Buffy the Vampire Slayer Talk || Season 3 Q&A 

just a heads up, i might be switching to one upload a week. i have been going through some tough times recently and finding the energy to edit and keep up with my schedule is getting to be very hard for me. im sorry my uploads have been so weird, i hope everyone understands. also sorry i posted this later in the day, ive been sleeping most days just bc ive had like no energy.. just wanna be open with you guys. hope everyone is doing well and that you all enjoy! :)

So SMG posted on her Instagram today that its Buffy’s Birthday, 40 years old. Fun fact, happy birthday to Buffy 🥳

I prefer this style. I don't need to see a recap of all the episodes, you already covered. Unless you've got something to add since your original viewing in retrospect..... Loving your reactions and really excited for Season 4 and 1. BUT, take your time. Rest up. Don't try to push yourself to get reactions done. It will just be harder on you.

🚪: ✊ Alley: yeah 👦🏻: it’s dinner time Alley: what we having? 👦🏻: 🤷‍♂️

Buffy really blazed the trail for TV shows having seasonal arcs, as opposed to "reset and have new story every episode."

And a strong reminder to *_NOT_* watch the opening credits of the Angel pilot episode. It contains a spoiler for a moment in the ep for which everybody wants to see your reaction. Please, please, please don't watch it. But listen to the theme song, it's very good.

I like this setup. I think the scariest one-off villain of the season was Kralik, the serial killer vamp from Helpless when Buffy lost her powers.

FUN FACT the guy who plays Johnathon, Danny Strong has gone on to win 2 Emmys, a Golden Globe, 2 WGA awards, a PGA Award, and the Peabody Award for writing

lmao I'm loving your impression of an og buffy fan being annoyed with you. I personally feel like you should let loose with your opinions. I like watching reactions from younger people because it's interesting to see where our opinions differ and are the same. There are things that divided the fan base over the course of both shows so you'll just have to get used to some eyeroll worthy comments from people trying to say your opinion is wrong. As far as memes there are some pretty fun compilations titled buffy characters as vines, buffyverse as vines and a couple tiktok videos you should check out but only after you've finished both shows so that's the only reason why I'm not linking them rn.

"Anne" is one of my personal top-ten episodes, because it seems to have Buffy totally lost, trying to avoid her "destiny" at the beginning, all the way back to "I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer. And you are?" That episode alone puts that one into my favorite of the first three seasons (but there are more that contributed.) Anyway, you get a thumb up, and looking forward to the next season.

I think one of the reasons Faith was committed to helping the mayor was he actually did give her the social support she needed, and acted as a father figure. This format was absolutely fine, loved it!

I think Zachary Kralik, the insane vampire from "Helpless" is the scariest villain of Season 3 by far!

Cordelia would never be impeached. lol

22:00 Also in supernatural they spend what three seasons to prevent the gates of hell from opening, in Buffy the gates of hell are always open but then Buffy poke in for a bit and the denizens of hell close the gates to stop her from coming back.

Fun fact: today is not only my own birthday, but also Buffy (the character)'s! And my aunt's, and Edgar Allan Poe's. .

With Xander, there is a constant undercurrent of insecurity and petty jealousy motivating his interactions that, while relatable, highlights an aspect of ourselves that we may not take much pride in. The key emotional beat this season was definitely the class protector award. Most iconic moment season 2 rocket launcher. If you want some teen angst without the monsters, My So-called Life.

I know The Zeppo is a fan favorite. Not mine, but it has grown on me. The hilarious thing about it (to me) is that Xander's perspective mirrors my own perspective catching little 30 second chunks of Buffy while flipping through channels around age 12. Namely, the apocalypse you aren't necessarily included in understanding, the soapy Bangel melodrama, and the overall camp levels being off the charts.

each one shot is done with such PURPOSE! /remaster creeping round the corner/

"As a kid I would've loved to have watched this show." I was 10 when it started and can confirm it was must see tv, loved watching the show (along with Xena, Hercules, Highlander, Deep Space Nine and the X-Men cartoon)

Anybody else here watch Passion of the Nerd’s Buffy/Angel episode guide? I love his analysis on both shows!

