“Welcome to the Hellmouth”
Thoughts in semi-chronological order:
--It's very hard as a writer to come up with an opening shot that says exactly what kind of story you're going to watch. What's the first shot of this episode? A high school at night. A brilliant opening shot for a teen horror show. (It is, of course, much more than that. But it *is* also that.)
--How neat is it that Darla, one of the first characters we see, is still an important part of the universe of the show as late as Angel 5.20, “The Girl in Question”?
--Love that two of the mission statements of the show, female empowerment and characters not being what you’d expect, are right there in Darla’s attack, before the opening credits.
--SMG is never hotter than she is in this first season, for some reason. I know Joss' vision was a "blonde who fights monsters," but SMG is so pretty with brown hair. Her clothing choices, that little barette in her hair--everything about her is just so beautiful. Strange as it is, I even think her plastic jewelry is kind of sexy! (Did SMG lose weight in the other seasons? That would also be a factor in her being less attractive.)
--Hilarious to see Xander's skateboard that we never see again. Some character ideas just don't work out. I love in issue #20 of the Season 8 comic how the missing skateboard is explained.
--DB does improve as an actor, but it's worth noting that he's *supposed* to be cocky at this point. The character hasn't developed into the tortured soul yet. He also says, “I expected you’d be taller”—even though we’d later learn that he had already seen her in L.A. in the “Becoming” two-parter!
If you want to retcon this scene, though, there were occasions on Angel the series when Angel acted goofy or clueless or in some way totally alternate to his personality just to accomplish a goal. So he could be a tortured soul behind the scenes, but he’s putting on a show for Buffy because he doesn’t want her to know too much yet.
Weird to see DB’s name only in the list of guest stars at this point. Funny to imagine how differently the series would have turned out if Buffy had staked him in episode 7 as Joss originally planned.
--Interesting that the first thing Cordelia does is an act of kindness (she lets Buffy read out of her book). Then almost immediately thereafter, she’s horrible to Willow.
--Wonderful dramatic irony that Cordy is so terrible to poor, innocent Willow. The characters will be in very different places in five years.
--I wish Joss had brought Jesse back for “Conservations with Dead People.” He would have made a lot more sense, both as a way to bring Season 7 full circle, and as someone who Willow actually knew, as opposed to the random girl from episode 7.5 that she never met.
--I always love the scenes in the library. They’re hilariously funny, character-revealing, and sometimes heartbreaking, as this one is. But I almost never like the scenes of the vampires (or whatever creatures) performing their rituals. They’re usually too drawn out and self-important. But, then, I hate horror as a rule (which is ironic, since BtVS is my favorite show of all time).
--I adore Joyce right from the get-go.
--The Bronze is such a weird concept. It’s essentially a bar, but only high school students go there. Has a place like this ever really existed? I mean, I know a lot of teens use fake IDs to go to bars, but this seems to be a place where under-21 patrons are welcome and expected. Ironically, by the time the characters are old enough to drink, they almost never go to the Bronze!
--The series is filmed very heavily in the dark, especially in the first season. I think it’s to disguise the effects and choreography, which are kind of primitive at this point. (I’m guessing WB didn’t give them much of a budget the first year.) Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s happening. Compare with the amazing (and very well-lit) fight choreography at the end of “The Gift.”
--The music is sometimes too over-the-top, and it’s way too obvious that everything is played on a keyboard. Sounds like an ‘80s Casio. The music would get MUCH better than this.
--Gosh, it seems like I’m being hard on the show with the last few comments. But I love this episode! Don’t get me wrong. I’m more tuned into the nuances now than I was on my first viewings, that’s all. But Joss does an amazing job of quickly setting up all the characters, the premise, and even the season-long arc, and he does it with style and humor.
--Random thought: Now that I’ve seen the unaired pilot, I miss Jonathan *not* being outside the Bronze.
--I love Buffy’s wisecracks. One of the many things that I thought was lacking in all of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies was the humor. Spidey never cracked jokes the way he did in the comics! That’s such a key element of the character. Sometimes people say to me, “Well, there’s just no way to make wisecracks work in film the way they do in comics.” Whenever they say that, I just point them to Buffy. (Ironically, I’m sure Spidey’s wisecracks in the comics inspired Buffy in the first place!)
--Buffy is so easily knocked around by other vampires at this point. She gets thrown around like a rag doll. But I actually think that’s a good thing! Buffy hasn’t had a whole lot of training at this point. Her character needs a direction in which to progress. Later, she’ll be able to take on a ton of vampires by herself! It’s going to be fun to watch her skills grow.
Well, I could go on, but I’ve probably put you all to sleep by now. LOL! Anyway, terrific episode. Great setup for the series. I rate this one a 9 out of 10.