Buffy - S4E15

This Year's Girl
First Aired: Tuesday February 22, 2000
Buffy and the gang try to figure out how to get Riley back. Their plan changes, however, when he shows up. Turns out that the Initative let him go. Elsewhere, Faith awakens from her almost year long coma to find the Mayor Wilkins didn't succeed.

Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles are trying to figure out what their next move should be while Xander tries to get an Initative blaster working again. Buffy decides they need to get Riley back. While patrolling that night, the Scoobies encounter a demon they suspect was killed by Adam because it appears disected. Buffy starts to form a plan with Willow and Xander when Riley shows up. It turns out that he was able to leave the Initative compound of his own volition. Elsewhere, Faith has been dreaming vividly during her coma recently and when she is pushed to the brink in one, she wakes up. Encountering a young woman, she figures out that the mayor was unsuccessful. She knocks the girl out and takes her clothes. The medical personnel are flabbergasted and contact the authorities. At Giles' apartment, the gang, now with Riley, start to discuss what they need to do to bring Adam down. The phone rings and it is the hospital or police calling to tell Buffy about Faith. The gang goes into overdrive trying to figure out what to do about her. The next day, as Buffy and Willow are walking on the campus, Faith shows up and they fight briefly before Faith gets away. Faith later receives a VHS from the mayor telling her about things if he had in fact died. He also left her a little present in order to "go out with a bang". She infiltrates the Summers home and takes Joyce hostage, hoping Buffy will show. When she does, the two fight their way downstairs. In the closing moments, Faith uses her device and the two girls souls are transfered to the other body. Faith-in-Buffys-body then knocks out Buffy-in-Faiths-body as the police show up to take Faith away.

This was a very enjoyable episode because it had the interesting storyline of what happens when Faith returns from the coma. While only the first of two parts, I remember how well Eliza Dusku plays Buffy in the next episode, but this was a good primer in terms of acting on her part in the lose she now feels. There were some very funny moments in this episode, especially in the beginning with Xander trying to fix the blaster and later when he and Giles try go get Spikes help. Also, Riley is back, so yeah to that. Overall, an above average episode getting ready for a great acting episode by both women in the conclusion.

Score: 8.4 / 10