What is the Best Buffy Teaser From Season Three?

Before I write about Buffy for the third day in a row, I'd like to inform everyone that NBC cut
The Cape's episode order by three. Instead of 13 episodes, NBC's only committed to airing ten episodes. After the 10th episode, don't expect to see The Cape on network television ever again. And, well, I'm not surprised at all by the news. Terrible show. MOVING ON to Buffy...

Yesterday, I crowned the winner of Best Season Two Buffy Teaser. "When She Was Bad" took home the trophy and a spot in the finals alongside "Prophecy Girl." Today is all about season three. The third season of Buffy is my favorite. It's one of the best structured seasons of television. The show introduces Faith and The Mayor, who combine to make a dynamite second half of the season. Also, it's the gang's last year in high school. The promise of change looms and the series would never be the same after Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordelia graduated from Sunnydale High. Cordelia moved onto LA where she and Angel began working together on a series that would eventually be the better of the two Whedon shows on network television while the remaining Scoobies went to college for a little while until the final two seasons which saw the fun slowly leave, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

LET IT BEGIN:

WHAT IS THE BEST BUFFY TEASER FROM SEASON 3?

"Anne"--Written & Directed By Joss Whedon

Following the events in "Becoming," Buffy ran away from Sunnydale without letting her mother, Giles or friends know. The season opens as a vampire, Andrew Hoelich, rises from the grave. In front of him stands Willow, who puns poorly before she and her friends begin the attack. They fail miserably, and Andrew escapes. It's a light-hearted scene, with excellent dialogue and humor such as Xander yelling 'cheater' at Andrew when he remembers that Andrew ran track. Willow wonders whether Buffy knows school begins tomorrow and she hopes that Buffy will be at Sunnydale because she misses her best friend. She wishes she knew where Buffy was. That takes us to Buffy, who's in the city of Angels. Buffy has a dream about Angel, the two of them stand together on a beach. She's full of guilt and sadness because she killed him. No one knows he came back right before she killed him to stop Acathla. She wakes up in a flea-bag apartment and stares out at "the bleak, urban night."

Joss begins to unpack the events of "Becoming." Buffy's friends remain clueless about her whereabouts but we see that they haven't stopped fighting evil when Buffy's not around (that began in "Killed By Death" when they wanted to patrol for sick Buffy). We also get a sense of how Buffy's friends feel. Willow misses her. Xander's not exactly aching for her return because he harbors some resentment for her abrupt departure. And the dream offers a look into Buffy's mind. She's not only far physically from home, but mentally, as well.

I always loved the gang's fight with Andrew Hoelich. That scene has so much of what I love about the series.

"Dead Man's Party"--Written By Marti Noxon; Directed By James Whitmore Jr.

Buffy returned to Sunnydale at the end of "Anne." The second episode opens with Buffy attempting to go out to see her friends. Joyce and Buffy have not returned to normalcy and their scene shows it. Joyce tries to be supportive and understanding of Buffy's life as the slayer, but she's unsure how to treat it. There's a personal rift in their relationship dating back to "Becoming". But Buffy needs to find Willow and Xander. As she walks, she notices a man carrying a weapon, and she nearly attacks until she sees that the man is Xander on patrol. Xander's momentarily shocked by seeing Buffy, which allows an actual vampire to burst through a wooded wall. Willow, Oz and Cordelia arrive to help fight. Buffy does the actual staking. Once the vamp is dusted, the four friends look at Buffy and she only offers a shy, "hey."

"Dead Man's Party" makes Buffy confront how she left everyone behind after killing Angel. The looks on the faces of Willow, Xander, Oz and Cordelia conveys the reality of Buffy's situation: Buffy won't be able to transition back into her comfortable life as easily as she'd like. Both Joyce and Buffy feel awkward at home and not at ease around one another. Buffy witnesses first-hand how her friends were able to survive without the slayer in town. Buffy will need to fight for her place in the lives of those she loves. By that, I mean, she'll need to fight for forgiveness. The teaser is clear about that.

