Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Superb, yet highly underrated - Review Part 2
The second half of Season 4 begins with "A New Man." This is episode 12 of the entire season, which makes it Buffy's birthday. Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs) - Giles' enemy from England - returns. He meets up with Giles and tells him something called '314' which has demons quaking in their boots. Giles wakes up the next morning and has been transformed into a demon after Ethan drugged his drink the night before. Since he cannot speak English, how can he prove to Buffy and the Scoobies that it's really him and not just another run-of-the-mill demon, which Buffy has to kill? At the end of the episode we see Professor Maggie Walsh (Lindsay Crouse) of the Initiative enter a room called "314." The next two episodes are pivotal in the story arc for Season 4. "The I In Team" and "Goodbye Iowa" reveal a lot about The Initiative. In the former, Riley (Marc Blucas) introduces Buffy into the Initiative - something Professor Walsh is secretly not happy about. She decides that the Slayer is becoming too much of a threat and sends her on a set-up mission to take out two demons. The weapon Buffy is given by Professor Walsh is infact faulty and Buffy realises that she has been set-up. Riley returns from a mission as Professor Walsh tells him that Buffy is dead - but Buffy is indeed alive and non-too happy. Riley is appalled with Maggie Walsh and wants nothing to do more with her. Professor Walsh retreats back to room 314, before the project that has had demons quaking in their boots is awaken before killing Maggie Walsh. The project she's been working on has killed her - his name is Adam. He's now on the loose and intent on killing the Slayer. In the latter, Buffy is accused of killing Professor Walsh after the body is found.As if things couldn't get any worse, Faith (Eliza Dushku) - who was put in a coma by Buffy in Season 3's finale "Graduation Day" - awakes from her coma nine months on in the brilliant episode "This Year's Girl." She's upset and angry after realising what happened to her and is out for revenge - but also ashamed of herself. Faith also finds a device left for her by the Mayor. She comes to blows with Buffy, but runs away and goes after Buffy's mum Joyce (Kristine Sutherland). Buffy arrives to save her mum from "five by five" girl - but is subject to the devise that Faith uses. At the end of the episode Faith is carted off by the police and Buffy says "five by five"...a phrase only Faith uses. In "Who Are You" (written and directed by Joss Whedon), Buffy is in Faith's body and vice-versa; it seems the device possesses the ability to transform the being of someone into another person's body. Faith, in Buffy's body, decides to take advantage of the situation by having sex with Riley, making fun of Tara and much more. Buffy, in Faith's body - however, has been moved to London by the Watcher's Council but has to make her way back to Faith and transfer her essence into her own body to stop Faith wreaking havoc in the lives of Buffy's friends. But while this is all happening, Faith gets to really know what life is like for Buffy on a daily basis - back in her own body, ashamed and sickened, Faith leaves Sunnydale. The next two episodes - "Superstar" and "Where The Wild Things Are" - are stand-alone episodes, yet not very good. Is there any point in reviewing them? In "New Moon Rising," Oz (Seth Green) returns after leaving Willow at the end of "Wild At Heart" - Season 4's sixth episode. He has his werewolf condition under control, but Willow has a big decision to make. She's gay now and in love with Tara - will she follow her heart or accept Oz's wanting for her? In "The Yoko Factor," Buffy comes upfront with Adam - who feeds of bullets and fire power. He's tough and Buffy only just gets away. Angel (David Boreanaz) makes a guest appearance in Season 4's three crossover episodes. He doesn't like Riley and makes these feeling perfectly clear, but leaves in the end. Spike tells Adam that he'll separate Buffy from the rest of the Scoobies by making them fall out so that Adam can get Buffy on her own and kill her. The plan works. In "Primeval," the season's "finale," Buffy comes face to face with Adam in the Initiative caves and finally defeats him with the help of Willow, Xander and Giles who have made up after their spat. The actual final episode of Season 4 is "Restless." Written and directed by Joss Whedon, this brilliant episode is a firm favourite amongst many viewers. Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles are followed around by The First Slayer who is trying to kill them all while they sleep. They all combined their unique abilities to kill Adam, but there's a price to pay - and the First Slayer is just that. There are too many things to mention, yet it's an episode which reveals a lot about what the Scoobies actually feel. At the end of the episode, Tara says to Buffy, "Come back before Dawn." This is infact a reference to Dawn, the new character who appears in Season 5 as Buffy's younger sister. OVERALL GRADE: 10/10 Overall, this Box Set is excellent and contains some phenomenal episodes. However, I would not consider it an essential Box Set for everyone - just Buffy's die-hard fans...
