The Bitch Is Back with Charisma Carpenter

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.

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

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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.

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

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.

Full episodes and Bonus Bitch live on Patreon, link below.

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

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.

That cigarette smoke shot might be the most cinematic thing this show has ever pulled off. The morning after the scene had me yelling at my screen. Jenny Calendar finally admits she's been a double agent this entire time, and believe me, I have thoughts about that. Then Willow tells Oz to make out with her and I fell in love with him right alongside her. And when Buffy shoulders a rocket launcher in the middle of a mall? Honestly, good.

I also get into the night we shot the military base in the pouring rain, Cordelia's inexplicable silver jacket, and the elevator shot that ended up in the opening credits.

I cried, I laughed, I'm not okay. The B*tch is Back!

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.

The B*tch is Back.