Beer Bad

I understand fans thinking that this episode is one of the worst in Buffy history, however I love it for a different reason.

Think of young woman out there being treated like they are special to someone, and then that someone uses them to get exactly what they want (sex) and then being thrown to the side so they can move on to the next one. Unfortunately this happens way to often in our society. We lack intimacy all the time. Every new show out there is so full of sex and violence that women and men have no idea what's real and what isn't. They rely on porn to full their void and the expect their relationship or lack there of to have the same type of meaning.

This episode shows us that Parker wants his ego stoked because my guess is in High School woman ignored him so in College he's using them. Buffy on the other hand only knows Angel and that when he truly loves her he turns evil. Buffy can't understand why Parker used her and Parker can't understand why she became attached. Add the comping mechanisms that we as humans do; drinking, sex, drugs and we get beer bad. Not to mention Buffy hitting Parker over the head with a stick. That part ruled! Yet she still saved his life.

Look at this episode as a marker for woman who give their heart to someone and men who believe their owed something from previous women. It's a shoulder shrug for sure. I like it!

Like yes maybe they were trying to get some kind of anti-drinking message across, but it was still funny and just like any other episode of Buffy.

I honestly don't understand why everyone who reviewed this episode rated it so badly. I found myself laughing harder than I have laughed in quite some time. I really enjoyed seeing an episode with more laughter and fun in it. It was nice to have a break from the usual darkness that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer and to have some, well let's say relatively normal college happenings. I thought Sarah Michelle Gellar did a wonderful job and absolutely loved the ending where Parker guy finally gets a good thump on the head. I seriously recommend, I also really enjoyed the scene where Willow let's Parker have it. Great episode all around.

Buffy is still finding it impossible to get over the way Parker treated her; she imagines they might get back together even as she watches him flirt with other girls. Then one day she goes to the pub where Xander is now working as a barman and ends up drinking beer with four obnoxious frat boys. As the night goes on their IQ rapidly diminishes. While this is going on Willow is at the Bronze with Oz but he seems more interesting in the female singer on stage. The next day Buffy seems a bit out of it but nothing worse than a bad hangover... another evening drinking with the boys and things get worse; they seem to revert to an atavistic, caveman like state. Inevitably things get worse before they get better.

This might not be the best episode but I still found it rather fun. The way the beer effected Buffy and the boys was funny and not too rushed; I also liked the explanation as to why it affected them that way... nothing complicated or overly evil; just a one line explanation. This also meant the episode had no real villain which made a change. The episode also had some character development; I think it is safe to safe the 'Parker Situation' is over but a new situation may be developing between Willow and Oz. The cast did a fine job; Sarah Michelle Gellar was great as she played 'Cave girl Buffy'; Alyson Hannigan was a delight as Willow, especially in the scene between her and Parker; and Nicholas Brendon did a fine job as Xander gets flustered taking an order at the bar. The episode's ending was suitably light hearted. Overall I'd say that even though this might be considered a filler episode it is definitely worth watching.

The premise of Beer Bad has Buffy and some newfound fratboy mates drinking beer and turning into neanderthals. If it was played for drama it would be dumb. It's not. It's played for laughs. And it's very funny.

I mean, come on. How can you not love the image of Buffy spinning around and around in a rolling chair? I love the idea that Sarah Michelle Gellar showed up to work and was directed to talk like a cave woman and freak out over television. And she commits admirably to the performance, silly as it is. What's wrong with being silly every now and again?

Xander is also great in this episode. I love how he romanticizes his job as a bartender. His interactions with the frat boys, in which they talk down to him because he is not a college student, represents his larger feelings of aimlessness and lack of worth compared to his friends. Even so, he's completely devoted to his friendship with Buffy. In my head, at least, he's over his romantic feelings for her by now and just wants to be a good friend. I really enjoy seeing the core Scoobies just being there for each other, no matter what. Unfortunately I feel we get less and less of this dynamic as the show goes on. Maybe that's why I vastly prefer seasons 1-3 to anything that follows.