Buffy The Vampire Slayer: S2E1

Willow and Xander share a tender moment which is promptly interrupted by the first vampire they've seen all summer.  Thankfully, Buffy is there to save them and renew all of Xander's fanboy love.  I am kind of upset by this moment, especially considering season 8.  It seems that Buffy has to have Xander in her unrequited pile.  She does the same thing to Willow in Season 2 that she does to her own sister in Season 8 and she uses/abuses one of her good friends, Xander, to avoid dealing with her own emotions.

Of course, it could just be that she needs to feel loved by someone even if she can't return it.  Case in point, Spike later in the series. Though it's also a great way to keep people at arm's length.  Of course, Buffy is putting on a brave face for everyone and she's suffering from the events in season 1.  Angel is concerned but she can't stop pushing people away.  It's easier to protect people when your enemies can't use them to get to you.  Buffy is falling into the classic superhero trap.

We start to see the change in Cordelia in this episode.  Cordy is as intrigued by the vampire gruesome as Willow and Xander even though she's been too cool to admit it.  She quizzes them on their summer activities and then calls Buffy out on her behavior and tells her to get over her issues before she loses everything.  Cordelia knows her place and she knows Buffy's role better than Buffy at this point.

I like the first introduction of the vampire cult.  It's the same old cult type we saw in season 1 with the same old ritual reading, etc.  The anointed one seems to be getting everyone together for a round two of the previous season, but I know how Spike interrupts that plan later.  A little foreshadowing of Season 2's ending when Buffy challenges Angel to an ass-kick-off.  She even says, "Haven't you ever wondered what it would come down to?"