[Preface: to avoid misunderstanding of the terms as I am choosing to use them, the Big Bad is the one who drives the season an the story arc; little bads are anyone/anything else, regardless of their degree of 'badness'.]

Season 3: Evil comes from trusted authority

The BIG BAD In season 3 the Big Bad is the Mayor of Sunnydale. He initially appears as a genial, caring person who guides Sunnydale but very quickly shows the side that we have suspected from Principal Snyder's innuendos and interactions. He's able to shift from hail-fellow-well-met to psychotic menace in mid-sentence, most times quite entertainingly which actually adds to the menace. We learn he is responsible for the town of Sunnydale being built on the Hellmouth a century ago and that he had fairly diverse demonic assistance for which he pays tribute. He controls vampiric and demonic activity, after ousting the other demonic powers, and uses it to his own ends. And those ends are the only things that matter to him until he meets Faith. He forms an affectionate attachment to Faith, perhaps seeing the same reckless disregard and bravado he once had. She becomes both his protégé and his weakness. His attitude towards her is very much that of a doting father. He gives her affection, security, and approval and in return gains a fierce loyalty. He's been around for at least a century as the man in charge of the playground of the Hellmouth, and has been working toward what he perceives as the ultimate goal - Ascension to full demon-hood himself. In pursuit of this goal he becomes impervious to harm. With Faith, he is the one who undermines the relationship between Buffy and Angel. Ultimately his attachment to Faith becomes his undoing, Buffy is able to use this weakness to distract and defeat him. The Mayor was a dichotomy, alternately the man and the evil Mayor. He was very charismatic in both characters, very disturbing in that even when he is clearly in the persona of the ascender, it is easy to see how he draws people (of all species) to him. After the dedication he positively revels in his invulnerability; he shows it off, to Angel, to Buffy and the Scoobies, to Principal Snyder and the police. He was a worthy foe, creative and unpredictable, giving them a challenge beyond any they have faced. His mercurial nature gave him an advantage against the Scooby Gang until Buffy decided to do something equally as unexpected; she recruited the entire student body in an effort to thwart the Mayor's ascension. With the students battled the Mayor's henchmen, Buffy gained the time advantage she needed to get his attention and enrage him. Ultimately the mayor's demise not only ended his reign as a demon, but with the destruction of the library and the resultant damage to the school, it very firmly marked the ending of their high school days.

VAMPIRE

Kakistos is one of the oldest vampyres, so old that he had cloven hands and feet, likely pre-dating even the Master. He has been unopposed for so long that when he is injured by Faith he has no thought other than exacting his vengeance upon her. He follows the new Slayer to Sunnydale after he killed her watcher and she managed to hurt him. For a vampyre who has survived as long as he has, he showed incredibly poor judgment regarding when to back off. Perhaps being unchallenged for so long, he had forgotten what a Slayer could do, and certainly ignored the capabilities of two Slayers working together. Her fear of him showed that Faith, for all her bravado, was not quite as sure of herself of secure in her Slayer skills as she professed.

Trick on the other hand, was quite aware of the realities of facing two Slayers. When it became clear to him that Kakistos was on a suicide mission, he bailed. Trick is one of the most intriguing vampires that faced Buffy. He has control. He uses his brains, and he definitely has some smarts to use. He embraces current technology. He has his meals delivered. He's calm, cool and collected. He's a sharp dresser. He doesn't like to get his hands dirty, both literally and figuratively. He chooses not to do his own dirty work. We're never really given any background on him. If what he once was informs what he is now, then he was intelligent, capable, a good manager, possibly in 'organized crime' but definitely not at the street level. His Slayer Fest was brilliantly conceived, evil, but brilliant. He is the one recruited by the Mayor to run things in the, ah, underworld. He brings Ethan back to the scene to run the Band Candy operation [and as an ex-band member, may I say it should only have been so easy to sell the things!] and acted only as an overseer. He wisely refrains from direct confrontation of the Slayer, until the Mayor orders him to remove the threat of both Buffy and Faith. He comes close to killing Buffy though, after Buffy pushes Faith out of the way of falling crates and is hit herself. But in the end, Faith returns the favor, and slays Trick.

Lyle & Candy Gorch are in town for the Slayer Fest. Lyle wants revenge for his brother Tector, even though it was not the Slayer who killed him. He and his new wife Candy think Slayer Fest is just the best way to spend their honeymoon. Candy doesn't make much of an improvement over Tector on the maturity scale, and their behavior remains very adolescent. The two do manage to get into the library, knock Giles out and get the weapons from the cage. But neither is a match for the Buffy and Cordelia team. Buffy slays Candy with Cordy's spatula, then, after a confrontation with a brassed-off homecoming-queen-candidate and as he has done twice before, Lyle bails.

Spike is back. A broken, love-sick, rejected Spike. Drusilla has turned her back on him for what he did to Angelus, even though Spike believes he did it for her. Dru tells him he's not demon enough anymore, not for her. Spike goes looking for a nasty spell to put on the chaos demon she left him for, but instead finds Willow. After a little shop-keeper snack he finds Willow to make her do a spell to make Dru love him again. It is during this time that Spike is shown to be keenly perceptive, especially about matters of the heart. It is he who points out to Buffy and Angel that even if they are fooling themselves and everyone else, he sees that they are not friends and never will be. He recognizes the passion that they have; it is the passion he wants again with Drusilla. He doesn't show any of the leader qualities he had before Angelus returned. It is as if he needs the passion, the commitment of his romantic side, before he give these qualities free rein; that 'love' allows him to realize his potential as a 'man'. He leads with his emotions, lets them dominate him, lives through them. In the end, it is his emotions that free him. He is exhilarated by the fighting, responds to the thrill it brings, becomes eager to win Drusilla back. He knows, better than anyone except Angelus, what she'll respond to, and sets out to do it. His way.

