Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1, Episode 7 'Angel'

Writer: David Greenwalt
Director: Scott Brazil

What's the sitch?
The Master sends The Three, a trio of deadly vampire warriors, to kill Buffy. And they almost succeed. However at the last moment Angel intervenes and saves her but gets himself injured in the process. The pair escape back to Buffy's house where Buffy, her feelings for the mysterious Angel growing, though still unaware that he's a vampire, patches him up and insists he spends the night...on her bedroom floor. Meanwhile, having failed in their task, The Three die at the hands of Darla, who then tells The Master of her own plan to kill Buffy: have Angel do it for them by framing him for hurting Buffy's mum. He'll then be forced to kill the Slayer before she kills him. Darla's plan is to not only rid Sunnydale of the pesky Slayer but also, by having him kill her, to bring Angel, the vampire she sired, back in to the evil fold. Delicious.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?
Girls: beware of moody, broody older boys who aren't all they seem. Primarily this is a mythology and character episode that pushes the main story of the season forward (and season 2 for that matter).

Who's giving us the wiggins this week?
The Three, The Master and Darla. Mmm, Darla.

Why it rocks
1. Buffy steps up a gear. This is arguably the best episode of the season. I mean, what's not to love? The proper birth of the Buffy/Angel story, a surprise reveal, loads of emotional pain, Darla in gleefully murderous mode. This is a mythology and character episode that tells us who and what Angel really is and about his history with Darla. And speaking of...

2. Darla. Yes, Darla. The wonderful Julie Benz is front and centre. And she is wicked. All innocent and schoolgirly when conning her way in to Buffy's home and Buffy's mother's trust, then incredibly sexy and seductive when egging Angel on to kill Buffy, then gloriously cool dressed in her catholic school girl uniform, automatics in each hand, blasting away as she falls back in slow motion across a pool table John Woo style. What a woman...er...vampire. Shame she gets staked by Angel at the end. But never fear she will be back.

3. David Boreanaz. The actor made big strides from the pilot to this episode. He simply had to be good in this one seeing as how it's all about him. He needed to convey the inner torment, immense guilt and self loathing that Angel carries. But also the conflicted part of his nature: that demon inside he is always resisting. Plus he needed to convey his burgeoning attraction to Buffy (admittedly not hard with SMG being so darn cute), a relationship he knows to be wrong and that ultimately can go nowhere. And to his credit Boreanaz pulls it off. He's still not the greatest of actors but he has presence and can do tortured brooding with the best. Next year he'll add gleefully sadistic monster to his repertoire. And then a couple years later goofy idiot and slapped puppy.

4. Sarah Michelle Gellar. Quite simply she's brilliant. She balances hormonally charged teenage girl with intense, conflicted warrior. And often in the same scene. She can go from weepy love struck teen to tough as nails kick-ass heroine in a heartbeat. Plus her chemistry with Boreanaz sizzles. The full emotional gamut gets run here: love, hate, terror, betrayal, rage, guilt, vengeance, mercy. Like this episode's writer David Greenwalt said of her at the 2008 Paleyfest reunion, and I paraphrase: “You can give Sarah anything and everything to do and she'll nail it all first time and every time. She's a machine.” You simply cannot underestimate SMG's contribution to the success of this show, to what makes it work.

Why it sucks
It doesn't suck. At all. However there are a couple of things that niggle:

First, after their fight with The Three, Buffy and Angel rush back to her house to take shelter. Angel runs in right after Buffy without being invited. As far as I'm aware this is the first time he's ever been to her home so needs to be invited in. Later, after Buffy has found out he's a vampire, she says to Willow how she'd invited him in to her home unwittingly. We never see that though.

Second, why would Buffy expect Angel to hang out in her bedroom all the next day until she gets home from school? Sure, he's a vamp and can't leave while the sun's out...unless he has a blanket and does the sewer thing like Spike will do in later years. But she doesn't know that yet. It makes no sense and is a contrivance of the plot. But when the episode is this good I'll forgive it.

It's Buftastic
Darla looking gloriously cool and sexy in her catholic school girl uniform, automatics in each hand, blasting away as she falls back in slow motion to slide in reverse across a pool table. John Woo does Buffy.

