The short answer is: yes. Season 4 has some excellent moments, but the high points of the season are mixed in among a lot of mediocre episodes. Now, I'm going to be rather harsh on this season, but I want to emphasize that even an average episode of Buffy is, in my opinion, better than most of what you'll find on TV. So, while I'll dwell more on the bad, there's still plenty of good here.
First, lets talk about the cast. On the plus side, Spike is back! One of the best things about Season 2, and guest star in Season 3's best episode, Spike's return is a welcome addition to the Buffy cast. Now, the reasons for keeping Spike around are kind of vague, and there becomes less and less reason not to kill him as the season goes on, I don't really care, because he enhances the show so much. He adequately fills in the role Cordelia vacated of being comic relief, and telling our heroes when they're being stupid. This is probably the best Spike season, before his motivations start getting fuzzy in seasons 5 and 6. Also on the plus side, the addition of Emma Caulfield as a regular cast member playing Anya. Anya is also primarily a comic relief character, and Caulfield really does a fantastic job with the part. Anya also adds another dimension to Xander though, one that is sorely needed to keep his character from falling by the wayside. She is much better integrated into the cast than another new cast member who I will get to later. On the negative side, we have Buffy's new beau, Riley Finn. Look, Riley isn't terrible. In theory, I like the idea of Buffy being with someone "normal" (even if he turns out less normal than originally thought). That's a logical next step after breaking up with Angel. However, even aside from the Initiative stuff (which never really works for me), I just don't think he fits the tone of the show well. Joss Whedon (and his writers) have a definite style to their dialogue, and you've got to deliver it with the right wit and cadence, and I don't think Marc Blucas ever really managed it. Amidst the rest of this cast, he's just really, really bland. You never feel invested in Riley and Buffy, he always feels like a stopgap, not a serious partner. That's a real problem given how prominent he is in this season.
The whole Riley/Initiative/Adam story which is the real backbone of the season really is problematic. It's easily the weakest season-long arc. It isn't so much that they're bad ideas. As I've said, Riley is ok in concept. The Initiative is interesting in concept. It presents a contrast between Buffy's old-school, magic, stake to the heart approach to demon killing and the Initiative's technological, scientific, military approach. Buffy trying to work with them, only to find that she doesn't fit into their structured methodology, it's a good idea. Adam is interesting in concept. This being that stands halfway between human and demon and waxes poetic about philosophy, but is also a completely unstoppable foe, that could be really interesting. All of these are good ideas, but they're all half-baked. We get one episode of Buffy trying to work with the Initiative, that's it. They were just kind of there. It's the same with Adam, we don't spend nearly enough time with Adam to be invested in him as a major villain. That means that we get a pretty cool little fight scene when Buffy offs him, but there's no real emotional payoff, there's no thematic significance. That's probably why the fight with Adam comes in the penultimate episode, not in the finale, and why this season has the weakest finale of any season (I know some people disagree with this. Those people are wrong). There's just very little flow to the season.
The other issue to deal with in Season 4 is Willow's relationships, and there's both good and bad here. First of all, the dissolution of her relationship with Oz happens way too quickly. Apparently, this is because Seth Green asked to be written out of the show, so the writers had their hands tied and couldn't lay the proper groundwork for their break-up. That sucks, but it doesn't change the fact that it basically comes out of nowhere and really feels rushed. What saves that episode is that, quite frankly, Alyson Hannigan is fantastic at crying. Seriously, her scenes are absolutely heartbreaking. Despite the fact that the story could be better plotted, she absolutely sells the pain and desperation of a broken heart. Then there's Tara. [Now, quick aside before I talk about her effect on the show. I'm don't believe homosexuality is right, but I also don't believe sex outside of marriage is right, so Willow's lesbian relationship with Tara does not bother me any more than Buffy (or, for that matter, scores of other TV characters) having sex with multiple guys over the course of the series. I do not look to TV shows for moral guidance. What I do respect the show for is not having Willow be a lesbian simply for shock value, but as a natural evolution of her character. Willow and Tara are actually characters, not simply there to be "the gay stereotype". A lot of shows these days have that obligatory gay character, which to me is a far more offensive thing. Anyway, that's my rant. I'm not going to dwell on that aspect anymore, I'm simply going to talk about their relationship in the context of the show.] I think the development of the Tara-Willow relationship is actually really well-handled. There are good reasons for these two characters to be drawn slowly together, and it isn't until she's faced with the prospect of Oz returning late in the season that Willow really realizes what has happened, and how close the two of them have gotten. Willow's emotional journey from "Wild At Heart" through "New Moon Rising" is really the best piece of character work in this season. On the other hand, as I alluded to above, the show really struggles to integrate Tara into the core group. She gets a few moments here and there over the next few seasons, but in large part she's defined by her relationship to Willow. When you compare her to Anya, who similarly comes in through her relationship to Xander but very quickly settles into the group dynamic, it's a marked difference. It's not a big problem, but it is something the show doesn't ever really address.
