School Hard (Buffy episode)
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"School Hard" is episode 3 of season 2 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.
Plot synopsis
Summary
Something is rotten in the state of Sunnydale High. If you're Buffy. She's one step from expulsion, her GPA is a disaster and Parent's Night is in a few days time. That's the badness she knows about. The Night of St. Vigeous is approaching, when the power of all vampires will be at its peak. All that, however, is the good news. There's two new faces in town. One of them's under a bleach blond haircut and over a black leather trenchcoat, the other's in front of a criminally insane clairvoyant brain: Spike and Drusilla. Spike decides to crash Parent's Night, which actually does Buffy a favor, since she's trying her best to keep her mother, Joyce, from Principal Snyder. Spike nearly gets the better of Buffy till Joyce brains him with a fire axe. Women! Later, Spike kills the Anointed One, and sets up shop as ruler of Sunnydale. After he and Dru see what's on television, of course.
Expanded overview
"School Hard" starts with Buffy and Sheila in Principal Snyder's office. He has decided that his two nemeses will prepare the school lounge for parent-teacher night on Thursday. Whoever does the better job will not be expelled. Sheila's continued unconcern puts even more pressure on Buffy, who already has a tough time balancing slaying with a social life.
That night, a pair of vampires with British accents arrive in town. Spike and Drusilla interrupt a gathering by the Anointed One to discuss The Master's departure. Spike promises to kill Buffy as he has killed two slayers already.
While the Scoobies are busy preparing for the parents, Giles and Jenny Calendar show up to inform Buffy that Saturday will be the Night of Saint Vigeous, named after the leader of a vampire crusade. Buffy is unimpressed.
Buffy tries to combine school and social life by studying French at the Bronze. Spike is there, too, and sends one of his minions to lure Buffy into action, which he observes. When Buffy kills the vampire, Spike steps out of the shadows and predicts that he will kill her on Saturday. He later brings Sheila, who is enthralled by his evil boy charms, to the weak Drusilla as food.
Giles does not recognize Spike from Buffy's description. Angel walks in on the meeting and tells them that Spike is very bad news without giving any more detail. Later, Giles finds a reference to Spike as "William the Bloody," who has killed two slayers.
On Thursday night, the Scoobies are making weapons in the library while Buffy is preparing the buffet. She eventually fails to keep Snyder from her mother. Afterwards, a stern Joyce orders Buffy home just as Spike and the other vampires crash through the window, too impatient to wait for Saturday. In the ensuing fight, Buffy leads the adults to safety in the science room while Xander, Giles, and Ms. Calendar barricade themselves in the library. Willow and Cordelia hide in a utility closet. Xander is sent out to get Angel. Buffy takes command of the incredulous adults, tells them to stay put and climbs through the air ducts to reach the library and her weapons.
Xander returns to the school with Angel, who pretends to be his former evil self. Though Spike first welcomes Angel as a long-lost friend, he sees through the ruse and Xander and Angel are forced to flee. Xander hears Spike call Angel his "sire" and "Yoda."
Buffy and Angel finally meet in the hall, and Buffy is almost bested when her mother shows up and hits Spike over the head with the flat of an axe. With the curse "Women!" he retreats. Joyce tells Buffy that she trusts Buffy to take care of herself, whatever Snyder may say.
Snyder asks the police chief to release a cover story about a gang on PCP, letting us know that he knows more about what is happening in Sunnydale than he has shown so far.
Spike returns to the vampire lair, where the Anointed One demands penance for attacking too early. After starting to go through the motions, Spike simply throws the boy in a cage and pulls it into the sun, killing him. From now on, he says, there will be less ritual and more fun in Sunnydale.
Writing and acting
- Not to belabor the point, but this episode is a metaphor for the fears many children have about parent-teacher conferences.
- Spike's violent and irreverent punk attitude and Drusilla's psychotic, Gothic and prescient nature break the traditional vampire mold in the series for good.
- This marks the first appearance of James Marsters, whose character "Spike" would undergo drastic changes through the final season. The original plan was to let Buffy kill him at the end of this episode, but Marsters did so well that the writers kept him on board.
- Spike's character still has some rough edges during his first appearance. He spends long periods of time with his vampire face, limiting his range of facial expressions. Certain mannerisms like his repeated use of the phrase "Who am I kidding?" will be dropped in future episodes.
- Spike calls Angel his "sire" when Drusilla had turned Spike. According to Joss Whedon, "..SIRE doesn't just mean [the] guy who made you, it means you come from their line. Angel is like a grandfather to Spike."
- Spike and Drusilla are described as the "Sid and Nancy of vampires" by the writers.
Cast
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
- David Boreanaz as Angel
Quotes and trivia
- The title is a reference to Bruce Willis's Die Hard, where he saves a group of hostages from terrorists. Willis spends time through air ducts, too.
- James Marsters makes his first appearance in the Buffyverse as "Spike."
- Juliet Landau makes her first appearance in the Buffyverse as "Drusilla." Her father is Martin Landau, who starred with her mother Barbara Bain on the television show .
- Spike's car, in the original script, was going to be a Cadillac. In the televised programme it is a Desoto Sportsman, California regestration HIA 873.
Production details
Music
- Nickel - "Nights"
- Nickel - "Stupid thing"
Translations
German title: "Elternabend mit Hindernissen" ("Parent-Teacher Night with Obstacles")
Spike's Anne Rice reference was removed by German translators and replaced with the line:
- "Fallen die Menschen immer noch auf diesen romantischen Quatsch 'rein?"
- "Do people still fall for that romantic crap?"
Spanish title: "La Noche de San Triptus" (The Night of Saint Treeptus".
Both Spike's Anne Rice and Yoda references were removed by English-to-Spanish translators. "Anne Rice routine" was changed to "cuentos medievales ("medieval tales"). Both "sire" and "Yoda" were replaced by "maestro" and "guía" ("teacher" and "guide")
Continuity
Arc significance
- "School Hard" introduces Spike and his love Drusilla, who appear to be the villains this season. By the end of the series, a much changed Spike will have gone from Buffy's mortal enemy to her lover and from one of worst monsters the Scoobies have faced to their champion.
- Joyce Summers begins to see that her daughter has unique abilities.
- Spike calls Angel his sire. Later on in "Lies My Parents Told Me" he will claim that Drusilla was his sire.
Timing
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
External links
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