The Master plans to walk the earth again using his lackey Luke as a “vessel” to gain strength. Buffy stops his plan by killing Luke, and realises she must face up to her responsibilities. The Master remains underground - but not gone forever. Xander and Willow find they have to cope with the fact that their friend Jesse has been turned into a vampire.
| Airdate: | 10 March 1997 |
| Writer: | Joss Whedon |
| Director: | John T. Kretchmer |
| Cast: |
Giles: "Maybe you could wrest some information from that dread machine. That was a bit, um, British, wasn't it?"
Behind the Scenes Trivia
Additional scenes
Various scenes were added in to The Harvest as the episode was too short. These include the scene where Willow and Xander talk in the halls, the scene where the Master pokes out the vampire’s eye, the scene where Cordelia talks about seniors in the Bronze and the scene where the vampires run out by Angel.
Cymbalism
Buffy used a cymbal as a Frisbee to behead a vampire in The Harvest. This scene was edited out when first shown on the BBC.
Darla dead?
Darla was originally supposed to be killed in the end of The Harvest when Willow threw holy water on her, but a more intresting storyline for episode seven (Angel) was needed so they kept her in the show.
Hellmouth and Harvest
The Harvest was originally aired with Welcome to the Hellmouth as one episode. It was then later split into two episodes. Some versions of The Harvest episode have a “previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer” re-cap of the events of Welcome to the Hellmouth at the beginning, others do not.
Jesse in the credits
Joss Whedon said that he has always wanted to put a character in the credits the episode where he/she died, and had planned to do this in the opening credits in the first few episodes with Jesse (who was killed in The Harvest) to show that the show had lots of surprises. He wasn’t able to make it because he didn’t have the money at the time to make another set of credits.
Phlebotnum
Phlebotnum, a term coined by David Greenwalt according to Joss Whedon’s commentary for The Harvest, means any magical or mystical force or event that arises in the process of inventing the Buffy mythology/ or advancing the plot. Joss mentions phlebotnum in the commentary for Chosen, and David Greenwalt discusses it in another commentary, saying, “for god’s sake, don’t touch the phlebotnum in jar C!”
It may or may not be coincidence that the prefix ‘phleb-’ mean vein, and ‘phlebotomy’ is the practice of letting blood for transfusion, diagnosis or experiment. So ‘phlebotnum’, were it a word, would probably mean ‘blood’.
Screen shots
Watch out for the scene in The Harvest where Luke kneels before The Master. Joss Whedon was sufficiently embarrassed about the way it was shot (making it look as though Luke was giving the Master ‘pleasure’) to apologise for it in his commentary for the season one DVD.
Cast and Crew Trivia
Brian Thompson
Brian Thompson played Luke in Welcome to the Hellmouth and The Harvest and The Judge in Surprise and Innocence. Brian has played a shape shifting character on two different shows: The X-Files and Birds of Prey. Brian has also been in Charmed (as Cronus in ‘Oh My Goddess’), Falcon Crest, Three Amigos, Star Trek: Generations, Walker, Texas Ranger, Dragonheart, Perfect Target and Knight Rider.
Jeffrey Steven Smith
Jeffrey Steven Smith appeared in The Harvest (in Cordelia’s computer class) and The Pack (asking Xander about the lead guitarist of a band). In The Harvest, Jeffrey he had a very distinct So-Cal accent but the accent was gone when he appeared in The Pack, so he was obviously playing a different character.
John T Kretchmer
John T. Kretchmer directed the episodes The Harvest and School Hard. He was Assistant Director of Jurassic Park. He has also directed episodes of Birds of Prey (which featured Brian Thompson, who played Luke in The Harvest), Charmed, Dark Angel, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Xena: Warrior Princess.
Character Trivia
Luke
Luke was a vampire and Arnold Schwarzenegger lookalike, seen in season one. He was an incredibly strong member of The Master’s Brethren of Aurelius who was chosen to become the vessel. Once every 100 years, the Master was able to gain power through a ritual called the Harvest. After a brief ceremony in which blood was painted on Luke’s face, the Master said, “Every soul he takes will feed me. Their souls will grant me the strength to free myself.” Luke headed to the Bronze to kill victims to give the Master strength, but he was staked by Buffy in The Harvest.
Continuity
Angel’s cross
Angel gave Buffy a cross necklace when he first met her in Welcome to the Hellmouth. She can be seen wearing the necklace in The Harvest and Prophecy Girl.
Blow out
Willow says to Buffy at the end of The Harvest, “Maybe you could blow something up. They’re really strict about that.” Buffy blew up the school in Graduation Day (Part 2).
Quite different
In The Harvest, Giles says that the next threat they face may be something quite different from vampires. This foreshadows the events of the very next episode, in which the Scoobies are faced with a powerful witch.
The earth is doomed
After listening to the Scoobies talking teenage nonsense in The Harvest, Giles says, “The Earth is doomed.” He says almost the same thing in Chosen - “The Earth is definitely doomed.”
Watch your damn step
In The Harvest, Angel is outside the Bronze when Buffy stops the Harvest from occuring. Angel says, “I’ll be damned.” This is true as he is actually a damned soul. He then walks away and the door behind him reads, “Watch Your Step.” This is possibly intended to warn the viewer of the dangers of getting involved with Angel.
