Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 2 Episode 8: The Dark Age

Welcome to a great episode all about Giles! Written by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali. If you haven't seen it yet be sure to check it out here.

Because we will spoil the hell out of it. Well I guess that is the point of a review isn't it? The episode starts off with a worried looking man arriving late at night to look for Giles, the janitor sends him to the library but a scary looking woman he knows shows up and comes after him. He makes it to the outside door of the library but its locked and Giles can't hear him banging thanks to Buffy's loud music. 

It's a bit funny because Giles complains about the music calling it nothing but noise. In this episode we learn about his past. He was a rebel son. Hard core rock and roll type dude. It's cool to see how much he has grown up. 

Outside the demon lady kills the man and turns to what looks like water before seeping into the man. The next morning Giles has a nightmare about his past. When he gets to school and runs into the gang you can see he is bugged about something. He tells Buffy they have to go and check out a blood transfer unit, make sure no vamps steal it.

Jenny comes up and we learn that Willow is helping her teach a weekend class to help students who are behind. Xander quickly mocks them before learning he is apart of the class. Giles walks Jenny to class where she pretends to have ruined his book. He freaks out. I don't blame him, if it were my comics I would too. Don't fuck with a man's books! 

Jenny invites Giles to come over and stay in with her. The man is going to get some! Good on him! Jenny is hot! His good mood is quickly ruined as he makes it to the library where he sees a detective and a few uniform cops. Before he can find out what happened Cordy barges in and starts complaining. Giles yells at her and demands she leaves. I love Cordy so much. She is too funny. 

Giles identifies the man as an old friend and lies about the tattoo on the guys back. After all he has the same one. That night he doesn't show up and Buffy is alone dealing with the vamps stealing the blood. At least until Angel shows up and jumps into the fight. Together they make short work of the blood suckers, or at least most of them, a few make off in the car. Buffy asks him to make sure the hospital gets the rest of the blood, giving him a look like don't drink any! It's a cute funny moment between the two. 

She heads to Giles's house and he more or less blows her off. Once she leaves we find out what he is busy doing. He is calling up all his old friends and finding out one by one that they are all dead. The only two people from their group left alive is himself and Ethan Rayne, you all remember him from the Halloween episode. It seems Giles past is coming back with a bang and old Ethan is involved somehow. 

The dead guy wakes up in the morgue. It doesn't take long for him to kill a doctor and get out of there, off to find the librarian. Buffy goes to talk to Jenny about Giles and Xander makes some jokes about hating Cordy, making what happens in the next few episodes all the more what the hell!!!! Am I the only one who finds the weekend class weird? It is Jenny, Willow helping her and Cordy and Xander needing help. So this whole class is about Cordy and Xander? No one else finds that weird? Anyways, Cordy tells them all about how she saw the police talking to Giles about a murder. Buffy runs to the library to give him a call and comes across none other than Ethan Rayne himself! He tries to knock her out with a bookcase but she dives out of the way and captures him. He doesn't put up much of a fight. 

Buffy finds out that Ethan and Giles are old friends. He tells her a bit about the past and she calls Giles for more information but is interrupted by the dead guy attacking. Ethan knows him as well, which all makes sense. Whatever shit that Giles got into back when he was Reaper is coming back and hurting all of their lives thanks to Giles. Who starts manhandling Ethan, the badass that Giles use to be and will be again starts to show up for the first time. This is when Giles because a character I love! 

The dead guy breaks out, knocks out Jenny and gets his ass beat by Buffy. He breaks into water and Ethan runs off. The water touches Jenny just before Giles wakes her up and Cordy blames the whole thing on Saturday school. Can you blame her? Weekend school is evil and should not exist ever! Poor Jenny is possessed and Giles has no idea. Buffy demands answers from Giles who doesn't want her help, he tells her to mind her own business and he storms off, taking Jenny with him. Leaving Buffy to lead the others to find information. She gives everyone a job but for Cordy who then asks for help until she is forced to work with Xander. It's almost as if the two don't like each other. I can't wait for the next episode. 

Willow finds out that the demon takes control of people who are unconscious and make them feel high. No lie, I dated a girl who swore she use to do that. Let a demon control her body so she could get high. People are weird! Oh and we learn that the demon can also take over the dead. That's important for later. Buffy and Xander figure out that the demon is now in Jenny, who pulls out the phone cords at Giles's place. Oh how this show is dated, remember home phones? I miss those days haha.

Jenny wants to mess around with Giles who tries to turn her down because he doesn't want to take advantage of her. She starts talking shit to him. She then starts to manhandle him. Kicking his ass. Giles isn't strong enough to fight this demon, not while she is in Jenny's body. Lucky for him Buffy shows up, kicking in the door and stopping her. Jenny dives out the window all but telling them that she is going after Ethan. 

Xander and Willow uncover pictures of Giles hardcore past while he tells Buffy about it himself. He tells her all about how one of his friends died while letting this demon inside. It is what made him stop messing around the demon. Buffy won't let him go with him. He is worried that the only way to kill it is to also kill Jenny. 

Buffy heads to the Halloween costume shop to find Ethan who is there waiting for her. She offers help and instead he knocks her out. She wakes up tied to a table. His idea is to remove his tattoo and give her one of her own. Cordy and Xander get ready to fight when Willow steps up and puts them  both in place. She is a G yo! They both back down quick fast and in a hurry. As a joke Xander comes up with the solution. He suggests another dead body and it helps Willow figure everything out. She really is smart. 

As Ethan removes his tattoo Giles gets a vision of Buffy now having a tattoo. It seems these tattoos connect them all. Ethan wants to run out but Jenny demon gets there first. She starts towards Ethan but then tosses him aside as she goes after Buffy. It would seem his idea works. Jenny is making short work of Buffy when Giles shows up and offers himself in trade. She is about to kill Giles when Angel storms in and starts manhandling Jenny. The demon jumps from Jenny to Angel. We see them fighting for control but in the end Angel wins and the demon dies. Knocking Angel to the floor. It seems the vampire demon was stronger. It's almost a victory, but Ethan is gone and Giles and Jenny have a rocky road to recover in their relationship. Oh and Buffy now has to get a tattoo removed. That sounds expensive and painful. The demands of being the slayer. 

As the episode come to an end you can't help but feel bad for Giles. He never wanted anything bad to happen to Jenny. He isn't the same man he was back then but it doesn't really matter does it? Everything you do always comes back to bite you in the ass. One way or another.