The Bitch Is Back with Charisma Carpenter

In this episode of The B*tch Is Back, I watched I Only Have Eyes for You, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 19, for the first time. This one hit different. A ghost reliving a murder. A love that couldn't be. And the cafeteria snake scene that I was absolutely not prepared for. I share what really happened on set that day and why this episode left me with more questions than answers. Including the one nobody wants to answer. Who deserves forgiveness?

In this episode of The B*tch Is Back, I rank every Buffy the Vampire Slayer character from Seasons 1 and 2. I was in 147 episodes and never watched a single one until now. These are my honest rankings after watching for the first time and I have opinions, especially about my own character. Tell me your rankings in the comments, do you agree?

In this episode of The Bitch Is Back, I watch Killed by Death, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 18, for the first time. This is my least favorite episode of the season and I'll tell you exactly why. A demon that only sick children can see, an abandoned hospital that was genuinely creepy to film in, and Buffy making herself sicker to protect the kids she came to save. Plus I share what it was actually like being on set for this one and filming in an abandoned hospital.

Tell everyone you've ever met. The B*tch is Back!

In this episode of The Bitch Is Back, I watch "Passion," Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 17, for the first time. I knew Jenny Calendar dies in this one, but I didn't know how, and it left me stunned. I break down the olive branch scene between Jenny and Buffy, Joyce finding out about Buffy and Angel in the worst possible way and my thoughts as a mom on how she handled it, Giles going full vengeance mode after finding the rose on his door, and why I think the show cut away from its biggest emotional beats too fast. I also share what I remember from set about Robia’s final episode.

I threw out the playbook this week. No 20-page document, no teleprompter, no prep. For the first time ever, I'm watching an episode in real time with you, and of course it's Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, the Valentine's Day love spell disaster. Season 2, Episode 16 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, written by Marti Noxon.

I turned another year older in Manchester, surrounded by my Buffy family and a sea of fans. So this week is a full show and tell the cards that made me cry a little (Meg and her mom Catherine, I'm looking at you), the homemade ones that got me the most, Swedish gummies I've already half-eaten, ruby jewelry, friendship bracelets, a random duck, and a Taylor Swift Showgirl CD. Plus why Patreon members showing up at cons means more than any of you know.

This week I'm first-watching Buffy Season 2, Episode 15, "Phases," the one where Oz finds out he's a werewolf, Larry finds out it's easier to just be honest, and everyone learns that hiding who you are is a full-time job. But you know where my head really went: that car scene. Xander drags Cordelia out to do things she can't tell her father about, then spends the whole time obsessing over Willow, and somehow she's the one getting slut-shamed for it. As the woman who actually played her, I have thoughts. Plus Willow and Oz land the sweetest ending the show's done yet, and I'm begging this entire cast to try saying the thing out loud sometime. Full recap, my sharpest Hot Takes, and behind-the-scenes I actually lived through. New episodes every other week.

The team pulled up two decades of my old red carpet photos and made me sit here and look at every single one. Here's what I learned: I've had some genuinely great looks, that Italian silk blouse, my hair, and my makeup combined, and I'd wear it again tomorrow. Some things I'd style differently now, I'm owning my crimes against pantyhose, the shoe choices that should've been slingbacks. There's a Gucci suit that I still have, and an outfit I wear to a water charity Gala that would be better suited for the Grammys.

This is a heavy one. Buffy gives Angel everything and wakes up to a man who is no longer home, and I could not stop thinking about how fast she assumes it's her fault. Because that's what we do.

New segment: Rewind in Time. The team dug up old footage of me promoting Buffy back in the day, and now I have to sit here and comment on all of it. First up is a five-minute KTLA interview with Sam Rubin from the set of the Halloween episode. I get into: Meeting the cast back when nobody knew if this show was even going to be a thing, stalking Michelle Pfeiffer at the Emmy party, and, decades later, still being genuinely furious that Buffy got snubbed for everything but a makeup nomination. It's surreal, it's a little cringe, and it's very me.