Welcome to the Hellmouth, everyone! Analyzing Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an interesting endeavor for me. It's obvious that the show Buffy becomes later on very much evolved out of the trial and error that was persistent throughout this inaugural season. While this fact does allow me to give the season a bit of leeway, I certainly can't ignore its mistakes. Season 1 certainly has its innocence and charm, even more so in retrospect, but it's also unmistakably flawed when taken as a whole. Even the most flawed seasons to come (i.e. 4 and 7) had incredible strengths that helped balance out their flaws. Season 1 has no such level of strengths and even more severe flaws, which is why it is without any doubt the weakest season of them all.

The basic underlying theme of the show, at least in its early years, revolves around the phrase "high school is hell." This is a good starting point, but how successful this theme is depends entirely on how it's presented to us. Where Season 2 and Season 3 largely let this theme percolate in the background, informing but not taking over the stories, Season 1 gives it the spotlight in what manifests in a large number of monster-of-the-week metaphor episodes. Although I might initially be inclined to scoff at the notion of too many stand-alone episodes in favor of a serialized narrative, it's not the stand-alone nature that proves to be the problem here – at least not directly. The underlying issue, in actuality, is the lack of serialized character development. Because of this many of the individual stories and their respective metaphors don't run very deep and end up lacking that all-important resonance.

Despite the numerous issues plaguing this season -- its cheesiness and shoddy production values not helping – there are still several things to applaud. As previously mentioned the season, especially in retrospect, has a certain innocence and charm about it. The characters truly are children at this point with only the seeds of future character strengths and flaws present, and there's a certain sense of glee in seeing these characters completely free of the burdens they will come to bear in the future. This contrast is one of the reasons why the material to come is so powerful. Important to note is that the show doesn't leave these "seeds" entirely untouched here in Season 1. It does actually touch on them at various points in the season with Buffy, in particular, getting some noteworthy growth of her own.

Some of the staples of the whole show are present right from the beginning. This includes episodes that utilize underlying themes to service the story and, occasionally in Season 1, the characters as well. Also included is the show's extremely fresh and clever use of language; the dialogue on Buffy is one of its biggest strengths right from the get-go, although like everything else it gets even better later. The acting from most of the main players is fairly strong right from the start, particularly with Sarah Michelle Gellar getting the opportunity to show her stuff on several occasions and, most prominently, in all of "Prophecy Girl" [1x12].

I've noticed that some fans like to give Season 1 a 'free pass' in evaluating it. I don't feel this is a wise maneuver, as it dilutes the comparative analysis of the seasons to come, but I can certainly understand where the sentiment comes from. The season has its temperate ups and its frigid downs, but one thing I can safely say about it is that it's a lightweight, fun, and often charming group of episodes nonetheless. Season 1 leaves us with a show that is not yet fully formed and hasn't completely figured out what it's capable of yet, but I can't say that it doesn't have its heart in the right place.

Season 1 begins in solid fashion with a quality series opener: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01]. Buffy Summers arrives in Sunnydale, CA with her mother looking for a fresh beginning. Buffy's recent brush with vampire slaying and expulsion have irrevocably changed her life in ways she both didn't want and didn't expect.

Unfortunately for her, though, Sunnydale isn't quite what it appears to be on the surface and instead of a fresh start, Buffy soon finds out that she now stands at the mouth of Hell. Not all is doom and gloom, however, as Buffy's arrival at Sunnydale High School leads her to make a few brand new friends in Willow and Xander all while trying to push away the British librarian Rupert Giles from lecturing her about destiny. In these opening couple episodes we're also introduced to the villain of the season: the Master, an ancient vampire trying to rise from his Christian tomb beneath the high school.

"The Witch" [1x03] and "Teacher's Pet" [1x04] give us a couple stand-alone episodes that further broaden the scope of the series' mythology and, in the case of the latter, show us just how bad the show can be at its worst (a problem thankfully almost entirely limited to Season 1). "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05], on the other hand, gives us a front and center look at Buffy for the first time since the pilot, providing a worthwhile initial exploration of Buffy's double life.

