Perri's Review

Not much to say. A solid second episode; campier than the pilot, but with a lot of nicely dramatic scenes.

Plot:
As cheerleader tryouts begin, cheerleaders start meeting horrible accidents -- spontaneous combustion, blindness, vanishing mouths, etc. Buffy et al quickly conclude that witchcraft is at work, and the prime suspect is Willow's old friend Amy, who desperately wants to make the squad to live up to her mother's glory days. Giles and Buffy, rushing to save Buffy from a lethal spell, discover that Amy's mother switched bodies with her daughter; she's the one who's the witch. Giles breaks the spells Amy's mother cast, and a last spell rebounds on the witch herself, trapping her in her own cheerleading trophy.

Continuity:
Xander first starts making noises about wanting to go out with Buffy. And this is the only time post-pilot that Buffy tries to keep the Slayerettes out of the action; after this, it's mostly just accepted that they'll be involved.

Characters:
Buffy used to be a cheerleader, which more or less translates to, she used to be popular. How things change.... In her first run against non-vampiric critters, she performs fairly well, but never get this girl drunk.

Xander has a crush. So does Willow. Xander is oblivious, but cute. Willow has the ability to be snarky, and no one's more surprised to discover it than she is.

Giles as a warlock! He gets very vehement trying to defend Buffy from the witch, shouting at 'Amy's mom' and doing all of the work of getting the spellbooks and breaking the spells. He's very careful with Buffy when he's carrying her, and when he lays her down on the table before casting the spell; he obviously already cares about her. And he doesn't worry about getting in on the action -- so much for just watching.

Mrs. Summers continues to be cool; I wonder how long Buffy's going to be able to fool her?

Best Moments:
Willow's snarky "Because they've met her?" comment. She can't quite believe she said it!

Buffy informing Xander he's 'one of the girls'. Willow is avenged for Xander's earlier cracks, and the expression on both their faces is priceless!

Giles carrying Buffy. 'Nuff said.

Giles the Warlock. He was so cute and intense when he was casting the spell.

The last shot of Catherine's eyes in the trophy. Very Twilight Zone.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5. Lots of fun, if not exactly heavy watching.