#professor maggie walsh

[on-this-day-btvs]

January 25, 2000

A New Man aired for BTVS season 4, episode 12. A lot happens in this episode. A few highlights: a drama-free surprise birthday party for Buffy, one of Buffy's best puns, Riley proudly announces his body count is 17, Buffy - even while still holding back - spars with Riley and it's no contest, and Willow and Tara practice magic in Tara's dorm room.

WALSH: So, the Slayer! BUFFY: Yeah. That's me. WALSH: We thought you were a myth. BUFFY: Well, you were myth-taken.

In this episode Giles's old "friend" Ethan returns. They spend time together, including at a bar where Ethan flirts. (With the waitress, totally with the waitress.) Ethan is later taken by Riley and other guys from "The Initiative."

This was the last appearance of Ethan Rayne. Ethan is played by Robin Sachs and is in four episodes total, Halloween and The Dark Age in S2, Band Candy in S3, and this episode. Sadly Robin Sachs passed away in 2013 of heart failure, at the age of 61.

[fluffyspuffy]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Co—Star text post (22/?)

[sunnydaleslayer]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 4x07

[coraniaid]

I wish that Professor Maggie Walsh had been the true Big Bad of Season 4. And I wish that she hadn't been unceremoniously killed off halfway through the season. And I wish that -- over the whole history of the show -- she wasn't one of only three human women aged over 25 who were allowed more speaking time than the creepy sex robot Warren Mears builds in Season 5 [and note, by the way, that neither of the other two are alive at the end of the show either].

But most of all I wish -- I really, really wish -- that I could persuade myself that Maggie Walsh was even the slightest bit interesting. Because I'm sorry, but she's just not.

Is there any villainous character on the show where the difference between how compelling they could have been and how boring they actually are in canon is this stark? The show has had some pretty underwhelming arc villains, sure, but Adam is about as interesting as a rejected Doctor Who villian with a floppy disk drive in his chest could ever have been and the First Evil was originally created to be a disposable monster of the week to begin with so it's hardly a surprise she doesn't manage to transcend this and Caleb very obviously only exists at all because the writers panicked when they realized the First coudn't offer any sort of personal physical threat.

But Professor Walsh should have been different! This was the start of the post-high school seasons; a start to establish the tone of the whole show going forward. She would have been the first antagonist fully grounded in the world of the real; not a vampire or an immortal man who sold his soul to become a big snake, but a fully human villain who never stops being human. She could have been written as a juxtaposition of Principal Snyder and the Mayor and Gwendolyn Post; or as a more explicit foil of Joyce Summers or Rupert Giles. She could have been a villain who could challenge Buffy in both the supernatural and regular worlds. She was a successful woman in her fifties in academia in the 1990s! Wouldn't a show whose "feminism" was anything but surface deep be even a little bit interested in exploring what that meant?

Professor Walsh could have related to Buffy and her friends in ways no previous villain ever did. What does it mean for Buffy -- who we've seen worry so much about her own future prospects, and her fear of ending up like her mother -- to have a possible role model who managed to combine a sucessful career with knowledge of the supernatural? What if Walsh's attempts to win Buffy over to her side lasted for more than half an episode? Or, failing that, what sort of threat could a smart and capable human who knew about Buffy's secret identity as a Slayer have posed her, given her own pronounced reluctance about hurting ordinary humans? What would it have meant for Buffy's fears of not being fully human if an expert in the supernatural had looked at her and seen a monster? And why is Willow suddenly interested in studying pyschology all of a sudden, and does it have anything to do with the fact her own parents are both succesful academics who work in this field?

The writers aren't interested in even pretending to address any of these questions. [Did they even remember what career they gave Willow's parents?]

Depressingly, the only reason Professor Walsh is actually here is to answer the question "what if your new boyfriend's stuck-up mom didn't like you because she was a jealous bitch and then she immediately got herself killed anticlimatically because she was also really fundamentally stupid about it?".

What a waste. And they hired Lindsay Crouse for this?

