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The Big Dam Buffy Rewatch s01e02 “The Harvest”

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In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will recap every episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Well, okay. Not really “alone” because a lot of people do it. Shut up, you don’t know her life. Anyway, in every generation there is a chosen one. She will recap every episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer with an eye to the following themes:

  1. Sex is the real villain of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer universe.

  2. Giles is totally in love with Buffy.

  3. Joyce is a fucking terrible parent.

  4. Willow’s magic is utterly useless (this one won’t be an issue until season 2, when she gets a chance to become a witch)

  5. Xander is a textbook Nice Guy.

  6. The show isn’t as feminist as people claim.

  7. All the monsters look like wieners.

  8. If ambivalence to possible danger were an Olympic sport, Team Sunnydale would take the gold.

When we last left Buffy, she was in a sarcophagus with a vampire on top of her. So, you know. Not an ideal situation for most people to be in.
Who am I kidding? This is probably the ideal situation for over half of you guys. Sinners.

Buffy kicks her way free and runs, because she consistently, throughout the entire series, knows when she’s been beaten. Or might get beaten, which in slayer world means death. But I appreciate a heroine who knows when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, so to speak. She busts ass out to the cemetery, where she finds Willow being attacked by a vampire. She rescues Willow, and then Xander, but Jessie has been kidnapped by the vampires. Then it’s opening credits times.
After the credits, Giles does an impression of the end of The Rocky Horror Picture Show:

Lost in time, and lost in space.

Giles tells Buffy, Xander, and Willow that the earth is way older than they think, and it began as a demon realm. Which is like, the exact opposite of what conservative Christianity teaches. So, demons and vampires roamed the earth, until they lost it, and now Giles and Buffy have to convince these poor kids that all this shit is real.

I find it difficult to believe that these kids have lived in Sunnydale their entire lives, but they’ve never seen a vampire. In seven seasons of this show, we’ve seen the town mobilize against witches, adults revert to their teenage selves, people’s dreams become reality, so and on so forth. If that shit just started happening when Buffy showed up? Everyone would have left town. So we have to assume this has been going on for some time. But if people were paying attention to what was going on around them, they would be teaching their kids, “Hey, there are vampires, and they will eat the fuck out of you so, you know, don’t go into dark alleys with strangers.” No one has ever told Willow and Xander there might be vampires, but it seems highly unlikely that no one in Sunnydale has ever noticed the paranormal side effects of living above a Hellmouth. See #8. They’re willfully ignoring the fact that they’re surrounded by monsters, and in doing so they’re keeping their children ignorant when what they really should have been doing is moving away or arming them with stakes.
So, remember Jessie, Willow and Xander’s friend from the first episode? Don’t worry, this is the last episode you’ll have to remember him for. No one else does after this one, either. Anyway, Darla and Luke, the Master’s minions, bring Jessie to the Hellmouth to feed the Master. Here’s something I don’t understand about Darla: in the rest of the series, she seems pretty smart. Granted, we only really get to know her through flashbacks, and later on Angel, but she clearly has cunning in those appearances. Here, she brings Jessie to the Master and blurts out about how good he tastes.
Imagine your friend called you, and she was like, “Hey, I’m swinging by McDonald’s, do you want anything?” and you’re like, “I want a Shamrock shake.” Then they get there, and they’re like, “Hey, that Shamrock shake is soooo good this year, I think they changed the formula,” and you realize that they don’t have their own shake. They tasted your shake. This is the face you will make:
Bitch, I know you did not sample my Shamrock shake.

The Master calls Darla out on her shady-as-fuck taste testing:

“You’ve tasted it. I’m your faithful dog. You bring me scraps.”

The Master says he’s waited for “three score years” stuck in the Hellmouth (I don’t know how long that is) and when he ascends everybody better hope he’s in a better mood. Holy shit, I’m pretty sure I’ve had that argument with my husband before.

One thing that does perk The Master up a little is the knowledge that there could be a slayer close by. Then we cut back to the library, where Giles explains what a slayer is:

“Alright. The Slayer hunts vampires. Buffy is a slayer. Don’t tell anyone. Well, I think that’s all the vampire information you need.”

Buffy says that since she let Jessie get kidnapped, he’s her responsibility, even though Xander wants to go in all guns a-blazin’ and Willow wants to go to the police. Then we’re back in the Hellmouth, where Jessie is standing around listening to Luke and The Master talk. The good news for Jessie is, they’re not going to murder him right away. They’re going to use him as bait, to try and lure the slayer to them.

Back in ye olde school library that no students beside Buffy, Xander, and Willow go to, Willow finds some plans for the underground utilities in Sunnydale. The utility tunnels and sewers are basically an underground city for the vamps, who can move about freely without ever having to go into the blazing hot sunlight that would kill them. You know, like people who live in Houston scurry about underground to avoid the weather. Call me crazy, but the last thing I would vote for, were I on Sunnydale’s city council, is any improvement of modern civilization that would make it easier for vampires to get me. Of course, this is assuming that anyone in Sunnydale has ever actually noticed the vampires in their midst.

By the by, Willow more or less hacks into the city’s files to get this information. That’s right. Willow is a goddamned computer genius. Remember that when we get to season four and she hardly ever touches a computer again.
Buffy remembers that Luke didn’t come into the crypt through the front door, and he didn’t follow her out, so the entrance to the Master’s lair will be in that crypt. Which is cool and all, but I thought The Master was in the Hellmouth? Where the fuck is this guy? They made it look like he was directly under the school in the first episode.
Whatever, I’m still going to assume he’s in the Hellmouth.
Buffy tells Xander again that he’s not going to go with her to rescue Jessie, and of course this is an affront to Xander’s manhood:

Xander: “So what’s the plan? We saddle up, right?”

