Episode 2 picks up right where we left off - with the vampire Luke about to chow down on Buffy's neck. But suddenly he rears back, burned by the silver cross that's fallen out of her shirt pocket. Hey, gifts from handsome strangers really do come in handy! Luke withdraws, giving Buffy time to take off after her friends, who are in quite the predicament of their own. Willow in particular is about to be bitten, but Buffy's sudden appearance - and a mean kick to the fangs - sends her assailant scurrying away. The two girls take off to find Xander being dragged away by two more vampires. Buffy rips a branch off a tree, making short work of one of the vampires. The other, I dunno, disappears or runs off or something. Or maybe Buffy stakes her off-camera. The three friends wonder where Jesse is, but apparently Darla grabbed him again. Buffy looks around, concern and worry etched across her face for her new friend, and we cut to the opening credits.

When we return, it's the next morning. In the Library, Giles Explains It All. He tells us that the world didn't start out as a paradise - rather, it was a haven for demons and their kind. As humans took hold on this plane, most demons retreated to less people-filled dimensions, though traces of them remain - certain magicks and creatures like vampires. Xander rather astutely observes that the fact that he's talking about vampires like they're real is perhaps a disturbing thing, and Buffy agrees. Doesn't change the facts, though. Giles tells us that not all the demons are gone, however, because the last to leave decided it would be a great idea to mix his blood with a human's, infecting it and giving rise to vampires.

Site note: Hey, Buffy's wearing the cross that guy she didn't like gave her! Well, it did kind of save her life and all. Plus it looks really pretty.

Underground, Darla and Luke are dragging a weakened Jesse to The Master. Darla, a bit overeager to please, assures him that the offering's blood is pure. Of course, she'd have to have tasted Jesse already to know that. The Master's somewhat less than pleased to be getting leftovers from his followers, and he suggests rather pointedly that Darla might want to be a bit more mindful of her place. In Darla's defense, though, they did have two more offerings, but some really strong girl showed up and kicked their butts. The vampires' butts. Not the offerings' butts. That'd make no sense. So the very fact that Buffy survived the encounter with Luke is enough to make him and The Master conclude that there's a Slayer in town.

In the Library, Giles explains to Xander and Willow what the Slayer is, which brings up the question again of just how you kill a vampire. It seems Xander's assuming he's going to help get Jesse back, but Buffy insists he leave it to her. Willow, on the other hand, wonders why it's not a job for the police, but police wouldn't know what to do against vampires. So it's time to figure out where Jesse was taken. The most likely place is underground. Then a piece of information that will prove insanely useful for the life of the show is introduced. The sewer tunnels that run under the whole town are perfect for vampires to travel in because they can get anywhere without meeting sunlight. Giles frustratedly suggests they'll need to go to the Building Commission in town to see if they can get a map of the system, but Willow has a better idea.

Hey, The Master's got an idea too, and he upgrades Jesse from 'meal' to 'bait'.

But back to Willow's idea. Voila hidden talent - seems Willow is quite the hacker! On the Library computer, they study the city's files for the sewer's layout. They find the lines that run under the sewer but nowhere nearby to access them. A frustrated Buffy berates herself for not being a very good Slayer, especially the way Luke just came up behind her out of nowhere and a-ha! Access point found - in the mausoleum behind where Buffy was standing. Excellent! So the group springs into action. Well, kind of. Xander wants to go help save Jesse, but Buffy insists he stay out of danger. Willow wants to help too, though in a slightly less dark-and-monsters kind of way, so Giles suggests she and Xander can help him research this Harvest. So now that they've got their assignments, Buffy's off. If Jesse's alive, she promises, she'll bring him back.

For some reason, Buffy heads off towards the one area of the school grounds that's got a high fence around it, and Principal Flutie spots her. With her track record, he's not extremely interested in her cover story about getting a book for Mr. Giles, and he locks the gate, encouraging Buffy to be sensible and keep her feet on the ground. Which I assume is her cue to climb the fence. Ooh, but I'm wrong - she jumps right over it. Neat!

