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Parallels between 'Never Kill a Boy on the First Date' and 'First Date'.
Sooo, I shall try to let you in on what my brain was doing as I watched ‘Never Kill a Boy on the First Date’ (and all subsequent stuff too!). Because I am sad and obsessed and Jane Espenson *so* did it on purpose! (Most of it anyway.)
There are so many parallels as to be freaky, but even more interesting is where the episodes *don’t* match up - where the stories of the seasons are so very different, and also showing how far the characters have come from where they started. And how some have gone, but those having filled their place are remarkably similar...
Both episodes start in a cemetery. In ‘Never Kill a Boy on the First Date’ (henceforth called ‘Never Kill’ because that name is just too long), Giles is correcting Buffy’s slaying technique - in ‘First Date’ he is telling the potential Slayers how he defeated a Bringer. In both cases he will later retract his statements (Buffy is doing very well in her Slaying - he only knew the Bringer was there because of its squeaking shoes). But that doesn’t mean that the situations are the same...
In both episodes a date is at the centre of the story. In ‘Never Kill’ Buffy is practically throwing herself at Owen - trying to appear well-read to impress him, although everyone makes fun of this. In ‘First Date’ we have a very similar scenario where Buffy is hoping that maybe she has impressed Wood with her counselling, and yet again people do not take her seriously.
Now about the boys... in both eps Willow and Buffy have nice long chats about the guys.
Here’s Willow’s (very impressed) assessment of Owen: “Wow! He hardly talks to anyone. He's solitary, mysterious... He can brood for forty minutes straight, I've clocked him.”
Sound familiar? He’s also tall and handsome of course - and he has a pulse! Not that Buffy knows that Angel’s a vampire at this point of course, but Owen is essentially a more accessible Angel.
And here’s (a part of) Buffy’s thoughts on Wood: “He's good-looking, and he's—he's solid, he's smart, he's normal. So, not the wicked energy, which is nice 'cause I don't want to only be attracted to wicked energy. Or what if he is wicked, in which case, is that why I'm attracted to him?”
Robin, it turns out, has a fair bit of ‘wicked energy’ (= ‘Spike-like’). Handsome, smart, good fighter, has a thing for Slayers... of course there’s also the bonus of the heartbeat!
So, like Owen is to Angel, is Wood to Spike. A slightly watered-down version that is a lot easier to manage - or so it seems. But in both cases Buffy will not take the safe option - she will follow her heart to the difficult man.
Giles is not very understanding in either ep. This is very understandable, but it's intersting to see just how much Buffy has changed in the intervening years. In S1 her date was pretty much the most important thing in the world. In S7 she's cautious and worried, hardly daring to think it'll end well. (Poor Buffy)
In ‘Never Kill’:
Buffy: But... Cute guy! Teenager! Post-pubescent fantasies!
Giles: Those will just have to be put on hold! The dark forces are aligning against us, and we have a chance to beat them back. Tonight we go into battle!
In ‘First Date’:
Willow: Actually, Buffy's investigating Principal Wood. It's not a date.
Giles: Really.
Willow: Might be a date.
Giles: For God's sake! How can anyone think about their social life? We are about to fight the original primal evil. These girls are in mortal danger. Didn't you see the flashcards? This isn't right.
Now concerning those forces of darkness, in both cases there’s a false lead. In ‘First Date’ First!Jonathan talks to Andrew and it seems like Andrew is going along with the plan he’s been given. But in the end he comes down firmly on the side of good.
In ‘Never Kill’ we have a bus full of people, one of whom is likely to become The Anointed One. Giles reckons it’s the (half-crazy) Andrew Borba, who’s wanted for double murder... but, although he’s been sired, he turns out not to be the one.
Now the dates themselves... there’s obviously a great difference between Owen and Buffy dancing at The Bronze and Wood taking her to a cosy French restaurant, but this just reflects how much older she is. Now during Owen and Buffy’s talk, he says something very significant:
Owen: You! One minute you're right there. I've got you figured. The next, it's like you're two people.
And right there we have Buffy’s eternal conundrum - the Slayer and the girl, and can she be both? (There is a whole essay in that, which I’m not going to attempt to write, but I found it interesting that Owen picked up on it.)
Now both dates get interrupted, because someone is in danger - and in both cases it’s Buffy’s vampire who ‘crashes’. And not only that, but it happens just as Owen/Wood are getting Buffy something delicious to eat:
Owen: Do you want something to eat?
Buffy: Sure. Just make it something fattening.
