Unaired Pilot
This 24-minute episode is similar to the actual pilot, only we have no Master, no Harvest, no Luke, no Jesse, no Angel, & a flakier version of Buffy. Most of the scenes in the actual aired pilot not involving the above mentioned not-in-attendance characters appear in some form. The ending, instead, is that Willow gets picked up by a vamp guy (like in the aired), but he takes her to the school theater. Willow gets bitten, but is saved by Buffy. A gang of vamps attack & Buffy kicks their booty, accepting her slayerhood. Little interesting facts: Dingoes Ate My Baby play at The Bronze in this episode, Darla (still played by Julie Benz) appears & is killed with a cross by Willow, Harmony (played by Mercedes McNab) appears, & Willow is played by a different actress.
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest"
Buffy Summers comes to Sunnydale High after getting kicked out of her old high school in LA. Buffy wants a fresh start, but soon realizes she can't have one when she learns she's moved to the Hellmouth, a place where demonic energy is vampit. Buffy doesn't want to be what she is, a slayer, & thinks that in this new place she can leave that world behind. Buffy meets Giles, her new watcher, who tells her that she can't run away from her destiny. She also meets Willow & Xander, who she befriends, & Cordelia, who soon denounces Buffy when she realizes Buffy is not normal. Buffy also meets a mysterious man named Angel, who brings her warnings of the evil ahead. A vamp named Luke has awakened a very powerful & ancient vamp called the Master. The Master is trapped by a supernatural barrier underground. Luke plans to free the Master by being a "vessel" through which the Master can receive energy- so he can break free. If the Master rises, he will open the Hellmouth, & it will end the world. Both Willow & Xander discover what Buffy is, & are on board, along with Giles, to help Buffy kick some vamp booty. They go to The Bronze, a local club, to stop the Harvest. Buffy stakes Luke, & hence no apocalypse- at least for today.
The Witch
Buffy tries out for the Sunnydale High School cheerleading squad, however she didn't realize it was such a competitive sport. Cheerleaders are fallen by bad occurrences- like total blindness, loss of mouth, & fire-combusting hands. The Scooby Gang- Willow, Xander, Buffy, & Giles- figure it must be a witch. They suspect this girl Amy, & prove with a little magic test that she's the one, but this story has quite a twist. Amy's mother was once a famous Cheer-Queen, & also quite fluent in the black arts. She casts a spell so that she switches bodies with her daughter so she can relive her teen-glory days. Buffy figures this out, & Giles reverses all spells just in time for Buffy to mirror the mother's last spell back at her, which sends Amy's mommy to entrapment in her cheerleading trophy statue.
Teacher's Pet
A substitute teacher arrives as the teacher she replaces is found decapitated. The women, Miss French, is a she-mantis, a huge preying mantis capable of appearing as a human women. She preys on virgins, so, naturally, Xander becomes a target- & Buffy slices & dices. In this episode, we see more into Willow's affection for Xander, & how Xander cares about Buffy, who is oblivious to him. Angel also makes an appearance for a quick warning, & then a quick flirt with Buffy.
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Buffy strives to be a normal girl as she tires to have a nice date with a boy she has a crush on named Owen. But destiny calls, as an ancient prophecy begins it's play. The prophecy is that an "anointed one" will be made a vampire on this certain night, & that the anointed one will be the thing that leads Buffy to the Master, & into her death. However, the gang don't see the anointed one, they chase another vamp instead & think the prophecy's over with once Buffy stakes him. The anointed one remains unknown to them, for he is a small vampire child. Lastly, Buffy tells Owen that their short romance is over because he wanted to live the crazy life & Buffy couldn't allow him to be in that kind of danger.
The Pack
A field trip to the Sunnydale Zoo leaves Xander & four really mean students possessed by hyenas. The pack take up some aggressive activities which include taunting weaker students, killing the school mascot (a pig), &, minus Xander, eating Principal Flutie. Buffy, Willow, & Giles figure that the kids are possessed, but don't learn how they got that way until they contact the zoo keeper. Unbeknownst to the Scooby Gang, the zoo keeper is intent on being possessed himself, but, hasn't perfected the possession process. The guy does a ritual so that he takes the possession of the kids into himself, & Buffy fights him until he falls into the hyena pen & gets devoured by his own kind.
