmark quote for the entire span of the series.
Giles: The earth is doomed. (sarcastic)