BWW Flashback Friday: Sunnydale Does Halloween in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Back in the late 1990's before vampires sparkled, there was a town called Sunnydale that was home to Buffy. She wasn't just an average teenage girl, she slayed vampires. Spun off from the 1992 movie of the same name, the TV series, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ran from 1997 - 2003. A little known fellow by the name of Joss Whedon brought a new kind of heroine to our small screens and vampires were in our lives to stay.

It was Halloween in Sunnydale and Buffy is looking forward to a Slayer night off. Vice Principal Snyder has a different idea. He forces Buffy, Xander and Willow into volunteering to take kids trick or treating. None of them are interested but he forces their hands. They decide to check out a new costume shop in town; "Ethan's." Buffy finds a beautiful ball gown from the era when Angel was a teenager and decides to dress up like a noble woman from his day. Xander finds a soldier costume and Willow finds a classic: a ghost. Buffy encourages her to dress a little more provocative but she chickens out. Little do they know, that the proprietor Ethan, an old rival of Giles, has bewitched the costumes so that the wearer becomes the person they are dressed as. As the spell goes into effect, all the children they are escorting literally become demons (I'll bite my tongue here), Willow becomes a ghost who can walk through walls, Xander becomes a super soldier and Buffy becomes a brainless noble woman. Willow is the only one who remembers her friends as Xander and Buffy are completely brainwashed into believing their new personalities.

With this comes some difficulty as without knowledge of her superpowers, it is prime time for Spike and his minions to kill the Slayer. Halloween becomes chaos. (Doesn't it always?) Willow and Cordelia force Buffy and Xander to hide at Buffy's house to stay safe.

Angel arrives but Buffy is terrified of him when she sees his demon face. Willow finds Giles and explains what's happening. Giles is confused as to why Cordelia didn't become a cat when all the others took on the personalities of their costumes. But Cordelia didn't go to Ethan's. Suddenly it clicks. Giles finds Ethan and forces him to break the spell. As Spike finds Buffy and begins to attack her, the spell breaks, she recovers and beats him to a bloody pulp.

With normalcy (or at least Sunnydale normalcy) Buffy has Angel spend the night while her Mom is out of town. He tells her he hated the noble women of his day and he always dreamed of having a girlfriend with a mind of her own who was intelligent and strong. Willow comes out of the spell and decides to be a little more daring and walks home in her more revealing costume. She is seen by Oz who is entranced by her.

This episode is memorable for many reasons. It is super fun to see Xander and Buffy take on alter egos who are complete opposite of themselves. How different would their lives be if Xander was the super smart, strong guy and Buffy was a dim-witted, cry-for-help girl? Would they even still be friends? This is yet another tease for the impending Willow and Oz romance and we get a glimpse of Giles past and a formidable enemy of his. We also get to see Buffy's insecurity of Angel's love for her. It's nice to know that even the Slayer can be vulnerable. And I'm always amused at how flabbergasted Cordelia gets when Angel won't even give her the time of day.

In the middle of Season Two, Spike and Drusilla were still the Big Bad and the Scooby gang was really getting together as a force to be reckoned with. As the show started to pick up a fan base, the characters kept getting more and more complex. Joss Whedon, a true champion when it comes to writing for women, created Buffy as one of the most layered characters in history. In rewatching, the series definitely holds up over time. I am always in love with the writing and the "Buffyspeak" as it perfectly encapsulates Southern California teenagers in the 1990's.

I enjoyed the way the series was set up. There is usually one "Big Bad" over the season. But even though there is one common foe, there are many individual episodes and mini-dramas within the season. Even though the lore is fun to keep up with, it's quite simple to watch one episode and still be highly entertained.

Season Four is my personal favorite. I know a lot of people pick Season Three and don't like Season Four, but I think that is when they really came into their own as characters. I also really liked the way they were dealing with the first year of college. It just resonated with me a lot at the time. Even though I was never really rooting for Buffy and Riley (I'll always be true to you, Angel), I did enjoy their romance. Not to mention, the greatest episode of the series happened in Season Four: "Hush."

For me, this is one of the best television series of all time. It did vampires way before it was trendy and it did them right.

All seven seasons are available on Netflix. Did you miss Buffy as much as I do? Follow me on Twitter @eponineq and follow @BWWTVWorld for all the latest updates, scoops and recaps.

Photo Credit: WB

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