Did you know that Buffy worked through her problems in a dream state at the end of Season 3, just like she did in the Season 4 finale “Restless?” And that the story was written by Jane Espenson? Such is the pleasure of the early “Buffy” comics – in the few cases where they tapped directly into the show’s timeline, they often hit it out of the park.
The four-issue “Haunted” (December 2001-March 2002) follows in the footsteps of Doug Petrie’s Season 2-set “Ring of Fire” in that it’s essentially a bonus episode of the TV series, written a few years later, fleshing out story points, character arcs and themes. Any chance to see Faith again – even if she’s in a coma here and only appears in Buffy’s dreams — is worth it, especially since the books and comics had a hands-off policy toward Faith (I don’t know that for sure, but it’s a safe guess, since I can’t imagine that many writers voluntarily avoiding a beloved character).
“Haunted” begins with Cordelia departing for L.A. (Angel leaves in the Season 3 finale, and then he and Buffy have one last farewell story in Issue 20 of the main series, by Petrie), and then the remaining five Scoobies go through the numb withdrawal that happens when friends depart – indeed, in this case, when a chapter of your life ends. Xander is thinking about leaving, Willow and Oz are looking forward to college (but there’s extra melancholy because we know Oz won’t last long into his first semester), and Buffy is still haunted (literally and figuratively) by how things ended with Faith.
Espenson didn’t get to write for the Mayor (her Season 3 credits are “Band Candy,” “Gingerbread” and “Earshot”), and she jumps at the opportunity afforded by the comic-book form, delighting in giving the clean freak’s point of view as his essence jumps from corpse to corpse like Veronique from the Season 3 novel “Immortal.” (The gang probably should cite that case when they realize they have a body-jumper on their hands, but that’s a small quibble.)
For example, when the Mayor realizes he’ll probably cease to exist after completing his unfulfilled task of killing Buffy, he thinks: “So, gosh, I guess I’ll just have to haunt her forever.”
It’s a testament to Espenson’s writing that I make this statement: I like the way “Haunted” ties in with Season 4. Generally, Season 4 is a jarring departure, and step backward in quality, from the emotional Season 3, with the Initiative seeming tame after Faith and the Mayor. But here, we see the Initiative operating efficiently, capturing a vampire (which they don’t realize is the Mayor) and inadvertently saving the life of the off-her-game Buffy. When the Mayor marvels at how this military operation was right under his nose, I get a new appreciation for the Initiative’s abilities – and it’s a cool tie-in that Adam (the human version) is killed by the Mayor.
While “Haunted” is not entirely a dream episode like “Restless,” Espenson keeps the theme going even in our heroes’ waking hours. Buffy wants to talk about her nightmares with Giles, but he’s asleep, recovering from an injury. She feels alone, a common nightmare fear. Willow, Oz and Xander are off doing their own thing (presaging the gang’s fracturing in Season 4). So Buffy fights the final battle in her PJs — an appropriate image, as she wants to rest but can’t until she takes care of this nagging problem.
I quibble slightly with Cliff Richards’ drawings of vampires (their toothy grins strike me as goofy), but his portrayals of Buffy and Faith are particularly strong, enhanced by Julio Ferreira’s inks and colors by Jeromy Cox, who wonderfully captures the moonlit graveyards of the “Buffy” production’s backlots. It’s one more reason why “Haunted” could slot right in as episode 3.23.
Click here for an index of all of John’s “Buffy” and “Angel” reviews.