My review for the episode:
Never kill a boy on the first date is only the fifth episode of the series, but still it gets a lot done. Buffy's relationship with Giles is deepened through out the episode, especially the conversation at the end seals the deal that they have something special. Also Buffy's need to have a normal life and her growing feeling for Angel are explored. She already tried cheerleading with unsuccessful results and now her social life outside her friendship with Willow and Xander is getting a major blow for the same reasons. Okay, on to the episode itself...
First I have to say I love the interaction between Buffy and Giles and the quippy dialog under the seriousness. But why didn't the vamp's ring turn to dust along with it since everything connecting to the vamp (like clothes) do? Though the ring was needed for plot purposes... Which bring me to the Master who is “preaching” the prophecy like he's reading from the bible. I just love him as a bad guy. In some strange way I find him funny and threatening, but also a little theatrical (like him reading the prophecy in the beginning) and he isn't overused which keeps him as a good bad guy as well as menacing.
I love the scene in the library, Buffy figuring out the symbol on the ring and Giles's dry humor. Owen doesn't really bother me, but I don't understand why all of the sudden Buffy has a crush on him. Just in the previous episode it was made clear that she was already falling for Angel, but maybe she has lost hope on having anything but a work relationship with him since in 'the Pack' and 'Angel' she was saying she “could see him in a relationship, hi honey you're in grave danger, see you next month”, but he still makes the lights dim everywhere and pushes her buttons. I think that she's just going for the second best, Owen's a good looking guy (even though not as good looking as Angel) and Willow's description on him, hardly talks to anybody, solitary, mysterious, can brood for 40 minutes straight and sensitive yet manly fits perfectly to Angel.
Buffy and Willow are just great at the cafeteria, they have such a easy going girl-talk-thing going on. And I have watched this episode many times, I've lost count, and now is on of the first times that I actually noticed that Cordelia deliberately bumped into Buffy. But I love it how confused Cordelia gets when Owen asks who besides her is going to be at the Bronze and then he asks Buffy to a date.
Again more of Giles' great dry sense of humor comes as he abuses sarcasm with his line about hopping to his time machine and asking the vampires that wrote the prophecy to move the date so Buffy can have a dinner and a show. And I love it how ominously Giles says that tonight they go into battle and the scene is cut to him and Buffy sitting in a empty graveyard with Buffy drinking very noisily from her drink's straw to show her displeasure. I always love it when the writer's laugh at the show, but don't make any of the character look bad in the process (like they did to Angel in season 3 and 4 of Cts and Buffy in Storyteller). Again great interaction between Buffy and Giles as he lets her go to her date, but then poor Buffy's insecurities raise their ugly head as she finds Cordelia dancing with Owen, really clinging to him. I have to say that he looked pretty uncomfortable, but I guess that was the point. But Buffy doesn't see that as she already has abandonment issues, doubts about her looks and is insecure when it comes to men/boys which is pretty clear from how surprised she was that Owen even thought about what she was like.
And very subtly Xander tells Buffy that lots of guys can read, him for example, hint. But I love it when Owen gives Buffy his pocket watch, Xander looks down to his Tweety Bird wristwatch, comparing. And then comes one of my many favorite scenes as Buffy goes to Giles, speed-talking the whole conversation by herself before leaving him baffled. The delivery of it from both the actors was just perfect.
And we get even more great interaction between Buffy and the slayerettes. I just love it how close their relationship is. Xander not so subtly suggests Buffy wearing a winter coat and a cap to her date and later he has a complete guy moment as he has to be asked to turn his back as Buffy changes and even then he isn't in a hurry to give Buffy the privacy. But when he fumbles with the mirror, Willow gives him a really disapproving look so I think she suspected/knew that Xander had been peeping while Buffy changed her clothes. And I really love it when Buffy opens the door she tells Giles that “Buffy isn't home” in attempt to save her date night. Later when Owen shows up he starts to wonder about Giles being at Buffy's house, while he doesn't seem like the quickest mind at least he notices how often Buffy and Giles are together. And Xander has very helpful see-through advices to Owen that Buffy doesn't like to dance, or be touched or kissed and it's best that he doesn't even look at her at all.
