Buffy: I Only Have Eyes for You (2.19)

What opens as a traditional ghost story, full of poltergeists, visions and monsters, suddenly becomes a whole lot deeper, creatively tying in season two's Angelus arc and creating a character-driven episode that is still standalone in nature. It's a huge success. Watching season two again, the writers really struggle to utilize Angelus effectively outside of the major Angelus-driven episodes. Instead of simply not featuring him, he is written into indulgent cameos with little purpose. I Only Have Eyes for You is the only episode in late season two (besides the heavy-hitter arc hours of Innocence and Passion) to effectively use the character, and his inclusion is a masterpiece in characterization and horror.

In 1955, James was the bitter ex devastated by what he saw as Grace's betrayal of him, initiating a spur-of-the-moment murder-suicide and in the process creating a ghostly spirit of negative energy which ends up possessing various people in the present day, each re-creating the same scene of violence and anger. But what elevates the episode is having Buffy and Angelus possessed by the event, Buffy the person taken over by James' spirit, still enraged over what Angelus has put her through. No matter how often she has tried to sugar-coat it, she has been damaged by recent events so much that she's now open to attack. Also raging inside of her is her own feelings of guilt over what has happened. She believes it's her fault that Jenny is dead and Angel is no more, and it's her secret identification with James that makes her so out-of-character and angry throughout most of the episode.

The scene between Buffy and Angelus as they are possessed is beautifully performed, Angelus so scared and tormented, while Buffy is bitterly angry. Sarah Michelle Gellar's face after Buffy shoots Angelus is haunting, so much abject horror at what she has done. I also loved the ending to the story, James and Grace finally able to move on after the same scene plays out differently for once. It's such a beautiful moment, made suddenly tragic when Angelus snaps out of it and realizes what he has been caught up in, throwing Buffy away from him.

The rest of the episode is equally strong. Giles is initially distracted by his belief that Jenny is responsible for the haunting, her spirit trapped somewhere following her murder. The resolution to this was wonderfully played, not in some big melodramatic breakdown, but by Willow calmly explaining that "Jenny would never be this mean". The hauntings themselves were also a lot of fun, especially the cloud of wasps that form and attack the Scoobies. And, finally, that Flamingos song is gorgeous.

I Only Have Eyes for You is one of the less memorable classic episodes from the series, and even though it doesn't feature the elaborate shock moments of hours like Innocence, it's a confident, beautifully crafted script with some wonderful character work. A+

Credits
Guest stars Meredith Salinger (Grace Newman); Christopher Gorham (James Stanley); John Hawkes (George); Miriam Flynn (Mrs. Frank); Brian Reddy (Chief Bob); James Marsters (Spike); Juliet Landau (Drusilla); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Writer Marti Noxon Director James Whitmore Jr.