Xander’s first vampire kill
Xander staked his first vampire in The Harvest - and the vampire just happened to be his best friend Jesse. It was an accident, though, as Jesse was pushed onto an out-turned stake held by Xander. Ironically, he was taunting Xander that he couldn’t kill him at the time.
Music Trivia
Dashboard Prophets
The band Dashboard Prophets can be heard in the Bronze in The Harvest. We hear their tracks “Ballad For Dead Friends” (as the vampires approach the Bronze) and “Wearing Me Down” (Cordelia says she loves the song). Both songs are from their album Burning Out The Inside.
We also hear “All I Want” (from the same album) in The Pack in the Bronze, near the beginning of the episode.
Sprung Monkey
The first ever band to play at the Bronze was Sprung Monkey in Welcome to the Hellmouth. They play “Things Are Changing” from their album Swirl as Buffy leaves the Bronze looking for Willow, and “Believe”, from the same album, as Buffy enters the Bronze for the first time. They also play “Swirl” in the Bronze. We hear their song “Saturated” (from the album Swirl) as Buffy is choosing an outfit.
Their song “Right My Wrong” (again from Swirl) can be heard in The Harvest as Buffy attempts to leave the school, and “Reluctant Man” (Swirl) can be heard in The Pack when the bullies enter The Bronze.
Mythology Trivia
Boca del Infierno
Sunnydale was called “Boca del Infierno” by the first Spanish settlers there. Roughly translated, it means ‘Hellmouth’. Giles told the Scoobies this information in The Harvest.
Dusting vampires
When vampires are killed (via wooden stakes, sunlight or beheading), they turn to dust. The Scoobies use the word as a verb to describe killing a vampire (i.e. “We dusted him”). The first person to use the word in this way on the show was Buffy in The Harvest, “So, I dust anyone sporting that symbol, and no Harvest”.
‘Dusting’ a vampire using computer graphics cost $5,000 per vampire.
Harvest Time
The Harvest was a ritual to release The Master, and reopen Sunnydale’s Hellmouth. In the episode The Harvest, the Master joined his power with a ‘vessel’ (the vampire Luke) who then set about feeding from humans to give sustenance to the Master. Buffy killed Luke before he succeeded in setting the Master free.
Holy Water
Holy Water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy. Like other religious symbols (such as the crucifix) it burns vampires, and can even kill them if it touches them in large amounts. Holy Water has been used as a weapon occasionally in the Buffyverse. In The Harvest, Willow threw holy water on Darla. In What’s My Line? (Part 2), Drusilla tortured Angel by dripping holy water on him. Buffy tricked Zachary Kralik into drinking holy water in Helpless. In Lover’s Walk, Buffy, Angel and Spike warded off attacking vampires by throwing holy water at them.
We’re Athiests right?
It’s incredibly strange that crosses/holy water hurt vampires, as Giles tells the Scoobies in The Harvest that demons roamed the Earth for centuries before Christianity even began.
References
The Wild Bunch
The 1969 film The Wild Bunch by Sam Peckinpah is one of Joss Whedon’s favourites. It is mentioned twice in Buffy. In The Harvest, Buffy advised her friends, “Don’t go wild bunch on me” before they entered the Bronze. In Bargaining (Part 2), Xander called the demons who raided Sunnydale the “wild bunch”.
Lyle and Techtor Gorch, who appeared in Bad Eggs, are named after characters from The Wild Bunch. In that movie, the Gorches were brothers in William Holden’s gang, played by Warren Oates and Ben Johnson. Pike from the Buffy movie was named after William Holden’s character in The Wild Bunch and Angel was another character from the film.
Goofs
Seen at 00.08 minutes:
Luke is burned by the cross that Angel gave Buffy, allowing her to escape from the tomb. In the next shot, we see Buffy running away and the necklace has disappeared.
Seen at 17.27 minutes:
Cordelia clearly states that Friday night is no-cover night at the Bronze… so why is everyone paying money?
Seen at 36.48 minutes:
Buffy stakes an off-screen vampire using a pool cue in the Bronze. He falls back but we don’t hear him turn to dust.
Seen at 41.06 minutes:
Cordelia says she is going to the Bronze that Friday, the night of the Harvest. Oddly, everyone is back in school the following day.
Quotes
Giles: "A Slayer hunts vampires; Buffy is the Slayer; don't tell anyone. I think that's all the vampire information you need."
Luke: "I thought you nothing more than a meal, boy. Congratulations. You've just been upgraded. To bait."
Xander: "I don't like vampires. I'm gonna take a stand and say they're not good."
Xander: "They can fly?!"
Buffy: "They can drive."
Buffy: "God, I'm so mentally challenged!"
Giles: "Maybe you could wrest some information from that dread machine. That was a bit, um, British, wasn't it?"
Xander: "Yesterday, my life's like, "uh-oh, pop quiz." Today it's, "rain of toads.""
Angel: "I thought you'd figure this out sooner or later. Actually, I thought it would be a little sooner."
Buffy: "Do you know what it's like to have a friend? ... That wasn't supposed to be a stumper."
Buffy: "Well, we averted the apocalypse. I'll give us points for that."
Xander: "I mean, the dead rose. We should have at least had an assembly."