Buffy The Vampire Slayer, “The Harvest” Review (1x02)

Brief Synopsis: “Buffy rescues Willow and Xander, but Jesse is left in the hands of the vampires. Buffy no longer resists her calling, but immediately begins to plan a rescue. As Willow and Xander now know that Buffy isn’t a typical high school student, Giles tells Xander and Willow about vampires and demons, and that Buffy is the Slayer. They are overwhelmed by it all, but they insist on helping Buffy. Meanwhile, Luke and the other vampires are planning to begin The Harvest, a dark ritual that will free The Master from his underground prison. Needing to slaughter innocents for the ritual, they descend upon The Bronze to feed...only the Slayer stands in their way.”


"Welcome To The Hellmouth" (1x01) quick link here                                                                             "Witch" (1x03) quick link here


Before getting started on this review, here are a few notes about how these reviews will be formatted...

1) I will be reviewing the episodes in bullet point form. This is because it makes the reviews simple to read, and helps break up the vast amount of text.
2) I will be uploading a new review every one or two days, so be sure to check back often! Alternatively, you could subscribe to the blog via email to receive the reviews in your inbox (the subscription box is located to the right-hand side of this blog).
3) If you are watching the show for the first time along with these reviews, please be warned that there may be a few spoilers for things that haven’t happened yet.
4) If you are here from my Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel fan page from Facebook (located here :- www.facebook.com/BTVSFC), these reviews are similar to the rewatch reviews that I wrote for that page, only they are longer, more detailed, and in a much nicer format than Facebook allows (curse their lack of italics, bold, and underline!)
5) The basic layout for the review will be the review itself, the ‘quote of the episode’, and then the final score for the episode (out of ten). All of the final scores will also be placed on a separate tab so that you can refer to them easily.

With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?



• “The Harvest” is part two of the pilot story of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. When we last saw Sunnydale, Luke was about to bite Buffy (the last episode ended with his grotesquely purple face on the screen, mouth widening in preparation for delicious Slayer flesh). Will Buffy be able to escape? Let’s find out...
• I’ve never really noticed this before, but look at The Master’s hands as he says “I’m your faithful dog, you bring me scraps”. He holds his hands over each other like a puppy begging for food. That’s hilarious.
• I wish Luke was around for more than just “Welcome To The Hellmouth” and “The Harvest”. He was a fascinating character and really brought a lot to the show during the first two episodes. Plus, he’s already been established as being very old and a highly skilled fighter. Killing him so quickly just sets up the precedence that Buffy will defeat her enemies easily (especially with his death making him seem so stupid). It is a small comfort that Brian Thompson later comes back to Buffy The Vampire Slayer to give another memorable performance as The Judge during season two’s “Surprise” and “Innocence”.
• I was a fan of Xander and Willow finding out about Buffy being the Slayer. Not only did it mean that we wouldn’t have the overused story of “when will they find out?”, but both of them reacted quite realistically. Their first reaction was denial. I think the vast majority of the world would react with denial if someone told them that they hunt vampires and demons for a living (wage-free!)...but then, they both ultimately accept what Buffy is saying because of what they saw the night before. It would appear that Willow and Xander are two of very few characters in the Buffyverse that don’t suffer from ‘Sunnydale Syndrome’. ‘Sunnydale Syndrome’ is a phrase that I created (I believe). Over the seasons, many, many people see supernatural activity, yet magically forget about it the next day or delude themselves into thinking that it wasn’t supernatural (almost everyone who was in The Bronze for the vampire attack in this episode, for example). This lack of brain activity is ‘Sunnydale Syndrome’.

• Oh, Giles, you and your dry English wit get funnier and funnier with each year that I age. Very underrated comedic character is our Giles. It’s interesting that when I was a child, I never really cared for Giles until season three. The older I have gotten, the more I love him, and understand his point of view in every situation (even questionable ones such as Giles smothering Ben in “The Gift” (a human)).
• Giles: “A Slayer hunts vampires, Buffy is a Slayer, don’t tell anyone...well, I think that’s all the vampire information you need.”
I love you, Giles. Never change your sassiness or your sense of sarcasm.
• The introduction of the fact that vampires use the sewer system to get around during the day was a fantastic addition to the show. It allowed the writers a lot of freedom to get vampires from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ during a scene or episode without having to worry about how they got there. It’s real simple...when in doubt, sewer. It also allowed for some great sets and scenes to be filmed under Sunnydale, which I thought really gave us a better opportunity to imagine Sunnydale as a real place.

