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| Writer: | Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali |
| Director: | David Semel |
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| - | Review |
There's a bit to like here. An episode with this premise could be boring, but with this show's unique dialog things stay snappy and interesting. This is the first time Buffy's personal life has come face-to-face with her job as the Slayer. This is handled pretty well with Giles on one side being the one continuously telling her to focus on her duties as the Slayer and Owen on the other, unknowingly being the object of desire for Buffy to pull her away from the said duties. This part of the episode succeeds fantastically as a first look at this issue and helps give it some value.
The actual plot of the episode suffers though. Unfortunately, I didn't care for Owen at all and I didn't like how he's another one of those characters that just suddenly appears and everyone acts like they've known him forever. Owen as a person comes off as not only not Buffy's type, but as the anti-Cordelia, who hits on him several times. Yet Buffy goes all flirty with him like he's her dream guy. So yeah, it's safe to say I really didn't like Owen's character even though I like what he as a plot device, for further exploration of the Slayer's issues involving her personal life, brings onto the table.
So once again what I like about the episode is the character interaction and themes running underneath the surface, while what I dislike is the actual primary plot. This is beginning to become a theme. I must admit that the twist with The Anointed One is cool and surprising, once again playing with expectations. That and the Slayer issues brought forth are enough to keep this episode from the garbage bin.
| - | Minor Pros/Cons (+/-) |
| Pros: | |
| + | Xander's jealously of Owen getting to be with Buffy. |
| + | The scene at The Bronze where all of Buffy's friends end up ruining her date with Owen. |
| - | Foreshadowing |
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| - | Quotes |
| BUFFY: | What was I supposed to do? Say to Owen, 'Sorry I was late; I was sitting in a cemetery with the librarian waiting for a vampire to rise so I could prevent an evil prophecy from coming to pass?' |
| XANDER: | Or flat tire? |
| BUFFY: | But... Cute guy! Teenager! Post-pubescent fantasies! |
| - | Score | Learn about the Grading Scale |
| 60/100 |
C- ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ |
Very flawed. Either the main plot is completely insulting or there's some out-of-characterness going on. Avoids falling into uselessness by way of some good character development and/or insight.
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Comments (17)
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| 1. | AngelusAug 14, 2006 (Mon)Link | |
| I always liked this episode alot. I agree that Owen was pretty lame but I would have rated this epi a 70. |
| 2. | RickDec 14, 2006 (Thu)Link | |
| Yeah, I think this rating is a bit low. By no means a great episode, but the dialogue is crisp, we get a little more character development with Buffy and Giles, and we get a good opening look at the soon to be constant battle Buffy must endure between keeping a social life and respecting her duty. In many ways, she's quickly becoming that female, quirky anti-hero Joss intended her to be. |
| 3. | aliFeb 18, 2007 (Sun)Link | |
| This is another ep that shows us that buffy is more then you're usual teen show, in a usual show buffy probebly would have let Owen in and everything would work out, but here we got the sad end. I think its the first time we see that in buffy there's not always a happy end, alot of time we'll get the more "realstic" mature sad end, joss whedon is not tring to please us but rather to defy us. The last scene is so sad and touching it's show's us what the meaning of being a slayer is, and it's also adds to buffy-giles relationship more depth. |
| 4. | TranquillityApr 24, 2007 (Tue)Link | |
| I think this is one of the better episodes of season 1. Some of the dialogue is pretty snappy and shows glimpses of what is to come in regard to quality writing. There are also a few interesting observations to be made - Owen is like a 'normal boy' version of Angel, they are about the same height and build and Willow even says that he can brood for 40 minutes straight and that he's solitary and mysterious. Buffy is completely smitten with him and i'm not sure if this highlights continuity issue, as last episode she was wearing Angel's Jacket continuously and saying "oh Boy" as she realises the depth of her attraction to Angel and this episode she dosen't seem to give him a second thought untill he arrives at the Bronze with another of his cryptic warnings. More importantly in this episode we get the articulated message that a 'normal' social life and slayage are not mixy things, especially with someone who dosen't understand her occupation. This, of course, is a continuous theme throughout the entire series. |
