When She Was Bad

"When She Was Bad" is also the name of a book by Patricia Pearson

"When She Was Bad" is the season premiere of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the thirteenth episode in the series. The episode aired on The WB on September 15, 1997. The episode was written and directed by series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon.

When Buffy returns home to Sunnydale after a spending the summer away, Xander and Willow become concerned with her disturbingly cold and distant behavior. Meanwhile, Cordelia and Sunnydale High teacher Ms. Calendar are kidnapped and Buffy is convinced that the fight to protect them and the world from the undead is hers alone. Still reluctant to risk getting close to Angel, Buffy turns him away before either one can express his or her true feelings.^[1]

Xander (Nicholas Brendan) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) are quizzing each other on film quotes on the outskirts of a cemetery. They comment on how quiet the summer has been in Sunnydale since they buried the Master (Mark Metcalf), and Xander admits that he is actually looking forward to school starting up again. A tender moment ensues when Xander playfully puts ice cream on Willow's nose, but just as it seems the two are going to kiss, a vampire appears behind Willow. Xander attempts to fend off the attack when suddenly Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) appears. She slays the vampire, then turns to her friends and asks, "Miss me?" After telling them about her summer in Los Angeles, Xander mentions how that was the first vampire they've seen since the Master was killed. Willow informs Buffy they buried the Master's bones on consecrated ground in the cemetery, and Buffy appears uneasy. When Willow asks about Giles (Anthony Head), Buffy tells her she will see him at school.

At home, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) is questioning the amount of clothes Buffy brought back from her shopping spree in Los Angeles. Her father (Dean Butler) admits that Buffy seemed distant the whole summer, so he overcompensated by letting her shop.

At school, Principal Snyder (Armin Shimerman) expresses his disgust with students while talking to Giles, who spots Jenny (Robin LaMorte) and slips away while an oblivious Snyder rambles on. In the hall, Giles and Jenny run into the Scoobies, and Buffy appears indifferent to the reunion. After Willow announces Buffy killed a vampire the night before, Giles explains that mystical energy still attracts evil forces to the town even though the Hellmouth is closed. He asks Buffy to resume her training after school but seems concerned at her eagerness to get started.

While Buffy trains in the library, she has a vision of the Master and begins frantically punching a dummy. Giles urges her to stop, and after kicking the dummy across the room, she declares that she is prepared for whatever comes next.

At night in her bedroom, Buffy has a nightmare of being choked by the Master, who is disguised as Giles. Angel (David Boreanaz) appears in her window to warn her the Anointed One (Andrew J. Ferchland) has been gathering forces. When Buffy brushes him off, he admits that he missed her but leaves out the window before she can reply.

The next day, the Scoobies run into Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), who is oblivious to keeping Buffy's Slayer identity a secret. Buffy insults Cordelia, which Xander and Willow find unusually mean, causing Cordelia to wonder what's gotten into her.

At the Bronze that evening, Xander and Willow wonder about Buffy's recent behavior. Willow unsucessfully tries to recreate the ice cream moment from the cemetery, but Xander only mentions that she has something on her nose. Meanwhile, the Anointed One and a vampire named Absalom (Brent Jennings) are forcing other vampires to dig up the Master's bones with their bare hands through consecrated dirt.

When Buffy arrives at the Bronze, Angel asks her if she's angry with him. Buffy tells him to get over himself, as she has moved on "to the living." Buffy begins a slow, passionate dance with Xander, clearly bothering Angel and Willow as they watch. Suddenly, Buffy leaves Xander mid-dance after asking him if he'd like her to thank him for resurrecting her. Outside, Cordelia confronts Buffy and tells her to get over whatever is bothering her. Buffy tells her to mind her own business and walks away, just as Cordelia is grabbed by two dark figures and dragged into a building. Cordelia is thrown into a basement, where she finds Jenny unconscious on the floor. Meanwhile in the cemetery, Buffy walks to the Master's grave and finds it empty.

