The thing about Spike is that when he has the advantage, he fights and when he doesn't, he retreats. That's why he's killed two slayers and is still "alive" while a lot of other vampires are dust.
yes, a lot of people don't seem to understand that just because spike killed two slayers doesn't mean he killed them both on the first attempt. most vampires don't survive their first encounter with the slayer. spike's success directly derives from his stronger sense of self-preservation.
So, obviously the actual reason why the Anointed One was killed off is because he's played by a child actor, children have a tendency to visibly age and have growth spurts, so he couldn't really last that long while playing a character who is a vampire who never ages. But it also does a great job of announcing that the show is changing: the old-school destiny ancient ritual guy vampire is killed off, and the more modern vampire who looks like a rocker, doesn't care about ancient traditions, and just wants to have fun killing people with his girlfriend is the one who killed him.
Also, strategically speaking he was a problem plot. Having introduced a child villain Buffy would of course have to fight and kill him eventually and... well killing a kid is a weird move for your shows hero. In comes Spike villain enough to kill a kid without it being weird and rebel enough to not care who the kid is in the vampire world. Problem solved neatly.
2 comments... 1) I've noticed that male reactors especially always seem to want to suggest Buffy should wear stilettos with stake heels to fight vampires. Stiletto heels are hard enough to WALK in, much less run and fight. The chunky heel boots that Buffy wears a lot, those are actually quite comfortable and much better for balance. 2) This show and stakes - if you watch how the vampire is staked, you'll notice that if the stake doesn't get pulled out immediately, it gets dusted along with the vampire and its clothing. Whenever Buffy (or whoever else may be staking) keeps the stake in hand and pulls it back immediately, it's fine. It may be just for the sake of having fights last longer and more creative methods of killing the vampires, but Buffy seems to leave the stake in fairly often and loses it to dust.
One of the most iconic scenes in the whole show when Spike ( one of the greatest characters in The Buffyverse ) rolls into town and drives right over the Sunnydale sign. School Hard is one of the greatest episodes of S2. James Marsters was so impressive in the role, he became an instant fan favourite. Some great writing in this episode, when Xander goes to get Buffy's bag and pulls out a yoyo, tampon and then stake, this shows Buffy from child, to teenager, to adolescent showing how she is growing up. Great too when Joyce clobbers Spike on the head with the axe. All in all a great episode for early S2 with Angel/Spike/Drusilla who have a shared history through the centuries to add to the arc of the Season.
Mikey is correct that they already said Angel was one of the worst vampires. In s1 the Master said he was one of the most viscious creatures he had ever seen. I also think Snyder turned off the light to tell the parents he wanted them to leave now. He's a rude principal but other arguments could be made I spose.
It's not portrayed very often in the show, but Buffy is constantly involved in "incidents" at school. Everything from poor class preparation and cutting classes to putting various bullies in check. Snider has an exaggerated fixation on her, probably because she threatens him in every way possible. She's beautiful, utterly fearless, physically confident and competent, unimpressed by authority and from time to time radiates a certain lethal intensity. The Annoying One was written out because the child actor hit a growth spurt and already looked significantly different than in the previous season, that's why he was filmed sitting down so much.. We need a leader board for Mikey's head canon conspiracy theories.
Notice that the vampire that Spike sacrifices to Buffy at the Bronze when he announces himself to her, is the same vampire who claimed to be at the crucifixion. Spike was not juat testing Buffy, to learn how she fights, but he was also getting rid of a potential rival to him taking over the vampire gang.
Mikey is correct in terms of thinking Slayers die pretty quickly once chosen. There are a LOT of vampires, and most Slayers do work alone, Giles had tried to get Buffy to keep her identity as the Slayer a secret, but the secret got out because Xander happened to be in the library and overheard them talking. Slayers are not selected from a specific bloodline - "one girl in all the world" not "one girl from a particular bloodline." One dies, another girl in her early teens becomes the Slayer. And "one GIRL" - not one woman - because they generally don't make it to adulthood. It sucks to be the Slayer, because they only have to lose to a vampire once. Think of it as sooner or later the Slayer is going to roll a nat 1 and/or the vampire she's fighting is going to roll a nat 20... Joe might be right that Principal Snyder knows more than a normal principal might, as we see him talking with the cop in charge about "the usual story" - clearly the authorities in this town are keeping a lis on things. BUT it was also pretty clear that Principal Flutie didn't seem to know about the supernatural...if there was a secret government agency keeping track of the Hellmouth to keep it from spreading, why would they just be putting a guy under cover as the principal after Flutie died? So it isn't clear how much Snyder knows, only that he knows more than Flutie did. WAY too much emphasis on the turning out of the light. THE EVENT WAS OVER!!! It had already gone longer than intended because he didn't manage to get his meeting until the very end of the event. As the principal it was Snyder"s JOB to turn out the lights at the school once everyone leaves, and you do that one room at a time if you have to. Gotta not waste electricity! The timing isn't that suspicious if you realize that Spike was waiting for some of the crowd to clear out. When the lights started going out he figured there would be few enough folks remaining, he might as well go in - he'd probably been watching people leave in case Buffy and her mom left early, since his focus is the Slayer, killing other's is just icing on the cake, jot part of the mission. One reason Spike is still around despite having slain two Slayers is that he IS willing to run away, rather than keep fighting when the odds turn against him. He's smarter than your average vampire. He studied Buffy, and now, realizing she has backup from family and friends, he needs time to rethink his approach. He's just lucky Joyce hit him with the side of the axe rather than the edge... Spike is awesome, love Joe's fanboying!