Zachary Kralik serves as an example of the callous disregard of the council for anything other than their own goals. Kralik was a criminally insane murderer/torturer as a mortal and except for being a vampire is virtually unchanged from his former persona. The CoW held the vamped Kralik captive. They control the medication that relieves the pain he gets in his head. He is to be unleashed on a weakened Slayer to 'test' her. Instead he turns one council guard, Blair, and together they feed on the other guard, Hobson. Kralik stalks Buffy, then kidnaps Joyce to draw Buffy to him. This may very well have been his m.o. as a human. He plays with Buffy in the house, he doesn't want to just kill her, he intends to turn her. He welcomes the pain of the cross as it burns him. He is ultimately undone by one of his attacks just as he is about to bite, and finds that holy water is not a good thing to take pills with. Blair is staked by Giles. One question left hanging is whether or not the pain attacks were taken into consideration by the CoW. Had things gone as planned, once Kralik was released he would not have the pills to take until the test was over. So if Buffy had not prevailed, the pain would put him back into the Council's power; and if the test went on long enough, then the pain would even the playing field a bit.

El Eliminati are a duelist cult who became the acolytes of the demon Balthazar. They, along with Balthazar, were driven out of Sunnydale a hundred years earlier, but now they've returned. They retrieve the amulet that gives Balthazar strength, but lose it to Buffy and Faith. Their leader is sent to kill the Mayor on Balthazar's orders, but Trick is there and he fails and is captured. Another takes his place as leader and is responsible for bringing the Slayers and the Watchers to Balthazar. They succeed with the Watchers, and this brings Buffy and Angel, along with the demise of the cult and the loss of their leader.

VampWillow was inadvertently brought to the BuffyVerse when Anya has Willow assist in a spell to bring back her amulet from the WishVerse. At first she's completely disoriented as she realizes that all the places are where they should be, but none of them are as they should be. Because she has the self-assurance her counterpart lacks, she decides to change this, make things the way she knows. VampWillow recruits the Mayor's vamps away from him and starts a frontal assault on the Bronze. Anya the lets her know what's happened and she goes looking for a return ticket. VampWillow eventually finds the opportunity to confront Willow. VampWillow is returned to the WishVerse by Willow, Anya and Giles just in time to die. VampWillow has all the characteristics that our Willow is repressing: power, confidence, even to being "kinda gay." And then Willow impersonating her, stating flat out the things she finds distressing about herself: weak, accommodating, doormat, cranky. VampWillow describing Willow to Cordelia as helpless and shy. In the end Willow, being who she is, sees this as an object lesson and resolves never to be like that.

DEMONS Ken is the recruiter from hell. Literally. It is his part of the job to seek out young people who have no ties, no homes, few hopes and bring them under his care. At the Family Home, where they are, as he says, not just interested in feeding the body. He had that right. He wants their life. The fruits of their labors to the benefit of his demonic brethren. He sends them to Hell where they have no hope, only despair, and sends them back when they are old and spent with nothing more to give. They become no one, they have nothing. All that is left for them is death. Buffy is now where she thought she would be, only Angel/Angelus is not there to see her, and he didn't save her a seat. As usual, though, Buffy changes the rules. Humans don't fight back, Slayers do. Ken is slain and the portal to hell is closed.

Ovu Mobani the evil eye is a zombie demon. His mask is brought to Sunnydale as part of a Nigerian primitive art shipment. His power is the ability to re-animate the dead as zombies. It is not clear whether or not the power of the mask manifested prior to its being shipped to Joyce's gallery, or if the mystic energy of the Hellmouth enhanced its reach. He does perpetrate the ultimate 'dead cat' joke on Buffy and Joyce [apologies - just couldn't resist], as the first reanimation we are aware of. Interestingly enough, the havoc he wreaks before Buffy destroys him as he possesses the body of Pat, serves to defuse the tension, and move everyone past the accusation point to where they are truly glad to have Buffy back.

Kulak a demon of the Miquot Clan, is one of the participants in the SlayerFest. He is yellow-skinned and has a spiny ridge on his head. His weapons come from his body - long, serrated knives that he can then throw. Quite well. He corners Buffy and Cordelia in the cabin, forcing them to work together in order to save each other's lives. When a grenade is launched into the cabin he chooses the wrong window for his exit and is blown up with the cabin.

Lurconis, the glutton, is one of the demons with whom the Mayor made deals in order to gain power. The demon itself is large and snakelike, and it dwells beneath the city in the filth of the sewers. Tribute consisting of babies is made to it every thirty years. Trick is given the job of procuring and delivering the tribute for the Mayor, who meets him in Lurconis' lair (and notes that the sewers need maintenance and repair). Buffy, Giles and Joyce come to the rescue of the babies; in the ensuing struggle one of Trick's vampires is kicked into Lurconis' pool to which the snake-like demon responds. The vampire is snatched into Lurconis' mouth and the demon retreats back down his tunnel. When Giles is thrown into the pool he manages to get out before the demon reappears and Buffy is able to engulf demon in flames from a gas pipe (that she breaks) ignited by the flames from one of the torches lighting the area.

Lagos a warrior demon seeks the Glove of Myhnegon, he is searching in the Sunnydale cemeteries. He encounters Faith after she and Buffy have had a busy night and easily holds her off while he searches. He is next seen at the crypt where the glove had been (prior to its removal by Angel) where Buffy is waiting. She finishes him off rather quickly, using his own battleaxe. It was Lagos coming to Sunnydale in search of the glove that brought Gwendolyn Post to town as well.

