Buffy – s2:e14 – Innocence

Deeper resonance because it could be real. Some of Buffy’s deepest pain is typical for teenage girls, not just Slayers.

And so Buffy changes forever. This episode is a challenge for me because I’m trying to imagine how it must have been received on its initial broadcast as well as attempting to remember how I perceived the dark turn that it takes. Then I have to reconcile those two ideas with how I’m experiencing the episode now. Why? Because I see

Buffy – s2:e13 – Surprise

Drusilla accompanied by a gagged Miss Edith, in good spirits with her floral party arrangement just before her complete flower-shredding breakdown.

Unlucky number thirteen for Buffy. Surprise is full of surprises:

• for Buffy (a sparsely attended surprise party at The Bronze – and later unplanned sex!)
• for Spike (a better attended celebration in the abandoned factory with a special gift of an unassembled über-demon)
• for Miss Carpenter (an unwelcome visit from her curse-ranting Uncle Enios)
• for Willow (an invitation to date from Oz)
• and of course, for Angel and the audience (the return of Angelus).