Buffy: Oh, my God! Mmm. Oh, my God. That might be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth.
Wood: Isn't it good? They soak the pears in brandy. Here, you need a bite with sauce.
In both cases, Buffy’s ‘warning system’ has failed - in ‘Never Kill’ Giles (who’s stuck in the Sunnydale Funeral Home surrounded by vampires) doesn’t know how to get through to her beeper and in ‘First Date’ she’s left her phone behind. (And Xander’s being used to open the seal on the Hellmouth.)
When Buffy’s dates meet their ‘counterparts’ there’s a fair bit of veiled hostility, but yet again the answers are the same:
Owen: Hey! So. Where do you know Buffy from?
Angel: Work.
Wood: So, how do you two know each other?
Buffy (answering too fast): He works with me. Uh, you know, in the struggle against evil.
And so we have the fights and the bad guys get killed, but the mood is a lot more sombre in S7, even if in some ways the success was greater. In S1 Buffy has to stop seeing Owen who has got a taste for danger. As Xander puts it:
"No, see, what you need is a guy who already knows your deepest, darkest secrets and still says, 'Hey! I like that girl!' Someone like..."
And we all fill in ‘Angel’.
In S7 the date reveals that Wood is an ally and a fighter. But he’s not the one that Buffy needs:
Spike: You've got another demon fighter now.
Buffy: That's not why I need you here.
Spike: Is that right? Why's that then?
Buffy: 'Cause I'm not ready for you to not be here.
A lot of people remark how harsh Giles is in S7. Comparing these two episodes does a good job of showing why. At the end of ‘Never Kill’ they think they’ve succeeded in killing The Anointed One (because Giles had the relevant information in his books), and Giles shares with Buffy the story of when he was told he was destined to be a Watcher. It is a sweet and touching scene, and I love it to pieces. In S7 they have no success in trying to defeat The First - there are no books that can help, and the Watcher’s Council has been destroyed. No wonder he lashes out.
Of course the final scene of both episodes are very important. In ‘Never Kill’ it is revealed that Buffy did not kill The Anointed One (”And in this time will come the Anointed. And the Slayer will not know him. She will not stop him, and he will lead her into hell.”). And in ‘First Date’ Wood (the new fighter) has just been 'recruited' to work for The First Evil. And Buffy does not know and cannot stop him...
Here endeth my post because I need to go to bed. I think I remembered most of what I was going to say. ::collapses::
There are so many parallels as to be freaky, but even more interesting is where the episodes *don’t* match up - where the stories of the seasons are so very different, and also showing how far the characters have come from where they started. And how some have gone, but those having filled their place are remarkably similar...
Both episodes start in a cemetery. In ‘Never Kill a Boy on the First Date’ (henceforth called ‘Never Kill’ because that name is just too long), Giles is correcting Buffy’s slaying technique - in ‘First Date’ he is telling the potential Slayers how he defeated a Bringer. In both cases he will later retract his statements (Buffy is doing very well in her Slaying - he only knew the Bringer was there because of its squeaking shoes). But that doesn’t mean that the situations are the same...
In both episodes a date is at the centre of the story. In ‘Never Kill’ Buffy is practically throwing herself at Owen - trying to appear well-read to impress him, although everyone makes fun of this. In ‘First Date’ we have a very similar scenario where Buffy is hoping that maybe she has impressed Wood with her counselling, and yet again people do not take her seriously.
Now about the boys... in both eps Willow and Buffy have nice long chats about the guys.
Here’s Willow’s (very impressed) assessment of Owen: “Wow! He hardly talks to anyone. He's solitary, mysterious... He can brood for forty minutes straight, I've clocked him.”
Sound familiar? He’s also tall and handsome of course - and he has a pulse! Not that Buffy knows that Angel’s a vampire at this point of course, but Owen is essentially a more accessible Angel.
And here’s (a part of) Buffy’s thoughts on Wood: “He's good-looking, and he's—he's solid, he's smart, he's normal. So, not the wicked energy, which is nice 'cause I don't want to only be attracted to wicked energy. Or what if he is wicked, in which case, is that why I'm attracted to him?”
Robin, it turns out, has a fair bit of ‘wicked energy’ (= ‘Spike-like’). Handsome, smart, good fighter, has a thing for Slayers... of course there’s also the bonus of the heartbeat!
So, like Owen is to Angel, is Wood to Spike. A slightly watered-down version that is a lot easier to manage - or so it seems. But in both cases Buffy will not take the safe option - she will follow her heart to the difficult man.
