Buffy Season I Episode Guide: Teacher's Pet
SYNOPSIS
Buffy meets Angel again at the Bronze, where he warns her
of a new vampire that is on the loose. She notices a huge scar on his arm, and he implies
that the vampire caused it. Before he leaves, he gives Buffy his leather jacket to wear.
The next day, Dr. Gregory, the biology teacher, is missing one day, so the school assigns
a substitute teacher. This teacher turns out to be a sexy woman named Natalie French who
draws the attention of nearly all the guys at Sunnydale High, including Xander. During
class, she asks for volunteers to help her with making model egg sacks, just like the ones
that preying mantises use for their own eggs. One of the school jocks, Blayne, is picked
to help her the first day, while Xander gets to help out the next day. Dr. Gregory's body
is found in the cafeteria that afternoon, minus a head. Believing that the vampire who
attacked Angel is the suspect, Buffy goes hunting for him in the park. There, she
encounters the vampire, who has a huge claw in place of his right hand. She fights him,
but he runs away before she can kill him. Buffy follows the vampire, and sees him about to
attack Ms. French, who is walking by herself. When she turns around and faces the vampire,
he steps back and then flees for the sewers. This shocks Buffy, who can't understand why
the vampire would be afraid of Ms. French. The next day, Buffy is late to biology class.
When she gets there, the door is closed and the class is taking a pop quiz. Buffy peeks in
through the window and sees that Ms. French is standing behind Xander. Sensing Buffy's
presence, Natalie French rotates her head around a full 180 degrees to look at Buffy.
Buffy darts out of sight and waits for Willow to get out of class. Together, they go to
the library and tell Giles about what happened. After researching several texts, Buffy
determines that Natalie French is actually a giant preying mantis. This sounds familiar to
Giles, so he calls a friend of his who reported encountering such a creature. He learns
how to kill the creature, which is through the removal of all the mantis's appendages.
Buffy instructs Giles to record bat sonar, which is supposed to disrupt the mantis's
nervous system. Meanwhile, at Natalie French's house, Xander passes out from a drugged
martini and is locked in a cage in the basement. When he awakens, he sees Ms. French in
her true form. He also finds out that he isn't alone; Blayne is in the cage right next to
his. Blayne explains that he has already seen her take a person, lay her eggs, then mate
with him. However, during this mating, she eats the head of her mate. The She-Mantis then
approaches the cage and calls Xander out. He exits the cage and tries to escape from the
basement, but is dragged back and tied up. Buffy, Willow, and Giles go to the house where
Ms. French supposedly lives. However, they discover that an old woman lives there who is
the real Natalie French. Pressed for time, Buffy tracks down the clawed vampire and ties
his hands behind his back. She then uses him to lead them toward the She-Mantis's house.
Once they get there, the vampire breaks free, but is slayed by Buffy immediately. They
break into the basement right before the mating begins. As Giles plays the recorded bat
sonar, Buffy hacks away at the arms and legs of the She-Mantis until it is dead. Later
that night, at the Bronze, Angel appears again to congratulate Buffy. She offers to give
his leather jacket back, but he tells her to keep it. The next day, the biology class has
a new teacher, as well some undiscovered eggs in the closet...hatching.
Site design Internet Promotion Services
