Season Four: Looking Back

Season four, even by the accounts of Joss Whedon and company, was a very schizophrenic season of television. It had it's strong points and it had it's weak points. Either way you look at it, it was very different from the show it had been in the three previous years.

The weakness first, so I don't end on negatives. Adam and the science vs. magic season long arc...I think was a failure, and ill executed. Anyone who loves Buffy can tell you that the secret to it's success is the rich characters. Building them up, tearing them down. Taking them through triumphs, and then dragging them through hell. And we had lots of that this season, but the overall storyline didn't focus on that. Instead, it focused on the concept of the Initiative, the military sanctioned group of demon hunters who used science instead of magic.

For me, every time the Initiative was on screen, I found myself checking out. Same for Adam. Riley is a likable guy, but I could care less about his military background. I liked him much better when he was just the T. A. in Maggie Walsh's Psychology class. Again, it's the characters.

And speaking of the characters, that was the strength of this season. Taking these characters out of the environment of high school that we've known them in for the duration of the show was a risk. It could have been so foreign that people lost interest, but the characters were too strong for that. Joss and his crew lovingly put these characters through hell.

Giles as a demon. Oz killing Veruca and leaving for the far east. Buffy's mistake with Parker. Willow finding refuge in the arms of a woman, the most unexpected occurrence of the season. Xander and Anya. Giles being directionless and becoming slightly unhinged. These are the things that drove this season. Not the Initiative. not Adam. It's always about the people, and we had some great stuff this year.

It also brought us two revolutionary episodes, Hush and Restless. Both were and still are cutting edge and unconventional. Hush remains one of the best television episodes ever in my mind. Restless was an experiment, and while I do not care for experimental film or writing, it works so well here that I can't help but be on board. Joss always challenges us as viewers. He doesn't give us what we want. He gives us what HE wants. That's why it's so tough to watch some of these shows.

But again, in life, we don't always get what we want. Sometimes you just have to hold on for the ride.