While Buffy wants to be a normal teenager, doing normal teenager stuff like date, she is still having a bad conscience over being on a date instead of checking the morgue for the Anointed one. Giles going to the morgue is pretty spooky, and him turning to look at the cemetery, then finding the vampire in front of him was great suspense moment, especially with the second vampire then being behind him. And I simply adore the fact that Willow and Xander came to help him.
Cordelia is once again really bitchy, but Charisma Carpenter does it so well and good for Buffy to get some snark back at Cordelia. Later Buffy is just standing there talking to her date and someone who has been described to be grabby (Cordelia) says “what a disgusting display” and that it isn't appropriate behavior on a public place. And then salty goodness aka Angel walks in and she is ready to throw herself at him, but he just walks past her without even noticing her and goes straight to Buffy. And he is the second guy that chooses Buffy over her, and the hotter one doesn't even notice her existence, that's karma. And also personality issue. But moving on from Cordelia to better things, Buffy and Angel. The hopeful and happy expression on Buffy's face when she sees Angel and her disappointment when it's just business makes it very clear that Owen is just a substitute for Angel. And I simply love the quietly jealous Angel, especially his cocky little move as he is introduced to Owen and the way he looks Owen up and down, sizing the competition. And then Willow and Xander come to the Bronze making Owen wonder and Xander shows hostility towards Angel with his comment of what is he doing here, his dislike of Angel is clear because he is definitely the bigger threat than Owen.
At the funeral home there is some more great Buffy/Giles interaction and great dialog between them. And I simply adore the fact that Giles tries to protect Buffy from the vamp. But then the poor man gets knocked unconscious, again. And already it's established that Buffy gets strength from her emotions as she starts to fight more fiercely when she thinks the vamp killed her date and Xander seems to acknowledge that since he tells Willow not to tell Buffy that Owen is alive. But poor Buffy starts to realize that normal life like dating a normal guy doesn't go with her duties as the slayer. She was so hopeful when Owen still wanted to date her the next day, but then she was let down as she learned that he only wanted to be with her because of her lifestyle, not because of her. Though I did find him suggesting they'd go pick a fight in a bar funny, I thought him just walking away was pretty harsh when Buffy said she'd like to be just friends. But that was followed by yet another great Buffy/Giles moment as he quietly gave her support and encouragement, telling her he went to the funeral home from his own freewill when Buffy starts to feel guilty. And he becomes more “human” as he shares his first reaction to his own calling with her and then cheers her up by telling as a slayer she's doing pretty well and the Master must be having a bad day because they killed the Anointed One. The whole scene between the two is just beautiful to watch and shows the growing bond between them, even this early it's clear that they have something special.
And in the end there's a great twist that isn't just a mind game, but important to what happens later in the season. It looks like Buffy beat the prophecy and killed the Anointed One, but then it turns out that the Master's greatest weapon against the slayer was not the vampire at the morgue, but the little boy in the bus. Since I can't remember what my own first reaction was because it's been six years since I first saw this, I'll use my best friend's reaction (which was surprise) to state that the distraction/mislead was successful. The best thing about it was that it wasn't just out of the blue without any hints, the viewers just assumed along with Giles and Buffy that the ex-con was the Anointed One while it could have been even the bus driver.
And as early as this it was shown that Buffy simply can't have a relationship with a normal guy, even before Owen turned into a thrill seeker he was still in danger because of her being a slayer, unlike Xander and Willow who do as Buffy tells them to to keep them out of harms way he wants to be the manly man who saves the girl and that is what almost got him killed. (Spoilers for season 4) In several ways Owen is pretty much the early Riley, they both posses the need to be the strong man in the relationship, but the description Willow gives on him (he's sensitive yet manly and can brood for 40 minutes straight) and the fact that he doesn't like frivolous women fits perfectly to Angel, but then again it is made very clear from the start that he is just a substitute for Angel.
9 ½
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