(Also: if they were going to make Professor Walsh a "world renowned" pyschologist the writers should maybe have bothered to look into how seriously the field took the ideas of Sigmund Freud in 1999. Although her character's second career of experimenting on and cutting up demonic creatures for fun and profit would have made a lot more sense if they'd set her up as some kind of biologist, right? Or just make her an English literature teacher, if her teaching career is meant to be a front anyway and you want her to deliver themtically relevant monologues about Freud and Jung. At least I'd believe Buffy and Willow wanting to go to her class then.)

[panelshowsource]

who do you think is an underrated panel show guest? like someone who doesn’t appear on them very often but should

ohh fun question... y'know the thing about panel shows these days is they're sooo so so comedian-centric and really a lot of the same people again and again — which i'm not complaining about! i think they're the funniest people in the room and understand the dynamic of a panel show better than anyone else 99% of the time! but when it comes to people i find underrated in the most exciting way it's usually the semi-rare non-comedian who just...gets it. like, back in the day it was people like john barrowman, martin freeman, josh groban, mark ronson, chris o'dowd, christopher biggins, professor green, a couple of the spice girls (they actually run in comedian circles, interestingly)... they just fit into these shows and dynamics so well!

most of the people who have really surprised me in this regard in the last 5 or so years (bc i don't wanna reach back to, like, 2012 for this hahaha) have been on celeb juice or something like graham norton, the last leg, etc. for example, i had no idea will mellor could really hang, take jokes, dish out jokes, and do physical comedy until i saw him on juice. i think that kind of discovery is so fun!

100000% the uk drag girls (the viv being the one we see the most, love her to death and GET HER ON TM!!) NEED to be on more panel shows, jordan north (and get william hanson on SOMETHING this MINUTE), shirley ballas, ronan keating is actually a laugh, a lot of the reality show people (MIC, TOWIE, etc) who do what they do because they don't take themselves too seriously really do Get The Vibe (this is how we got rylan hellooooo), maggie aderin-pocock is an angel, ore oduba, jordan stephens, judge rinder hmm

comedians-wise (ik the drag girls often are comedians, but otherwise), people we've seen a little bit who we should be seeing more of in the name of comedy — alasdair beckett-king, kiri pritchard-mclean, paul foot, larry dean (whoever has the ‘X days since panelshowsource has mention larry dean’ sorry but you gotta reset), glenn moore, amy gledhill, morgana robinson

+ they're not underrated per say but just people i'd like to see again/continue seeing more often include ivo graham, guz khan, chris addison, holly walsh, robert webb, elis james, catherine tate, jess hynes, josie long, peter serafinowicz, humphrey kerr (we haven't seen him in a minute but i always thought he could have developed more of a place in panel show culture), and ffs can we bring back angus? should we? but could we? can we? just for one episode idk? also graham norton get your ass on tm this INSTANT new years

these types of asks always drive me crazy for the rest of the week bc i'm like "ahh i forgot ____!!!" hahahah but lmk what you think too!

[storiesfabled]

updated muse list

under the cut you will find the most up-to-date muse list.

911

evan buckley

maddie buckley

charlotte buckley-diaz // rowan blanchard // buck & eddie daughter

eddie diaz

athena grant

may grant

howard han

tommy kinard

bobby nash

harper nash // er registrar // ashley benson // bobby & marcy daughter

jonah nash // firefighter // tyler blackburn // ray & margaret son

raymund nash // principal // d.w. moffett // bobby’s brother

matthew ransone // police officer // casey deidrick // lou’s son

josh russo

ashlynn wilson // college student // victoria justice // henrietta & karen daughter

henrietta wilson

karen wilson

911: lone star

nancy gillian

trevor parks

arianna reyes // maiara walsh // tk & carlos daughter

carlos reyes

gabriel reyes

gabriella ryder // troian bellisario // judd & grace daughter

grace ryder

jackson ryder // football coach & pe teacher // eric stonestreet // judd’s brother

