You're Not the Big Bad Anymore...You're Not Even the Kind of
Naughty."
"Into every generation a Slayer is born..."
Nowhere in the books does it say the Slayer goes to college.
But, as any avid fan (or superfan) would know, Buffy defies all
that is set in front of her, and this season, the Scoobies go to
College.
After a compelling third season, with graduation and the Mayor
becoming a big snake thing, it seems almost too much to even
think about the series continuining, especially after my
favorite season finale, "Graduation Day Part 2". But the
fabulous writers of "Buffy" have done it again, with another
great season.
The season opener, "The Freshman" shows us a look back into the
lives of the Scoobies (Buffy's slayer-clan), and giving us an
update of the events of the past summer. Buffy and Willow
sitting in a cemetary in the middle of the night planning their
college course schedules hardly seems out of the ordinary. So
that leaves Xander, who was allegedly planning on driving
cross-country to see all 50 states, but in actuality, his car
breaks down and does something that no power on this earth would
make him tell Buffy, or anyone else. And then there's Giles.
Everybody's favorite Watcher has become a man of leisure,
completely enjoying his slackerdom. Oz, of course, is wherever
Willow is, and probably spent the summer with her, only for her
to become giddy with excitement over her "on-campus boyfriend."
A new recurring character is Anya, who is obviously smitten with
Xander, but wants to get him out of her mind, resulting in a
hilarious relationship between the two. And Tara, Willow's
wiccan friend, appears for the first time in "Hush", and the
relationship buds from there. Now who can forget Spike, the
wonderfully evil Big Bad who first appeared in Season 2 and
resurfaces for an episode in season three, reappears in this
season to try to do some real harm only to be brutally rebuffed
by Buffy's new boytoy and army guy extraordinaire, Riley. The
Big Bad of this season ends up being a demon/humanoid named
Adam, who struggles to find out what, or who he is, thus causing
destruction and chaos for the Scooby gang. What's more is the
resurfacing of Faith, who was comatose after Buffy tried killing
her in last seasons finale. What more could you ask for than a
season jam packed full of drama and conflict and issues...It's
what the show is all about.
The first time I watched this season was on DVD, and I have to
say, I was not impressed. Having just finished Season 3, I was
feeling "What more can they do?" and they did plenty. I felt
myself longing for seasons past, which did not give me the fair
opportunity to give Season 4 the scrutiny and credit it
deserved. Since that first time, I've watched it several more
times, in between the other seasons I own (you have to follow
the storyline sometimes, or it's just no fun), and came to the
conclusion that it is one of my favorite seasons. It follows the
classic Buffy formula of dramatic relationships, a Big Bad that
won't show up until mid-season, the development of already
important characters and new characters. All in all, Joss Whedon
was right all along.
As in any series, there are a few stand alone episodes, and a
few storyline episodes, and some that shouldn't be there and
some that just are so great, they must be watched over and over.
Some Episodes worth noting are:
"The Freshman" 4.1 A great Season opener finds The Scoobies back
at it again. Giles is enjoying time off, and the rest of the
gang are trying to adjust to the real world, college, and adult
life. This is definitely one of my favorites. It's the beginning
of the long struggle of understanding.
"Beer Bad" 4.5 "Try not to make Cave-Slayer angry." This is one
for the books. Buffy is feeling Post-Parker sadness and
depression after the one-night stand, and finds solace in Black
Frost beer. "Foamy," is one way to describe the beer, also
"cursed" would be a great word, as all the loyal drinkers of
Black Frost, those who happen to be psuedo-intellectual rich
boys, turn into cavemen, along with Buffy who was drinking away
her sorrows. The lesson here? Beer..Bad.
"Wild at Heart" 4.6 This one made me cry. Willow's tears on
command just melt your heart. Here, Oz notices Veruca, another
werewolf during the full moon. Willow notices Oz noticing Veruca
and becoming jealous. This is Oz's fateful episode starting the
end of one of my favorite relationships of the series. In the
light of the full moon, Oz and Veruca engage in werewolfy action
leaving them naked and scratched in the woods in the light of
the sun the next morning. Warning: watch with a box of tissues
near the end, you'll need them.
"Hush" 4.10 The only episode with literally less than ten
minutes of talking the whole episode. This was nominated for
best writing, and it's easy to see why. To date, it is the only
episode of the series to rely on strictly on action rather than
words. When the town of Sunnydale loses the ability to speak,
Buffy and the gang must find the demon causing the raucous. The
episode is both funny and creepy and leaves quite a bit for a
longer ending where Riley and Buffy discover something important
about each other.
"Who Are You?" 4.16 brings forth the reintroduction of one of my
favorite characters, Faith. As a gift from the mayor, Faith
receives a body switching device, and takes full advantage of it
("This Year's Girl"). Running around in Buffy's body, Faith
begins to understand what it means to be Buffy, the stress, the
fun, the pain, all of it. The chase is on for the formerly
comatose, wanted murderer.
"Superstar" 4.17 Alas, an episode dedicated solely to Jonanthan,
the nerd of the prior three seasons. Finally. A spell distorts
the perception of the entire town, possibly even the world.
Jonathan's mojo makes everyone think he's cool. "He's just
perfect enough!" says Xander when Jonathan's coolness is called
into question. Take a look for yourself and you'll see what I
mean.
"New Moon Rising" 4.19 My beloved Oz returns. In a moment of
blind faith, Oz returns to Sunnydale to reclaim he darling
Willow. There's one catch, Tara is involved with Willow. This
ends up being the very final episode for Oz, which makes me sad,
but both he and Willow are better people for it.
"Primeval" 4.21Back to basics for the Scooby gang. With this
episode comes the realization that they have started to grow
apart and the effort to bring them back together. Not to mention
the awesome fight between Buffy and Adam (with the gang still
contributing). And it would have made a great season finale.
"Restless" 4.22 The actual season finale...I love watching
episodes with forshadowy goodness, and this one is one of the
best, being nothing but dreams and future predictions. I won't
tell you anymore, or I'll spoil it for you. All you need to know
is that it's good...oh yeah, and Oz appears in one of the
dreams...(s