Synopsis: Buffy arrives in Sunnydale after being kicked out of her school in L.A for burning down the gym. She soon befriends Xander, Willow and Jesse and encounters Cordelia. She meets her new Watcher, Giles, the school librarian.
On her way to the Bronze, she meets a mysterious stranger. He warns her of the Harvest and gives her a crucifix on a chain.
Meanwhile, Jesse has been captured by Darla and Thomas has lured Willow into the mausoleum where Luke awaits. Xander and Buffy quickly head for the cemetery where they find Willow and Jesse in the mausoleum. Buffy slays Thomas and begins to fight Darla before Luke pulls her out of Buffy’s reach. The episode ends with Buffy in a coffin, about to be bitten by Luke.
Best quote: “Prepares me for what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them? Go ahead! Prepare me.” - Buffy, about her Watcher.
Funniest Line: “Well, you’re certainly a font of nothing.”
- Xander, referring to Jesse’s lack of knowledge about Buffy.
Episode 2 - The Harvest
Synopsis: Buffy overcomes Luke’s grip and runs outside. She finds Willow, being attacked by a vampire. Buffy pushes him away and he flees. After composing themselves, Buffy, Xander and Willow realise that Jesse is gone.Back at school, Giles tells Xander and Willow about the resposibilities of the Slayer and the history of vampires. Meanwhile, Darla has dragged Jesse in the Master’s lair. The Master learns of Luke and Darla’s encounter with Buffy and warns them not to let the Slayer interfere with the Harvest.
Buffy heads off to the mausoleum to rescue Jesse, soon followed by Xander. They find Jesse, who has been transformed into a vampire. They escape through a ventilation duct and close the manhole to block out the advancing group of vampires. Buffy and Xander return to the library where Willow and Giles have researched the Harvest.
Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander head for the Bronze, where the Harvest will take place. Luke, Darla and the other vampires arrive before Buffy and Luke claims his first victim. As he continues feeding, the Master’s strength grows. Darla drags Cordelia onto the stage to be the next victim. Buffy arrives just in time to save her while Giles, Willow and Xander usher the crowd out of the Bronze. Xander, meanwhile, inadvertently slays Jesse whilst Buffy slays Luke and Darla flees after Willow throws holy water in her face.
Best quote: Buffy - “I've got a friend down there. Or at least a potential friend. Do you know what it's like to have a friend?”
Angel lowers his eyes as they brim with sadness.
Buffy: “That wasn't supposed to be a stumper.”
Funniest Line: “Excuse me? Who gave you permission to exist? Do I horn in on your private discussions? No. Why? Because you're boring.”
- Cordelia, to Willow
Did you notice?: Buffy's secret compartment in her chest contains various items for vampire slayage including;
a jar of Eucharists
holy water
several stakes
some cloves of garlic
a couple of crucifixes
Episode 3 - The Witch
The episode begins with Buffy, Cordelia and Amy Madison trying out for the cheerleading squad. The tryouts are interrupted when Amber’s hands spontaneously combust during her routine. The Scooby Gang return to Giles in the library, where they begin to research.At the rescheduled tryout, Amy ruins her routine and knocks into Cordelia, causing her to fall. Later on in the hall, Buffy talks to Amy and learns she is determined to get into the squad. When the squad list is pinned up, Amy is devastated when she sees she is third alternate.
At home, Amy performs a spell involving Cordelia. The next day at school, Cordelia is vague and loses control of the car during Driver’s Ed. Just as she steps onto the road, Buffy saves her from being run over. Then, Cordelia discovers she cannot see. The Scooby Gang figure that these incidents are caused by witchcraft and they suspect Amy.
Buffy, Xander and Willow devise a test for Amy, which will make her skin turn blue if she is a witch. They perform the test during class where her skin turns blue but Amy looks just as shocked as Buffy, Willow and Xander. The teacher asks Lishanne(another cheerleader) a question and she finds she cannot answer because she no longer has a mouth.
Buffy wakes up the next morning in a very lively mood. At cheerleading practice, she ruins the routine and is bumped back, clearing the path for Amy to cheer at the game. Willow and Xander lead her out of the gym, where she soon begins to feel woozy. They take her to the library where Giles suspects that it is a vengeance spell. The only way to reverse the spells is to get Amy’s spell book or cut her head off.
Buffy and Giles go to Amy’s house where they learn that Catherine, Amy’s mother, swapped bodies with Amy and that Catherine is the real witch, not Amy. Giles finds the spell books and takes what he needs back to the science lab. Meanwhile, Amy “sees” Buffy, Giles and Catherine in the science lab and heads out of the game and to the lab. She begins to chop down the door with an axe but Giles’ spell works just in time for Amy and Catherine’s bodies to swap back. Catherine attempts a spell on Buffy but she holds up a mirror which reflects the spell back onto Catherine. Catherine disappears and is transported into her cheerleading trophy, forever trapped.
Best quote: “She said I was wasting my youth...so she took it.”
- Amy(in Catherine’s body), to Buffy and Giles.
Funniest Line: “Oh, huh, I laugh in the face of danger...then I hide until it goes away.”
- Xander, to Buffy.
Episode 4 - Teacher’s Pet
Synopsis: Angel comes to the Bronze to warn Buffy about a demon known by Buffy, only as Fork Guy. The next morning at school, Buffy’s teacher, Dr. Gregory is missing. He is replaced by the Miss Natalie French whom Xander develops a crush on.
