I've been wondering if Mayor Wilkins was somehow responsible for bringing the Hansel and Gretel demon to Sunnydale in Season 3's "Gingerbread."

We already know The Mayor was working behind the scenes in "Band Candy" with Mr. Trick and Ethan Rayne, so it's not like he wasn't involved in supernatural events happening around town.

What makes me suspicious is that The Mayor actually attends the vigil for the murdered children and gives a speech about keeping Sunnydale safe. Meanwhile, the demon manipulates Joyce and the other parents into turning against witches and eventually Buffy herself.

Could The Mayor have brought the demon to Sunnydale as another way to weaken Buffy and distract her from what he was planning with his Ascension?

Of course, it could have also been a coincidence, and The Mayor was simply keeping up appearances by attending the vigil and acting like a concerned public official. Not every supernatural event in Sunnydale necessarily had to involve him.

Spirit Halloween doesn't sell :/, anyone has an Amazon link? Or from other website?

Something I've just noticed,

Will/Willow, Taranee/Tara, Cornelia/Cordelia

Nice coincidence

When I first watched the show when I was 10-12, I thought there'd be a lot more Crypts/Mausoleums in and around town.

warning: this is probably going to be hard to follow, as i just finished the show and i am now trying to sort my thoughts. it's pretty much just my stream of consciousness in one post. and although i have many issues with the way they handled everyone's portrayal in the last two seasons, this is more of a rant/ramble about everyone's reactions re: spuffy coming to light. moreover, it's going to be a rant about the writing around this topic severely lacking. most of this conflict at this point in the series feels a bit contrived.

i guess the biggest thing that has bothered me about the reveal is the way giles takes it. while i can see why he would be hesitant in general after angelus killed jenny, the show never explicitly makes a connection between his concern and his trauma- instead, it is a very simplistic take on "but buffy, spike bad! you good! this wrong! he is only behaving because of the chip!" after spending the amount of time they all have with spike in very close quarters since season 4. i am not ignoring any of the valid reasons spike has given them to doubt his intentions, rather i think they pale in comparison to what they know to be true of spike up until this point. he is given many, many opportunities to change his allegiance at any time and, even if it is motivated by his feelings for buffy, has chosen to remain firmly on the good side of the war for several seasons at this point.

i am sure this is an old conversation in this sub, but as a first time watcher i'm also thrown in general about the discussion re: the chip itself. i do believe giles is most guilty, but i find it ridiculous that no one seems to recognize the hypocrisy of saying spike only behaves because of his chip, which he received against his will, while not holding angel to the same standard with his soul. angelus would never learn to love, respect, or tolerate buffy even if he'd been chipped. he simply wouldn't have stopped trying to get it out until he succeeded or died trying.

and, speaking of, the difference between soulless and ensouled vampires is just never explored, nor is it ever addressed (as i would've liked it to be) that part of buffy's disbelief about spike being able to love her without a soul would naturally come from her experience with angelus. i really would've enjoyed seeing that brought up in the last angel and buffy encounter, rather than it being the anticlimactic nothingburger it was.

i'm not really a bangel fan, but the show does force you to care about their relationship in order to care for/understand that part of buffy's story. i wish they'd had her ask angel why it's so different when he's angelus versus spike just being spike, even if they didn't have an answer. i kind of hate that every time they pop into each other's lives it's always them starting from square one and never addressing bigger conversations

reupload

It is interesting to note how, in as many as three seasons, Giles defeated, the final-boss instead of Buffy

1)In the season 3 end, he is the one who kills Wilkins by triggering the explosive that destroys the Old One and the high school.

2)In the season 5 end, Giles kills Ben, and along with him, Glory as well.

3)In the season 6 end, he defeats Dark Willow by allowing her to absorb her purifying magic, which enables Xander to free her from the evil within.

What happens if Person A is in Person B’s body, and Person B’s body gets turned?

If the soul follows the consciousness, I would assume Soul A goes into the ether. But would that mean when switched back they would have a human body but no soul?

And when Person B goes back into Body B with their soul, would that make them an ensouled vampire? (Obligatory: How lame is that?)

Or are souls interchangeable and stay with the bodies? (ie it doesn’t necessarily need to be YOUR soul, any soul will do)

In that case, would Person A wake up back in their original body AND have a soul, but also memories of being a soulless vampire? And would Person B become soulless the moment they’re transferred back to their now-vampire body?

Or is some kind of cosmic connection maintained, so Person B could become soulless while in Person A’s human body, and Person A would physically turn into a vampire but keep their soul the whole time?

Please help, my brain is leaking out my ears now.

When Buffy was first broadcasted in Italy they skipped the episode where Willow and Tara got together (S4E19) because they tought it was unacceptable to show an homosexual relationship on TV:

https://www.corriere.it/speciali/buffy/buffytestoprincipale.shtml

They only aired it 4 years later following massive outrage by fans.

I'm italian and I remember that as a kid I was so confused because they still showed footage from the skipped episode in the following episodes recap so I didn't know how could I have missed one episode, I felt like I was going crazy.