Buffy: “There’s no ‘we,’ okay? I’m the slayer, and you’re not.”

Xander: “I knew you’d throw that back in my face.”

Buffy: “Xander, this is deeply dangerous.”

Xander: “I’m inadequate. That’s fine. I’m less than a man.”

No, Xander, you fucking prick. You’re not less than a man. You’re less than a slayer. And the slayer is always female, so you’ll always be less than a particular female. You can’t handle the idea that Buffy might be stronger than you because #5. If you’re not stronger than Buffy, you can’t save Buffy, thus making her beholden to repay you in sexual attention.

Even Willow and Giles look like they want Xander to get his dick slammed in a car door right now.

Willow is not a disgusting teen misogynist, so she tries a different approach, admitting that she’s pretty freaked out by all the stuff that’s going on, but she needs to help her friend. Apparently, Giles feels that the best way for Willow to help is to engage in further inappropriate student/teacher physical proximity:
Seriously, did no one at Watcher school ever pull him aside and say, “Look, Rupert, you’re kind of an intense guy, and you’re a close talker. Since your job is solely focused on being around teenage girl all the time, you might want to work on that so you don’t end up on that show.”
You rang?
What Giles actually wants Willow to do is become a research assistant, to help him look for information about this whole Harvest thing the Master is up to. In this one scene, it kind of cements Willow’s role in the group for the entire season. She’s like a little Watcher-in-training, and she never really breaks out of this role too much, even when she gets into magic. We’ll see more of that as we discuss #4 in season 2 and onward.
Buffy promises that if Jessie is alive, she’ll find him, and Giles asks if he should remind her to be careful. And then they look at each other like this:
And I’m not saying this is “proof” of #2, just remember it when we’re in the middle of season four and I remind you of it. Write this shit down, because I am just not good at tagging these posts.
As Buffy tries to leave campus, she is stopped by Principal Flutie. Poor, poor Principal Flutie:
Look at that man. This is not a man who can maintain on a Hellmouth. He sort of apologetically guilts Buffy into not leaving campus during school hours, saying that the Buffy Summers he wants at his school is the one who has her “feet on the ground.” So, of course the moment his back is turned, Buffy just jumps over the gate and takes off. Get it? Feet on the ground? And she jumps? Get it?
Xander and Willow are trying to think up events they might find in local news sources and on the internet that would have some underlying paranormal cause. They get to “rain of toads” and Xander snaps. He’s totally freaked that all he can do is wait around, helpless, while knowing that there is all this paranormal shit going on.

“This is just too much. Yesterday my life’s like, ‘uh-oh, pop quiz.” Today it’s ‘rain of toads.'”

I like this motivation a lot more than his previous, “I’m a man, therefore I should have my maleness constantly validated,” argument. I totally get and can sympathize with “I know something is wrong but there’s nothing I can do to fix it.” That should have been the angle the writers worked all along, instead of, “My maleness is diminished by letting a woman take charge.”

At the crypt, Buffy finds the secret entrance, and Angel finds Buffy. She asks him if he has a key, and he makes it clear that he’s not a part of The Master’s gang. Which is all well and good, but if he didn’t use the secret entrance, how did he get into the crypt in the middle of daylight in the first place? At this point Buffy doesn’t know that Angel is a vampire, the audience doesn’t know that Angel is a vampire, but still… when we do eventually find out halfway through the first season, it’s hard not to think back to this time when Angel was out wandering around in broad fucking daylight, since he couldn’t get through that locked door:

LOL, Angel got photobombed by an angel.
Okay, fine. As much as I dislike Angel as a person, this does set up something fairly important for the universe. See all that diffuse sunlight around him? That doesn’t affect Buffy vamps. Only direct rays of sunlight touching them does.
You know what vamps aren’t allergic to? Trying to tell the slayer how to do her goddamned job. Angel stands there with a smug asshole expression and warns Buffy not to go down into the Hellmouth or the sewer or wherever the fuck this Master guy is, but he doesn’t offer to help her. He gives her directions on how to get to the Master, but only after he gloats about how he thought she would find the secret clubhouse entrance sooner than she did. Well, why didn’t you tell her before? Dick.
Wait, I have a #9 now! Angel is a dick!
After creeping around in the dark for a bit, Buffy gets scared by the sudden presence of Xander. He’s there because his friend is in danger, and he can’t sit idly by and not help. Which would go over a lot better if he hadn’t just pulled all that, “I’m not a man because this girl is going to handle it,” thing back at the library. Proving he’s a totally useful member of this mission, he hasn’t brought anything with him to defend himself if necessary. Now, Buffy is liable not only for her safety and the safety of Jessie, but for Xander as well. Xander has brought a flashlight to a vampire fight.
Back at school, Giles has finally found the information about the Harvest, and Willow is still trying to look up information about earthquakes on the computer. In this scene, we meet the absolute sunshine of my life, and one of the strongest female characters on Buffy:

We won’t be able to get into that until later in the series, but for now, let’s make this one #10 on the list, and revisit it when the time comes. #10: Harmony is the strongest female character on Buffy. Anyway, Harmony and Cordelia are talking about going to the Bronze and how nerdy computer class is. Then Cordelia starts talking smack about Buffy. To Willow’s credit, she does try to confront her directly to stick up for Buffy, only to be brutally rebuffed, but the next thing that happens irks me. Cordelia and Harmony have finished their projects, and Willow tricks them into deleting them. Granted, Cordelia is super dumb for believing that the “Del” delete key is the “deliver” key, but come on. As the audience, we’re supposed to delight in seeing girl-on-girl hatred conquered by… girl-on-girl hatred? The point of the scene is that we’re going to enjoy seeing the school bitch put in her place by the frumpy nerd, but that’s not empowering. Destroying someone’s homework is just petty.
In the utility tunnels, Buffy and Xander find Jessie. Or Jessie finds them. And there is a really neat piece of writing, in which Buffy tells Xander that she knows they’re close to the vampire’s lair because they haven’t seen any rats in a while. Aspiring writers, that is the kind of attention to detail that makes your work have depth. It’s not enough to show a rat in a tunnel, you have to also show the absence of rats. You know, if it applies.
Jessie tells Buffy and Xander that he was intended for bait, and the trap springs. Jessie remembers how to get out, though, and he leads Buffy and Xander into a dead end, and whoops, he’s a vampire now, too:
So, Jessie is a vampire, and Xander has to use a cross to fend him off. Jessie’s personality has taken a total 180 as well. This is important, and will be covered in another writing tip in just a minute here.
Remember back in the first episode where Buffy broke a door just by jiggling the handle? And how she’s super strong and stuff? Meet the door that Buffy couldn’t close without a man’s help:
Buffy is super strong, until Xander is there. Xander who, we must remember, was just complaining about not being manly enough when Buffy rejected his help. Now, rather than showing us Buffy saving his life and being all, “told you so,” we need to see her unable to complete a task without the male help she rejected. Because it is unacceptable for a male to be rejected. This isn’t unique to Buffy, we see it in literally every story line out there, on every show, in almost every book. But it still falls under #6
Oh, and remember Xander’s flashlight? I wasn’t being cryptic there. He literally brought a flashlight, and while they are trapped in this dead end tunnel with vampires clawing at the door, he uses the very same flashlight that Buffy mocked in the earlier scene to find the way out. Buffy mocked the tool he felt was appropriate for the job, but since audiences can’t handle men being rejected, that must be the tool that saves them. Xander spots a vent with his magic flashlight (stand in for his penis, if we want to go all Freud here) and they climb to safety Aliens-style.
Buuuut not before Xander has to save Buffy one last time, when a vampire grabs her leg and he must physically pull her to safety:
Because Buffy, the vampire slayer, protagonist on a show called Buffy The Vampire Slayer, is too weak to fight a vampire when a man there is rescue her.
Juuuuuuuust sayin’.
The Master is not pleased that Buffy escaped, but he’s a really well-written villain in that his main objective hasn’t changed. Have you ever noticed how sometimes in fantasy or action stories, there will be this horrible villain with a dastardly plan, but once they meet the hero of the piece their focus shifts from “Carry out my evil plan,” to “Do everything in my power to kill the hero, even if it endangers my main goal?” I hate when that happens. Here, the Master is really pissed that she escaped. But he doesn’t say, “Bring her to me!” or “Find her!” and send all of his very best minions out after her. He basically just says oh well, the Harvest is coming up, so I’ll look forward to killing the slayer after we get that taken care of. He doesn’t shift his focus. This is awesome, because it makes him a far more dangerous villain. The stakes are higher. If he’s not engaging Buffy, it’s because he’s maintaining forward momentum on something she has to stop. That’s a good bad guy, guys.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Giles is still reading, when the “squeaky door opening sound effect” makes him look up and utter the most plaintively hopeful “Buffy?” in the entire series. Until season 6, when he says it again. We’ll get there. But for now, check out his face:
OMG #2 I will go down with this ship! EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO “EVIDENCE” AT THIS POINT IN THE SERIES!
Ahem.
It’s not Buffy, though, it’s just Willow, and she did some research on creepy 1930’s murders that point to vampires in the area. Oh, so there haven’t been vampire attacks since then. Okay, people of Sunnydale, MAYBE I can give you a pass on kids not knowing about vampires right now, but you never seem to get your act together, so #8 stands.
Back in the Hellmouth, the Master does some weird blood wedding ceremony thing with Luke that will make them “as one” during the Harvest. HOT. The way it will work is, Luke, who can leave the Hellmouth area (if it is the Hellmouth, I’m still not clear on this), will eat people, and every life he take will feed The Master’s power, which will enable him to finally escape the Hellmouth or wherever. 
Buffy and Xander get back to the library, where they break the bad news, that Jessie is a vampire. And Willow says that at least Buffy and Xander are okay. Um, yeah, I guess that’s neat and all, but wasn’t Jessie your friend? And he’s a demon now?
Giles explains that The Master is stuck in the mystical portal that is Sunnydale – is that the Hellmouth? – and he needs to consume a certain amount of power to open the portal and get out. One big credit I will give to this series? After these two episodes, I am never again confused about where a villain is or which portal he’s opening. It’s just these first two where I’m super confused.
Before Buffy can take on the Master and stop the Harvest, she has to stop at home for supplies. Then her mom comes in and she’s all, “I got a call from the new principal,” and she’s super worried that Buffy is fucking up again. She tells Buffy she can’t go out, because some self-help parenting tapes say she has to get used to saying no. Which means she hasn’t been saying no for… sixteen years? #3
And you wonder why she burned her old school down, Joyce?