I can't remember when Faith begins using the phrase "five by five" but in case you have no idea what she means or what it is a reference to, its terminology that pilots use when they are on the radio. One of those numbers refers to how loud the person is on the radio and the other is how clear they are. On a scale of one to five. So five by five means that someone is coming through loud and clear on the radio, although Faith is using it to mean she is doing fine.

Somebody may have already said this, but I think you'd like Dollhouse. Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku, and loads and loads of fodder for a psychology student to mull over. :-)

I never paid attention to the writers of episodes on first viewage. Now there are certain types of episodes that I can tell who they were written by without seeing it spelled out. Like you say though the characters are always pretty consistent (imo), but the writing by different people is more telling in the themes, or "oh this is more dramatic" in a certain way, or spotlighting certain characters, than the writing of the characters being different.

Larry graduated college, got married and had 2 kids 🥰

I just realized that Faith is a lot like Villanelle from Killing Eve in that you may love her but it would be terrifying to be in the same room with her in real life. The only thing you can be sure of with this show and Angel is that things will happen that are impossible to predict or imagine right now. You are so lucky because you have so many wonderful discoveries ahead. Every reactor has a different take on this show and your videos are definitely unique and interesting. Thanks for all the effort you put into this. Take care.

Hey - 25 mins in and this is great. Thanks for spending so much time on my question about comparing Buffy with more modern shows and it's influence. I must remind you though concerning your note Earshot ending on a serious note. It actually ended with Giles waking into a tree :-)

In answer to you wondering what Buffy would hear if she heard these characters thoughts: The Mayor's thoughts: "All these insignificant humans have to get in line, after I ascend into being a giant demon snake, I'll be able to make sure every one of my assistants washes their hands at regularly scheduled intervals. Oh, what a day that'll be!" Faith's thoughts: "Nobody likes me, might as well live for myself and do the most." *Buffy loses two braincells. Everybody rushes to help.* "Are you kidding me? If I'd done that they all would go bananas and I would've been committed. Huh, I can't afford the rent for the hotel anymore, can't go to Giles for help, that's not what adults do, and I'm an adult even though I'm the same age as Buffy. I need to be self sufficient. Maybe I can get a job, oh, here's an opportunity!" Angel's thoughts: "Buffy's in danger, I have to tell her. Giles, oh no, I killed his girlfriend, I feel so guilty about that, is he thinking about that? Yes, he is. Oz, a relief. Oh no, Willow's pitying me, Xander blames me. Must run off!"

Yes! About the Vampire Diaries, I’ve watched quite a bit, and I get “inspired by” but this was like direct storyline copying in most of it. And I’m not going to spoil, but some of Buffy’s (not the character the shows) iconic lines thrown in there. It makes me livid.

What I really love about you and your reactions is the fact that you notice, acknowledge and appreciate things like the cinematography, sound and lighting of the show. I appreciate that you appreciate and recognize all of the amazing things that what makes this show so great and so loved. Your reactions are fun to watch, and for someone who was watching Buffy on the first original premiere date, I find that watching reactors like you seem to breathe new life into it for me, which is neat. Lol Looking forward to your future Buffy and Angel (the series) reactions! Take care.

30:50 I always recommend S02E07 'Lie to Me' as the perfect episode to introduce others to Buffy. It thoroughly establishes all of the main characters and covers a lot of the backstory and introduces a major theme of the show -- that you always have a choice, even if it's between awful choice one and terrible choice two. It's also a good story executed very well. And it's just a short journey to when the show blasts off into the stratosphere with the Angelus arc.

So, a psych major about to watch season 4. I'm ready. BD

This show and the arcs of minor characters I swear. Like it doesn't just treat them as one-dimensional and they don't just stay in place while the main arc is going on. Larry had his whole coming out journey in the background and Lilly/Anne.. whew. There's more people/instances this happens with but if I said anything they would be spoilery but I know Alley will notice when these things happen.

Buffy: let's be friends Faith: lesbians? Sure Edit I put some wrong info here about when Joss tried to get firefly made

I've never been the biggest Xander fan. I do think a lot of Xander fans see themselves in him. A lot of Xander's flaws are typical teenage things. I do give Xander credit for putting his life on the line. 90% of teens would discover vampires and stay away. He wants to be involved and does his best to stay involved.

