Synopsis:
Buffy tries to maintain some semblance of a normal teenage
social life by opting for a hot date instead of helping Giles
protect Sunnydale from a violent vampire prophecy. As she's
blinded by love, Buffy ignores the signs of the dark forces
aligning against her. Meanwhile, while Buffy's being romanced,
The Master is plotting her demise by invoking the wrath of
the "Anointed One," a great warrior vampire who is The Master's
most powerful weapon against the slayer.
Written by: Rob des Hotel and Dean Batali
Directed by: David Semal
Original Airdate: March 31, 1997
Destructo Girl Recap:
In the cemetery, Buffy fights a vampire. She totally kicks
his ass and stakes him while quipping, "We haven't been properly
introduced. I'm Buffy, and you're history!" Giles pops out
from behind a crypt, which less than complimentary remarks.
He feels that she is taking to much time with the slaying,
which I find rather amusing, because I don't think he feels
that way a few years later as what I like to refer to as Buffied
Giles. :) Anyway, he is distracted from his lecture when he
spots a ring on the ground that the vampire was wearing (Many
have wondered why this ring didn't turn to dust as all the
other items he was wearing did. I believe the simple answer
is that the powers that be like to help out the forces of
good from time to time, so they allowed it to remain the way
it was to give Giles a clue. They're kind of sweet, huh? So,
just keep that in mind. Oh, and these powers when in human
form disguise themselves as Buffy writers. Just FYI.) Buffy
jokes that this works out great; she kills them so that Giles
can fence their things. Giles gives her his patented annoyed
look and she asks what it is. Giles doesn't know, but he must
consult his books.
In his lair, the Master slams a book down on his lectern and dusts flies everywhere. Yuck. Opening the book, he starts to read from a passage about the Anointed, the Master's great warrior. He definitely doesn't sound like good news for Buffy, because part of it is that "And the Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell." He walks over to three other vampires who happen to be the Brethren of Aurelius, whose duty it is to "him and usher him to his immortal destiny." He continues on to say that one of the brethren will go out hunting the night before and get killed, so Buffy must have just slayed one of them and the Master must know about it. The rest of the brethren look like they are pissing themselves, but just in case they haven't gotten the message, he lifts one of the brethren and throws him across the room, making it clear that if they screw this up and let Buffy stop them, they're toast.
Season one theme song.
In the library, Giles is having no luck finding the meaning of the ring. However, Buffy has noticed a symbol of a sun and three stars on the inside of it. Giles doesn't think it means anything, but Buffy manages to find it in a book. Giles realizes she is right; it's the Order of Aurelius. Buffy revels in her victory over Giles when Owen Thurman, a cute classmate of hers, walks into the library. Giles is surprised to see him, so Buffy explains that they are in a school with students who sometimes want to check out books. Giles replies that he was beginning to suspect that was a myth. Hehe. Owen tells them that he lost his Emily Dickinson book and likes to have one with him at all times, kind of like a security blanket. Giles points out where the poetry is located and Owen heads into the stacks to it with Buffy following. He tells Buffy he's surprised to see her there, not that he didn't think she could read; he just never thought she was the bookworm type. Buffy's surprised that he gave any thought to the type of person she was, then assures him she loves books as they walk back over to the counter. Owen notices the book they were using to research the ring and asks about it, to which Giles responds, "This one she doesn't love." As Owen proceeds to check it out, Giles comments that Emily Dickinson is "quite a good poet, I mean for a..." Buffy replies, "A girl?" To which he mutters, "For an American." Hehe again. Owen leaves, telling Buffy he will see her in math if he opens his eyes during the class. Buffy stares after him, in another world as Giles informs her that if the Order of Aurelius is here, it's for good reason. Just to prove she didn't hear a word he said, Buffy comments, "That was Owen." Since he is not a teenage girl, Giles is unimpressed and when Buffy says that she wants a copy of Emily Dickinson too, he scolds "Buffy, while the mere fact of you wanting to check out a book would be grounds for a national holiday, I think we should focus on the problem at hand." Buffy tells him he is right… then asks if her outfit makes her look fat.
