Buffy The High School Years: Freaks & Geeks

Okay Buffy fans this is a weird one. It is out of order but for a good reason. This story, at least as best as I can figure it, takes place Teacher's Pet, season 1 episode 4. So we are way past this point in our reviews but we are back tracking for this and the next story.

​Freaks & Geeks, the first of the high school year books. It's always nice when stories go back to the golden days of our heroes and the best part, they didn't force Dawn into it. Not slamming Dawn but there is no reason to force her into stories that take place before she showed up on the show.

​This look back into season one of the slayer is written by Faith Erin Hicks and drawn by Yishan Li. Like so many episodes of the show the episode starts off with Buffy at the cemetery with Giles over looking her training. She makes quick work of a few blood suckers before heading home. The next day at school we start to see just how much the late nights are taking on her. She sleeps through class, she is having trouble passing any of her classes. She longs for the days when she was the Cordelia of her school.

Which brings us to the story of the day. A group of nerdy vampires lead by a girl named Hester. Even as an undead girl she still doesn't fit in with everyone else. They try and fail to get into a club made for vampires but can't get past the door man. He tells them that the only way in would be to kill the slayer. And we have a story!

​Willow tries to help Buffy study and we start to see just how different the two of them are. A very important theme for this issue. Buffy doesn't like her new life and Willow can sense it. Meanwhile Hester hates her friends and the fact that they aren't cool. She talks them into trying to team up against the slayer. They find her at a graveyard, where else would she be? Buffy makes quick work of some vamps while Xander and Willow talk about if they are cool enough for Buffy. If she would even like them if she wasn't the slayer, if she was still "cool". She tells them she will meet up with them later when she is attacked by Hester and the other nerdy vamps. Before she can get a chance to slay them Hester points out that Buffy is a "cool kid", that she thinks she is better than everyone else. It gets into Buffy's head and gives the vampires a chance to escape. Buffy never shows up at the Bronze, instead going home and going to sleep. She has horrible dreams about being mean to her friends.

​This is the type of story that I wish I was better at writing. It fits in with the show so well. The underlining theme fitting perfectly with the monster of the week. Faith Hicks knows how to write!

​ Buffy goes to school the next day and over does with the trying to show her friends how much she cares about them but it blows up in her face. Willow knows something is wrong and is hurt when Buffy won't tell her what. It also gives us the most amazingly Giles moment when he tries to cheer her up but is horrible at it. Giles is just the best!

​While Hester and Buffy seem to have a lot in common we quickly see just how different they are. Buffy may not always be the best at showing her friends how much she cares but she does care. Hester on the other hand doesn't. Maybe it's the vampire in her but more than likely it is the fact that she wants so badly to be liked that she will do whatever it takes, even turning on her friends. She sacrifices them to summon the demon she needs to kill Buffy but missed the part where she needed a fourth vampire to make the demon obey her. It turned on her and killed her without even giving it a second thought. Whereas Buffy's friend's showed up in the nick of time and saved her life. Showing that the Scoobies are true friends who always come through for each other when needed.

​This is a great addition to the slayer lore and if you want more Buffy you should really pick it up! It fits so perfectly with the show!