"The Pack" [1x06] is largely a one-off misfire while "Angel" [1x07] takes the time to give the mysterious Angel some background which, coincidentally, is what really sets off the relationship between him and Buffy. Things go right back to the monster-of-the-week mold for the rest of the season. These episodes range from comically poor ("I Robot, You Jane" [1x08]) to pointless ("The Puppet Show" [1x09]) to revealing ("Out of Mind, Out of Sight" [1x11]). The season then wraps up on a high note thanks to "Prophecy Girl" [1x12], an episode that has some real poignancy and leaves the Master defeated at Buffy's hands.

• Lack of episodic character relevance; lack of character growth and insight.
• Several extremely flawed episodes, but no brilliant episodes to help balance them out.
• Lack of plot momentum; the villains aren't well connected with the protagonists.
• Music! Sound! Production values! Cheese! Ow!

Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not a great season of television, but it's not exactly terrible either. It has its strengths, but the flaws are too dominant to ignore. This is easily the weakest season of the show and represents its most unformed stage. The biggest single factor truly dragging the season down is the lack of character relevance in the numerous stand-alone episodes. Whereas later seasons used its stories as a springboard for serialized character development, the stories here are just that: isolated stories that offer little to the whole of the show.

Episodes of television that are separate from the primary narrative can still offer what I crave: intelligent character development and/or insight. A great example I like to use to illustrate this point is the Season 5 episode "I Was Made to Love You" [5x15]. This is unquestionably a stand-alone in that it has absolutely no direct connection to the season's narrative surrounding Glory and Dawn. Yet this episode still manages to provide substantial growth and insight for Buffy and drives her character arc in the season, and series, forward. Television at its best, in this reviewer's opinion, is that which has at least some serialized narrative elements but, much more importantly, has consistent serialized character development.

Season 1 is relatively lacking in this regard, although it does have its moments nonetheless. Putting aside character development for a moment, there is also a stark difference between a quality isolated stand-alone episode and a poor one. In Season 1's case, just look to the differences between "The Witch" [1x03], "I Robot, You Jane" [1x08], and "The Puppet Show" [1x09]. The first of these gives us a modestly clever story with a relatable metaphor that largely works within the confines of itself. The second of these has something it's trying to say, but completely fails at delivering it in convincing fashion. The last of these has next to nothing to say at all – it doesn't even really try. In all three of these examples there is almost non-existent character development, yet they are all still of vastly varying quality.

Many Season 1 episodes are not only lacking in basic character relevance, but also in basic quality, which obviously hurts the overall quality of the season significantly. The plot running through the season involving the Master doesn't help much either. Both the Master himself and the story surrounding him are underdeveloped and, at times, borderline goofy. Where in all subsequent seasons the villains play a pivotal thematic role in how the characters develop that year, the Master only has a dash of that relevance and it's fairly confined to Buffy.

The final thing bringing the season down is its very poor production values and occasional overload of cheesiness. This includes the musical score, sound effects, special effects, and overall film quality. I get the impression that Whedon was trying to play off of common horror tropes, but he occasionally failed to find the right mixture for it to work as intended.

While Season 1 is glittered with problems, it's clear that they are all put to good use in the evolution of the show. Season 2, right from the beginning, shows an improvement in several of the areas that were lacking in Season 1. By the time "Innocence" [2x14] rolls around, we're looking at a completely different level of show, albeit one that was still built out of the successes and failures of before. Watching Season 1 in retrospect is like a fun little experiment that you know is going to pay off in the end.

• Innocence and charm, particularly in light of what we know about the future.
• Dialogue!
• Decent insight and character growth for Buffy.
• Initial growth for some of the other characters.