Xander and Willow walk through the halls, talking about the research they need to do. Xander's pretty upset about feeling useless, but he and Willow try to convince each other that Buffy'll be okay by herself.

Buffy creeps into the mausoleum, about to try and open the locked door to the tunnels when she feels someone behind her. Oh, hey - it's that cute cross-giving guy she doesn't like! Turns out he's been waiting for her. Hip to his "cryptic wise-man act", she asks his name. It's Angel. Yeah, like you're surprised. Angel warns her not to go down there now - she shouldn't be putting herself in danger when she's got The Harvest to prevent - but she's adamant and kicks open the iron doors. She's got a friend down there. Buffy makes a snide comment about whether Angel knows what it's like to have a friend, but when it seems that he doesn't, she softens a bit. She's still going, though, so Angel gives her directions for once she gets underground. She asks if he's going to wish her luck, but he doesn't say anything. Until she's gone. Then he whispers, "Good luck."

Buffy's underground now. Dark place, rats aplenty, very creepy soundtrack. As she tiptoes around a corner, she turns at a noise behind her and nearly jumps out of her skin. It's Xander! Against her warnings and all his better judgment, he's followed her, intent on helping Jesse. Buffy tells him to leave, but he's not having it. Reluctantly, she nods for him to follow her.

As they walk through the tunnels, Xander runs through the list of things that'll deter vampires. Crosses, garlic, stake through the heart - yeah, he doesn't have any of those, so Buffy hands him a cross. Then they run down more of the list, which includes fire, beheading, sunlight, and holy water, and Xander takes odd comfort from a story about her beheading an ex-football player vampire with an exacto knife.

Giles is finding more information on this Harvest. Apparently they need to be on the lookout for something or someone called The Vessel. Oh, and also?

The Harvest is tonight.

Over in the computer lab, Cordelia is telling a blonde friend we'll come to know and love as Harmony about what a freak Buffy is, embellishing their run-in in the hallway of The Bronze into a full-on psychotic "I'm gonna kill you!" attack. Feeling bold, Willow takes a break from her Harvest research and sticks up for her new friend, but Cordy delivers yet another devastating put-down. Yeouch. Then Cordelia makes the mistake of listening to Willow's suggestion about how to complete the computer assignment and hits the "Deliver" key. Or the one that looks like it, anyway. And the entire program is deleted. Go, Willow!!

Back underground, Buffy and Xander finally find Jesse, who's chained to the floor. Buffy busts him loose, and they take off down the tunnels. Jesse says the vampires probably know Buffy's there because he was supposed to be bait. This announcement comes just as they're spotted by some vamps, and Jesse tries to point they way out. The way he takes them, though, looks to be a small room at the end of a hallway with no exit in sight. Xander and Buffy wonder what to do next when Jesse makes a helpful suggestion. They can die.

Jesse's a vampire now and thrilled to be one. He's all powerful and strong now, not like the guy he was in life, and Xander barely gets the cross up in time to make his dead friend back off. Buffy would help, you know, but she's busy trying to close the heavy metal door and keep out the vampires that are pouring - okay, slowly walking - down the tunnel. Jesse bats the cross away and knocks Xander down, but Buffy grabs Jesse and flings him into the ranks of the slow-moving-but-still-threatening vampire crowd outside. Whee, it's vampire bowling! Then Buffy and Xander finally get the door shut and locked behind them. Which is certainly an improvement, but only just, what with them being trapped in a locked room now with vampires trying to break the door down.

Xander spots a vent in the ceiling, which Buffy tears open. They climb up as the vampires begin to break down the door. They follow the duct up towards the surface, and Xander pushes the lid off. He exits into the sunlight, giving Buffy a hand to pull her up after him, when a vampire grabs her by the ankle. There's a brief game of Tug-of-War over Buffy until Xander pulls her far enough out of the hole for sunlight to burn the vampire's hand. It retreats, Buffy and Xander collapse into a heap on the ground, and it finally sinks in. The danger is real, they're extremely lucky to have gotten away, and Jesse is dead. A vampire.

