[1] Despite Giles' (Anthony Stewart Head) misgivings, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) decides to try out for the cheerleading squad in order to reclaim some of the happy, normal social life she enjoyed back in Los Angeles.
In the library, the gang discusses what happened, and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) offer to help Buffy research Amber's past.
Cheerleading tryouts continue the next day, during which Amy (Elizabeth Anne Allen) falls into Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), knocking her over.
Amy is under intense pressure to compete from her domineering mother (Robin Riker), a star cheerleader in her day once nicknamed "Catherine the Great."
Meanwhile, an unknown woman is seen performing a magic ceremony over a cauldron with Barbie dolls dressed as cheerleaders, naming Cordelia as its victim.
Under the spell, Cordelia is struck blind during her driver's education class, and Buffy saves her from being hit by a van after she wanders into traffic.
Xander and Willow are unable to stop her from storming into the science lab with an axe, but they give Giles enough time to break the spells.
While both girls wonder where Amy's mother is, the camera pulls close to the statue's face, revealing Catherine's terrified eyes and a muffled voice pleading for help.
[4] A review from the BBC called it "predictable" and stated that the "script doesn't sparkle like Whedon's previous two episodes, and often lacks subtlety".
[5] DVD Talk's Phillip Duncan described "Witch" as "[an] interesting look [at] peer pressure" and wrote, "Whedon and his crew easily take what could have been a simple monster-of-the-week plot and ground it firmly in the here and now.
Though it is "a surprisingly dark story, focused on power dynamics and abusive parenting," season one is "a pretty whacky affair overall," and this episode "stands out as being just that shade bleaker.