Halloween! It's fright night and Xander's a soldier, Buffy is helpless and Willow is sexy!

Who doesn’t love Halloween? The costumes, the free candy. The scary movies. Only Christmas has a bigger place in my heart than All Hallows Eve. And when you’re dealing with a show called ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, you can expect to see your fair share of pumpkins every now and then!

I mean, would there be any better place to spend a Halloween than Sunnydale? Ethan Rayne doesn’t think so...

With more on that shady character and the rest of this episode, here’s J.D. Dunn with a recap!

Episode 2.06 — "Halloween"
W: Carl Ellsworth
D: Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: October 27, 1997

Synopsis: Despite its reputation, Halloween is normally a slow period for vamps and demons…except in Sunnydale. Buffy is feeling inferior because she's a nineties chick while Angel tended to go for debutantes in his human days. When the owner of a costume shop makes her a deal on a dress, she accepts. Of course, he's evil, so he casts a spell turning everyone into the costume they were wearing. Buffy becomes a flighty debutante. Xander becomes an army ranger. It's up to Willow the Ghost to save the day, since she's the only one who's kept her personality. Well, there's Cordelia, who's dressed in a slinky cat suit and seems not to have changed. That provides Willow with a clue -- Cordy bought her costume from "Party Town" while everyone else bought them from "Ethan's." With Buffy helpless, Spike and his horde move in for the kill. It turns out Giles knew Ethan long ago when Giles was…different. Giles "convinces" Ethan to break the spell, returning everything to normal.

Historic Moment: Giles goes bad ass, and it's not from a costume.

Introduces: Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs) an old cohort of Giles'.

Thanks J.D.! Mike Gorman is up for the review this week. Take it away Mikey!

The tables turn in this installment of BTVS as it is finally Xander and Willow’s turn to save the day. The “Halloween” episodes of Buffy are fan favorites and they tend to take us out of our usual Buffy box. In this first time out, Giles informs Buffy that on Halloween the vamps and demons tend to take the day off. It is their holiday of sorts. Relaxed and ready for some costume fun the Scooby Gang each adopt a costume that is the opposite of what we have seen of them so far. Buffy dresses as a young maiden from the time of Angel’s youth. Xander is a military man. Willow, at least at first, is a cat-suited hottie. However she quickly retreats into her “norm” and covers herself with a sheet aka your typical lame ghost outfit. They’re all set for their night of normalcy but of course things are not what they seem.

We are introduced to Ethan Rayne, proprietor of a new costume shop in Sunnydale. It turns out that Rayne is actually an old acquaintance of Giles from his youth who has arrived to cause mischief in Sunnydale. Rayne uses magic to turn all the costumed revelers into their outfits physically and mentally. Buffy is rendered a helpless maiden while Xander is a true soldier and Willow becomes an intangible ghost. Along with Angel and Cordelia, who was spared the transformation because she did not buy one of Ethan’s cursed costumes; the Gang is led by Willow to avoid an attack by Spike and his crew. This episode features some great moments of vulnerability by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Xander’s commanding performance is excellent. It was a lot of fun to see Willow calling the shots while Buffy cowered. This flipped adventure could easily stand alone as a fun romp yet it also introduced some very important elements for seasons to come. This includes Xander’s retention of his military expertise when the spell is broken. His talents will be handy come several seasons later. More interestingly we learn that Giles’ old nickname was “Ripper” and that his past might not be as prim and proper as he might want the children to believe. Giles’ dark past will rear its head again soon and it adds a lot of depth to the character.

Everyone is safe for the most part when Halloween comes to an end and Rayne’s magics are defeated. I cannot say that this episode was the most thrilling in terms of plot development but it was a nice look at how useful Buffy’s friends truly are in her war against evil. The great thing about this show is that the creators will give us these little flashes of character in the Scooby Gang and will build upon them as time goes on. Willow is not destined after all to remain the wall flower we first met.







Jeremy Thomas

On first glance, this episode could be viewed as another throwaway one-shot like "Inca Mummy Girl" and "Reptile Boy" were. However, "Halloween" is a step up from the previous two episodes for a few reasons. First off, it sets up some major character-building points that will come into play later, such as Xander's military knowledge and Giles' shady past. It also introduces Ethan Rayne, who will show up a few more times and is a fun, horribly under-explored character who makes a great foil for old Giles. Spike gets to have some fun and spout off lines like "Well. This is just...neat!" in a way that only he can. He even almost gets the Slayer. But what I think is best about this episode is that it's one of those character-building episodes where you get to see the other sides of people through their choices of costumes. We see Buffy's desire to be something other than the Slayer, in a way that isn't done poorly like "Reptile Boy" was. Xander wants to be something more manly and tough, and he gets the opportunity to do that. And Willow's sexy self hiding under a sheet (a symbol which will be reversed later in the opening of Season 5) says a lot about who Willow is, and will reverberate throughout later seasons as she comes into her own.

