Monday, May 24, 2021

A Shared Buffyverse

Just three episodes in and already there was a crossover event with Buffy the Vampire Slayer season four and Angel season one. One of the strongest examples of why it's best to watch these shows together.

These episodes both feature the return of Buffy season two villain Spike (James Marsters), though he'd made one, brief appearance in season three. This time he's trying to recover something called the Gem of Amara that makes vampires totally invulnerable--until someone grabs the ring off their finger, which seems to happen pretty easily with the first three vampires to put it on.

The Buffy episode is the stronger of the two here. Written by Jane Espensen, "The Harsh Light of Day" is a more interesting rumination on what makes a good, messy relationship and what makes a bad, comfortable one. Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) deals with the heartbreak of finding what she thought was the start of a relationship with Parker (Adam Kaufman) was what he considered a one night stand. Meanwhile, Anya (Emma Caufield) returns, intending to have a one night stand with Xander (Nicholas Brendon) only to find having sex with him isn't the best way to get closure after all. And this episode reintroduces the newly vampified Harmony (Mercedes McNab), whose relationship with Spike, based on his open hatred for her somehow making both of them horny, is at turns funny and sad. It's an interesting example of the storytelling potential in two characters who have no souls. The episode ends with a nice shot of Buffy, Anya, and Harmony sadly strolling around the park.

The Angel episode suffers a bit from the first season designs to make Angel a bit more like a realistic LA crime drama. Angel (David Boreanaz) is busy trying to counsel a young woman in a somewhat cliched abusive relationship when the Gem of Amara problem rolls into the town. The Angel counselor subplot feels more like a hasty thumbnail than anything in itself worth screentime, except for a scene when Spike amusingly mocks the situation when he watches Angel and the young woman in secret. The episode becomes an entertaining enough fight between good and bad.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are available on Amazon Prime.

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