Yeah, I’ve noticed some reactors make more out of some things seen onscreen than they should. It’s like they’ve seen too many “making a movie” retrospectives. Sometimes a light switch is just a light switch.
Kinda sad you guys didn’t get the diehard reference, but loving how badly this show has you all spiraling! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it this early in the season; man are you in for one heck of a ride.
Buffy to Spike "No, it is going to hurt a lot!" Never truer words were spoken. Yes! Goodbye vampire brat child. One of the worst ideas the show had. That kid was not up to the task to be a big bad. Spike and Dru! Let's go!
Spike and Dru are great characters, so happy they're finally here. Spike is smart. He'll run if he knows he's going to lose a fight. He knows how to survive. The actor, James Marsters is actually from Texas and Anthony Stewart Head gave him coaching for his British accent. As a Brit myself it's a pretty good one! This episode is a fan favourite - there's some debate as to whether this is the episode that really kicks off the series as a whole, it's certainly a great one.
Just as a point of order, you keep saying Spike is 200 years old but Giles actually said that he was NOT EVEN 200 years old and in fact was closer to 126 years old.
Vampires don't age, preadolescent boys do, hence no more Annoying One. Joyce hit Spike with the flat of the axe blade. She thought he was a human so she wasn't trying to kill him.
Spike!!! Yea!!! This episode is one of two episodes, along with _Prophecy Girl,_ that shows turning point for the series. _Prophecy Girl_ by uping the stakes on writing and closing out season 1 and this episode by both introducing a S2 arc while having said S2 character finish out the remnants of S1 AKA killing "The Annoying One" while saying less ritual, more fun. Snyder has a point with Buffy and Shiela's punishment considering their long lists of fighting, class skipping etc. But he is also judging their records of burning buildings down and stabbing teachers. The only thing Snyder actually did wrong was not having staff watch them during preperation time. And when it comes to Joyce just before Spike enters, she is also judging Buffy on her record because she's been doing that for 15 episodes. Buffy letting Shiela go when she had the oppertunity to stake her puts anything Shiela does afterwards on Buffy's shoulders. At least Xander saying "nothing bad's gonna happen" before Spike shows up is superstition. Spike equated "Sire" to "Yoda" aka teacher/mentor. Not that it might not mean more, but Spike specifically used it for mentor. I loved Buffy's mom hitting Spike in the head with an axe as Buffy was down for the count. Spike was smart in running away. No other vampire considers it. They fight even when losing and that's how a slayer wins against most vampires. Spike knew Buffy had regained ground and was now defending her mom. At that point he knew to stay alive, he needed to leave. He's also the first character, good or bad, to recognize the slayer having family and friends is a good thing for her by knowing it's bad for him ("A Slayer with family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure"). Angel is 240+ and the book Giles was reading said Spike was barely 200. Remember what Giles said at the end of _The Harvest:_ "People tend to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't." That is a big deal line when thinking about how many characters act, and in what regaurd, about the supernatural. In this episode that means those that believe Snyder's gang of PCP cover up. I think we've seen Snyder in too many daylight situations to say he's a vampire. Just having the job he has in California would be too risky as a vampire, in my opinion.
30:00 There’s a lot of supposition going on here. Just because Spike calls Dru “weak” doesn’t mean she’s malnourished or won’t feed. She could be injured and recovering or it might be a mystical curse or something. A lot of options when you don’t have the information to back up or form a comprehensive theory. Luckily, the longer the show runs the more background the show doles out for us which should cut down on the irresponsible speculations, lol
School Hard is a play on Die Hard. She even climbs through a vent. This is the beginning of S2. The show was good with third episodes. Robia (Ms. Calendar) is two weeks older than Charisma. And a year older than Nick (Xander). The Annoying One had to go as the kid was aging too quickly. The Annoying One has power. Power doesn't necessarily equal strength. We never found out what his power was. I think they had more in mind fir hom, but he isn't supposed to age, but the kid did. Snyder wasn't helping the vampires. It's just a plot hole that he turned off the lights with people still there. Is he evil? Maybe. The Master was not the first vampire, just an old one. There is only one Slayer on the planet at a time. They are solitary, so it us possible for non-vampires to mot know about them. Joyce hit Spike with the side of the axe. That's why he wasn't cut.
There is nothing in the show that would suggest the Master was the original vampire. Strong, old, with lots of influence and noticeable magic skills, sure. But original? I doubt that.
Definitely not, they even cover original vampires later on. But I can kinda see at this point why someone might think that about the Master, or theorize it at least, but it was said.
Such a great episode! That ending was shocking but very welcome. (The fandom hates the "annoying" one. But the actor just got too big too quickly. It's why he was mostly sitting in his scenes here. Always been curious what they had originally planned for his character) And we have great villains who plan ahead and have a will to survive for once (and don't attack the Slayer without a plan and retreat before they can be defeated). Yes, Drusilla is "special" but super charismatic. Also apparently soulless vampires can be in love/in a relationship. Super interesting to explore the Buffyverse further! Welcome to Season 2 🤗
Juliet Landau (Drusilla) - daughter of Martin Landau (Oscar for best supporting actor in Ed Wood for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, 3 consecutive Emmy award nominations) & Barbara Bain (3 consecutive Emmy awards fot best actress in a drama) - they were a powerhouse in Mission: Impossible (1966-1969 - see above Emmy notations), worked together again in Space: 1999 (1975-1977) and have prodigious listings in both film and television. Juliet has great acting genes and Drusilla is role she can really sink her teeth into.