When I watched Buffy for the first time the very first thing that jumped out at me was how delightful the tone of the show was when it stayed away from getting a bit too goofy. Both the characters and the show had a wonderful sense of charm and innocence about them. The characters all had their heart in the right place but also had varying degrees of flaws just ripe for exploration and development.

Watching Season 1 multiple times doesn't lose this feeling. In fact, it enhances it! Knowing the wonders and tragedies on the horizon makes me treasure how relatively simple this season is. Conversely, this season's innocence is what makes said wonders and tragedies so wondrous and tragic. It's the circle of life, and the mark of a truly well-constructed show.

What, specifically, is this "charm" and "innocence" I'm talking about? Good question! These attributes are manifested in several different ways. One of these ways is how Whedon outlined all the central characters as being very likeable, well-intentioned kids. This is a great way to help viewers get on board yet still be able to enjoy the ride into the complexity, confusion, and tragedy that follows. Another way is in how the characters interact with each other, which includes Whedon's gift for linguistics. The dialogue on the show, although not fully refined from the very start, is witty, snappy, clever, and quite fun to listen to. Having otherwise uninteresting conversations transformed into a delicacy for the ears is quite the treat, and something I rarely get to experience to this day in television and film. It's a pleasure simply listening to the characters talk to each other.

How dialogue transforms this show into something completely unique is not to be understated, especially considering it only gets more refined in the seasons to come. As much as I love the overall tone and speech from the start, though, it still wouldn't take the show very far on its own. While Season 1 is certainly lacking in character development it does get a few things right, with the exploration of Buffy's duty and double life being at the top of that list.

I'll go into more detail about this in the character analysis below, but Season 1 actually gives Buffy a well-realized story. This not only informs and enriches what's to come, but is also nicely self-contained. From Buffy's reluctance with her duty in the premiere to the difficulties in trying to live a double life in "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05] to the insight she learns about others in "The Witch" [1x03], "Angel" [1x07], and "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" [1x11] to the crushing reality of the type of sacrifices demanded of her in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12], the season is surprisingly solid in establishing Buffy as a unique three-dimensional character with complex strengths and flaws. I can only applaud the season for accomplishing this – it's the season's backbone.

While Buffy was easily the only character to get substantial recurring development, some others got at least a little bit of attention as well. More of Xander's flaws than his strengths were brought to light. Willow's insecurity and intense curiosity are touched on. Giles' approach to the mission, and to Buffy, is evolved, Angel's given a bit of depth, and, although it took ages, Cordelia actually becomes something other than a walking caricature. I wouldn't call all of that remotely adequate for what I'm looking for in a season of television, but I do appreciate what's there nonetheless.

Season 1 may be lacking the brilliant episodes and complex character development we will come to expect from the show, but it's got just enough charm, just enough innocence, just enough wittiness, and just enough Buffy to give us a fun and worthwhile experience.

I will say it right here and get it out of the way: Buffy is my favorite fictional character in any medium. In my many years discussing television with other people, I often get asked why. Even within the confines of Buffy the show, the character is rarely anywhere near the top of peoples' favorites list. I often hear that people find her extremely selfish, which is a complaint that confounds me. First of all, Buffy starts out the show a teenager, and teenagers are notoriously into themselves – Buffy is no exception at times. Secondly, she's got this ever present burden of oh, I don't know, saving peoples' lives; a burden and power that was initially forced onto her and one that she can't quite turn away from, because she realizes that she can actually help people with it and make a difference in the world. Frankly, if Buffy wasn't a bit self-centered every now and then I would have a hard time seeing her as a realistic character! I love Buffy because she's not Kendra and not Faith. Buffy is one of us.