• Giles: “I’m a bit fuzzy, however, on the details. It may be that you can wrest some information from that dread machine...that was a bit, British, wasn’t it?”
• David Boreanaz’s acting is a bit questionable during some scenes of the first few episodes (I’m speaking as a massive David fan, by the way). I think the first episode that he really stood out in was episode 7, “Angel”. Until that point I felt that sometimes his delivery was a bit off. Case in point: “actually, I thought it was going to be a little sooner”, just sounded a bit wooden to me. No pun intended ;-)
• Buffy: “There was this time I was pinned down by this guy that played left tackle for varsity...well, at least he used to before he was a vampire. Anyway, he had this really, really thick neck and all I had was a little, little Exact-O knife...you’re not loving this story.”
Xander: “No, actually, I find it oddly comforting.”
Umm...
• Willow: “Deliver.”

Willow is a very naughty girl. She knew airhead-when-it-comes-to-computers Cordelia would press delete. It’s interesting to note Willow’s behaviour here. Cordelia says something mean about Buffy, so Willow destroys Cordelia’s work. That could be considered a stronger punishment than Cordelia deserved. It’s a slippery slope from this moment to flaying a man alive, eh?

• Buffy and Xander having to escape through the sewers into the daylight was a fantastic scene! It was so tense! Easily the most dramatic part of the season thus far.
• Jesse’s death was a real shocker when I first watched this episode. I didn’t think that any show would have the nerve to kill off one of its main characters so early. It helps plant the idea that nobody is safe from being killed in the Buffyverse, which makes things far more tense for the viewer (in a good way). Of course, since Buffy has aired, The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones have taken killing their main characters to a whole new level.
• Whilst on the subject of Jesse, I loved how his appearance and personality changed after he became a vampire. It helped show the audience that once you’re turned into a vampire, you’re no longer the same person. Different vampire mythologies give different changes to a person when they become a vampire, so this really helped let the audience know how vampires were different to humans (except the obvious) in Joss’ vision. As the years progress, it becomes apparent that certain aspects of your original personality remain after you’ve been turned into a vampire, but they usually get distorted. Like in this instance, Jesse’s obsession with Cordelia is still apparent. There is also the notable exception of Spike, who keeps a great deal of his original personality and has the ability to love and do compassionate things, even without a soul.
• The Master: “*stabs Colin in the eye with his fingernail*...you’ve got something in your eye...”

The Master is ruthless. Acts like this, along with acts like allowing Darla to kill ‘The Three’ in “Angel” (who he labels as his most vicious disciples), emphasise the point that The Master is willing to sacrifice anyone in order to kill the Slayer and be freed from his prison. You could argue that this is a stupid character trait for The Master, as he’s not exactly overburdened with followers, but I digress...

• I despise how Jesse was NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN after “The Harvest”. Here is someone that is supposed to be Xander and Willow’s best friend, and he is never spoken about again! EVER! No funeral, no mourning, no mention. This is perhaps the only time that I dislike how Buffy The Vampire Slayer deals with a character’s death on the show. It’s extremely unrealistic that Xander, nor Willow, would ever talk about Jesse again. For those of you unaware, I lost my best friend 3 weeks before my 18th birthday. This isn’t too far away from the ages that Xander and Willow are during season one. I was an absolute wreck after my best friend died and it took me four years to start to deal with the loss of him, and to deal with this huge void in my life after he passed away. His death, along with a host of other reasons, led to a four year battle with depression that ultimately ended with attempted suicide. However, that’s a story for the “Amends” review, coming up in season three. Is it too much to ask for Xander and Willow to show some sadness for a few episodes? Or, you know, even mention his name again?! Ugh. 
• Trivia fact regarding my mini-rant: Jesse was supposed to make a reappearance in season seven’s “Conversations With Dead People” to be the ‘ghost’ that appeared to Xander (The First Evil in disguise). Unfortunately, Eric Balfour was unavailable so Xander wasn’t in the episode at all (the only episode that Xander doesn’t appear in).
• This episode helps the viewers see much more clearly what a difficult position that Buffy is in. Joyce grounds Buffy due to things that Buffy has had to do since moving to Sunnydale in order to save lives and protect people. Buffy has only been back in the slaying game for a couple of days and she’s already having trouble trying to balance both aspects of her life. In addition to Joyce grounding Buffy, Principal Flutie also tried to prevent Buffy from leaving Sunnydale High. How long is Buffy going to be able to continue this juggling act before shattering something? I really enjoy the fact that this show gave us this challenge so early on as this is something that Buffy has trouble with for all 7 seasons of the show. I have a great deal more to say on this subject, but I’m saving it for when it’s more relevant (primarily season five, as that season really explores what it means to be a Slayer).