The movie helps make it a bit clearer that slayers do tend to be on borrowed time, most don’t make it out of their teens. I think the show has already hinted that and I think perhaps mentions it more directly within the first couple seasons.
Fun reaction and darn good commentary. Your speculation is very similar to the way we would talk after an episode. You’ll get a few semi right , most wrong , and some right but in the wrong way. Don’t let comments bother you, it’s fun watching and helps original fans remember what we were feeling. You are right about Spike and Drusilla changing the Vampire dynamic. One of the strengths of BTVS is taking the norm and flipping the script. Every girl that watched Buffy were all… every single one…talked about Spike and how handsome/ cool/sexy….on and on. A star was born and every girl I knew wanted to know about Drusilla. There are many reasons this is an important episode but one that is not on the screen or script is what happened in homes watching. After this episode the ratings climbed and Buffy was here to stay. The network, the WB, told Joss Whedon of their plan to move Buffy from it’s Monday night time period and it would start on Tuesday in January. At this time the network had no original programming on Tuesday, they were dark.Crazy. Take a show that had no build up or expectations in March and then decide it will be the benchmark of the entire network and start a night on its own. Then take the most expensive new show and have it premiere after Buffy. Yes, crazy. It worked and for millions, Tuesday became Buffy night. I tell you this because of the way Joss Whedon had to shot and story board the season. Some stories may seem out of place and not related to the overall narrative but he had to make sure he kept his audience when the move happened. He knew he had to make sure his audience understood and moved… hard to do in television and he also knew he would have little or no outside advertising. Lastly, I commend how you are noticing the police and principal has the government.Very good pick up. The 3 barriers that Buffy must fight on her journey to being an independent and strong woman are : societal, structural, and governmental /organizational. Those barriers are the weekly fight and you are one of the first to see and react. Marcie being taken by the government in Season 1 is often forgotten but it is one of the first representations of how authorities deal with the different challenges to their policies of order. Very few notice this obstacle and spot the others. You are ahead of the game.
Thank you for enlightening us on some of the back story regarding the original airing as well as how our theories were similar to the original theories! We can't wait to learn more about Dru, Spike, Angel and the principal!
I love absolutely everything about this post-episode discussion. You guys hold on to all your theories and speculation, because holy CRAP is that going to get interesting down the line.
traditionally Slayers fought alone (aside from their watcher) so Spike was able to kill the other two Slayers because they had no one...Buffy has friends and family...he didn't expect that. Snyder and the police know about the supernatural, they are being paid to try and keep it hidden.
The Master is the OLDEST and he represent a side of vampirism that is different to Angel and Spike...he represents the old ways. The Master sired Darla, why i won't say becuse that's a spoiler...you need to see the Angel TV series for that. Darla is the oldest of the four notorious vampires (Darla, Angel, Spike and Drusilla). Darla sired Angel (which she mentioned in the episode "Angel" of Season 1) and you will find out in due course how Spike and Drusilla were sired. what isn't mentioned in the TV series much is that these four traveled across the world together and in that time they were known as "The Whirlwind" and they massacred entire countries, Spike mentioned the Boxer Rebellion and that was part of that story.
Technically the story from the movie is canon, i think theres a comic that changes the ending of the movie so that the school burns down so snyder thinks she a troublemaker because she burned down her old school
Not to mention, Buffy is known for getting into fights and skips school. From the outside perspective, of course, she would look like a troublemaker. If part of why Joyce struggles a bit with Buffy. Even on the second day of school in season 1 she was already getting calls about Buffy skipping school...
There are four vampires every well informed person should know about: Angel, Darla, Drusilla and Spike...needless to say they all have infamous histories of their own and without spoiling anything i can say they are all extremely dangerous. Darla only briefly appears in Buffy in the present but we see her in many flashbacks. As Darla stated she made Angel, she sired him...question is who sired Drusilla and Spike?
Love your guys' reactions! This one has some really subtle info in it (some might say too subtle lol) and one of the things it took me years to realize is that Buffy is being blamed for burning down the old school lab in the last episode with the Frankenstein plot. They don't do a good job of tying that together and so for the longest time I thought they were referring to the gym she burned down at her old school that they repeatedly refer to in season 1. But maybe that's just me lol. In general there are very subtle info drops that can sometimes take several rewatches to catch. Which is why some of us have spent almost 30 years coming back to it 😂 Enjoy the ride!
One of the great things about Buffy is that she is NOT a Mary Sue. She is amazing but has flaws and one of the more trivial ones is that she's an incredibly bad liar. "she doesn't speak a word of English" lol.
The principal hates the students and his job, he knows about the supernatural. He treated the parent teacher evening like a party and turned the lights off to signal to people to leave. He seems to hate Buffy because she's a strong personality, she's smart and he's watching her because in his mind, he doesn't want to look like a fool if she does what she did at her last school. I think that Snyder might have been sent to Sunnydale as a punishment or something, he's more focused on avoiding trouble to stay employed rather than helping students. The cops can't handle these demons, they must have seen all kind of stuff and I doubt regular people like them and Snyder know about the slayer.
The Principal turned the lights off because it was a school event where Willow had been running interference all evening, and Mom finally ran into them at the very end of the scheduled event. The Principal expected his tirade with Mom to run late.
You might want to take.a refresher course on how classic unfolding narratives like novels work. You also might want to refresh yourselves about how metaphor and allegory work too.
I was waiting for you guys to talk more about Buffy’s mom. Her wonderful pep talks. I don’t want to be disappointed is you again. Principal Snyder said you were a trouble maker, and I don’t care. The teenage things you do are stupid but you can take care of yourself so I don’t really care. I don’t need to. Different opinions???