judd ryder

weston ryder // oil tycoon // jeffrey dean morgan // judd’s brother

aubrey strand // madison davenport // owen & npc daughter

owen strand

tk strand

victoria strand // liana liberato // owen & npc daughter

paul strickland

billy tyson

chicago fire

tricia boden // aisha dee // wallace & donna daughter

wallace boden

sylvie brett

matt casey

gabriella dawson

christopher hermann

stella kidd

patrick mcholland // hunter parrish // mouch & trudy son

rachel mcholland // anna kendrick // mouch & trudy daughter

randall ‘mouch’ mcholland

peter mills

kelly severide

leslie shay

brian ‘otis’ zvonecek

chicago med

anna charles

daniel charles

Mackenzie Crawford // er nurse // Elizabeth Olsen

will halstead

maggie lockwood

connor rhodes

chicago pd

kevin atwater

antonio dawson

eva dawson

hannah halstead // willa holland // jay & erin daughter

jay halstead

erin lindsay

trudy platt

adam ruzek

savannah ruzek // dianna agron // adam & kim daughter

Hank voight

Madeline voight // police officer // charisma carpenter // hank & trudy daughter

Criminal minds

Penelope garcia

Aaron hotchner

Alexandra hotchner // ssa bau // alona tal // aaron & haley daughter

Jennifer jareau

Emily prentiss

Derek morgan

Brynnlee reid-morgan // aisha dee // derek & spencer daughter

David rossi

Rylee rossi // hayden panettiere // david & erin daughter

dallas

Ann ewing

Bobby ewing

Christopher ewing

John ross ewing

Olivia ewing // britt robertson // bobby & ann daughter

Bryan jones // history professor // colin donnell

fire country

Bode Donovan

eve edwards

jennifer jameson // bakery owner // aja naomi king

luke leone

Sharon Leone

Vince Leone

freddy mills

Gabriella Perez

Manny Perez

Grey’s anatomy

Teddy altman

Jackson avery

Miranda bailey

Tuck bailey-jones

Stephanie edwards

Lexie grey

Meredith grey

Zola grey-shepherd

Alex karev

Chloe montgomery-shepherd // er nurse // madelaine petsch

Arizona robbins

Mark sloan

Sofia sloan-torres

Callie torres

Private practice

Cooper freedman

Addison montgomery

Jasmine montgomery-reilly // dove cameron // addison & jake daughter 

Jake reilly

Station 19

Travis montgomery

Theo ruiz

Ben warren

Zoey warren // college student // amber riley // ben & miranda daughter

supernatural

Annabelle buckley-moore // hunter // josephine langsford // evan buckley & jess daughter

Castiel

Crowley

arianna simmons // hunter // chloe bennett

Bobby singer

Rufus turner

Dean winchester

Johanna winchester // danielle campbell // dean & castiel daughter

John winchester

Sam winchester

[purpleplaid17]

Jess Watches // Fri 1 Nov // Day 397 Synopses & Favourite Scenes & Poll

Call the Midwife (with mum) 9x08 (s9 Finale)

The local council threatens to cut funding to Nonnatus House, which may face demolition. Two pregnant women discover they have something surprising in common.

"Welcome the darkness, embrace it as a canopy from which the stars can hang, for there are always stars when we are where we ought to be, amongst the faces we love best, each with our place, each with our purpose, as fixed and familiar as the constellations.

The darkness is beautiful, for how else can we shine?"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (rw) 4x14 Goodbye Iowa

Tension erupts between Buffy and an ailing Riley as they pursue Professor Maggie Walsh's killer.

💍 Riley not remembering Buffy getting engaged to Spike.

😭 Tara thinking she's a demon.

👓 Buffy wearing glasses.

🏳️‍🌈 The Scoo-bi Gang. Xander wanting to have sex with Riley.

🎶 Bonus: Billy ⬇️ having OMWF poster.

Agatha All Along 1x08 Follow Me My Friend / To Glory at the End

The end of The Road.

Spoilers before ep: A lesbian kiss in the MCU? It's more likely than you think.

Me, through the tear Rio created, after seeing the outcome of their kiss:

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, October 15

Dawn: It's here. Just like he said. Spike: (looking into the hole) Well, at least we know the old coot isn't completely daft. Look, you better let me snatch this egg thing on my own. Dawn: No way. I'm going. Spike: No ... you are not. I've got no idea what's down there. Dawn: You need me, Spike. Somebody's gotta get the egg while you distract the ghora. Now come on.