Anyanka was the vengeance demon who responded to Cordelia's need for revenge on Xander. How Anyanka received the summons is never made clear; she may simply have been drawn by Cordy's need, or she may have been inadvertently summoned when Cordelia performed a very ritualistic purging of Xander from her life - cutting him out of her pictures, cutting the pictures into pieces, then burning them. As a vengeance demon, Anyanka is generally unconcerned about the consequences of the wishes she grants, including the consequence to the one doing the wishing. Her demonic power has few limitations as shown by her ability to create (or find) an entire alternate reality in which the Slayer doesn't come to Sunnydale. In this reality however, once Cordelia realizes what has happened, things are changed to alter the outcome of the wish and also provide the clues that allow Anyanka herself to be defeated. In the end, her power source is destroyed turning Anyanka back into a human, the wish is reversed, and Sunnydale returns to the reality of the BuffyVerse, trapping Anyanka in her current persona.

The First Evil is, simply put by Giles, an ancient power, absolute evil, older than man, older than demons. The First is causing Angel to be haunted; trying to convince him that it was the power that brought him back from the hell dimension; attempting to induce him to kill Buffy to remove one of the champions of the Powers that Be. The First uses the guise of Jenny Calender to confront Buffy directly after she defeats its high priests. It taunts her with it's power, telling her it is never seen but still everywhere, in every being, in every thought. The First states that it is inconceivable to her, beyond sin, beyond death; it is that which the darkness itself fears. It then manifests in terrifying demon form, threatening her, coming straight at her, but can do nothing! The First Evil apparently must work through the Harbingers, using others who are physically present in this world to carry out it's desires. What seems inexplicable, however, is that it warns her about Angel's impending death at sunrise, allowing Buffy the chance to prevent it.

The Harbingers are the high priests of the First Evil. They haunt people by manifesting spirits, or visions that appear to be spirits, that can then influence behavior. They are the Harbingers of death, nothing growing above or below them. At least one of them is eyeless; interestingly enough, this is the one that watches throughout the dreams they bring to Angel, that are shared by Buffy. It is they who are actually haunting Angel with images of some of the people he killed or tortured as Angelus, seducing him with the promise that they will go away once he takes Buffy as a vampire. The most effective of these spirits is the manifestation of Jenny, the most seductive of them all. It is 'she' who pushes finally to kill himself, letting the sun take him, rather than harm Buffy. The Harbingers are not fighters - when Buffy finds them she easily kills two of them while the third runs away.

The Hansel & Gretel Demon appears as two young children, a boy and a girl, who seem to have been ritually murdered, with symbols drawn on their hands. It/they then slowly takes control of the minds of the townspeople, convincing them to begin a witch hunt. Joyce, possibly because she was the first to encounter them, is the leader of the Hunt; founder of MOO (Mothers Opposed to the Occult). The longer they remain under the mind control of the demon the more severe the penalties become. The children are urging the townspeople to hurt the "bad people" they way they were hurt. Eventually the punishment escalates to the traditional burning of the witches at the stake - Amy, Willow and Buffy, with Giles' books from the HS library as fuel for the fire. Not until Giles forces the demon to assume its own aspect do the vigilantes begin to realize what they were doing. The demon goes after Buffy, who taunts it, and is impaled when the stake she is tied to breaks and he runs into it.

The Sisterhood of Jheis an Apocalypse Cult of fierce female warrior demons who feast upon their vanquished foes after a victorious battle. Their sole goal is to bring about the world's destruction, and they're in town to open the Hellmouth and release the demons held prisoner behind it. They are successful in opening it, and the first demon, who we saw when the Master opened it, begins to emerge where Buffy, Faith, Angel, Giles, and Willow battle it. The members of the Sisterhood go after the Xander and the dead boys in the building. Giles is ultimately able to reclose the Hellmouth, trapping the demon, while the others take out the Sisterhood.

The Spirit of Uurthu the Restless is invoked by Jack O'Toole in the spell of revivification he performs to bring his old gang buddies back to life. No other information is available.

Balthazar is a demon, reminiscent of a cross between Jabba the Hutt and the Baron Harkonnen, who after gathering the remnants of the Eliminati to him, was run out of Sunnydale about a hundred years ago when the Mayor gained his power. He has returned because of the Mayor's impending ascension. Balthazar intends to prevent it. When the amulet is snatched from his grasp, he sends the Eliminati after the Slayers, the Watchers and anyone else who may be in his way. He is so caught up in his own megalomania, he no longer considers the consequences of this order. Buffy and Angel follow after the Giles and Wesley are abducted, and rescue them, electrocuting Balthazar in the process. It is interesting to note that while Balthazar and the Eliminati were clearly enemies of the Slayer and the Scoobies, they were in this case working toward the same goal: stopping the Mayor from ascending. It is also Balthazar's last words that alert the Scoobies that there is something very big on the horizon. d'Hoffryn is first seen here when Anya goes to him in supplication. She wants her powers back. d'Hoffryn refuses telling her she was unworthy and careless of the powers that were granted he by the lower beings. He is unmoved by her pleading and dismisses her. d'Hoffryn is the epitome of what the high demon over the vengeance demons should be. Implacable in the face of begging, pleading, groveling or bended knee.

Olvikan (the ascended mayor) is the demon that the Mayor aspires to become. A big, has a fold out picture, snake demon that is killable once the ascension is complete. The action that destroys the demon is also the decisive action the marks the end of the HS era for the Scooby Gang. Their 'clubhouse', the library, is completely demolished, the school itself is ruined. It is time to move on.

