Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Series 3 - Complete (DVD)

Season three saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer really getting into its stride. With more complex plots, the characters grew as much as the show itself.

I don't want to repeat the general information I put into my review of seasons one and two, so I'll just jump straight into reviewing the characters and episodes. Check my profile for my reviews of the first two seasons!

--Characters--

The mainstays from seasons ...
...end of last season saw Buffy running away from home, and the season three opener picks up a couple of months later. Buffy's in LA, working as a waitress in a diner - but is there something more sinister going on with LA's disadvantaged youths? This is a rather weak start to the season, but the episode has its good moments.

Episode Two: Dead Man's Party
Buffy's friends decide to throw her a welcome home party, but as always in ... more

Season three saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer really getting into its stride. With more complex plots, the characters grew as much as the show itself.

I don't want to repeat the general information I put into my review of seasons one and two, so I'll just jump straight into reviewing the characters and episodes. Check my profile for my reviews of the first two seasons!

--Characters--

The mainstays from seasons one and two return as our fearless gang of demon hunters: Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles. Love interests Cordelia and Oz are back, and so's the vampire with a soul, Angel.

Unfortunately for Spike fans, James Marsters only appears in one episode of this season, but he's back in four - so don't panic!

A great new character is introduced in the form of the Slayer Faith, who arrives in Sunnydale after her Watcher has been killed. Faith is meant to show what happens to a Slayer when she doesn't embrace the cause - she's the flip-side of Buffy. Played by Eliza Dushku, Faith enriches the cast in this season.

Harry Groening plays a large role as this season's Big Bad - the Mayor of Sunnydale who's evil plan is to reach Ascension.

--Episodes--

Episode One: Anne
The end of last season saw Buffy running away from home, and the season three opener picks up a couple of months later. Buffy's in LA, working as a waitress in a diner - but is there something more sinister going on with LA's disadvantaged youths? This is a rather weak start to the season, but the episode has its good moments.

Episode Two: Dead Man's Party
Buffy's friends decide to throw her a welcome home party, but as always in Sunnydale: it's not that simple. Zombie's attack the party, and Buffy's friends let her know what they really think about her disappearing act over the summer. This is a mediocre episode in terms of plot, but the character development is top-notch.

Episode Three: Faith, Hope and Trick
In this episode we're introduced to the new Slayer in Sunnydale - the confident and slightly arrogant Faith. The episode mainly centers around her arrival and the reasons for it, as well as the introduction of a new love interest for Buffy and a new vampire player in town. It's a good episode that I like a lot - Faith has over the course of the series become one of my favourite characters. Oh - and there's a nice cliffhanger at the end!

Episode Four: Beauty and the Beasts
There are brutal attacks happening all over Sunnydale - is Oz the werewolf the culprit? Or perhaps Angel, who's currently in a feral state. This isn't a favourite episode of mine, but it's watchable and has its good moments, particularly when Buffy sees Angel for the first time.

Episode Five: Homecoming
Buffy and Cordelia fall out as they battle for the title of Homecoming Queen. Meanwhile, Mr Trick gathers together a band of creatures for "Slayerfest '98" - where the aim is to kill Buffy and Faith. This episode is a great comedic one, but not the best of the season.

Episode Six: Band Candy
One of the best episodes of this season, Ethan Rayne returns to wreak havoc on the residents of Sunnydale. Again. Chocolate bars that are being sold to the adults in the town cause them to act like teenagers, so the Mayor can appease a snake demon. This has some truly hilarious moments - especially seeing Giles act like his teenage self!

Episode Seven: Revelations
Faith's new Watcher arrives in the form of Gwendolyn Post, but she's not as prim as she appears. This is a middle-of-the-road episode; the main plot isn't all that interesting, but it's in this episode that everyone discovers Angel is back and it's worth watching for that.

Episode Eight: Lover's Walk
Another favourite of mine from this season - Spike's back in town. He returns drunk and dumped, and soon kidnaps Willow and Xander to help him with a spell to win back Drusilla. I'm a fan of anything with Spike in, but this is a great episode for other reasons - Buffy and Angel try to figure out where their relationship is going, and Willow and Xander get closer...

Episode Nine: The Wish
Yet another episode in this great season that I'd call a favourite. Feeling humiliated after catching Xander cheating, Cordelia makes a wish to Anya, a vengeance demon. The results are catastrophic - with Sunnydale being plunged into an alternate universe where the Master of season one rose to power and took over. This is a fab "what if" episode that will have repurcussions later in the season...

