"Teacher's Pet" (1x04) quick link here "The Pack" (1x06) quick link here
Before getting started on this review, here are a few notes about how these reviews will be formatted...
1) I will be reviewing the episodes in bullet point form. This is because it makes the reviews simple to read, and helps break up the vast amount of text.
2) I will be uploading a new review every one or two days, so be sure to check back often! Alternatively, you could subscribe to the blog via email to receive the reviews in your inbox (the subscription box is located to the right-hand side of this blog).
3) If you are watching the show for the first time along with these reviews, please be warned that there may be a few spoilers for things that haven’t happened yet.
4) If you are here from my Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel fan page from Facebook (located here :- www.facebook.com/BTVSFC), these reviews are similar to the rewatch reviews that I wrote for that page, only they are longer, more detailed, and in a much nicer format than Facebook allows (curse their lack of italics, bold, and underline!)
5) The basic layout for the review will be the review itself, the ‘quote of the episode’, and then the final score for the episode (out of ten). All of the final scores will also be placed on a separate tab so that you can refer to them easily.
With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
• This episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer revolves around two major plot points. 1) Giles reads a prophecy that five people will die, and from their ashes the Anointed One shall rise. The Anointed One will lead the Slayer into Hell further down the line, apparently. 2) Dating. Buffy starts dating a boy called Owen, which leads to Xander jealousy, Angel jealousy, and Giles being grouchy and sarcastic. Part of me wants Buffy to date more often just so we can see sarcastic Giles.
• This is my favourite episode out of the five that I have reviewed so far. I’d forgotten just how much I like this episode, actually. One of the reasons why I enjoy this episode so much is that it marks the first proper emotional moment for the show; the conversation between Buffy and Giles at the end of the episode. It’s also the first episode where I start to feel a great father-daughter bond between the two of them.
• “Never Kill A Boy On The First Date” is a creative title for an episode, but it’s too damn long! I swear, this episode title annoys me more than any other when it comes to typing it out! Why not call it “The Anointed One”, or “Giles Gets All Sassy”, or possibly “The World’s Most Boring Boyfriend”?...
• I’ve always found the demolished church set that The Master is trapped in to be beautiful. It’s one of my favourite sets of the first season. It’s just so poetic and gothic. It’s also interesting irony that a vampire is stuck in a church. As we discover in season four with Adam’s disciples, there is nothing physically stopping vampires from being inside churches (so long as they avoid touching crosses).
• Giles: “Buffy, whilst the mere fact of you wanting to check out a book would be grounds for a national holiday, I think we should focus on the problem at hand.”
Giles, I love you more and more with every day older that I get.
• Giles’ face when Buffy asks him if her outfit makes her look fat is absolutely hilarious. I swear, I love Giles even more with every rewatch. I hope I’m like Giles in 20 years. Have I mentioned that I love Giles?
• Don’t get upset Xander, I love your Tweety Bird watch, and Buffy would be lucky to have it.
• I think that this is the first episode that you really get to see on a larger scale what a difficult position Buffy is in with having to juggle being the Slayer and trying to be a 16 year old girl in High School. She’s living two separate lives and the two are almost never allowed to mesh. That’s got to be incredibly frustrating. We’ve seen snippets of this before (such as Joyce grounding Buffy in “The Harvest”), but this entire episode seems to revolve around Buffy’s struggle. Buffy cannot have a normal dating life. She can either have a boyfriend and not tell him that she’s the Slayer, which would lead to constant lies and problems (e.g. Scott Hope), or she can date a vampire (e.g. Angel or Spike) and never be able to go out in the daylight with them or be a proper could. The only exception to this is Riley, but Riley could never handle Buffy being so much stronger than he was. So that’s Buffy’s curse...she’s too powerful and has too much responsibility to lead a normal life. Buffy actually gets to do what she wants in this episode (for the most part) and it leads to Giles getting kidnapped and her date almost getting killed. I think it’s a wake-up call for Buffy that Buffy really can’t have a normal life in any way at all.