MONSTERS

The Zombies are summoned by Ovu Mobani. They are necessary to provide a threat great enough to move the entire Scooby Gang beyond accusations and into their roles as support for Buffy. Although those roles have undergone some changes over the intervening summer when they acted in her absence.

Jack O'Toole & the boys are dead men walking. Jack's grandfather performed the spell that reanimated Jack, who in turn did the same for his old buddies. These boys were hell on wheels while they were alive, and continue their fun-loving ways after revivification. The first encounter is with Jack who projects the persona of the vicious school bully in all his glory; menacing, threatening, and leader of the gang. He's ready to strike back with violence at every incident, seeing each as a personal affront. No one bothers him or his things under threat of bodily harm. But stand up, for him/against authority, and he's the first to say you're an okay guy. Xander becomes a temporary part of the gang this way, by not ratting on Jack. Besides, Xander has the wheels. Jack and Xander make the rounds of the cemeteries, gathering the gang, all dead, all revivified ... Bob, Dickie, and Parker. Xander, the wheelman, drive them where they want to go, including the hardware store, closed for business but open for crime, where they get supplies to bake a cake, not specifying what kind of cake. Xander, wanting to leave the group, is offered initiation into the group; unfortunately it consists of dying and revivification, which makes Machida-worship seem a bit tame. Xander opts out, driving off with the supplies. The boys are not happy about this, but there's nothing they can do except get more supplies. When next seen, the boys are in the boiler room of the school with the bomb they've constructed. Xander, trying to figure out where they'd be because he looked in the supply bags and saw what they contained, sees them outside the school. Getting the information about the bomb in the boiler room, he's asking Parker how to defuse it when he accidentally causes Parker's head to be ripped off by a mailbox. Xander runs into the school followed by the other three. Bob attacks Xander in the lounge, and in the ensuing fight his head is crushed by the vending machine which is tipped over by Xander. Xander gives chase to Dickie, and the two are in turn attacked by the Sisterhood of Jhe. Xander escapes, Dickie does not, leaving only Jack. Xander faces Jack down in the boiler room by the bomb, calling Jack's bluff, willing to die if necessary, turning the tables on the encounter the day before; it's Jack's turn to decide who has less fear. Jack chickens out at 2 seconds and pulls the wire. Xander leaves and Jack turns to go out through another door, vowing revenge, only to find werewolf-Oz in a feeding frenzy. With Jack we learn that is can be startling easy to reverse death, if there is no concern for the consequences - the boys personalities are restored, but only into the body as it is now. The longer the time in between death and revivification, the greater the physical deterioration. They also show us a struggle that, other than the spell to bring each back, involves only the human elements, intimidation, fear, loss of face. Jack is the tough guy, always challenging, always fierce; never caring, except for 'his' boys. When the time is right he assembles his gang and takes on the ultimate symbol of teen authority - the school, which he, interestingly enough, continues to attend even after his death. They encounter little resistance from most people, including Xander, until the stakes are increased. When confronted by true resistance and a challenge by strength of character, Jack crumbles at the last. None of the gang lasts the night. Each had an end befitting him: Parker, the one who goes along with everything, is killed by chance (mailbox); Bob, the muscle of the group is killed by something muscle can't overcome (falling vending machine); Dickie, who had the idea to destroy the school is killed by those whose intent is to destroy the world (demons of the Sisterhood of Jhe); and Jack, who responds in rage with intimidation and menace, is killed by a raging primal beast (werewolf).

Hellhounds are demon foot soldiers, developed during the Machash Wars, bred and trained solely to kill, their reward bring to feed of the brains of their foes. In this case, the demons are not only summoned, but trained to further specialization by Tucker Wells for the purpose of wreaking havoc at the Prom. They are hunted down and killed at the school before they make it into the dance. They do however give Buffy something to think about with and Angel-less prom night approaching.

MORTALITY

The Killer of the Dead poison is used by Faith on Angel. It is a mystical compound used on vampires. One of the few known cases to be cured was accomplished by draining the blood of a Slayer. The poison was intended to distract Buffy from the Mayor's graduation plans but was instead the catalyst for several important changes. Buffy fires the Council of Watchers over it. She goes after another human with the intent to kill and is very nearly successful. The antagonism of two living Slayers is brought to a climax. Angel is convinced that he and Buffy are not safe together after Buffy nearly dies to save him. Buffy becomes even more determined to stop the Mayor.

ALTERED REALITY

The WishVerse is created by Anyanka when Cordelia wishes that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. In the WishVerse, Giles and Oz are still good guys, the White Hats, Cordelia joins their ranks. Harmony and the Sheep just try to run from trouble. Angel is still there to help the missing Buffy, but in her absence he's just 'Puppy'. The Master is evil and in control. The WishVerse Buffy is much more focused on the slaying, still not so cooperative with her Watcher, but surprisingly willing to accept Angel's help. Then there's Xander and Willow. Together. Vampires. Involved in amusing themselves and causing chaos. Willow is no longer our sweet, quiet Willow, but is quite willing to mess with everyone else there to amuse herself and cause chaos. Xander, as a vampire, admires Willow. Together they kill Cordelia. Cordelia is 'betrayed' by Xander with Willow in the WishVerse just as she was in the BuffyVerse. VampXander helps VampWillow torture Angel, an activity that Xander would gladly have participated in on more than one occasion. VampXander chose however, after his first flaming match, to just allow VampWillow to play while he watched. Like Xander he wants to be part of the action, yet someone else is the one who carries the bulk of the work. The WishVerse showed us how critical Buffy's mission is here, specifically, in Sunnydale. And it brought us Anya, who is the only one who knows what was happened in that reality.

