Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3 (1998-1999)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3
Season 3 reviews:- Episode 1: Anne 8/10
- Episode 2: Dead Man's Party 6/10
- Episode 3: Faith, Hope and Trick 8/10
- Episode 4: Beauty and the Beasts 4/10
- Episode 5: Homecoming 6/10
- Episode 6: Band Candy 9/10
- Episode 7: Revelations 8/10
- Episode 8: Lover's Walk 9/10
- Episode 9: The Wish 10/10
- Episode 10: Amends 4/10
- Episode 11: Gingerbread 8/10
- Episode 12: Helpless 8/10
- Episode 13: The Zeppo 7/10
- Episode 14: Bad Girls 9/10
- Episode 15: Consequences 8/10
- Episode 16: Doppelgangland 9/10
- Episode 17: Enemies 6/10
- Episode 18: Earshot 9/10
- Episode 19: Choices 8/10
- Episode 20: The Prom 7/10
- Episodes 21 and 22: Graduation Day 8/10 and 9/10
Prior to rewatching Season 3, my memory of it was that of a fun but unremarkable season. In the end, I'm surprised by how much better it was than I remembered it. Looking at the episode rankings, only two scored lower than 5/10 - a pretty impressive achievement given the number of clunkers in Season 2, which, until recently, I considered my favourite.
Season 3 gets an overall rating of 8/10, rounded up from 7.64, which averages out as the same rating Season 2 got. That's probably a bit of a mislead, though, since, looking at it now, Season 3 is definitely the better of the two. True, only one episode gets a 10/10 rating, versus four in Season 2, but, on the other hand, there are an impressive number of episodes rated 8/10 and higher. Season 3 is, simply put, more fun and more consistent, and, while it lacks the urgency and feeling of impending doom of its predecessor - the Mayor is introduced too slowly, if you ask me - it makes up for it with sharper humour and a more consistent sense of character progression. Yes, there are some real misfires - Xander's affair with Willow and the return of Angel are mid-bogglingly botched - but they can be overlooked.
As of now, we're entering into forbidden territory. If Season 3 has usurped Season 2, my original favourite of the show, it's anyone's guess how Season 5, my original second-favourite, will hold up. Season 4, as well, is going to be an interesting experience since, while its main arc is a bit of a mess, it's arguably the best season from the perspective of character development. It also contains my two favourite episodes ever - Hush and Restless. Also, because I'll be watching the first season of Angel alongside it (thankfully, at this stage it's pretty straightforward: watch Buffy 4.01, then Angel 1.01, then Buffy 4.02... and so on), it's going to be even more complex to keep track of the various plot developments and ongoing character arcs.
It's going to be interesting, I tells ya!
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