After giving Buffy a speech about how everything in life isn’t “the end of the world,” Joyce goes downstairs to make dinner and congratulate herself on her great parenting.
So, let’s check out the supplies Buffy stopped at home for:
So, this is Buffy’s weapons chest in the second episode of the first season. Don’t worry, it gets a lot better. For one, I don’t think we ever see her use garlic, ever, to kill a vampire, and that seems to be a vampire rule only in these two episodes. I don’t think it’s ever mentioned again. If you’re writing something? Don’t do that. Don’t start using a convention you later abandon. A lot of story telling does this, especially serialized story telling, like a tv show. Remember how in the first episode of Futurama, the dollar was so devalued as currency that everything cost millions and billions of dollars? And then they dropped it when it was too difficult to keep up? It happens to very best of us, but we should probably strive to stay away from it.
Anyway, look at those communion wafers. If this were a video game, that would her range attack. But she never uses communion wafers to kill a vampire! The taste and texture alone should put them way, way off.
Buffy packs her bag and heads out through her open bedroom window, because Joyce was never a teenager and didn’t think, “Hey, maybe she’s going to leave through that open bedroom window.” #3
At the Bronze, Cordelia takes a moment to let us all appreciate how shallow and narcissistic she is, before hitting the dance floor. Then she spots Jessie. Moments ago, she had complained about Jessie following her around like a puppy dog. Now, though, something is different about him. Something that makes him desirable.
Oh, wait, it’s because he stares at her all creepy, then forcibly takes her hand and tells her to shut up as he leads her onto the dance floor. Because that’s what Cordelia, a woman, really wants. To be stalked and controlled. #6

The Master’s minions show up at the Bronze and take over with a fairly dramatic floorshow presentation:
Still better than the Lestat musical.

Luke explains to them that they’re all going to die, so just stay put while I eat you one by one. Okay, sounds legit, I’ll definitely hang around for that, Luke.
Buffy and the gang roll up to the Bronze to find the doors locked and the vampires already inside. As they formulate their plan, Giles reminds Xander that Jessie is already dead, and the vampire he became is the thing that killed him. This is so masterful, guys, and I’m going to tell you why. You know how they always say that in writing you should show, not tell? Well, bollocks to that, I say. Telling is fine. But you have to show, as well. And this is a great example of that. We’ve already been shown that Jessie is not himself anymore. Twice. Once with Xander and Buffy in the tunnel, once with Cordelia at the Bronze. And now Giles is telling Xander, cluing in both the other characters and the audience that yes, this is how it works with vampires on this show, this is one of the rules of our world, and it feels authentic and believable because we were all shown first. So, go ahead, tell. Tell all sorts of things. As long as you show them first.
As Luke drains the unlucky victims at the Bronze, The Master is starting to get powerful. But Buffy runs in and, and after a series of totally unnecessary flips that are the hallmark of season one combat, she starts fighting with Luke.
While Buffy is fighting, the rest of the gang find their way inside. And by “find their way inside,” I mean Giles beats down a fire door with what appears to be a fucking beer keg. I’m going to file that under a little feature I’m going to call Why does no one question why Giles can do that? See, throughout the series, Giles will just randomly do stuff that it seems kind of odd, and no one questions it. No one thinks it’s strange that he can not only lift a keg, but repeatedly bash it into a door with enough force to break it open? Where does one acquire this skill?
Then a whole bunch of shit starts happening at once. Xander starts rescuing people out the back door of the Bronze, and Jessie attacks Cordelia. Xander decides to intervene. Darla attacks Giles. Luke almost eats Buffy. Jessie taunts Xander for not being able to get a girlfriend. Because you were doing so well with Cordelia there, Jessie. That’s really a mark of a girl being into you, when she’s laying on the ground screaming for help. Willow throws a jar of holy water into Darla’s face, and she runs away, steaming and screaming, while Xander puts a stake in Jessie’s heart:
That dust is the vampire formerly known as Jessie.

Okay, so technically, Xander didn’t stake anybody. He was trying to get the courage to do it when some chick bumps Jessie from behind and drives him onto Xander’s stake. But Xander still looks pretty torn up about it.
Buffy tricks Luke by making him think he’s getting blasted in the face with sun rays, then sneaks up behind him and reminds him it’s still night for “nine hours, moron,” as she stakes the fuck out of him.
Simple tricks to make your vampiring more effective: buy a fucking watch.

Because Luke was the vessel for The Master’s new power, once he goes poof, that power goes poof. Which means all those people died in vein. (Do you see what I did there?) This makes The Master not happy, because he’s once again imprisoned in… wherever he’s imprisoned. The Hellmouth or a subterranean church or something. Whichever. I don’t even care anymore.
This was my exact reaction last night when Hugh Jackman was brutally robbed of his Oscar.

The remaining vampires flee once their leader has been felled. They flee right out the door past Angel, who has been… wait, he’s been here this whole time? #9 Angel is a dick. You couldn’t come in and, I don’t know, fucking help? When you heard all the screaming? Yes, I realize that if you’re watching the series for the first time, you might be thinking, “what is this guy about, whose side is he on,” but I’ve seen the series, I know he’s on Buffy’s side, so why did he just hang around outside, waiting to be surprised when she didn’t die? He even expresses surprise that she didn’t die. So what was the plan, wait until she died, then step in? Get your shit together, Angel.
The next day at school, Cordelia is telling everyone that Buffy was involved in a gang fight, while Xander and Willow cope with the fact that they’re kind of in the slayer club now, whether they want to be, or not. Giles warns them that the next threat they face could be something other than vampires. There’s another good set up, guys. The next episode, the danger they face is a witch. Right here, at the conclusion of the first story (because episodes 1 & 2 were halves of a two-parter), they’re saying blatantly, “Don’t be expecting just vampires.” It’s not an empty promise, because they’ll deliver in the next episode. Giles also tells them that it’s probably going to be just the four of them preventing the end of the world, and the three kids walk off together, planning how they can try to get kicked out of school for blowing stuff up. Giles observes to himself that the earth is “doomed,” and the guitar-heavy 90’s music plays our friends off.
And no one ever mentioned Jessie, ever again. The End.

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73 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    1. I always assumed Angel didn't do anything because doing so would prove he was a vampire (the super-strength thing) and that was supposed to be a really big deal/reveal despite how obvious it is.
    2. I only watched this series recently (3-4 months ago) and I have no clue what the Hellmouth actually is. (is it that church place? is it where the Uber-vamps come from? if so whats the point of that weird tentacle monster they fight I seem to recall it actually being referred to as the Hellmouth or something similar in season 3[in that episode focused on Xander with the zombies.]