~~Buffy Season 5 Episode #95: "Forever"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Spike's Bad Time (Spike/Angel, Spike/OC, M) by Bloody_Willamina

A Verbal Battle (Buffy Summers, Roy Dukeshire, T) by KaibaSlaveGirl34

little fish, big fish (Darla/Drusilla, E) by evesock

Slayers Gotta Stick Together (Buffy/Faith, M) by darlingcarmilla

TAC 15 – Willow & Tara (Willow/Tara, T) by AngelicaR2

Nighthawk to Nite Owl (Xander, T, multiple xovers) by Heavyneos1

I might run out of time (Buffy/Spike, E) by latinadoll

Hanging on (Anya, Spike, T) by will_

[Chaptered Fiction]

I Shall Dress In Aeternum Ch. 11 (Ensemble, T, Highlander xover) by BlueStories

hit rewind Ch. 80 (Buffy/Spike, M) by untiljanuary

Oh My Goddess, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Maxine Eden

The Neighbor's Point of View, Chapter 139 (Buffy/Spike, T) by the_big_bad

reciprocity, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, E) by HappyWhenItRains

Scarab and Serpent, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Holly

A Sword in the Man, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Desicat

Through The Keyhole, Chapter 4-7 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Claire, Geliot99

Exorcise, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Desicat

Going Home (to a place we’ve never been before) Ch. 22 (dawn, T, LotR xover) by curiouslywombat

Aegis Ch. 25 (Xander, T, DCU xover) by dogbertcarroll

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Episodic art for BtVS 3x02 “Dead Man’s Party” () by revello-drive-1630

Artwork: Love’s bitch and man enough to admit it (Spike) by evermorelore

Artwork:Buffyverse episode sketch project, episodes 1-4 Season 2 () by bugscribbles

Video: Aimed to Kill - Villains (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) () by TheOverLookedOne

[Reviews & Recaps]

Video: Brought to TEARS!! Buffy S1 Finale **Reaction** () by Sibu's Watching

Video: CITY OF LONELY HEARTS - Angel | 1x1 + 1x2 | Group Reaction () by The Normies

PODCAST: BTVS 604 - Flooded by Another Buffy Podcast

[Community Announcements]

Tuesday Prompt: In Plain Sight by comment-fic

[Fandom Discussions]

What would you have done if you’d continued that one Spike-as-William fic? by thornfield13713

There are a couple of references to the events of the show’s previous Halloween episode – the creatively titled Halloween – in Season 4’s Fear Itself. by coraniaid

if Buffy were made today Adam wouldn’t have a disk drive in his chest. by aphony-cree

Double date scenarios for Spike/Buffy by silkspectred

I wish that Professor Maggie Walsh had been the true Big Bad of Season 4. by coraniaid

Absolute best part of season 4 by andyoullhearitagain

“You faced the monster inside of you, and you fought back.” by thequeenofsastiel

So interesting to me how Buffy refused to socialize with Spike in s5, but repeatedly trusted him enough to ask him for his help by thequeenofsastiel

Rank the big bads by burrunjor

Buffy getting into Northwestern by Joan the Vampire Slayer

Tara holding The Tower tarot card in Out of My Mind by AndHerSymbols

S2 E6 - How is principal Snyder illegally forcing student to sign up for charity events by ghostrider1938

Episodes that could've or should've been two-parters? by yeahitsme9

This Made Me Laugh by Equivalent-Room-7689

Explaining final death in Beauty and the Beasts by caminoeslameta

Giles in Season 3, Episode 6 by veganbethb

Angel + Buffy by Jonesybell

Buffy Season 6 by anthonycaruana

I just started rewatching Buffy for the first time in decades. by LizzieBathory420

Spike and Drusilla, Italy 1950’s by authenticriver

Do you think S3 Ep 12 allows Buffy to understand how the others in the scooby gang feel? by veganbethb

What is the worst thing this character has done (VOL. 6)- Joyce Summers by HereLiesMyFinalWor-

on season 5 now and noticing a pattern for the first episode villains by hatchbackkk

Am I crazy or is Buffy continuously punished by the narrative for being “a strong independent woman” by youknowjustsurviving