Dialogue to die for
Angel: “For a hundred years I offered ugly death to everyone I met. And I did it with a song in my heart.”

Buffy: "You want Xander, you've gotta speak up, girl!"
Willow: "No, no, no, no. No speaking up. That way leads to madness... and sweaty palms."

And another thing
This is the first episode that gets the spoken preface, “In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.”

How many stakes?
It's five expertly whittled ones. 5 (out of 5)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1, Episode 6 'The Pack'

Writer: Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkenmeyer
Director: Bruce Seth Green

What's the sitch?
While on a class outing to the zoo Xander ventures in to the cordoned off Hyena exhibit to save a kid from a gang of bullies...only to have the Hyena's pull a mystical whammy on both the Xan man and the bullies by possessing them and turning them in to a cruel pack of predators. Being Hyena possessed, Xander's behaviour starts to change and he soon alienates Buffy and Willow by hanging out more and more with his nasty new friends. But things start to get much worse when new school mascot Herbert the piglet is mysteriously eaten alive. And then things get much MUCH worse when the school's principle, Mr Flutie, suffers the same grisly fate. Buffy is convinced that Xander and the others have been possessed by something evil. And while Giles tries to find out how to undo the possession Buffy tries to keep Xander away from the Pack and out of trouble.

What's the sitch beneath the sitch?
It's all about bullies, falling in with the wrong crowd and also the general adult fear of a feral youth. You know the drill: normally good kid makes some dodgy new friends and his/her behaviour starts to change for the worse. Except that in the Buffyverse it's a mystical whammy that makes Xander behave this way and pushes the already nasty gang of bullies in to pig killing, then finally in to murder and cannibalism.

Who's giving us the wiggins this week?
The gang of bullies, a creepy zoo keeper and Xander.

Why it rocks
1. Metaphor. Okay, so it ain't subtle but it does the job. Adults, if you annoy teenagers enough then they might just eat you.

2. Horror. Despite the inherent silliness of the idea this is actually pretty nasty stuff. Finding out that cute little Herbert has been eaten alive is bad enough. But soon after we get to see the Pack encircle and taunt poor Principle Flutie before they attack him and (out of sight though not out of earshot) tear him apart. Also, the small scene where a mother and her baby stumble across and awaken the slumbering Pack is nicely tense and mildly disturbing. As the Pack look at the mother and her child with burning hunger you really do think its gonna be chow time again. Gulp!

3. Nasty Xander. Nicholas Brendon is excellent as nasty Xander. Luckily he avoids chowing on Herbert and Principle Flutie, though he does get to be really horrible to poor Willow making her cry and everything. And when Willow cries it really gets you where it hurts. He also attempts to sexually assault Buffy. It's pretty grim stuff. And Buffy is so shocked (as are we) that initially she isn't able to defend herself, though she does eventually manage to subdue her possessed friend before he can do her any actual harm.

4. Killed off. Yet another regular character is killed of as Principle Flutie (Ken Learner) becomes a school dinner. This paves the way for the school's new principle: the odious child hating Snyder played with relish by Armin (Quark from DS9) Shimerman.

Why it sucks
1. Bad puppets. The 'real' Hyenas we see at the zoo are obvious puppets. And pretty awful ones at that.

2. Giles being slow. Giles is a bit slow on the uptake about the zoo keeper. Has he never seen Scooby Doo?

3. Odd pack behaviour. If Xander is now part of the Pack then how come he spends so much time off doing his own thing like trying to assault Buffy?

It's Buftastic
Buffy catches poor little piglet Herbert, the school mascot who's escaped from his cage and is looking to get the heck out of Sunnydale High. Maybe he knows what's coming. Poor piggy. Anyway, Herbert's run is great. It's shot low angle with high speed pig POV hurtling down hallways, through people's legs...then right in to Buffy's waiting arms. SMG looks genuinely happy cuddling Herbert. Maybe this is where the idea for Buffy's stuffed toy pig Mr Gordo came from.

Dialogue to die for
Xander (to Buffy): "We just saw the zebras mating. Thank you, very exciting!"
Willow (also to Buffy): "It was like the Heimlich... with stripes!"

And another thing
We see Buffy and Giles training for the first time.

How many stakes?
It's a three member pack. 3 (out of 5)