2.06 Halloween
Those wacky vampires! That’s why I love ‘em! They just keep you guessing! Xander
This episode is Joss Whedon at his expectation-subverting best. Some of the subversions are mostly funny: in the Buffyverse, as it turns out, Halloween is traditionally the night vampires stay in and do nothing. But the funniest thing is that in this world, confirming to gender roles is the subversion. All of a sudden, Buffy is a damsel in distress and Xander is the tough guy who has to defend here, and… it feels strange. Out of whack.
That’s why this episode had to be in the second season, after the show was established. After we’ve come to accept the show’s tenets, after we’ve accepted that in this show, girls can beat guys up. So that when it goes back to how things are in most movies and shows, it feels wrong.
2.07 Lie to Me
Yes, it’s terribly simple. The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after. Giles
