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If Season One hooked viewers by promising unpredictable story lines and a willingness to experiment outside the boundaries of genre formatting, nothing prepared us for the latter half of Season Two. Softening the blow--much like the way Box Set 1 ends--is the start here with the kooky Thing-like invasion of "Bad Eggs". Then with the extraordinary double act of "Surprise" and "Innocence", every aspect of the show grows up in a big hurry: the result of Buffy sleeping with Angel is a series of tragedies everyone is powerless to predict or prevent. These two episodes deservedly won an Emmy for make-up, but that says nothing of the powerful story-telling conveyed by pared-down dialogue and remarkable performances from the young cast. As Angel's character is inverted and explored, it's an acting slugfest between David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar through to their bitter end (she later won a Saturn Award in recognition). As the pair dance between seeking out and avoiding one another, each of the secondary characters undergoes a talent-stretching transformation. For Giles it's the end to his relationship with Jenny ("Passion"), an event poisoning the motivations of everyone it affects. Willow distances herself considerably from the timid teddy bear image, taking on teaching responsibilities, witchcraft, and her lycanthropic boyfriend Oz (coincidentally, Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green were also together in My Stepmother Is An Alien). All of these threads are tied together then torn apart by the two-part finale "Becoming". So much happens in these two hours of television, but thankfully nothing seems rushed. With a cliffhanger ending to rival The Empire Strikes Back the second chapter of Buffy The Vampire Slayer closes in tantalising style leaving everything at stake. Site design Internet Promotion Services
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