The fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer somewhat disappointed me compared to the first four seasons. What got me was this season’s main villain. The villain character was good, but the way the actress portrayed her was too much over the top. Even so, this season had some great episodes and a ton of character development, especially from the supporting players.

This season kicked off with a bit of a joke in how it had Buffy fighting Dracula. It leads you to believe that Dracula (Rudolph Martin of Navy NCIS) might actually be the villain this season, but such was not the case. The famous vampire is treated like a rock star and the episode turns out to be kind of funny. It also sets a tone of unpredictability for the rest of the season.

The first episode throws a big curve to the audience by introducing Buffy’s little sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) at the very end. Often in later seasons of dwindling television shows, they will introduce a kid character. It happened in The Brady Bunch as well as Family Ties, and usually signals the beginning of the end for the show. However, with this show they made the origin of the little sister the focus of the entire season. You see, the sister is a real person, but she was also magically created by a group of monks, and her true purpose is revealed mid-season. Talk about creative writing.

The main villain for this season is a goddess named Glory (the gorgeous Clare Kramer) who is stuck inside a human’s body. Glory has found ways to manifest herself for short periods of time, and she’s practically invincible. She is looking for something called ‘the key’, but has no idea how to find it, much to her frustration. When it is revealed that Dawn is actually ‘the key’, Buffy must do everything she can to protect her.

Buffy’s boyfriend, Riley (Marc Blucas), is still hanging around since last season, but not for long. His character comes from a military background, and he never really fit into the group. The fans voiced their opinion and the writer’s responded by slowly getting rid of him. His departure was somewhat unfortunate in the way it played out, but I think it was necessary. It also helped to make Buffy feel more isolated than before, which helped spur the plot along. With the introduction of her sister, she needed to be focused on family matters. Speaking of family matters, there are some major developments involving Buffy’s mother, Joyce (Christine Sutherland).

One thing I really liked about this season was the progressive development of the supporting characters. The relationship between Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) is full blown and we get to see them both grow up a little. Xander has finally found his niche as a construction worker, and we see him finally move out of his basement. Anya is still getting used to being a human after spending centuries as a demon, and her take on human behavior reminded me a lot of the way Spock and Data observed humans in Star Trek. Anya ended up being my favorite character of the season, and I thought Caulfield was excellent in every episode.

Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson) also get a lot more attention as their relationship develops. Last season began to hint at a lesbian relationship between the two, but in this season they hold nothing back. There’s even a very famous kiss in one episode, and it’s one of the first ever to be shown on network television. Willow’s powers as a witch have developed dramatically, and she has gone from being a computer nerd sidekick to a formidable opponent who can get to some creatures that even Buffy can’t touch.

I was also pleased to see Giles (Anothy Stewart Head) find a purpose for his character by taking over ownership of the local magic shop. This series had sort of a long running joke where every owner of the magic shop got killed, so when the most recent vacancy became available, Giles moved in. This lets the show use the shop as a basis for operations and a Slayer training center is set up in the back room.

Finally, there’s Spike (James Marsters) and he still has the problem from last season with the chip in his head. He had been captured by Riley’s soldiers and a chip was placed in his brain that kept him from hurting humans. He can still attack demons and vampires and monsters, but anything directed at humans results in a sharp headache. His character reluctantly begins to help the group, and he begins to fall in love with Buffy toward the last half of the season. There’s a fine line between love and hate, you know.

This DVD boxed set comes in stereo sound with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio. I thought the volume on this season was a bit lower than the previous screens, and I base this on how much I had to turn the volume up on my home theater system. It still sounds great. There’s about an hour worth of extra material featuring interviews with the cast and crew and some explanation of how and why the developed the story for this season.

All in all, I enjoyed this fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but did not like it as much as some of the earlier ones. To enjoy this season, you have to look at it as the sum of its parts, rather than any individual episodes. I probably watched this season faster than I had any of the others because each episode leaves you wanting more. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Spoiler Alert - Read no further if you haven’t seen this season yet.

Part of why I was a little disappointed with this season was that there wasn’t but one real standout episode, but that episode was amazing. It’s called The Body and it’s the episode where Buffy’s mom dies. Show creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed this episode, and he used a lot of unique camera techniques to tell the story. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s acting in this episode is very much worthy of praise, as was the rest of the cast. Emma Caulfield steals a scene with a very well-written monologue about how she did not understand death and grief, and she really showed her range. This was a very tough episode to watch, and it came right in the middle of the season to show the audience that this show could still deliver.

See also:
Buffy Season One – http://www.epinions.com/content_161131957892
Buffy Season Two – http://www.epinions.com/content_180122586756
Buffy Season Three – http://www.epinions.com/content_192577375876
Buffy Season Four - http://www.epinions.com/content_219747487364


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older