@@Square-ow7oq@Square-ow7oq, what you actually said was, "Ugh, spike groupies are so cringe," with no qualifiers. You are entitled to your opinion, even if *I* find it "cringe."
YOU GUYS DON'T EVEN KNOW!! James Marsters rapidly became everyone's favourite bad guy, as our long-leather-coated Spike - he brings an energy to the show that was sadly missing until now - an opponent we're *interested* in. Add in that Spike and Angel have a connection too, and it's all deliciously drama filled. You'll learn Dru's part in the woven history eventually. Ahh... Spike's here. The show has all it's winning ingredients - now it's in the process of mixing to perfection...
I didn't realize Spike came in this early! so fun theorizing about tinfoil hat ideas! keep them coming! indeed, Drusilla being a former slayer is a really cool idea for a plot point. what was that discussion about 16 years? Do we know how slayers are "born"? if it's an Avatar thing where one is born the moment the previous one is dead, that will leave large portions of time, (at the least 10 years) where there is no protector around. it would also be a very heavy hunt for the new one each time, since killing a small child would be much simpler than killing a teenager.
So happy we are here! So much to love in this one from the arrival of Spike & Dru to Willow's dating math & telling Cordella to have some lemonade. Your discussion was great with tinfoil theories flying every which way...made me recall some of your Expanse reactions with Joe acting as a moderator of sorts. Funny that you guys didn't pick up that the episode title School Hard and the episode itself were referencing Die Hard. Still keep up the good work guys!
As far as power levels go I would say the slayer is like Captain America strength level, maybe a bit lower at this point. She's definitely stronger than the strongest man, but she's not on Spiderman level of superhuman strength.
I'm so loving your "Buffy" reactions guys. I'd love to see you three following in the footsteps of "The Horror Bandwagon" ( another reaction channel ) and like them react to another show of this time called "Charmed" ( it's about three witches who are sisters ) along side your Buffy reactions each week. Charmed is 8 seasons | 178 episodes. ( Buffy - 7 seasons | 144 episodes )
@732ReviewCrew You are very welcome. You three would love it. Charmed aired on The WB staring Oct 7, 1998 along side it's sister series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer ", which began airing March 10, 1997. ( so Charmed began around when episode 3x4 of Buffy aired ) Not sure if you know of it's cast or not but it stars Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs as the Halliwell sisters. Here's hoping we will see your reactions to this amazing series very very soon.
Have you guys seen the tv series "Alias" starring Jennifer Garner,Bradley Cooper,Victor Garber. Jennifer does 80% of her own stunts. It's got action,drama,suspense,romance,mystery, it's got everything . It's such a great show.
Oh, everyone stop your spazzing and bellyaching. I didn't say who. It's just one of those instances where the writers must have forgotten Spike had said that.
![Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance [3] - Slimy Sewer Sequel](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NzV-njSubnE/mqdefault.jpg)
The thing about Spike is that when he has the advantage, he fights and when he doesn't, he retreats. That's why he's killed two slayers and is still "alive" while a lot of other vampires are dust.
yes, a lot of people don't seem to understand that just because spike killed two slayers doesn't mean he killed them both on the first attempt. most vampires don't survive their first encounter with the slayer. spike's success directly derives from his stronger sense of self-preservation.
AH he must've learned from Angel maybe!
@@732ReviewCrew All will eventually be revealed.
Yeah, a lot of people don't get this and can't reconcile him running away with his badassary. They make sense when you understand him.
So, obviously the actual reason why the Anointed One was killed off is because he's played by a child actor, children have a tendency to visibly age and have growth spurts, so he couldn't really last that long while playing a character who is a vampire who never ages. But it also does a great job of announcing that the show is changing: the old-school destiny ancient ritual guy vampire is killed off, and the more modern vampire who looks like a rocker, doesn't care about ancient traditions, and just wants to have fun killing people with his girlfriend is the one who killed him.
That makes more sense!
Also, strategically speaking he was a problem plot. Having introduced a child villain Buffy would of course have to fight and kill him eventually and... well killing a kid is a weird move for your shows hero. In comes Spike villain enough to kill a kid without it being weird and rebel enough to not care who the kid is in the vampire world. Problem solved neatly.
2 comments...
1) I've noticed that male reactors especially always seem to want to suggest Buffy should wear stilettos with stake heels to fight vampires. Stiletto heels are hard enough to WALK in, much less run and fight. The chunky heel boots that Buffy wears a lot, those are actually quite comfortable and much better for balance.
2) This show and stakes - if you watch how the vampire is staked, you'll notice that if the stake doesn't get pulled out immediately, it gets dusted along with the vampire and its clothing. Whenever Buffy (or whoever else may be staking) keeps the stake in hand and pulls it back immediately, it's fine. It may be just for the sake of having fights last longer and more creative methods of killing the vampires, but Buffy seems to leave the stake in fairly often and loses it to dust.
One of the most iconic scenes in the whole show when Spike ( one of the greatest characters in The Buffyverse ) rolls into town and drives right over the Sunnydale sign. School Hard is one of the greatest episodes of S2. James Marsters was so impressive in the role, he became an instant fan favourite. Some great writing in this episode, when Xander goes to get Buffy's bag and pulls out a yoyo, tampon and then stake, this shows Buffy from child, to teenager, to adolescent showing how she is growing up. Great too when Joyce clobbers Spike on the head with the axe. All in all a great episode for early S2 with Angel/Spike/Drusilla who have a shared history through the centuries to add to the arc of the Season.
