| Episode No. | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1, Episode 12 |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Joss Whedon |
| Written by | Joss Whedon |
0:02 : The “Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer” recap covers the whole season. At the time the episode was filmed, there was no confirmation of a second season. The unknown narrator, who has been voicing the “Into Every Generation” intro, narrates for the last time.
1:55 : Since Cordelia is in the driving seat, we can assume it’s her car. She’s obviously passed her test since Witch. Take that, Mr. Pool!
2:56 : An excellent shot of the library here, seen from above, through the never-seen-before skylight. And now we know it’s there, for later…
3:25 : Giles is reading the Pergamum Codex, which Angel ‘retrieved’ for him in the previous episode.
3:40 : An earthquake hits Sunnydale, a rarity. This happens occasionally throughout the series, usually as a warning of upcoming disaster.
4:14 : It seems here that the Master is causing the quake. Or is he just monologuing for the fun of it? Or is the Hellmouth rumbling in response to his cries?
5:28 : When Buffy enters the library, note that the door handles are now on the inside of the door – just for the characters to be able to barricade said doors later on in the episode! Like magic… or the script was written and then someone realised that the door wouldn’t work the way the script needed it to, so the handles were changed.
6:08 : Buffy says that the vampires she’s slain have been getting closer to school grounds. Why is she so surprised at this? They’ve been hunting on school grounds since before she arrived, as shown by Darla in Welcome to the Hellmouth.
9:06 : Buffy breaks Xander’s heart, which gives us a stunningly heart-breaking performance from Nicholas Brendon.
9:06 : Buffy tells Xander that she doesn’t feel that way about him. She briefly considers it when she’s lonely in Season Eight. For what it’s worth, Sarah Michelle Gellar thought that Buffy and Xander should have ended up together at one point. In The Long Way Home, Buffy will dream about spending the night with him.
9:56 : A deleted scene was cut here: after walking away from Buffy, rain started that turned into pebbles and stones. Xander looked back at the rain and shrugged: “Figures.”
10:08 : Jenny Calendar returns in this episode, making her a recurring character and a de-facto member of the Scooby Gang. She’ll stay with them until Innocence, when her lie of omission causes issues with the group relationships that never quite repair themselves.
11:18 : Giles doesn’t know if he can trust Jenny, but she reassures him by mentioning their working against Moloch the Corruptor in I Robot, You Jane. As she did in that episode, she is still the only person to call Giles by his first name, Rupert.
11:27 : Jenny has received global messages from a monk in Cortona, Italy – the same location where Moloch was originally trapped by monks into his book prison.
11:30 : Giles believes that Buffy killed the Anointed in Never Kill a Boy on the First Date.
11:58 : Kevin, Cordelia’s latest boyfriend, is seemingly perfect for her – until he gets killed on campus by vampires! He’s played by actor Scott Gurney.
11:59 : Cordelia mentions her friend Aura, who found the body in her locker in the first episode. She’ll remain friends with Cordelia throughout the series, although we never see her again.
12:18 : Just as she did in Welcome to the Hellmouth, Cordelia compliments Willow on her outfit. She doesn’t really like it, but she’s making an effort – unlike the bitchy snarkiness that came tumbling from her mouth in the first episode.
18:10 : Xander’s ‘music of pain’ is Patsy Cline‘s “I Fall to Pieces.”
18:28 The song playing when Buffy is perusing the photo album is called “Inconsolable” and is performed by Jonatha Brooke & The Story.
19:36 : As Joyce and Buffy are talking, Mr. Gordo, her stuffed pig, makes his first appearance on Buffy’s bed.
22:33 : This is the scene were Willow grows up. Up until this point, she’s been nervous and avoided the reality behind their battles, but now it’s encroached onto a place she feels was safe, it changes her. From this point on, she understands that, as a good person she needs to actively fight back.