Season 1 actually does a surprisingly solid job of establishing Buffy as a likeable, realistic, and complex character – all traits which are developed and explored significantly as the series progresses. There's the backstory involving discovering her slayer-hood and how that tore apart her old life – and she worries, in part, her parents' marriage -- in Los Angeles. There are also concerns about how much her dad really cares about her – concerns which turn out to be incredibly well-founded. These fears, some of which were brought to life in "Nightmares" [1x10], go far beyond superficial characterization. Rather, they significantly color many of Buffy's decisions and feelings throughout the entire series, particularly in regard to her relationships. Buffy's story can be generically described as a coming-of-age story. The problem with that description, though, is how much it short-changes the specific issues and complexities present within it. There's nothing generic at all about Buffy Summers.

The history that Buffy brings with her from Los Angeles isn't the only kind of history that plagues her either. Very early on it's established that Buffy doesn't have a cozy relationship with the subject of history either, which definitely comes along with some subtext. In "Angel" [1x07], Giles tells Joyce that Buffy lives "very much in the 'now.'" This response is as metaphorical as it is literal, and can be construed as both a positive and a negative.

Buffy often uses her modern sensibilities to her advantage, such as when she is able to detect a vampire at the Bronze in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01] by using her fashion sensibilities rather than the traditional slayer ability to, as Giles puts it, "hone" her senses. Buffy's subversion of traditional sensibilities is often to her benefit, but it's wise to learn from the traditions that made sense too. This is why, as the series progresses, Buffy not only uses her modern instincts but also utilizes her slayer abilities to their fullest, in no small part thanks to Giles' training and assistance. History is an important part of the character, as much as Buffy would hate to admit it, and I appreciate that Season 1 dips its toes into the subject.

One of the more noticeable recurring elements in Season 1 is Buffy's growing romantic involvement with Angel. This relationship completely exposes Buffy's romantic naiveté and innocence, which are both traits that one can hardly fault her for at sixteen years old. While her infatuation and raw excitement over the mysterious and brooding Angel are entirely normal, these feelings don't necessarily lead to good decision-making; it takes a clear mind and a strong will to recognize this. It's great that Buffy gives Angel a chance after finding out he's a vampire with a soul, but he's much older than her and there's a whole lot she doesn't know about him. Despite these warning signs Buffy pushes onward with her romantic involvement with him, which is certainly fun for her, and us to see, while it lasts. All of this danger and emotion swirling around is handled with a pretty decent amount of subtlety and is a slowly building endeavor in Season 1, much to its credit. It will all come to a head in Season 2, of course, which will really pay off all this nice build-up.

Buffy's escalating romance with Angel is in the background of a lot of episodes, but what has even more weight within the season are the core themes surrounding her development: that of responsibility and sacrifice. The Buffy/Giles library scene in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01] sets the tone for Buffy's struggles right off the bat. She tells him, "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!"

When you boil it down, all Buffy wants is what any good kid subconsciously wants: happy, caring, understanding, and together parents, and just enough freedom to explore and enjoy adolescence, within healthy limits. Between this fairly new slayer responsibility forced on Buffy and the dissolution of her parents' marriage, Buffy arrives in Sunnydale wanting a fresh start only to be stuck with the return of all her old problems, amplified. Giles directly reminds her of the responsibilities expected of her, but as the season progresses Buffy comes to recognize all on her own why she is responsible and what that really means for both her and those people around her. In "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05] Buffy goes out with what turns out to be "danger guy" (Owen) who, in Buffy's world, would meet a quick gruesome death if he continued to tag along. While she's out on a date with him Giles almost gets isolated by a group of vampires. Buffy comes to recognize that saving lives and helping others is something she has the power to do, and isn't something she can easily turn away from just because she wants to live a normal happy life.

As "Prophecy Girl" [1x12] clearly highlights, sacrifice is not fun and is not something we're initially inclined to volunteer for, but to not do what one can to help is to let evil surround the world around you without a fight and eventually consume not only you, but also all those who you hold dear. When Buffy learns she's prophesized to die, her reaction is nothing but entirely human. As I stated in my review of "Prophecy Girl" [1x12], "After talking with her mom and learning about how vampires are encroaching further onto school grounds from a scared Willow, she [Buffy] accepts the purpose her role serves in this world, even if she doesn't like it. With only an adamant and noble Giles, who understands the stakes as well, in the way, Buffy punches him out and picks up her cross, thereby signifying her acceptance of what that symbol means."

