I always enjoy watching shows take on fairytales and giving them a modern-day twist. Charmed did it on more than one occasion, and while I can’t think of any non-Charmed examples at the moment, I know there are some.
This episode is also the first one in which it is clear that Willow has moved on from computer geek to witch. She’s obviously been doing spells since Ms. Calendar died, but now we see that she is part of a witch community (I hesitate to say coven, as I don’t believe that Willow is actually in a “coven”) – something she tries to find again in college. And, since this episode centers around witches, Amy’s back! One episode in season 1, one episode in season 2, one episode in season 3. I’m sensing a pattern, which gets broken after this. We also meet a new witch – a male witch. Some don’t like the word “warlock” even though that is the word typically assigned to a male witch, so I won’t use it. If Harry Potter isn’t a warlock neither is new character Michael, played by Blake Soper from Boy Meets World and Salute Your Shorts. These three witches are working together to perform a protection spell for Buffy’s birthday, but it all goes horribly awry when the latest demon comes to town.
Blake Soper as Michael on BtVS 
Boy Meets World 
The cast of Salute Your Shorts
But this episode is about more than witches and demons. It’s about how communities deal with tragedy, and more importantly, about mothers and daughters. Joyce is heavily featured in this episode. She tries so hard to be a good mother, but just doesn’t get it. She’s clueless, despite knowing Buffy’s secret. I mean, she wants to watch Buffy work (a.k.a. slay). Doesn’t she get that it’s dangerous? Juxtapose that with Willow’s mom, who we finally meet, who doesn’t even pay attention to her daughter. She doesn’t realize that Willow changed her hair months ago and refers to Willow’s best friend as “Bunny.” She seems to care, but only when Willow is doing something wrong. Because Willow has been so perfect all these years, her mom has ceased to pay her any attention and thinks her new interest in witchcraft is a phase that can be related to a paper she just published. This all definitely paints Joyce in a better light, despite her well-meaning cluelessness. On the subject of Joyce, I have to mention how adorably awkward she and Giles are together.
Willow and Buffy’s moms unite for a common cause. 
MOO headquarters
Joyce ends up spearheading the MOO (Mothers Opposed the Occult) movement in the wake of the death of two young children. The community rallies around this tragedy, trying to cause good, but inadvertently prevents Buffy from doing her job. This whole storyline actually reminds me of the witch finder general, who I was unfamiliar with when first viewing this episode. In the wake of Malleus Maleficarum and James VI and I writings on witchcraft, a man named Matthew Hopkins took it upon himself to track down witches and bring them to justice. His methods were sketchy at best and he became rich by exploiting superstitious, 17th century, English folk. He was eventually found out and things did not end well for him, but there is a sort of pop-culture mythos that has built around the idea of the witch finder general in the same way that one thinks of Van Helsing. So having an episode dedicated to a witch hunt certainly reminds me of that now.
Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins
It is worth noting that, according to BtVS, the type of demon responsible for the chaos in Sunnydale is probably the same type of demon that started the Salem Witch Trials. Growing up in Massachusetts and loving all things witches you know I know my Salem Witch Trial history, so I appreciated this reference. I also appreciated that Buffy didn’t say any more than just that. Cuz that would have ruined it. BTW – totally in Salem as I’m writing this blog, but that’s just a coincidence – I promise.
Since I’ve mentioned Salem, I should make sure that you all know that no witches were burned at the stake in America – not in Salem, Connecticut (where there was an outbreak around the same time), or anywhere else. Why mention this fact? Well, a lot of people think that witches in Salem were burned at the stake and I find that super annoying, but more importantly, because in Sunnydale, the plan is to burn the witches at the stake. Why would they do this in Sunnydale in 1999 though? Isn’t there a more modern, and more efficient way of killing witches? It seems a little odd to me. Also, who would burn anyone at the stake indoors? That’s just unsafe – I’m sorry, but it is.
Now, any true witch would find a way to escape this predicament, and Amy, having been at the witch thing for a lot longer than Willow, does just that. She turns herself into a rat and escapes. Don’t worry – she becomes Willow’s pet, because Willow can’t figure out how to change her back… so yeah, Amy the rat is here folks! And as such, technically, Amy will be appearing in more than one episode per season now.
A more troubling feature of this episode, you know, other than the witch hunt itself, and burning teenagers at the stake, is how the parents of these witches are reacting. These are your children people! How are you less concerned about them than about the murdered children? And that’s how you know that the town is once again under a spell. I mean, Joyce, who knows exactly what’s going on thinks that Buffy’s the problem?! That’s insane! And, as Buffy points out, no one even knows who these children are. They appear out of nowhere, dead, and the entire community goes bonkers. Parents are choosing children that don’t exist over their own children! This episode is extremely disturbing for this reason, and this reason alone.
Not disturbing? Cordelia and Giles forced to work together. These two are hilarious. I mean, can we get more of this please? (I know we won’t, but a girl can still dream, right?) Also, toad stool. It’s the little things that make me laugh.
The Great Buffy Re-watch 