Season 3

Regular cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, Anthony Stewart Head

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Buffy returns to Sunnydale and graduates from high school. Buffy's last year in high school is a roller coaster. She continues to feel like she won't be remembered, until her peers give her the class protector award, showing that saving the day for three years did not go unnoticed. Angel returns from hell, leading to an up and down relationship that finally culminates in Angel leaving her and Sunnydale. Buffy continues to slay and seems to be embracing it more than in previous seasons, even enlisting the entire senior class to fight the Mayor at graduation, but this is complicated by Faith, the other slayer, who is a very different slayer and ends up turning evil. 

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"Anne"

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Episode 1 of Season 3

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"I just wanted to be left alone."

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Original US airdate: September 29th, 1998

Rewatched: October 9th, 2021

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• Writer: Joss Whedon

• Director: Joss Whedon

• Guests: Kristine Sutherland, Julia Lee, Carlos Jacott, Mary-Pat Green, Chad Todhunter

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Season 3 opens with Buffy rediscovering her desire to be the Slayer. She ran away to LA, where she is working in a diner, going by her middle name Anne, and living alone in a crappy one-room apartment. The dream sequence of Angel meeting her on the beach and saying they would be together forever and he would never leave, even if Buffy killed him shows how haunted Buffy is by sending him to hell. At her job, she doesn't stick up for herself when she is sexually harassed by two patrons. She is sad, alone and trying to disappear. As Ken later says, Buffy looks like she grew up too fast. However, the arrival of Lilly, also known as Chantarelle from "Lie to Me", makes Buffy choose to be the Slayer. 

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Lilly turns to Buffy when her boyfriend Rickie goes missing. Buffy is at first reluctant to help, trying to blow Lilly off and then bristling when Lilly asks if Buffy brought evil with her to LA. Buffy tells both Lilly and the lady at the blood bank that all she wanted was to be left alone. But Buffy does help Lilly and it turns out Ken from Family Home, a teen outreach center, has been taking healthy homeless teens to his hell dimension to work as slaves. Time moves much faster there, meaning the slaves will be old and used up before anyone notices they are missing. Lilly and Buffy end up in the hell dimension. It is there that Buffy reclaims her identity by refusing to tell the demons that she is no one and by answering "I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you are?" when asked "Who are you?"

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Buffy encourages Lilly to find the strength to help her and together they escape with the new slaves, with Buffy also killing Ken. Buffy gives her job, apartment and new name to Lilly (who will later be seen on Angel, showing that Buffy's help got her on the path to her own destiny). The episode ends with Buffy returning home to her mother. Buffy is perhaps not yet in a good place, but she is ready to face her life and her responsibilities. 

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Another theme is teen runaways, underscored by the cheesy montage of homeless teens, and which seems a bit "movie of the week" to me. This theme is by no means a bad one. Exploring the precarious situation of runaway teens is worthwhile, but in the end, Buffy is able to retreat to her suburban home again, leaving the mean streets behind, an option not every runaway has open to them. So overall, while a nice attempt, it is fairly superficial and no resolution is given. 

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Next, the Scoobies, left behind in Sunnydale, are attempting to slay. It's not working very well, but it does show how they are also growing into their roles and embracing the good fight. In this season, Willow's dedication will lead her to stay in Sunnydale for college rather than leaving. Cordelia will end up fighting the good fight with Angel in LA. Being part of the Scooby gang is integral to both their journeys. 

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And a final fun fact: Willow's senior boyfriend Oz didn't actually graduate and has returned to school to repeat the year. In a teen series, the characters may need to remain teens for as long as possible. 

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"Dead Man's Party"

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Episode 2 of Season 3

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"You can't just bury stuff, Buffy. It'll come right back up to get you."

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Original airdate: October 6th, 1998

Rewatched: October 16th, 2021

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• Writer: Marti Noxon

• Director: James Whitmore Jr.

• Guests: Kristine Sutherland, Nancy Lenehan, Armin Shimerman

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Buffy does zombies. Or, in other words, the metaphor is that nothing stays buried. With Buffy home, everyone tries to get back to normal, but it's clear that a lot of feelings about Buffy's absence (her feelings, Joyce's feelings, Giles's feeling, the Scoobies' feelings) are not being addressed. This all comes to a head at Buffy's welcome home party, where first Willow confronts Buffy, then Joyce, then Xander. However, the party is interrupted by zombies trying to put on the zombie demon mask Joyce hung in her bedroom. Everyone bonds while slaying. Thus, the overall message is quite overt, really, that you can't hide from the past. Through the argument, it's clear that everyone is slightly selfish- Buffy was selfish to run away and selfish to think everyone would wait for her, but her friends and family are selfish for not trying to understand Buffy's situation. Burying all these feelings is not good. 

