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