Garlic in Buffy the vampire slayer by TheFrostWolf7

Finally finished Buffy - My Thoughts by fenix4701

Buffy season 5- why does dracula not change into a monster form like the other vamps?? by hatchbackkk

Music of Passion by moses616

Favorite portrayal of Angelus by moses616

Older fanfics? Are their archives or sites where I can access them? by ghostrider1938

Xander f*+%#^g Harris by moses616

Demon with “wine” tab in the arm by Ziegenkoennenfliegen

Buffy season 5- listening to fear made me so unexpectedly emotional?? by hatchbackkk

An under rated but epic moment. by Reviewingremy

They treat death with a grain of salt in buffy by hatchbackkk

why does buffy have a fake sister by RedRxbin

i think it’s great Buffy had a more age accurate casting appearance wise by hatchbackkk

Where has The First appeared before? by bkv-hbl

What’s your least favorite season? by frimrussiawithlove85

\

why do so many people find Xander annoying? by hatchbackkk

on my first watch and Anya might just be best girl so far by hatchbackkk

Buffy got treated terribly during her break up with Riley and Xander’s speech felt pointless by hatchbackkk

Just seeing the red top sends chills down my spine by lonelyhedgehoh

i think it’s great how Buffy eases side characters into more recurring roles by hatchbackkk

WHY CAN’T BUFFY FIND A DECENT MAN by hatchbackkk

Season 1 Xander is so much more interesting than I remember by BlairThe3rd

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[btvsepisodetournament]

Prelim Round Poll 8

Shadow: "Glory transforms a snake into a terrifying monster in her quest to find the Key; Joyce is hospitalized after being diagnosed with an illness."

Goodbye Iowa: "Tension erupts between Buffy and an ailing Riley as they pursue Professor Maggie Walsh's killer."

[bestepisode]

Vote on more episodes here!

Episode descriptions below the cut.

Out of Mind, Out of Sight: When an invisible menace starts attacking students and faculty at Sunnydale High, the Scooby Gang traces the problem back to Cordelia.

Forever: With some help from Spike, Dawn attempts to bring Joyce back from the dead.

The Gift: As Glory prepares Dawn for a bloodletting ritual that will open a portal to another dimension, Buffy and her friends prepare for battle.

Goodbye Iowa: Tension erupts between Buffy and an ailing Riley as they pursue Professor Maggie Walsh's killer.

The I in Team: Buffy teams with Riley after she is allowed access to the Initiative; Spike is targeted by commandos.

First Date: Buffy accepts an invitation to dinner from Principal Wood, and the secrets of his past are revealed. Xander impresses a beautiful girl with his knowledge of rope, and she seems to be interested in tying him up. Meanwhile, the First contacts Andrew in another attempt to destroy the Potentials, and Giles finds himself tongue-tied with the new Potential, Chao-Ahn.

Help: Buffy begins a new job as school counsellor at Sunnydale High. On her first day she encounters a troubled young girl who is convinced she is about to die.

Get It Done: The Scoobies use a spell to transport Buffy into a shadow world, where she meets the men who created the first slayer. However, in order for her to return home, the gang must find and slay a ferocious demon

Smashed: Willow turns Amy the Rat into her old self; Jonathan, Warren and Andrew steal a diamond; and Spike discovers something unexpected about Buffy.

Fool for Love: After being bested in a fight by an ordinary vampire, Buffy asks Spike to explain how he killed two Slayers many years earlier.

The Yoko Factor: After joining forces with Adam, Spike drives a wedge between Buffy and her friends. Meanwhile, Angel's return to Sunnydale leads to a violent confrontation with Riley.

I, Robot… You, Jane: Willow's new Internet chat buddy turns out to be a powerful demon electronically unleashed from a centuries-old, newly digitized book.

[on-this-day-btvs]

February 8, 2000

The I in Team aired for BTVS season 4, episode 13. Riley gives Buffy a tour of the Initiative. Professor Maggie Walsh is not only Buffy's professor for her Intro to Psych class, but she is also the director of The Initiative. The Initiative is Riley's military organization.

