Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
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- This is an article about the television episode. For the album, see Waterdown.
| “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” | |||||||
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
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| Written by | Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali | ||||||
| Directed by | David Semel | ||||||
| Production no. | 4V05 | ||||||
| Original airdate | March 31, 1997 | ||||||
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| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||||||
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" is episode 5 of season 1 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy (series) episodes.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
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 quoting 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 The 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, angry that he has "killed [her] date," 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 with him.
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.
[edit] Production
The Master's line, "Here endeth the lesson," is repeated two more times during the course of the series: Spike says it in "Fool for Love" and Buffy says it in "Showtime." The phrase is used during the Anglican church service, therefore its use suggests that the words just spoken are comparable to the word of God. During scenes between Buffy and Owen at the Bronze, Velvet Chain is performing “Strong” and “Treason” from their album ‘’Groovy Side’’. When Cordelia and Owen dance, Three Day Wheely’s “Rotten Apple” is playing. When Angel warns Buffy about the threat, the song is “Junky Girl” by Rubber from their self-titled CD. Finally, when Buffy rejects Owen at school, the song “Let the Sun Fall Down” by Kim Richey plays in the background.
“Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” earned itself a Nielsen rating of 2.8 on its original airing. It was the 104th most watched show out of all 115 primetime shows of its time; fifth out of the eleven shows from The WB.[1]
[edit] Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
[edit] Guest starring
- David Boreanaz as Angel
- Mark Metcalf as The Master
- Christopher Wiehl as Owen Thurman
- Geoff Meed as Andrew Borba
- Andrew J. Ferchland as Collin
[edit] Translations
- German title: "Ohne Buffy lebt' sich's länger" ("You live longer without Buffy")
- French title: "Un Premier rendez-vous manqué?" ("A First Date Missed?")
- Italian title: "Il primo appuntamento" ("The first date").
- Japanese title: "初デートで彼を殺さないこと" ("Hatsu Dēto de Kare o Korosanai Koto" - "Don't Kill Your Boyfriend on the First Date")
- Portuguese title: O primeiro encontro ("The First Date")
- Spanish title: "nunca Mates un chico en la Primera Cita" ("Never Kill a Boy on the First Date").
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Arc significance
- This episode introduces the Anointed One, who will be a minor/secondary villain up until the arrival of Spike and Drusilla in Season 2.
- After throwing a minion across the room, the Master says "Here endeth the lesson", which Spike also says in "Fool for Love" and Buffy echoes after killing the Turok-Han in front of the potentials in season seven's "Showtime".
- We learn in "What's My Line, Part Two" that Giles' assertion that he doesn't have an instruction manual is not strictly true: apparently there is a Slayer Handbook; Giles just decided not to use it with Buffy.
- Cordelia's line when she sees Angel, "Hello, salty goodness!", is repeated in the Angel episode "Spin the Bottle" when she reverts back to her teenage persona and first sees Angel.
[edit] Timeline
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: Spring 1996 - Spring 1997 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles, spring 1992* | Film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Los Angeles, spring 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: The Origin |
| Los Angeles, summer 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: Viva Las Buffy |
| Los Angeles, summer 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: Slayer Interrupted |
| Los Angeles, summer 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: A Stake to the Heart |
| Various locations, 1845-1997 | WB Buffy promo: History of the Slayer |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.00 Unaired Buffy the Vampire Slayer pilot |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.01 Welcome to the Hellmouth |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.02 The Harvest |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.03 Witch |
| Sunnydale, February 1997 | B1.04 Teacher's Pet |
| Sunnydale, February 1997 | B1.05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.06 The Pack |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.07 Angel |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | Buffy the Animated Series unaired four-minute pilot |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.08 I, Robot... You, Jane |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.09 The Puppet Show |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.10 Nightmares |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | Buffy book: Night of the Living Rerun |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.11 Out of Mind, Out of Sight |
| Sunnydale, May 1997 | B1.12 Prophecy Girl |
| Sunnydale, summer 1997 | Buffy book: Coyote Moon |
| Sunnydale, & L.A., summer 1997 | Buffy anthology book: How I Survived My Summer Vacation |
* Because the 1992 motion picture Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not considered to be canon, its date in the chronology reflects its release date. Because The Origin graphic novel adjusts the events of the movie to fit in-line with the series, its place in the chronology reflects those events having occurred approximately one year prior to Welcome to the Hellmouth.
[edit] References
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's First Season." <http://home.insightbb.com/~wahoskem/buffy1.html>
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