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  2. I think there's an alternate explanation for Xander: he's a teenager who is desperately trying to do what society tells him to do (be a man, grow a pair, etc.) and who just isn't very good at it. In the first seasons he goes back and forth between some supremely sexist idiocy – points where he's trying to man up – and some actually helpful stuff which is true to his later character. Most of the helpful stuff is along the lines of “stay in one place and do some backup tasks while Buffy does the physical stuff” – kind of like Buffy's administrative assistant, except he's not female and doesn't seem to care (most of the time) that he's stuck in what normally would be a female Hollywood role. Then by the time you get to the second half of the series, Xander self-actualizes a bit: he accepts his role as a backup Scoobie and voluntarily takes on tasks like babysitting Dawn while Buffy is out having adventures.

    I'm dying to hear how you can interpret Harmony as the strongest female character in Buffy, though – she's even more stereotyped than Cordelia!

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  3. I could be remembering wrong, but Angel wasn't originally written as a vampire. That could why his characterization is off in the first episode. I think Joss still hadn't figured out how to make a vampire not evil, seeing as his mythos says that vampires are not undead humans, but demons walking around in human suits and therefore inherently evil. 'Course that sort of gets blown to hell with Spike…. but whatever…. I LOVE Spike! MORE SPIKE!

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  5. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    What the Hellmouth is is never really explained. It's underground, it's a pit, it's a demonic monster….it's under the high school. It's all that and more for ten easy payments of 19.99 plus shipping.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  6. I haven't watched the full show all the way through since I was a teenager. I'm really want to hear about how Harmony is the strongest female character in the show, I don't know if I can wait 4 seasons!

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  8. LOL three score years is 60 years. Unless that comment about not knowing was sarcasm, in which case I retract my statement so I don't look at pretentious and know-it-all-y.

    February 26, 2013
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  9. Harmony is fabulous, but my favorite Buffy character has to be Drusilla. That said, I'm not quibbling with Drusilla not being the best written lady because there's some really problematic stuff about her backstory that plays into the whole Madonna/whore crap.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  10. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    The “escape from the sewer” scene has always bothered me. I was fine with the flash light coming in handy, because I saw it less as “the man is right” and more as “the civilian was right”. After all, what makes Buffy so dangerous is that she combines the civilian perspective and the slayer perspective. The slayer with friends and family, as Spike puts it once.
    However, am I really supposed to believe that the door is sooo heavy that Buffy can't close it alone? And then the worst, that Xander had to pull Buffy into safety. Oh, come on!

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  11. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    You bring up an interesting point about Buffy vs. Christianity that's baffled me for a while. If Earth was originally a demon dimension and, as we find out in seasn 7, the First Evil was the first force around, then obviously nothing of Christianity holds in this universe. Then how the hell do crosses and holy water work on vamps?! If we go with a “power of wishful thinking” explanation, then other religious symbols should work just as well, but they don't. I don't remember this ever being explained, not even with a throw-away line.

    Harmony may be the only female character who doesn't compromise her values and has the balls to just up and leave a man for good (season 5 Spike). At least that's how I remember that.

    Also, can we take a moment to relish the fact that there is no Dawn? Although wouldn't it be funny if Joss pulled a Lucas on us and released special edition versions of seasons 1-4 with Dawn spliced in?

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  12. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Buffy recaps, usual snark and humor, Anthony Head aplenty AND writing tips ? Donate button, Y U NO here yet?
    That said, do you give actual seminars or conferences or workshops or something? Or do you use your spare time to do things like sleeping or eating ?

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  13. I was a particularly stupid kid/teenager when I was into Buffy, so a lot of this stuff went right over my head. It's very interesting to hear this analysis of the show. Are you going to be doing one for Angel (the series) too?

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  14. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Giles is capable of these random acts of violence because of his past as a bad-ass magical punk, which I think is alluded to later in this season.
    Also, Giles can not be in love with Buffy, because he is mine.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  15. Yeah, I interpret the 'less than a man' comment to be a self put down not a snark at Buffy being female. He feels less of a man because he can't help, bearing in mind that right now he isn't even a man, he's a boy.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  16. The door has several vampires trying to push it open. There's a hand that comes through.

    I really don't find it sexist that it takes more than the slayer's strength to push a door shut that has lots of vamps trying to push it in. At this point in the series, Buffy's personal strength hasn't been properly baselined. Opening up a door without anyone trying to stop her is entirely different to trying to force a door shut that has people actively trying to prevent you.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  17. I'll say this in as polite a tone as possible, in my personal view I think you're overreaching with some of the misogynistic stuff.

    I take Xander's 'less than a man' comment to mean he feels he is less than a man, less of a man, because he doesn't have the right stuff to help. It's a self put down, by a teenage boy.

    The door is being actively pushed open by at least one vampire, probably more, and that is not comparable to the earlier example of Buffy breaking a door open. Whether it is consistent with later examples of Buffy's personal strength is one thing, but saying she's turned all 'weak female' by comparing those two events is kind of unfair I think.

    The pulling her up /shrug I don't go looking for sexism but I can see your point there. However, here's the thing. Slayers generally don't live very long. They generally don't survive that many encounters with vampires. To me it shows that the Slayer being solo isn't always going to save the world, or herself.

    The unique thing about Buffy is her ability to inspire civilians to fight for her, to trust in her that she'll save them if she can. Her Watchers turn their back on the Council and follow her (you can put that down as proof of #2 if you like). At the end of Season 3, that aspect of Buffy as a slayer gets fully realised. That's how I see it anyway.