Mikey is correct that they already said Angel was one of the worst vampires. In s1 the Master said he was one of the most viscious creatures he had ever seen.
I also think Snyder turned off the light to tell the parents he wanted them to leave now. He's a rude principal but other arguments could be made I spose.
"School Hard" is a play on "Die Hard".
OHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGG
This makes so much more sense
OOOHHH! well, in hindsight it really makes sense!
It's not portrayed very often in the show, but Buffy is constantly involved in "incidents" at school. Everything from poor class preparation and cutting classes to putting various bullies in check.
Snider has an exaggerated fixation on her, probably because she threatens him in every way possible. She's beautiful, utterly fearless, physically confident and competent, unimpressed by authority and from time to time radiates a certain lethal intensity.
The Annoying One was written out because the child actor hit a growth spurt and already looked significantly different than in the previous season, that's why he was filmed sitting down so much..
We need a leader board for Mikey's head canon conspiracy theories.
Ahhh the annoited one makes sense but also the incidents make sense now too
Don't forget she set the gym at her last school on fire.
@@startingQB Yeah, but that gym was full of asbestos.
Notice that the vampire that Spike sacrifices to Buffy at the Bronze when he announces himself to her, is the same vampire who claimed to be at the crucifixion. Spike was not juat testing Buffy, to learn how she fights, but he was also getting rid of a potential rival to him taking over the vampire gang.
Mikey is correct in terms of thinking Slayers die pretty quickly once chosen. There are a LOT of vampires, and most Slayers do work alone, Giles had tried to get Buffy to keep her identity as the Slayer a secret, but the secret got out because Xander happened to be in the library and overheard them talking.
Slayers are not selected from a specific bloodline - "one girl in all the world" not "one girl from a particular bloodline." One dies, another girl in her early teens becomes the Slayer. And "one GIRL" - not one woman - because they generally don't make it to adulthood. It sucks to be the Slayer, because they only have to lose to a vampire once. Think of it as sooner or later the Slayer is going to roll a nat 1 and/or the vampire she's fighting is going to roll a nat 20...
Joe might be right that Principal Snyder knows more than a normal principal might, as we see him talking with the cop in charge about "the usual story" - clearly the authorities in this town are keeping a lis on things. BUT it was also pretty clear that Principal Flutie didn't seem to know about the supernatural...if there was a secret government agency keeping track of the Hellmouth to keep it from spreading, why would they just be putting a guy under cover as the principal after Flutie died? So it isn't clear how much Snyder knows, only that he knows more than Flutie did.
WAY too much emphasis on the turning out of the light. THE EVENT WAS OVER!!! It had already gone longer than intended because he didn't manage to get his meeting until the very end of the event. As the principal it was Snyder"s JOB to turn out the lights at the school once everyone leaves, and you do that one room at a time if you have to. Gotta not waste electricity!
The timing isn't that suspicious if you realize that Spike was waiting for some of the crowd to clear out. When the lights started going out he figured there would be few enough folks remaining, he might as well go in - he'd probably been watching people leave in case Buffy and her mom left early, since his focus is the Slayer, killing other's is just icing on the cake, jot part of the mission.
One reason Spike is still around despite having slain two Slayers is that he IS willing to run away, rather than keep fighting when the odds turn against him. He's smarter than your average vampire. He studied Buffy, and now, realizing she has backup from family and friends, he needs time to rethink his approach. He's just lucky Joyce hit him with the side of the axe rather than the edge...
Spike is awesome, love Joe's fanboying!
Yeah, I’ve noticed some reactors make more out of some things seen onscreen than they should. It’s like they’ve seen too many “making a movie” retrospectives. Sometimes a light switch is just a light switch.
Kinda sad you guys didn’t get the diehard reference, but loving how badly this show has you all spiraling! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it this early in the season; man are you in for one heck of a ride.
It's funny because we watched Die Hard for Christmas but didn't equate this 😂
Buffy to Spike "No, it is going to hurt a lot!" Never truer words were spoken. Yes! Goodbye vampire brat child. One of the worst ideas the show had. That kid was not up to the task to be a big bad. Spike and Dru! Let's go!
He didn't have the charisma Spike does! He was originally just creepy
F=ma. Even a chair, if thrown hard enough (like by The Slayer), will knock somebody down.
Spike and Dru are great characters, so happy they're finally here. Spike is smart. He'll run if he knows he's going to lose a fight. He knows how to survive. The actor, James Marsters is actually from Texas and Anthony Stewart Head gave him coaching for his British accent. As a Brit myself it's a pretty good one! This episode is a fan favourite - there's some debate as to whether this is the episode that really kicks off the series as a whole, it's certainly a great one.
That's interesting. I'm not British, but i thought it was a good accent too. I also think Alexis Denisoff did a good accent as Wesley.
@@akellerhouse83 Wesley's is even better if I'm being honest. Genuinely sounds British to my ears
@Swooshez90 yeah I was legitimately surprised to hear his American accent when I saw him in How I Met Your Mother. Lol
Wow, I’ve watched Buffy & Angel for 25 years & never knew Alexis Denisoff wasn’t British.
Giles helping him learn the accent is wholesome!!
Spike and Drusilla are some of the most interesting vampire characters ever created!
Just as a point of order, you keep saying Spike is 200 years old but Giles actually said that he was NOT EVEN 200 years old and in fact was closer to 126 years old.
Thank you
Vampires don't age, preadolescent boys do, hence no more Annoying One.
