The Harvest

Original Airdate: March 10, 1997

Writer: Joss Whedon

Director: John T. Kretchner

After the first half of the pilot set up the central characters, this one establishes what would be the "Buffy formula"; the gang is threatened, they research the problem and then act on what they find. It's fairly consistent with the first part of the pilot, which means that it is flawed, but still contains a lot of potential for the future. It continues establishing the arcs for the core characters, which would be explored for the next six years.

There is a lot of exposition in this episode, but it is necessary to set up the ground rules for vampires now so they can't be accused of making up the rules as they go along. Sure they do take liberties, as the time it takes vamps to dust varies and whether the stake disappears after it is used, but they are deliberately vague with a lot of the technical aspects, which doesn't make it contradict canon. The actual location of the heart also varies, but that is more likely a technical goof.

They also make some nice connections to future episodes. As Jesse is enjoying his newfound power as a vampire, he mentions how connected he feels. This concept is interesting to see knowing how that is applied in the final season. Although this hint is minor, having it occur so early shows some good planning. Also, Jesse is a geek as a human, but becoming a vampire gives him charisma. This transformation occurs elsewhere and helps establish that the vampire and the human aren't the same.

While there are many pieces of the mythology laid out for us, some of it contradicts what is constantly repeated for the rest of the series. When Luke becomes The Master's vessel, The Master says that his soul is Luke's soul. Also, in the beginning Giles refers to the first vampire as a human whose soul was infected by the demon's soul. The problem with these examples is that vampires are established as not having souls.

Considering how Jesse was Willow and Xander's friend, it is weird how they never mention him again. Perhaps this is the result of the pilot episode and experiments Mutant Enemy conducted on the show early in the run. Maybe it would've been better to have Jesse become one of The Master's thugs and have that personal element throughout the season.

Cordelia isn't winning any sympathy points, but this episode introduces another prominent element in her character, her best friend Harmony. It makes sense to define her friends more than just interchangeable, narcissistic "mean girls" if they are meant to be the most popular girls in school. Looking back, Mercedes McNab (Harmony) looks so much younger than most of the cast (of course, that's because she was the only member of the cast who was high school age at the time!)

Although Willow's time with Buffy has been brief (and it inadvertently lead her to be taken captive by a vampire), it has rubbed off on her. After her experience she now has the ability to stick up for Buffy when Cordelia calls her a freak, and then tricks her into deleting all her work in the computer class (I got a kick out of that moment). This is the beginning of a more confident Willow, especially as she uses her brain to help them discover more about the various demons they'll face.

Angel's motivations are still shrouded in mystery. Though he warned Buffy about The Harvest and gave her the cross that saved her from Luke, he still doesn't do anything to stop The Harvest directly. There is some friction between him and Buffy, which seems to point to Xander being out of luck for a romantic relationship.

We don't get any overt slips of Xander's crush in this episode, although they could've done something after he pulled Buffy out of the manhole and she fell on top of him. Nonetheless, that element is hardly forgotten beyond the pilot. Xander willing to go down to the vamp lair with Buffy could be considering a sign that he likes her enough to risk his life, but there were other factors in play.

Early in the series, they touch upon a major aspect of Xander's character, which is what is his function in the group. Buffy's the slayer and Willow and Giles serve as the brains behind the operation. However, despite knowing Buffy's secret, they don't want to get Xander involved because it is very dangerous. Because he needs to prove himself, he heads to the lair with Buffy. When faced with having to destroy the vampire that took over his friend's body, he doesn't do it. Instead, the staking occurs accidentally.

Had the vampires we see in the average episode of Buffy been the ones chasing her through the tunnels, she wouldn't have gotten to the surface by a long shot. For some reason, they felt it more appropriate to have the vamps act like zombies, in that they move slowly toward our heroes. Them breaking through the door is similar to nearly every other break in shown in a zombie movie.

It seems rather ironic for Joyce to be trying to be a better parent, considering she's one of the best parents on Whedon's shows. Daddy and/or mommy issues abound with many characters of Whedon's shows, including Buffy with her absentee dad. Joyce is a rare exception. Her only flaw is that she isn't aware of what her daughter has to do.

This scene once again shows the problem parents and children have understanding each other, with the humorous slant Joyce clearly doesn't know about. It doesn't seem likely Buffy will be able to keep her slayer identity secret from her mother for much longer, with them at the center of a demonic hot spot and Buffy's obligation to avert the crisis du jour.

The Master is a classic monster villain, as shown in the ruthless "You've got something in your eye" scene. He runs scarily close to become a "I vant to suck your blood blah!" vampire villain (whether he crossed the line is up to speculation). His added presence in this episode is important for the season's story. Keeping him trapped among the church ruins helps, as illustrated in Whedon's commentary, avoid the pratfall of The Master trying to kill Buffy face to face each week and failing.

Some parts seem a bit too contrived. For a vampire who is at least 150 years old, Luke hasn't figured out when sunrise occurs. Even the sired Jesse could figure that out. Does feeding on humans as the vessel take that much out of him that he loses track of time? Maybe if there were a smaller window than 9 hours, it would be easier to believe.

There are corny parts, like The Master screaming "No!" when his plan fails, the music played as Luke feeds The Master's power or that stock screaming used when Darla is doused in holy water. Overall, this is consistent with problems of the first season. Early in the show, they were tinkering with what would eventually be the conventions and messages of the show. They hadn't yet balanced the comedic and horror elements yet.

Many things on this show can be over thought, which would diminish the enjoyment. The biggest would be the lack of investigation into these crazy events, which would explain why Xander and Willow are clueless about the monsters that reside in their hometown. The reason they aren't thought about more is because they are routinely dismissed by those who saw them because what they saw defies any logical explanation.

The story works well as a self-contained feature pilot. The Master's plan is averted and things are back to normal. Nobody is questioning it because, what could they explain? Of course, there was plenty of room to continue, as The Master wouldn't allow his plans to be dashed at the first failure. Also, there would be plenty of demonic activity to keep Buffy and the gang busy for a long time.

Score: 7/10

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