    Oh and the window thing? Later on Joyce nails it shut 🙂

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  18. No, I seriously have no fucking clue what a “score” is. I draw the line at “fortnight.” Fortnight, I can handle, but this score business can fuck right off.

    But from context, it's not hard to figure out, since the episode is taking place sixty years after the last vampire earthquake thingy.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  19. That's one of my biggest problems with 1-4… we get to 5, and the history I have with my tv friends is utterly obliterated, because now their memories of our shared experience is GONE.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  20. *dons brass knucks* Okay, looks like we're fighting over him. *cracks neck*

    Seriously, though, it's less, “This isn't explained,” than “other characters don't think this is a little weird?” At one point, he clears a jam in an M9 one-handed, right in front of Xander, and Xander doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  21. Well, that's part of a recap, though. Digging deeper than totally necessary. And I don't think Buffy “turned” weak female, I think it's a show written and directed mostly by men who are well-intentioned, but who do fall back on common tropes that are influence by misogyny, because misogyny has been institutionalized in our story telling. Whether or not those tropes can be explained away in the story line is another thing entirely, the point is why they were present in the first place and need explaining.

    Doesn't Joyce nail it shut in season 2? Season 2 and season 1 blend together for me, because I always watch them one after another, LOL.

    But the door is a sticking point for me. She struggles with it and asks Xander for help before the vampires are pushing on it.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  22. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    God, I LOVE this.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  23. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    …Why on earth shouldn't the Master use the word “score”? If one of the teenager characters used it then sure it'd be weird but it fits in the context. I don't understand your objection to knowing what words mean.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  24. In my “spare” time, besides writing my own books, I'm the president of the board of directors of a small NFPO for writers and I do occasionally speak on panels or at conferences and stuff. 😀 For the last two years, I've been a part of actually running a writing conference, which was fucking surreal and a bunch of hard work and now other people can do that.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  25. I might. By the time I get to Angel in the timeline, I'll be well finished with 50 Shades, and could slot an Angel recap into that hole.

    LOl, Angel is going to fill my hole.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  26. HA! DRock and I are going to have to frame that.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  27. I don't object to him knowing what it means. I just don't ever remember what it means.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  28. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Same anon – I'm sorry, that comment sounds rude now I reread it. I did just want to ask why you wanted the word to, er, fuck right off. But indeed a score = a group of 20 things.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  29. Teresa
    Teresa

    Yes please 🙂

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  30. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    It's because he's 1) Anthony Head, 2) English and 3) a Librarian. Those points alone would make anyone awesome but when combined he's one batman away from being an Alfred. Why WOULDN'T he know how to clear a jammed M9?

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  31. marzipanpieplate
    marzipanpieplate

    Aaaaw, I can't help thinking you're a little hard on Joyce. There's a reason parents are always absent in kids' stories — they'd ruin all the adventures with their reason and concern for their children's safety. In the real world, a sixteen-year-old's mother would keep a watchful eye, especially in a town as dangerous as Sunnydale. If Joyce insisted on keeping Buffy out of danger, the show would be incredibly dull. I think the writers are always trying to paint Joyce as a concerned, sympathetic parent while making sure she doesn't get in the way of slayer duties. That seems pretty difficult to balance.

    Also, I've only ever sensed a parent-child vibe from Giles and Buffy (and the other Scoobies for that matter.) So, when you bring up sexual vibes, it totally creeps me out. I'm interested to read about your take on this.

    I completely agree with all your other points, though. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  32. Ing
    Ing

    you know the architecture of Sunnydale makes sense after season three.

    Somewhat spoiler but..

    ..yes he town IS built for the convenience of vampires and demons. Intentionally.

    Might also explain #8

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  33. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Um… Gettysburg Address? Did you not pay attention in American History?

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  34. There was that one time when Giles sang Behind Blue Eyes and threw the Scooby Gang for a loop 🙂

    SOOO glad I get to relive Buffy here!

    February 26, 2013
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  35. Okay, here's a thing I'm confused about.

    So we see later on in Buffy and also in Angel more emphatically that vampires do not instantly turn after they are bitten and then they drink their sire's blood. They die first and then the demon comes and inhabits their body the next night, right? So how did Jessie change a) so quickly and b) in the daytime?

    Also, you're absolutely right in everything you say about Xander. He's a chauvinistic prick. Don't doubt it for a second.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  36. Except that Xander continues to be a giant whiny asshole at least up until the beginning of season 7 and does some pretty terrible things to Buffy in seasons 5 and 6, too.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  37. Well to be fair in season 2-3, Snyder is seen talking with the law enforcement about feeding the public some line about a gas leak, that it was a gang hyped up on meth (that's Spike's first appearance), and several other things. he sort of references the fact that 'the mayor' wants things kept under wraps a few times in season 2 and we see him outright plotting with the Mayor in Season 3 to keep Sunnydale from knowing about the Paranormal.

    So its sort of retconned?

    I came into the series AFTER the Angel was revealed to be a vampire thing–only saw the first half of the season a couple years later–so I had no idea when I was reading the novelization of these episodes that it was meant to be a secret that Angel was a vamp.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  38. At the same time though, even if people are a little less willfully ignorant about the paranormal aspect, they are still pretty willfully ignorant about the danger aspect. For instance, the episode where vampires attack the school during parent teacher night, if I was any one of those parents, I would take my kid out of that school and probably move altogether. Hell, after the first episode and news reached me that a kid was killed and stuffed into someone's locker I would probably take my kid out of that school, especially in all the instances where the police force are obviously not finding and arresting these “gang members.”

