S05.E01: Buffy vs Dracula

[Joe Hellandback]

The Good; Lots of it, Buffy vs the dark prince (bator!). If I was to pick out a special performance it would be NB's excellent Renfield especially his wonderful Sesame Street impression.

The Bad; ?

Best line; Buffy; "I'm standing right here!"

Women good/men bad; Buffy rejects Dracula's male domination.

Jeez!; The killing of the delivery men is vicious but it's there to remind you that Dracula isn't all slow seduction, he's as evil as any other vamp

Kinky dinky; The whole thing is one big seduction of Buffy by Dracula. Also of course Giles 'making time with the Draccy babes' as Riley memorably puts it and seems to enjoy a good nuzzling. And Dracula and Joyce? Those Summer's girls, they have the worst taste in men. Anya's bikini is also a highlight, odd that the rest of the Scoobygirls are pretty covered up at the beach. Check out the sexy nightie Buffy just happens to choose to sleep in that night, makes her look like the heroine in a classic Hammer vampire film. Does she subconsciously choose it as she wants to please Dracula, hoping he'll come to her? Buffy tries to reassure Riley that Drac has no attraction for her but her declaration that there was 'no penetration' is a poor way to put it. She also says that she can't go back to Revello Drive as 'He got inside once', she means the house right? Unusually it's Riley who figures out Buffy is enthralled. Buffy seems to prefer being bitten and controlled to biting and feeding/being evil suggesting that when it comes to S&M she's more into the M than the S.

Captain Subtext; Joyce bemoans the perils of dating in Sunnydale and tells Will and Tara she feels like giving up on men altogether (Jowillta anyone?). She seems unaware of their relationship although this might change in The Real Me which we'll talk about then. Joyce seems lonely with Buffy at college but she'll soon have Dawn to cure that. Willow and Tara just advise her to avoid pale-skinned men in capes. Oddly Willow seems extremely attracted to Dracula 'Long slow neckbites that last for days' which perturbs Tara rather and adds to the bi-Willow theory (and the 'very naughty girl behind the softer side of Sears theory'). Xander comments that everyone knows about Willow and Tara but would still like to hear more about their love life. The first of the Riley/Spike bonding, Spike refers to Riley as 'cowboy' which he was in Restless. .

Xander refers to himself as Dracula's 'man-bitch' and this is a homosexual subtext that is greatly expanded upon in the comics.

Where's Dawn? Here's Dawn! When you're accustomed to seeing MT as the Gossip Girl, in her Eurotrip bikini and in '17 Again' you forget how young she was when she started on Buffy, I remember seeing her for the first time and thinking "Oh, it's Harriet the Spy" which was one of my favourite books when I was younger and I quite liked the movie too. Oddly enough the first time Buffy finds her she's snooping about in her room.

Missing scenes; Rumoured-Dracula "You are born of the darkness" Buffy; "Whoa, not born of the darkness pal, born of the Joyce thank you very much"

Notches on Scooby bedpost: now I know we've always wondered exactly what happens between Buffy and Dracula when the screen goes dark so I'm going to put him down as a possible? But you know, what I've always wondered is does anything happen between Dracula and Joyce? We do know that Anya and Dracula used to be involved in her demon days.

Questions and observations; Very interesting. Once again Buffy rejects the traditional role of the horror heroine and be seduced into being a vampire by Dracula. But is there something between them? Maybe. But again it's Buffy's family and friends that anchor her, the traditional Slayer without love in her life might well have surrendered. But Buffy is about saving rather than the kill despite her feral hunting.

Jelly doughnuts again, nice little gag when Riley offers it to Buffy. This is the third time Buffy will have been bitten by a vampire. Dracula notes the previous bitemarks, The Master's or Angel's? Riley observes that no one in Sunnydale seems to have noticed this big castle just outside of town. Buffy mocks Anne Rice for the second time, such a pity they never have a chance to knock Twilight. Reputedly Dracula was going to be played by Freddie Prince (aka Mr SMG) but he dropped out. As with Adam, Dracula hints to The Slayer's demonic nature which we will see more of in 'Get It Done'. We have hints that Xander is going to make moves to get out of the cellar. Dracula has the same powers as he has in the book which make him far superior to the average vamp.

Buffy is apparently very famous in the supernatural world, the most successful Slayer ever. Love to see Spike and Drac's backstory? Riley says that he's lived in Sunnydale for a couple of years now so that probably means the Initiative were up and around at very least throughout season 3.