Great format! I prefer this Q&A format and your thoughts about things. 11:25 -ish, I never thought about this but Season 2 Buffy fought alone and started the next season alone, then by the end of season 3 Buffy discovered she was surrounded by support. 1:13:53 - the muuusic. So many scenes to me have burned themselves into my brain. The love themes, the songs they used, and the "Class Protector" track from the Buffy Score makes me feel good and happy every time. BY THE WAY do not look up Buffy soundtracks or you may be spoiled by a few track titles in the future.

It's so great watching a brilliant reviewer like yourself on this wonderful journey. Sorry that you feel let down by the way Supernatural ended but I'd be very surprised if you feel that way about this show or Angel. You will probably want to pay attention to the individual writers as the show progresses because they all definitely put their own different spins on things as the series goes along.

SPOILERS 53:33 “psychology could be fun” *gets war flashbacks*

Funny how you say that season 3 feels complete- it's been said in a few interviews that Joss was never sure that they'd get renewed for a new season, so they always framed the season finales as possible series finales until like... season 5 or 6.

I loved the OMG moment Joss had when fans pointed out the gay subtext. 😂

The amount of effort you put into this is truly amazing. Great job! And I really liked the different style...

YES AN HOUR AND A HALF OF ALLEY

About the history, its notable that the crucamentum "has been done this way for a dozen centuries". That could be somewhat exaggerated, but still it gives us a ballpark of how long the watcher slayer dynamic has been like this.

As far as the fandom: I think you will be able to appreciate it more, once you don't have to worry about spoilers.

You don't need to like Xander. Personally, I think he's overrated. Every time you talk about the things you want to see next season I want you to be able to watch it immediately!! I watched the show backwards (ie I saw Angel first) so it's been fun to see you get to have the reactions I never did!! :) Also, don't worry about posting just once a week, and do what you need to do to take care of yourself!

The best thing? The greatest episodes are yet to come

I enjoyed this approach to the season recap. I'm sure everyone will agree that less frequent uploads will be a tragedy worthy of being turned into a Shakespearean play, but it is more important to the community that you stay healthy and sane. On a unrelated topic, I was craving a little Charlie (Falicia Day) from Supernatural the other day and as I was skimming through the episodes of season seven and made a quick stop on ep13 "The Slice Girls". If you recall, Sam and Dean come across the amazon tribe and have to take a piece of Bobby's research material to a professor to be translated, lo and behold I'm looking at Mayor Wilkins. ps. "You the realest!"

your angel prediction is spot on. it's basically Working Girl of the 2000s.

I can't be sure, but I wonder if fans like Xander more than you do because they got to know him through the entire series. Whereas you've only seen him from three so far. Of course some people might be seeing the episodes for the first time, so I hesitate to say for certain that my hypothesis is correct.

I've never paid too much attention to scores but the moment it was discussed I was hit with Vampire Diaries PTSD

I like this format a lot better! And I would LOVE to see you revisit some of these questions after you finish the series. Maybe do a reaction to your own season wrap-ups? It would be like watching Future Alley and Past Alley have a conversation.

I love the Q&A format! I'm so excited to watch you experience what's next. 😁

I really appreciate that you put up a *stranger things spoilers* warning! That was very nice of you.

Personally I think Teenage Bounty Hunter vibes a lot with Buffy, if ur interested :)

My Episode Ranking: 22. Ep.4: Beauty and the beasts 21. Ep.12: Helpless 20. Ep.15: Consequences 19. Ep.7: Revelations 18. Ep.13: The zeppo 17. Ep.11: Gingerbread 16. Ep.1: Anne 15. Ep.3: Faith, hope and trick 14. Ep.6: Band candy 13. Ep.17: Enemies 12. Ep.21: Graduation day, part one 11. Ep.19: Choices 10. Ep.16: Doppelgangland 9. Ep.14: Bad girls 8. Ep.10: Amends 7. Ep.8: Lover's walk 6. Ep.20: The prom 5. Ep.22: Graduation day, part two 4. Ep.18: Earshot 3. Ep.The wish 2. Ep.5: Homecoming 1. Ep.3: Dead man's party

Your energy is infectious.

Also, even though you're just watching for the first time, I always enjoy your reaction videos, and keep thinking "you could be in a Writers' Room" for a show like this, and who knows what else. Thanks again for all of your hard work. Take care of yourself. And . . . looking forward to what's coming up. It's going to be fun.