Giles is not very understanding in either ep. This is very understandable, but it's intersting to see just how much Buffy has changed in the intervening years. In S1 her date was pretty much the most important thing in the world. In S7 she's cautious and worried, hardly daring to think it'll end well. (Poor Buffy)
In ‘Never Kill’:
Buffy: But... Cute guy! Teenager! Post-pubescent fantasies!
Giles: Those will just have to be put on hold! The dark forces are aligning against us, and we have a chance to beat them back. Tonight we go into battle!
In ‘First Date’:
Willow: Actually, Buffy's investigating Principal Wood. It's not a date.
Giles: Really.
Willow: Might be a date.
Giles: For God's sake! How can anyone think about their social life? We are about to fight the original primal evil. These girls are in mortal danger. Didn't you see the flashcards? This isn't right.
Now concerning those forces of darkness, in both cases there’s a false lead. In ‘First Date’ First!Jonathan talks to Andrew and it seems like Andrew is going along with the plan he’s been given. But in the end he comes down firmly on the side of good.
In ‘Never Kill’ we have a bus full of people, one of whom is likely to become The Anointed One. Giles reckons it’s the (half-crazy) Andrew Borba, who’s wanted for double murder... but, although he’s been sired, he turns out not to be the one.
Now the dates themselves... there’s obviously a great difference between Owen and Buffy dancing at The Bronze and Wood taking her to a cosy French restaurant, but this just reflects how much older she is. Now during Owen and Buffy’s talk, he says something very significant:
Owen: You! One minute you're right there. I've got you figured. The next, it's like you're two people.
And right there we have Buffy’s eternal conundrum - the Slayer and the girl, and can she be both? (There is a whole essay in that, which I’m not going to attempt to write, but I found it interesting that Owen picked up on it.)
Now both dates get interrupted, because someone is in danger - and in both cases it’s Buffy’s vampire who ‘crashes’. And not only that, but it happens just as Owen/Wood are getting Buffy something delicious to eat:
Owen: Do you want something to eat?
Buffy: Sure. Just make it something fattening.
Buffy: Oh, my God! Mmm. Oh, my God. That might be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth.
Wood: Isn't it good? They soak the pears in brandy. Here, you need a bite with sauce.
In both cases, Buffy’s ‘warning system’ has failed - in ‘Never Kill’ Giles (who’s stuck in the Sunnydale Funeral Home surrounded by vampires) doesn’t know how to get through to her beeper and in ‘First Date’ she’s left her phone behind. (And Xander’s being used to open the seal on the Hellmouth.)
When Buffy’s dates meet their ‘counterparts’ there’s a fair bit of veiled hostility, but yet again the answers are the same:
Owen: Hey! So. Where do you know Buffy from?
Angel: Work.
Wood: So, how do you two know each other?
Buffy (answering too fast): He works with me. Uh, you know, in the struggle against evil.
And so we have the fights and the bad guys get killed, but the mood is a lot more sombre in S7, even if in some ways the success was greater. In S1 Buffy has to stop seeing Owen who has got a taste for danger. As Xander puts it:
"No, see, what you need is a guy who already knows your deepest, darkest secrets and still says, 'Hey! I like that girl!' Someone like..."
And we all fill in ‘Angel’.
In S7 the date reveals that Wood is an ally and a fighter. But he’s not the one that Buffy needs:
Spike: You've got another demon fighter now.
Buffy: That's not why I need you here.
Spike: Is that right? Why's that then?
Buffy: 'Cause I'm not ready for you to not be here.
A lot of people remark how harsh Giles is in S7. Comparing these two episodes does a good job of showing why. At the end of ‘Never Kill’ they think they’ve succeeded in killing The Anointed One (because Giles had the relevant information in his books), and Giles shares with Buffy the story of when he was told he was destined to be a Watcher. It is a sweet and touching scene, and I love it to pieces. In S7 they have no success in trying to defeat The First - there are no books that can help, and the Watcher’s Council has been destroyed. No wonder he lashes out.
Of course the final scene of both episodes are very important. In ‘Never Kill’ it is revealed that Buffy did not kill The Anointed One (”And in this time will come the Anointed. And the Slayer will not know him. She will not stop him, and he will lead her into hell.”). And in ‘First Date’ Wood (the new fighter) has just been 'recruited' to work for The First Evil. And Buffy does not know and cannot stop him...
Here endeth my post because I need to go to bed. I think I remembered most of what I was going to say. ::collapses::
no subject
it's missing that extra something named Spike.
Exactly!