Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (Buffy episode)
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"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" is an episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Buffy gets to go on her first date.
Plot synopsis
Summary
Buffy is beginning to feel the lack of a boyfriend in her life, but when the quiet and mysterious Owen starts to pay attention to her, things start to look up — no matter how much Cordelia tries to interfere. Meanwhile the Master is planning the coming of the Anointed One, a powerful vampire who will help him fight the Slayer. Giles also knows of this prophecy and, after a suspicious bus crash involving a known criminal, calls Buffy in to help, messing up her dating plans. Nothing happens, and Buffy remains unconvinced about the prophecy, so she goes out on a date with Owen the following evening rather than checking out the mortuary with Giles. However, Giles gets in to trouble with a group of vamps and Buffy has to go and help, with an unknowing Owen tagging along. Buffy fights the criminal, now turned vamp, finally finding the strength to kill him after he hurts Owen. The following day Buffy decides that perhaps dating is too dangerous after all.
Expanded overview
In episode 5 of season 1, "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date", The Master reads an ancient prophecy to his minions:
And there will be a time of crisis, of worlds hanging in the balance.And in this time shall come the Anointed, the Master's great warrior. And the Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell. As it is written, so it shall be. Five will die, and from their ashes the Anointed One shall rise. The Brethren of Aurelius shall greet him and usher him to his immortal destiny.
Buffy finally gets a date: Sensitive hunk Owen shows an interest in her. To Giles' exasperation, all Buffy can think about is impressing him with an uncharacteristic interest in the American poet Emily Dickinson. In the school cafeteria, Buffy has to fight off Cordelia to sit at one table with Owen, but it is worth it: He asks Buffy out on a date to the Bronze that very evening.
However, Giles has found out about the prophecy from the symbol on a ring they found in the cemetery. He is convinced that the Anointed One will rise that night, and so despite Buffy's protests, they spend hours sitting on graves waiting for a vampire to rise. None does, however, and though Giles is certain that his calculations are correct, he calls their stakeless stake-out quits. Buffy rushes to the Bronze, only to see Owen dancing with Cordelia. Crushed, she leaves without trying to talk to him.
At the same time, in a van on the way to Sunnydale, a man stands up and begins to lecture the other passengers on God's judgment, quoting prophecies. Suddenly, a vampire walks in front of the bus, causing it to crash. Other vampires swarm the wreck, attacking the passengers, including the religious man.
The next morning, Owen asks Buffy out on another date that night and even gives her a pocket-watch so that she doesn't miss it this time. Buffy jumps at the opportunity, while Xander is left to stew in his jealousy.
When evening comes, Giles shows up at Buffy's house, waving a newspaper that shows five people died when the van crashed, among them the suspected murderer Andrew Borba, the man who was making prophecies. Buffy insists on going to the Bronze, though, so Giles decides to check the Sunnydale funeral home himself. Unfortunately, there are vampires present to get the Anointed One, and they trap Giles in a room. Xander and Willow have followed him, though, and run back to Bronze to get Buffy.
There, first Cordelia, then Angel tries to come in between Buffy and Owen. Finally, Xander and Willow managed to get her to come to the funeral home by pretending to be a couple that wants to do something daring on a double date. When Buffy figures out what has happened, she tries to dump Owen, but unfortunately, he tags along. Even worse, he is present in the funeral home when Borba rises as a vampire. In the fight, Owen is knocked unconscious. Buffy kills Borba by sliding him into the furnace while still alive, or rather, still undead.
The next morning, Owen is extremely excited about what they have been through and wants more — this is what he likes about Buffy, he says, and almost being killed made him feel alive. She realizes that there is no way that she can have a relationship with him; sooner or later, he will get himself killed. With a heavy heart, she breaks up.
Giles tries to comfort her by telling her what a burden it was for him as a ten-year-old to find out his destiny was to be a Watcher when he would rather have been a fighter pilot — or possibly a grocer. Both agree that at least the Master will be unhappy, too, because the Anointed One was destroyed.
But in his underground lair, the Master is overjoyed as he welcomes the real Anointed One — not Borba after all, but a young boy who was on the bus with him.
Writing and acting
Buffy's "beeping thing" — a pager — will seem archaic by the end of the series. It will be a long time before mobile phones enter Buffy's world. (On a side note, pagers are indeed called "beepers" in Britain.)
Again, Buffy is the one who finds out what the symbol on a ring means, significantly helping to solve a mystery (which she had also done in "Teacher's Pet"). In later episodes, there is more of a division of labor between her and the other Scoobies; She fights, the others do the research.
Cast
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Quotes and trivia
"She's quite a good poet. I mean ... for an American" — Giles being British about Emily Dickinson
Giles: "All right, I'll just drop in my time machine, go back to the twelfth 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."
"Clark Kent has a job. I just wanna go on a date." — Buffy trying to convince Giles to let her out with a Superman reference.
"She is the strangest girl" — Giles about Buffy
"She's the strangest girl" — Owen about Buffy
"Look at this. They show up everywhere." — Owen about Xander and Willow.
There is much confusion about a slayer handbook caused by a quote from Giles in this episode. He says "I don't have a handbook". Later you find out from Vampire Slayer Kendra, that there is a Slayer handbook. However, when Giles says he doesn't have a handbook, he's referring to a Watcher's handbook.
In the school's cafeteria, Owen makes a reference to Soylent Green, a food in the film of the same name made out of human flesh.
The quote "Here endeth the lesson" made by the Master was originally in the movie, Interview with the Vampire. It was said when Louis and Claudia first go to see the play about vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires. Buffy says this quote again in an episode from the seventh season, Showtime, after be-heading a Turok-Han (übervamp) in front of all of the Potential Slayers thus far introduced into the series. The real origin of "Here endeth the lesson" was from the movie The Untouchables said by Sean Connery in his role as advisor to Kevin Costner.
Production details
Translations
German title: "Ohne Buffy lebt' sich's länger" ("You live longer without Buffy")
Music
- Kim Richey - "Let the sun fall down". Kim Richey's music would be used once again seven years later in the Angel episode, "A Hole in the World".
- Rubber - "Junkie girl"
- Velvet Chain - "Strong"
- Velvet Chain - "Treason"
Continuity
Arc significance
The Anointed One enters the series as a new villain, though his exact powers remain unknown. Buffy proves, again, that she is Slayer first and teenager second, and makes the decision to dump Owen all by herself. Angel just possibly shows a touch of jealousy when he sees Owen with Buffy. Giles shows one of the first moments of caring when he comforts Buffy, the beginning of his more fatherly relationship towards her.
The last part of the prophecy builds up suspense that will remain until the last episode of the season: Just when and how will the boy lead Buffy "into hell"?
While in the Bronze, Buffy mutters (to herself?), "Bite me". The camera then cuts to Angel giving Buffy a look. This is a clever and subtle foreshadowing of Angel's vampiric revelation two episodes later.
Cordelia's meeting with Angel is of note, given the close relationship that forms between them on Angel.
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
External links
- [BBC episode guide to "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date"]
- [Buffy Body Count guide to this episode]
- [Buffyology Episode Page]
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