• This episode, of course, takes place before Buffy has realised what an important role she plays in the world and she starts to embrace her slaying powers.
• Why is Cordelia such a bitch to Buffy in this episode? Is it because Cordelia wants something that Buffy has (Owen)? Buffy has saved Cordelia’s life twice in the past couple of months! A little gratitude wouldn’t go amiss. I still can’t get over just how much Cordelia grows over the coming seven years.
• Xander is probably my favourite character on Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I flit between Xander, Willow, and Spike rather a lot), but there are times in the first two seasons where I’m just begging for him to grow up a bit. Whilst his jealousy over Buffy having a date makes for some hilarious scenes, it’s uncalled for a lot of the time. Like telling Owen that Buffy doesn’t like to be kissed! How inappropriate and petty is that?! However it does give us: “A nice comfy overcoat and a ski-cap. The ear flaps will bring out your eyes”, so I’m not complaining too much.
• Buffy: “But...cute guy! Teenager! Post-pubescent fantasies!”
Giles: “Those will just have to be put on hold. The dark forces are aligning against us and we have a chance to beat them back. Tonight, we go into battle...”
*the scene changes to Buffy (looking bored) and Giles in a graveyard*
Giles: “...perhaps I miscalculated.”
Buffy: “I’m thinking yes.”
Since when does Giles make mathematical mistakes? Of course he had the right date!
• Two other things that this episode has going for it are the level of tension and the musical score. This episode has so many tense moments. It really had me on the edge of my seat. Especially the scene at the coroner’s office when Giles is being chased. The musical score for this episode (and season one in general) really added to the tension and drama that was unfolding. The season one musical scores are a bit darker and a bit more grainy than the later scores, which I think works perfectly for the lighting tones of the season.
• Xander: “They seem to be having fun...”
Buffy: “Bite me”
*camera pans to Angel*
Talk about foreshadowing. As I said in my “Welcome To The Hellmouth” review, I figured out that Angel was a vampire before the audience is made aware of it in episode seven, “Angel”. This moment confirmed that theory for me.
• Owen remarks to Buffy that there are two sides to her. I think this is a very clever way of openly addressing the two aspects of Buffy’s life; her slaying responsibilities and her desire for a ‘normal’ life.
• Andrew rising off of that table after being sired is fantastic! It’s such an “oh my God!” moment. The scene plays it so subtly as well. I thought that Andrew would rise as a vampire. I completely bought into the red herring that Andrew was The Anointed One. I’m usually pretty good at noticing when something is a red herring, but I was totally convinced that Andrew was the Anointed One in this episode! Sneaky, sneaky writers.
• I will admit, I thought Owen was dead...especially with the episode title. I felt oddly bad about it considering I didn’t really like Owen at all. Buffy’s rage when she thinks that Owen is dead is both adorable and awesome.
• I LOVE the big reveal at the end that Colin was The Anointed One all along! There’s something about The Anointed One being a child that just makes it so much more creepy than if Andrew had been The Anointed One.
• “The Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell.”
• Also, I can’t help but think of Colin as ‘The Annoying One’ thanks to Spike in “School Hard”. I swear, I’ve had to stop myself from accidentally writing it during this review at least three times.
• This episode is important to Buffy’s character development. Buffy still has feelings for Owen, but she breaks things off with him because she knows that if she keeps him around she will end up getting him killed. Owen’s near-death experience of the night before only seemed to increase his attraction to Buffy. Owen is bored with his life and views Buffy as an avenue to excitement and adventure. Buffy shows wisdom ahead of her years in this episode and puts her responsibilities before her own desires.
• Ultimately, once this episode unravels, the theme of it becomes clear: responsibility and the sacrifices that go with it.