Later that day in the cafeteria, Buffy and Willow are paying for their lunch as Buffy talks about Owen's appearance in the library. Willow is very impressed that Owen, who hardly talks to anyone, talked to Buffy. She is also very impressed when, as they are sitting down with Xander, Buffy shows her that she has her very own copy of Emily Dickinson since she found out Owen reads her works. Xander, oblivious to their conversation, holds up a forkful of green stuff, inquiring what it might be. Nobody knows, but they all fear it. Rather loudly, he asks Buffy how the slaying went the night before, then realizes his faux pas and corrects himself, "I mean, how'd the *laying* go?" Hehe. Buffy gives him a murderous look before telling him it went fine, then mentioning how the Order of Aurelius has appeared in town. Xander notices Owen sitting by himself, making a crack about him being Mr. Excitement. Buffy and Willow agree that someone out to sit with him, just to be polite, so Buffy picks up her lunch tray and heads on over, leaving a confused Xander in her wake. She is almost at the table when Cordelia breezes in bumping into Buffy and making her spill her tray. Owen helps her pick it up as Buffy comments, "Boy! Cordelia's hips are wider than I thought!" I so enjoy Cordelia insults! Speaking of, Cordelia is desperately trying to get Owen's attention, telling him that a bunch of them are going to the Bronze that night and asking if he's coming. Owen asks who is going and Cordelia replies, "Well, um, I'm gonna be there." Because she's so fun to be around, you know? Much to her dismay - and my amusement - Owen is unimpressed and wants to know who else is going to be there, like Buffy. Cordelia tells him Buffy doesn't like fun, but they both ignore her as Owen suggests he meet her there at eight. Buffy happily agrees and puts her empty tray on top of a shocked Cordelia's.
Out in the hall, Buffy insists that the date with Owen is not a big deal while Willow argues that it is. They run into Giles outside the library and Willow tells him to tell Buffy it's a big deal, to which he says, "I'm afraid it's very big." And am I a pervert or is anyone feeling a giggle coming on? Just me, huh? Liar! Anyway, the girls follow Giles into the library, realizing that they are not talking about the same thing as him. He is referring to the Order of Aurelius, whom he has discovered have been prophesized to bring the Master the Anointed, a warrior who will rise from the ashes of the Five on the evening of the thousandth day after the Advent of Septus. Which happens to be that night. Buffy protests that it can't be that night, to which Giles argues that his calculations are correct and Buffy insists, "They're bad calculations! Bad!" Willow explains that Buffy has a very important date, so Giles sarcastically replies that he will just jump in his time machine and have the vampires postpone their ancient prophecy for her. He insists that it is very important they stop the Anointed before he reaches the Master. Buffy tries to get him to see how her date is also a very big deal, but Giles doesn't care, telling her "Those will just have to be put on hold! The dark forces are aligning against us, and we have a chance to beat them back. Tonight we go into battle!"
Later that night, they sit in the dark, silent cemetery. Giles admits that perhaps he miscalculated, then tells Buffy that ninety percent of the vampire slaying game is waiting. Buffy wishes he had told her that ninety percent ago. Finally, he agrees that they have waited long enough. Buffy happily gets up, ready to go find Owen at the Bronze. Before she leaves, Giles reminds her that she has to be careful dating someone who doesn't know about her being the Slayer. Buffy promises not to wear her button that say 'I'm a Slayer. Ask me how!' before leaving. Giles stands alone, confuddled. He was sure it was that night.
An airport shuttle bus drives down a dark street. As the camera pans over the bus, we see there are five people aboard: an older woman, a younger woman with a small boy and a creepy guy. Most everyone is silent, save for the little boy, who is playing with a toy plane and tells the creepy guy that he went on an airplane. The creepy guy says, "A pale horse emerged with death as its rider. You will be judged. You will be judged."