Professor Walsh tries but fails to lead Buffy into a trap. In the middle of a eulogy of sorts for Buffy, she is interrupted. Buffy speaks to Professor Walsh on a video monitor.

BUFFY: Turns out it was me trapped in the sewers with a faulty weapon and two of your pet demons. If you think that's enough to kill me, you really don't know what a Slayer is... Trust me when I say you're gonna find out.

Sadly for Professor Walsh this is her next to last appearance on the show. Professor Walsh is played by Lindsay Crouse and is in nine episodes of BTVS, all in season 4.

Unrelated to BTVS, Lindsay Crouse played a divorced woman named Grace in a 1995 movie called Bye Bye Love. One of Grace's children is Meg, who is played by Amber Benson, who plays Tara in BTVS. One of Meg's friends is Emma, who is played by Eliza Dushku, who plays Faith in BTVS.

[becomingbuffypodcast]

S4. Ep14. Goodbye Iowa 

Often referred to as one of the flyover states, Iowa is generally considered to be a place where not much happens. The title, “Goodbye Iowa,” clearly references Riley’s identity crisis, revealing the end of normalcy and innocence for him. In some ways it also applies to Buffy, as she has been trying once again to have a semblance of a normal life through dating Riley. Yet, just like before, Buffy must come to the painful realization that slaying will always interfere and take over her best attempts to be a regular girl.  

In the book, “Myth, Metaphor and Morality in BTVS,” Mark Field talks about how this episode is the culmination of all the themes so far: identity, indoctrination, science vs. magic, and individualism vs collectivism. He talks about how society often dictates what is normal, and that that may sometimes clash with our true, authentic self, saying, “it’s indoctrination by society which forces us to be “normal,” and forcing us to “be normal” prevents us from developing our authentic identity; and the conditioning we receive from society can be seen as stealing our true, organic identity and replacing it with one society prefers. Maggie Walsh was a metaphor for all of these aspects of society. Because she occupied multiple positions, including professor and military leader, she served as a representative of the way school, government and society in general force us in the same direction.” 

Her ideology was shown in “A New Man” and it was in direct opposition to Giles, who thought Buffy and other young people should be allowed the freedom to develop on their own. Of course, when Maggie couldn’t control Buffy she tried to kill her. Now with Riley, the very definition of normal, we’re seeing what happens when someone has been controlled and told how to develop, and then what happens when their worldview begins to crumble. Field goes on to say, “Riley is not becoming an authentic adult, he’s being molded into the role society demands for him…and the result is that Riley is in bondage in the sense of not being free to develop on his own…the control is subtle rather than overt, but it’s all the more effective for that."

[sunnydaleslayer]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 4x10

[the-watchpost]

Buffy S04E01: The Freshman

An episode about a character struggling to adapt to change? You bet I can write a lot about this.

Buffy is like a small fish in a big pond as she tackles the change from Sunnydale High to UC Sunnydale. Over the years of the show, Buffy built up a strong support network which has helped her through difficult moments in the past. This same support network is now splintered; her mom and Giles obviously haven't made the move to the college campus, Xander is on a roadtrip across the US, and whilst Willow and Oz are at the same college they've made the transition to college look easy - Willow is super prepared and in her element whilst Oz already has connections from his band. Buffy is left to feel alienated. In previous seasons, it would have been these kind of situations where she would have turned to Angel but he has left and she no longer has him to fall back on either.

The show does a really good job at establishing this isolation. The first scene after the titles is Buffy in the midst of a crowd who all have yellow files whilst she doesn't, meaning she's not meant to be there. She's immediately out of place and disoriented whilst surrounded by tons of new faces and getting leaflets thrust in her face. Buffy is overwhelmed by it all - she finally finds a familiar face in Willow only to discover how well she has adapted to the change and that Oz already has plenty of acquaintances.

Buffy isn't exactly subtle about her feelings and does try to tell them both; "almost, one might say, too much", "it's just, a little overwhelming.", and "it's just so overwhelming." With everything that's going on around them, Willow doesn't get a chance to respond and seems to quickly forget about it. Unlike Buffy, she is in her element and taking it all in her stride. Oz also acts as a distraction for Willow and further isolates Buffy who is still getting over Angel.

