S1E04: Teacher’s Pet

Xander’s obvious dream sequence becomes apparent after he saves Buffy from a vamp, performs a guitar solo, and has every intention of kissing her like she’s never been kissed before. Cueing the catalyst for this episode; male infatuation with the opposite sex.

This infatuation will be the downfall of a few as the new substitute teacher Ms. French takes over from the now headless former science teacher Mr. Gregory. When Xander goes to Ms. French’s house for an “assignment” and doesn’t return the following day, Buffy, Willow, and Giles must save idiotic Xander from his testosterone…… and a giant praying mantis.

While this is a pretty cut and dry episode, the best parts are the interactions between Buffy and Angel, the relationship takes itty bitty steps, but it is fascinating to watch and fills us with potential happiness.  

S1E03: Witch

Episode 3 opens with Giles giving Buffy a lecture on her attempting to join a cult, that “cult” is the cheerleading squad. As we attend tryouts, the most talented contestant spontaneously bursts into flames during her audition. What the!?

So, when Buffy and new friend Amy don’t make the squad, one by one, the cheerleaders who did, start suffering ailments preventing them from performing. First Cordelia, which sends in Buffy and when she goes down, our supernatural crime fighting team is on the case but without their Sheriff. With hardly a leap, skip, or jump, it isn’t difficult to figure out Amy has something to do with it given her mother was the be all and end all of cheerleading at Sunnydale.

This is a pretty fun episode and only a taste of what is to come in the Buffyverse. We learn just how infatuated Xander is with Buffy, how Willow secretly pines for Xander, but by episodes end the team has defeated the foe and all is well, except for a trophy in the hall…

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S1E02: The Harvest

Episode 2 commences and as Luke is going in for the kill, but he places his hand on Buffy’s chest which coincidentally has the cross adorning it from “a friend”. Thus, resulting in a rather simple escape that is the opening 15 seconds of the episode, thankfully even back in TV days, the first two eps aired back-to-back.

Getting to hear Giles explain how vampires came to be is something that is lacking from practically any vamp film/show, which automatically raises this shows excellence and Giles’ bad-ass-ness. Willow shows hers when Cordelia is, well, Cordelia, but Willow still informs her that to save her computer project she needs to press “deliver”, which we all know what the abbreviation of that would be and also what it would actually do. #bestillmynerdheart

The Harvest, as it turns out, is the process to allow The Master to be freed from his subterranean prison, and to stop this, Buffy needs to kill a vampire with what can only be described as the Mercedes logo on his forehead.

As we will come to realise, Buffy gets the job done and stops The Harvest, and the episode concludes with Giles reminding our beloved teens that this will not be the last time that this will happen and that they should be prepared for more to come, in true teenage fashion they wave it off and walk off talking about how their lives could REALLY end, and with that Giles says to himself “the earth is doomed”.

Cue Credits.

S1E01: Welcome To the Hellmouth

Episode 1 Scene 1 cements this show as one that will not give us familiar horror tropes such as guy and girl in a scary situation, girl ultimately pays the price. This definitely seems like it’s happening, right before said girl turns around showing her fully vamped face and takes a chunk out of said guy. CUE GREATEST THEME SONG OF ANY SHOW. EVER. FIGHT ME.

Within minutes we are introduced to many central characters that you WILL come to love or hate or tolerate. They include: Xander, Willow, Cordelia, Giles, and the vampire slayer herself Buffy. Relationships are quickly established, and we are drawn into the dire circumstances that surround Sunnydale just as quickly.

As the episode progresses, Buffy quickly realises that the life of vampire slaying was not left behind in LA as she was hoping. Rather she has moved to the epicentre of Hell itself. WHOOPS.

Introducing the big bad of this season and also one of the best characters in the series, The Master.  Also, his sidekicks, Luke and Darla (terrifying names I know). The episode comes to a close as our heroine is fighting Luke and Darla in a mausoleum, and she is thrown into an open coffin as Luke jumps in on top of her and goes in for a bite… TO BE CONTINUED.