Episode Ten: Amends
Yay, more Angel flashbacks! I love it whenever we see a flashback to the days of Angelus and William the Bloody, and we get to see a couple here. Present-day Angel is haunted by the deeds of his past, and a demon called The First convinces himself that the only way to be free is to kill himself. Can Buffy save him in time? I love this episode not only for the chance to see 'Oirish Angel, but also because there's some great development in the Buffy/Angel storyline. The only thing bad about this episode is Sarah Michelle Gellar's haircut!

Episode Eleven: Gingerbread
I'm in two minds about this episode; on the one hand it has some great comedy moments, but on the other hand the plot itself is quite disturbing and thought provoking. Two children in the guise of Hansel and Gretel are found murdered, plunging the witches in the town - Willow included - under suspicion.

Episode Twelve: Helpless
At eighteen, every Slayer must undergo a test set by the Watcher's Council. Buffy is put into a weakened state and then locked in a house with a rabid vampire. I don't particularly like this episode, though I do like the concept. I think it could have been handled better.

Episode Thirteen: The Zeppo
A Xander-centric episode that sees him feeling left out of the Scoobies. He's forced to help a gang of dead teens commit crimes, whilst the others battle a beast rising from the Hellmouth. I like this episode because we get to see Xander - a character who's not always appreciated - come into his own a little.

Episode Fourteen: Bad Girls
Here we get to see where the big plot arc of the season is going. Buffy is seduced by the dark side of Slaying by Faith, but there are terrible consequences when Faith mistakenly stakes a human being. This episode has many great features, but I like it because we see another side of Buffy.

Episode Fifteen: Consequences
Like the title suggests, this episode deals with the repurcussions of the previous one. Meanwhile, Buffy's new Watcher, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, gets himself into a mess and loses what little respect he had from Buffy and the others. Nothing overly much happens in this episode apart from a lot of character development.

Episode Sixteen: Doppelgangland
Hand's down, this is my favourite episode in this season, and it ranks in my top five best episodes of the whole series. Anya returns and she wants her powers back - but in trying to get them, she brings Vampire Willow from the alternate reality into Sunnydale. What follows are some hilarious moments and some fantastic acting from Alyson Hannigan. A really great episode.

Episode Seventeen: Enemies
Buffy and the gang discover that Faith is working for the Mayor. Faith tries to take Angel's soul - but does she succeed? This is a great episode that begins to set up the finale.

Episode Eighteen: Earshot
Buffy fights a creature that infects her with an 'aspect of the demon' - in this case the ability to read minds. This episode really deals with the idea of school shootings, and despite the sombre theme, it's a good standalone episode.

Episode Nineteen: Choices
A plot-advancing episode more than anything, we finally find out what the Mayor is up to and the wheels are set in motion for his ascension.

Episode Twenty: The Prom
The monster aspect of this episode is a bit silly, but the other, more character-based parts are great. As the title suggests, this is about the final high school prom.

Episode Twenty-One: Graduation Day Part One
Episode Twenty-Two: Graduation Day Part Two
An amazing two part finale to finish up the season. The mayor's ascension is approaching and so is graduation. Angel gets shot with a poisoned arrow and Buffy discovers that the only means of saving him is for Angel to drain the blood of a Slayer. He has two to choose from - Buffy and Faith - but who will it be? Then, the gang attends their graduation ceremony where the Mayor is the commencement speaker. Suffice to say...there's an explosive ending. These two episodes are great in more than one way, and in my opinion this was a fitting end to the high school years of Buffy.

--Special Features--

* Script for episode 'Faith, Hope and Trick'
* Script for episode 'Band Candy'
* Script for episode 'Lover's Walk'
* Script for episode 'The Wish'
* 'Season 3 Overview' featurette
* 'Buffy Speak' featurette
* Stills gallery
* Cast biographies
* Audio commentary for episode 'Helpless'
* Audio commentary for 'Bad Girls' episode
* Audio commentary for 'Consequences' episode
* Audio commentary for 'Earshot' episode
* 'Special Effects' featurette
* 'Weapons' featurette
* 'Wardrobe' featurette

--Overall--

In my personal ranking of favourite seasons of Buffy, season three comes in second. There are some fantastic standalone episodes, and the overall arc of the season is brilliant.

As with each successive season, the themes and storylines get darker and more complex, but this can only be a good thing.

Very much recommended! 

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