At lunch, Cordelia discovers Dr. Gregory’s headless body in the cafeteria. Determined, Buffy goes hunting that night and comes face to face with Fork Guy. In the midst of battling Buffy, Fork Guy(actually Claw Guy) runs away when Natalie walks by.
The next day, Buffy sees Natalie turn her head 180 degrees. She tells Giles and Willow who have learned that Blayne didn’t come home after his date with Natalie the previous night. Meanwhile, Xander has made a date with Natalie that night at her home.
After calling a friend, Giles believes that Natalie is a She-Mantis. She preys on young male virgins and mates with them before biting their heads off. Unfortunately, Xander, along with Blayne, has already been captured by Natalie, now in bug-form. They try to find Natalie’s address in the school records but when they arrive, they find Natalie has assumed the identity of a retired Biology teacher.
Xander and Blayne are now in Natalie’s basement with Natalie advancing towards Xander. Meanwhile, Buffy uses Claw Guy as a guide to find Natalie’s house. Armed with a tape of bat sonar, Willow, Giles and Buffy smash the window and crawl into the basement. Buffy quickly plays the bat sonar to Natalie which sends her nervous system wild. Once Natalie is disabled, Buffy swiftly hacks Natalie to pieces with the machete. The episode finally ends with a shot of a shelf with a cluster of She-Mantis eggs attached beneath it.
Episode 5 - Never Kill A Boy On The First Date
Synopsis: Buffy and Giles, while out on patrol, find a ring belonging to a vampire who Buffy slays. The ring looks familiar and Giles takes it back to the library to research it. Meanwhile, the Master has learnt of a prophecy which speaks of an Anointed One whom the Brethren of Aurelius will usher to his destiny. He warns his minions not to let the Slayer get in the way of the Anointed One as this One will be his greatest weapon against the Slayer.
Back at the Library, Buffy and Giles discover that the symbol on the ring represents the Order of Aurelius. Just as they are about to read on, they are interrupted by Owen, Buffy's latest crush. Buffy is in awe of him and follows him around the library, chatting to him as he gets his book. Once Owen leaves, Giles tries to get back on the subject of the Order of Aurelius but Buffy can only think about Owen.
At lunch, after Cordelia bumps into her accidentally on purpose and causes her to spill her lunch, Owen asks Buffy if she'd like to go to the Bronze with him, completely ignoring Cordelia's attempts to ask him out. Excited, Buffy and Willow go to the library where Buffy learns she can't go on her date because Giles has calculated that the Anointed One will rise that very night.
Giles and Buffy go along to the cemetery to await the Anointed One. After hours of nothing, Giles finally gives in and lets Buffy go to the Bronze. When she arrives, she immediately looks around for Owen and sees him dancing with Cordelia. Disappointed, she leaves. Meanwhile, on a bus somewhere in Sunnydale, a man named Andrew Borba begins to speak of the Anointed One. One of the Brethren steps in front of the bus and the driver hits him. He goes out to see if the "victim" is okay but is grabbed by the neck by the Brethren and killed. More vampires appear and climb into the bus to kill the other people, including Andrew.
The next day at school, Owen finds Buffy and is eager to make another date with her after she didn't turn up the night before. Buffy happily agrees, leaving Xander feeling dejected. Willow and Xander both go to Buffy's house that night to help her get ready for her big date. As she is almost ready, the doorbell rings. Thinking it's Owen, Buffy rushes downstairs only to find Giles standing there. He tells Buffy of the bus crash and that he fears the Anointed One may have been one of the passengers, Andrew Borba. They are interrupted by Owen's arrival and Willow and Xander usher him into the living room. Buffy convinces Giles to let her go on the date, if she takes her beeper so she'll know if there's trouble. She heads off on her date with Owen. Giles heads off to the Funeral Home and worried, Willow and Xander follow.
At the Funeral Home, Giles locks himself into the Morgue to escape from the Brethren. Willow and Xander appear at the window and Giles tells to them to find Buffy. After being interrupted by Cordelia, Buffy's date is then interrupted by Angel who comes to tell her about the prophecy of the Anointed One. He is shortly joined by Xander and Willow who subtly tell her that she must get to the Funeral Home as soon as possible.
Unbeknownst to Buffy, Owen follows them to the Funeral Home thinking they're in for some thrills. Knowing she can't do anything about it, Buffy tells Xander and Willow to watch Owen while she checks for guards. She finds Giles hiding in one of the body drawers in the morgue. She goes back to the others and ushers them into the Office and tells them to block the doors. Owen looks through the window in the office and sees a body covered with a sheet. He is shocked even more when the body gets up off the gurney and starts advancing towards Owen, Willow and Xander. Meanwhile, Giles and Buffy have looked through all the body drawers and haven't found the Anointed One.
Buffy heads back to the Office just in time to hear Andrew. She starts running after him. When she finds him, Owen has been knocked out. Thinking he is dead, Buffy and Giles push the gurney into Andrew and he goes hurtling into the crematory and the door shuts after him. When Owen wants to head home, Buffy assumes he won't want to see her again. She is wrong. The next day at school, she is proven wrong when has asks when he can see her again. She is excited and then saddened when she realises that Owen wouldn't last a second in her world of slaying vampires and demons. Giles tells her about the time his father told him he was destined to be a Watcher and she realises she is not alone.