Those are the big points. Ultimately, the season fails because the Initiative/Adam storyline isn't coherent enough, and the season as a whole feels disjointed. There are high points (some of which we'll get to below), but the low points are really low, and the season-long arc isn't strong enough to compensate for that. Two episodes are among the worst this show has ever done, "Beer Bad" and "Where the Wild Things Are". The former features a couple decent moments, but for the most part it's just a bore. The latter has, quite frankly, the worst A-plot that the show has ever done, and only 2 scenes save it from being the worst episode of all time, the Buffy/Anya fight in the ice cream truck and the gang finding Giles in a coffee shop singing "Behind Blue Eyes".
That's enough negativity though, what about the good stuff? Well, the high points of Season 4 basically come in 2 places. The first is episodes 8-10 ("Pangs", "Something Blue" and "Hush") and the second is the Faith 2-parter ("This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You").
Pangs: It's the character stuff that makes this one work. The main storyline about a Native American spirit out to avenge his people on Thanksgiving is one I don't particularly care about, but there are so many great jokes scattered through this episode, and a really great set piece at the end. Buffy's insistence on having a perfect Thanksgiving (Anya: "a ritual sacrifice...with pie"), Spike being pathetic ("A bear! You made a bear! Undo it! Undo it!"), people thinking Angel has turned evil again, the Willow/Buffy/Giles squabbling over political correctness (Buffy: "We don't say 'Indian.'" Giles: "Oh, oh, right! Yes, yes. Um, always behind on the terms. Still trying not to refer to you lot as 'bloody colonials.'"), all of the little bits are so great.
Something Blue: Willow accidentally casts a spell to make Spike and Buffy fall in love. That's really all I have to say about this episode. The Spike/Buffy/Giles dynamic in this episode is just aces. It's really hilarious.
Hush: Greatness. Just...greatness. This episode ticks all the boxes for a good Buddy episode, it has hilarious moments, it has great thematic significance, and it also manages to be legitimately scary. First, lets talk about the creatures. The Gentlemen are the scariest creatures ever featured on Buffy. Their huge, steely grins, the way they glide around effortlessly, the way they quietly clap when they procure the hearts of their victims and, oh yeah, the way they steal your voice so you can't scream when they cut into your chest. They're really quite terrifying. Then there's the humor. The episode is packed with great sight gags. As a writer known for his dialogue, it was a bold thing for Joss Whedon to completely take that tool away, and he still manages to craft some great moments. Just a few examples: Willow looking very serious and quickly scribbling on her white board, only to write "Hi Giles"; Xander and Buffy's attempted phone conversation, and their subsequent looks of disappointment; Also, of course, Giles' overhead presentation of who the monsters are, which is comedic gold. On top of all that though, there's the masterful was "Hush" deals with the subject of communication. At the beginning of the episode, no one can communicate. Buffy and Riley are lying to each other, unable to reveal their true selves. Xander and Anya are fighting, because he hasn't been able to tell her how he feels about her. Giles and Spike can't understand each other. Poor Tara can't get a word out in her Wicca group without being stomped on by the wanna-be witches. The irony, of course, being that they can speak, but they can't really communicate. It isn't until everyone's voices get stolen that they can really "speak", as it were. Buffy and Riley find out about each others' unique professions by nearly shooting one another in the head as they fight the monsters. Xander proves his love for Anya by fighting Spike when he thinks he's attacked her. Meek and shy Tara enhances Willow's power enough to stop the monsters. In "Hush", actions do speak louder than words. And at the end of it all, Buffy and Riley sit down because "We need to talk," only neither of them can find the words to say. It's a perfect episode of TV.
This Year's Girl/Who Are You: This will be much shorter than my Hush synopsis. I think this is a real highlight for Sarah Michelle Gellar, who gets to embody Faith after their body switch (Eliza Dushku does a good job too, she just has much less to do). This is a really pivotal arc for Faith, and paves the way for what happens with her in Angel. She gets a taste of Buffy's life and her responsibility, and it deeply affects her. What started off as a mocking exercise in front of the mirror, "Because it's wrong," is genuinely meant by the end, "You aren't going to kill these people, because it's wrong." When the two of them fight, Faith is fighting Buffy, but more than that she's punishing herself. She's seen the other side, and it's shaken her. She isn't fully changed, she isn't reformed yet, but her worldview is crumbling beneath her, which will eventually lead to her falling to pieces. It's a fantastic piece of character work, and a great piece of acting from SMG that really sells it.
So, there are highs to be found in Season 4, that's for sure. It's certainly worth watching, it's just not up to the standards of the 2 seasons the preceded it, or the 2 seasons that followed.
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