Episode 12 - Prophecy Girl
13 February 2011
Synopsis: Xander asks Buffy out and she rejects him. Giles reads the prophecy that as the Master rises, the Slayer will die. Buffy overhears him discussing this with Angel and says she quits being a Slayer. However other vampires are gathering around the hellmouth in anticipation of the coming apocalypse and kill a bunch of students. Buffy realises that she must face the Master and follows the Anointed One down into the church to meet her fate. Xander and Angel follow after her.
The Good: This was a strong end to the season on an emotional level.
Xander finally admits his feelings to her in a scene entirely absent of the gang's usual banter. He finds the courage he needs to lay it all on the line and won't be fobbed off until she admits that she isn't interested. He reveals an interesting darker side through this interaction. Instead of just laughing it off he bitterly comments on Angel's undead status, revealing the jealousy he has been carrying for some time. He then ignorantly asks Willow to go with him to the dance instead and she thankfully turns him down. That whole aspect of the story was refreshingly serious and showed off a very authentic feeling maleness to Xander's usually chirpy character.
Then we have Giles who was superb throughout the episode. His affection for Buffy is overruling any training he was given by now as he frantically tries to find a way for the prophecy not to be true. When Buffy discovers the truth she flips out and heartbreakingly tells him "I'm sixteen years old...I don't want to die." So he duly plans to spare her that fate and fight the Master himself.
Buffy is excellent too. Buffy's emotional outburst in the library was really good too. She manages to mix genuine tragedy with a childlike tantrum with real skill. The plot moves at a very rapid pace, meaning Buffy only has one scene with her mum before she has to face up to her calling. It's Willow who helps snap her out of her funk when a group of students are killed by vampires. Willow is extremely shaken by this and Buffy remembers that she was chosen for a reason and only she has the resources to stop the world from turning to terror permanently. She plays hero just fine in confronting and defeating the Master.
His Dracula-like hold over her is interesting and his corpse disintegrates far more slowly than any vampire we have seen before, actually leaving behind a skeleton which are interesting additions to the mythology.
The Bad: If ever an episode cried out to be a two-parter this was it. So much of the story, as good as it was, felt rushed. When Buffy hears Angel and Giles discussing her prophesised death she goes hysterical almost instantly. She had no time to ask questions and find how reliable these so-called codex were. Similarly she had just the one scene with Joyce to allow the news to sink in and one scene with Willow to decide to come back and fight.
It's not clear what point the Anointed One played in the story at all. Buffy knows what he will look like and where he is taking her which seems to defeat the purpose of him being cunningly made to look like an innocent boy. The big irony apparently is that if Buffy hadn't gone down into the church then the Master would never have risen. That play on the prophecy never had time to sink in, so that moment too lacked the impact it might have had if we had a whole episode of Buffy questioning whether to go and fight him.
Their actual fights and her "death" follow this pattern too. The Master takes barely a sip from her before tossing her into the water and ascending which seemed odd. She then apparently drowned and was given CPR by Xander, again a conceit which would have been more interesting if we had had longer to get to know the prophecy.
The Unknown: Buffy returns from "death" by claiming to be stronger and feeling "different." What does that mean? Do Slayers get stronger after near death experiences or is something more supernatural going on here?
Best Moment: The emotional confrontation between Giles, Angel and Buffy.
The Bottom Line: This was a terrific story crammed and squeezed into one episode when it really should have been two like "Welcome to the Hellmouth." To spend a whole season learning about the Master only to have him die in five minutes is a letdown. What we did get was emotionally satisfying though. Buffy rejects Xander, survives death and saves the world. Bring on Season Two.
Cordia's Second Look
Prophecy Girl
Season 1, Episode 12
Original airing: June 2, 1997
My Rating: 78
The Good:
This is a really strong ending to the first season. Buffy defeats the Master, Buffy dies, the rest of the crew fights the Hellmouth. But this basis is built upon with several strong character moments and stellar acting.
Xander finally works up the courage to ask Buffy out. This tension has been building the entire season and was usually played for laughs. But it was real and serious in this episode with Buffy apparently completely unaware of how Xander feels about her. There was palpable discomfort from both characters as they dealt with the confrontation. Xander's attempt to bounce back by asking Willow to the dance was also a nice crash and burn. She thankfully turned him down and was honest about her own feelings at the same time. This of course opens up the coming season by allowing Xander to deal and move on with someone else.
Giles and Buffy have wonderful chemistry in the episode as well. As soon as he realizes Buffy will die from her battle with the Master, he decides he's going to somehow change fate. Eventually, he decides to do so by fighting the Master himself, an obviously suicidal proposition. Buffy's response is to knock him flat on his butt. This back and forth of caring for each other is intense and very within the realm of the show.
Finally, Willow and Cordelia have a real bonding moment in this episode. They mock boys together and fight vampires together. But the highlight is when they find the dead boys in the AV room. They are both affected strongly and Willow's excellent performance is the catalyst for Buffy deciding to fight the Master.
The Bad:
As Robin mentions in his review, this screamed to be a two-parter. There are a few things we have to miss seeing as an audience due to time-constraints; mainly Angel's neutral reaction and pacifism is unexplained and Buffy's decision to fight the Master is a quick, although understandable, turnaround. There's a lot more that could have been explored in this episode if there'd been another 40 minutes of running time.
In terms of what did make it into the show, my complaint is centered on the ending. The last two minutes after the Master is killed feel like a different show. Everyone is completely calm and ready to go party. Willow comments that she's starving. These seem like strange reactions after having come face to face with literal death and a tentacle monster. Personally, I would have preferred a poignant ending moment in the library ala the final moments of I, Robot.... You, Jane (Episode 108) as opposed to the flippancy.
Favorite Moment:
Sarah Michelle Gellar gives a stellar performance across from Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz in the library scene. She overhears the two most trusted men in her life discussing that her prophesied death and she has a very teenage, human response to the situation. Buffy's fervent demands, questions, and pleas are heartbreaking and intense, culminated with her tearful statement to Giles: "I'm only sixteen.... I don't want to die."
The Bottom Line:
The ending to this episode was a bit rushed and off-kilter compared to the rest of it. But overall, it's solid storytelling in a limited amount of time and it still includes high amounts of drama and a satisfying conclusion to the episode-long arc of the Master.
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