HUMANS

Pete and his girlfriend Debbie good friends of Scott Hope who is dating Buffy at this time. Pete is very protective of Debbie and does the "boyfriend" things like bringing her flowers which seems so sweet to everyone. However, his attention soon seen to be very possessive and his jealousy quite obvious when we see his private interactions with Debbie. He has created a serum to increase the qualities he sees as macho, and in time no longer needs it. Unfortunately, one of the effects is a raging monster that is also easily triggered by any perceived misstep on Debbie's part. Conversations are inflated into cheating relationships; professional; counseling is all right until Pete realizes Debbie actually likes the counselor rather than seeing him as totally lame. People begin turning up dead from a vicious mauling, and it is noted that each has a relationship of some sort with Debbie. Buffy and Willow go to talk to Debbie, who they find in tears, and with a nasty bruise, after her most recent encounter with Pete who was enraged after seeing Debbie meet Oz to get his biology notes. Debbie denies any problems to the two of them; meanwhile Pete is tracking down Oz with murderous intent. He finds him just after Oz is locked up for the 3rd night of the full moon. He becomes the raging Mr. Hyde again and rips the cage door off its hinges and proceeds to attack Oz. The sun goes down and Oz makes his transformation into the werewolf and the fight becomes more even. Buffy prepares to use the tranquilizer gun on Pete but Debbie disrupts her aim and Giles is shot instead. Oz runs out and Faith and Willow follow him,. Debbie runs out as well. Buffy tries to stop Pete but he gets away with Buffy in pursuit. He heads to the supply closet where he finds Debbie waiting. Debbie believes she did a good thing by keeping Buffy from shooting but Pete rages at her because he believes she told them about him. She denies it but he is too far lost in the rage and attacks her. When Buffy arrives she finds Debbie dead and is jumped from behind by Pete. As he is attacking her, Angel comes in with full vamp face and rushes Pete. Angel breaks Pete's neck ending the fight, then looks at Buffy and with slow recognition finally says her name before dropping to his knees and holding her while he sobs into her jacket. Pete showed us the dark side of an abusive relationship, with Debbie attempting to believe everything is fine and taking the blame for making him angry. Pete believed that Debbie was not satisfied with him, that he needed to enhance himself to keep her. Everything she did was viewed with suspicion. On her part Debbie tried to please Pete, downplaying any relationships she might have so that Pete wouldn't be jealous. This, of course, didn't work; every action of hers served only to increase his rage at her. More significantly, though, Pete provided the counterpoint to Angel's journey in the episode. As Pete goes from a man at the beginning to an uncontrollable raging monster, Angel's path takes the opposite direction: from uncontrollable monster to sentient man.

Jungle Bob one of the SlayerFest participants, is the 'big game' hunter of the group. For someone who was 1) invited and 2) willing to pony up some significant dollars, he certainly didn't seem very experienced at trapping and hunting sentient two-legged game. He gets caught in his own trap, loses his rifle to his prey, can't spring the trigger to release himself, and is just left out there in the woods. He rather quickly spills the information that Buffy requests, letting her know who or what else is hunting them.

the Gruenstahler Brothers are High Tech Huntsmen who are the hired guns for a mysterious computer-using 'boss'. They are wanted by Interpol for murder and terrorism. They begin tracking Buffy before the start of the contest using high powered binoculars and parabolic listening devices. It is one of the brothers who drives the limousine that picks up Cordelia and Buffy. They've planted the homing devices in the corsages that the girls put on. Their boss is able to kill the phone line from the cabin, but not before Buffy is able to leave a message for Giles. the boss directs them to Buffy and Cordelia's coordinates at the cabin and again to the high school. However, they learn there can be drawbacks to relying so completely on technology: if the transmitter isn't attached to the target, the results can be lethal.

Ethan Rayne is contracted by Trick to run the factory where the candy bars are being manufactured with an additive that seems to make everyone regress to adolescence. He is only on the periphery if the events surrounding the tribute to Lurconis, but enough to set Buffy in the right direction after she persuades him to give her the information. Once again, we see the interaction of Ethan and Ripper, but this time with a great deal more aggression on Ripper's part, enough to begin to appreciate how Rupert came to be called Ripper. Of Ethan we still learn very little other than the fact that he's good at what he does, and that we have no idea how he got out of the handcuffs after he came to in the factory.

Gwendolyn Post comes onto the scene claiming to be Faith's new Watcher, although Giles had received no word about her coming. She is a Watcher trained, but had delved too deeply into the dark magicks and ousted from the Council. We learn that a rogue Watcher can be very dangerous. She carried herself with the necessary authority to come in, begin working with Giles and Faith, use the resources of the Scooby Gang to assist her in her goal: that of locating the Glove of Myhnegon. She advises the group that the demon Lagos is in Sunnydale searching for the glove and obtains their assistance in preventing him. What she didn't take into account was Angel's knowledge of the glove as well as its location. When she learns it is in his possession she knocks Giles out and goes in pursuit of the glove. She gets to to Angel just before he is ready to immolate the glove with the Living Flame and presents herself as an ally, then hits him in the head intending to kill him after learning the location of the glove. She sets Faith against Buffy, continues her charade to Xander and Willow when they arrive, while securing the glove for herself and invoking its power. When this happens, everyone realizes what she is doing, and in working together defeat her; she is consumed by the power she called when the glove (along with the encased arm) is severed from her. Gwendolyn Post poses two problems for the group. The first is how easily she is able to hoodwink them; all of them are able to accept her in her role as Watcher simply because she knows exactly how to act. None of them, not even Buffy suspects she is other than she say simply because she says so authoritatively. The other relates to how much trust they can really place in the Watchers' Council, which seems singularly unwilling to provided adequate information or assistance to the Slayer(s) and their Watcher.

