Buffy vs. Dracula (Buffy episode)
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"Buffy vs. Dracula" is the first episode in season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Plot synopsis
Summary
Buffy faces the infamous Count Dracula, come to Sunnydale to meet her and make her one of his concubines. In the process, he turns Xander into a Renfield of sorts and Giles performs the scene of the three sisters, much like Jonathan Harker in the original novel. However, after a brief spell in which Buffy is mesmerized by the Count and bitten in the neck, she regains her usual penchant and kills him. He reforms from a mist, but is killed again. Attempting to reform yet again, Buffy reminds him that she's still there, and Dracula slips away in his mist-form.
Expanded overview
Unable to sleep, Buffy goes out to patrol the cemetery and after staking a vampire, she returns to bed. At the beach, Buffy and Riley play around and the gang attempt some relaxation under the sun. After Willow uses magic to ignite the barbeque, a storm starts suddenly, forcing them all to seek shelter from the rain. Two men deliver a large crate to a residence, but when they drop it, a clawed hand breaks through the wood and attacks the men.
Giles has Willow begin to scan the pages of books so that they can be resources for the gang to use. He then announces to her that he's going back to England because it seems he's no longer needed by anyone in Sunnydale. Buffy has dinner with her mother then goes out to patrol. After staking one vampire, she is confronted by another. However, this is no ordinary vampire. He is the infamous Count Dracula.
Buffy talks with the legendary vampire, and when she tries to stake him, he is able to disappear. Xander and Willow arrive to see Dracula before he turns into a bat and flies away. The gang talks about Dracula, all of the women focusing on how amazing he is. Riley and Xander both express their jealousy towards the Dark Prince. Willow makes a lame attempt to attract attention to Giles and his usefulness, but the gang seems oblivious to it all.
Anya talks adoringly about Dracula and as Xander is walking home alone, he runs into the vampire himself. Using his mysterious charms, Dracula persuades Xander to be his aid and lure the Slayer to him. Riley goes to Spike for information regarding Dracula. Spike reveals that he knows Dracula, but warns Riley that Dracula is too dangerous for the former commando to take on alone. Buffy awakens to find Dracula in her bedroom. She is helpless against his powers and unable to stop him from biting her. When she wakes the next morning, she spots the puncture marks in her neck and hides them with a scarf around her neck.
While munching on donuts, the gang talks about their plan of attack on Dracula. Buffy seems distracted and after hearing about the truths of Dracula, she leaves abruptly. Riley follows her and forces her to take off the scarf to show the puncture marks on her neck. Everyone is shocked to see that she has been under the control of Dracula. Since Xander is under Dracula's power, he has a strange hunger for spiders and attempts to defend the powerful vampire to his friends. Xander volunteers to have Buffy stay safely at his place, Willow and Tara use magic to protect the Summers's home, and Giles and Riley go after Dracula.
Anya complains about not going after Dracula herself, until Xander locks her in the closet. Xander takes the willing Slayer to his "Master" in hopes of getting immortality in return. After being left alone with Dracula, Buffy tries to take control and stake him, but he is easily able to make her put the stake down. Riley and Giles discover Dracula's castle that mysteriously appeared in Sunnydale and enter carefully. Dracula talks to Buffy of all the things he will do for her while she struggles to regain control of herself.
Xander tries to stop Riley from going after Dracula, but Riley quickly knocks him out. Giles finds himself victim to the Three Sisters who effectively keep him distracted. Dracula offers his blood to Buffy and she hesitantly takes a drink. A flash of memories allows Buffy to break his control over her. Riley rescues Giles from the sister vampires and they go to save Buffy. Buffy and Dracula fight in a vicious battle and finally Buffy stakes him. After they leave, Dracula comes back from the dust. Buffy is there and stakes him, knowing he would come back.
Buffy talks to Giles, telling him that she wants to be the Slayer again, to learn about her duties and her future. She asks Giles to be her Watcher again and Giles is pleased. Buffy comes home and announces to her mom that she's going out with Riley. As she enters her room, she finds a girl there going through her stuff. Joyce tells Buffy that she should take her sister with her if she goes out.
Writing and acting
When Dracula first bites Buffy, he bites the right side (left side to him) of her neck, but when Riley later pulls her scarf off, the bite mark is on the left side. In the next scene, the bite is back on the right. This is regarded as a goof, although Buffy actually is looking at her bite mark in the mirror meaning that it is always on the correct side.
