Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Episode 309 "The Wish" (1998) - Review

I haven't done individual episode reviews for Buffy the Vampire Slayer before, for the simple reason that either it was an average, good or fantastic episode, and I have little to say. It also doesn't help that there are so many episodes and that I watch the series pretty much whenever I can, so usually it'll be a few episodes in one go.
Watching Buffy's third season so far, there is a drastic improvement over the previous two, with more interesting and complex characters arcs, great themes and definitely the actors' and writers' finest work so far. "The Wish", however, is easily the most interesting episode so far to talk about. Its not the best, not my favourite and by no means the worst, but there's a lot to talk about.
"The Wish" sees Cordelia meeting a girl called Anya, who grants her a wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale, but all goes horribly wrong when Cordelia finds herself now in her 'wish world' with Vampires ruling Sunnydale with humans in fear of them. She meets Giles, now not a Watcher, and tries to explain what has happened, but then is killed by Xander and Willow, in this reality Vampires, leaving Giles to try and save the day.
The concept of an alternate Sunnydale is a fantastic one - the use of a dystopian reality really makes an interesting study of the impact Buffy has had on the town. However, why Buffy isn't there is never explained, and after she dies, Cordelia's wish of a Buffy-free Sunnydale is ruined when Giles manages to bring Buffy in to help him. But certainly the way the Vampires rule Sunnydale's human residents in fear is great, and could have been explored in great depth. Certainly Cordelia's reaction to this world felt a bit rushed, although her death scene was a brilliant twist in the tale.
The episode made for an interesting character study, but suffered from 45 minute syndrome. A second part could have improved the ending as well, especially as no character learns anything from the alternative reality - they've all forgotten it. This is a real shame, as it would have caused an interesting character arc for the leads to go on. Also, the Master's creepy plan is ruined from a lack of focus, despite being a great and truly evil plan from him.
That being said, the final fight of the humans vs the vampires was incredibly well-executed, and Christophe Beck's score throughout the scene was exceptional. Giles' speech that he has to believe in a better world to stop the wish was excellently written and brilliantly performed by Anthony Head. It really hit home what a dystopia this alternative Sunnydale was.
Overall, "The Wish" is a mix of both the best and weakest of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, suffering from a lack of time but telling a brilliant story. This really could have been an exceptional episode with more time given to it. 7/10