23:30 : Willow tells Buffy she likes her dress…
24:31 : Jenny reacts in surprise that Buffy is the Slayer, which means now she’s officially been told. Nobody bar Willow questions how she already knows what a Slayer is, which in retrospect might have solved later issues…
26:07 : Buffy enters the library and punches Giles. Number of Times Giles is Knocked Unconscious in the Series: 4. That’s an entire third of the first season.
29:40 : Xander makes his feelings about Angel quite clear by shoving a cross in his face. He never quite lets his anger go and admits that he only tolerates Angel’s presence because of his own love for Buffy.
30:26 : Apart from the weapon and the outfit, this scene is almost identical to the opening from Nightmares.
33:00 : The Master grabs Buffy by the throat, exactly as in her dream…
33:28 : It’s not clear what the Master is doing here. It could be telekinesis, which we’ve never seen in vampires before or ever again. It’s more likely to be magic, which the Master could have known when he was human and part of the cult that worshipped the Old Ones.
33:36 : Look at Mark Metcalf‘s hands as he reaches for Buffy. He raises two fingers up as he looks toward her, hypnotising her. Drusilla will use the same gesture to hypnotise Kendra in Becoming.
33:41 : In a twisted perversion of the scene where Angel wrapped it around her to keep her warm in Teacher’s Pet, the Master removes the jacket in an almost sensual manner here.
34:26 : After feeding from Buffy, the Master revels in the power. It’s mentioned several times in the series that Slayer blood tastes different from the average human’s, but it’s never specified how it’s different.
34:35 : The Master likes her dress…
34:38 : Buffy remains slumped unconscious in the pool of water and drowns. Somewhere in Jamaica, a Slayer stirs…
34:43 : And the Master is finally free from his prison. He’s been trapped there for 90 years.
35:45 : Xander suggests they perform CPR on Buffy to bring her back. This is completely logical of course, for us, but probably not so clever for ancient rites of lineage. What happens if, for example, a Slayer is shot and flatlines, but stabilises a few seconds later? Is that enough to call the next Slayer too? How has this not happened before in all of human history, resulting in more than one Slayer at the same time?
37:12 : A favourite from Willow: “Of course, we usually walk there.”
37:23 : Cordelia’s licence plate does not read Queen C – yet.
37:32 : It is a really good thing they decided to change those door handles, isn’t it? Someone deserves a raise.
37:54 : The creature that comes from the Hellmouth will rise again in The Zeppo, although by then it’s grown in size. Curiously, there’s no sign of it in Season Seven when the Hellmouth is opened in Chosen.
38:09 : The Master comes to the top of the high school (and the convenient new skylight) to reap the rewards and take the world…
38:46 : There’s no explanation as to exactly why Buffy feels different.
39:18 : As Buffy, Xander and Angel march towards the school, the opening theme plays over them. This is the first and only time this happens on the series.
40:04 : Cordelia bites a vampire, which doesn’t seem to be the best idea when you’re fighting against a load of them for your life. Plus, does she even know who’s attacking?
42:38 : The Master goes through the skylight, destroying it. We never see it feature again, and it seems unlikely, considering how often Angel is in the library going forward, that it was put back in place. Except it blows up again in Graduation Day.
42:52 : As the Master dies, the Hellmouth closes. Quite why this is, isn’t explained. The Master wasn’t keeping it open, was he?
42:59 : A slow piano version of the theme, written by series composer Walter Murphy, plays over this scene. It’s quite beautiful and it’s surprising that it’s never heard again or that it was never released commercially.
43:09 : Quite why the Master’s bones remain after he dusts – other than for script reasons for season two – is never explained.
44:25 : Angel says he likes Buffy’s dress. Buffy tells him it was a hit with everyone. Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz adlibbed the lines on set and they weren’t in the script.
40:40 : The executive producer credits fades away from the audience instead of towards them.
44:42 : And that was it. All filmed before a single episode aired, the cast and crew had no way to gauge the success of the show. After the airing, the show became a hit with a small, but extremely loyal audience, and critics immediately rallied around the writing techniques and the original storytelling. The show was renewed for a twenty-two episode second season, due for broadcast the coming fall.
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