Hey, who thinks The Master's happy to hear they got away?! Show of hands? Nobody? Well, you'd be right. He berates his minions for being so careless, but thoughts of The Harvest cheer him considerably. He still wants an apology from the minion who screwed up, though. Which he of course gets. And he seems to appreciate it. Before the minion can go, however, The Master points out that there's something in the minion's eye. Yeah, there sure is. It's called The Master's pointy claw! Ow! Hee, this guy cracks me up.

The mood back at the Library, however, is much more sombre. Deep in research, Giles hears a sound and snaps his head up, hoping it's Buffy returning safely. Instead, it's Willow with some extremely useful information. Seems there was a big earthquake in Sunnydale in '37 that was preceded by a rash of throat-bleedy murders. Hearing this, Giles starts to put it all together now, and he doesn't particularly like what he sees.

Underground, Luke kisses The Master's hand reverently, briefly feeds from his wrist, and is named The Vessel. The Master dips his finger into his blood and scratches a symbol on Luke's forehead. Tonight as Luke feeds, The Master will grow stronger - strong enough to finally escape his underground prison and walk free.

Buffy and Xander return to the Library, and she breaks the bad news about Jesse to Willow and Giles. In the corner, Xander kicks something over, then utters one of his best lines ever. "I don't like vampires. I'm gonna take a stand and say they're not good." What's so great about this line is that he somehow fills it with a wealth of heartbroken anger and still manages to be funny. Great writing, excellent delivery. Buffy turns to Giles, asking if he's got anything that can possibly make the day worse, and he obliges. "How about the end of the world?" Buffy, we've talked about this already. Famous last words and tempting fate? You've gotta quit doing that.

Giles has put it together. 60 Years ago, The Master came to Sunnydale, a town aptly dubbed The Mouth of Hell by the Spanish who settled here. I'm guessing they unsettled pretty quickly, though, because a recent Buffy comic showed the founding of Sunnydale in the 1800's, and there wasn't a building in sight. Or the writers forgot it was pre-settled. Not that it particularly matters - just something I noticed. But back to the episode at hand. It seems Sunnydale is the location of a portal between realities, which The Master hoped to open, bringing the demons that used to live here back and pretty much ending the world. Ambitious guy. Except that he was interrupted by an earthquake and got "stuck" in the Hellmouth. Tonight, though, is The Harvest. The one night in a century when The Master can feed through The Vessel and gain power. In this case, it'll be enough power to open the Hellmouth, free him, and bring the demons out to party for good.

Fortunately, Giles has found the symbol that The Vessel will have on his forehead, so if Buffy dusts him, the grand opening is cancelled. Xander guesses the vampires will go to The Bronze, what with so many yummy young folks all gathering there, so Giles grabs his coat, and they head out.

Buffy just needs to make a quick stop at her house first to grab some weapons. Before she can leave again, Joyce interrupts her. Principal Flutie called about Buffy ditching class, and Mom isn't happy. She suspects the problems they had in LA are starting again. Buffy assures her they're not, but Joyce is right. She just has no idea why she's right. Then when she sees Buffy getting ready to go somewhere, she grounds her daughter. Joyce goes downstairs, and Buffy slips out the window. Although? I'd suggest that if you're gonna sneak out, you might be a little more careful when you toss your clattering bag of wood and metal out the window. Just saying.