Rating: - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete Fourth Season
Season Four is one of my favorite season's. It also brought the spinoff "Angel". And, this season brought the very famous BuffyAngel Crossovers. Faith also wakes up from her coma in "This Year's Girl" and leaves Sunnydale in "Who Are You" and goes to L.A. to Angel. We also see a kinder and gentler Spike around town, now that he has the chip in his head. This season also forshadows Dawn(Buffy's sister in season five)in "Restless" when Buffy is dreaming, Tara tells her "Be back home before dawn" and when Buffy wakes up, she is looking at the spare bedroom, she hears Tara's voice, she says "You think you know. You have no idea what's to come, who you are" in season 5 that is Dawn's room. The Box Set Includes Such Episodes:Episode 57: The Freshman:
As Buffy adjusts to college life, she realizes that classmates are mysteriously disappearing. Episode 58: Living Conditions
Buffy finds herself at odds with her new roommate... and is troubled by a series of disturbing dreams involving a soul-sucking demon. Episode 59: Tbe Harsh Light of Day
As Buffy has an affair with a handsome student, Spike searches for a ring that, according to legend, makes the wearer invincible. Episode 60: Fear, Itself
On Halloween, Buffy and her friends find themselves trapped inside a haunted frat house...complete with real-life bats, zombies and a terrifying demon from beyond. Episode 61: Beer Bad
Xander finds employment as a bartender at a pub where some of Buffy's friends metamorphose into terrifying Cro-Magnon creatures. Episode 62: Wild At Heart
Oz finds himself unable to control his attraction to a sexy singer...who just happens to be a werewolf. Episode 63: The Initiative
Spike finds himself targeted by a group of commandos after he escapes from a futuristic lab located beneath the streets of Sunnydale. Episode 64: Pangs
Thanksgiving, Buffy encounters the spirit of a Native American warrior whose people were wiped out by settlers. Episode 65: Something Blue
One of Willow's spells causes her every wish to come true...causing Giles to go blind; Buffy and Spike to plan a wedding; and Xander to become a magnet for demons. Episode 66: Hush
A group of murderous creatures straight out of a fairy tale steal away the townspeople's voices. Episode 67: Doomed
Buffy attempts to stop demons determined to bring about the apocalypse by reopening the Hellmouth. Episode 68: A New Man
After being transformed into a demon, Giles attempts to track down Ethan Rayne in hopes of reversing the process. Episode 69: The I in Team
Buffy teams with Riley after she is allowed access to the mysterious underground complex known as the Initiative; Spike is targeted by commandos. Episode 70: Goodbye Iowa
Tension erupts between Buffy and an ailing Riley as they pursue Maggie Walsh's killer. Episode 71: This Year's Girl (Guest Staring Eliza Dushku)
Faith awakens from a coma and seeks revenge against Buffy; Riley joins Buffy in the hunt for Adam. Episode 72: Who Are You? (Guest Staring Eliza Dushku)
Buffy, having switched bodies with Faith, finds herself at the mercy of Watcher council members. Meanwhile, Faith uses Buffy's body to further her own ends. Episode 73: Superstar
Buffy and her friends sense that something's amiss when a ubiquitous Jonathan becomes a hero to everyone in Sunnydale. Episode 74: Where the Wild Things Are
Buffy and Riley's passionate lovemaking energizes supernatural elements inside a frat house. Episode 75: New Moon Rising
Oz's return to Sunnydale leads to his incarceration inside the Initiative...and complicates the relationship between Willow and Tara. Episode 76: The Yoko Factor (Guest Staring David Boreanaz)
After joining forces with Adam, Spike drives a wedge between Buffy and her friends; Angel's return to Sunnydale leads to a violent confrontation with Riley. Episode 77: Primeval
Having gained control of Riley's mind, Adam sets in motion his plot to destroy the Initiative and create an army of unstoppable soldiers. Episode 78: Restless
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles experience dreams in which they are pursued by a mysterious figure.
Rating: - Not the Best Season but still Amazing!
Many changes happened in the fourth season of Buffy. First, there was no Angel. Second, no Cordelia. Three: Introduction of Riley, Four, intoruduction of Tara. While Season 4 was not one of the best seasons of the series it gave us some of the shows best episodes including the emmy nominated Hush, which to this day still remains one of best episodes in television history.
Season 4 was basically about Buffy getting use to life in college. Its there she meets Riley who is part of an underground military operation called The Initiative. The focus of the season is Buffy fighting against Adam, who was created by Prof. Walsh, the leader of the Initiative and Buffys professor.
The season starts off strongly with the hilarious episode Living Conditions when Buffy thinks her new, annoying roomate is a demon and Fear Itself, when the scoobies are trapped in a haunted frat house. The show tends to slow down the pace a bit as it starts to revolve more about Riley and The Initiative, but things pick back up in Hush, when we meet Tara and we get to see Alyson Hannigans Willow evolve into a woman and powerful witch.
Tara, played by Amber Benson, is a nice addition the cast who has a big effect on Willow in more ways than one. Marc Blucas as Riley is very blah, but you get use to him, and actually start to feel sorry for him.
Things also pick up when Faith comes out of her coma and is intent on making Buffy pay for what she did to her. Who Are You? and This years Girl are two excellent episodes.
The season ends on a high note as we get to a glimpse as to whats to come in Season 5, the most exciting season of the series. Although one of the weaker seasons, Buffy still manages to make us laugh, cry, and keep us on the edge of our seats. Sarah Michelle Gellar remains the heart of the show, but in this season we finally get to see the character of Willow blossom into something very powerful.
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