Joyce hit Spike with the flat of the axe blade. She thought he was a human so she wasn't trying to kill him.
Ahhh that makes sense to both things
Yay! Spike and Dru! 😝
Spike and Drusilla are such an iconic duo. You will absolutely love them.
"Pick up the crossbow Ms Calendar!" Yeah, works for me too...
Oooh! What might happen if she did use one?
Unfortunately, Buffy does not have a job (yet). What she has is a Calling, which is even worse.
Spike!!! Yea!!!
This episode is one of two episodes, along with _Prophecy Girl,_ that shows turning point for the series. _Prophecy Girl_ by uping the stakes on writing and closing out season 1 and this episode by both introducing a S2 arc while having said S2 character finish out the remnants of S1 AKA killing "The Annoying One" while saying less ritual, more fun.
Snyder has a point with Buffy and Shiela's punishment considering their long lists of fighting, class skipping etc. But he is also judging their records of burning buildings down and stabbing teachers. The only thing Snyder actually did wrong was not having staff watch them during preperation time. And when it comes to Joyce just before Spike enters, she is also judging Buffy on her record because she's been doing that for 15 episodes.
Buffy letting Shiela go when she had the oppertunity to stake her puts anything Shiela does afterwards on Buffy's shoulders. At least Xander saying "nothing bad's gonna happen" before Spike shows up is superstition.
Spike equated "Sire" to "Yoda" aka teacher/mentor. Not that it might not mean more, but Spike specifically used it for mentor.
I loved Buffy's mom hitting Spike in the head with an axe as Buffy was down for the count. Spike was smart in running away. No other vampire considers it. They fight even when losing and that's how a slayer wins against most vampires. Spike knew Buffy had regained ground and was now defending her mom. At that point he knew to stay alive, he needed to leave. He's also the first character, good or bad, to recognize the slayer having family and friends is a good thing for her by knowing it's bad for him ("A Slayer with family and friends. That sure as hell wasn't in the brochure").
Angel is 240+ and the book Giles was reading said Spike was barely 200.
Remember what Giles said at the end of _The Harvest:_ "People tend to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't." That is a big deal line when thinking about how many characters act, and in what regaurd, about the supernatural. In this episode that means those that believe Snyder's gang of PCP cover up.
I think we've seen Snyder in too many daylight situations to say he's a vampire. Just having the job he has in California would be too risky as a vampire, in my opinion.
Thank you for your wonderful comment and analysis. We can't wait to see more of Buffys mom being a bad ass ,she can't have just one event!
"He is trying to gaslight us!"
Impossible! Buffy fans would NEVER try to gaslight reactors!
Lol😂
To me, this is the episode where the show completely finds its identity, and all of the pieces fall into place.
We can see that! It felt like a whole dynamic shift!
I was going to talk about Juliet Landau's character; however, it occurred to me that this might be considered spoiler territory.
30:00
There’s a lot of supposition going on here. Just because Spike calls Dru “weak” doesn’t mean she’s malnourished or won’t feed. She could be injured and recovering or it might be a mystical curse or something. A lot of options when you don’t have the information to back up or form a comprehensive theory. Luckily, the longer the show runs the more background the show doles out for us which should cut down on the irresponsible speculations, lol
School Hard is a play on Die Hard. She even climbs through a vent.
This is the beginning of S2. The show was good with third episodes.
Robia (Ms. Calendar) is two weeks older than Charisma. And a year older than Nick (Xander).
The Annoying One had to go as the kid was aging too quickly. The Annoying One has power. Power doesn't necessarily equal strength. We never found out what his power was. I think they had more in mind fir hom, but he isn't supposed to age, but the kid did.
Snyder wasn't helping the vampires. It's just a plot hole that he turned off the lights with people still there. Is he evil? Maybe.
The Master was not the first vampire, just an old one.
There is only one Slayer on the planet at a time. They are solitary, so it us possible for non-vampires to mot know about them.
Joyce hit Spike with the side of the axe. That's why he wasn't cut.
There is nothing in the show that would suggest the Master was the original vampire. Strong, old, with lots of influence and noticeable magic skills, sure. But original? I doubt that.
Definitely not, they even cover original vampires later on. But I can kinda see at this point why someone might think that about the Master, or theorize it at least, but it was said.
Kissing toast was older
Hands down, one of the most off-the-rails Buffy reactions ever. My laugh-sides hurt. LOL LOL Great.
Glad you enjoyed it
Such a great episode! That ending was shocking but very welcome. (The fandom hates the "annoying" one. But the actor just got too big too quickly. It's why he was mostly sitting in his scenes here. Always been curious what they had originally planned for his character)
And we have great villains who plan ahead and have a will to survive for once (and don't attack the Slayer without a plan and retreat before they can be defeated). Yes, Drusilla is "special" but super charismatic. Also apparently soulless vampires can be in love/in a relationship. Super interesting to explore the Buffyverse further!
Welcome to Season 2 🤗
Juliet Landau (Drusilla) - daughter of Martin Landau (Oscar for best supporting actor in Ed Wood for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, 3 consecutive Emmy award nominations) & Barbara Bain (3 consecutive Emmy awards fot best actress in a drama) - they were a powerhouse in Mission: Impossible (1966-1969 - see above Emmy notations), worked together again in Space: 1999 (1975-1977) and have prodigious listings in both film and television. Juliet has great acting genes and Drusilla is role she can really sink her teeth into.
Hah hah, bloody funny!
The movie helps make it a bit clearer that slayers do tend to be on borrowed time, most don’t make it out of their teens. I think the show has already hinted that and I think perhaps mentions it more directly within the first couple seasons.