At The Bronze, Cordelia is holding court. She takes time to make fun of Jesse's crush on her, then heads off to the dance floor. Jesse, however, is there already. Seems he's a lot surer of himself now, and she responds to his confidence. Okay, so it's more like extreme rudeness, but hey - she agrees to the dance. Then a song I've got to remember to find on CD somewhere cranks up all deep, slow, and full of angst and rough guitar. Outside, with the music still playing, we see the insanely muscular bouncer counting some cash. I mean, this guy's huge! Then out of the dark, Darla approaches, all slow-motion and gleefully threatening. She's practically skipping in anticipation of the fun she's about to have, like a kid at Christmas, and she's got a gang of vampires behind her. They advance towards the club, and you just know those enormous muscles aren't gonna do the bouncer a bit of good. It's an amazingly effective shot, and when they cut away for commercial, I'm on the edge of my seat. Not bad for a show I thought was gonna be some slightly-entertaining brain candy.

I kinda love this show.

The vampires grab the bouncer, drag him inside, then spread out and cut the power. Emergency lights flood the stage, where Luke stands now striking some very healthy panic in the hearts of The Bronze's patrons as he informs them that they will all die tonight. Then the bouncer is brought forward. He wonders what's wrong with this gang's faces, then Luke sinks his fangs into the bouncer's throat, and we see The Master underground getting stronger.

Outside, the cavalry has finally arrived. Buffy charges the others with getting the people to safety while she deals with the vampires. Xander wants to hurry before Jesse does something horrible, but Giles vehemently insists that Jesse is dead. The thing they still call Jesse may have his memories, but he's now an undead demon.

While the gang searches for a way in, Luke continues to feed. The Master cries out for more, rejoicing that he's almost free. Jesse protests when Darla grabs Cordelia for Luke to drink. Buffy's finally found a way in. She recognizes Luke as The Vessel, then is spotted by a vampire. Just as Luke's about to bite Cordelia, he's interrupted by the sound of said vampire plummeting from the catwalk to the floor below. Cordelia's face here is utterly priceless. Cracks me up every time. Buffy flips off the railing to land on the pool table, and Luke pushes Cordelia away in favor of the Slayer.

Buffy greets him with a spinning kick to the face, then pulls a stake, which he bats away. Giles, Willow, and Xander, in the meantime, have finally managed to open the back door and begin evacuating the assembled crowd as quietly as possible. As Buffy knocks Luke down, she sees a vampire grab Xander. She grabs a cymbal from the drum set onstage and tosses it like a frisbee, beheading the vampire cleanly. But she takes a second to enjoy her triumph, and Luke grabs her from behind. Xander sees Jesse about to bite Cordelia and intervenes. Giles, looking around for more people to help to safety, is tackled by Darla.

Just as Luke leans in to bite Buffy, she brings her head back sharply, cracking him in the forehead, and he recoils. Willow sees Giles in danger and goes to his rescue, throwing a jar of holy water in Darla's face. With her skin smoking, Darla screams and runs from the club. And while Xander holds a stake to Jesse's heart (okay, his collarbone, but we'll pretend), someone bumps into Jesse, pushing him onto the stake. Jesse's dusted.

Onstage, Buffy hoists a microphone stand like a spear. Luke reminds her that metal can't hurt him, but Buffy says he's forgotten something too - sunrise. Then she throws the stand through a window. It shatters, light pours in, and Luke shields his face, howling against the sunlight. Except that it's not sunlight, it's just a floodlight on the building next door. With Luke temporarily distracted, Buffy grabs her stake again and plunges it through his back. He falls from the stage in an explosion of dust, and underground, The Master screams in frustration as the link which strengthened him is severed.

Back at The Bronze, the last two vampires have grabbed Xander. But when they look at the girl who just dusted The Vessel, she turns to them with a gaze so fierce that they flee the club. As they sprint down the alley, Angel steps out of the shadows to watch them go, remarking with surprise, relief, and not a little bit of awe that, "She did it. I'll be damned." Inside the club, our heroes stand proud but weary. They averted the apocalypse. And nothing for them will ever be the same.