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  39. I don't know. If I found out my local librarian was fully aware of vampires and personally responsible for training the “chosen one” in how to kill them, I may be less surprised by pretty much anything else they are capable of.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  40. Interesting, I had never really considered the idea of the hellmouth being an actual physical place. I had always just assumed it was more of an evil energy that surrounded Sunnydale that happened to attract all of the baddies.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
    • Nerem
      Nerem

      I’m like two-years late, but the Hellmouth isn’t technically a PLACE. It gets kind of conflated with a location but the Hellmouth is actually a giant demon mouth that is like a demonic anchor onto Earth. It’s kind of a literal term, I guess.

      May 15, 2015
      |Reply
  41. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Not a big deal, but about the garlic thing: I can think of at least one other instance of it, I just can't place the exact episode/season. I THINK it's when Buffy has been banging Spike and then she suddenly decides to stay away from him. She's shown sitting on her bed armed with a stake and there are bunches of garlic hanging all over the room, lol.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  42. But there you fall into the trap of assuming that the events in a show *just happen*. The writers chose what scenarios to put her in, and instead of putting her in situations which show her being competent and saving Xander's bacon, they chose to put her in ones where she needs his help.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  43. It might be too late for most people to see this…oh well, I'll try anyway.

    I have actually never seen more than a handful of Buffy episodes because Buffy hovers right around my scariness threshold and about one in four episodes is too dark for me. (Yes, I'm a wimp. Such is life.) Can anyone point me to a set of recaps/reviews that have some sort of scariness rating or trigger warnings so I can figure out which episodes I can and can't watch? Because I'd love to watch whatever I can.

    February 26, 2013
    |Reply
  44. Ing
    Ing

    Dawn is like a check list of how to make an unpopular character. Wtf where they thinking?

    February 27, 2013
    |Reply
  45. Also, a note on the whole sewer/underground tunnel complex thing. The Mayor has been in Sunnydale since it was just a few scratches in the sand, and he's been manipulating its development the entire time. I think they even specifically mention it at some point during his story arc: he clearly engineered ways for himself and his minions to get around without being seen and without being exposed to sunlight.

    February 27, 2013
    |Reply
  46. K
    K

    #6 is seriously the reason that I cannot appreciate “Firefly,” in which the strongest character, who can basically kill anything, is a woman who has to be constantly protected by all of the men because she's mentally incompetent to take care of herself, make her own decisions, or basically function half the time.

    February 27, 2013
    |Reply
  47. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    I think it's implied that River will be more functional after Miranda, but that's speculation.

    At any rate, I always felt Zoe was meant to be the strongest female character.

    February 27, 2013
    |Reply
  48. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    That also happened when Angel turned evil and his invite to the house wasn't revoked yet.

    February 28, 2013
    |Reply
  49. Anyway, look at those communion wafers. If this were a video game, that would her range attack. But she never uses communion wafers to kill a vampire! The taste and texture alone should put them way, way off.

    I actually LOVE communion wafers. Taste and texture. xD I do wonder what the heck they're made of though.

    Anyway, I never noticed that little detail, and it would have been a cool variant on the traditional range of “holy objects” (crosses, holy water, rosaries) used to kill vampires. On the other hand, I doubt they have much of a trajectory.

    February 28, 2013
    |Reply
  50. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    That could be the instance I was thinking of… because I couldn't place it for sure. Good call.

    February 28, 2013
    |Reply
  51. The body of Christ.

    Lol, um, I think it's pretty much just, like, flatbread? Okay, now I'm curious *googles* Google says flour and water. So, yeah, blessed flatbread.

    February 28, 2013
    |Reply
  52. NEITHER. It gets nailed shut in Season 2 but it is not by Joyce. (I'll put a spoiler warning here because I'm feeling generous.) Ted is the one who nails it shut in Season 2.

    February 28, 2013
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  53. I think I'm going to be slaughtered for saying Dawn's one of my favourites XD

    February 28, 2013
    |Reply
  54. “he's a teenager who is desperately trying to do what society tells him to do (be a man, grow a pair, etc.) and who just isn't very good at it.”

    But…that's the excuse for every Nice Guy ever.

    March 1, 2013
    |Reply
  55. On your “Why does no-one question that Giles can do that?”, my husband is of the opinion that Giles is a grown-up version of John Constantine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Constantine). And not the crappy Keanu Reeves version.

    I know it's off-topic, but people have always teased me for being madly attracted to the older men of fiction. I loved Picard, Spock, Giles, the German professor Jo marries in Little Women etc – but I realised the other day (while I was watching Django Unchained and developed a mad crush on Dr Schultz) that what I'm REALLY attracted to is a combination of competence and a good vocabulary. It's just that writers tend to use that combination to say “older, well-educated and foreign”.

    March 1, 2013
    |Reply
    • Wartgin
      Wartgin

      Competent, well educated, intelligent and a foreign accent. Yes, please.

      November 15, 2020
      |Reply
  56. brookemopolitan
    brookemopolitan

    In the defence of Zander (who I don't actually like all that much purely because I watched Private Practice before Buffy and as such cannot see Nicholas Brandon as anybody other than the bastard who raped Charlotte…but that's a separate issue) I appreciate that he seems to be the textbook nice guy purely on the basis that Buffy was initially intended as a subversion of the horror genre (Joss said that he was sick of watching horror movies where the blonde girl screamed in a graveyard and was killed… he wanted to see her fight back)

    In essence, most of these characters are archetypes who are fleshed out as you go through (The sassy blonde girl with an attitude, the nerdy best friend, the nice guy, the brooding older dude, bitchy girl who is really just misunderstood etc) so to a certain extent Zander has to be the stereotypical nice guy in order for this idea of subverting the genre to work. That being said, I personally never interpreted his actions as misogynistic or the like.. yes, he struggled initially with the idea of Buffy being *so* badass… but who wouldn't? It's confronting.