"Faith, Hope and Trick"--Written By David Greenwalt; Directed By James A. Contner

Willow excitedly awaits to experience her senior privilege of leaving the actual campus for lunch until anxiety and paranoia overcomes the girl. Buffy and Xander carry her off campus so they can have lunch with Buffy, who remains suspended. The dynamic between the friends has returned. Soon, they're discussing Buffy's dating life, how Scott Hope wants to ask her out, but Buffy insists that she's not looking to date. She wants a normal life that consists of shopping, dating, going to school, hanging out and saving the world from unspeakable demons--"you know, girlie stuff." Later that night, Mr. Trick and a demon arrive in town. The demon wants to kill the slayer (oh but it's not Buffy we'll soon learn) and Mr. Trick wants a diet soda. Mr. Trick also talks about how Sunnydale's not a haven for the brothers. Mr. Trick is awesome. Trick outs himself as a vampire by eating the drive-thru guy.

Buffy's back to her normal by episode three. The teaser highlights that. It introduces the villainous Mr. Trick, his demon friend, and their pursuit of the slayer. It seems like the setup for a typical Buffy episode, but Faith, who doesn't appear in the teaser, twists the story around.

Side note: this is one of my favorite episodes. I love the scenes in the early seasons when the Scoobies sat around, talking about normal things with that fantastic wit. It's a joy listening to the dialogue. The introduction of Trick and the demon sets up the usual demon-wants-slayer dead plot but it becomes much more interesting when a new slayer arrives in town, which doesn't happen until Act One.

"Beauty and The Beasts"--Written By Marti Noxon; Directed By James Whitemore Jr.

Willow's in the library watching a caged Oz because of the full moon. Xander came to relieve Willow (she must study for an important test). Xander soon falls asleep. Meanwhile, Buffy and Faith patrol. They discuss boys. Faith believes all men are beasts in it for the chase. Buffy more or less agrees after saying she's glad Scott Hope isn't a hell beast. The scene cuts to a chase where an anonymous boy suffers a "bone-crushing, flesh-tearing fate" courtesy of a werewolf.

The teaser accomplishes a few things. It establishes the theme of the episode--men are beasts. And there's a fun setup and red herring to the monster of the week story. Did Xander's sleepiness let a werewolf Oz to tear someone apart? That possibility propels half of Act One's action. The scene between Faith and Buffy further establishes Buffy's ambivalent feelings toward Scott Hope. She likes him well enough but she misses Angel. That beat is important for the final scene of the episode.

"Homecoming"--Written & Directed By David Greenwalt

The Scoobies sit around The Bronze, talking about their final Sunnydale High homecoming. Cordelia wants a limo because the homecoming queen arrives in style. Buffy feels hesitant about going because Scott hasn't asked her. Soon, Scott asks her, but reluctantly, and the next day he breaks up with her. Before the short relationship ends, Buffy visits Angel who continues to recover from his 100 years in a hell dimension. In case Angel's not hurting enough, Buffy pours salt on his wounds by informing him about her new boyfriend, and how she can count on him. After Scott ends things, Buffy walks alone as the perspective shifts to a camera. Two men transmit the video to an older man who's with Trick. Trick confirms to the man that Buffy's the target.

Nothing good happens for Buffy in the teaser. She hurts Angel because she wants to. Scott Hope ends things, and now an old man wants her dead for some unknown reason (the reason is Slayerfest and a cash sum). The scene with the Scoobies establishes Cordelia's desire to be homecoming queen and Xander reminds her that she's yet to be elected which opens the door for Buffy to eventually join the race to be homecoming queen. Whenever I watch this teaser, I feel bad for Angel. He's already suffering and then Buffy shoves her new life in his face. This teaser covers a lot.

"Band Candy"--Written By Jane Espensen; Directed By Michael Lange

Giles helps Buffy study for the SATs while she's patrolling. Before Buffy can seriously answer the question Giles poses, she's sidetracked by her duties to stake a vampire. She uses her no.2 pencil to slay it. Buffy thinks the study session is over but Giles hands her another pencil. Buffy theorizes that she and Giles are the only ones working late in Sunnydale. Cut to city hall where the Mayor and Mr. Trick are plotting something evil. Trick found a reliable person to perform the job that will make Sunnydale erupt in flames. The Mayor reveals the deals he made through his collection of occult things but he's actually looking for scotch.

The scene with Giles and Buffy is delightful, of course. Season 3's teasers has many scenes about high school senior stuff (last homecoming, the prom, SATs, etc) and this one doesn't disappoint. These small scenes make Buffy, when the horrors of demons and vampires don't and can't compare to the horrors of SATs and other things that seem like The Worst for teenagers. The Trick-Mayor scene further characterizes The Mayor. He's evil, corrupt, interested in chaos, but he's delightful. We see him and Trick confirming plans for the Band Candy fun to come.