Buffy gets to the Bronze and goes in, looking for Owen. Unfortunately, when she finds him, he is dancing with Cordelia. Actually, it is more like him standing there, slightly swaying as he looks very uncomfortable while Cordelia tries to be cute and sexy and clings to him, but the basic premise is dancing and Buffy gets that idea. Disappointed, she turns and leaves.
Back on the bus, the creepy guy is now standing in the aisle, talking about Judgment Day, scaring everyone. The driver tells him he needs to sit down. All of a sudden, there is a man standing in the road. The driver slams on the brakes, but it's too late and he slams right into him. The bus swerves off the road and ends up hitting a pole, which brings it to a stop. Everyone is relatively okay. The passengers seem stunned and the driver has a big cut on his head, but they are otherwise okay. The driver gets out and goes to where the man he hit is lying on the ground. When he tries to see if he is okay, the man turns out to be a vampire who reaches up and grabs him by the throat. Another vampire punches through a window on the bus and grabs Andrew, pulling him out and biting him before all the vampires board the bus, amongst the rest of the passengers screaming.
The next day at school, Buffy and Xander are at her locker, talking about the night before when Buffy didn't meet with Owen. She says that she couldn't very well tell Owen she was late because she was in a cemetery with the librarian. Xander points out that she could have found a good excuse, like having a flat tire. As they walk through the halls to Xander's locker, Buffy complains that she is tired of always being dateless. Xander tells her that she could have any guy in school, but Buffy only wants Owen. Xander tries to tell her that Owen isn't all that special; a lot of guys - including him - can read. Buffy's once again in another world, though, because Owen walks up to her, all smiles. As Xander makes faces and remarks, obviously jealous, Owen wonders where Buffy was the night before. Buffy lamely explains that her watch broke and there aren't any clocks in her home so she didn't have any idea what time it was. Owen smiles and says he thought that only happened to him, then offers to let Buffy use his pocket watch. Xander watches on in amazement, gazing down at his own Tweety Bird wristwatch. Buffy is also surprised, and comments to Owen that she heard he and Cordelia were all over each other. Owen says that he danced with her a few times, but she's kind of grabby. Buffy pretends to think about her plans for the night before happily agreeing. Owen says he will pick her up at seven before leaving. Buffy is once again happy as Xander is disappointed.
In Giles' office, he sits down with some tea as Buffy bursts in. She asks how it's going, commenting that the prophecy should take a few days to work out. Giles agrees and starts to go over some things he had discovered, but Buffy interrupts, saying it would probably be best if she took that night to relax. Without giving Giles a chance to argue, she says that is great and tells him goodbye. Not realizing that Buffy just managed to, in her own mind, get him to suggest she take night off, Giles marvels, "She is the strangest girl."
In the Master's lair, he compliments the brethren on a job well done the night before. When that night's work is done, he will have a mighty ally and he will be one step closer to being free. He orders them to kill Buffy if she tries to stop them, to give their own lives if that is what it takes to bring him the Anointed.
In Buffy's bedroom, Buffy and Willow pick out a few dresses for her date with Owen and ask Xander what he thinks. He doesn't think either is quite right and suggests an overcoat and ski cap instead. Wisely deciding to ignore that advice, Buffy asks him for a guy's opinion on her lipstick - peach or red. Xander suggests the red, so Owen can kiss her and tell all his friends that she is easy. Buffy thanks him and chooses the peach. Willow hands her another dress and the two girls give Xander a look. He insists that it won't bother him, but is still forced to move away and put his back to Buffy while she changes. However, that doesn't stop him from tries to use a mirror to catch a peek. Unfortunately for him, Buffy dresses in record time (Seriously, I wish I could dress that fast!) and he gets nothing, except looks from Buffy as he fumbles and makes a lot of noise. Willow and Buffy give him curious looks, but are distracted when the doorbell rings. Buffy declares that it must be Owen.