Angel
Angel is discovered to be a vampire after a kiss between Buffy & him. The Master grows more & more tired of Buffy's interferences as he finally lets one of his minions try to do the job of killing Buffy. The minion is Darla, who happens to be the one who made Angel a vamp 240 years ago. She still loves him, & hates the fact that he now loves someone else, our Buffy, who returns his love. Angel tells Buffy that the reason he doesn't feed is because once he fed on & killed a girl whose gypsy family cursed him with a soul for revenge. Just as the healing is about to begin enters Darla, guns a blazing. Angel stakes Darla, which saves Buffy, & then disappears into the night. The last scene is at the Bronze after everything has gone down. Angel & Buffy share a kiss & a short talk on how this, them together, can't ever be anything.
I Robot, You Jane
Willow unleashes a demon, named Malcolm/Moloch, via computer scanning, that has been sealed in a book. Willow & the demon start talking on the internet, & Willow develops feelings for it. Giles figures out what's happened, but his fear of computers puts a hamper on his part of slayage. Fortunately, the computer science teacher, Miss Jenny Calendar, is a techno pagan & helps Giles with binding Malcolm to a "body" that his followers has made for him. Then Buffy tricks the demon into electrocuting himself. Later, Buffy & Xander confort Willow with that all their relationships are disasters & she's not alone. It is a short confort for all.
The Puppet Show
The new principal- Principal Snyder- makes Willow, Buffy, & Xander participate in the school talent show. It is fortunate, however, because a girl has been murdered, her heart removed, & it seems someone from the talent show is responsible. They start to suspect Morgan, who has a ventriloquist act with a dummy named Sid. However, when Morgan turns up dead, his brain removed, things point to Sid, the dummy. But, it isn't Sid, who, by the way, is alive. See, Sid was once a human who hunted demons. There is this clan of seven demons who need a brain & a heart to survive. Sid has killed six of them, but needs to kill the last to break his incursement into his dummy-body. The last demon is a guy named Marc, he attempts to get Giles' brain (Morgan's was no good because he was sick) & is stopped by Buffy. Sid finally finishes the deal, & is set free, the dummy body lay dead. Just then, the curtains open & an audience sees the spectacle that is the above described occurrences.
Nightmares
A little boy named Billy is causing people's nightmares to come true. Xander is naked in class & attacked by clowns; Willow has to sing in public; Giles loses the ability to read; Buffy's Dad tells Buffy that basically he doesn't love her; The Master rises & buries Buffy alive, later she rises as a vampire. But nothing in dreams is permanent. Billy has been put in a coma by his little league coach who blamed Billy for ruining a game. To break the shift between nightmares & reality, Billy has to stand up to the nightmarish figure of the coach. Once he does, he wakes & everything is back to normal.
Out of Mind, Out of Sight
An invisible girl named Marcie is out to get Cordelia. Marcie turned invisible because no one noticed her, & has put all her rage into a person who has all attention- Cordelia. Meanwhile, Cordy turns to Buffy to help her when she realizes someone is after her. Buffy & Cordelia are tied up by Marcie, who plans to slice & dice Cor's face. Buffy breaks free & uses her ears to fight Marcie. Then, two suited men rush in & take Marcie away. The episode ends with Marcie being introduced to a roomful of invisible students learning about assassination & infiltration.
Prophecy Girl
A prophecy is about to come true. The prophecy is that the anointed one will lead Buffy to the Master, & that the Master will kill her. When Buffy hears the prophecy, she wants to denounce her slayerhood, but soon realizes that evil needs to be stopped. Buffy, knowing her death awaits her, allows the anointed one to take her to the Master in hopes that they will kill eachother. However, the prophecy didn't mention one thing: Buffy's the one who sets the Master free. One taste of Buffy's blood & the Master breaks his mystical barrier. Buffy is left lifeless in a pool of water. Xander & Angel rush to save her, & Xander givers her CPR & brings her back to life. Now, Buffy has gained her equilibrium. She heads to the Master who has already started to raise the Hellmouth (which is right under the library). Cordelia, Willow, Jenny, & Giles have to fight it off. Buffy has a showdown with the Master & throws him through the library balcony unto a sharp wooden thing. The Master turns to bones (explain that one for me someone). After the trauma, Buffy, Cordelia, Xander, Willow, Giles, & Angel head to the Bronze for a night of promy fun.