You're correct!
I would love for a reactor to actually start their Buffy journey watching the movie first and then starting the series.
Pretty sure when Spike called Angel his Yoda, he didn't mean that Angel used to be a tiny green goblin. As for this "sire" thing...
the chair was thrown with superhumans strength
see what a ping pong ball can go through if just fast enough
Fun reaction and darn good commentary. Your speculation is very similar to the way we would talk after an episode. You’ll get a few semi right , most wrong , and some right but in the wrong way. Don’t let comments bother you, it’s fun watching and helps original fans remember what we were feeling.
You are right about Spike and Drusilla changing the Vampire dynamic. One of the strengths of BTVS is taking the norm and flipping the script. Every girl that watched Buffy were all… every single one…talked about Spike and how handsome/ cool/sexy….on and on. A star was born and every girl I knew wanted to know about Drusilla. There are many reasons this is an important episode but one that is not on the screen or script is what happened in homes watching.
After this episode the ratings climbed and Buffy was here to stay. The network, the WB, told Joss Whedon of their plan to move Buffy from it’s Monday night time period and it would start on Tuesday in January. At this time the network had no original programming on Tuesday, they were dark.Crazy. Take a show that had no build up or expectations in March and then decide it will be the benchmark of the entire network and start a night on its own. Then take the most expensive new show and have it premiere after Buffy. Yes, crazy. It worked and for millions, Tuesday became Buffy night. I tell you this because of the way Joss Whedon had to shot and story board the season. Some stories may seem out of place and not related to the overall narrative but he had to make sure he kept his audience when the move happened. He knew he had to make sure his audience understood and moved… hard to do in television and he also knew he would have little or no outside advertising.
Lastly, I commend how you are noticing the police and principal has the government.Very good pick up. The 3 barriers that Buffy must fight on her journey to being an independent and strong woman are : societal, structural, and governmental /organizational. Those barriers are the weekly fight and you are one of the first to see and react. Marcie being taken by the government in Season 1 is often forgotten but it is one of the first representations of how authorities deal with the different challenges to their policies of order. Very few notice this obstacle and spot the others. You are ahead of the game.
Thank you for enlightening us on some of the back story regarding the original airing as well as how our theories were similar to the original theories! We can't wait to learn more about Dru, Spike, Angel and the principal!
I recommend starting to pay attention to the vampiric familial lineage that has been unfolding since the start of the show. Just a suggestion.
Done
I love absolutely everything about this post-episode discussion. You guys hold on to all your theories and speculation, because holy CRAP is that going to get interesting down the line.
Thank you :)
traditionally Slayers fought alone (aside from their watcher) so Spike was able to kill the other two Slayers because they had no one...Buffy has friends and family...he didn't expect that. Snyder and the police know about the supernatural, they are being paid to try and keep it hidden.
The Master is the OLDEST and he represent a side of vampirism that is different to Angel and Spike...he represents the old ways. The Master sired Darla, why i won't say becuse that's a spoiler...you need to see the Angel TV series for that. Darla is the oldest of the four notorious vampires (Darla, Angel, Spike and Drusilla). Darla sired Angel (which she mentioned in the episode "Angel" of Season 1) and you will find out in due course how Spike and Drusilla were sired. what isn't mentioned in the TV series much is that these four traveled across the world together and in that time they were known as "The Whirlwind" and they massacred entire countries, Spike mentioned the Boxer Rebellion and that was part of that story.
Yep! David Boreanaz is one of the lead actors in the cop drama show "Bones".
I love all Mikey and Joe's theories on the principal, and Mike' desire to know more about Druscilla. It's all very entertaining!
Technically the story from the movie is canon, i think theres a comic that changes the ending of the movie so that the school burns down so snyder thinks she a troublemaker because she burned down her old school
Not to mention, Buffy is known for getting into fights and skips school. From the outside perspective, of course, she would look like a troublemaker. If part of why Joyce struggles a bit with Buffy. Even on the second day of school in season 1 she was already getting calls about Buffy skipping school...
There are four vampires every well informed person should know about: Angel, Darla, Drusilla and Spike...needless to say they all have infamous histories of their own and without spoiling anything i can say they are all extremely dangerous. Darla only briefly appears in Buffy in the present but we see her in many flashbacks. As Darla stated she made Angel, she sired him...question is who sired Drusilla and Spike?
Love your guys' reactions! This one has some really subtle info in it (some might say too subtle lol) and one of the things it took me years to realize is that Buffy is being blamed for burning down the old school lab in the last episode with the Frankenstein plot. They don't do a good job of tying that together and so for the longest time I thought they were referring to the gym she burned down at her old school that they repeatedly refer to in season 1. But maybe that's just me lol.
In general there are very subtle info drops that can sometimes take several rewatches to catch. Which is why some of us have spent almost 30 years coming back to it 😂 Enjoy the ride!
Thank you for tying the scene together with the last episode, that makes sense considering the continuity
One of the great things about Buffy is that she is NOT a Mary Sue. She is amazing but has flaws and one of the more trivial ones is that she's an incredibly bad liar. "she doesn't speak a word of English" lol.