It's at this moment when Buffy takes the very first step in accepting a kind of ownership of this massive burden. Buffy chooses to fight not because she has to, but because she knows it's the right thing to do. Personally, I quite admire her courage and conviction in the face of her struggles and flaws, and strive to work towards the same. When Buffy goes to face the Master, all the basic elements that define her are symbolized: her strength in the leather jacket and the crossbow, her innocence (both sexually and otherwise) in the white dress, and her courage, selflessness, and sacrificial burden in the cross.

Much appreciation has to go out to Sarah Michelle Gellar for knocking this role out of the park from episode one. Gellar performs Buffy in a way that is dynamic and extremely palpable, ranging from her inner struggles to her nascent sexuality to her emotional lows to her ability in bringing Whedon's language to life to her comedic timing to her occasional bursts of unbridled excitement. Extremely emotive facial expressions seem to be one of her specialties, and it does wonders for this role. I can't say enough how perfect she is as Buffy, as it's always a pleasure watching her do her thing. The few people out there who call her a poor performer have a very foreign sense of acting ability from what I know.

Buffy's Season 1 arc isn't particularly emphasized throughout the season, but there are a handful of episodes that almost completely make up for it and add up to a cohesive whole. Buffy heads into Season 2 a different person than when she arrived in Sunnydale in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01]. Drowning at the hands of the Master in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12] leaves a psychological scar that haunts her all summer and is brought to the surface in the underrated Season 2 opener, "When She Was Bad" [2x01]. Buffy Summers is a vibrant and extremely complex character, and I feel that the brief Season 1 does a surprisingly solid job at establishing what she's all about.

It is clear that Joss Whedon had thought about Buffy's journey quite a bit coming into the series, as the character comes across solid right from the start. Willow, on the other hand, doesn't get a lot to do in Season 1 beyond being incredibly adorable. Alyson Hannigan milks the role for all it's worth and brings the character to life in a way that, I'm sad to say, the writing this season does not do justice. As the series progresses Willow becomes a complex character in her own right, but Season 1 only barely scratches the surface of what's going on inside her head.

From "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01] we know right away that she's an intelligent girl who has far too little self-confidence, and is walked on by Cordelia and the like because of it. Deep down it's also clear that she has the desire to shed herself of this shy, introverted image – to actually become a different person than she is today rather than cultivate her best qualities and improve on her flaws. Willow has a very curious mind that occasionally leads her to explore things that are dangerous, exemplified in Season 1 by her encounter with the demon Moloch in "I Robot, You Jane" [1x08]. On the more positive side, though, she is shown to immediately want to help Buffy out and through the course of the season becomes more courageous for it.

Unfortunately the only real hint of Willow's struggles with power and control, and how they mask her inherent insecurities, show up in the form of her technology skills – her only real 'power' at this point – and how casually she is willing to do illegal things with those skills as long as it's for a good reason. It's nice that all of these seeds are cultivated in Season 2 and beyond, but I can't help but feel like so much more could have been done with Willow here in Season 1. It doesn't help that the only episode to give her the spotlight, "I Robot, You Jane" [1x08], is quite poor and partially allows Willow off the hook for her behavior due to a case of Demon's Thrall [TM].

Considering how much depth Buffy has from the start, it's just unfortunate Willow doesn't get more to do this season. I do enjoy the tantalizing little seeds that have been planted, and some of the initial bits of strength she shows (such as in "The Pack" [1x06] and in not being Xander's castoff date in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12]), but I wanted a lot more for Willow. Thankfully, Season 2 begins to get things rolling.