Marks out of 10; 9/10

[Loandbehold]

4 hours ago, nosleepforme said:

I cannot stand this episode, mostly because this version of Dracula is soooooooooo ridiculous. You cannot take him seriously as a threat. If the casting and writing had been better, maybe. But I just remember I was seriously underwhelmed when I watched the episode for the first time. I loved that they were delving more into the dark heritage of the slayer though.

Agreed. Ties w/ The Freshman for Buffy's weakest season opener.

[Halting Hex]

7 hours ago, nosleepforme said:

this version of Dracula is soooooooooo ridiculous. You cannot take him seriously as a threat. If the casting and writing had been better, maybe

I have a feeling Sarah Michelle Gellar was flexing her muscles behind the scenes on the casting front, looking out for her old peeps from All My Children.  Perhaps with the need to renew the contracts at the end of the season, she was able to angle for getting some friends jobs.

After all, Dawn was meant to be 11, but Sarah got 14-year-old Michelle the gig.  And Dracula was played by Rudolf Martin, a great friend of Sarah's from AMC.

(In case you don't know that story, Sarah was 15 when she was cast to play Kendall.  And then the AMC fans were like "Hello?  We were watching back in 1977, we know that Erica Kane wasn't having any kids that year."  So, all of a sudden, Kendall was 23-24, instead.  [AMC premiered in 1970, so retconning Kendall into being born in 1968 or so made sense.]

Problem was, Sarah was still 15.  So she was doing bedroom scenes with Rudolf before she'd even been kissed in real life.  And she was grateful that he wasn't a douche about it, and they stayed friends. And it makes sense that SMG might do Rudolf a favor this way.)

3 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

Ties w/ The Freshman for Buffy's weakest season opener.

Spoiler

Lessons and the fucking Courteous Zombies and the stupid "mom-hair" joke

would like a grunt with you.  Yes, it has one good scene

Spoiler

(First!Master calling Spike "a pathetic schmuck" will never get old for me)

…but just the one.

[Loandbehold]

Lessons grunts by standing tall on top of the other two. 

Spoiler

I enjoyed the introduction to Principal Wood and the final scene of the the season villains.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Loandbehold
Forgot which was subforum I was in.

[Halting Hex]

Spoiler that ^, please.

After all, I could just as easily be dumping on

Spoiler

Bargaining Part 1, which is a boring set-up episode which is mostly notable for Anya whining and Giles trying to sneak off (didn't he learn that lesson in this one?) and some annoying biker demons.

I'm not thrilled with either of them, personally, but let's keep the details of both of them until the appropriate time, please.

And, as I said, one scene (and a guest-star) do not an episode make, IMO.  I like this show for my regulars, more than the external details.  But JMO.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Halting Hex

[Joe Hellandback]

16 hours ago, nosleepforme said:

I cannot stand this episode, mostly because this version of Dracula is soooooooooo ridiculous. You cannot take him seriously as a threat. If the casting and writing had been better, maybe. But I just remember I was seriously underwhelmed when I watched the episode for the first time. I loved that they were delving more into the dark heritage of the slayer though.

 

I'm one and a half years younger than Michelle Trachtenberg and I had a huge crush on her when she first showed up on Buffy, but I was spoiled on her arrival, so it wasn't a big shocker to me.

 

And yet not there when the mayor turned into a gigantic snake. What a lousy initiative.

I thought he was ok, his appearances in the comics were always a highlight, especially his elaborated backstory with Xander. Always loved Dawnie but in a different way once she hit season 7. I guess the Initiative hadn't quite mastered 'tracking hotspots' at that stage?

12 hours ago, Loandbehold said:

Agreed. Ties w/ The Freshman for Buffy's weakest season opener.

Possibly yes but it has stiff competition. 

[Joe Hellandback]

9 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

I have a feeling Sarah Michelle Gellar was flexing her muscles behind the scenes on the casting front, looking out for her old peeps from All My Children.  Perhaps with the need to renew the contracts at the end of the season, she was able to angle for getting some friends jobs.

After all, Dawn was meant to be 11, but Sarah got 14-year-old Michelle the gig.  And Dracula was played by Rudolf Martin, a great friend of Sarah's from AMC.

(In case you don't know that story, Sarah was 15 when she was cast to play Kendall.  And then the AMC fans were like "Hello?  We were watching back in 1977, we know that Erica Kane wasn't having any kids that year."  So, all of a sudden, Kendall was 23-24, instead.  [AMC premiered in 1970, so retconning Kendall into being born in 1968 or so made sense.]