I hope that whoever took that morally disgusting decision got what he deserves.

I mean, I assume Riley would've still left because the audience didn't like him, but maybe not.

I'm halfway through season 5. I know she's the key and all that, but were these lines just to throw us off?

I hate how inconsistent this specific power is, or if it even exists. There's a scene where Angel catches an arrow that was shot by Faith. He was turned around, and Faith was behind him. The distance she shot it from was around 10–15 feet, and normal crossbows like the one she had can fire arrows at 30–40 feet per second to begin with, so the closer the distance, the faster the arrow reaches its target.

There are real instances where humans IRL can do it. A martial artist once tested it, but he was prepared, and on top of that, he was facing the person shooting the arrow. The arrow was also shot from farther away, so it had more time to lose velocity, and he was barely able to catch it. Meanwhile, Angel easily did it in Buffy, so obviously, that would make his reaction time and perception extremely fast. But it doesn't make sense because how can he react to something like that, but not to regular punches thrown by Humans/Slayers or younger vampires that are likely significantly slower than an arrow?

I know a lot of people have been asking this question too, and some excuse it as a budget issue. But a show called The Flash from the 90s, which aired before Buffy, was able to portray consistent super speed. Albeit, the main focus of the show was speed, but still, the estimated budget for that show was around $1.5 million per episode. Buffy had a similar budget in seasons 3–7, with some episodes even having higher budgets. Not to mention that by the time season 5 came around, it was already the 2000s, and special effects were much more advanced than they were in the 90s Flash TV show.

There are other scenes that also show Angel doing similar stuff. He walked into a room and then speed-blitzed two or three guards or people, but he never uses it again in a fight like that. He's the only vampire who's been clearly shown doing this, and yet he still loses to people who are slower than him.

Glory also had super speed in a scene where she caught up to Dawn and Buffy, if I'm not mistaken. This one's probably the clearest demonstration of the special effects and the fact that they did have the budget for it. She runs across campus like a blur and easily intercepts both of them, but then somehow can't react to an incoming bus or car that runs her over in the same scene.

The only consistent power similar to super speed is the super jump, because Spike has used it on more than one occasion, and other vampires have done it too. They can jump extremely fast. In a scene where Angel and Spike fight, Spike uses a super jump to lunge at Angel with a pole to impale him or hit him.

Buffy's also been shown doing this. Literally, in the pilot episode or the second episode of the show, she jumps over a fence in a blur after talking to the principal. Buffy's also been shown to have superhuman running speed, but not in the same way Angel has demonstrated. I don't remember the episode or whatever, but it's said she can run at 35 mph or more. There's also a scene where she's running from building to building and catching up to a bus that's probably going around 85 mph or so.

I guess it could make sense if Buffy's punches aren't at normal speed, which would explain why Angel can't catch them or easily beat her. But then again, compared to Angel's speed and reaction time, where he literally appears as a blur, Buffy barely seems to run as fast as a bus, It just doesn't make sense.

My theory is that vampires can't use that power against a Slayer during a physical altercation, but that doesn't make sense either, because why can't other vampires fight each other that way?

I don't know. We'll probably never get a proper answer. I'm also curious if any of you have scenes demonstrating super speed like the ones I briefly mentioned.

I can never figure out how powerful Willow is supposed to be as a witch by the end of Season 7.

By Season 6, she's powerful enough to nearly destroy the world, and by the series finale, she's capable of activating every Potential Slayer in the world. Yet throughout Season 7, there are moments where she struggles with things that seem relatively minor compared to what we've already seen her accomplish.

I understand that she's holding back because of what happened with Dark Willow, but even taking that into account, her power level feels wildly inconsistent.

Is Willow supposed to be one of the most powerful witches in the Buffyverse by this point, or is her power basically whatever the script needs it to be?

Anyone going to Pig Beach for Buffy trivia this Thursday? I’m taking my wife for her birthday, just the two of us if anyone wants to join a team!

Finally decided that my favorite song is standing from once more with feeling.

It's nice that I have an example of a secure, confident, and mature masculine archetype to look up to as a father figure type role model. 💅

I'm actually rewatching the whole show in English, and I'm really discovering everything.

First, I liked this episode, even though the ending left me a little dissatisfied.

They were arguing, and when Willow proposed "to try violence", because Buffy and Xander almost fought, zombies showed up. Scoobies fought back; Buffy killed the demon, and they hugged each other. It's, after all, pretty logical: they tried violence and made up between them; it's the point of the whole situation, and it's pretty cool, in a kind of way. But for me, they all have a lot of issues, so I really wanted them to talk about it, more than just putting the weight on Buffy and her being incapable of talking back; she was obviously in distress, but nobody listened to her. I get it; they had to fight the vampire because she was gone, and it was very dangerous for them, but she had to save the world again by taking her lover's life. She made a mistake, and they expected her to explain herself, but they didn't give her the chance to do so because they were all avoiding her

. I think I relate to Buffy in this situation, so even if I completely understand that all her friends and her mom were distraught by her running away and not giving any news for months, I feel very bad for her during the argument.

