Season Four

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Regular cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendan, Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green (through episode 6), Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters (from episode 7) 

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Regular cast (from episode 11): Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendan, Alyson Hannigan, Marc Blucas, James Marsters, Athony Stwart Head

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Buffy heads to college and faces slaying outside of high school. While navigating slaying without the Council, and Buffy thinks she's found a new ally in the Initiative, a military organization. But growing up means facing the gray areas of good and evil, means learning your own strengths and weaknesses and finding your own path. The Scoobies face life this season and become more adult in the process.

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“The Freshman”

 

Episode 1 of Season 4

 

“Maybe in high school I was Buffy.”

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Original US airdate: October 5th, 1999 (aired directly before the Angel episode "City of"

Rewatched: April 16th, 2022

 

• Writer: Joss Whedon

• Director: Joss Whedon

• Guests: Kristine Sutherland, Marc Blucas, Dagney Kerr, Pedro Balmaceda, Katharine Towne, Lindsay Crouse

 

Buffy goes to college, and after ending high school on a high note, college has her feeling like a fish out of water, both in terms of slaying and being a student. While Oz and Willow seem to be adapting well, Buffy finds herself with a quirky new roommate, has a professor yell at her and kick her out of class, and then her first friend disappears. Buffy is sure something bad has happened to Eddy. She goes to Giles, technically now a man of leisure, to make an action plan, but Giles has a visitor, his friend Olivia, and tells Buffy that this is nothing she can’t handle.

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However, Buffy is not at 100% and when she does find the vampires who killed Eddy, she loses her first fight. She returns home to find solace in the known, only to find her mother has filled her room with crates of art. Buffy ends up at the Bronze, where she thinks she sees Angel. She does, however, run into Xander. His road trip fell apart and he’s home living in his parents’ basement. Despite, or maybe because of, Xander also feeling a little lost, he’s able to tell Buffy what she needs to hear. That she’s still the same Buffy and that she’s his hero. In fact, when scared, he asks himself “what would Buffy do?”

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This episode shows that growing up isn’t a straight line. Buffy has come so far, but she is having second thoughts about growing up and the independence it entails. Can she really do it all alone? Can she make is as a Slayer? As a student? As an adult? At the end of the day, Buffy regains her confidence and kicks campus vampire butt.  

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This episode introduces Riley and Maggie Walsh, who we only know as a TA and psych professor respectively. But this episode also gives us the first hint at the Initiative.

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Angel and Cordelia have left Sunnydale for LA. In the first of many crossovers, the call Buffy receives at her mom’s house (where no one seems to be on the other end) turns out to be Angel (he is seen calling her on the first episode of Angel).

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And finally, how did we go three seasons not knowing there was such a large university in Sunnydale?

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“Living Conditions”

 

Episode 2 of Season 4

 

“Everybody has their idiosyncrasies.”

 

Original airdate: October 12th, 1999 (aired directly before the Angel episode "Lonely Heart")

Rewatched: April 23rd, 2022

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• Writer: Marti Noxon

• Director: David Grossman

• Guests: Dagney Kerr, Adam Kaufman

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Buffy is adjusting to college, most specifically to her roommate. Kathy has some quirks, like ironing her jeans and playing one Cher song on repeat, and does seem a bit uptight, worried about logging phone calls, the borrowing of milk, and Buffy’s coming and going at all hours. To be honest, I’m probably a lot like Kathy (and I really should apologize to anyone who has ever had to live with me…) But Buffy does sense something else is going on, and once again, like in “The Pack” and “Killed by Death”, she is not believed. Everyone else thinks she is having trouble adjusting to living with someone. Giles tells her she needs to learn to be tolerant. Which Buffy does take to heart, responding that she doesn’t want to end up an old lady who only lives with cats and that she’ll try to be kinder and gentler. Additionally, Willow may not be understanding because she is dealing with her own roommate issues, as hers seems to always be throwing a party in their room.

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However, Buffy does end up being correct and her intolerance stems from Kathy stealing her soul, as Kathy turns out to be a demon who was trying to acquire a soul so she wouldn’t be found and could stay in Sunnydale. Kathy ends up being taken back to her dimension and Willow moves into Buffy's dorm room.

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So, what’s the theme? In a similar vein as the last one, it’s about the adjustments one needs to make while growing up and leaving home. Buffy is still adjusting to being out of her element and away from home, forcing her to realize that she maybe isn’t as grown up as she thought she was as a senior in high school.

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In other events: Buffy meets Parker. Oz crosses paths with Veruca. Soldiers are still roaming campus. Giles is still a man of leisure. Xander is still living in the basement, trying to find out what to do.

 

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“The Harsh Light of Day”

 

Episode 3 of Season 4

 

“You always have a choice in everything you do.”