• Giles wanted to be a fighter pilot...or possibly a grocer. It’s weird to think of Giles being young and having dreams of his own. I really appreciate the little detail that Giles was destined to be a Watcher. He’s a third generation Watcher (at least), and his family expected him to be the same. The reason I love the addition is that it gives Buffy and Giles something to bond over. Let’s face it, at this point in time they have very little in common outside of the fact that they both know about supernatural beings. Now, Buffy is aware that Giles understands what she’s going through to a certain extent when it comes to having a destiny. Could Giles have escaped and decided on another career? Perhaps. Giles rebelled against his destiny for a long time and it’s what led to Giles meeting Ethan Rayne and all the badness that followed that. I think part of the reason why Giles gets frustrated with Buffy sometimes (Buffy wanting to be a cheerleader, Buffy dating, Buffy slacking off...) is because he doesn’t want Buffy to make the same mistakes that he did.
• (Pre-Warning, personal life talk approaching). Buffy’s decision to break up with Owen and Giles talk to her afterwards is so beautiful. It’s the first amazingly tender moment between the two of them and it shows just how close they’ve become in such a short space of time. Their relationship is one of the best that the show (or any show) has ever produced. I think one of the biggest messages that Buffy The Vampire Slayer sends out into the world is that you make your own family. I have an extremely turbulent relationship with my own father. When I was 8 years old he cheated on my mum with a 16 year old (he was 31 at the time), and walked out on my mother, my sister and myself. My relationship with him has never recovered. I used to see him for 4 hours or so on a Saturday every week from the ages of 8-16. My father has never treated me like a son or even acted like he cares about me at all. When I used to go up to him house, more often than not I’d end up spending the four hours I was there watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Angel (on old school VHS tapes) in my room. My father has never acted like he loves me, never acted like he wants me, and never made an effort to have a relationship with me. I had a lot of personal issues during my teenage years where I really needed him around and he let me down every single time without fail. I almost feel like the closest thing I had to a father growing up was Giles. I know how silly that sounds, by the way, but it’s true. The message of “you pick your own family” that Buffy sends out into the world is one of the main reasons why I’m here, healthy, and happier than ever today. I have the most wonderful friends and the best support system that I’ve ever had. My friends have been my substitute family my whole life, which makes relationships like Buffy and Giles very special to me personally. I have a very deep, very personal story about my relationship with the Buffyverse, but that’s coming up in the season three review for “Amends”.
• To sum up, this episode was very good. It’s certainly not the greatest Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode. Hell, it’s not even in the top 5 episodes of the season for me, but it does have a lot going for it. It advances the season arc with the arrival of The Anointed One, it gives the audience a much more accurate picture of Buffy’s struggles, and it gives us the start of the superb Buffy-Giles relationship. This episode also focuses on the characters more than the last two episodes, which spent most of their energy on the monster-of-the-week plot. There’s not much more you can ask for five episodes into a new show.
• Even with the above said, I have a couple of complaints...1) I found it unrealistic that Buffy would fall for Owen so deeply after the first time meeting him. After their talk in the library, Buffy almost goes into stalking mode. 2) Owen’s “death” looked unrealistic. I know that he didn’t actually die, but we’re supposed to believe that he did, due to being hit with a metal door at a moderately slow speed and force?
Quote Of The Episode
I’m actually choosing two different quotes for this episode :-
Xander: “So, Buffy, how'd the slaying go last night?”
Buffy: “Xander!”
Xander: “I mean, how'd the laying go? No, I don't mean that either...”
Giles: “All right. I'll just jump into my time machine, go back to the 12th century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show.”
Buffy: “Okay, at this point you're abusing sarcasm.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again...a sassy and sarcastic Giles, is a funny Giles. Anthony Head is the king of sarcastic line delivery.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10
So what are your thoughts on "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
Just an addition to your comments on dating life re: Vampire or normal guy. The thing that's obvious to me, if not to Buffy, is that the easy answer to this is Xander, who has all the needed qualifications. He's not a vampire, he knows she's the slayer, and he's not threatened by it. The catch is that Buffy doesn't love him that way. The heart wants what the heart wants, whether it makes sense for our lives or not.
