The third season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 29, 1998 on The WB and episode 22, the second of the two part season finale, aired on July 13, 1999. However, episode 18 "Earshot" did not air until September 21, 1999, shortly before the season 4 premiere. The show maintained its previous time slot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET. "Earshot" and "Graduation Day, Part Two", were delayed in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre because of their content. Plot After attempting to start a new life in Los Angeles, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) returns to Sunnydale in season three, and is reunited with her friends and her mother. She is no longer a criminal suspect, but Principal Snyder, who took vindictive pleasure in expelling Buffy, refuses to reinstate her until he is told to do so by Giles. Angel (David Boreanaz) is resurrected mysteriously by the unseen Powers That Be. While Buffy is happy to have Angel back, he seems to have lost much of his sanity in Hell. Buffy helps Angel recover but, having seen Angel's demonic side, Buffy's friends distrust him until he saves them from a monster. Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) is fired from the Watchers' Council because he has developed a "father's love" for Buffy, and towards the end of the season Buffy announces that she will also no longer work for the Council. Early in the season she is confronted with an unstable Slayer, Faith (Eliza Dushku), who was activated after Kendra's death near the end of season two. Angel, after getting his soul back, is once again tormented by his guilt and personally by an entity called the First Evil, who takes credits of bringing Angel back for wicked intents and goads him into attempting suicide. Though Buffy is unable to prevent Angel from killing himself, the Powers That Be intervene and convince Angel that he has a greater purpose. Although the First is still out there, the antagonist of the season is shown to be the affable Mayor Richard Wilkins III (Harry Groener), who is near completion of his plan to "ascend" to become a giant snake-like demon – having already gained immortality through a Faustian bargain with demons when he founded Sunnydale a century ago. The final step is to be a massacre of students on Sunnydale High's graduation day. Although Faith