Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Season 1, Episode 5
This episode marks the first real interaction between Angel and Xander; also marks Buffy's first (and only!) date with a regular guy -- she does go for those brooding types, eh? This episode marks the 2nd time that we hear of a prophecy that is about to be fulfilled. Plus, this is the first time we've seen a student -- other than Xander, Willow, and Buffy -- come looking for something in the library. This episode also gives rise to The Anointed.
At lunch, Willow and Buffy are discussing Owen -- we learn that "he can brood for 40 minutes straight", and he's inspired Buffy to check out a book on Emily Dickinson. This is where Willow says, "You vixen!" -- then they sit down with Xander. When Xander spots Owen, he says, "Ooh, look at Mr. Excitement." This episode features Xander's jealousy being aimed towards two people -- first towards Owen, then Angel. Buffy goes over to sit with Owen but is bumped out of the way by Cordelia. See? I told you they were rivals. Anyhoo, Owen helps Buffy pick up her now-ruined lunch, and he has cause to mention one of the great, semi-cheesy sci-fi flicks, Soylent Green. You should check that flick out. So Cordy invites Owen to the Bronze, Owen asks who else is going, and then he asks Buffy to meet him there. Willow and Buffy are gabbing about this on their way to the library. It's there that crimp-in-the-plans factor #1 arises -- Giles tells Buffy that the ring is an indication of a prophecy that's about to be fulfilled. "5 shall die and from their ashes will rise...The Anointed."
Master Interlude -- We see in this episode that The Master is planning to use The Anointed One as his greatest weapon against the Slayer. He orders his minions to bring the A-1 to him.
Buffy wigs out about losing an opportunity to go out on a date, but later she & Giles go sit in the cemetery and nothing happens. She runs to The Bronze to find Cordy dancing with Owen; she's way unhappy, and can't say I blame her. So she leaves.
At some point during the evening, we see a bus containing a raving lunatic who spouts off some Biblical-type stuff; a little boy with his mom, and a few other people. The driver's caught off guard when he sees someone in the middle of the road and he has an accident. The Master's vamps then go on a bite-fest.
Next day, Buffy and Xander are chatting by the lockers and she's bemoaning her situation. I bemoan mine occasionally, too. Anyhoo, Owen comes up to her and asks her out again, much to her shock and to Xander's utter dismay. She agrees, pops in to see Giles very quickly and leaves, causing him to say, "She is the strangest girl." This line is repeated later by Owen, and you have to wonder if the writers just like using lines twice. See: Inca Mummy Girl and Halloween; Oz's line.
Buffy's getting ready for her date with the help of Xander and Willow. Xander unsuccessfully tries to push lumpy, frumpy outfits on her, and also tries to sneak a peek in the mirror at her while she changes. Doorbell rings, it's Giles. He's holding a newspaper that chronicles the death of 5 people in a bus accident, and he believes this could be due to the prophecy, especially since one of them, the lunatic, was a convicted murderer. Buffy tries to talk him out of it when Owen arrives. Willow and Xander take Owen aside so Buffy can yak with Giles. More Xander-jealousy rears its head as he explains to Owen that Buffy doesn't like to be touched, etc. Buffy gets her way and goes out with Owen, while Giles heads off to the funeral home. Xander and Willow are left behind, and she suggests they follow Giles.
Glimpses of Buffy and Owen at Bronze, glimpse of Giles being faced with 2 vampires. What I like about the Giles scene is that you can see the sign of the funeral home -- its motto reads: We'll take care of the rest. I can't help it, I like it. So Cordy's at the Bronze, being nasty about Buffy and to Buffy as she tries to cut in on her date with Owen. This episode marks the first time that Cordy sees Angel, too, and tries to go after him. Angel tells Buffy she should be out working, and Buffy's caught between Angel & Owen.
Xander and Willow, meanwhile, have followed Giles and seen he's in danger, so they run back to get Buffy. What follows is one of the most amusing exchanges of the episode, and still remains a standout exchange of all episodes. This is because Xander and Willow must communicate what's going on to Buffy, but they know that they have to be careful about how they do it, so they pose as a couple. Basically Buffy leaves with Willow and Xander; they get to the funeral home, Owen's followed them, and Buffy's got to get rid of the Pork'n'Beans vampire. This was the Biblical weirdo from the bus, and he's kind of a loon. "Pork'n'beans, pork'n'beans, I can smell you!" Pork vampire knocks Owen's head with a metal door and Buffy thinks he's dead, so she goes ballistic and beats the hell out of the vampire, finally sending him into the incinerator that Giles accidentally opened when he was thrown against the wall. Owen comes to, date's over.
Next day at school, Owen tells Buffy he had a great time and wants to go out with her again. Apparently, he's very much into the rush that comes from almost being killed. So Buffy does the "let's be friends thing." Giles comes by to talk to her, explains how he was reluctant to be a Watcher, and they bond by the fountain. They're optimistic, though, because they believe that they stopped that prophecy from coming true by killing Pork Vamp.
Master Interlude -- Cut to Master's Lair, and he's repeating the prophecy verbatim. "And in this time shall come The Anointed..And the Slayer ...will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell." Master bends down and says, "Welcome, my young friend." to the little boy from the bus -- The Anointed! not all ep. plots will be this long. I hope.
1. Buffy used a stake to kill the cemetery vampire
1. We're left to wonder if any of the prophecies can be prevented from happening. In Prophecy Girl, Giles says that there's nothing in the Pergamum Codex that does not come to pass. So why did they think they had killed the Anointed One and prevented the prophecy from coming true???
1. Sunnydale High School
1. Buffy
2. Buffy used the medical examining table to hit the vampire; she used the incinerator to burn him.
2. "Everyone forgets, Willow, that Knowledge is the ultimate weapon." -- Xander to Willow
3. Xander wears a Tweety watch.
"Two points for the Slayer while the Watcher has yet to score!" -- Buffy to Giles, on her being right about something that he'd dismissed.
"Okay, at this point you're abusing sarcasm." -- Buffy to Giles, in response to his reply to her asking for the night off to go out on a date.
2. The Bronze
3. Buffy's house
4. The Cemetery
5. The Sunnydale Funeral Home
6. The Master's Lair
2. Willow
3. Xander
4. Giles
5. Cordelia
6. Angel
7. Owen
8. The Master
9. The Anointed One
10. Pork'n'Beans Vampire
