Buffy the Vampire Slayer really found its feet in season two. It progressed from being a monster of the week show, to a show with a serious storyline, character and plot arcs.

I don't want to repeat the general information I put into my review of season one, so I'll just jump straight into reviewing the characters and episodes. Read my review of season one here: http://dvd.ciao.co.uk/Buffy_The_Vampire_Slayer_Season_1_Collection_DVD__Rev iew_5767154

--Characters- -

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon and Anthony Stewart Head return as Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles - the Scooby gang of Sunnydale who fight vampires and demons.

In terms of character development for this season, we see Willow really coming out of her shell, and Buffy grows up a lot as she deals with the hand life has dealt her.

There are some wonderful new characters in this season, amongst them the infamous Spike. The bleach blonde vampire is played by James Marsters with aplomb and despite the slightly dodgy English accent is a fantastic character. Accompanying Spike is the insane Drusilla; another English character played by an American - in this case Juliet Landau. Spike and Dru make a great addition to the show.

Also introduced in this season is Oz, Willow's love interest, played by Seth Green.

--Episodes- -

Episode One: When She Was Bad
Buffy returns from a summer spent shopping in LA with her father, but memories of killing the Master plague her every thought. She has to try and deal with this whilst trying not to alienate her friends. This is a great re-introduction to the Buffyverse.

Episode Two: Some Assembly Required
This episode asks you to suspend belief for a while - but then again, in a show where vampires, demons and praying-mantis women are commonplace, re-animating a dead person doesn't seem so strange. A mediocre episode in a brilliant season.

Episode Three: School Hard
Welcome to Sunnydale, Spike and Dru! Spike crashes into town - quite literally - and begins to wreak mayhem everywhere. Meanwhile, Buffy has to deal with the annoying Principal Snyder and parent-teacher night at school. I love this episode, simply because it's our first glimpse of Spike.

Episode Four: Inca Mummy Girl
Perhaps the weakest episode of this season, if only because it's pretty boring. On the whole it's not too bad an episode, but it just seems to go very slowly without much happening.

Episode Five: Reptile Boy
Buffy and Cordelia are wooed into attending a frat party, where something mysterious is going on down in the cellar. Another mediocre episode, but it's pretty entertaining.

Episode Six: Halloween
In one of my favourite episodes in the season, evil Ethan Rayne comes to town and turns everyone into their Halloween costumes. When Buffy becomes a helpless eighteenth century maiden - who'll be there to save the day? Highly entertaining episode that also plants the seeds for a later story arc…

Episode Seven: Lie to Me
I like the aspect of this episode that shows that other people apart from Buffy and her friends are aware that things aren't quite right in Sunnydale… A cult that idolises vampires comes to town, hoping that Spike and his gang will turn them into vamps. Can Buffy save the day?

Episode Eight: The Dark Age
Ethan Rayne shows up again, this time to reveal dark secrets about Giles' past. A very interesting episode as we get to see what Giles did before becoming a Watcher.

Episode Nine: What's My Line? Part One
Episode Ten: What's My Line? Part Two
An excellent two-parter and two of the best episodes in the season. Spike finds out that the only way to cure Drusilla of her illness is to kill Angel. Meanwhile, there's another vampire slayer in town and the mysterious Order of Taraka are intent on killing Buffy and her friends. Two great episodes.

Episode Eleven: Ted
Not a great episode, in my opinion. Buffy's mother has a new boyfriend in the form of Ted, but is he all that he seems? The redeeming feature of this episode is that we get to see how Buffy deals if she thinks that she's killed a human being.

Episode Twelve: Bad Eggs
This episode pretty much stinks - it's more reminiscent of the season one plots than the more sophisticated season two. Buffy and her friends take part in a class experiment to look after an egg - but there's something evil lurking inside them. There's a silly subplot with a couple of Texan vamps too. Not a great episode.

Episode Thirteen: Surprise
Episode Fourteen: Innocence
I'm grouping these episodes together as they tell the same story - and these are two of the best episodes in the season. It's Buffy's birthday and she's having a party - but so is Drusilla. Spike and Dru plan to put together The Judge - a being who burns the humanity out of people. Buffy grows up in more ways than one in this two-parter, with devastating consequences…

Episode Fifteen: Phases
It's the full moon and there's something up with Willow's new boyfriend Oz. A rogue werewolf hunter is on the roam…will Buffy stop him in time?

Episode Sixteen: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Feeling spurned after breaking up with Cordelia, Xander enlists the witch Amy's help to cast a love spell - with terrible consequences. This is a hilarious episode and one of my favourites.

Episode Seventeen: Passion
Giles' love interest Jenny Calendar thinks she has found a way to help Buffy with a problem…but the problem has other plans. A devastating and sad episode - but a great one.

Episode Eighteen: Killed By Death
Buffy falls ill and is admitted to hospital, where she sees a demon attacking the children. Another rather mediocre episode.

Episode Nineteen: I Only Have Eyes For You
This is a great episode whereby a spirit from the 1950s returns to Sunnydale High and begins to possess random people, making them act out its final moments. A pivotal moment in the Buffy/Angel relationship as well as a great standalone episode.

Episode Twenty: Go Fish
I always find it strange that this episode is placed where it is in the season. It has nothing to do with the overall plot arc, and its only redeeming feature is Wentworth Miller of Prison Break fame appearing as a member of the Sunnydale swim team.

Episode Twenty-One: Becoming - Part One
Episode Twenty-Two: Becoming - Part Two
An amazing two-part season finale. The first part shows us snatches of Angel's life prior to Sunnydale - including how he was sired. In part two, the season's story arc is resolved in a devastating way.

--Special Features- -

There are several documentaries on various aspects of making Buffy, as well as a season two overview that is always interesting. Also included are audio commentaries, character profiles, a stills gallery and TV adverts and trailers.

--Overall- -

To say that season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a vast improvement on the first is an understatement.

There are several fantastic episodes in this season, and despite the odd bad egg, the overall feeling you're left with at the end is a good one. Spike and Dru were a great addition to the cast, and the season finale is perhaps the most shocking in the entire series.

The themes dealt with in this season are more adult and a lot darker, and it all works for the better!