"Revelations"--Written By Douglas Petrie; Directed By James A. Contner

In The Bronze, Willow wonders whether any one else noticed Buffy acting differently after she, Willo that is, and Xander acted bizarrely in their attempt to cover up their kissage in a previous episode. Willow noticed Buffy being more distracted and off by herself more. Cordelia suggests that Buffy's hiding a boyfriend. Buffy arrives to crush the rumors. The only person she's out with is Faith for patrols. While on patrol with Giles, the two quickly stake some vampires, after which they seek Giles' approval, but then Gwendolyn Post arrives to nitpick the hell out of the slaying. Oh, look: another watcher.

It's important to note that Giles nor the rest of Buffy's friends are aware that Angel returned from a hell dimension. He's the one she's hiding. Willow's awareness of Buffy acting distant suggests that the Angel revelation will happen in an episode called "Revelations." The arrival of a new Watcher was only a matter of time considering the piece of information in episode three when we learn about the death of Faith's Watcher. So, we have the inciting incident for the A story as well as the promise of Angel revelation. This is a good one.

"Lover's Walk"--Written By Dan Vebber; Directed By David Semel

What a glorious teaser. We have Willow comically freaking out after learning she only scored a 740 on the English portion of the SAT. Wonderful banter and dialogue among the Scoobies follows. There's confirmation of Cordy's smarts. Buffy also kicked the test's ass. That gives her the thought that she could maybe go anywhere after high school. Cordy supports her leaving because "who the hell would want to come back here?" Cue a drunken Spike's return to Sunnydale.

The return of Spike is absolutely tremendous. Aside from that, this is the first time that Buffy lets herself believe she has the chance to go to college and leave Sunnydale, especially with Faith around as the slayer. The show returns to that possibility a few more times over season three. It's nice to see Buffy giving herself a chance for a normal life. The attaction between Willow and Xander hasn't disappeared either, and the potential fallout of a double-date between Willow/Oz and Xander/Cordelia could be bad for their respective relationships. Spike's back.

"Lover's Walk" is a classic.

"The Wish"--Written By Marti Noxon; Directed By David Greenwalt

In the park, on a beautiful day, a demon tries to strangle Buffy to death. Willow frantically searches for a knife to give to Buffy. Once the knife's found, the demon's quickly killed. The conversation shifts from survival techniques to personal matters. Buffy, Willow and Xander sit around a picnic table, all of them now single. Buffy listens as Willow and Xander express regret about how their secret hookups hurt Oz and Cordelia deeply. Buffy relates with their pain. Xander asks how she's still standing after all she's been through. Buffy simply says, "I have you guys." Meanwhile, Cordelia burns photographs of Xander, Willow and Buffy.

After the demon stuff, it is a lovely scene for Buffy, Willow, and Xander. Without her friends, Buffy would be lost, different, colder, and destined for a much quicker death. They are her rock and foundation. The rest of the episode separates them when Anya's Wish World, willed by Cordelia's anguish, takes over. Good friends are as essential to Buffy as her fighting skills.

"Amends"--Written & Directed By Joss Whedon

The redemptive Angel arc begins with "Amends" and carries on through five seasons of ANGEL. The episode opens with a dream Angel's having about murdering someone in Dublin, but it's not so much a dream as it is a memory. Angel awakes, startled by the lucid-ness of the dream or memory. He walks the streets for fresh air and runs into Buffy. She feels concerned about him. Angel sees the man from his dream, and it renders him speechless. Pay attention to the weatherman.

Joss Whedon knew fans had trouble embracing Angel following what Angelus did during the second half of season two so he wrote "Amends". People he's killed will haunt him throughout the episode. The person who's there with him in the beginning will be with him at the end.

"Gingerbread"--Written By Thania St. John and Jane Espenson; Directed By James Whitmore Jr.

Joyce chose the wrong time to understand Buffy's after school job. Buffy's patrolling. A vampire appears. Buffy gives chase. Joyce walks to the playground where she finds two small dead children on the ground. She sees an arcane symbol on the dead boy's hand.

Obviously, Joyce's discovery of the children serves as the inciting incident. Who killed them? Why? What's that symbol about? "Gingerbread" concerns the relationship between mothers and daughters, but it also concerns itself with the unknown and how when people don't understand the unknown, they panic and some bad things happen as a result.

