Buffy’s final year in high school ends with a bang (in more ways then one). We get a new slayer, a new watcher, and a politician that’s even more evil than you would expect.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 3
Custom Rating
After a summer in Los Angeles, and a brief trip to a hell dimension, Buffy returns to Sunnydale to once again take up her destiny as “she who hangs out in cemeteries”, reconnects with her friends, and kick some serious ass. There are a few stumbling blocks in the way. The first is the arrival of a new Slayer who’s carefree attitude and enjoyment of the kill will cause problems. The second is the unexplained and unexpected return of Angel, Buffy’s one true love who was last seen as Buffy plunged a sword deep into his chest sending him to hell in order to save the world.
 |
| I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And you are? |
After the fallout from Season Two, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Geller) is hiding in Los Angeles and waiting tables. Finally she is forced to confront her destiny and return to Sunnydale and try and put her life back together. Just as she has reclaimed her life Faith (Eliza Dushku), the new Vampire Slayer, arrives and creates all kinds of new havoc for our heroine. Faith is a wild card ; she relishes in the power, the chase, and the kill. Faith’s style clashes with Buffy’s need to analyze the situation. The friendship is further strained when it is discovered that Angel (David Boreanaz) is alive and Buffy has been hiding him. Faith’s actions get more and more erratic to the point where she accidentally kills a human being. Unable to deal with the situation, Faith moves further down her dark path as she decides to throw her fate in with the Mayor ofSunnydale. Richard Wilkins (Harry Groener) created the town over a hundred years ago as part of his plan to ascend and become a full demon. Buffy and the Scooby gang must now try to stop the Mayor’s ascension, and Buffy must face Faith as well.
Ask most Buffy fans which is their favorite season and many will put this one high on the list. It is one of the tightest and best written seasons that explores the dynamic of Buffy and of Faith and what it means to be a Slayer. Thedichotomy is well played out and the pay off is huge as Slayer is pitted against Slayer. The writers are also clever in exploring the paternal relationship that forms between Faith and the Mayor. BothDuskhu and Groener are excellent in their roles and play off each other so well.
 |
| The Chosen Two |
Relationships play a big factor in Season Three. Romance for ill-matched Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and the sweet coupling of Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Oz (Seth Green). Buffy’s relationship with her mother (Kristine Sutherland) is changed now that Joyce knows about Buffy’s late night activities. Buffy and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) relationship will be strained after the events of Helpless where Giles betrays Buffy to follow the orders of the Watchers Council only to turn back at the last instant. Giles leaving the council provides some interesting reworking of the series formula and also brings us the wonderful character ofWesly Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof). And finally Buffy and Angel are forced to confront some unpleasant truths about the nature of their relationship.
The entire Buffy / Faith arc is incredibly well played out and culminates on one hell of a huge fight sequence in Graduation Day Part 1. Aside from the main arc there are some terrific stand alone episodes aredefiantly worth checking out.
Lover’s Walk
Spike (James Marsters) returns in a drunken melancholy over his breakup with Drusilla (Juliet Landau). Spike actions throughout his one night stay lead to the breakup ofXander and Cordelia, forces Oz to reevaluate his feelings for Willow, and his comments to Buffy and Angel prophetically start the demise of their relationship as well.
The Zeppo
 |
| Technically I think that’s a sword |
Some of my favorite episodes of the series are Xander episodes. The entire episode is structured with the other Scoobies working on saving the world as Xander gets into his own trouble involving a classic automobile, the raising of an undead gang, some one-on-one with Faith, and a very explosive cake. The name of the episode comes from Cordelia’s line about howXander is the useless part of the group, the Jimmy Olsen or the Zeppo Marx. What makes the episode work so well is Xander is actually given the opportunity to save the day in his own small way; even if no one else ever knows he is changed by the experience.
Amends
Angel is haunted by visions of his past deeds as Angelus, and his dreams spill into Buffy’s nightmares. It turns out Angel is being systematically driven insane by a force called only The First, an incorporeal evil that wants Angel to lose his soul in Buffy and become Angelus once again. This is one of the best villains of the series, here used for only one episode and forgotten until…well we’ll get to that in Season Seven. It is also one of the few episodes of Buffy that shows Angel’s actions before he was cursed with a soul, something the spin-off would explore in more detail.
 |
| Careful what you wish for |
The Wish
What if Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale? Cordelia is granted her wish and reality is changed as history is rewritten. The Master (Mark Metcalf) rises and takes over Sunnydale turning Xander and Willow two of his most deadly vampires. A great what if… episode that lets the actors each play the same characters but in quite different circumstances. The episode also introduces us to the character ofAnyanka (Emma Caulfield) a vengeance demon who grants Cordelia’s wish and then loses her powers as reality is put back to normal. Anya becomes quite a funny character as Xander’s girlfriend for years to come.
A nice collection of extras includes commentary on four episodes from writers and directors but no commentary from Joss Whedon in this collection. We do get two short interviews with Whedon about four episodes including one on Bad Girls and Consequences. We get a season overview which looks back over the season’s run. One of the most interesting extras is a short feature on the language used on Buffy, where it comes from, and how popular it has become. Also included are original scripts for four episodes, an art gallery collection of photos, and short featurettes on special effects, wardrobe, and weapons.
This is one of the best seasons of Buffy. The main story arc of Faith and Buffy is one of the best crafted of the series, and the fight scenes between the two kick some serious ass. We also get some wonderful stand alone episodes and are introduced to new characters who will continue to populate the Buffy / Angel universe until the end. The set is a nice collection with commentary, a season overview, and some nice short interviews with Whedon. A great bookend for the first three seasons that completes the high school years of the Scooby gang.