Nightmares

Buffy Episode Review

In which you must face your fears.

What Happened

A coma victim looses the dream world in Sunnydale, bringing everyone's nightmares to life.

The Good

• "Their furry bodies and their sticky webs and what do they need with all those legs anyway?" Pretty much sums up my feelings on the spider issue.
• Brutal scene between Buffy and her father as he says all the things she was always afraid he was thinking.
• "I'm not even on the chess team. I swear I'm not." Cordelia's nightmares.
• Xander figures it out. He wasn't always the butt monkey.
• Willow the Opera Singer.
• Giles' nightmare that Buffy died under his care. He has such a touching scene by her grave...
• ...and then she climbs out as a vampire. How cool is that?

The Bad

• They should not have given the Anointed One and Billy the same haircut.
• What was with Cordi's fifties get-up? She looked like she should be hanging off a T-Bird somewhere.

The Cliche

• Everyone's fears and nightmares come to life. Craziness ensues for forty minutes. An important lesson about facing your fears is learned and things go back to normal.
• "Somebody's gotta stop this guy." "Someone's going to." SO not subtle.

What Did I Think?

Xander has rather pedestrian fears of clowns and coming to school naked, and Willow's fear of being the center of attention simply expands on her shyness. On the plus side, this episode introduces Buffy's father, as well as her abandonment issues. They may be trite Psych 101 issues, but they're there and consistent throughout most of Buffy's relationships.

Parallel to her father's visit is Giles' shift from mentor/friend to father figure. He's certainly shown concern for Buffy before, but the revelation of his nightmare is that he would fail to protect her and it would lead to her death shows just how seriously he takes his responsibility.

Not exactly subtle, but with some seriously creepy moments, particularly towards the end.