    As for Willow and the computer trick? Was it petty? Hell yes. But let's remember… Willow is 16 years old at this point. Who wasn't a petty bitch at 16 years old? (I'm a high school teacher… believe me, I put up with shit like this constantly). I didn't necessarily interpret it as girl on girl fighting; I saw it as the nerd finally getting one over the bitch and speaking as a nerd, I was a little bit proud of Willow for using her smarts there (even though it was really inappropriate and you need to think about your actions)

    March 1, 2013
    |Reply
  57. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    I have always taking Buffy needing Xander's help in the two instances you mentioned as setting up the theme that the reason THIS slayer is different than all those that died young before her is because she has friends who help her. Yes, she's super strong, but having an extra 175 pounds or so of body weight IS going to help when you can't quite get it shut yourself. As far as needing help back to the surface, I take it as showing that Buffy will put others' safety before her own and, again, will need help from her friends to succeed. I did NOT take it as a she-need-a-man thing.

    I can get into her parent issues and why I think she's so dependent on her romantic relationships in another comment on a recap. I'm off to dinner.

    March 2, 2013
    |Reply
  58. brookemopolitan
    brookemopolitan

    I never really saw that as a gender thing either… I really did see it as Buffy putting other people before herself.

    March 2, 2013
    |Reply
  59. But isn't it because we're seeing her develop her friendships? It becomes kind of a theme that she has friends and loves them and that's what saves her life quite often. Other slayers don't have feelings or passion driving them (like Kendra) and so this becomes a powerful tool for Buffy.

    March 20, 2013
    |Reply
  60. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    came for the 50 shades recap, staying for the buffy ones! Just started re-watching the whole thing myself – Loving series one but missing Spike – best character in the whole 7 series!

    March 25, 2013
    |Reply
  61. Agreed – this is why Buffy is the best slayer EVAH – she, for the first time in Slayer history – has allies, instead of going it alone.

    As far as Cordelia and Xander being badly written, remember that they're teenagers and haven't grown into real human beings yet. Xander's still a dick for much of the series – poor Anya! – but Cordelia comes into her own in Angel when she finally grows up. Starting them out as badly behaved, immature, not-fully-formed people allows them more room to grow as the show progresses.

    April 24, 2013
    |Reply
  62. Worse things have happened.

    Also, Angel being photobombed by an angel totally made my week.

    April 24, 2013
    |Reply
  63. yes, [Xander] struggled initially with the idea of Buffy being *so* badass… but who wouldn't?

    It's been a very long time since I've watched the show, so I can't say for sure, but I do not recall Willow or any other female character feeling like “less of a woman” because Buffy has superpowers.

    It is flat-out ridiculous for Xander to be affronted by a supernatural being being stronger or more capable than he is. Totally agree with Jenny that the affront comes from the idea that a woman should never be stronger than a man.

    Is Xander's reaction realistic? Probably – I bet there are tons of guys who somehow think they're no longer men if (horror of horrors) a woman is better at combat or other “manly” things than they are. But I don't love that this allegedly “feminist” show is supporting this idea. Better to have male characters who accept Buffy's strength and think it's awesome.

    May 13, 2013
    |Reply
  64. myohmichael
    myohmichael

    I just always assumed she had all of that unnecessary slaying stuff because when she first found out she was the slayer and didn’t have a Watcher to train her (does that not confuse anyone later on when the other slayers seem to have had Watchers immediately?) she just grabbed all the shit she could think of from childhood stories in a “ERMAHGERD VAMPURS!” frenzy. I probably would’ve done the same thing. I mean, I assumed she stole all the holy water from a church? So I imagine she saw the wafers while grabbing the water and thought “what the hell, can’t hurt.” and then later when she realized they were stupid figured Joyce would notice if she through them and a bunch of garlic away. Although, #3, she probably wouldn’t have. Because she probably bought all of that garlic and could never figure out why they were going through so much of it, meanwhile her daughter is hoarding it in her closet…

    Also, can I add that #3.5 Joyce is a terrible Gallerist. She should not be constantly having the artifacts and art sent to her home. That’s not how it works. Plus, how the hell is she getting them to the gallery? And why is she unpacking them just to repack them? Maybe if she was better at running her business they could have stayed in LA where there are a ton of school districts Buffy could have transferred to and continued to live comfortably. But no. Use Buffy as a cop out to move to BF-Sunnydale where no one knows them or about her failed marriage, business, and parenting capabilities. I blame Joyce for just about everything wrong in the first couple seasons.

    September 8, 2013
    |Reply
  65. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    All I can hear in my head when they talk about exchanging blood to become vampires is Sterling Archer’s voice saying, “Do you want AIDS? Because THIS IS HOW YOU GET AIDS!” (I feel similarly about standing in pools brimming with [presumably different people’s] blood when someone has just bitten your wrist open.)

    December 7, 2013
    |Reply
  66. Suzanne
    Suzanne

    I just always assumed that all the stuff Giles can do he learnt at Watcher School.

    April 5, 2015
    |Reply
  67. Suzanne
    Suzanne

    And, of course, Teenage!Giles was a bad ass.

    April 5, 2015
    |Reply
  68. Anon123
    Anon123

    Fun reads so far! I could never get into Buffy as a kid–actually, the only Joss Whedon stuff I can stand is Firefly and Serenity, which I love–so this is kind of a cool way to engage in it from afar. I love when you bring up examples of good writing and explain. I’m also totally on-board with #6, as I’d gotten that impression from what little of the show I did watch.

    I know these rewatch posts are old now, but in the future, it would be nice to hear more about what *to* do when trying to create a feminist work/character for mass market, since it’s something I struggle with a lot in my own work. It seems like there are a million ways to fail and no good way to succeed that I’ve seen yet.

    April 24, 2015
    |Reply

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