Problem was, Sarah was still 15.  So she was doing bedroom scenes with Rudolf before she'd even been kissed in real life.  And she was grateful that he wasn't a douche about it, and they stayed friends. And it makes sense that SMG might do Rudolf a favor this way.)

  Hide contents

Lessons and the fucking Courteous Zombies and the stupid "mom-hair" joke

would like a grunt with you.  Yes, it has one good scene

  Hide contents

(First!Master calling Spike "a pathetic schmuck" will never get old for me)

…but just the one.

This is soap world, Lucy Ewing and Ray Krebbs can have an affair in early seasons and when it's revealed he's Jock's long lost son no one thinks to mention it. When the AIDS epidemic hits Steven Carrington is suddenly no longer gay and falls for Sammy Jo (although if there was a woman who could do it Heather Locklear in the early 80s is it). It takes the folks at Sunset Beach 3 eps to open an envelope. Fallon gets kidnapped by a UFO!

 I liked Lessons although yes, this is a more fun ep.

8 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Spoiler that ^, please.

After all, I could just as easily be dumping on

  Hide contents

Bargaining Part 1, which is a boring set-up episode which is mostly notable for Anya whining and Giles trying to sneak off (didn't he learn that lesson in this one?) and some annoying biker demons.

I'm not thrilled with either of them, personally, but let's keep the details of both of them until the appropriate time, please.

And, as I said, one scene (and a guest-star) do not an episode make, IMO.  I like this show for my regulars, more than the external details.  But JMO.

Yeah it's weak although taken with the second part it's much better. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Joe Hellandback

[Dee]

I enjoy this episode solely for the beach scene.

By that point in the show's run, it had become so rare to see the Scoobs genuinely happy, together, that the scene felt like a refreshing change of pace.

[Halting Hex]

8 minutes ago, Dee said:

By that point in the show's run, it had become so rare to see the Scoobs genuinely happy, together, that the scene felt like a refreshing change of pace.

Yes, but I've never been too thrilled with Willow's "I've discovered why we're the sidekicks" line;  Will never enjoyed seeing herself as "just" a sidekick.  (See Fear, Itself)

Spoiler

And I'd enjoy this bonding, and last season's sharing of consciousness a lot more if the Scoobs didn't end up more segregated than ever before, each locked in their little subplot with their significant other (Buffy is "lucky" enough to get Riley and Dawn and Spike; Giles gets nothing except the stupid Magic Box), rather than any true interaction.  JMO.

[Joe Hellandback]

7 hours ago, Halting Hex said:

Yes, but I've never been too thrilled with Willow's "I've discovered why we're the sidekicks" line;  Will never enjoyed seeing herself as "just" a sidekick.  (See Fear, Itself)

  Hide contents

And I'd enjoy this bonding, and last season's sharing of consciousness a lot more if the Scoobs didn't end up more segregated than ever before, each locked in their little subplot with their significant other (Buffy is "lucky" enough to get Riley and Dawn and Spike; Giles gets nothing except the stupid Magic Box), rather than any true interaction.  JMO.

Spoiler

But that's the whole point of Giles, what has he got to keep him in Sunnydale? Especially as Buffy is growing beyond him?

[Halting Hex]

Eh, I guess.  I'd thought [spoilered thingy] had been resolved and

Spoiler

that his buying the Box next episode is meant to represent his moving beyond "gentleman of leisure" status and building a new life in Sunnyhell, but given the events of next year's premiere

, apparently not.  Fair point, then.

[Halting Hex]

Quote

Episode ends.

ALLEY BOX sits quietly, for at least a good five seconds.

ALLEY:  Did they say…"sister"?

She is silent again, for just as long.

Heh.

(Alley feels as though she won't like "that girl", although she admits that's baseless.  She's just protective of the regular cast.  [She was thrilled to see that Riley and Spike had remained as regulars, glad to see Anya added and somewhat disappointed that Tara wasn't.])

**********************************

Not exactly a great episode for Giles, as sweet as the "Willow, don't tell Buffy I'm leaving" subplot was.  I mean, I know he was somewhat stunned by falling into the "chickpit", but still.  Being distracted from the fight against evil (with Buffy in danger, and possibly unable to protect herself) because you're being "tickled" by random vampires is nagl.   

I mean, even the Spider-Eating Man Bitch never left Buffy to her own devices because he was distracted by a random honey.  (I think the worst Xander does is in Earshot when he's distracted from the hunt for a possible mass shooter by Jello™.  Which is awful, but at least Buffy is safe and better food than sex, especially random vampires.)

