It's Halloween in Sunnydale again and that usually means trouble. According to the rules of evil, demons and other baddies are suppose to stay in on Halloween night. The commercialization and human taint of the holiday annoys them. But, just about every year, some monster-y thing breaks tradition and causes trouble in the Dale. This time it's a haunted frat house. Buffy and the gang are soon trapped inside and forced to live out their deepest fears. This isn't my favorite episode. It has some interesting parts. But honestly, if you're in a hurry to get through season four and watching the season on DVD, you could probably skip "Fear Itself" and not miss much.
The episode revolves around the Scoobies celebrating Halloween at at haunted house. Unfortunately, somebody has accidentally summoned a demon, which is causing everyone's deepest fears to become real. Xander has become invisible to his friends. Willow's magic is out of control and it's scaring her. Oz turns into a werewolf and accidentally hurts Willow. Buffy is alone in a basement, with only the dead for company. It's up to Giles and Anya to get them out of the haunted house and save the day.
Interestingly, a lot of the these "fears" actually come true as time goes on. Xander is losing touch with the Buffy and Will. They are going to college and he's still stuck at home, a conflict that will finally come to a head at the end of this season. ("The Yoko Factor.") Willow's use of magic does land her in trouble. (Season six's "Wrecked.") The werewolf part of Oz is going to take out of control of him. (Season fours "New Moon Rising") And Buffy, on possibly her last night on earth, will choose a basement with a dead guy over everybody else. (Season seven's "Chosen.") Even Anya's fear of bunnies will follow her through out the rest of the series. It's just a shame that Giles doesn't get a nightmare vision in this episode.
There are some good parts to the episode. I love Oz's "God" costume. It's probably the greatest Halloween get-up ever and all it is is a name tag. You just have to laugh when Buffy mutters, "Thank the Lord." Oz's responds, "You're welcome." And anytime they bring up season two's "Halloween" is fun. Worried that he'll once again turn into his costume, Xander dresses up in as Agent 007. When you live in Sunnydale, you have to learn to be prepared for anything. Also, Giles and Anya, "making" a door in the haunted frat house is great. The two of them play off of each other so well. They're both so sure that they're the "reasonable" member of the group. Next season they'll be getting on each other's nerves full time at the Magic Box, so it's fun to see them here just starting to bicker. I also sort of like the teeny little monster at the end. "Don't taunt the fear demon... It's just tacky."
On the downside, the episode is a lot like season one's "Nightmares," where the gangs worse fear come to life and scare them. It's also kind of like "Restless," at end of this season, which will do a better job of dealing with the hidden insecurities of the Scoobies.
My favorite part of the episode: Anya's "scary" bunny costume.
The episode revolves around the Scoobies celebrating Halloween at at haunted house. Unfortunately, somebody has accidentally summoned a demon, which is causing everyone's deepest fears to become real. Xander has become invisible to his friends. Willow's magic is out of control and it's scaring her. Oz turns into a werewolf and accidentally hurts Willow. Buffy is alone in a basement, with only the dead for company. It's up to Giles and Anya to get them out of the haunted house and save the day.
Interestingly, a lot of the these "fears" actually come true as time goes on. Xander is losing touch with the Buffy and Will. They are going to college and he's still stuck at home, a conflict that will finally come to a head at the end of this season. ("The Yoko Factor.") Willow's use of magic does land her in trouble. (Season six's "Wrecked.") The werewolf part of Oz is going to take out of control of him. (Season fours "New Moon Rising") And Buffy, on possibly her last night on earth, will choose a basement with a dead guy over everybody else. (Season seven's "Chosen.") Even Anya's fear of bunnies will follow her through out the rest of the series. It's just a shame that Giles doesn't get a nightmare vision in this episode.
There are some good parts to the episode. I love Oz's "God" costume. It's probably the greatest Halloween get-up ever and all it is is a name tag. You just have to laugh when Buffy mutters, "Thank the Lord." Oz's responds, "You're welcome." And anytime they bring up season two's "Halloween" is fun. Worried that he'll once again turn into his costume, Xander dresses up in as Agent 007. When you live in Sunnydale, you have to learn to be prepared for anything. Also, Giles and Anya, "making" a door in the haunted frat house is great. The two of them play off of each other so well. They're both so sure that they're the "reasonable" member of the group. Next season they'll be getting on each other's nerves full time at the Magic Box, so it's fun to see them here just starting to bicker. I also sort of like the teeny little monster at the end. "Don't taunt the fear demon... It's just tacky."
On the downside, the episode is a lot like season one's "Nightmares," where the gangs worse fear come to life and scare them. It's also kind of like "Restless," at end of this season, which will do a better job of dealing with the hidden insecurities of the Scoobies.
My favorite part of the episode: Anya's "scary" bunny costume.