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Although the episode focuses on not being able to bury the past, it is also clear that redemption is possible. By the end of the episode, things are better for Buffy and her friends, although the situation is not yet fully resolved as Buffy has yet to admit she sent Angel to hell after he had is soul back. This will happen later this season. This episode still underscores that while actions have consequences, we can be forgiven for our bad choices. This fits into the larger redemption narratives of both Buffy and Angel. 

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Finally, this episode has Snyder again referencing the Mayor as someone scary, contains another dream of Angel, and a first visit to the Espresso Pump, the downtown coffee shop in Sunnydale. Giles reverts to his Ripper persona while threatening Snyder, who is reticent to let Buffy into school again. Finally, Buffy tells Xander that "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye", which may foreshadow Xander losing his eye in season 7.

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"Faith, Hope & Trick"

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Episode 3 of Season 3

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"I've been holding onto that for so long. Felt good to get it out."

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Original airdate: October 13th, 1998

Rewatched: October 23rd, 2021

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• Writer: David Greenwalt

• Director: James A. Contner

• Guests: Kristine Sutherland, K. Todd Freeman, Fab Filippo, Jeremy Roberts, Eliza Dushku, Armin Shimerman 

 

Recovering from trauma is the theme of the day. Buffy is back at school, getting along with her friends, Watcher and mother, and has a new love interest when Faith, the new Slayer, comes to town and makes Buffy feel like Faith is trying to take her life. Buffy and Faith's relationship gets off to a rocky start and while the positive end to this episode indicates they could become friends and slaying buddies, other events in Sunnydale end up changing the course of their relationship. In many ways, Faith is Buffy's doppelganger. They are both white American girls, meaning Faith shares Buffy's cultural background (in contrast to Kendra). There does seem to be differences in class. While it is never mentioned outright, Faith seems to come from a lower socio-economic status than Buffy. It is hard to pin down, as Faith's background is never explicitly discussed and there is some indication in the series that money is tight for Buffy and her mother. However, it is clear in the film (script) that at least until Buffy's parents divorced, Buffy was fairly wealthy. Nothing Faith mentions indicates her background is similar and the comments she does drop (such as her mother being deceased and being a high school drop-out) point to being less affluent. Another difference is that Faith seems to really enjoy slaying (especially the fighting), something that Buffy is more mixed on (it generally seems that Buffy enjoys the power, but not the violence). Aside from these aspects, Faith and Buffy share a lot. Both saw their first Watcher die. Both carry trauma with them (from slaying in general, but also specifically from Kakistos and Angel respectively). Both need to figure out how to balance their lives with their slaying (Buffy more balancing typical teenager life with slaying, Faith more in terms of making a living and slaying). Finally, in this season's episode "The Wish", viewers will see a Buffy more similar to Faith. In this parallel universe, Buffy has left home and school, and committed herself to slaying. Her similarity to Faith in this episode underscores the fine line dividing the two. 

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It is perhaps this similarity that causes friction when the two meet. Overall, it is not a great time for Buffy to be inviting the new junior Slayer into her life. Buffy is looking to get back to doing girlish things, including slaying (ironically, Faith's comment that Buffy needs to find the fun can be viewed as just a different way of saying what Buffy herself says, although Buffy takes it amiss when it comes from Faith). Because Buffy is trying to find the fun (i.e., get back to being herself and get over killing Angel), Buffy is not emotionally ready to take on Faith's issues fully. While she does help Faith face Kakistos and the two grow closer over it, Buffy's emotional issues are one small part of the events that drive Faith to evil later this season. 

 

Giles is also wrapped up in Buffy's trauma. He can sense she has not been open about what happened in her fight with Angel, and he draws her out in this episode, finally allowing Buffy to admit that Angel had his soul when she killed him. Buffy's issues underscore the whole episode, not just how she relates to Faith. The episode opens with another dream sequence with Angel, this time with the claddagh ring as a central theme. Then Scott Hope, who is hoping to date Buffy, gives her a claddagh ring which causes her to flee the scene in a panic. At the end of the episode, Buffy is able to ask Scott out, tell Giles the truth and have some closure with Angel by leaving the ring in the mansion on the spot where she killed him. Unfortunately, this closure is short lived, as Angel returns from hell, landing on the spot Buffy laid the ring. But, returning to Giles, his being caught up in Buffy's issues may also lead to a failure to fully be there for Faith, which is another small step in Faith turning evil. 

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It should also be noted, despite Buffy and Faith ending this episode on good terms, and the role I give to Buffy and Giles in Faith's turn to evil, Faith herself shows signs of instability in this episode beyond her fear of Kakistos. I think it is fair to say that Faith was on the road to evil herself before she came to Sunnydale, and so it's more that Buffy and Giles couldn't get her to turn away from it. Faith arrived too self-reliant and untrusting, and the Scoobies couldn't fix that. 