ReplyDeleteAlso, re: Buffy's stalking Owen, remember that she's still brand new. I don't think she'll really grow to love and trust even her friends until Xander saves her at season end. At this point she's very much alone, has lost the life she grew up with, and is still dealing with being the slayer. I don't think she's stalking Owen as much as she is desperate for the life he represents. In later seasons we'll grow to understand the loneliness of being the slayer -- this is just a foreshadowing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to put it - "I don't think she's stalking Owen as much as she is desperate for the life he represents." I'd say something similar about Riley actually..but I'll save that for our season 4 review conversations. :)
DeleteGreat review Shane. I thought this episode was very good but I still prefer The Witch. That episode was more well thought out developed, amusing, and had more effective and shocking twists than this episode. It was a lot more intense and cerebral but I still love this episode if nothing else but for Buffy's famous iconic line "If the Apocalypse comes beep me".
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun episode to revisit with the later seasons fresh in my head. In your reviews for the first few episodes of this first season, issues of continuity came up a few times. The show was still figuring out what it wanted to be, and obviously hadn't fleshed out things like Darla's character arc, for example. But this episode centers around a theme that pretty much never goes away - Buffy vs. normal life. It's interesting to see some of the exact same questions come up with Angel in season 3, with Riley in season 5, and oh, don't even get me started on Spike.
ReplyDeleteUm, Buffy pretending to have read smart books? What a great, silly moment. I'll admit I spent most of the first season annoyed with how dumb Buffy seems at times. I know that Joss envisioned the character as a valley girl to be extra subversive - this silly-seeming former cheerleader is actually a kickass heroine who saves the world, not a damsel in distress! - but it got on my nerves early on, before we start seeing how smart Buffy really is. (Confessions of the lit major fan.)
YES! Chosen families. I love how this show is such a special part of your story, Shangel. It's becoming that for me too - it speaks so well to that part of us that needs to know we belong somewhere, that it's okay to be nerdy and different and passionate about things, that loves and cares about people and wants to be loved back.
Unrealistic? Have you ever been a 15 year old girl? ;)
~Okay, this might be one of my favourite episode of season one. ^_^
ReplyDelete~ First I was starting to feel some serious love for the team of writers on this show: Buffy’s fighting style is “a bit too bloody” for Giles’ taste (little heart skip) and then the Master ends his sermon with the words “Here endeth the lesson” (major heart skip). I make no secret of the fact that both instances had me very excited and hopping in my stylish yet affordable boots. Apparently the members of the Line of Aurelius possess the same flair for antiquated, dramatic storytelling.
~This is one of my favorite episodes for Giles. He is just on fire in every scene. His disbelieving, slightly put-out “What do you want?” to a student coming in to borrow a book from the library is highly amusing, setting the stage for the later rumor that students at Sunnydale don’t generally check out books. His battle cry (“Tonight, we go into a battle!”) sounds mighty ominous, but ends up backfiring on his Slayer. One of my favorite moments is Buffy bursting into Giles’ study and not letting him get a word in edgewise while she "asks" for permission to have the night off.
~ I agree that Giles is a perfectly good role-model for guys! Dashing, debonair, brave, adorably clumsy and the greatest father figure Buffy could have ever hoped for (even though the fishwife population tends not to think so) - what’s not to love? Xander is right when he gives him the title “Super-Librarian”. But this is the one thing that bothers me: I mean, if you look at Giles, would you think “fighter pilot?”
~Giles and Buffy’s tender talk at the end of the episode is one of the most beautiful moments of this episode and really cemented their father-daughter relationship for me. It makes my my heart warm every time to see them be so at ease and open with each other. It’s without a doubt my favourite Buffy relationship too! This scene might only be slightly ecplised by the car scene in season 2’s “Surprise”. My heart can’t take all this wonderful emotion! ^_^ *swoon*<3
~Let me count the wonders that are Owen Thurman: although Willow made a big point of him being so mysterious that “he can brood for 40 min straight” (Watch out Angel!), I don't see the appeal. And why can’t Buffy see that Owen is extremely uncomfortable with a “grabby” Cordelia? Perhaps it is my advanced years that give me an advantage here but I always thought it was perfectly obvious that he was NOT enjoying himself and was just trying to be polite to the girl. On a side note, I’ve always thought Owen was a bit of a doof: Not only did he buy Buffy’s lame clock-breaking excuse without a second thought, but he put me in mind of a child who tries to latch onto Buffy and use her so that he has an opportunity to play “danger man”. He’s a bit too dim-witted and naïve for my taste, even though he had his hero moment when he smashed that tray over the newly-risen vampire’s head. The title “The World’s Most Boring Boyfriend” is most definitely deserved. ;) (I think the reason Buffy fell for him is because he's 15 and teenage girls easily develop crushes on boys that seem interesting to them (baaad judgment, Buffy!). Based on how Willow and Buffy talk about him, they must have been aware of him for some time.)