"Helpless"--Written By David Fury; Directed By James A. Contner

Buffy and Angel train in his mansion. There's sexual tension between them. Buffy decides to stop because she doesn't want Angel to lose his soul. The conversation shifts to Buffy's birthday and how she and her father will spend the day together. Buffy looks forward to any time she can spend with her dad. Later, in the library, Giles insists that Buffy stare at various stones and crystals because it's part of her training. Cut to a graveyard where Buffy's fighting a vampire. She has the upper hand until she, well, doesn't. Soon, she's on the ground with a stake close to her heart. What's that about?

"Helpless" makes Buffy helpless for an episode--it's part of a Watcher's Council thing. The episode also explores her relationship with the men in her life, Giles and her father most prominently, and how Giles has become more of a father to her than her own father, which is why the reason for her sudden helplessness hurts her so much.

"The Zeppo"--Written By Dan Vebber; Directed By James Whitmore Jr.

Everyone has a role in the Scoobies, except for Xander. Xander's always the one trapped underneath a demon after a fight. No one wants him killed in a fight. Where does Xander fit in a group with two slayers, a blossoming witch, a vampire with a soul, and an expert Watcher? That's what the teaser invites the audience to think about and consider. It's a great little funny teaser that sets us up for a special Xander-centric story.

"Bad Girls"--Written By Douglas Petrie; Directed By Michael Lange

Buffy and Faith are fighting a couple of fights. As the girls fight, Faith questions Buffy about Xander and any sexy times they might've had. Buffy loves Xander but not in that way. Faith's attention span nearly gets Buffy hurt but the girls defeat all three vampires easily. Meanwhile, the Mayor grows closer to his Ascension as he emphasizes the importance of the looming Dedication. We meet the deputy mayor, a timid fellow, who isn't as cold-blooded as The Mayor or Trick. At the end of the scene, The Mayor hopes that both Slayers kill one another.

By now, Buffy and Faith are a well-oiled slaying machine. They know where the other will be though Buffy still worries about Faith's fighting style. It's essential that the writers highlight the team in this game-changer of an episode. The portrayal of the deputy mayor is crucial as well considering what happens later in the episode. The Mayor's final line, about the slayers, offers a clue as to what The Mayor's initial plan was for Faith before he developed a father's love for the girl.

"Consequences"--Written By Marti Noxon; Directed By Michael Gershman

Buffy's dream shows the guilt she feels about the death of the deputy mayor's death, though she's innocent. In the dream she's under water and trapped by the hands of the deputy mayor. He won't let her emerge from the depths. She awakes to find her mother watching the news cover the death. Joyce remarks about how horrible the murder is. Buffy's horrified and "feeling like the walls are closing in on her."

"Doppelgangland"--Written & Directed By Joss Whedon

Anya begs D'Hoffryn to restore her vengeance demon powers. She hates how she's in high school, a mortal, a child, and flunking math following a thousand years of bringing ruin upon the heads of unfaithful men. D'Hoffryn doesn't care and states that Anya's time has passed. Anya tells him that she'll find someone who will help her if he refuses. Cut to Willow using magic to spin a pencil in the air--Anya's soon-to-be helper. Buffy's training for some Watcher council test. Willow explains how spinning the pencil requires emotional control and, well, magic. The topic switches to Faith. Buffy wants to do better than Faith. Willow gets angry when talking about Faith, as evidenced by the pencil spinning wildly.

Willow's always maintained good emotional balance. She doesn't get high or too low, but she feels like a push-around. Naturally, her emotional control's at the center of the teaser in an episode about Willow. She'll soon stand up for herself. Anya returns for the first time since "The Wish." The failure of the Wish world rendered her mortal and in need of a witch to help her return to life as a vengeance demon. Buffy, meanwhile, is all about beating Faith especially after the events of the last two episodes. Joss is great at putting so much into a few minutes.

"Enemies"--Written By Douglas Petrie; Michael Gershman

Buffy and Angel leave the cinema after watching a movie with explicit nudity and sex scenes presumably. Angel's facial expressions are fantastic, in particular. Buffy feels bad if the movie worked Angel up, not wanting Angel to be in a position to lose his soul. Angel says it's nice to just feel and that he's okay. Faith arrives to patrol with Buffy. On patrol, Faith commends Buffy for having great will-power. Skyler the demon arrives to make a deal with the slayers. He possesses the books of Ascension. He wants five grand for the books so he can escape the town before the actual Ascension. Buffy's curious after Skyler leaves while Faith obviously plans on murdering Skyler.

