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1990's, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Eliza Dushku, Emma Caulfield, Nicholas Brendon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green
Following on from the shocking and heartbreaking finale of Season 2, Buffy Season 3 swings into gears as our fierce warrior battles all things that the darkness has to offer and survive high school at the same time. Spoilers will follow in this review.
After sending Angel(David Boreanaz) back to hell, Buffy(Sarah Michelle Gellar) has fled Sunnydale. When we catch up with her, she is working in a dodgy part of Los Angeles, using her middle name of Anne. She is plagued by dreams of the lover she had to sacrifice and can’t come to terms with it no matter how hard she tries. She is brought back to her senses after an encounter with a demon and decides to head back to Sunnydale, to face her responsibilities. At first, reconciling with Xander(Nicholas Brendon), Willow(Alyson Hannigan), Cordelia(Charisma Carpenter), Oz(Seth Green) and her watcher Giles(Anthony Stewart Head) is hard, but it eventually gets easier. Trouble is always round the corner for this slayer and the dramas keep on coming. Cordelia and Xander’s relationship is changed after he and Willow share a passionate kiss. Rejecting the gang, Cordelia heads back to her bitchy self and her shallow friends, yet still can’t shake off the memory of her relationship with Xander. Oz on the other hand, eventually forgives Willow. A new slayer, Faith(Eliza Dushku), arrives in town. She is a charismatic and loose living girl with internal emotional scars whose friendship with Buffy begins to disintegrate after Faith kills a human, which is against the rules of being a slayer and shows no regret for her actions. There is also the matter of the Mayor, this season’s Big Bad. To everyone else he is a chipper guy, but he is in fact involved with the underground demons and plans on becoming a demon once it’s graduation day and he can ascend to becoming a stronger power than he already is. And to top all that off, Angel is back from hell, leading Buffy to question their relationship with one another. For my money season three is one of the best season’s in the whole Buffy saga.
The scripts are as sharp and witty as ever, whilst effectively conveying the pains of becoming adults faced with a very literal hell. The characters are really starting to grow and you feel genuine sympathy for them in their adventures, especially Buffy who must deal with what life throws at her as well as dark forces closing in. This season gets an extra dynamic through the introduction of Faith, who is played with tough yet vulnerable strength by Eliza Dushku. She’s such an interesting character to watch and in a sense we see that Faith is how Buffy may have ended up if she had grown up neglected and alone in the world. When Buffy becomes friendly with Faith, she flirts with the idea of being a bad girl. She is then brought to her senses by witnessing Faith kill a human and must therefore sever ties with her. All of this leads to some feisty action sequences between the two as the clash of personalities stokes the flames of an already burning fire. Season 3 also introduces the character of Anya(Emma Caulfield), a former vengeance demon now stripped of her power who must live a human life. She will later become a very prominent character in Buffy and Emma Caulfield is really funny in her early episodes. Also giving Season 3 an edge is the villain in the form of Mayor Richard Wilkins. He is such a creepy yet darkly funny guy who is treacherous to say the least but the kind of the person you just love to hate. Some of the lines he gets to deliver are so strangely funny and ironic such as “Who’s up for a root beer?” after killing an employer who disobeyed him.
The love between Angel and Buffy reaches its end as he struggles to think of a future for Buffy that won’t bring her harm. Their relationship is so emotionally moving and tragic in that they both love one another but are torn apart by all the hell breaking loose around them. It’s sad to see Angel go and he is certainly a missed character in the show. Another point of praise is the exploration of Buffy’s relationship with her mother Joyce. Having been forced to tell her mum of her duty, Joyce has taken time to get her head around it. They may come to blows, but we see how each would do anything to protect the other from harm. This season contains some of the most emotional in the season. The crowning one for me is when Buffy is awarded Class Protector at the prom. Initially believing that no one realises that she saves their lives on a regular basis, she is shocked but very happy to receive the award as the entire student body applauds her bravery and her beaming smile tells a thousand words. If this moment doesn’t get you tearing up, then I don’t know what will.