 

On another note, Giles continues to warn Willow of the dangers of magic, mentioning to her that "these forces are not something one plays around with", which foreshadows season 6. We also learn that Giles has never been to the Watcher's retreat (where Faith says her Watcher is before we learn that she's actually been killed by Kakistos). While details are covered in the comics, Giles was never a trusted member of the Watcher's Council (perhaps owing to his Ripper years, and underscoring his warnings to Willow) and his being called to be Buffy's Watcher seems more to do with no one else being available after Buffy's first Watcher died. In the film, it is clear that Buffy was not found until she was called, while most Slayers are found and trained before they are called. Thus, Buffy's first Watcher may have also been one of the few available, and on his death, Giles was chosen.  

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Finally, this episode gives some theory behind why the Master looked so bat-like in season 1. It is mentioned that Kakistos is so old his hands and feet are cloven, indicating that as vampires age, they may end up looking less human. This is also the first episode with Mr. Trick, who started as a minion of Kakistos and will end up working with the Mayor. 

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"Beauty and the Beasts"

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Episode 4 of Season 3

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"Everybody has demons, right?"

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Original airdate: October 20th, 1998

Rewatched: October 30th, 2021

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• Writer: Marti Noxon

• Director: James Whitmore Jr.

• Guests: Fab Filippo, John Patrick White, Danielle Weeks, Phill Lewis, Eliza Dushku

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Buffy does literature and domestic violence. In this episode, the question is which beast is killing people in Sunnydale. Is it werewolf Oz or newly returned feral Angel? It turns out to be neither, but rather Buffy's friend's boyfriend Pete, who is killing men he thinks are getting too close to his girlfriend Debbie. Pete made a potion to turn him into a macho man to keep his girlfriend, but it really turns him into an abuser (although he may have been that before the potion) and a killer. Debbie is unable to recognize how unhealthy her relationship is and, in the end, Pete kills her. While Buffy's relationship to Angel can also read, to a certain extent, as a metaphor for an abusive relationship (he changed and grew violent), Buffy was able to terminate her relationship with Angel (she just couldn't kill him right away). Pete and Debbie's relationship is more overtly abusive. While a bit superficial, as Pete is only a monster of the week, it is still a good message to viewers that this kind of relationship is not healthy. The only negative aspect is that Buffy has little sympathy for Debbie and her motives for keeping Pete's violence and killing a secret. While this probably stems from Buffy's own feelings of guilt about not stopping Angel immediately (and also not telling others immediately that Angel is back), it still comes a bit close at times to victim blaming. That said, the final scene with Angel embracing a clearly confused Buffy with the bodies of Pete and Debbie in the shot is powerful (a rare moment in Buffy where you can see the bodies after the fight). As Mr. Platt, the school psychologist, told Buffy before being killed by Pete: "Lots of people lose themselves in love. It's no shame. They write songs about it. The hitch is, you can't stay lost. Sooner or later, you have to get back to yourself... If you can't, well, love becomes your master, and you're just its dog." Debbie lost herself in love and ended up dead. In season 2, Buffy found a way back to herself, but the question remains, will she continue to be able to find herself if she lets herself love Angel again?

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The second theme is literary beasts. The episode opens and closes with excerpts from London's The Call of the Wild. This book about a domesticated dog finally joining a wolf's pack in Canada (after many trials and tribulations) is an interesting choice. The one beast, Pete does seem to embrace the wild over civilization, but one of the other beasts, Oz, clearly doesn't. Oz locks himself in a cage and is clearly upset to hear he many have killed someone. The third beast, Angel, may have returned from the demon dimension he was sent to as a feral beast, but he doesn't seem to embrace this aspect, although he is having issues overcoming it. Thus, neither Oz nor Angel reflects the themes of London's book. Angel's story, in fact, seems more similar to the fairy tale referenced in the title. Like the beast of that story, Angel seems to find his way back to himself (or at least a way to be slightly less feral and a bit more like himself) through Buffy, his beauty. The third literary reference is, of course, to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Pete being the updated version. Like Dr. Jekyll, Pete made a serum to make himself someone else (Dr. Jekyll wanted to hide his vices, Pete wanted to save his relationship), but later both are able to transform without the serum and begin to lose control. 

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The final theme is redemption. Mr. Platt talks to Buffy about people being capable of change and Giles says there are two types of monsters, the ones who want to be redeemed and the ones devoid of humanity. Both of these exchanges underscore a central theme of the series: redemption is possible. 

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The idea of not losing yourself in love and of redemption will continue pop up in the series, and especially the theme of not losing yourself in love is one too often ignored in teen series, where it seems an emphasis is placed on finding and keeping love. These positive themes encountered while rewatching Buffy remind me of why I enjoy the series so much.