Ronny Sarnecky

“Throughout my TV watching lifetime, I’ve looked forward to two TV shows each year; the “Roseanne” Halloween episode and the “Buffy” Halloween episode. Both series really seem to pull out all of the stops for their October holiday episodes. This episode was terrific. Once again, Joss Whedon provided foreshadowing for events in future episodes. Oz and Willow crossed paths once again, with Oz asking “Who is that girl?” You can see Cordelia once again looking at Xander as more than a loser who is beneath her. Xander’s role as a soldier would turn out to be useful later in the season when he needs to break into an army barracks. This episode also introduced Ethan, a mysterious man from Giles past. Ethan planted the seeds to let the viewer know that Giles wasn’t always the nice “watcher” that we know. Another cool part of this episode was that we got to see Buffy as a damsel in distress, and not as the always tough, butt kicking vampire slayer.

Jerome Cusson

"Halloween" is one of my favorite episodes of season two. The idea of changing these characters simply by having them wear different costumes. It's quite the brilliant concept, especially turning Xander into a tough guy. He's my favorite character on this show and finally getting to see him man up is a thing of beauty. I would this episode a 9.5 out of 10 simply because of the originality and the change in characters. Even Cordelia and Oz are given interesting things to do as side characters. That's probably the best part of Joss Whedon's shows. Even the characters who aren't the stars are interesting.

J.D. Dunn

The first true Willow episode (not counting "I Robot…You Jane"), and it really gives her a chance to open up. First of all, she gets to skank it up for the first time. Also, she really gets to show her strong side, as opposed to the timid wallflower she usually displays. A nice way to rebound after a few uninspiring outings.

Ron Martin

I love this episode. This was really the first "everything" episode. It had everything you could ever want in an episode. Don't believe me? Check it out. The comedy was there. The originality was there (why has no one ever thought of turning people into their Halloween costumes before?). Storyline advancement with Angel/Buffy, Xander/Cordelia and Willow/Oz, not to mention the main storyline of the season with Buffy vs. Spike. Great use of recurring characters with Principal Snyder and Larry. We even got the added bonus of a new character with Ethan Rayne. Add to that backstory on both Angel and Giles, what else could you want? Okay, let's get some more then. Running themes of the show were turned on their heads with strong men and weak women for once. Running themes of life was mocked when Halloween turns out to be the least supernatural day of the year. This is one of my favourite episodes and dare I say, in my personal Top Ten (I think, but I haven't officially made a list so don't hold me to that). If you need something to throw you over the top for this episode I got one last thought for you -- Cordelia in a cat outfit. Nuff said.

Jason Chamberlain

You knew that a show about vampires and demons had to do a Halloween episode eventually, and thankfully they didn't wait too long to do it. Frankly, I'd of liked them to do one every season. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and this episode as well as the fourth season equivalent 'Fear, Itself' are mandatory viewings for me on All Hallows Eve (I heartily avoid the sixth season Dawn-fest 'All The Way').

This episode is a classic for so many reasons. We get the introduction of a surprisingly under used future villain in Ethan Rayne, and through him the first appearance of the Ripper! To this point Giles had been a total stuffed shirt, but when he cracks open a can of freshly squeezed whup-ass on Ethan at the end of the episode, it's a total shocker and a cool sign of things to come. We also get more Oz action and the next step in his 'ships in the night' crush on Willow, who looks totally hot in her 'ghost of something or other' outfit. And Buffy cleans up pretty well as a noblewoman as well, visually anyway. The "I'm a helpless woman, watch me be helpless" riff gets old fast.

And it's just a fun Halloween adventure! You know a Halloween in Sunnydale has to be a blast, and they'll do it even better two seasons from now.

GRR!!! ARGH!!!






The 411: This episode is a prime example of how this show that seems to be about the creatures of the night is truly more a coming of age story for our high school aged teens. We all love to dress up on Halloween and this year in Sunnydale they took it to the extreme. Have fun watching the costumed adventure and be sure to catch all the moments of character development that are jam packed into this great episode.