Looking over my old Buffy posts, I noticed that I’ve used expressions like, “I am really enjoying this show.” But now, I can say it: I officially love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The third season was chock full of some unbelievably amazing moments, and the second half in particular was just amazing.

Giles has long been a father figure for Buffy, but it was great to see their relationship cemented in that regard when Giles disobeyed the council in order to protect his Slayer. I didn’t see his getting fired coming, and it was a nice twist. The addition of Wesley could have felt clumsy, but instead he made for a perfect foil for Giles, and he showed perfectly how Giles, while not perfect, made for an infinitely better Watcher. Being a fan of Cordelia and Xander, I sort of hated the tension between her and Wesley, but the way the story was wrapped up was absolutely perfect. I’m hoping there are more consequences for Buffy and Giles now that they are no longer working for the Council officially, but that seems fairly likely.

Faith’s downward spiral in the second half of this season was compelling to watch, and watching her go from a slightly darker version of Buffy into a full on villain was painful, but it made for some really great television. The plot to revert Angel back to his Angelus state made for some particularly tough moments, and I will fully admit that I bought that the whole charade was real. I mean, they brought in that weird demon guy to perform the spell and everything! How could I have guessed that he just owed Giles a favor, because Giles introduced him to his wife?

That is just one example of how this show has come to masterfully balance the incredibly dark with a fantastic sense of humor that not only provides for some lighter moments along the way, but also helps to ground these characters in their own reality. “The Zeppo,” with it’s whole end-of-the-world scenario told almost entirely from Xander’s point of view, was an amazing way of the show satirizing itself without falling into that dangerous territory of becoming too self-aware. “Doppelgangland” also had some very funny moments, and I loved they way they kept Anya in the school as a former demon who is pissed she has no powers, and who doesn’t understand why she falls for Xander.

There is also the “Earshot” episode that contains some really funny and light-hearted moments, as well as some stuff that felt very real in our world. The fact that this episode was scheduled to air right after the Columbine massacre is one of those instances of life imitating art imitating life, but man, that’s just uncanny. Still, the reveal that it wasn’t Jonathan who was going to pick off students, but rather a cafeteria worker with plans to poison the student body made for a way to turn the serious theme into something a little sillier, without sacrificing the episode’s overall angst-y feeling.

My prediction that the Mayor would be run out of town didn’t come to pass, and instead he ended up being the recurring villain that Trick wasn’t. Harry Groener played the Mayor masterfully, and the arc of his Ascension and relationship with Faith made for some really creepy moments. The battle against him as a demon could have been a little longer, but the way it was set up with all of the students coming together was a really nice touch. It added more weight to the moment at the Prom where the students acknowledged that Buffy has a knack for saving everyone from weird and hellish things.

As for the end of Buffy’s relationship with Angel, well, it was sad to see them split, but of course it made sense that they wouldn’t be able to carry on as lovers. I’m planning on finishing out Buffy before getting to Angel’s series, but as of right now, I like the idea of allowing him to spin-off into his own show, as opposed to beating their star-crossed love story into the ground for another several years.

I watched the dream sequence in the finale a couple of times, and I have no idea what it may be foreshadowing, but I am eager to find out. On to Season Four!