Cut to Buffy opening the front door. It's Giles. He excitedly shows her a newspaper article about five people dying in a car accident. Buffy is skeptical, and Giles admits it's a long shot, but he still wants them to go to the Sunnydale Funeral Home. Buffy wants to know why he wants to hurt her, which confuses him until Owen shows up and he realizes she has a date. Buffy promises to return her overdue books the next day as a way to explain to her date why the librarian is in her home; Owen comments that Giles really cares about his work. Seeing that Buffy and Giles need some privacy, Willow and Xander pull Owen into another room to go over some things. Giles can't believe Buffy has another date, to which she explains that she never had a date before. In the living room, Xander tries to convince Owen not to kiss, touch or even look at Buffy. Back in the foyer, Buffy convinces Giles to let her have the night off, though he does warn her of the difficulties of having a social life as a Slayer. She says that since it's the 1990's, she can do both. Reminding Giles that he can beep her, she grabs Owen and goes, leaving her friends in the foyer. Willow asks Giles if anything is going on, and he tells her probably not, but he is going to the funeral home just in case. As he goes, Willow comments that this is bad and Xander says it's worse than bad; they both agree they ought to follow. However, whereas she is talking about Giles, he is talking about Buffy and Owen. Willow insists that Giles could be in trouble, but Xander insists he is fine - knowledge is the ultimate weapon.
In the Bronze, Buffy and Owen sit at a table, talking Emily Dickinson. The topic drifts to Owen's rather anti-social status and he explains that he just finds most girls frivolous, that there are a lot more important things in life than dating. Which makes Buffy starts thinking about her duties as Slayer, and so she checks her beeper and sees that she hasn't missed any pages. Owen notices and asks if he said something wrong, but Buffy insists he did not and brings him out on the dance floor. They start to dance and Owen comments that it's weird, she's like two people. She asks him which one he likes best and he smiles and says he'll let her know. All of a sudden, a door opens and a bunch of prostitutes walk in! Oh wait; it's just Cordelia and her friends. My bad. Immediately, she spots Buffy and Owen and makes a snide comment before strutting over to them, "Owen! Look at you, here all alone..." Owen frowns and informs her he is there with Buffy, which is obvious, since they have their arms around each other (and I just have to point out that it looks kind of odd, because in the last scene, Sarah seems to have grown a whole lot since the last scene, so she is apparently standing on a box now or something). Cordelia says okay, before asking if he wants to dance. Owen says nom because he is still there with Buffy. She tells him that is so good to help with the needy, so Buffy finally tells her they want to be alone so she needs to go away. Finally getting the message that Owen's not going to fall all over her, Cordelia replies, "Well, when you're ready for the big leagues, let me know." Neither seem to care, though, because as soon as she leaves, they go back to dancing and smiling at each other.
Outside the Sunnydale Funeral Home, Giles pulls up in his car and gets out with a bag over his shoulder, heading over to the building. However, he hears footsteps and stops and turns to look behind him. When he turns back around, there is a vampire in front of him, which happens to be very creepy, by the way. He takes steps back from the vampire… but finds there is another one behind him. Realizing he's SO screwed, Giles exclaims, "Damn!"
Still trapped between the two brethren, Giles whips out a cross and manages to get them to back off. He uses the opportunity to make a run for it, racing into the funeral home. He tries to open the door to flower room, but it's locked, so he takes off as the brethren come in after him.
Back at the Bronze, Buffy and Owen are still dancing, giving each other all these looks. He asks if she's having fun and she says she is, she almost feels like a girl.
At the funeral room, Giles manages to find a room unlocked. I don't know if it's a morgue, 'cause I think those are in hospitals and this isn't a hospital, but it has a table so they obviously do stuff to bodies there. Anyway, he pushed a file cabinet against the door to try to keep the vampires out while he tries to find a way to escape. He approaches a window as two faces pop up on the other side of it, startling him until he realizes its Willow and Xander. They explain how they came to help after seeing the vampires come in after him. The window is barred, so Giles can't get out, and there is no phone in the room for him to call Buffy's beeper, so Willow and Xander head off to fetch her while Giles waits nervously.
