Buffy The Vampire Slayer, “Welcome To The Hellmouth” Review (1x01)

Brief Synopsis: "Buffy Summers is the Slayer, but after being expelled from her old High school for burning down the gym (it was full of vampires) she just wants to forget about her destiny and be a normal sixteen year old girl. She and her mother move from L.A. to Sunnydale, California. She now has a new school, new friends, and a chance to start over. However, Sunnydale is on top of a Hellmouth - a centre of mystical convergence that draws evil and demonic forces - and Buffy soon realizes that she will have to pick up her stakes and holy water in order to save her new friends."

"The Harvest" (1x02) 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?

• Okay, the pilot episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer revolves around Buffy Summers arrival in Sunnydale, and her trying to adjust to a normal life after getting kicked out of her last High School for burning down the gym, which was full of vampires (this is continuity from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie that was released in 1992). Of course, it all falls apart and Buffy gets pulled back into the world of the supernatural.
• I think it was a great idea to have Buffy already be the Slayer by the time the show started. This show isn’t going to be about Buffy finding out that she’s the Slayer (although we do get to see that in “Becoming” through flashbacks), which is nice. We don’t have to deal with all the adjustment and drama like you do in so many shows. Primarily, this is about Buffy trying to balance her life and her slaying responsibilities.
• Another thing this pilot episode did right was that Xander and Willow found out that Buffy was a vampire slayer very quickly. I can’t tell you how frustrated I get with shows that drag stuff like this out for years and years. The only important characters that are in the dark at this point are Cordelia and Joyce (who isn’t a very important character in this season anyway). Xander and Willow finding out quickly makes me so full of joy that I could squeal (in a manly, rugged kind of way).
• The first two seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are much more darkly lit than the ones that follow. I think this is primarily a budgetary issue, but I also think that in the earlier seasons they were going for a scarier undertone.
• Speaking of scary, how bloody creepy is the vampire make-up for the first season?! Darla in particular looks terrifying. They went back to similar make-up to this for Angel’s first season as well, but subsequently dropped it halfway through the season as it takes twice as long to apply, and is harder to light than the subsequent vampire make-up.

• I love the cold opener and the complete double-turn that the scene takes when Darla bites the male student instead of the stereotypical other way around. Who knew what an important part of the Buffyverse Darla would become down the line.
• I adore the Buffy theme that is used for the first two seasons of the show. For those of you that are unaware, Nerf Herder re-recorded the theme between seasons two and three, and tightened everything up a little bit. I think I may slightly prefer the older, grittier theme.

• Joss Whedon originally wanted Eric Balfour (Jesse) to be in the opening credits so that he could surprise the audience when Jesse died at the end of “The Harvest”. However, this worked out far too expensive to justify the cost. Joss did eventually do something similar when he added Amber Benson to the opening credits of “Seeing Red”, only to kill her that very episode. I don’t know why Joss has an obsession with destroying the souls of his audience, but it makes me respect him and loathe him all at the same time.

• The Master is a fantastic ‘Big Bad’ (that is the term that is used for the season’s main antagonist). He’s your classic vampire horror movie villain (I mean that in a good way)...leather clothing, the creepy voice, the creepy face...only The Master has a twist. The Master is funny, charming, and loveable in some way, which is usually missing in a television show ‘bad guy’. Another reason why The Master is so successful is because he’s very well fleshed out for a character that only appears in 6 episodes of season one. We receive quite a bit of information about his history and a great deal about his motives in such a limited amount screen time. I must also praise Mark Metcalf for playing The Master so convincingly. I don’t think the first season would have been as successful as it was without The Master as its first villain. The Master isn’t generally considered one of the best ‘Big Bads’, but I think that’s partially because season one is only half a season (it’s twelve episodes, as compared to every other season, which has twenty two episodes), so he didn’t get as much screen time as the others. I’d personally put him 4th behind Angelus, The Mayor, and Glory (note: I’m using the trio as the season six ‘Big Bad’ for this).

• Hello ‘90s fashion. Some of the outfits and hairstyles in the first few seasons of Buffy genuinely have me in stitches. Example in this episode: Xander’s hair. It’s so ‘90s. I love it.

• Other people who auditioned for the role of Buffy included Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia), Julie Benz (Darla), Mercedes McNab (Harmony) and Katie Holmes. Ironically, Sarah Michelle Gellar originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia, not Buffy.

• I miss the days where Buffy wore dresses and skirts a lot *sigh*

• This is the first and only episode that Xander skateboards. I think Joss realised rapidly that it’s too much of a pain in the ass to film someone who’s moving at that speed.