| 5. | -xJun 21, 2007 (Thu)Link | |
| Okayy. i love this episode! its just so great! I love when everyone stuffs up her date with owen. Poor Buffy! - love this episode cos it says "so what if im a slayerr.. im also in high school and i deserve sex." |
| 6. | buffyholicOct 4, 2007 (Thu)Link | |
| I love this episode, seeing Buffy trying to have a normal life but that is always complicated. Once again, I love the dialogue and the character interaction. I don´t mind the plot and Owen, but the most important is seeing Buffy trying to combine a normal life with the slaying. The last scene with Giles is priceless. Isn´t it weird that Giles wanted to be a grocer? |
| 7. | Austin Oct 4, 2007 (Thu)Link | |
| Or possibly a fighter pilot lol! (I just can't picture him in the RAF |
| 8. | ShannonJan 18, 2008 (Fri)Link | |
| The thing about this episode is, I just have to love it because of this quote: Xander: So Buffy, how'd the slaying go last night? Buffy: Xander! Xander: Oops, I mean uh, how'd the 'laying' go last night...no, wait, I don't meant that either! |
| 9. | BillFeb 9, 2008 (Sat)Link | |
| This ep bugs me to know end. The main premise is a good one, slaying versus normal life, but Owen is really, really a drag. He's such a bland guy, and he's completely the opposite of the guy that Buffy would go out with. What bugs me even more is that Owen is basically an early version of Riley, and despite the fact that it is blatantly obvious how bad of love interest he was for Buffy, they still try the same routine with Riley a few seasons down the line, and it too fails miserably. |
| 10. | EmilyJan 29, 2009 (Thu)Link | |
| I totally and one hundred percent agree with Bill- Owen really is basically just an early version of Riley. I just also wanted to point out that at the end of the episode, Giles says there's no "instruction manual" for being a Slayer, but in S2, Kendra and Gils talk about the "Slayer Handbook." Just thought it was worth mentioning. |
| 11. | Tara and Willow Mar 17, 2009 (Tue)Link | |
| This is an AWFUL episode. I think it's one of the worst episode of S1. Owen was pretty boring and I agree (again) with you Mikejer, Buffy and Cordelia hitting on Owen was completely out of character. |
| 12. | SamMar 17, 2009 (Tue)Link | |
| I agree this one is definitely a letdown, but it has that song "Strong" by Velvet Chain in it, which is possibly the sexiest song ever featured on this show. It's incredibly hot, and it prevents the episode from being a total failure. |
| 13. | brettApr 15, 2009 (Wed)Link | |
| I agree with shannon thats one of my favorite lines in the series |
| 14. | JoeJul 13, 2010 (Tue) @ 7:15pmLink | |
| I don't know how unrealistic I think it is for Buffy to hit on Owen and be interested in a normal, typical high school male. She hasn't been the Slayer that long, and hasn't really had a strong "taste" of a dangerous/mysterious guy; she still somewhat wants to reject her calling (which she doesn't come to terms with until S2, really) and wants everything as normal as she can have it still.
Now, I'm not saying Owen is in any real way interesting (he's not), but to say that Buffy would never hit on him seems to neglect that she changes/matures/realizes things about herself as the show goes on; she doesn't really "get" that she digs the bad-boy thing yet because hasn't really tried it out, has she? |
| 15. | yippers6Jul 14, 2010 (Wed) @ 2:13pmLink | |
| loved the review but i did't like the character owen |
| 16. | nathan.taurusJul 21, 2010 (Wed) @ 8:46pmLink | |
| Buffy and her love of moody, sullen guys starts here. I love at first how she cannot stand Angel.
The funniest thing I saw in this episode is when, at the Bronze, Owen and Buffy are facing each other and Angel is in the background between them, watch as David moves his head to his left and then slightly back to remain in camera focus and not be covered by Owen as he leans forward. I really liked the speech Giles gave to Buffy at the end and the way it was done with the music and I cannot imagine Giles as a fighter pilot...possibly a grocer, yes. I did feel for Buffy. Although the episode itself I think, even though flawed, deserves a little over 60. |
| 17. | mikejerJul 21, 2010 (Wed) @ 9:05pmLink | |
| Nathan, this episode is a lot better than I originally gave it credit for. I still have some problems with it, but it will score higher when I rewrite my S1 reviews soon. Frankly, my existing S1 reviews are pretty bad and I can't wait to toss 'em out. |
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