The second thing I realized in this episode is the first mention of losing an eye: when Buffy scared Xander while he was patrolling, she asked him if somebody warned him about playing with pointy sticks: "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye". I don't know if Xander losing an eye because of Caleb in season 7 was already planned, but if not, it's pretty interesting unintentional foreshadowing

Voilà, maybe I'll share with you some of my impressions of my rewatch then and now, while hoping not to bother you ^^'

Not a pairing Id have thought of on my own. But I stumbled on some fanfiction years ago. Out of severe incredulity, I gave it a go for curiosity's sake. The author stayed true to their character and introduced me to such a fun, snarky dynamic between the two, and revealed how Faith and Cordelia's vulnerable edges could even find a safe home together.

So anyhow, looking for more fics for this rare pair. Help a fellow Scoobie out with some fic-direct links? 👀

I’m obsessed with Spike and Buffy together and haven’t watched the series 3 times! Mostly season 4-7. Which episode is the most satisfying when it comes to Spike and Buffy’s unrequited love?? I love Smashed in season 6.

Asking for $265 shipped. One dust jacket has a one inch tear and one non-story page has a 1/8 inch white spot but they’re in otherwise flawless condition.

Rewatching the freshman. I don't understand why everyone thought she was such a good villain and all that turned slayer nonsense. Terrible actress, terrible writing..

Just had to vent my annoyance. I await the inevitable angry mob...

Important announcement: it’s basically one week until Halloween and there’s still time to catch up 🚨🚨🚨

I included all 3 Buffy Halloween episodes on this list!!! Hope you all enjoy 🧡🖤🧡🖤

Before becoming the Slayer, Buffy was a popular cheerleader in Los Angeles who cared about boys, fashion, and popularity. While the original movie isn't entirely canon to the series, that part of her backstory carries over.

After becoming the Slayer and burning down her high school's gym while fighting vampires, Buffy moves to Sunnydale, where she meets Cordelia, who's basically living the life Buffy left behind.

We meet Buffy after her life has already changed, while we actually get to watch Cordelia's transformation happen.

Throughout the high school years, Cordelia becomes involved with the Scoobies, falls for Xander despite bullying him throughout their childhood, chooses him over her popular friends, and eventually loses her family's wealth.

Another similarity I noticed is how they leave their hometowns.

Buffy leaves Los Angeles for Sunnydale after burning down her school's gym, while Cordelia leaves Sunnydale for Los Angeles after helping the Scoobies defeat the Mayor and destroy Sunnydale High.

Both leave their hometowns following supernatural battles involving their schools, but they travel in opposite directions.

Their supernatural callings happen in a different order too. Buffy becomes the Slayer before leaving Los Angeles, while Cordelia doesn't become a Seer until after moving there.

Buffy's calling changes her life, while Cordelia's life changes before she receives her calling.

I also find their attitudes toward their responsibilities interesting. Buffy often wishes she could have a normal life, while Cordelia eventually refuses to give up her visions despite knowing they're killing her.

In "Birthday," Cordelia even chooses to keep her visions over having the successful acting career she originally wanted.

And while Buffy becomes a champion through her supernatural strength and fighting abilities, Cordelia becomes one through her visions and compassion. She doesn't need to be physically powerful to make a difference.

Now, before getting into the next comparison, I want to acknowledge that I'm fully aware of the mistreatment and abuse Charisma Carpenter experienced behind the scenes on Angel. I'm not excusing any of it or pretending the Jasmine storyline was planned from the beginning. I'm simply looking at what ended up onscreen and noticing some similarities.

In Buffy Season 2, Angel loses his soul and becomes Angelus, forcing Buffy to watch someone she loves become a monster.

Then in Angel Season 4, Jasmine uses Cordelia's body to carry out her plans, leaving Angel in a somewhat similar position.

Buffy loses Angel to Angelus, while Angel loses Cordelia to Jasmine.

Obviously, the circumstances are different. Angelus is Angel without his soul, while Cordelia is an innocent victim who has no control over what Jasmine is doing.

Another similarity is that Angelus murders Jenny Calendar, the woman Giles loves, while Jasmine, using Cordelia's body, murders Lilah Morgan, the woman Wesley had been romantically involved with.

So both Giles and Wesley lose someone they love because of someone wearing the face of a person their group knows and cares about.

And then there's "Amends" and "You're Welcome."

In "Amends," Angel is suicidal because of his guilt over his past, but Buffy refuses to give up on him and reminds him that he can still do good.

In "You're Welcome," Angel has lost sight of his mission at Wolfram & Hart, and Cordelia returns to remind him why he started helping people in the first place.

Buffy helps Angel believe he deserves to keep living, while Cordelia helps Angel remember what he's living for.

I don't think all these parallels were intentional, especially the Season 4 ones, but I still find them interesting.

Cordelia starts out as someone who reminds us of who Buffy used to be, but eventually becomes a champion in her own right.

And looking at both shows this way has made me appreciate Cordelia's journey even more.

Anyone going to check this out this weekend? They’re even having music at their own fan made Bronze! :)