• I really disliked Principal Flutie and I have no idea why. Team Snyder baby! Bigoted rodent men for all!

• Xander: “Can I have you?....duh, can I help you?”

Suave, Xander. I can relate to this version of Xander so much. This version of Xander was very similar to who I was during my school years. I was awkward, clumsy, unpopular, and somehow always said something stupid when I was talking to a female.

• No, Cordelia! If you are ever that mean to Willow again I will have to imaginary kick you in the shins. Poor Willow. It’s okay, I liked your dress. This is one of many instances where Cordelia is a bitch for no reason whatsoever. At this point, she’s nothing more than a spoilt, snobby, drama queen. Think about Angel season five’s “You’re Welcome”, and then think about this episode again. Very few characters grow and develop as much as Cordelia does. By the end of her journey she’s one of the most selfless, empathetic characters in the Buffyverse...but more on that later into the reviews.

• Way to welcome Buffy to Sunnydale High calmly, Giles. Just dump a big ‘Vampyr’ book in front of her. Smooth.

• There is a girl called Aphrodisia...my mind can’t process this...is that what you get when you mix an aphrodisiac with an STI?

• How is it possible that Giles looks older in the first season (and second) than he does in all of the others?! He must have that Benjamin Button syndrome...that or they changed his hair and wardrobe to make him look way cooler. The singing didn’t hurt in season four, either.

• I’m a big fan of the fact that it takes a great deal of convincing by Giles in order to get Buffy back into slaying. I think it’s often forgotten that Buffy had actually decided that she no longer wanted to be the Slayer, and she just wanted a normal life. It’s a fantastic parallel to the last ever episode of Buffy, where the Hellmouth is closed, and Buffy can apparently go on and live a normal life like she always wanted (of course, to those of us who read the comics, she does not go on to live a normal, civilian lifestyle).

• Buffy: “Why can’t you people just leave me alone?!”

Giles: “Because you are the Slayer. Into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a chosen one. One born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires...”

This is such a powerful moment for the first episode. Giles gets all mythic and establishes just what our heroine is...then Buffy cuts him off and says “blah, blah, blah”. Taking a tense moment and making it funny (or vice versa) goes on to be a trademark of Joss’ work on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and his other projects.

• Buffy: “To make you a vampire they have to suck your blood, and then you have to suck their blood. It's like a whole big sucking thing. Mostly they're just gonna kill you. Why am I still talking to you?”

I love this quote for two reasons...1) It establishes to the viewers just how people become vampires in the Buffyverse. There are so many different mythologies for vampires now that it’s a joy to know this information so early on. 2) I love it when Buffy gets all sassy with someone, especially when it’s Giles. It’s great to watch this interaction between Buffy and Giles because they do not like each other at all at this point. Nor can they relate to each other at all. In just a few short episodes they have already started to develop a father-daughter relationship, which goes on to be my co-favourite relationship on Buffy The Vampire Slayer (with Xander-Willow).

• Oh, Angel...Angel is my favourite character in the Buffyverse overall (I do flit between Angel, Wesley, Spike, Xander, Faith, and Willow rather rapidly though).Oddly enough, he wasn’t my favourite character during Buffy The Vampire Slayer years. He became my favourite character once he moved to Los Angeles and starts to grow as a character (and show more than 3 facial expressions). 

• Jeez, David Boreanaz looks young here!

• David’s acting isn’t great in the first season, I must admit. He has some good moments in “Angel” and “Prophecy Girl”, but overall I don’t think he’s a great actor until he becomes Angelus. After that he is fantastic (even as Angel).

• Ah, the iconic ‘Angel giving Buffy the cross necklace’ moment...did anyone figure out that Angel was a vampire before the big reveal in episode 7 (“Angel”)? I had an inkling that he was a vampire because they were trying to make it so obvious that he wasn’t. Plus, I noticed (even at 8 years old when I first watched this episode) that Angel never touched the cross when he gave it to Buffy. It’s not a significant moment – people give each other jewellery in the boxes all the time – but it was enough to make me suspicious.

• Originally Joss intended for the audience to never see Buffy’s parents. I think that is an interesting idea, but it would remove a key dimension from Buffy’s life. How can we truly appreciate how hard it is for Buffy to try to balance her slaying responsibilities and her regular life if we never get to see her interact with her mother? I’m glad that Joss changed his mind for that reason, but also because Buffy and Joyce’s relationship is fascinating to watch. From Joyce’s questionable parenting skills in season two, to Joyce accepting Buffy’s fate in season three, to being the most wonderful Mother ever in seasons four and five, Joyce is a very important character in helping to understand the heroine of the show.

