Buffy: Choices (3.19)

Choices has the unfortunate distinction of featuring the one truly crummy Buffy moment in a long while: the Mayor's awkward speech about Buffy and Angel's doomed love affair. I like the Mayor, but this felt completely out of place, an annoying excuse to raise the issue of their flatlining relationship, and out-of-character for somebody who ordinarily wouldn't give a damn about Buffy's love life. The fact that before the climactic showdown in the cafeteria Buffy and the Mayor hadn't actually met also dented whatever power that moment could have had.

Besides that one annoying part, Choices is generally fun. It's unfortunately one of those filler hours right towards the end of the season, designed to pad things out before the big final showdown. So we have some vague promises of coming doom and destruction, a deus ex machina that appears out of nowhere and disappears just as fast, and some 'sort of okay'' action sequences. The spiders are fun, Wesley's shriek of terror is hilarious, Faith and Willow's showdown is amusing, etc. etc. There are obviously some decent moments, but Choices isn't particularly memorable as a whole episode.

The introduction of UC Sunnydale is an expected TV trope. Just like Beverly Hills, 90210, the entire ensemble of characters head to the same college right after high school, in order to keep everybody together. I admired when a show like Dawson's Creek took the realistic route and sent its cast off to various different campuses across the country, but it does negatively impact stories. I also liked Willow's explanation for turning down Oxford and Yale. I imagine existing in a world of saving lives and averting apocalypses make education suddenly unimportant, and it's neat that Willow wants to pursue that, rather than professional success.

Cordelia finally gets some semblance of a storyline, one that explains why her attitude has been pretty obnoxious lately. Turns out her family has had a reversal of fortune and she's working in a dress shop to get hold of some money. The story isn't exactly scintillating, but at least it gives Charisma Carpenter something to work with.

Choices is a bridge episode to the final three hours, one that fills in some plot holes but doesn't hugely advance any stories. It's still greater than any average TV episode, though. B-

Credits
Guest stars Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers); Harry Groener (Mayor Richard Wilkins III); Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce); Eliza Dushku (Faith); Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder)
Writer David Fury Director James A. Contner