Xander, in the early seasons, is a character I love to dislike. He's the kind of guy that's fun to have around most of the time but harbors some deep-seated jealousies and selfishness. I think he's generally written pretty well and is fairly well-intentioned outside these issues, although unfortunately he occasionally gets consumed by them. Xander doesn't come to have nearly as much depth as characters like Buffy and Willow do as the series progresses, but he always remains an important part of the group. Season 1 actually gives him a tad more to work with that it does for Willow, which is actually kind of surprising. Right from the beginning he's established as a nerdy outcast of the school and, as Season 1 develops, we begin to see his crush on Buffy intensify and the jealous and selfish part of his nature begin to seep out as Buffy's romantic pursuits lie elsewhere.

This part of Xander' nature begins to become noticeable in "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05] and comes up again in regard to just about anything surrounding Angel. This is all while Buffy makes it fairly obvious that she has no interest in him quite early on. A part of me wonders if Xander would even bother standing by Buffy in the fight against evil had he not been extremely attracted to her, which certainly doesn't speak well of his character. Nor does what we see of Xander's desires in "Teacher's Pet" [1x04], such as dreaming up Buffy as a weak and scared girl as a way for him to feel wanted and strong. This general selfishness defines many of his actions in the early seasons (the infamous "Becoming Pt. 2" [2x22] "kick his ass" line being a prime example), but it is also something the show, and Buffy (see "Revelations" [3x07]), fortunately don't push under the rug. Despite all this I still feel sorry for him when Buffy shuts him down after he asks her out in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12]. It's a rough moment for any young teen with a huge crush.

Xander gets decently defined in Season 1 but it's his most negative qualities that are underlined, for the most part. One aspect of Xander's better qualities that does shine this season is his sense of humor. The season relies on this aspect of his personality so that he can connect with both the viewer and the other characters. The humor – which is often quite amusing -- does a pretty good job at masking his underlying flaws, which is why he is generally a pleasant presence on the show. I can't help but feel how nice it would have been to have an episode focused on Xander that didn't have serious issues (I'm looking at you "Teacher's Pet" [1x04]).

Despite some of my personal issues with Xander, I genuinely appreciate how his personality is played against the other characters. I love what he brings to the dynamic of the show, and I can accredit Season 1 for doing a pretty good job at bringing that to the table. I want to also emphasize that he's not a terrible person or anything, just often transparently selfish in the high school years. The great part about this is how well these flaws will be used in the seasons to come. Xander becomes even more interesting and a much better person with growth and time. By the end of Season 3, I even start to like the guy a bit.

"I'm Mr. Giles. The librarian," says Giles in one of his very first lines in the series. Giles starts off a bit of a caricature of a stuffy old British guy, which doesn't make him particularly interesting out of the gate. It doesn't help that he serves as exposition guy in almost every episode. Fortunately, through his ever-growing fatherly bond with Buffy he begins to evolve out of this pattern by the end of the season and into an interesting character in his own right. Although I wish he was drawn with more depth from the start, I do appreciate the few gems he gets.

The journey Giles goes through is inexorably tied to Buffy, particularly in the high school years. This is why it is so important to make note of how the foundation of their relationship is built. "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05] is really the first time Giles is able to seriously connect with Buffy, human-to-human. Giles' sympathy towards Buffy's struggles trying to balance her slayer responsibilities with her personal life is something he actually understands, despite how hard he was on her earlier in the episode. As he tells her, "I have volumes of lore, of prophecies, of predictions. But I don't have an instruction manual. We feel our way as we go along."

When it's revealed that Angel's a vampire and that Buffy has real feelings for him in "Angel" [1x07], we see that Giles is very level-headed and doesn't make any rash initial judgments (unlike a certain Xander) – he simply states the facts as he knows them. When he later learns about Angel's soul, Giles even calls their relationship "rather poetic, in a maudlin sort of way." While the bond between Buffy and Giles isn't what I'd call a big part of the season, the accumulation of what is there becomes strikingly clear in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12].

