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Season Four [rewatch]
It's a bit remarkable to me how swiftly my rewatches are going. I think that Buffy is a really emotional show, and my first time through, I was really taking my time to let everything sink in. (Well, that plus finishing college, etc.)
[Link to Season Three rewatch is here.]
I really liked 14/22 of Season Three's episodes. Unfortunately for Season Four, the number is 6 out of 22, and "Goodbye Iowa" is incredibly iffy.
During my original run through the show, I felt that I liked Season Four the least. I think that now, I appreciate One less than Four, as the characters are less developed.
Beer Bad
Hush
This Year's Girl
Who Are You?
Goodbye Iowa
Restless
The only episode I like related to the overarching plot is Goodbye Iowa. It's scary and not just in the "Holy shit, Adam sucks!" sense, but when Riley wigs out, there is true psychological terror there. But what makes me dislike the season as a whole is that then they never really did anything with it.
The climax of the season doesn't tug me like 2's or 3's do. I think that the overall plot and themes of Season Four could have been a lot more interesting and compelling.
Characters
This season bothers me because I don't like the way anyone's acting, except for Spike, who speaks truths from the corner/the chair, but is ignored. I guess it's a natural part of post-high school graduation that everyone becomes more self-absorbed, but watching everyone distance themselves from one another is pretty rough.
I was surprised to find myself enjoying Xander, because I found him insufferable in my re-watch of Seasons 1-3. In Four, he's often the most rational, and I don't find him as inappropriate as I did previously.
The episodes I like the most are the ones unrelated to any others, and the pair involving Faith might be two of my favorite. I loved Sarah Michelle Gellar playing the role of Faith, and I think she did a fantastic job at it. Watching Faith was pretty great, too - her reaction to the Mayor's video tape, her self-hatred, her reaction to Riley's love for Buffy, etc. It's almost creepy watching this and then considering Dushku's character(s) on Dollhouse.
I miss Cordelia, but didn't really miss Oz (probably because he kept coming back).
Angel's cameo in "Pangs" was pretty useless, although I liked it when he showed up to fight with Riley at the end of the season. And him telling Buffy that he didn't like Riley was pretty adorable.
For my formal ranking of seasons as I progress through my re-watch, we'll go with Three = best, then Two, then Four, then One.
[Link to Season Three rewatch is here.]
I really liked 14/22 of Season Three's episodes. Unfortunately for Season Four, the number is 6 out of 22, and "Goodbye Iowa" is incredibly iffy.
During my original run through the show, I felt that I liked Season Four the least. I think that now, I appreciate One less than Four, as the characters are less developed.
Beer Bad
Hush
This Year's Girl
Who Are You?
Goodbye Iowa
Restless
The only episode I like related to the overarching plot is Goodbye Iowa. It's scary and not just in the "Holy shit, Adam sucks!" sense, but when Riley wigs out, there is true psychological terror there. But what makes me dislike the season as a whole is that then they never really did anything with it.
The climax of the season doesn't tug me like 2's or 3's do. I think that the overall plot and themes of Season Four could have been a lot more interesting and compelling.
Characters
This season bothers me because I don't like the way anyone's acting, except for Spike, who speaks truths from the corner/the chair, but is ignored. I guess it's a natural part of post-high school graduation that everyone becomes more self-absorbed, but watching everyone distance themselves from one another is pretty rough.
I was surprised to find myself enjoying Xander, because I found him insufferable in my re-watch of Seasons 1-3. In Four, he's often the most rational, and I don't find him as inappropriate as I did previously.
The episodes I like the most are the ones unrelated to any others, and the pair involving Faith might be two of my favorite. I loved Sarah Michelle Gellar playing the role of Faith, and I think she did a fantastic job at it. Watching Faith was pretty great, too - her reaction to the Mayor's video tape, her self-hatred, her reaction to Riley's love for Buffy, etc. It's almost creepy watching this and then considering Dushku's character(s) on Dollhouse.
I miss Cordelia, but didn't really miss Oz (probably because he kept coming back).
Angel's cameo in "Pangs" was pretty useless, although I liked it when he showed up to fight with Riley at the end of the season. And him telling Buffy that he didn't like Riley was pretty adorable.
For my formal ranking of seasons as I progress through my re-watch, we'll go with Three = best, then Two, then Four, then One.
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Hush and Restless are the best episodes of season four, I think.
Spike always speaks the truth at people who refuse to listen. It's one of his charms.
And Xander ... wow, it was so fun for me to watch his progression and growth throughout the series, how by season seven he had really grown into a man with integrity and sensitivity and confidence in himself. They let that build so slowly over seven seasons and I enjoyed it a lot.
Faith/Buffy was awesome. "Because it's wrong." I need an icon of that.