Buffy and Owen are still at the Bronze, but they have stopped dancing and are standing at the foot of the stairs. As Owen goes to get Buffy something fattening to eat, Cordelia and her friend watch on jealously, commenting on how Buffy is throwing herself at Owen - which she isn't, in case you think I am leaving something out. The door beside Cordelia opens and Angel comes in. As soon as she catches sight of him, she starts drooling like my dog does when I grab a snausage. Telling her friend call 911 because "That boy is gonna need some serious oxygen after [she's] through with him," Cordelia rushes on over to him… just as he spots Buffy and walks over to her. Cordelia watches on in disbelief, wondering aloud "Why is this happening to me?" I believe the word is karma. Buffy is pleased to hear that Angel was hoping to find her there, but disappointed when she realizes he just wants to warn her about something bad going down. And when he hears that she is there on a date, it's his turn to be disappointed. Owen comes back over with a muffin and Buffy introduces him to Angel. Owen asks where he knows Buffy from and Angel responds, "Work." Owen is surprised to hear Buffy works, but before they can delve into that, Willow and Xander show up as well. Xander wonders what Angel is doing there, who says it's probably the same thing they are doing there and Buffy wonders what any of them are doing there. Poor Owen just looks bewildered. At least with Cordelia he was being molested, but he knew what was going on. Xander and Willow cover, saying they thought it would be fun if they went on a double date. Buffy says she didn't know they were seeing each other, so Willow explains that they knew it would eventually happen and figured they might as well not fight it. Xander suggests they all go somewhere together, but Buffy wants more alone time with Owen. However, when Xander suggests the Sunnydale Funeral Home and Willow eagerly agrees, Buffy gets the hint and tells Owen she has to go. Owen doesn't understand why he can't go with her and pulls her aside. With Angel watching in the background, she explains to Owen that it's like how she's like two different people; one has to go, but one is having a great time and wants to stay, so she promises she will come back. Owen nods and watches her leave before she comes back and gives him a big kiss (Angel is still watching, so it's always fun for me - before, because I loved jealous Angel… and now I like suffering Angel!). Then she really leaves with Willow and Xander in tow as Owen tells Angel, "She's the strangest girl."
Buffy, Willow and Xander arrive at the funeral home, but are quickly joined by Owen. Buffy leaves him with her friends, who explain that she is just checking for security guards. She finds the room Giles was in, but no Giles. Just his bag and the bars on the window bent to allow someone to go through. She looks around a bit and finds his cross before she is startled by one of the body storage doors opening and Giles sliding out on the drawer… on top of a body with a sheet covering it. Eek. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and when the brethren broke in and he had to hide, he was pretty desperate. Giles tells her he isn't sure if the Anointed is gone yet or not, so she says they will have a look around, she just needs to get Owen and the others out of harm's way first. Giles can't believe she brought a date, but Buffy assures him he just followed her. She says she will take care of it, but has him stay there so Owen doesn't see him - since he'll be even more confused if the school librarian is there with them as they break into a funeral home. Since Buffy can't send them back outside where more brethren could be, Buffy leads her friends into an observation room, which looks nice and safe, before excusing herself again, claiming she needs to use the restroom. Back in the morgue-like room, Buffy and Giles look through all the body storage drawers, trying to find the Anointed One. And in the observation room, Willow and Xander pile furniture in front of the door as Owen looks around. Opening the curtains, he looks through the window, startled, and quietly says, "Oh, my." Back in the other room, Buffy and Giles have one door left to open. When they do so, they find the drawer empty and deduce that the Anointed must be gone, since that is where they keep all the dead bodies. Back in the observation room, Willow, Xander and Owen stare through the window into the next room where a dead body rests on a table covered in a sheet. Owen tells them that he has never seen a dead body before, before asking if they usually move as the body sits up and pulls the sheet off of itself. The newly risen vampire turns out to be Andrew, the creep guy from the shuttle bus, who announces, "I have been judged!"