The next day at school, Xander and Willow express their concerns about Buffy, and Giles suspects she hasn't processed her traumatic encounter with the Master on a conscious level. Buffy suddenly appears and tells them the Master's bones have gone missing. When Giles mentions revivification rituals, Buffy is upset he never mentioned them before. When Xander defends Willow after Buffy snaps at her, Snyder arrives and dismisses them to class. He tells Giles he would like to expel Buffy since he "smells" numerous bad things about her and finds it "weird" when Giles suggests he give Buffy a chance.

That night, the Scoobies learn that a revivification ritual needs the blood of the "closest" person to the deceased. Buffy assumes that would be her, since she and Master killed each other. Suddenly, a large rock wrapped with Cordelia's watch, crashes through the library window. It includes a message calling Buffy to the Bronze or they'll kill Cordelia. The others believe it is a trap, but Buffy insists on going alone, saying she can't look after them while slaying.

Outside the Bronze, Angel offers to help Buffy, but she tries to pick a fight with him instead. Inside they find only one vampire trying to pass for Cordelia. Buffy quickly realizes she was lured there as a distraction rather than a trap. Meanwhile, Giles realizes the true meaning of the translation: the ritual requires the blood of those physically nearest to the Master when he died — meaning Giles, Willow, Cordelia, and Jenny. Suddenly, several vampires emerge from the shadows of the library.

Buffy returns to find a bloodied Xander, who warns that if anything happens to Willow, he will kill her. Buffy returns to the Bronze and tortures the vampire they found into confessing where the ritual will take place. When Buffy arrives at an abandoned factory, she interrupts the ritual and kills the vampires. As the Anointed One is whisked away to safety, Angel and Xander rescue the others. Buffy stares at the Master's skeleton laid out on the table and smashes it to pieces with a sledgehammer while her friends watch in silence. As she breaks down in tears, Angel hugs her.

The next day, Buffy talks with Giles about her fear of facing her friends again after treating them so badly and putting them in danger. He tells her she can't hide from them forever and assures her this was not the worst mistake she'll ever make.

Buffy reluctantly enters class, where Willow and Xander have saved her a seat. Together, they joke and make plans for the night. Meanwhile at the factory, the Anointed One gazes at the scene of destruction and declares, "I hate that girl."

"When She Was Bad" drew an audience of 2.9 million households. When the episode was aired as a repeat in November 1997, it scored a higher 3.1 million household rating.^[2]

Vox ranked it at #111 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list (to mark the 20th anniversary of the show), suggesting it contains a metaphor "about how teen girls sometimes act like total nightmares because of the pervasive, unarticulated trauma" of being a teen girl. They add that the really memorable moment will be Buffy's seductive dance with Xander, which will show up in the opening credits henceforth.^[3]

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave "When She Was Bad" a mixed review. While he praised the opening and closing scenes as well as other smaller moments, he felt that it dealt with the characters' emotions "erratically" and was not positive towards Buffy's attitude and carrying over the Master plotline.^[4] A review from the BBC called "When She Was Bad" "another excellent episode", praising its tying up plot threads from the first season and developing the relationships between characters.^[5]

Rolling Stone ranked "When She Was Bad" at #103 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list, calling it a "strange episode, feeling almost uncharacteristic at times," adding that Buffy dealing with her traumatic encounter with the Master left her "scarred and traumatized. And while the episode is driving home how difficult it can be to overcome trauma, Buffy is kind of a dick here." They criticize Buffy's "weird seduction of Xander," saying it's "cruel, something that Buffy has never been before or will be again. There’s a catharsis at the close when she destroys the Master’s bones which feels earned, but the road to that moment is littered with bumps."^[6]

"When She Was Bad" was ranked at #105 on Paste Magazine's "Every Episode Ranked" list^[7] and #109 on BuzzFeed's "Ranking Every Episode Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer" list.^[8]

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• "When She Was Bad" at IMDb