• The set used for The Bronze is just an old warehouse. The locations department do a wonderful job in taking areas that you wouldn’t ordinary glance twice at, and making them look so rich and beautiful.

• Trivia fact: Even though it is never mentioned in the show, The Master does in fact have a name (it was in the original “Welcome To The Hellmouth” script). His name is Heinrich Joseph Nest.

• Willow, you are the most adorable thing I have ever seen. I just want to protect you from everything in this episode. It’s so alien to go back to the beginning of the show and see Willow with no self esteem again. Willow grows so much over the next seven years that she’s almost a brand new person by the end of the show. Thinking about it, Buffy The Vampire Slay and Angel have absolutely fantastic character development. So many shows go for the simple formula of ‘good guy in trouble, good guy fights evil, good guy ultimately wins, good guy reverts back to the person they were before the event took place’. Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel do the exact opposite. Characters like Willow, Wesley, and Cordelia are almost unrecognisable when you compare them from their first appearance to their last appearance. Character progression is one of the main things that draws me into a show. I want to see the characters change. I want to see the characters go through long hardships that change their identity. It’s what keeps the show feeling fresh!

• Giles looks so uncomfortable and out of place at The Bronze. Love it. Especially as in season 4 he’s so lonely that he voluntarily goes to The Bronze.

• What’s wrong with a suit jacket with the sleeves rolled up, Buffy?! I do that every day, and I think I look darn cool...don’t judge me...

• Sprung Monkey were an excellent choice for The Bronze’s first band. The songs are really memorable, and it helps set the tone for what The Bronze is all about. Looking back at my 15 year love affair with the Buffyverse, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the music is one of the things that I’ve enjoyed the most. Not only the music that we experience at The Bronze over the years, but also the musical scores.

• I really like the ending to this episode. The pilot episode of the show ends with a cliffhanger, like it should! It leaves you wanting more and begging to know what happens next! Buffy is about to be bitten by Luke, and the fates of Xander, Willow, and Jesse remain uncertain. Exciting times indeed!

• I know I’ve mentioned it already, but I highly enjoy coming right back to the beginning of the show just after I’ve finished Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, just to see how much the characters grow over the years. Buffy starts as a character that refuses to be the Slayer, and evolves into a bona fide hero. Xander goes from a shy, insecure boy to a man who is more perceptive and loyal than anyone else on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It takes him a while to get there. He doesn’t really progress very much for the first few years. It’s after leaving Sunnydale High School and struggling to finding his place in the world that Xander starts to flourish. Willow arguably has the biggest character development out of any character on the show (I think Wesley and Cordelia both have a little more, but I consider them to be ‘Angel’ characters primarily). Seeing her grow and gain self esteem is a treat to watch unfold. Giles becomes cooler, calmer, and more understanding of the young adults that surround him as the years go by. I am so excited to be reliving this with all of you!

• Unpopular opinion: While I feel that season one has some strong episodes (“The Pack”, “Angel”, “Nightmares”, and “Prophecy Girl” immediately spring to mind), I think it is the weakest season of the show, by some margin. Part of the problem is that it is only 12 episodes, but I think the show was also still trying to find its feet and its rhythm, which is understandable. Season one is very cheesy and very camp in a lot of ways. The timing of the music in this episode, the fight scene at the end of the episode...all very cheesy. I don’t want that to come across as a bad thing...I love the cheesy! However, I can see why people would watch this episode and not bother with the rest of the episodes. In my opinion it’s not until season two that Buffy The Vampire Slayer is great on a consistent basis. Like I said, I enjoy season one a lot personally, but it’s certainly not for everyone.

Quote Of The Episode

Buffy: “Prepare me for what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them?! Go ahead! Prepare me.”

I am SO glad that the show went here so soon! Buffy hates being the Slayer. She’s given up and she wants a normal life. I really like the fact that we join Buffy on her journey when she’s in such a jaded place. Being the Slayer has already ruined Buffy’s life before she arrives in Sunnydale. She’s been kicked out of school, she’s had to move city, and she has a lot of problems. This is before the days where Buffy realises just what an important role she plays in the world, and she starts to appreciate it. Buffy is sixteen years old here and all she sees is that her life is being ruined by being the Slayer.

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

So what are your thoughts on "Welcome To The Hellmouth"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!

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