With tons of new faces left, right and centre, there's just people everywhere with little escape. At high school, Buffy's escape was the library and Giles. There's no Giles at college and the library is nothing like *her* library. It's huge and busy and stocks a much wider selection than Giles' impressive collection of occult literature. They even get shushed in the Library- that never happened in high school. Once again Willow is in her element whilst Buffy seems out of her depth. And I miss the old library.

To further add to the whirlwind there's a flood of new characters and names including Riley, Kathy, and Buffy's psychology Professor, Maggie Walsh. They were all rather brief introductions with minimal screen time meaning I haven't had much chance to get a feel for any of their characters and I'm not sure how many of them will be frequently occurring so we will see how it goes with the lot of them. It does appear like Buffy is taking Psychology which is cool and makes me miss my own Psychology classes - operant conditioning was a throwback.

On the night of her second day at college, Buffy runs into a fellow student named Eddie. It's the first interaction we see Buffy have with someone who also hasn't completely naturally adapted to college life. He's lost, and the two get into a good conversation from there. I must admit, at this point I was wary of the guy since Buffy doesn't tend to have much luck, the scene was set at night and it was possible he could be a vampire. It turned out he wasn't a vampire but there were other vampires on campus and as soon as Eddie was left on his own, he was caught and turned. Buffy is definitely cursed.

When she finds out he's missing the next day, Buffy is immediately suspicious (even more so when she discovers he left his book behind) and who can blame her? She is still in Sunnydale after all. As she always did, she turns to Giles and arrives at his house to find he has a guest, Olivia. She's another character we don't see too much of and I have no idea if they're setting up a plotline with her. Giles ultimately waves off Buffy's concerns anyway, leaving her isolated once again.

That night she discovers that Eddie was turned into a vampire and gets jumped on by the gang of vampires. She chooses to avoid Willow and Oz the next morning which was an interesting choice. Its almost like she thinks that they have left all the vampire and demon stuff in high school now that they've made the move to college. She chooses to go home instead only to find that her mom has already started using her room as storage. Even her home has changed.

She ends up at the Bronze which is an interesting move. It's the place where she would quite often find Angel and its like she trying to grasp onto any kind of familiarity with everything in her life being so different. There's even a moment where she thinks she sees Angel. Ultimately it's Xander who turns up after his roadtrip (or attempted roadtrip) and he's raring to go with helping her combat evil. I loved his little motivational speech. It was very strange seeing them do research outside of the library. (Did I mention I miss the library? I know I thought the scene where they blew it up was cool but I take that back now. I want the library back). Anyway, where did they actually do the research? It was a little room but where was that place? That little detail bugged me.

As Buffy stakes out the vamp gang's lair (and prematurely crashes into it), Xander heads to the college for weapons, and Willow and Oz. It leads to an encounter with Buffy's roommate and his subtle description of vampires as "her friends who sleep all day and have no tans."

Ultimately, after an entire episode made up mostly of Buffy feeling isolated and alone, she gets backed up by Xander, Willow and Oz as she manages to take down the vampire gang. It was great to see them all back together again. Giles also turned up, albeit after the threat was handled, but the thought was there! And surrounded by the whole gang again, Buffy seems to be coming to terms with the changes that college have brought.

The episode ends with three masked soldier-esque figures taking down a vampire. I have no idea what that was all about.

[coraniaid]

for the ask meme: principal snyder

[Reverse unpopular opinion meme.]

Not sure how unpopular a take this is but I really like Principal Snyder.  He is genuinely one of my favorite minor characters on the show.

There are, I guess, a few different reasons for that.

The first is just a question of good timing. Snyder arrives during the second half of the first season, which is – to my mind, anyway – the point where the show really starts to find its feet.  (This is also, I suspect, part of the reason I’m so fond of Jenny Calendar, who shows up at around the same time.)  And he’s a recurring figure throughout the show’s second and third seasons too, which – while they might not be objectively the show’s best years – are certainly the seasons I personally have the most nostalgic feeling for and whose failings I’m most willing to overlook.  Snyder’s part of my favorite two and half seasons of the show, so I’m predisposed to enjoy him as a character.