Faith was Chosen as the Slayer when Kendra was killed by Drusilla. It is not clear where she is from, she references South Boston and Missouri, but never really gives much away about herself, or her history. She comes to Sunnydale, full of bravado, after her Watcher is killed by Kakistos seeking the one place where she knows she can have protection from his wrath; where she knows she can find Buffy and her Watcher. Faith catapults into the Scoobies lives with tremendous panache; she is at once the center of attention. She is street-wise, she's vivacious, she brings a perspective to the group quite outside their experience. She is earthy and direct, immediately setting the tone of her relationship to the group. She is admiring of Buffy by her words, dismissive by her actions. By sheer force of personality she becomes a part of the group, generally accepted, liked and admired by everyone except Buffy, who sees a different side of her. Xander is intrigued and fascinated by her, to Cordelia's dissatisfaction, Willow is welcoming, Oz accepting; Giles is impressed with her zest, Joyce with her vibrancy. Everyone enjoys her company. Faith is very likable, but not very lovable. She rarely presents anything other that a tough façade, one that protects her from the possibility of rejection. She is really extremely vulnerable, less sure of her place in the scheme of things than any of the rest of them. She's a Slayer, but there's the 'infamous Buff' already there. She's young, but never part of any of the high school life, or friendships. As she expressed it if she'd had friends like them she might've regretted dropping out. It is interesting that she chooses to refer to Buffy as infamous rather then famous, as the expressions carry such differing connotations. It shows an admiration tinged with disrespect and perhaps more than a touch of jealousy. Faith seems to want that which she takes great pains to push away; acceptance, affection, stability. Faith is especially touching when Gwendolyn Post comes, she accepts her as a Watcher and as someone who is her mentor, as it is subtly implied she did with her previous Watcher, both of whom were female. Faith felt that no matter what she did, she would never 'be' Buffy, she would never be 'the Slayer' only one of them. Eventually she slowly started to alienate the Scooby gang ... Willow became jealous of her time with Buffy, Faith was Xander's 'first' and then summarily dismissed him. When she and Buffy went on their 'bad girl' walk on the wild side, though, Faith pushed the envelope farther and farther, drawing Buffy with her, until she crosses a line that Buffy cannot accept. Faith, however accidentally, kills the deputy mayor and then flees from the responsibility. Faith claims no remorse, although we see that she is not being truthful, and worse yet, places the blame for the actual killing on Buffy, when telling Giles about it. Giles understands that Faith is in a very precarious state emotionally and psychologically that will require careful handling if she is not to be further damaged. The only one who really seems to be able to reach her, though, is Angel; his own experience with coming to terms with having killed is irrefutable to Faith, and she accepts his attempts to help her deal with it. Unfortunately, the newest Watcher, Wesley, has made other arrangements; he and others employed by the Council break into Angel's place, subdue him and abduct Faith by the orders of the Council, and prepare to take her to England for discipline. Faith is not amenable to this and threatens her way out of their clutches. She goes into hiding and makes planes to run, much like she did when she came to Sunnydale. Buffy eventually tracks her down, but is interrupted by Trick who has been sent by the Mayor to eliminate the threat of the Slayers. Trick comes very close to defeating Buffy, but Faith intervenes. She and Buffy acknowledge each other's individual choices and then go their separate ways. Faith's way led straight to the Mayor's door, with an offer to join him which is readily accepted. Faith blossoms under his approval, basks in the genuine affection he shows her, and revels in the things he gives her. In return, she gives him a fierce loyalty, and a love she has very likely given to no one else. She tries to assist him by returning to the Scooby gang and keeping him apprised of their plans, but is eventually found out. She tries to bring Angel to the Mayor's side by attempting to seduce him and fails. They then use a wizard to cast out Angel's curse, and bring back Angelus; unbeknownst to them, the wizard owes Giles a favor and does not actually remove the curse. Faith is tricked into believing that Angelus has returned and the two work with the Mayor. Eventually Faith reveals enough of the Mayor's plans while gloating to an apparently captive Buffy that Angel can reveal that he is not Angelus, and end the pretense. Faith is furious, not the least because Angel as Angelus had still evaded her attempts at seduction. Faith captures Willow when the Scoobies steal the Box of Gavrok from City Hall, giving the Mayor the leverage needed to get it back. By this time Faith is immune to anything they Scoobies have to say; she's getting the acceptance and praise she has craved from the Mayor. She poisons Angel for him, just to provide a distraction for Buffy. This action triggers the explosion that had been waiting to happen: Buffy and Faith face off one on one. Buffy is doing this because she believes she needs Faith's blood to save Angel; in truth it is the inevitable conclusion of the tensions and antagonism between them. Buffy tries to kill Faith, even deals Faith a killing blow with the knife the Mayor gave Faith as a gift but Faith slips away from her thud rendering the victory an empty one. Faith is found and taken to the Hospital, where her blood loss is remedied, but the severe head trauma is not directly treatable. Buffy is also brought to the Hospital unconscious, the result of offering herself to save Angel. While they are both unconscious their Slayer minds communicate more effectively that they ever did speaking fact to face, Faith gives Buffy the clues to defeating the Mayor, and then concedes the battle to her. Faith is the little lost girl, at once vulnerable and untouchable. She boasts of needing nothing, yet when the opportunities present themselves she invariably takes them, such as Gwendolyn Post and the Mayor. She bonds to women more easily; both her original Watcher and again with Gwen Post. Faith poses an intriguing counterpoint to Buffy, showing what can happen if the Slayer begins to think that the calling places her above the rest; there's a growing callous disregard for the rules; a disrespect for others; great delight taken in doing things, taking things, simply because she can. There are sides that Faith shows us, that we can see mirrored in Buffy. Her anger, as we see her take it out on the vampires has been seen in Buffy. Her direct insistence on being her own person has been reflected in Buffy's small rebellions against her fate. Faith is Buffy's shadow self; in her we learn more of the darkness within the Slayer.

