| Episode No. | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 4 |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ellen S. Pressman |
| Written by | Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkmeyer |
0:20 : The real life location used for the Sunnydale Museum is the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which is at 900 Exposition Boulevard.
1:45 : We meet Rodney Munson, another Sunnydale student who seems to be in trouble on a regular basis. He’s played by Joey Crawford, who also had a role on Roswell.
5:32 : Despite his credit, David Boreanaz does not appear in this episode.
7:30 : Buffy asks Xander if he ever looks at Willow ‘that’ way. He denies it, clearly forgetting his move from When She Was Bad.
8:00 : Giles is aware of Rodney and his reputation enough to assume he’s in trouble again. Unfortunately, this means that Buffy and co. have clearly dealt with Rodney at some point… So why did Xander explain who he was to Buffy in the previous scene?
8:05 : Do US High School teachers not do a roll call when students return to a bus? In other words, which teacher was fired for losing a student – who should have been checked on the bus before they left?
8:46 : When Buffy and the group find the Seal, it’s more intact and in different pieces than it was when Rodney broke it. Could the bodyguard have started reassembling it?
8:58 : There goes that theory. The bodyguard is clearly as surprised as the gang is! He’s played by Gil Birmingham, who later played Billy Black in the Twilight movie franchise .
10:25 : Welcome to Sunnydale Bus Depot, which we’ll see again several times.
10:25 : This Ampata is played by Samuel Jacobs in his only acting credit.
11:28 : Ara Celi plays the mummy in Ampata’s form. She also had roles on All My Children and appeared in Bruce Almighty.
13:30 : The photo of Buffy, Xander and Willow that ‘Ampata’ holds up is seen several times throughout the series; a copy is seen on Buffy’s office desk in Season Seven.
14:01 : Jason Hall debuts as Devon MacLeish, the leader singer of Dingoes Ate My Baby and Cordelia’s current boyfriend. She dates him at least twice. Hall would appear in the role until season four.
14:10 : The van that the Dingoes use is stripy like a zebra in this episode. It changes colour and pattern on a regular basis.
14:19 : Cordelia’s unfortunate exchange student, Sven, is played by Henrik Rosvall in his only acting role.
14:44 : Of slightly more import in this episode is the debut of Oz. Emmy-award winner Seth Green was already a huge and established star, who had been working since the age of 10, including a role alongside Alyson Hannigan in 1988s My Stepmother is an Alien. Multi-talented, he’s also a writer, producer and director, having created his own comedy series Robot Chicken. He’s been voicing Chris Griffin in Family Guy since 1999, voices Howard the Duck in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was Scott Evil in the Austin Powers movies.
Initially brought in for a guest role, he quickly became recurring and joins the regular cast in Season Three.
Seth Green has facial hair in this episode, which ends shortly. From this point on, he grows hair everywhere else.
15:00 : Oz says that a girl needs a feather boa and the theme from A Summer Place to impress him. The theme from A Summer Place is heard repeatedly in Season Seven’s Him.
17:13 : Ampata nearly gives herself away: she suddenly has more knowledge of the Mummy’s story here than she should – a few seconds before she didn’t even know what they were researching.
19:13 : Willow is holding a stuffed frog in this scene. In What’s My Line? and Killed by Death she claims to have frog fear, so presumably something happens to her toy before then.
22:30 : Although certainly not intended to be the symbol it became, Willow’s suspenders are rainbow-themed, like the LGBT flag established in 1978. Hint or accident?
24:05 : Xander asks Ampata if she’s a Praying Mantis, referring to Miss French in Teacher’s Pet.
29:29 : Dingoes Ate My Baby are performing in the Bronze; Devon and Oz are our guys. The rest are Four Star Mary who double for the band and perform regularly on the show. This song is titled “Shadows”.
30:20 : Cordelia’s friend who is taken with Sven is Gwen, played by Kristen Winnicki, who has since stopped acting.
32:50 : This second song from Four Star Mary is “Fate”.
33:17 : Although he originally appeared in the unaired pilot presentation, Danny Strong can be seen as Jonathan as the camera pans up. Frequently in the background of many episodes, the character eventually becomes an established recurring character in his own right. Strong had a recurring role on Gilmore Girls, but won widespread acclaim as the writer of massive movie hit The Butler and the co-creator of music drama Empire.
34:19 : Seth Green plays Oz with total conviction here. When he sees Willow, he doesn’t take his eyes off her for the rest of the scene. He’s mesmerised and so are we.
34:27 : Buffy says that one of these days, Giles will have to get a grown up car. He’ll change his car in Real Me.
36:50 : In a tiny bit of irony in this moment, Danny Strong originally auditioned for the role of Xander.
38:55 : This appears to be Xander’s first kiss.
39:57 : Willow’s reaction here is fantastic and so in-character: when told Ampata is the mummy, Willow responds like so, in this order. “Oh. Good! XANDER!”
40:08 : Oz tries to reach Willow, but just misses her. His question, “Who is that girl?”, will be repeated until he finally meets her (and is rendered speechless) in What’s My Line?
41:02 : Ampata grabs Giles, shatters the Seal and chokes him into unconsciousness. He then ends up inside the casket. Number of Times Giles is Knocked Unconscious in the Series: 5 (we’re not counting When She Was Bad since everyone else was too).
43:49 : Buffy reminds Xander that he brought her back when she died in Prophecy Girl. Their friendship is tested, but never breaks. Sometimes, he’s her best friend more than Willow.
The Watcher's Guide 