It's nice that Riley gets to have a big smile (he's practically cracking up as he and Buffy leave Giles after this), but still.

***********************************

Quote

DRACULA (to Buffy):  I have searched the world for you…

Er, Bro, if you actually knew Buffy by name, how tough is it to know she's in Sunnydale?  Did you get distracted and go to Moscow or something?

And if he's attracted to Buffy because the Slayer is a creature of darkness, or whatever, then why has he waited this long?  What, he could have gone after Cindy St. John of Parsippany NJ (or whomever the previous Slayer was), but he was like "naaah, not dark enough.  Let's put her on the discard pile and see what comes up next time"?  Dubious, IMO.

**************************************

Quote

BUFFY (to Riley):  I swear to you. I'm your girl, and I'm gonna stay that way.

Spoiler

"…for a whole nine more episodes.  What else do you want?"

 

*************************************

One of my favorite "Lines You'll Never Hear on BtVS" submissions:

Quote

DRACULA:  You have been tasted.  He was unworthy. (He let you go.  But the embrace ... his bite ... you remember.
SPIKE:  How many times do I have to tell you?  Angel and me are over!  And you still owe me £11.

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

Oh, FFS!

On 1/13/2022 at 4:53 PM, Halting Hex said:

Quote

SPIKE:  How many times do I have to tell you?  Angel and me are over! 

Jiminy cree, it's nice that I'm getting better at Russian, but it would be nicer if I could actually speak my native language, too.  That should be "Angel and I", obviously.  To quote Buffy, "God, I am so mentally challenged!"

Sigh.

(I think that i actually did use proper grammar when I did that joke originally, back in 2007 or so.  But that was a long, long time ago, and apparently my brain has left the building…)

**********************************

And here's a reactor leading off her vid for this episode by summing up S4 and discussing her expectations for the new season:

Quote

LEXI:  …We left the high school and we started transitioning into that new, adult phase: the first year of college and losing your high school friends and drifting apart—but, in the end, all of our Scoobies came back together, and I think they're going to be stronger than ever in this season.  

Like, they've been through a lot and they drifted apart and came back together and, now, they're just going to be a powerhouse! They even merged [consciousness].  So I think they just really know each other now and they're really in sync and in harmony together.  So I'm expecting to see them very close together again.

I'm just leaving that there.

Spoiler

And going to hit my head against the wall.  (This house was built in 1970; they made them solid then, right?) 

And again I go with "sigh".  Sigh.

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Halting Hex

[lembergwatcher]

Poor Lexi will be so disappointed... Although 

Spoiler

I'd say the Scoobies seem to be a little bit closer to each other in season five than, say, season sux. Anyway, who cares about some old high school friendships if we have such "amazing" couples as Xander/Anya or Willow/Tara, if Buffy and the show's true star Spike spend more and more screen time together and then of course there is Dawn?..

 

[moonshine71]

On 9/11/2018 at 3:08 PM, Halting Hex said:

I have a feeling Sarah Michelle Gellar was flexing her muscles behind the scenes on the casting front, looking out for her old peeps from All My Children.  Perhaps with the need to renew the contracts at the end of the season, she was able to angle for getting some friends jobs.

After all, Dawn was meant to be 11, but Sarah got 14-year-old Michelle the gig.  And Dracula was played by Rudolf Martin, a great friend of Sarah's from AMC.

(In case you don't know that story, Sarah was 15 when she was cast to play Kendall.  And then the AMC fans were like "Hello?  We were watching back in 1977, we know that Erica Kane wasn't having any kids that year."  So, all of a sudden, Kendall was 23-24, instead.  [AMC premiered in 1970, so retconning Kendall into being born in 1968 or so made sense.]

Problem was, Sarah was still 15.  So she was doing bedroom scenes with Rudolf before she'd even been kissed in real life.  And she was grateful that he wasn't a douche about it, and they stayed friends. And it makes sense that SMG might do Rudolf a favor this way.)

  Hide contents

Lessons and the fucking Courteous Zombies and the stupid "mom-hair" joke

would like a grunt with you.  Yes, it has one good scene

  Hide contents

(First!Master calling Spike "a pathetic schmuck" will never get old for me)

…but just the one.

I always assumed it was a bit of stunt-casting/cross promotion, since he was playing Dracula in Dark Prince-The True Story Of Dracula, which aired later that month on the USA network.

[Halting Hex]

Ah, interesting.  I didn't hear about the WB having those sort of alliances with USA, but things can happen.