Love seeing a character who's strong but also still has to deal with life issues like actually trying to be a teenager
Giles read from his books that Spike ISN’T even 200yrs (unlike Angel who is 240ish)
Ah! Okay ty
Since you're all Ms Calendar's fans, you should watch the video for Prince's "Cream" and try to spot her ;)
SHE LOOKED SO DIFFERENT. I NEED A MISS CALENDAR... CALENDAR
@@732ReviewCrew XD
The principal hates the students and his job, he knows about the supernatural. He treated the parent teacher evening like a party and turned the lights off to signal to people to leave. He seems to hate Buffy because she's a strong personality, she's smart and he's watching her because in his mind, he doesn't want to look like a fool if she does what she did at her last school. I think that Snyder might have been sent to Sunnydale as a punishment or something, he's more focused on avoiding trouble to stay employed rather than helping students. The cops can't handle these demons, they must have seen all kind of stuff and I doubt regular people like them and Snyder know about the slayer.
The Principal turned the lights off because it was a school event where Willow had been running interference all evening, and Mom finally ran into them at the very end of the scheduled event. The Principal expected his tirade with Mom to run late.
You might want to take.a refresher course on how classic unfolding narratives like novels work. You also might want to refresh yourselves about how metaphor and allegory work too.
You might want to check your condescension...
school hard is such a gem
A whiteboard keeping track of your theories is a great idea!!! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
Gonna need like 4 white boards 😭
@@732ReviewCrew given this show, you might need 40 by the end! 😉
Ernest please! Too many theories
@@732ReviewCrew 144 episodes of Buffy...at X theories per episode... 🤷♂️
This is the real first episode of the show
I was waiting for you guys to talk more about Buffy’s mom. Her wonderful pep talks.
I don’t want to be disappointed is you again.
Principal Snyder said you were a trouble maker, and I don’t care.
The teenage things you do are stupid but you can take care of yourself so I don’t really care. I don’t need to.
Different opinions???
Keep it up guys, loving your reactions and commentary 👍
Thank you so much 😁
Such a great episode introducing the iconic Spike and Dru and with them, a change in tone and lore.
Feels like a change in pace too as things are starting to get spicy
Enter William the Bloody, who everyone knows as Spike.
Ugh spike groupies are so cringe
@@Square-ow7oqhe is just stating facts. Why is that cringe.
@dutchkel i did too. I said spikes groupies are cringe to me.
@@Square-ow7oq@Square-ow7oq, what you actually said was, "Ugh, spike groupies are so cringe," with no qualifiers. You are entitled to your opinion, even if *I* find it "cringe."
@@LeeCarlson exactly. Spike groupies are cringe.
YOU GUYS DON'T EVEN KNOW!!
James Marsters rapidly became everyone's favourite bad guy, as our long-leather-coated Spike - he brings an energy to the show that was sadly missing until now - an opponent we're *interested* in. Add in that Spike and Angel have a connection too, and it's all deliciously drama filled. You'll learn Dru's part in the woven history eventually.
Ahh... Spike's here. The show has all it's winning ingredients - now it's in the process of mixing to perfection...
Joe's brother was super excited to see Spike when he walked by and now we know why!
Agree with everything...except there are some more winning ingredients still to come. 😉
Hello spike and Drusilla!
I didn't realize Spike came in this early!
so fun theorizing about tinfoil hat ideas! keep them coming!
indeed, Drusilla being a former slayer is a really cool idea for a plot point.
what was that discussion about 16 years? Do we know how slayers are "born"? if it's an Avatar thing where one is born the moment the previous one is dead, that will leave large portions of time, (at the least 10 years) where there is no protector around. it would also be a very heavy hunt for the new one each time, since killing a small child would be much simpler than killing a teenager.
We really want to know how Slayers are made and we hope the show tells us
@@732ReviewCrew just hang in there.
So happy we are here! So much to love in this one from the arrival of Spike & Dru to Willow's dating math & telling Cordella to have some lemonade. Your discussion was great with tinfoil theories flying every which way...made me recall some of your Expanse reactions with Joe acting as a moderator of sorts.
Funny that you guys didn't pick up that the episode title School Hard and the episode itself were referencing Die Hard. Still keep up the good work guys!
Hello William...
As far as power levels go I would say the slayer is like Captain America strength level, maybe a bit lower at this point. She's definitely stronger than the strongest man, but she's not on Spiderman level of superhuman strength.
I'm so loving your "Buffy" reactions guys.
I'd love to see you three following in the footsteps of "The Horror Bandwagon" ( another reaction channel ) and like them react to another show of this time called "Charmed" ( it's about three witches who are sisters ) along side your Buffy reactions each week.
Charmed is 8 seasons | 178 episodes.
( Buffy - 7 seasons | 144 episodes )
We can look into that show , thank you so much for following along
@732ReviewCrew You are very welcome.
You three would love it.
Charmed aired on The WB staring Oct 7, 1998 along side it's sister series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer ", which began airing March 10, 1997.
( so Charmed began around when episode 3x4 of Buffy aired )
Not sure if you know of it's cast or not but it stars Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, and Holly Marie Combs as the Halliwell sisters.
Here's hoping we will see your reactions to this amazing series very very soon.
Have you guys seen the tv series "Alias" starring Jennifer Garner,Bradley Cooper,Victor Garber. Jennifer does 80% of her own stunts. It's got action,drama,suspense,romance,mystery, it's got everything . It's such a great show.
No we can peak into it!
Spike, ewwww. But Dru, yay!
The whole "sire" thing is one of the mistakes they made in writing. Later on it's revealed that it's not Angel who sired him, but someone else.
Can you not post spoilers?
That's a spoiler
Delete
People do not think before commenting. Stop posting spoilers.
Oh, everyone stop your spazzing and bellyaching. I didn't say who. It's just one of those instances where the writers must have forgotten Spike had said that.
Ah Spike at last a vampire (who is not the master or Darla ) with a personality