~Ugh… humming crazy psychoathic vamps give me the creeps. BIG turn-off! And the time that one took to step into the other room while the others were scrambling to get the furniture out of the way to escape outside was seriously ratcheting up the tension.
ReplyDelete~Buffy has a little showing-off moment here when she flips across the table instead of just running down the lengh of it. With the way they ‘d shot it you’d think she was just wasting time with the effect.
~David Boreanaz playing Angel’s subtle jealously was another highlight for me to watch. I’ll never get tired of watching his territorial posturing when Buffy introduces him to Owen. And frankly I was surprised to see Owen re-appear so soon at the Funeral Home after they had just left him at the Bronze. And he was all chipper and overexcited to be there. Urgh. He got on my nerves even more quickly after that.
~Giles may be frustrated with Buffy because he does not want her repeating his past mistakes. Hugh, I never thought about that before but it makes perfect sense! Giles knows that Buffy can’t have a normal life and wants to impress on her the importance of her calling and the weight of her responsibilities so that she may be prepared early on and not make the same mistakes he did. Luckily, Buffy is one of the most responsible and mature young women of her age and realizes that putting her responsibilities before her desires comes with the Slayer package by the end of the episode.
~Yes, ”Buffy” and “Angel” have shown us that we pick your own family in life (Wesley, Xander, Willow and Tara come to mind!) and that blood is not always thicker than water. I think “Family” in Season 5 sent out a very heart-warming and uplifting message that no matter where you come from and who your parents are, you’re not a reflection of them, but your own person. I’ve thought about this a lot over the years and I’ve come to realize that books and movies very often were a welcome escape for me while offering me wonderful inspiration and reinforcing my own values at the same time. They provided me with the kind of personal education that my parents weren’t always able to give me, and I’m convinced that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without all my favorite fictional characters by my side to set an example.
~Favorite Quotes: Buffy “He’s more…Owen. “ Xander: “Sure, he's got a certain Owenosity,” and Giles' slightly exasperated, "You're on a date. Don't you ever do anything else?" Spot-on! :)
Because I lived in an intentionally TV-free household for a couple of decades (yes, DECADES), there's a lot of TV that I'm watching for the first time, long after everyone else has seen it. I'm glad that these reviews of Buffy are still up; I really like the insights you have into the episodes. I can't really discuss the episodes with anyone, since no one else I know is currently watching Buffy, but hearing your thoughts is the next best thing.
ReplyDeleteI love Giles! Tony Head is adorable, and the way he uses cleaning his eyeglasses as a form of emotional expression is inspired. Have you seen the video of him doing "Sweet Transvestite" from The Rocky Horror Show? I knew he was fabulous as Giles, but to see that he can play Frank N. Furter as well -- the guy has an amazing range!
It's true that Xander behaved badly in this episode, but the guy is only sixteen. I don't think any of us handled jealousy well when we were that young; sixteen-year-old boys are still basically larvae. :-)
I was sort of annoyed at Buffy in the first couple of episodes. Here she has this amazing power and amazing role in protecting the world, and she's whining about it? This episode really made me feel for her, really made me realize just how much she has to give up in order to be a superhero. I think the themes of this episode came at just the right time to get the audience even more firmly on her side. It really DOES cost her a lot to be the Slayer.