The Harvest (Buffy episode)
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |
|---|---|
| “The Harvest” | |
| Image:Buffy102.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 2 |
| Guest star(s) | Mark Metcalf (The Master) David Boreanaz (Angel) Ken Lerner (Principal Flutie) Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers) Julie Benz (Darla) Brian Thompson (Luke) Eric Balfour (Jesse) |
| Writer(s) | Joss Whedon |
| Director | Joss Whedon |
| Production no. | 4V02 |
| Original airdate | March 10th, 1997 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Welcome to the Hellmouth" | "Witch" |
"The Harvest" is the second episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.
Contents |
[edit] Plot synopsis
[edit] Summary
Buffy and Luke's fight ends with him being driven off by the cross that she is wearing. Buffy runs to save her friends, and she finds that Jesse has disappeared. She returns to school the next day, where she and Giles talk to Xander and Willow about who Buffy is and what she does. Buffy skips school to go back to the crypt, where she fought Luke, to find out how he got into the crypt. She goes down into the crypts, with Xander following her, against her wishes to try and find Jesse. They find him, but it's an ambush, and they must run for their lives. Back at school, the group makes plans to stop the Master from escaping his confinement. They go to the Bronze, where the vampires have already taken over. Buffy is able to defeat Luke, the Master's vessel, and stop the harvest, and the rest of the vampires are killed or escape. The next day things return to normal, and the gang goes back to being average high school teenagers, much to Giles' chagrin.
[edit] Expanded overview
This episode picks up where the series premier left off. Luke is about to finish off Buffy, who is trapped in a stone coffin, but is repelled by the silver cross that Angel gave her.
Buffy escapes the mausoleum and saves Xander and Willow from vampires in the graveyard. Darla has taken Jesse, however. She and Luke inform The Master that there is probably a Slayer in town. The Master decides to use Jesse as bait.
Giles and Buffy give Xander and Willow a brief introduction to the world of vampires, demons and Slayers. Willow accesses the city council's plans for Sunnydale's tunnel system. In a flashback, Buffy realizes that there must be an access to it in the crypt. Xander is hurt when Buffy declines his help and follows her anyway.
Willow is researching the Master in the computer lab when Cordelia trash-talks about Buffy and insults Willow again. In a fine show of nerd revenge, Willow convinces Cordelia to press the DEL key to "deliver" her assignment. It ended up erasing her hard work.
The dark stranger appears just as Buffy is about to enter the tunnel system in the crypt. He is named Angel. He gives her directions to The Master's lair, but only wishes her luck after she is out of earshot.
Xander catches up with Buffy. They find Jesse, who leads them into a trap. They barely escape, with Xander pulling Buffy out of a manhole. Underground, The Master is unhappy about their escape and punishes the vampire Collin by poking his eye out. Luke drinks the Master's blood, making him the Vessel. Every soul Luke now takes will give the Master more strength to break out of his confinement.
Buffy and Xander return to the library. Giles explains that the Master arrived 60 years ago to open the Hellmouth, a portal to another reality, but was swallowed by an earthquake. He is now hoping to escape with the help of a Vessel in a once-in-a-century opportunity called "The Harvest." To prevent the Master from escaping and opening the Hellmouth, they must kill the Vessel. Xander suggests that the vampires will be at The Bronze.
On her way there, Buffy swings by her house to get weapons, and is promptly grounded by her mother, who has been called by the Principal about Buffy skipping classes. Buffy grabs her weapons from a secret compartment of a chest and climbs out of the second-floor window.
Luke and other vampires burst into the Bronze and start the killing. Buffy arrives in time to save Cordelia. She also notices the Vessel mark on Luke's forehead. Xander ends up staking Jesse with a fleeing man's unknowing help. Willow pours holy water on Darla when she is about to bite Giles. Buffy tricks Luke to win her fight. The other vampires flee. Outside the Bronze, Angel realizes that Buffy has done it. "I'll be damned," he says -- if only he knows how true it is.
The next morning, Cordelia exemplifies the denial most Sunnydale residents undergo after paranormal encounters. Giles warns the budding gang of more battles ahead, which they accept more nonchalantly than he would like.
[edit] Acting
[edit] Main cast
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
[edit] Guest stars
- Mark Metcalf as the Master
- David Boreanaz as Angel
- Ken Lerner as Principal Flutie
- Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
- Julie Benz as Darla
- Brian Thompson as Luke
- Eric Balfour as Jesse
[edit] Co-starring
- Mercedes McNab as Harmony
- Teddy Lane, Jr. as Bouncer
- Jeffrey Steven Smith as Guy in computer class
- Deborah Brown as Girl
[edit] Filming
Brian Thompson, who plays Luke, will return to the series as an alternative character, the Judge, in "Surprise" and "Innocence".
Creator Joss Whedon stated on the DVD commentary that he had hoped to include actor Eric Balfour in the title credits to shock viewers when Jesse dies. Unfortunetly, the show could not afford the extra set of title credits at the time. However, Whedon granted his own wish with Doyle in the spin-off series Angel, and Tara Maclay in season six's "Seeing Red." <p>Certain scenes, such as the argument between Giles and Buffy in the library, and Buffy's first meeting with Angel, were re-shot eight months after the first episode was recorded. Both Whedon and Gellar had decided to make the character less angry and more vulnerable.
[edit] Music
Dashboard Prophets's music appears twice in the episode, both set at The Bronze. The song that Cordelia claims to love and dances to is "Wearing Me Down" from their 1996 album From Burning Out the Inside. From the same album, "Ballad for Dead Friends" plays when Darla and the other vampires approach the club in slow motion.
[edit] Translations
- German title: "Die Zeit der Ernte" ("The Time of Harvest")
- French title: "Bienvenue a Sunnydale" ("Welcome to Sunnydale")