Giles is a wreck trying to figure a way out of the prophecy that Buffy is to die at the hands of the Master. When Buffy overhears him and lashes out, his anguish over his feeling of helplessness is palpable. Giles desperately wants to help Buffy and, later in the episode, attempts to do just that. Even after Buffy turns around and decides to accept her fate in an attempt to take out the Master with her, Giles pushes back saying, "Buffy, I'm not going to send you out there to die. Now, you were right. I've waded around in these old books for so long; I've forgotten what the real world is like. It's time I found out." It's to his credit that Buffy has to punch him out to prevent him from taking her place.

The effort by Giles in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12] only strengthens their bond – a bond which will be tested in various ways in the seasons ahead. Giles should have gotten more attention in Season 1, particularly in regard to his turbulent history (which we do get a hint of at the end of "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" [1x05]), but I can't deny how charming he becomes by the end of it which is a nice turn-around from his stuffy introduction. It's no wonder Jenny Calendar shows immediate interest in him. The good news for Giles is that Season 2 has this season's deficiencies covered.

Cordelia was never one of the more complex characters on Buffy, but in time it became believable for her to say something like "[w]hat? I can't have layers?" ("Band Candy" [3x06]), and have it actually mean something. In Season 1, though, Cordelia's one-dimensionality is at an all-time high. Her presence is often entertaining but it's also incredibly superficial and unrewarding. If this was all there was to say about Cordelia this season, I'd be one sad cookie.

Fortunately for everyone involved, "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" [1x11] came along and made Cordelia someone to look more closely at. Through the story of a girl who has turned completely invisible, ever popular Cordelia reveals that she actually understands a bit of Marcie's loneliness, saying "I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It's not like any of them really know me. I don't even know if they like me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes when I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say." Now, despite Cordelia having a nice moment of self-reflection, that certainly doesn't excuse how she often ridicules those who don't place the same priorities in life that she does.

Between being saved by Buffy from the crazy Marcie in "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" [1x11] and vampires slaughtering some kids on school ground in "Prophecy Girl" (her boyfriend among them), Cordelia begins to really wake up in terms of the danger that surrounds her and the importance of Buffy's work. This not only warms her up to Buffy a bit, but also Xander and Willow by proxy. Thankfully we don't see a complete turn-around on her attitude towards them or anything like that, but we do see her being fairer in the midst of her usual derision.

Season 1 gives Cordelia some good material towards the end of the season, but it ends up coming too late for me to fully applaud it. I would have liked to have seen more done, and have seen it a whole lot sooner. At least Season 1 is able to position Cordelia to be open to the concept of having interest in Xander when "Some Assembly Required" [2x02] comes around, which then leads to more substantial self-discovery and growth in Season 2.

Angel has the unfortunate fate of being relegated to Buffy's love interest in Season 1, and not a whole lot more. In the first several episodes he doesn't even have that going for him and serves only one purpose: being the mysterious-brooding-exposition guy. This purpose isn't even portrayed all that well due to some initially terrible acting from David Boreanaz. Thankfully his acting gradually improves throughout Season 1, and then gets tremendously better during Season 2.

The end of "Teacher's Pet" [1x04], what with the leather jacket transfer-of-love and all, gives Angel some additional intrigue by tacking on the seeds of romance with Buffy. It's not until "Angel" [1x07] when the guy gets a real backstory. Even here, though, most of this backstory is told in a fairly exposition-y manner. But the whole vampire-with-a-soul complication does add a nice layer to the character. As I pointed out in that review, "We can see that while Buffy's trying to balance slaying, school, and romance, Angel's juggling with his demonic nature, desire for amends, and becoming romantically invested in someone for likely the very first time in his soul-having existence. Right now the thing both Buffy and Angel have in common is their mutual attraction and newfound investment in each other."

