Why Buffy Fans Think This Season 4 Episode Is The Show’s’ Worst
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a TV show with no bad seasons, but season 4 has one of the worst episodes of the entire series. As one of the most controversial episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this installment of the show came at a difficult transitional stage for the show, as Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends had graduated from high school, and the show had to navigate the new setting and emotional developments of the characters. While plenty of Buffy episodes aren’t perfect, this one is consistently rated poorly, especially by the typical standards of the show.
Some of the best episodes of the series, like “Hush,” “Once More, With Feeling,” and “The Body,” have nearly perfect IMDB scores, ranking at around 9.7/10. While ratings aren’t everything, they do provide an indication of how audiences and critics are generally responding to the episode. “Beer Bad,” the Buffy episode that didn’t fit with the rest of the series, doesn’t take the characters’ emotions as seriously as the rest of the show, and it’s generally better to forget that it’s part of the story as a whole.
“Beer Bad” Is The Lowest-Rated Episode of Buffy on IMDB
“Beer Bad” Doesn’t Fit With The Rest Of The Series
For Buffy, a ranking of 6.30/10 is the lowest the show goes and is a clear indication that “Beer Bad” was not fun for audiences to watch. It follows Buffy as she experiments with drinking for the first time in the wake of being dumped by her one-night stand, Parke (Adam Kaufman). it soon turns out that the beer she’s been drinking has been spiked with a potion that makes people revert to their Neanderthal state of evolution, and the gang must help Buffy defeat the warlock and get back to normal by the end of the episode.
Even from this short description, it’s clear that “Beer Bad” didn’t have the innovative spark that drives so many great installments of the show. Of all the episodes of Buffy that haven’t aged well, “Beer Bad” is more unfortunate and uninteresting than it is problematic, though the series does moralize about the dangers of drinking with a heavy hand. The fact that it seemed like Buffy was being aggressively punished for drinking and having sex is one of the worst parts of the storyline.
| Season & Episode Number | Title | IMDB Score |
|---|---|---|
| Season 4, Episode 5 | “Beer Bad” | 6.3/10 |
Why Most Buffy Fans Don’t Like Season 4’s “Beer Bad”
“Beer Bad” Failed to Fully Explore Its Themes
There are a variety of reasons why “Beer Bad” rubbed fans and critics the wrong way. However, one of the most glaring issues was the fact that Buffy usually handled the pangs of adolescence and coming-of-age topics deftly but completely missed the mark with “Beer Bad.” The episode tackled the conversation around drinking in college without any nuance and put Buffy in many uncomfortable and tough situations to watch. Seeing her in this out-of-control state wasn’t fun for anyone and set a negative tone for the remainder of season 4.
“In every way, the transition into the college years wasn’t handled well.”
There Are Worse Buffy Episodes Than “Beer Bad”
“Beer Bad” Isn’t The Only Episode That Failed To Live Up To The Series’ Standard
Season 4 has some of the weakest episodes of the entire show, with “Where the Wild Things Are” earning another 6.30/10 on IMDB. Since the problems with “Beer Bad” were overarching issues that plagued the show throughout season 4, it’s unsurprising that many of the installments missed the mark, especially after the brilliantly crafted third season. However, that doesn’t mean the first three seasons are perfect, either. Like every other show, Buffy has its ups and downs, and it took a little while for the series to find its footing fully.
There are also a few episodes in season 1 that fans usually skip, like “I Robot,.. You Jane” and “The Puppet Show,” which are some of the worst examples of the monster-of-the-week formula. Additionally, there are episodes that aren’t poorly ranked but are difficult to watch because they put the characters though so much hardship or seem dated by today’s standards, like “I Was Made to Love you” or “Into the Woods.” The good news is that these episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are outliers, as most installments of the series live up to our expectations.
Original article at Screen Rant
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