Our splendid cast delivers amazing work throughout Season 3. Sarah Michelle Gellar adds maturity and strength to Buffy as her life as the slayer continues. We are also shown the vulnerable side to her that wants to just be a teenage girl and isn’t immune to weakness. In other words, Gellar is phenomenal in her portrayal of a girl growing up fast. David Boreanaz bows out of Buffy in style as Angel, imbuing him with sensitivity, danger and melancholy as his doomed relationship comes to an end. Nicholas Brendon is ever reliable as Xander, who provides moral support and jokes, while Alyson Hannigan is luminous as Willow, who this season begins to hone her gift for magic. Charisma Carpenter also bows out of Buffy, and she provides Cordelia with enough barbs and humour to make sure she is a well-remembered character. Seth Green adds mordant and ironic humour to the role of Oz, while Anthony Stewart Head touchingly portrays the way Giles cares for Buffy in a father-daughter way.
Easily one of the show’s best seasons, Buffy Season 3 is not to be missed.
lukebbtt said:
Eliza Duskhu definitely made Buffy a better place. My one problem with Season Three is that the finale was a little shaky.
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vinnieh said:
She’s just such an amazing addition to the series.
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KittNoir said:
Faith – one of my all time fav TV characters!
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vinnieh said:
She’s such an interesting character with so many layers.
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Paul Bowler said:
I really like Season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all the regular cast are excellent. I like how Oz also becomes a regular character as well. The introduction of Faith played by Eliza Duskhu is another factor that makes this 3rd season so good, such a brilliant character. Always hoped she’d get a spin off series of her own, think that would’ve been awesome 😀
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vinnieh said:
It would have been great if Faith had her own show.
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Paul Bowler said:
I’ve always thought that. Faith was a brilliant character and it was nice to see her feature in Angel’s series as well. Think there was a lot of potential for a spin off series.
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BTW07 said:
I’m one of the few that’s not the biggest fan of Buffy and Angel’s relationship in this season. I’m actually glad he left and did his own show. His character developed much more and for the better.
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vinnieh said:
I really need to watch Angel, hopefully I’ll get round to seeing it.
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BTW07 said:
You haven’t seen it yet? Yes, you need to you! It’s amazing 🙂
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sidekickreviews said:
This is my favourite season of Buffy. The high school era and setting had so many great story lines. I also appreciated that the characters continued to evolve, grow up and graduate.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I love how developed the characters are and how relatable they are.
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lauren said:
I agree the third season is probably my favourite and definately one of the most consistent with quality. The Buffy/Angel breakup was sad but necessary. Angel was never one of my favourite characters on Buffy although I liked their relationship, I enjoyed him more on Angel. Such a great cast. I’m glad Oz was a series regular even if it was just for one season. A great villian in the Mayor-possibly the best one? Faith was also a great addition. And Sarah Michelle Geller was brilliant as always.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for commenting, good to see Season 3 is so popular amongst fans.
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emmakwall said:
I must admit I do slightly prefer the earlier seasons when I re-watch now. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the seasons equally but as I have them on DVD, I’m more likely to dip in and out of the earlier stuff as they’re so much fun. I always loved the high school setting. Buffy was so cute too.
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vinnieh said:
There is a certain nostalgia that I find when watching the earlier seasons.
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emmakwall said:
They’re a lot of fun 🙂 but then I suppose you are missing some of the great characters who came in later.
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alexraphael said:
Yeah I liked the villain too. His chirpy exterior made him even creepier, and I really like how he and Faith bonded. Faith really adds something. I like that point you make about how Buffy would have been like her in different circumstances. Pretty much every episode was superb. This is my favourite series so far. I was gutted when Willow and Xander kissed though. I did like Cordelia and Xander as a couple and I really did feel for her and the indignity he suffered.Earshot and Helpless are my fave from this series. Really brilliant start to the series as well. It’s so believable that the gang would have started to move on.
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vinnieh said:
This is definitely one of my favourite seasons of the show, so many strong elements at play and fantastic episodes.
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Alex said:
I am so happy to meet another fan of “The Prom!” It is my all-time favorite episode of Buffy. She finally got her moment – her smile, everyone cheering and acknowledging her help, and the music. She got her slow dance with Angel (I am Team Bangel 100%) and I have adored The Sundays “Wild Horses” ever since. Great season 🙂 The CGI of the mayor was only a little hokey, but I am not sure what the alternatives would have been during that time…
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vinnieh said:
I just think The Prom is such a wonderful gem of an episode. And I just want to give Buffy a big hug.
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Alex said:
I want her umbrella.
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vinnieh said:
It’s pretty cute and the way she looks so shocked and happy is lovely.
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