Episode 5 - Never Kill A Boy on the First Date
13 December 2010
Synopsis: Buffy gets a date with thoughtful hunk Owen but has to miss it when Giles uncovers an ancient Master-related prophecy which is about to take place. Nothing happens though and so the next night Buffy heads out on a date with Owen at the Bronze. Giles meanwhile follows up a lead at the funeral home. He is trapped there by vampires and Willow and Xander bring Buffy to him. Unfortunately Owen follows her and is knocked out as she kills a vampire. The next day she breaks up with him realising that his life would be in danger if she kept seeing him. Meanwhile unbeknownst to Giles the prophesy is fulfilled anyway.
The Good: It was always going to be a challenge to review a show I first saw over a decade ago. I don't remember what I felt about this episode back then, but upon re-watching it strikes me as quite impressive. There are some serious flaws with Owen's participation in the story (see The Bad) and yet the episode still made its point with strength and purpose.
That point is simple and was hinted at in the pilot: that Buffy can't have a normal social life and be the slayer. It's a principle which marks out all good super heroes. What makes them admirable is that they put aside their own pleasures to make sure they use their gifts to do good. This choice isn't just what makes Buffy utterly admirable and likeable here though. She plays the cute love-struck girl believably, her desire to have it all is very relatable, she is sweet and considerate to Owen throughout and in the end she apologises to Giles for putting him in danger by prioritising herself over her duties (see Best Moment). The whole episode was an exercise in patient demonstration of why Buffy is a good person, someone we should support and why what she does matters so much.
What impressed me so much was the way all that strong storytelling managed to shine through the silliness. This was far from the best episode the show has produced but the way the tone managed to stay serious and foreboding while balancing the dating game was encouraging.
I liked Giles hiding inside one of the morgue draws. That was about the only way to plausibly have him survive that situation. I also smiled at Xander covering for his question of "How'd the slaying go last night?" with "How'd the laying go? No I don't mean that either." The twist that The Anointed One was actually a child was interesting and creepy.
The Bad: Owen was an interesting choice as Buffy's first crush on the show as he looked too old to be in high school. She played the crush really well despite bad lines like asking Giles if she looked fat in her outfit. Whereas Owen struggled at times to make the earnest and thoughtful act seem more than a performance. Once he became involved in the funeral parlour scenes things became more difficult. Buffy, Willow and Xander kept scrambling to explain why they were there, why Buffy kept disappearing and why these dudes with weird faces were trying to beat them up. The more ludicrous the situation became the more foolish Owen began to look. At no point did he ask logical questions or seem as freaked out and confused as he should have done. Buffy yelling "You killed my date" rather than "You killed Owen" seemed like a weirdly selfish choice of dialogue. Throw in the paint by numbers involvement of Cordelia and the whole Owen side of the story felt unconvincing.
It also seemed odd that Giles and Buffy gave up on the prophecy stakeout when they did. It wasn't clear why their search was restricted to one cemetery or why they thought it would all be over by 10pm? I assume it was about then that they gave up because Buffy rushed to the Bronze (on a school night) and Owen and company were all still there.
The Unknown: Who is the Anointed One?
Best Moment: After breaking up with Owen, Giles comes over to talk to Buffy. He explains that he was told he would become a Watcher when he was ten years old. It's a sad thought that Giles' destiny was laid out to him at such a young age. It immediately paints a picture of his life as being full of frustration and sacrifice. It helps remind the viewer of the quiet dignity of what he does behind the scenes for her. She then apologises for leaving him alone at the funeral home which was a very mature realisation on her part. He then congratulates her on how well she's doing as a slayer. It's a lovely scene which underscores the major point of the episode and further bonds these two to one another.
The Bottom Line: A mixed episode. While the details were weak, the underlying impression of the show is strong.
60/100
Cordia's Second Look
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Season 1, Episode 5
Original airing: March 31, 1997
My Rating: 68
The Good: We are enough episodes in to the show, that consistency of character has become important. This episode showcases many feelings the characters have had before, but also moves them a little bit forward.
Buffy is still straining to have some measure of a normal life as well as being a Slayer. She has a crush in school and wants to date him. This includes picking out clothes with her best friends, slow dancing and kissing. But these are all things which interfere with Buffy's serious job as a Slayer. An ancient prophecy is coming to fruition and Buffy follows her own agenda instead of fighting it. She's uncomfortable about doing so, evidenced by glancing at her beeper and appearing distracted during her date with Owen, but she does it anyway.
Later in the episode, she insists to Giles that she screwed up by allowing him to go to the morgue alone, even when he is trying to let her off the hook for the poor decision. This strength of character has peeked out of Buffy before, but it's put under a strong spotlight during her final scene with Giles.
The Buffy-Giles relationship is also solidified further because Giles shows that he does understand Buffy at this point. In earlier episodes, Giles became easily frustrated with Buffy's willingness to blow off her Slayer duties to go out instead. Here, he tells her a story from his childhood where he chafed under expectations. Throughout the episode, he also lets her make her own decisions without being overbearing about his disapproval. He's showing a bit more trust in Buffy's choices, even though she made poor ones concerning The Anointed One.
Xander is also showing some initiative in this episode. He does several things to try and stifle Buffy's chances with Owen including giving Owen bad advice, trying to dress Buffy in unattractive clothing, and even putting himself forward as a dating alternative. Even though Buffy doesn't seem to notice many of his efforts, he's being more aggressive about them.
We also have forward momentum in The Master's plans. He has an unexpected ally in the shape of a young vampire boy. The idea that the Slayer will not be able to recognize The Anointed One is well founded with his guise as a young child. It's easy to see how Buffy will feel more protective than murderous towards a child as opposed to an adult vampire. The bait and switch of the plot is well done too. With the creepy ex-con vampire dead, it's easy for Buffy and Giles to believe they have defeated The Master's greatest warrior and forestalled his rise again.
The Bad: Owen's character is the least consistent. He's supposed to be broody and withdrawn, but he's certainly willing to go to a club multiple nights in a row during the school week. He talks about not liking most girls because all they are interested in is dating, but he allows himself to be roped in by Cordelia and takes Buffy to the one most popular place in town. He doesn't know anything about Buffy and admits to her that he never thought he'd find her in a library. Since he seems very interested in literature, it's confusing as to why he's so interested in Buffy. Once he has his near-death experience, it makes more sense why he would want to hang around with a dangerous person. But he doesn't know any of this till the end of the episode, yet he pursues Buffy relentlessly. It would be easy to excuse this inconsistency due to the fact that Owen is essentially a plot device, but that would be letting the writers off the hook. Just because a character is not one of the Slayerettes, doesn't mean they shouldn't be well-developed. Especially when the motivations and characterizations of other minor characters have been so clear in the past; ie., Amy, Ms. French, and Luke.
The episode is also lacking from a shortage of Buffy's mom, Joyce. This is the kind of situation that it would have been nice to see her weigh in on. I imagine she'd be absolutely thrilled that Buffy is dating. She would have been a nice counter to Giles with his complete focus on the prophecy.
Favorite Moment: Xander wins favorite moment again. All of his attempts to steer Buffy away from Owen are at least a little chuckle worthy, but the best in my opinion is when he wants to dress Buffy in a comfy overcoat and a ski cap since "the ear flaps will bring out [her] eyes."
The Bottom Line: Overall, this was a pretty strong episode and definitely the best since the premiere, in my opinion. Buffy, Xander and Giles all grow a little bit and the overall plot of the Big Bad Villain is progressed as well. And it was all done consistently in character and world.
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