An interesting thing about the Beauty and the Beast episode is how it addresses Masculinity and Insecurity. You have two men with monster issues (Oz and Pete), and one monster with a man issue (Angel). Oz is the definition of Still Waters Run Deep. He is quiet, because he only wants to talk when he actually has something to say. He is, generally, confident in himself and his relationship with Willow. He thinks deep thoughts. He has no need to prove himself. Next to Giles, I would say he is the best man to grace the show. But he has a monster issue that was inflicted on him through an accidental interaction with a baby cousin. He cannot control this beast; it will attack anything and anyone when it is out... including the woman he loves. So he takes significant measures to prevent himself from harming anyone during his uncontrolled state. He still worries he will somehow get out from his cage when the monster is out though, and when Xander falls asleep and cannot account for Oz's activities when there had been an attack Oz's insecurity rises. You can see it in how he withdraws and accepts blame early on. However, when confronted by Pete he keeps his cool, and overcomes his fear of hurting Willow by trusting her to be able to knock him out after he unleashes his monster on Pete. Oz overcomes his insecurity to trust that his friends, and most importantly Willow, will be there to stop him without getting hurt by him. Angel, normally, is a bit more like Oz in that he likes to keep quiet. But most of this is over the fact that he is a monster. Angelus is still there inside of him, whispering in his mind about all the horrible things he should be doing. A lot of Angel's thoughts are centered on countering this, and what is left over is trying to understand the humanity around and within him. In many respects, he can display enormous self control... sometimes too much! Other times, though, his insecurity regarding whether he can, or should, be loved surfaces and he can be a bit childlike. Overall, though, he wants to do what he thinks is best for everyone, especially the one he loves, regardless of his feelings... or theirs. So his personality is typically that of a dominant male. He makes decisions. He may ask for input, but he ultimately thinks he needs to make the choices, and he needs to suffer the consequences for those choices. Here, in this episode, though, that man is at his weakest. He has been tortured and starved for centuries in literal hell. The monster that he really is, beyond even Angelus, is in control. Ravaging, wild, hungry, it resembles Oz's werewolf... with one exception. When Buffy is threatened, and Angel kills Pete, he doesn't attack Buffy. His desire to be human, for her, to protect her even from himself, allows him to overcome his normally dominant personality to completely submit himself to her. Look at him in that scene. That is a man who realizes he is out of control and needs help. He doesn't care about his ego. Pride is completely gone. He clings to her, on his knees, and as we see later allows her to chain him up. Angel is all about control, and he gives it up to her. Then we have Pete. Pete is ruled by his insecurities. He turned himself into a monster because he thought that is what his girlfriend wanted in a man, never mind the fact she never asked it of him. Every action he takes is rooted in his insecurities and fears. Where Oz and Angel had monsters forced into them, Pete sought it out. Pete doesn't take any steps to protect anyone he cares about from his monstrous side. He regularly hurts the girl he loves, a girl who loves him enough to attack people to protect him, and eventually kills her. He blames everyone but himself for his actions. He is the definition of a weak man, concerned more about a false ideal of masculinity than actual, healthy masculinity as displayed by Oz and, to an extent, Angel who may have been a danger to anyone that wasn't Buffy. Anyway. That is my ramble regarding this episode. I have always felt it was deeper than most would credit.

In regard to beauty and the beasts when buffy says "don't get hit" I read that as kind of empowering and in alignment with the Buffy existential philosophy. Debbie doesn't have a good choice but she has a choice. She can choose to stay in a relationship that's literally harming her or she can leave the relationship. is leaving abusive relationship hard? Absolutely. DV/IPV become the most dangerous when the victim leaves. However, not leaving also kills you. Buffy was going for tough love. Which not everyonesides with, but Debbie needed a wake up call. Debbie was never going to leave, if she couldn't first admit she was being abused. sorry, also an undergrad and existentialism has come up a lot recently. So just wanted to through that out there. Looking forward to season 4 with you.

Alley I am sorry you are going through rough times, don't worry about uploading less, just take good care of yourself :-)

Oh man, I just got the chills thinking about you finally watching Episode 1 of Angel. Granted, I get the chills very easily compared to some people, but I am excited! Wooot

I'm so excited to see your reactions to season 4.

