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For all the Early Installment Weirdness in Season 1 of Buffy, the opening two-parter does a surprisingly good job establishing these who these characters are and what their arcs will be for the entire rest of the series.
Take Buffy’s ‘Seize the moment, because tomorrow you might be dead’ - it’s framed in an almost light-hearted way, but she is already, in the first episode, intensely aware of her own death. As much as she tries to deny her slayerhood, she knows she’s probably going to die young; she can’t picture a future for herself, and her just trying to enjoy the moment is covering for issues she’ll be dealing with for the rest of the series.
The first thing Willow does to help Buffy is hack the city council to access the plans for the city. Well, technically, what she does is reveal that she’d already hacked them, just for funsies. It’s slightly incongruous with Willow’s apparent innocence… but that completely fits her later arc. She sees herself as essentially innocent and harmless, so it’s fine when she does things that might seem bad if someone else did it, especially if it’s something that might make her feel cool and/or powerful.
Cordelia also shows her intelligence in Computer class (though the bad Deliver/Delete joke at the end of the scene undercuts it, I’m inclined to write that off as just a bad joke). She’s complaining about the task they’ve been assigned, but she’s complaining like someone who does know what she’s talking about, in comparison to Harmony who genuinely doesn’t get it; and there’s a strong sense that she’s trying to downplay her academic smarts to fit in. It’s surprising depth this early in the series, considering how Season 1 generally treats her.
And then Angel is a ridiculous dork with no idea how to be a person, desperately trying to look cool - an illusion that breaks under the slightest pressure. This displays not just his personality, but also foreshadows all of Buffy’s romantic interests for the rest of the series.
Focusing on Angel, look at his first scene - he's completely ridiculous.
Buffy: Who are you? Angel: Lets just say that I'm a friend. Buffy: Yeah, well maybe I don't want a friend. Angel: *smirks* I didn't say I was yours.
Angel, buddy. We know you don't have any friends. He's just saying whatever he thinks will make him sound cool.
And the next episode, Buffy actually asks him if he has any friends, and the facade just crumples. The whole 'smirking trickster mentor' schtick falls away, and we see... Angel. An awkward, brooding weirdo who doesn't know how to be a person.
And as much as his arc was not planned, and as much as people complain about Boreanez's acting ability, this completely makes sense for Angel as a character. He's been eating rats and barely talking to anyone for a century, and this is his first attempt at interacting with someone in a long time, and he really wants her to like him. So he tries to be a cool, mysterious stranger - pulling on his experiences as Angelus, with a little bit of Whistler mixed in - but it feels awkward and off, and when it inevitably falls apart, he's just... a weird, awkward, brooding fuy. (Who's also kind of creepy around the teenage girl he has a crush on.)
And by 'Angel', he's... well, Angel. A bit more awkward and weird than he will be later, but the characterisation is basically there. (And we see a our first glimpse of Angelus when he's trying to commit suicide by slayer.)
So yeah, Angel is different in his first appearance. But I've genuinely been surprised in this rewatch with how consistent early Angel is with who his is and what we learn about him later.
For all the Early Installment Weirdness in Season 1 of Buffy, the opening two-parter does a surprisingly good job establishing these who these characters are and what their arcs will be for the entire rest of the series.
Take Buffy’s ‘Seize the moment, because tomorrow you might be dead’ - it’s framed in an almost light-hearted way, but she is already, in the first episode, intensely aware of her own death. As much as she tries to deny her slayerhood, she knows she’s probably going to die young; she can’t picture a future for herself, and her just trying to enjoy the moment is covering for issues she’ll be dealing with for the rest of the series.
The first thing Willow does to help Buffy is hack the city council to access the plans for the city. Well, technically, what she does is reveal that she’d already hacked them, just for funsies. It’s slightly incongruous with Willow’s apparent innocence… but that completely fits her later arc. She sees herself as essentially innocent and harmless, so it’s fine when she does things that might seem bad if someone else did it, especially if it’s something that might make her feel cool and/or powerful.
Cordelia also shows her intelligence in Computer class (though the bad Deliver/Delete joke at the end of the scene undercuts it, I’m inclined to write that off as just a bad joke). She’s complaining about the task they’ve been assigned, but she’s complaining like someone who does know what she’s talking about, in comparison to Harmony who genuinely doesn’t get it; and there’s a strong sense that she’s trying to downplay her academic smarts to fit in. It’s surprising depth this early in the series, considering how Season 1 generally treats her.