Except that at school the next bright, cheerful morning, everything appears just the same as any other bright, cheerful day. Cordelia's telling a friend there was some weird rival gang thing going on at The Bronze the night before, and she remembers them being seriously ugly. And naturally, she remembers how weird it was that Buffy seemed to know them. But by and large, life goes on as normal. Then Giles lets us in on another rule of life on the Hellmouth. "People have a tendency to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't." This tendency is going to come in extremely handy for a town that's located over the mouth to hell. Willow's surprised when Giles mentions "the next time" something like this happens, but he reminds them all that just because they stopped The Harvest doesn't mean that The Master will give up. Not to mention all the other dangers and demons that will gravitate to Sunnydale, thanks to the aforementioned Hellmouth.

Gee, Buffy muses, maybe she can still get kicked out of school or something. Oh, dear. Once again, Buffy, with the tempting fate. Be careful with that, will you? Willow suggests Buffy might consider blowing something up since they're very strict about that. Oookay, we'll add that to the "tempting fate" column as well while we're at it. Then as he watches the three kids walk away, Giles pushes up his glasses and cheerfully remarks, "The earth is doomed."

Thoughts

Yep, I definitely kinda love this show. It could use some work on stuff like fight choreography, but that's parsley. Once again, for the mountain of exposition they had to cram into an hour, the show kept a really tight pace. If the last episode was about introducing the characters, this one explores the rules of vampires and the Hellmouth. The characters still get some great work - Xander in particular - but this one's about info and action. And it delivers on both counts. It might not stand against the action spectaculars we've seen in recent seasons, but for the second episode of a new show, I'm completely blown away.

How is it that I'm so shocked and sad to see that Jesse's dead? He was the least developed of a pack of brand-new faces, but it's still very effective. Especially when it's mirrored in Xander's reaction. Joss commented about this episode that he wanted to set the rules early on that nobody's safe. He actually wanted to put Jesse in the opening credits so it would be an even bigger shock, but decided against it. Looks like he held onto that idea for later. Thanks, Joss.

The biggest triumph of the episode, I think, is seeing the gang come together. Buffy's got a greater sense of responsibility than she came to town with. She seems like she understands her duty now, even if she's still not thrilled about it. Giles, Willow, and Xander are also taking to their roles, each assisting as they think best. Willow seems particularly happy to be able to contribute, even if she's not doing anything as active as fighting vampires herself. Still, she manages to save Giles' bacon when Darla jumps him. And Giles and Willow prove to be quite the research duo! Xander gets in over his head, but he's so earnest and resolved to help that he's clearly going to be another valuable addition to the team.

Can I just say how much I love The Master? He isn't really a fan favourite, but he's definitely one of mine. He's just so very melodramatic. Mark Metcalf doesn't overplay him, though. In fact, with the dialogue he's given, it would be tempting to try to subdue the character a bit. But Metcalf lets himself have fun with such an over-the-top bad guy. And weirdly enough, he does such a great job that I'm almost sad for him when he crumples on the floor after Luke's defeat. That'll become a trademark of the Buffy villains to come. They're by and large an enjoyable bunch, often very funny, and always with some odd quirk to them that makes me like them despite myself.

Angel, of course, is still a bit of a wild card. So more on him later in the season, yes?

Quirks

Hey, anybody know what was up with the glow-in-the-dark vampire eyes in the tunnels? I get that they can kinda flash all gold and stuff, but that Halloween costume day-glo green? They haven't done it since. And I'm not even remotely upset that they haven't.

If Cordelia said there's no cover charge on Friday nights, why are people giving money to the bouncer?

I'm still impressed that Xander somehow managed to stake Jesse through the collarbone.

After the big fight, where did the bodies of Luke's club victims go?

Body Count

Jesse - presumably killed by Luke, then dusted by Xander
3-4 Misc vampires - All Buffy's - 2 or 3 staked, 1 beheaded
Bouncer & Blonde Victim - drained by Luke
Luke - staked good and proper by our hero, Buffy

Haiku

The computer lab
Cordy's being really mean
"Deliver" to send

Master is displeased
You let Buffy get away
Something in your eye

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