Buffy - Season 4, Episode 4: Fear, Itself
In which they attempt the "fears manifested" plot from Season 1 again, and yet again botch it.
I was really into this episode up until the conclusion. It had been intense, and it seemed like it was going to really start exploring the characters in a deeper way. That's more than I can say for the similar Season 1 plot about nightmares. But that ending. They took all of the build up and defused it with "haha isn't this funny?" Admittedly, I did find it funny. But I wasn't looking for a humorous conclusion after having been invested in the plot up until that point.
There were other negatives. I hate how I assume that ever boy Buffy comes into contact with feels like a romantic interest. Please have something else planned for that Riley TA guy. I really don't like that professor lady. This is a freshman class. A freshman psych class, at that. There's no need to be tough as balls. Of course, it probably doesn't help that I was a psych major and had no experiences whatsoever like the one she is offering. Psych is not a weed out course regardless. ***** be full of herself. Also, the episode had too much "what the hell is going on?" and not enough "this is what's going on we need to stop it" and that's probably a by product of the disappointing resolution. Also, Willow blowing up at Buffy was quite random. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be a byproduct of the fear, but I hadn't caught onto any hints before then that Willow was feeling like a sidekick.
I did enjoy the episode up until the end, though. Some good humor, and I've really grown to like Anya and I hope she stays around for a long while. Also, I got to say hello to the Black Ranger.
Let's move on from this episode.
Next up: Buffy 5 (through 7)
--
snowpork
I wanna be a SuperNiceDog when I grow up!