The Cafeteria Lady is the embodiment of the bad school food cliché. In this case the food can literally kill you. She sees the student body performing the same function day after day, nothing but eating, no matter what is put in front of them, until finally, deciding that the vermin must be exterminated, she schedules Mulligan Stew for the menu and has rat poison at hand [definition: Mulligan Stew - a stew made from whatever ingredients are at hand]. When that action is thwarted she cracks completely and goes after Xander with a meat cleaver. She is stopped by Buffy who knocks her out. We assume she is then arrested, but the outcome is not known. In her we have the background person; one of the staff of the school, rarely noticed yet the most substantial threat to the students as a group that we've seen. Not a vampire, not a demon, not a witch, no supernatural powers nor invoking thereof; just plain old spite and venom, with the classic method of poisoning.

The Gingerbread Mob/MOO were under the influence of the Hansel & Gretel demon. They started out as 'concerned' citizens and evolved rapidly into vigilantes. Their cause was to eliminate all things related to witchcraft and mysticism; their goal to rid Sunnydale of the bad people. They caused Giles' books to removed from the library as unsuitable material. Buffy's mother and Willow's mother each determined that the other's daughter was a bad influence on their own. The contrast between Joyce and Sheila was marked. Where Joyce was involved in Buffy's life and had indeed joined her on patrol to learn firsthand what it was about, Sheila is so far removed from Willow's life that she doesn't even know her daughter's current appearance. Joyce allows Buffy the freedom to go on patrol and try to figure things out; Sheila confines Willow to her room and removes all sources of outside interaction. Eventually though the demon brings them to the point where only the purging of the evil will suffice, which leads to the capture of Buffy, Willow and Amy. They are tied to stakes and the confiscated book are piled around them in preparation for a ritual burning at the stake. The mob is oblivious to the import of their actions and when the demon is unmasked, they are horrified at what almost occurred. we are given a rare glance into Willow's homelife when we witness her encounters with Sheila. It is interesting to note that not everyone is affected by the demons mind control, and that the ones who are not are those who know the nature of Sunnydale and the Hellmouth. It is also intriguing to note that in the original fairy tale, the children are put out to die by their father and stepmother on more then one occasion. The demon has arranged things so that what is actually happening is the adults putting the children to death. Buffy is truly questions the point of her slaying, never winning, never even getting ahead of the game. Buffy also faces an opponent who has manipulated things so that the ones physically causing the harm are humans, no longer acting with free will and among them is her mother who conspires to kill her. They must destroy the evil while preserving the humanity.

The Watcher's Council is a group whose traditional role has been to identify, train and assist the Slayer in carrying out her duties. Giles is a member of this council. As Buffy's 18th birthday approached, Quentin Travers comes to Sunnydale with a small group to prepare for the traditional testing of the Slayer upon her turning 18. As part of the preparation, she is given an organic compound without her knowledge that slows her reflexes and suppresses adrenaline to prevent her from accessing her Slayer abilities. Giles, as her Watcher, is responsible for accomplishing this, although he doesn't like it; he is under strict orders that Buffy not know what is being done. Once she is sufficiently weakened, she will face a vampire who has been prepared for her - Zachary Kralik, who was criminally insane before his vamping. Kralik's handler, Blair, however, didn't exercise sufficient caution when giving him his medicine and was caught and killed by Kralik. The other handler, Hobson, was turned by him. In their arrogance the Council never took into consideration that this could happen. Kralik went in search of the Slayer, and very nearly catches Buffy, who runs from him. Giles is looking for her because he saw what happened to Blair and rescues her. Kralik then goes after Joyce and captures her, using her as bait. Buffy takes the bait, now knowing why her strength is so impaired. When Quentin shows up in Giles' office, he is unconcerned about the turn of events. His concern is only that Buffy has entered the house, and if she survives, she'll have demonstrated that she is worthy to be the Slayer. If not, well there's Faith. Giles is furious and goes to assist Buffy. Between them they kill both Hobson and Kralik and release Joyce. After all this In their arrogance, the Council disregards any considerations outside those of their own goals. They weaken the Slayer for their 'cruciamentum' then send her on out to patrol. When Kralik breaks loose and is out in Sunnydale, no effort is made to find him. Kralik kidnaps Buffy's mother, drawing her to the house where there are no safeguards left. Maybe Quentin is able to rationalize the potential death of the Slayer by saying she wasn't sufficient for the job, but had Buffy failed, how was he going to justify Joyce's death? When Giles intervenes and is instrumental in preventing Joyce's death, the only response the Council has is to fire him because he did not keep his distance from the situation. Of all the Council, Giles is the only one to approach the situation with compassion and humanity, stating his abhorrence of the test, of the secrecy, and of the part he is required to play. Having sent the Watcher to train the Slayer, and Buffy having developed a trust in Giles, for training, for information, for counsel, Giles is now to offer no information at a time it could cost Buffy her life on patrol. He does suggest not patrolling while she is feeling poorly, but is prevented from being any more specific. Wesley Wyndham Price is sent to be Buffy's Watcher after Giles' removal, an overly-intellectual, self-important, pompous young Watcher who believes everything the Council has told him and adheres closely to the Council's rules. He believes that his 'field experience' against vampires in controlled circumstances gives him the necessary knowledge of the foes faced by the Slayer. Wesley is never really given much of a chance by either Buffy or Faith, both of whom offered him no respect and delighted in making his life miserable in many tiny ways as well as disregarding him rather completely in matters of any importance. When Wesley informs the Council about Faith's killing of Deputy Mayor Allan Finch, their response is to peremptorily arrest her on the order of the Watcher's Council's of Britain and prepare to take her to England to accept the judgment of the disciplinary committee. Giles surmises that they will lock her away for a long time, but this is not likely because the Slayer line passes through Faith. If she is locked away and something happens to Buffy, Faith would either have to be released or killed to have an active Slayer. The Council is far more likely to take the expedient route, and take the new Slayer in hand. The Council may once have been an force for good but it's stasis and inability to make any adjustment to the realities of the world has changed it to a group that orders lives according to its own convenience, all the while feeling quite superior to the poor ordinary person whose import is so much less than their own. It is this very attitude that ultimately renders their pronouncements regarding the Slayer's fitness and Giles' unfitness moot; Buffy fires them and they become a Watcher's Council with no Slayer. To Wesley's credit, he is capable of seeing that the battle before them must be won and puts himself at Buffy's disposal. Tucker Wells is a classmate of the Scooby gang who decides to disrupt the Prom with a little chaos and mass murder apparently because a girl he asked out turned him down. He has the ability to summon demons, choosing to bring for a group of hellhounds, demons bred for killing. He shows them teen movies with general formal dance attire and trappings, training them to attack anyone in that attire. He gives Buffy a welcome distraction from her romantic woes, while showing, once again that the source of the evil to be fought can spring from the most mundane causes.