And then Angel is a ridiculous dork with no idea how to be a person, desperately trying to look cool - an illusion that breaks under the slightest pressure. This displays not just his personality, but also foreshadows all of Buffy’s romantic interests for the rest of the series.
Buffy Season One Review
I’m on my first Buffy rewatch in a long time - I think over a decade? I have watched the entire series enough times that the episodes are all still kind of burned into my brain, but I’m curious what my reaction will be now I’m a bit older.
Anyway, I’ve finished Season One, and I thought I might do a quick review of each season as I go. Can’t promise I’ll be able to keep it up, but I’ll give it a go. So…
Season One Review
S1 is… fine. It’s okay. It’s not as good as later seasons, but it’s not bad; it’s shallower than later seasons, but having expected that I found there’s a surprising amount of depth here. (Partly because I’m watching after reading @herinsectreflection’s excellent analyses, which inspired this most recent rewatch.)
I actually don’t think there are many bad episodes in S1 - the problem is, there’s hardly any good episodes either, and none that rise beyond just being ‘good’. They’re mostly just perfectly serviceable - the metaphors are a bit blunt, the humour’s a bit broad, the MIDI soundtrack kind of sucks, the vibes are kind of cheesy and immature, and overall, it’s just…
It’s Power Rangers. It’s a bit deeper and scarier, and the action scenes are worse, but basically, Season One is Power Rangers. And that’s not bad - I kind of like Power Rangers, and it’s not a bad season by those standards - but it’s not what Buffy is trying to be, or what it will become.
Season Score: 5/10 - It’s fine.
Big Bad - The Master:
In some ways, the Master is perfect. It makes sense that Buffy’s first villain is this kind of ancient and powerful vampire - he’s not as interesting as later villains, but it feels appropriate that Buffy has to beat this more generic Big Bad to move on to them. And he has a strong enough presence that he can actually bear the mythic weight that is placed upon him - it makes sense that he’s the one that killed Buffy, that he sired the Bisexual Vampire Squad; it never feels inappropriate that he has this important place in the mythology of the series, and he can carry that weight in his rare later appearances.
Unfortunately, in this season, he’s a Power Rangers villain. He sits in his lair, sending out minions and screaming in frustration when they fail. (Even finally facing the hero directly in the finale, beating them easily before they get a power up and return the favour - classic Power Rangers villain stuff.) He spends most of the season both trapped and sickly - while at full power he’s a compelling, intimidating presence, for most of the season he seems weak and kind of effete, like a homophobic Bond villain. At his best, he's montrous yet civilised, brutal but witty; in his weakened state, he lacks the contrasts that make him compelling.
Still, he is charming, he does work well in the finale, and he’s always a delight in his rare later appearances. So…
Big Bad Score: 5/10 - He’s fine. (... and not in that sense.)
Rewatch Reevaluations
The biggest change in my perspective since my last rewatch is around Angel. When I was younger, I didn’t really think much about the age difference between him and Buffy; now I’m older, I’m extremely aware of it, but also, it seems like the show is too. The episode where he shifts from ‘random mysterious stranger’ to ‘potential love interest’ is Teacher’s Pet - an episode about an older sexual predator preying on teenagers. Then in ‘Angel’, we don’t just see him creepily staring at Buffy, we see him lie to her about it afterwards, in an episode where the age difference is a major topic of discussion.
In general, his obsession with her comes across as way more creepy and pathetic than I remember, and while part of that is just my interpretation, I do think think the series is aware of it; I think him following her around and staring at her from afar is meant to be kind of offputting. I’m curious how I’ll feel about their romance going forward - I remember on previous watches I thought their breakup in Season 3 was unmotivated, and I suspect I’ll feel very differently about it this time around.
I’m also generally more aware of some things after reading @herinsectreflection’s essays. In particular, I’m noticing Buffy’s relationship to death - from her ‘seize the day, because tomorrow you might be dead’ philosophy in the first episode, to her rebelling against and accepting it in the last… and her Faith-like smile as she enjoys mortal combat with vampires at the beginning of ‘Prophecy Girl’. I’m also much more aware of Giles as a very flawed figure torn between paternal affection for Buffy and sending her to her death - which is explicit in a few episodes, but I’m more aware of it as an ongoing arc, rather than just some isolated emotional beats.
Other than that, one thing I’m noticing is how much weight the show gives to the death of minor characters. It’s easy for an action/horror show to start treating death casually or flippantly, but so far the show is careful to give each death an emotional impact, to make every death matter… at least ‘til the end of the episode, at which point they’ll be promptly forgotten about. Sorry Jesse.
