1x09&10 The Puppet/Nightmares

Well howdy, listeners! What the hell was this? Apparently Giles is in charge of the talent show, as the high mortality rate of Sunnydale means the regular drama teacher was probably eaten by a narwhal. This means there's quite a bit of cringe-inducing "talent" on display here, including Cordelia trying to sing. Poor Morgan, found a possessed puppet. But not possessed by a demon, but by a demon-hunter, cursed to be a perverted old man in a tiny wooden body with no dick. The real demon has eaten poor Emily's heart, but he doesn't take a liking to Morgan's brain- apparently tumors make it tough and chewy. Oh, and Buffy, Willow, and Zander perform Oedipus Rex. Money is a bit of a greek classics snob, so he's pissed. And then we move on to the most WTF episode yet, and I mean WTF in terms of story structure and plot. There's a kid who was maybe molested, and he has a superpower that makes everyone in town live their nightmares for a full day, at least. We learn that Bitches loves the opera. Didn't see that one coming. The twists reveal the Joss Wheadon we know and love, buried under a pile of schlock and story tropes. He's in there somewhere, and Money can feel him start to emerge. But honestly, these two episodes were such a mess it's hard to get excited about them.