Original Air Date: March 31, 1997
Written by Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali
Directed by Davdi Semel
Summary
In the middle of a late-night sparring session at the
cemetery, Buffy and Giles discover a ring with a mysterious
engraving in it. The scene shifts to the Master Vampire's
lair, where the Master explains that the Anointed One -- the
Master's greatest warrior and the Slayer's greatest foe is
due to rise from the ashes of five dead. The next day, Buffy
is asked out by a handsome, poetry-loving classmate named
Owen who she is smitten with. Buffy's good mood is spoiled by
Giles, who's connected the engraving in the ring to a violent
prophecy which is about to be fulfilled... that night. Buffy
very reluctantly joins Giles at the cemetery, but nothing
happens there. Meanwhile, an airport van crashes and although
the five passengers -- including a burly, tattooed man who's
been ranting incoherently -- survive the wreck, they die when
the van is overtaken by vampires.
The next day, Owen and Buffy decide to try again, much to
Giles' (and a very jealous Xander's) chagrin.
As Buffy prepares for her date, Giles comes over with the
news: five people were killed the night before, just as the
prophecy described, and one of them -- the tattooed man --
was wanted for murder. This leads Giles to believe that he is
the Anointed one. Buffy insists on going on to the Bronze
with Owen, but Willow and Xander agree to go along with Giles
to the Sunnydale Funeral Home so he can check the bodies for
clues. Giles is greeted by vampires, and though Willow and
Xander try to help him, they realize this is Buffy's domain.
They run off to the Bronze to fetch her, but sheís already
hooked up with Owen. Unable to blurt out their news, they
merrily suggest to Buffy a jaunt to the funeral home.
Once they get there, they're shocked to find Owen has
followed them. As Buffy looks around for clues, the tattooed
man -- now a vampire -- arises from a gurney and tears the
place apart. Buffy kicks him, knocking him on a gurney, which
hits the cremation oven and slides him right in. The next
day, Owen is pumped up about the previous nightís adventures
and canít wait for the next date. Realizing she almost got
him killed, Buffy reluctantly gives him the "let's be
friends" speech. Giles commends her on her maturity, and
reminds her that she did prevent a disaster. But all is not
resolved. We see the Master in his lair, welcoming the
Anointed one: it is an eight-year-old boy from the van
accident, who smiles to reveal a mouth full of fangs.
Miscellaneous Info
-All the books in the stacks of the library
are real books.
-Cemetery sequences in Season 1 are shot at Rosedale cemetery
in Los Angeles.
-Dusting a vampire using computer graphics costs the
producers $5000 a pop.
Quote of the Week
Giles: All right, I'll just drop in my time
machine, go back to the twelfth century, and ask the vampires
to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you
take in dinner and a show.
Buffy: Okay, at this point, you're abusing sarcasm
My Rating
3.5/5
Cast
