This atrocity of a season starts off with Buffy and Willow sitting in the cemetery picking out Buffy's classes, which she has put off doing until now.  While Buffy's talking about how she needs to stay sharp with the Slaying, and somehow needing to balance it with college life, a vamp rises from a grave behind them...only to run away when it sees their huge assortment of weapons.  The next day at Orientation, Buffy wanders around the college campus bewildered until she runs into Willow.  The two run into Oz, who is also attending UC Sunnydale as a freshman this fall.  As they walk to the library, they discuss how Giles is still unemployed and Xander's still gone on his road trip.  They hit the library, which is huge, and head off to buy some text books.  Buffy ends up knocking some books on top of a male student's head, and he introduces himself as Riley Finn, the TA in their psychology class.  Buffy continues to act like an idiot in front of him, while he seems to hit it off with Willow. Buffy heads off alone to her dorm room, where she meets her roommate Kathy.  Kathy's a bit hyper and freaky, and Buffy inwardly groans when Kathy puts up a Celie Dion poster. The next day, Buffy continues to be befuddled in all things college when she gets kicked out of a class she was trying to petition because she was talking.  In psychology, Buffy finds out the professor there seems to be just as mean as the previous one.  The professor's name is Maggie Walsh, and refers to herself as "the evil bitch monster of death".  After classes, Buffy bumps into another 'lost' student named Eddie.  They walk together for awhile and find out they both have the aforementioned bitch monster of death for psychology, and resolve to help each other with the class.  Along the way, he remarks to Buffy how he always has his favorite book "Of Human Bondage" with him....it's like a security blanket.  They part ways, and Eddie gets attacked by some vamps...after which they go to Eddie's room and take all of his stuff, leaving a forged goodbye note on his bed. The next day in psych class, Buffy wonders where Eddie is.  She goes to his dorm, where she learns that he 'left', leaving only a note saying that college was too much for him to handle.  The RA says that this happens alot, but Buffy is suspicious when she sees his book on the night table.  Elswhere, the vamps ... led by a long haired blond vamp (the chick from Ally McBeal)  go through Eddie's stuff.    Buffy heads over to Giles's house, but it's a black englishwoman who answers the door.....clad only in a man's button-up shirt.  Buffy is even more surprised when Giles comes out in his bathrobe, introducing the woman as Olivia....an old friend.  An old friend who, by the way, addresses him as "Ripper".  Buffy is repulsed, but fills Giles in on the potential Eddie problem.  Giles basically doesn't feel like she needs his help, and sends her on her merry way after reminding her that she has to learn how to take care of herself, as she no longer has an official watcher. That night while patrolling, Buffy runs into Eddie.   He's a vampire now, and she ends up staking him.  At that point, the vamp gang shows up and the lead vampire...who's name is Sunday...calls dibs on Buffy.  They fight, and Buffy  actually starts to lose after her arm gets broken (or sprained), and runs away.  The next day, Buffy spots Willow and Oz, but avoids them before they see her.  At the vampire hangout, the vamps make fun of Buffy.  Buffy, still feeling out of place, goes home only to find that Joyce has a bunch of boxes in Buffy's room.  She says she needed the extra space, and didn't think Buffy would be home so soon.  While she's there, the phone rings, but nobody answers on the other end of the line (see Thoughts, below). Buffy's all dejected, and goes back to her dorm room.  There she finds all of her stuff missing, and a forged note saying she couldn't take college life anymore.  She heads to the Bronze alone, all sad and stuff.  Looking to make some sort of connection, she half-wishfully thinks she sees Angel, but it's not him.  Just then Xander appears, and it turns out that he didn't get any further than Oxnard on his grand trip, due to his car breaking down.  He ended up spending the whole summer washing dishes in a strip club, and now he's back home with his parents, living in the basement and paying them rent.  He picks up on Buffy's sadness, and cheers her up by basically making her feel wanted and needed.  They team up to fight evil. Buffy and Xander do some research and figure out that the vamp gang must be living in an abandoned frat house.  They head there, where they spy on the vamps from the skylight in the roof.  They look through it and find the vamps going through Buffy's stuff.  Xander heads off to gather some weapons, and Buffy ends up falling through the skylight, landing on her injured arm.  Meanwhile, Willow and Oz have found 'Buffy's' note at the dorm room when Xander arrives and covertly lets them know in front of Kathy that Buffy needs their help.  They go off to save Buffy.  At the frat house, Buffy doesn't do too well until Sunday breaks Buffy's class protector award (from The Prom, Season 3)and THAT makes Buffy mad.  She starts kicking ass.  The gang arrives just as Buffy wins, and they all start to carry Buffy's stuff back.  Giles comes running up with a bunch of weapons, all distraught with guilt for leaving Buffy on her own.  Willow hands him a box to carry, and Buffy figures that maybe college isn't so bad after all. Elsewhere on campus, a vampire is suddenly shocked with a taser gun, falling to the ground.  As he lays there, three guys in commando outfits with ski masks come out from the bushes and close in on him with guns.     FLAWS:     While the vampires are taking all of Eddie's stuff, you can see a couple of their reflections in the mirror above the sink. THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE:       An icky start to an icky season.  Sorry, but there's no way I'm going to be able to contain myself for the next 21 episodes.  At first I just really didn't like it because Angel was gone, and I couldn't accept it (although I DID like the part where Buffy picked up the phone only to hear dead air.  In the very first ANGEL episode that aired right after this ep, we find out that it was Angel on the other end of the line.  He called her house and you could hear her voice going "hello? hello?" before he hung up, unable to say anything), but this season eventually pretty much proves to me how much it sucks.  So okay, Buffy and some of the gang are in college now.  Woo hoo.  We meet future boy-toy Riley (gag), and Xander and Giles just kinda stand around with nothing to do (much as they do for the rest of the season).  Here it is the very first episode of the season, and already we're getting foreshadowing of what the big bad this year might be (the weird, unexplained commando guys in the end).  Yay. BEST LINE: Willow, talking about Xander to Buffy:  "He said he wasn't coming back until he'd driven to all fifty states" Buffy:  "Did you explain about Hawaii?" Willow:  "Well, he seemed so determined." and: Professor Riegert:  "Do you understand? You are sucking energy from everyone in this room.  They came here to learn." Buffy:  "I didn't mean to.....suck."

"The Freshman"