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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 3: School Hard

Teleplay by David Greenwalt; Story by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt; Directed by John T. Kretchmer

Buffy episodes at this stage seem to alternate between pretty good and pretty bad. The premiere was very good, the second episode was weak, this episode is good, the next is garbage... This episode is special, because it introduces the one character who, more than any other, would come to define the tone of the show from now on. This ended up being both good and bad, but, at this stage in the show, Spike was a great character. The difference between the annoying pomposity of the other vampires and his nonchalant take on the whole mythology, ably demonstrated in the scene immediately after the opening titles, is incredibly refreshing, and the frying of the Annoying One at the very end must have resulted in cheers from viewers the world over when the episode originally aired. Small wonder Spike went from being a villain to one of the good guys (it was the only way the writers could justify keeping him around, I suppose).

By the way, of all the episodes of Buffy David Greenwalt wrote before moving to Angel, this one was probably the best.

8/10

Next time: Inca Mummy Girl. Oh, god.

19:57