A more subtle element I appreciated was the little connection Angel has with Giles towards the end of the season (see "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" [1x11]). They both have one striking thing in common – besides, of course, their desire to fight the forces of evil – and that is that both of their journeys as characters are strongly linked to Buffy for the next couple years. With Angel, though, it's a romantic link more than anything else. This connection between Angel and Giles is particularly awesome considering how it will be turned on its head when Angelus is unleashed on the world next season (see "Passion" [2x17]).

Overall I'm not too impressed with what Season 1 did for Angel. There's simply not a lot there beyond a basic backstory, some light romance, and some exposition. With that said, there's just enough of that romance and intrigue to help hold us over until things get much more interesting going forward.

The Master is a pretty mediocre villain, at best, and there's no real way around that. He has some nice moments, mostly in the form of comedy, but overall I found him to be pretty underwhelming and at times a tad overly goofy. The only times I found him remotely threatening was Buffy's living nightmare in, well, "Nightmares" [1x10], and in the mid parts of "Prophecy Girl" [1x12]. It certainly didn't help that the quality of his makeup was so inconsistent.

Despite being an underwritten character he does offer some thematic synergy with what the show's all about. From my review of "Welcome to the Hellmouth" [1x01]: "The Master and his followers – while fairly corny – very much represent the old way of things. This group of vampires – the Order of Aurelius -- is trying to instigate the return of the old ones. While they wait for their moment they live below ground and only go up to feed or make more of their kind. Buffy as a character and as a show are all about subverting the outdated and the old. This is why Buffy will defeat the Master in "Prophecy Girl" [1x12] and why Spike will gloriously scorch the Anointed One in "School Hard" [2x03] with a proclamation about less ritual and more fun." While it's nice that the Master serves a light thematic purpose and isn't just the token villain to be killed, his value certainly, and sadly, goes no further.

I haven't really talked about the Anointed One because, well, there's really nothing to talk about. He stands around a lot, learns about fear a bit, and leads Buffy down to the Master's lair. That's about it. This is why it's such a joy to hear him pissed off by Buffy thwarting his resurrection attempt (see "When She Was Bad" [2x01]) and to see him scorched by Spike (see "School Hard" [2x03]), all in early Season 2.

Season 1's central theme is the concept that high school is hell, literally. It has a whole bunch of completely stand-alone episodes that do very little for the characters. These episodes tell overall decent little stories, usually with a metaphor at the center of them, but many of them are not very subtle in their execution. The season also sports fairly awful effects, an abysmal musical score, and overall shoddy production values. While all of these flaws seem pretty damning, all is not lost!

The character work that is present largely focuses around Buffy, who ends up forming the foundation for the season to stand on and is the primary reason it resonates for me at all. The themes surrounding her – primarily responsibility, sacrifice, and innocence -- are all very consistently rendered into the tapestry of the show and will provide many returns as it moves forward. Buffy as a character also stands in for the show's wonderfully whimsical attitude towards subverting many old horror tropes.

Beyond the big stuff, there are also some intangibles that really help make viewing this season much more pleasurable than it otherwise would be. These include the inventive use of language, the largely loveable characters, and the show's wonderful sense of humor. The fact it utilizes all these positive traits with a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek self-awareness certainly doesn't hurt. Even with all the flaws plaguing this season, it's still pretty fun to watch most of the time. It's just that Season 1 is a lot more care-free and consequence-free than all the seasons the come after it, which could be viewed as both a positive and a negative – I admittedly lean more towards the negative.

As for how the show fares going forward? Well, think about it this way: Season 2 alleviates a lot of Season 1's biggest problems. Some examples addressed will be the poor production values, the terrible music, the lack of character development, and the complete lack of any truly brilliant episodes. I think it's safe to say that Whedon learned from both what worked and what failed miserably in this inaugural season. Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer starts out a bit rough, it's still a lot of fun and doesn't really dilute the next six often brilliant seasons of what this humble reviewer can still easily say is the best television show he has ever seen.