This fandom also has diverging opinions about certain things, it would be interesting to listen to your thoughts about the fandom after you finish the show, or come to any interesting moments.

Just a note: University of Sunnydale (UC Sunnydale) is a four year university, not a community college. It's just a really small university within the University of California system. Willow touched on this briefly when she told Buffy that she was matriculating there, instead of one of the better universities that accepted her.

I like this format. Hours-long multi-episode recaps are not (to me) as much fun to watch as they sound.

never thought about the color palette of each season! need to rewatch

I adore this Q&A format, really entertaining ! Your videos always make my day honestly

So that's why I didn't see the video on Tuesday because you posted later. I must have been busy, but was worth the wait because over one hour of Q&A for season 3! My favorite season of all. Bring it on!

Hey, Alley, I have been a fan of Buffy since it started and I am with you 100% on The Zeppo.

Love the videos 🤩 remember to do Buffy season 4 and angel season 1 together so you can make more sense of the crossovers

50:00 He mentioned earlier that he can't have kids because of whatever it was he did to become immortal. He mentioned a wife who he had to watch grow old and die. At the end of the day he is a terrible human but he is still human and these things till matter to him. Also I think that he weren't as nonchalant about the deputy mayor getting killed as people think, sure he did not hold a grudge against Faith.

I'm really looking forward to your reactions to Buffy S4 and Angel!

Oh this is gonna be so good :D

every time alley: so it was soooo cooool, i wonder if moi in full hamilton costume: JUST YOU WAIT JUST YOU WAIT

My best friend just got me that Saint Buffy candle for xmas! Woot woot!

Happy 10K!

Whoever is yelling at the person torturing Gracie is me yelling at my kids when I hear the youngest crying..."just give it to her!!" #Mom Moments 🤣

1:25:30 C'mon, give with the guilty pleasures. Everybody's got them. The songs that, if someone listens to your collection on random, you'll be embarrassed about. You know, like Captain & Tennille, Dido, ABBA, Enya, Hailee Steinfeld... an incomplete list of guilty pleasures from my own huge collection.

I watched the entire The Vampire Diaries show some years ago, and I don't remember what happened that also happened in Buffy. ._. I don't remember most of TVD though. And btw I feel dumb by only commenting on this, it's just because it surprised me. xD But I'm loving your analysis so far. Season 3 is one of the strongest on the show. Even though my favourite ones are 5 and 7 (then 3, 6, 4, 2 and 1). This season also has some of my favourite episodes of the show, The Wish and Dopplegangland being 2 of them. And I remember some foreshadowing in a few episodes too, which was a detail I loved seeing, having re-watched this show so many times. Btw the more I hear you talk about reacting to stuff, the more I want to start my own channel too. xd (don't know what content I'd post though, reacting to shows/music/stuff, or talking about current events, or humor, something like this)

You mentioned fanfic and yes there is some reallll good fanfic. Back in the day when I wasn’t on Buffy and Angel forums or watching the show I was tracking down new fanfic on the web. I highly suggest seeking out some spoiler free Buffy fanfic. You will not regret it.

37:11 Sunnydale house prices are at rock bottom for sure

the way i just started watching you and love u already

I'm pretty sure the writers intended Faith to be a sister or a connection to Buffy's self Faith and Buffy are the only ones who know what being a slayer is, what being a teenager placed with so much responsibility is. Willow, Xander, and even Giles can not understand that We see a lot of this in the episode Bad Girls, Faith and Buffy empathise so much that Buffy gets obsessed on Faith a lil, I think it's also the reason why Willow hates Faith and is constantly antagonising her. I think that Willow knows that no matter how much her friendship with Buffy grows she and Buffy are super different people and she will never have that level of empathy with Buffy

The PMI 13 reasons why season 1 commentary is amazing. Eric screaming at Hannah to shut the fuck up gets me every single time.

