Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 5: Reptile Boy
Written and Directed by David Greenwalt(a.k.a. In Which Buffy Learns That Alcohol is Bad)
It's funny - back in 2003, when I watched Season 2 for the first time, I decided that this episode was by far the worst of the season, and indeed the worst I'd ever seen (of course, at that point, I still hadn't seen Doublemeat Palace or The Killer in Me). That said, watching it again today, I could hardly remember any of it - I must have put it out of my mind. I've come to the conclusion that it's still pretty bad, but not as bad as I'd thought. It's actually a step up from last week's episode.
There are some nice ideas here. These fraternity things that they have in American universities have always struck me as being incredibly disturbing, so having the one portrayed in this episode actually be a front for a sacrificial cult seems like a fairly natural extension. The execution, however, is pretty bungled, thanks to first-time director David Greenwalt's less than stellar camerawork and some really, really clumsy writing (despite a few decent lines thrown in here and there). One thing that's becoming clear to me as I make my way through the series again is that these filler episodes can be an incredible chore to sit through the second time round. There's some character development that pertains to the issues at large, but for the most part episodes like Reptile Boy seem just to be treading water. This is one element that I suspect will make the later seasons (well, 4 and 5, really) infinitely more rewatchable when I get round to them.
PS. In case you didn't notice, alcohol is very evil. It leads to orgies, demon sacrifice and god knows what else.
4/10
Next time: Halloween. Yay! Ghastly Ghost!
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