As Owen tries to figure what is going on, Andrew stands there, rambling insanely before smashing the separating glass with his head. As Buffy and Giles hears the breaking glass and Buffy takes off, the three teens scramble to move all the furniture back away from the door, narrowly escaping Andrew when he climbs into the room. In the hall, they run into Buffy, who tells them to go out as she goes after Andrew, who is now singing loudly. The other three race to the exit, but are met by two of the brethren. However, they don't attack, just block their way and close the gate, trapping them inside. They continue running through the halls until they find themselves at a dead end. Buffy returns to the room with Giles and gets a stake from him and starts to leave, but stops and turns around to tell him to go outside and make sure the others are okay, which gives Andrew the opportunity to come up behind her and throw her into a cabinet before she falls to the floor, unconscious. In the hall, Owen decides someone has to help Buffy and takes off before Willow or Xander can stop him. Giles runs to Buffy's aid, keeping Andrew away with a cross until the vampire hits his arm and makes him drop it. Andrew grabs Giles and throws him into the crematory's controls, accidentally turning on the fire in the chamber. Andrew picks Buffy up again, this time by the neck, but Owen comes in, grabs a metal tray and hits him with it, forcing him to drop her. Unfortunately, she manages to hit her head on one of the open doors and falls down, unconscious again. Andrew grabs Owen and tries to bite him, but Owen smashes him over the head with an urn. He rushes over to help Buffy up, calling Andrew a sissy for trying to bite him. Andrew gets back up, though, and smashes another of the doors into the back of Owen's head, saying he's dead because he was found wanting. Now let me tell you, there are a few things you shouldn't do to Buffy, and one them is killing her date. She starts kicking Andrew's ass all over the place, not noticing that Owen actually isn't dead, just knocked out and slowly regaining consciousness, as is Giles. She launches Andrew onto the table and the momentum slides the table right over to the chamber. Andrew goes flying and Giles slams the door shut. Owen, not having seen any of that, asks if anyone has any aspirin. Buffy rushes over and helps him up, claiming they all scared the bad guy away. She tells him that she figures this probably wasn't what he had in mind for their first date. Owen admits he planned to end the evening at Ben & Jerry's. Buffy says they still could, but Owen would rather go home. She offers to take him, but he says he can go it alone before asking where home is. Willow and Xander step in, assuring her they will make sure he gets home safe before leading him off with a glum-looking Buffy watching on. Giles starts to say something, but Buffy cuts him off. Not literally, in case you were worried.
The next day at school, Buffy is pumping Willow and Xander for info, trying to find out if Owen said anything about her. He didn't, but Willow says it could be because of the head injury. Buffy says she blew it and Xander tells her she needs a guy who knows all about the Slayer thing and doesn't care. He is about to say someone like him when they run into Owen. Willow literally drags Xander away to give them some privacy while they talk. Buffy is prepared for a dumping, but gets a surprise when Owen says he has a great time and wants to do it again. However, her happiness is short-lived as she realized Owen got a big kick out of the danger and wants to go around doing risky things with her. Buffy actually ends up doing the dumping, telling Owen she wants to just be friends. Owen agrees, but is obviously very dejected. As Buffy watches him go with a sad look on her face, Giles comes up behind her. They go sit on the fountain and Giles tells her he was ten years old when his father told him that he was to become a watcher, which was not what he had dreamed of doing with his life. But his father gave him a speech about responsibility and sacrifice. Buffy explains that Owen is nice, but he wants the danger and unlike the rest of them, he doesn't know the score; he'd get himself killed in no time. Or she would get him killed or, with a pointed look at Giles, get someone else killed. Giles argues that he went to the funeral home of his own free will, but Buffy says that she should have been there. Giles tells her that he has all sorts of books about demon lore, but as far as the watcher/slayer thing goes, they have to feel their way along. With probably made many Buffy/Giles shippers shudder. But anyway, he tells her that he thinks she is doing a pretty good job and she smiles as she points out that she stop that prophecy from coming through. Giles agrees and adds that the Master is probably having a pretty bad day.
In the Master's lair, he quotes the passage from before as some of the brethren stand nearby. He comes to kneel in front of the small boy from the shuttle bus, "Welcome, my friend." Uh oh….