Second, and along similar lines, Snyder is a type of character that I think that the latter seasons don’t really have: a recurring character who is somewhat important to Buffy’s regular life but entirely ignorant of the supernatural side of that life. Yes, we find out early in Season 2 that Snyder knows more about vampires than he lets on, and that he’s reporting directly to the Mayor; but that connection doesn’t seem to add up to him being in on the Mayor’s big Ascenion plan and he doesn’t show any sign of knowing that Buffy herself is the Slayer.

After the high school seasons, who else is there like this?  Parker Abrams, I guess, very early in Season 4, but … that’s it, right?  There are characters who could have taken up Snyder's mantle – Dawn’s social worker, for example, or Buffy’s second manager at the Doublemeat Palace, both in Season 6 – but for whatever reason nobody does. Almost everyone else Buffy meets after high school either turns out to be deeply connected to the supernatural -- other than Parker everyone she spends any time with in college turns out to be a demon, a witch or a member of the Initiative; the next Principal of Sunnydale High is the son of a previous Slayer, the doctor she starts talking to when her Mom gets sick is the mortal vessel of a hell god -- or just not a regular part of the show at all. I can’t even remember the name of any of Buffy’s college professors other than Maggie Walsh. 

And I think that’s a shame, because the existence of Principal Snyder as a low-level recurring antagonist makes Buffy’s life as a regular teenage girl feel a lot more consequential than it otherwise might.  If Buffy only had problems with one-off teachers we’d never seen or heard of before, or if she frequently complained about getting into trouble with an off-screen principal we never got to see on screen, the world of the show would just feel a little less grounded. And, in particular, Snyder's function as the show's clear unsympathetic authority figure implicitly helps make both Buffy's Mom and her Watcher much more sympathetic than they might otherwise be

More important than either of those points though, I think Snyder is just really fun to watch?  For my money, the writers strike almost the ideal balance between making him an unpleasant self-important bully and making him a ridiculous comic figure (one who, crucially, at no point shows any sign of being in on the joke).  Armin Shimerman is unfailingly great in the role from his very first appearance, and he gets such wonderfully silly lines to say. 

Some of my favorites:

“There are some things I can just smell.  It’s like a sixth sense.”   

“What are you, ghouls?  There are no dead students here … this week.” 

“That’s the kind of wooly-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten.” 

"Children everywhere ... Like locusts, crawling around, mindlessly bent on feeding and mating, destroying everything in sight in their relentless, pointless desire to exist."

“Why couldn’t you be dealing drugs like normal people?” 

"This is a time of celebration. So sit still and be quiet."

“There are things I will not tolerate: students loitering on campus after school, horrible murders with hearts being removed. And also smoking.”

Finally, I really like the fact that – unlike, say, Shimerman’s other big 90s genre TV role, Quark on Deep Space 9, and unlike somebody like Jonathan who was also a recurring character in the high school years who didn’t (then) know that Buffy was the Slayer – Snyder really never gets any more depth or attempts to make him sympathetic.  He never gets fully brought into the magical world or gets given some sort of character arc or has any previously well-hidden virtues suddenly revealed.

Yes, okay, there’s the aforementioned ties to the Mayor and the brief glimpse we get of teenage Snyder in Band Candy. But for all practical purposes the Principal Snyder we see in Season 1’s The Puppet Show – delighting in causing Buffy and her friends problems for no reason while boasting about how, unlike his predecessor, he’s too tough and disciplined to ever get eaten – is the same Principal Snyder we see in Season 3’s Graduation Day, getting eaten.

[keplercryptids]

[GIF description: a GIFset from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Professor Maggie Walsh is facing the camera, touching her face solemnly. Buffy, on a black-and-white TV screen behind her, begins speaking, and Walsh’s face falls. Buffy says, “Professor Walsh? That simple little recon you sent me on? It wasn’t a raccoon.” Walsh turns to look at the TV in shock. Buffy continues, and the last two GIFs focus on her face. “Turns out it was me trapped in the sewers with a faulty weapon and two of your pet demons. If you think that’s enough to kill me, you really don’t know what a slayer is. Trust me when I say you’re gonna find out.”]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)