Production details
Music
- Vertical Horizon - "Finding Me"
Quotes and trivia
- Dracula and Buffy face each other again, with much similar results, in the Dark Horse Comic Tales of the Vampires #3 "Antique" by Drew Goddard.
- This is the third time that Buffy is bitten by a vampire. She was bitten by the Master in Season 1 and Angel in Season 3.
- Excerpts from this episode appear on a television screen in the Russian vampire film Night Watch.
- The Season Premiere attracted 5.8 million viewers.
Continuity
Arc significance
This episode can be seen as a new beginning for Buffy after defeating Adam and paves the way for the new season's main theme: Buffy's real self and purpose. She learns from Dracula that she's a hunter perhaps more than she's a slayer, and he whets her appetite for exploring herself and finding out more about the Slayer lineage and its purpose and roots.
The episode is also significant in that its final scene features the appearance of Dawn, the younger sister of Buffy.
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) | Buffyverse chronology: Fall 2000 - December 2000 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.01 Buffy vs. Dracula (Buffy episode)>Buffy vs. Dracula |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.01 Judgment (Angel episode)>Judgment |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy graphic novel: Haunted (Buffy comic)>Haunted (by Jane Espenson) |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.02 Real Me (Buffy episode)>Real Me |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.02 Are You Now or Have You Ever Been (Angel episode)>Are You Now or Have You Ever Been |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel book: Image (Angel novel)>Image |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel book: Stranger to the Sun (Angel novel)>Stranger to the Sun |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.03 The Replacement (Buffy episode)>The Replacement |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy graphic novel: False Memories (Buffy comic)>False Memories |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy Graphic novel story: |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.03 First Impressions (Angel episode)>First Impressions |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel graphic novel: Long Night's Journey (Angel comic)>Long Night's Journey |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.04 Out of My Mind (Buffy episode)>Out of My Mind |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.04 Untouched (Angel episode)>Untouched |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.05 No Place Like Home (Buffy episode)>No Place Like Home |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.05 Dear Boy (Angel episode)>Dear Boy |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.06 Family (Buffy episode)>Family |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | Buffy graphic novel: Autumnal (Buffy comic)>Autumnal |
| L.A., 2000 | Angel graphic novel: Autumnal (Autumnal Comic)>Autumnal |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.06 Guise Will Be Guise (Angel episode)>Guise Will Be Guise |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.07 Fool for Love (Buffy episode)>Fool for Love |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.07 Darla (Angel episode)>Darla |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.08 Shadow (Buffy episode)>Shadow |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.08 The Shroud of Rahmon (Angel episode)>The Shroud of Rahmon |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.09 Listening to Fear (Buffy episode)>Listening to Fear |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.09 The Trial (Angel episode)>The Trial |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.10 Into the Woods (Buffy episode)>Into the Woods |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.10 Reunion (Angel episode)>Reunion |
| Sunnydale, 2000 | B5.11 Triangle (Buffy episode)>Triangle |
| L.A., 2000 | A2.11 Redefinition (Angel episode)>Redefinition |
External links
| Buffyverse | ||
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| People | Adam | Amy | Andrew | Angel | Anya | Buffy | Caleb | Connor | Cordelia | Dawn | Darla | Doyle | Dru | Eve | Faith | Fred | Giles | Glory | Gunn | Harmony | Holtz | Illyria | Jasmine | Jenny | Joyce | Jonathan | Kate | Kennedy | Lilah | Lindsey | Lorne | The Master | Mayor Wilkins | Oz | Professor Walsh | Riley | Spike | Tara | Warren | Wesley | Willow | Xander | |
| Places | L.A. | Sunnydale Bronze | Caritas | Hellmouth | Hyperion | Library | Magic Box | Pylea | Sunnydale High | |
| Music | Complete Tracklist | Use of Music in Buffy & Angel | Dingoes Ate My Baby | Film | | | Once More, With Feeling | |
| Key Terminology | "Demon" | "Slayer" | "Vampire" | "Watcher" | "Werewolf" | "Witch" "Child of Senior Partners" | Shanshu | Sunnydale Syndrome | Tro-Clon | |
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