…There's nothing a zombie apocalypse can't solve.
October 6th, 1998. Chances are I was in knock-off Paul Frank pajamas, sitting on my twin sized bed with a bowl of top ramen in my lap, my white TV/VCR combo flickering in the dark, playing the wailing guitar-riff theme song my favorite television show, same as every Tuesday night. This episode, however, is one that deserves the coveted re-watch—it’s the episode I still go to, over twenty years later, when I need a little Buffy therapy to work some shit out.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3, Episode 2, “Dead Man’s Party,” is a masterpiece in episodic storytelling. It uses all the usual Buffy tricks and tropes: a new, short-lived hairstyle for Buffy, monsters-as-metaphor, Sunnydale residents unfazed by unexplainable monsters, Buffy slaying said monsters with her infamous witty banter and on-trend outfit.
Ignoring the season 3 premiere “Anne,” this episode picks up where the Season 2 finale ended: Buffy was forced to kill her one true love in order to stop the apocalypse, and then hopped on a bus out of town. As the audience, we are still reeling from Buffy’s loss—we are the only witnesses to Buffy thrusting a sword through Angel’s chest as one of the most heartbreaking moments in television history. Now, after a short stint in L.A., Buffy is back in Sunnydale, and everyone is trying to put the pieces back together.
Beginning with an acquisition of a Nigerian Mask by Buffy’s mom from the mysterious gallery she works for, “Dead Man’s Party” appears a one-off monster filler episode. Written by Marti Noxon, responsible for the second-most emotionally devastating episode of the series, “Prom,” we realize early on that this episode will be much more pivotal.
Buffy immediately sets out to find her friends in a time before cell phones or social media—when you literally had to wander around town on foot to see your friends after a summer away. Buffy eventually finds Xander, Willow, and Cordelia in an alley somewhere, obviously. They’ve been fighting vamps on their own by replacing Buffy with walkie talkie’s and ridiculous code names. They embrace lovingly, stoked to see their Slayer. Then, at Giles’ apartment, it’s stake-in-the-heart tormenting to see your TV dad so emotional.
The next day, after learning she’s still expelled from school, Buffy is stood up by Willow and spends the afternoon bonding with Joyce by burying dead cat she finds in their basement. Later, the mask’s eyes glow red and the dead cat reanimates, because, Hellmouth.
It’s in the library in the next scene that the Scoobies (sans banned Buffy) chat and we witness some of the greatest Oz lines of all time. His description of a hootenanny—chock full of hoot, just as little bit of nanny—convinces them all to throw Buffy a huge house party instead of talking about how weird and awkward things are. At the party that night, Buffy wanders around trying to talk to her friends, but everyone is avoiding her. Buffy gets the hint after overhearing Joyce admit to her new friend Pat that everything is harder with her back—Buffy goes upstairs to room to repack and you don’t blame her. Everyone sucks! Poor Buffy! But the truth is, in 1998, or 2018, and probably in 2028, Joyce is always there to remind you as you pack a tote bag full of poor decisions, wearing her signature JC Penny cardigan: “You made some bad choices…you just might have to live with some consequences.” It hits hard.
It’s at this point things begin to swell both at the party and in town with some ultra-intense Gregorian chanting and a few dead Sunnydale residents as Giles makes his way to the Summers’ house to warn everyone. When Willow finds Buffy packing, she attacks her for abandoning her. Joyce is right behind, drunk on Schnapps and twists the knife in deeper. As the argument moves downstairs, Xander joins in on guilt trip in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. With Giles’ timely arrival, the undead break in through the window and end the argument, shifting everyone into a normal, functional fighting routine.
After a short, low stakes episode-two-battle, temporary-friend Pat is killed, becomes a zombie demon god, and Buffy immediately slays her to save the town. All the zombies vanish, along with any residual anger from Joyce, Xander, or Willow towards Buffy. Because in Sunnydale, a little violence will literally solve anything.
“Dead Man’s Party” borrows its title from of course, everyone’s favorite Oingo Boingo song—but it is more than just a clever connection to the plot of this episode that the song is fitting, as Xander poignantly makes the whole point of this episode clear during the climax: “…you can’t just bury stuff, Buffy. It’ll come right back up to get you.”
Erica Hoffmeister holds an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English from Chapman University, and teaches college writing across the Denver metro area. She is the author of two poetry collections: Lived in Bars (Stubborn Mule Press, 2019), and the prize-winning chapbook, Roots Grew Wild (Kingdoms in the Wild Press, 2019). She writes across genres, from fiction to creative nonfiction, poetry and hybrid and everything in between; her work has been featured in Crab Fat Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, The Esthetic Apostle, FreezeRay, Mom Egg Review, Suspect Press and several others. She is obsessed with pop culture, horror films, cross country road trips, and her two daughters, Scout and Lux.