 

Original US airdate: October 19th, 1999 (aired directly before the Angel episode "In the Dark")

Rewatched: April 30th, 2022

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• Writer: Jane Espenson

• Director: David Contner

• Guests: Emma Caulfield, Mercedes McNab, Adam Kaufman, James Marsters

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The harsh light of day exposes the weaknesses in relationships. Three relationships are showcased in this episode. First, Buffy and Parker continue to get closer. They seem to be bonding, talking about deep, emotional stuff, and he seems like a great guy, focused on consent and respect. Until he sleeps with Buffy. She wakes up alone, just like after sex with Angel, but Parker returns with coffee and everything seems rosy. Until he never calls. And when she runs into him, he blames her for misunderstanding. Willow sums it up well; Parker is a poopy head. Buffy ends the episode alone.

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The second relationship is Harmony and Spike. Harmony was turned into a vampire on graduation day and ended up with Spike, who is back in Sunnydale looking for the Gem of Amara. Their relationship is an opposites attract kind of thing, based on contention. But it ends when Spike thinks he’s found the gem. He stakes Harmony, only to learn she found the gem and is impervious. Spike takes it from her and leaves her. Harmony also ends the episode alone.

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The third relationship is Anya and Xander. Anya is back and blunter than ever. She first tracks Xander down at Giles’s, and wants to continue their relationship with standing Friday night dates, but Xander is not sure they have a relationship. Then in his basement room, Anya comes to have sex, thinking she can get Xander out of her head that way. When this doesn’t work, she tracks Xander down on campus, but Xander is too busy helping Buffy to stop for Anya. Anya ends the episode alone, but ultimately, she will be able to repair her relationship.

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Anya, Harmony and Buffy all long for an honest relationship. Parker’s suave words convince Buffy she is building one, until she finds out the words were empty. Harmony is swayed by the carnal nature of her relationship, only to find this can’t gloss over fundamental character differences, or her lack of a sense of self. Anya is incredibly direct. So direct it’s scary. And while she has her own missteps, like thinking sleeping with Xander will make her stop thinking of him, her honesty will help her have a relationship with Xander. They both know where they stand with each other and aren’t playing games.

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However, at the end of this episode, all three women end up walking the campus alone. The relationships they had hoped to build have failed.

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This episode marks the return of Spike, Harmony and Anya, who will continue to play roles in seasons to come. Additionally, the similarity between Parker and Angel both “turning evil” after having sex with Buffy should be noted. Parker noticing the scar where Angel bit Buffy helps underscore this parallel. Finally, Spike is back to his taunting, further underlining the parallel by pointing out that another person, named Angel, also only wanted to sleep with her once.

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This episode is also the first true cross-over with Angel, as Oz bring the Gem of Amara to Angel in LA.

 

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“Fear, Itself”

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Episode 4 of Season 4

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"I know what it's like to have a power you can't control."

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Original US airdate: October 26th, 1999 (aired directly before the Angel episode "I Fall to Pieces")

Rewatched: May 7th, 2022

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• Writer: David Fury

• Director: Tucker Gates

• Guests: Kristine Sutherland, Marc Blucas, Emma Caulfield, Adam Kaufman, Lindsay Crouse

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It’s the second Buffy Halloween episode and the second episode centered on the Scoobies’ fears. The gang go to a campus Halloween party and are confronted by a (tiny) fear demon named Gaknar. Before they can face the demon, they have to face their fears.

 

Buffy is wondering what’s wrong with her to make all the men in her life (her father, Angel, Parker) leave her. Early in the episode, she wonders if it’s even worth letting people in anymore. She also fears not having control of her slaying. Buffy ends up alone in a basement, fighting off zombie-like beings.

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Xander fears losing his friends, now that they are at college and he’s not. He becomes invisible to his friends.

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Willow, who claims at the beginning of the episode that she’ll know when she reaches her magical limit, fears losing control of her magic, which happens in this episode when she tries to use a spell to find her way. She also fears just being a side kick to Buffy. It’s a sign of Willow’s inherent conflict – she wants to be powerful, but can’t become so powerful she loses control, something she will fail at in season 6.

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Oz fears the dark side of his werewolf power and ends up wolfing out despite it not being the right time of the month. This fear will end up causing him to leave Sunnydale in a few episodes' time. 

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Giles and Anya come to the rescue, with a chainsaw and bunny costume respectively. Buffy accidently brings Gaknar forth instead of stopping him from manifesting. But it turns out he is very very small and Buffy can just stomp him.

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So, what’s the moral? Don’t let your fear control your life. It may seem like a huge thing, but it’s really tiny and stompable like Gaknar was.

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In fun facts, this episode gives the first glimpse at Anya’s fear of bunnies.

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