Buffy, meet Angelus – When Buffy the Vampire Slayer Blew the Hatch

by Keith McDuffee

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Angelus

Do I really need to say this again? Alright, for the benefit of those who don’t know me or haven’t heard me say it the other 30 times in the past, I’m a big fan of the Buffyverse shows. So, when the idea of our Blowing the Hatch posts came about, I knew I’d want to bring Buffy into the mix.

Admittedly, I didn’t love Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I went to catch up with the series to see what all the fuss was about. Season one is one of, if not the worst seasons of the series. It’s because of this lackluster season that many people use it as an example of a show that started out weak but, because it was given a chance, blossomed in its sophomore season and continued to gather viewers.

So, what was it in season two that made me realize Buffy was really getting good, when it Blew the Hatch? When Angelus came to Sunnydale.

For many giggly teenage girls who were watching Buffy since the beginning, the intense moment when Angel and Buffy finally had sex was something they’d dreamed to have happen since Angel and Buffy first shared horny glances. Now that they finally got their wish, Joss rips the rug right from under Buffy — and us — by making Angel turn into one of the worst foes Buffy has ever had to face. It was Whedonesque brilliance.

From that point of the series on, things only got better … until season seven, that is, but I won’t go into that. If “Innocence” didn’t grab you into this show — if it wasn’t the moment that “Blew the Hatch” for you — then you could pick from a number of other episodes closely following within that second season.

Bringing Angelus to modern-day Sunnydale set the tone for the rest of the series when it came to Angel and all those who knew him. The trust he’d worked hard to earn from all the Scoobies was either completely gone or never fully regained. Ultimately it was this lack of trust by most of the gang that led to him leaving, which gave birth to Angel, the series. But that’s for another Blow the Hatch post.