More sexual tension between Angel and Buffy. Faith notices the tension. She's gone to the dark side. Might she use Buffy's feelings for Angel against her? Skyler offers Buffy the first opportunity to figure out the Mayor's grand plan, and Skyler will function as an easy plot device to expose her duplicity to Buffy.

Also, those expressions and reactions of Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz after they exit the cinema are great.

"Earshot"--Jane Espensen; Directed By Regis Kimble

This will be short and simple like the teaser. Buffy fights two disgusting-looking demons. She kills one of the demons (the other runs away). A green substance from the demon gets on Buffy's hand and disappears into her hand. That green substance will drive the rest of the episode. Cue credits. Buffy's going to get some demon abilities temporarily and it'll end up saving a life.

"Choices"--Written By David Fury; Directed By James A. Contner

The Mayor gives Faith the gift of a large hunting knife to kill people with. Meanwhile, Buffy and Angel fight vampires. Afterwards, the conversation shifts to the future. Buffy feels like they're in a rut and wonders where they'll be when she's fifty and he's exactly the same age as he is presently. Two more vamps arrive. Angel suggests they focus on getting Buffy to fifty. Buffy likes the plan.

Nothing new happens between The Mayor and Faith. Their twisted father-daughter relationship gets more twisted when he gives her a hunting knife. Meanwhile, Buffy won't cease talking about the future with Angel and Angel won't cease being non-committal. After all, he has his own series to get to. But it's that time of year in senior year when graduation is near. Things will change. What will happen? Specifically, what will happen to a high schooler's sweetheart?

Faith's knife won't be very cool to her in a few episodes when Buffy stabs her with it.

"The Prom"--Written By Marti Noxon; Directed By David Solomon

This is a sweet and short teaser that shows Buffy and Angel happy and together, though it gives away to signs that their future together is bleak, highlighted by the moment when Buffy draws the curtain that sends Angel into the shadows to avoid being burned by the sun. Also, it's the prom. She wants to go; he doesn't. So, we've got the question of their future together, and also the promise of the senior prom.

Love this episode.

"Graduation Day"--Written & Directed By Joss Whedon

Graduation day has arrived. Cordelia insults the color of the gowns, insisting to Xander that she should've been in charge of the wardrobe. Xander's convinced that he won't make it out of Sunnydale High alive, stating that he's avoided death one too many times and his time is up. Meanwhile, Willow signs various yearbooks and claims that she's missing everything. Buffy's not full of the same senior/graduation day emotion, arguing that students receive a piece of paper and nothing changes. Buffy's considering skipping the entire graduation ceremony until Xander informs her that The Mayor will deliver the commencement speech, which means 100 students waiting to be eaten by The Mayor once he ascends. Meanwhile, Faith murders a professor because The Mayor told her to.

What's not to love about the teaser? Joss captures those senior moments that we've all experienced while promising one heck of a commencement speech. I relate to Willow signing every yearbook in sight as well as Buffy's indifferent feelings about the whole ceremony. I crack up every time I hear Xander's fear of dying before graduating from high school. The teaser also makes the audience despise Faith even more. She mindlessly kills now, telling the professor that she didn't bother to ask why the Mayor wants him dead.

AND THE WINNER OF THE BEST SEASON THREE TEASER GOES TO..."The Wish." I just love how essential Buffy's friends are to her survival. That idea is wonderful and especially important in "The Wish." Here's a numerical list in descending order:

21. "Homecoming" 20. "Choices" 19. "Gingerbread" 18. "Beauty and the Beasts" 17. "Consequences" 16. "The Prom" 15. "Bad Girls" 14. "Amends" 13. "Enemies" 12. "Earshot" 11. "Doppelgangland" 10. "Band Candy" 9. "Faith, Hope & Trick" 8. "Dead Man's Party" 7. "Anne" 6. "Revelations" 5. "Helpless" 4. "Lover's Walk' 3. "The Zeppo" 2. "Graduation Day" 1. "The Wish."

Tomorrow, I write about the Super Bowl and, possibly, The Vampire Diaires. I might not be able to write about TVD until Friday. Depending on TVD, the Best Buffy Teaser search will resume Friday or Monday.