All of us hearing Alley's predictions : < *internally screaming* >

where did you get the buffy candle?? there's a really cool store in topanga canyon with like a 100 of those all different characters in pop culture but i didn't see a buffy one :0

31:30 the correct answer is the season 3 pilot. Anne is a great episode, you don't need any other characters it's just Buffy showing who she really is. To quote another Whedon show "Getting to know the real Buffy"

I disagree with you about Faith. She got plenty of support from Buffy, Joyce and Giles. What she didn't get or wanted was friendship from the "puny mortals". Willow and Xander. Faith's attitude was...hey I'm a slayer...a rock star...I don't waste time with regular people. Relating to "non-slayers" is important for a slayer to remain grounded. Also, Cordelia's "mean put downs" had no affect on Faith, cuz she already had "street attitude". The social dynamic of Buffy's instant acceptance of friendship of Xander, Willow, Cordy and vice-versa did not happen with Faith. Bonds you make on the first day of school as a new kid are very very powerful. Skip school. Skip power. (book of Whedon)

As if I needed a reason to love you more, and then you mentioned P!ATD. ❤️ My favorite album is Death of a Bachelor, though I know there's still a lot of people that prefer the earlier stuff.

TVD??? You're watching TVD? And maybe The Originals? Reacting??? Soooooo hyped!!! But look at Paul Wesley as Stefan. He looks like a David Boreanaz clone!!!! Lol. I feel like that casting was hugely deliberate. As someone who watched this first I was upset my how much my shows (yes they're MINE!!!! 😈😈😈) stole from Buffy

I think some reactors have just gone through their questions and often had people ask similar questions. In such a scenario, they would put them into one category, so that there weren't nearly as many questions to answer.

You mentioned how if you saw Faith on the street you would turn and walk away. As you once did a tier list for Supernatural characters you could beat in a fight, have you thought about doing that with Buffy/Angel characters? Also, where would Freud fit on that list, because he's been mentioned enough to almost be a reoccurring character at this point and you seem to have preexisting beef with him?

Many shows were influenced by Buffy, and the more "fantasy" shows you watch (that were created afterward) the more you see it. I'm so excited you are going to watch The Vampire Diaries,! It's also one of my favorite shows/spinoff series. They were heavily influenced by Buffy, but its creators were also the Scream writers/creators who also created Dawson's Creek, so it's heavy on the horror and angst, especially in the earlier seasons. It has a similar theme to Buffy, but a very different feel. ENJOY! I do recommend you watch Angel back-to-back with Buffy, as some episodes are crossovers and some influence the other.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (TOP FIVE RANKED BY SEASON) Season 1: 1. Welcome To The Hellmouth 2. Prophecy Girl 3. Nightmares 4. Angel 5. The Puppet Show Season 2: 1. Becoming I 2. Innocence 3. What's My Line II 4. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered 5. Halloween Season 3: 1. Consequences 2. Gingerbread 3. Helpless 4. The Wish 5. The Zeppo Thank you-I was looking forward to this!!!

52:20 The challenge of Xander's character, imo, is that the things that make make his character hard to tolerate are too real, and we haven't seen any recognition of his issues or growth on his part. It doesn't help that when he was first introduced he was even less likeable.

You do you. Awesome!

I can't wait til you see both show intro cards

Every time you say "runaways" in this video, I think of the Marvel show, which features James Marsters (Spike) as one of its principal cast members. 55:14 - I've written some Buffy/Faith fics, though some of them spoil later events in Buffy's life. (And just as an aside because it's my current obsession, I'd recommend She-Ra (2018) to any fan of Faith or the Buffy/Faith dynamic.) 1:12:37 - I'm hearing Watsonian vs. Doylist perspectives being described here. Where Watsonian denotes character-based thought process and Doylist denotes writer-based thought process. (Since Watson is a character and Doyle is the writer.) And I'm a day late, but this video went public on January 19th, which is the character Buffy's birthday*. 1981 to 2021 would make her 40. (*One of three birthdays, but it's the one that came to be regarded as canon.)

in season 4 you might need to watch the angel crossovers (you dont have to) but it would make you understand what happened to some of the characters and easer for you to understand.

the theory at 47:45-48:40 is great.

Oh girl...im so jealous of you. Knowing all the amazingness headed your way. The best (and worst) is yet to come...sooooo many of my favorite shows would not exist without Buffy and Angel. You're right about it could belong in modern day TV if it just had better cameras. Wait till season 5. You'll swear it was shot in 2010-2020. I have a feeling you will also be in the minority and love season 4 as well. Edit: Your fav character by the end of both shows will most likely not be Buffy. Mayyyybeee...but I highly doubt it getting to know you through your videos. They all grow SO MUCH starting in season 4.