• In addition to the above, another cool moment for this episode is Buffy’s trunk. Buffy’s trunk has lots of regular, everyday items on the top (‘normal life’ items, you could say), but underneath it is covered in weapons for warding off and killing vampires. It’s a subtle way of showing the audience that Buffy has two entirely different lives.
• I adore Dashboard Prophets’ song “Ballad For Dead Friends” that plays as Darla and the other vampires walk towards The Bronze. One of the best songs in Buffy history and the visual that takes place as the song is playing over the top is phenomenal.
• That bouncer is massive. I wonder if The Bronze tests their staff for steroids? They should thing about that. With all the vampires and demons in Sunnydale, the last thing they need is a bouncer with ‘roid rage!
• Jesse’s death is also pretty lame. Jesse and Luke both die in comical, silly ways, which isn’t great in establishing Buffy The Vampire Slayer as a serious show. Comical deaths every now and then is funny (like the demon in “Gingerbread” getting skewered through the neck by a big wooden stake), but I dislike having two in the same episode...especially in the first couple of episodes of the show. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is still trying to find its feet at this point and show the audience exactly what the show is all about. How are we supposed to take vampires seriously when they die so comically?

• That being said, Buffy’s staking of Luke is one of the most hilarious moments of season one...“There’s something you forgot about too, sunrise. *stakes Luke* It’s in about nine hours, moron”. Pure gold.
• Giles: “The Earth is doomed.”
Nothing more needs to be said on that awesomeness.
• As I mentioned earlier in the review, this is the first glimpse into ‘Sunnydale syndrome’. An entire room full of people witness Luke drain the blood of the bouncer, and all completely forget it the next day, or at least change it in their brains. I suppose Giles describes it best when he says “people have a tendency to rationalise what they can and forget what they can’t”.  I hate Sunnydale syndrome! It just serves as an excuse for lazy writing sometimes. Ever have a problem you can’t get around? Sunnydale Syndrome solves it. Are we really supposed to believe that everyone in The Bronze conveniently disregarded the vampire attack except for the Scoobies? I’m glad that it gets explained in season three that the people of Sunnydale have noticed that Sunnydale is different to other cities. It all finally comes out in spectacular fashion during Joyce’s speech to the residents of Sunnydale in season three’s “Gingerbread”, and later comes up again during Jonathan’s emotional ‘Class Protector’ speech in “The Prom”.
• I don’t think you can truly appreciate “The Harvest” until you’ve seen all seven seasons of the show. Xander showing unwavering loyalty to Buffy by following her down into the sewers (where he could easily be killed) is an example of this. When first watching this episode, it’s a cute moment. When you’ve seen the friendship that grows between these two characters, it’s a wonderful moment! Another example would be Buffy asking Angel if he knows what it’s like to have friends. On the surface, this question isn’t overly memorable, but when you think about the fact that Angel has spent the vast majority of the past hundred years alone and living off of rats, the question becomes much more intriguing. Angel doesn’t know what it’s like to have friends.
• Overall, I liked the opening two-parter for Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Did it have a few flaws? Sure! What pilot episode doesn’t? It did a good job of establishing the characters, setting up the mythology, and it gave us a glimpse into where the show is heading. It’s all you can ask for from a pilot. 

Quote Of The Episode

Buffy: “Well, I gotta look on the bright side. Maybe I can still get kicked out of school.”

Xander: “Oh, yeah, that's a plan. 'Cause lots of schools aren't on Hellmouths.”

Willow: “Maybe you could blow something up? They're really strict about that.”

Buffy: “I was thinking of a more subtle approach, y'know, like excessive not studying.”

Giles: “The Earth is doomed...”

I love this ending. It’s quirky, intelligent, and funny. It’s also paraphrased again in the last ever Buffy episode, “Chosen”. Also, Buffy actually does blow something up in “Graduation Day Part Two”...Sunnydale High School itself! Buckle up, fandom! To quote Angelus, “Things are about to get very interesting”.

FINAL SCORE: 6.5/10

So what are your thoughts on "The Harvest"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!

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