And unsurprisingly for a 90s show, I am finding the sense of humour a little mean and kind of misogynistic, especially towards Cordelia. That said, though Xander is often the face of this meanness, I honestly don’t dislike him, even in S1. The thing is, either the show is aware that he’s being an asshole, in which case it’s an intentional character flaw, which is good; or it isn’t, in which case I tend to blame the show itself rather than the character. Maybe that’s a little generous, but it lets me enjoy the character, so I’m willing extend that generosity. I am curious how I’ll feel about him going forward. I'm glad at least Cordelia gets to be more of a character towards the end of the season - it does make the jokes around her feel a lot less mean.
Honourable Mention Award for Underrated or Forgotten Characters Who Deserve to be Mentioned Honourably
3. Zookeeper Furry from ‘The Pack’. Just a really solid one-off villain performance, in an era where performances tend towards the broad and cheesy side of the spectrum.
2. The Black Cat from ‘The Witch’. Looks like stock footage, never shares a shot or even a set with another character, and achieves nothing except slightly startling Giles, after which he just continues as if nothing happened. Yet despite doing basically nothing, it achieves greatness by earning a place in the opening credits. Truly an inspiration.
1. Principal Flutey. With how much he gets overshadowed by Principal Snyder, it’s easy to forget how great Flutey is as a character. From tearing up Buffy’s permanent record and taping it back together again in front of her, to being eaten by Hyena-possessed students, Flutey is a delight whenever he’s on screen - he’s genuinely a highlight of Season 1 for me. Principal Flutey, I salute you, and hearby mention you as honourably as I can.
Episode Rankings
Might not do this for every season, but hey, it’s a short season, so why not. Starting from the top:
'Prophecy Girl' - Obvious choice, needs no explanation.
'Angel' - Strong character work, introduces a bunch of ideas that’ll be important for the rest of the series, and solves the problem of making a single vampire a threat by giving her guns, which I respect.
'Welcome to the Hellmouth'/'The Harvest' - A solid introduction to the series; I wouldn’t call it great by most standards, but it competently introduces everything the setting, characters and the premise of the series, which is impressive in its own way. Luke is perfect in his role - he’s a compelling presence that feels like a genuine threat, but he’s not so interesting that he distracts from the important things.
'The Pack' - A solid guest performance from the zookeeper, Principal Flutey’s last stand, and some juicy thematic and character goodness makes leaves this Monster of the Week episode at the head of the pack. (… I am so terribly sorry.)
'Nightmares' - Character! Themes! Imagery! This episode has it all, at least by the standards of Season One.
'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' - The first episode that treats Cordelia like an actual character. Also, invisible assassin school! Everybody loves invisible assassin school.
'The Witch' - A perfectly competent MOTW episode, this gets a boost for featuring the cat that accomplishes nothing.
'I Robot, You Jane' - Yeah, the 90s hacker schtick is goofy, but this ep’s not bad - I like the goofy robot demon and the surprisingly good demon prosthetics for its non-robot body that barely appears in the episode. I like the idea that scanning a magic book can summon a demon into the internet itself. Also, Jenny’s here.
'Teacher’s Pet' - Another MOTW episode that does its job adequately. I’m inclined to think of this as the Most Typical Season 1 Episode - it perfectly represents the season at its baseline.
'Puppet Show' - I kind of like some of the ideas in this episode, but the puppet’s a creep and parts of the plot feel contrived. (Why are they sure the demon will leave as soon as it has the organs? Why would Giles get into a guillotine under any circumstances?) Overall… Eh, it’s fine.
'Never Kill A Boy on the First Date' - There’s some good stuff in here, especially around Buffy’s relationship to Giles and to her own Slayerhood. Unfortunately, the plot just doesn’t work - even this early on, one vampire just doesn’t feel like enough of a threat to build an episode around, and generic serial killer vamp is no exception - he's certainly no Luke. It’s a plot entirely concerned with setting up the larger arc around the Anointed One, and that would leave this episode feeling empty and boring even if it was for an arc that was actually, you know, good.
So that's Season One. I enjoyed it fine, but... I'm definitely looking forward to the series really getting good. If somehow you've actually read this far: Thank you for putting my words into your brain. I take it as a great compliment, and hope you liked them - or, failing that, that they invoked in you a great fury, such as only the worst opinions may conjure.
In any case - and regardless of whether I can be bothered to write any more of these - I will continue my rewatch into the Actually Good seasons of Buffy.