And last but not least, Principal Snyder continues his campaign of harassment. He actively tries to keep Buffy out of school, and takes great glee in making this point quite clear. His involvement in the Mayor's plans becomes more and more evident with time, although he is clearly not in the Mayor's confidence but only one of his minions. He arranges for the band candy to be distributed by all of the students simply by making it a requirement [I should have been so lucky]. The Mayor is selected as commencement speaker for graduation. But something different occurs this season with him as well. Under the influence of the band candy, from which he is apparently not advised to abstain, he gives us a glimpse into his character. He was the guy who didn't belong and didn't know it. He wanted to hang with the kids he saw as cool, and interestingly enough, this was the Scooby gang. He attached himself to Buffy, Willow and Oz, running after them when they left him at the Bronze, trying to be cool and failing miserably. He boasts about his 'achievements' (he shook the Mayor's hand - twice) in an attempt to make the others see him as important. He hits on Joyce quite ineptly. Principal Snyder is constantly rejected by the ones he wants to emulate even now. And the ones he's the most contemptuous of as the principal are the ones he most wanted to be at their age.

This season's bad brought evil from authority figures in many venues: the Watcher's Council, The Mayor, parents, and the school staff. In all of these cases the authority figure is not simply using its power to control things, but is actively attempting to kill Buffy, as well as others. The Watcher's Council puts Buffy into a situation that could very easily result in her death, endangering her mother and the population of Sunnydale as well. The Mayor wants her out of the way initially, assigning Trick, among others, to kill her, but after her fight with Faith takes matters into his own hands and very nearly succeeds in smothering Buffy when he finds her vulnerable. The parents are willing to burn their children at the stake 'for their own good'. And the cafeteria lady comes very close to poisoning a good percentage of the student body. All of these people are expected to behave in a manner befitting the trust that is implicitly given them; all betray that trust. In only one case, that of the parents, is the behavior excusable because of outside influences. Many of the little bads this season are directly or indirectly linked to one of these authorities. The Mayor hires Trick, who in turn brings Ethan Rayne back into the picture. Balthazar returns to challenge the Mayor again, bringing with him El Eliminati. Lurconis is a demon to whom the Mayor made promises in return for power. Principal Snyder remains in charge of the high school because the Mayor wants it. He seduces Faith to his cause, offering what no one else does: he accepts her for herself. He obtains the Killer of the Dead poison that nearly kills Angel. And he ascends into Olvikan, a full strength demon. The Watcher's Council is far from innocent this season. Their carelessness releases Zachary Kralik on an unsuspecting Sunnydale. Gwendolyn Post is trained by them, and knows that Faith is minus a Watcher, so if she was kicked out by the Council it was quite recently. The Council seemed to think that the Council member with the least need-to-know was the one who had both the current Slayers under his charge, which was an unprecedented situation. They mishandled Faith's situation so badly that instead of helping her come to terms with a mistake, they assured that she turn as far away from them as possible. Anyanka is significant this season in that she was not only responsible for the WishVerse, and for the events in Dopplegangland, she is also instrumental in helping them to know what they are facing in the Mayor's ascension. In this third year we see a new layer of the evil in Sunnydale; it is not random vampires and demons, it is not the occasional vampire or demon who has organized their efforts, but the entire local government is built to encourage demonic activity and allow access to the mystical energy of the Hellmouth. The entire existence of Sunnydale is due to the Mayor and his ambitions. He has arranged for the town to flourish, consorts with demons, keeps the populace in the dark, and generally treats Sunnydale as his own private playground. And the Mayor knows how to play.

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part four...