Buffy the Vampire Slayer/First Date

First Date
Season 7, Episode 14
Airdate	February 11, 2003
Production Number	7ABB14
Written by	Jane Espenson
Directed by	David Grossman
← 7x13 The Killer in Me	7x15 → Get It Done
Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season Seven

First Date is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the one-hundred and thirty-sixth episode overall.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike)

and Alyson Hannigan (Willow)

Special Guest Star: Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles), Ashanti (Lyssa)

Guest Starring: Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson), Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells), Iyari Limon (Kennedy), Sarah Hagan (Amanda), Kristy Wu (Chao-Ahn), K.D. Aubert (Nikki Wood)

and DB Woodside (Principal Wood)

Plot Overview

When Principal Wood invites Buffy to dinner, she accepts for the opportunity to better assess who he is and which side he’s fighting on. Coincidentally, Xander meets a girl who he asks on a date.

Meanwhile, the First reaches out to Andrew to carry out another evil task.

Notes

Monster of the Week

• Lyssa: Her demonic nature isn't touched upon before her death at the hands of Buffy, but she is apparently a nondescript temptress demon.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Bringer	Giles	Decapitated	Robson's Flat
2/3/4	Vampires	Buffy	Staked	Alleyway
5/6	Vampires	Robin Wood	Staked	Alleyway
7	Lissa	Buffy	Decapitated	Seal of Danthazar

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Potentials: Joanna, another potential is introduced in this episode, she apparently came to them between episodes. Also, Chao-Ahn is shown on screen for the first time.

• The First: The First finally returns in this episode and attempts to manipulate Andrew.

Characters

• Spike: Spike's chip has been removed entirely, much to the chagrin of Giles. We also find out that Spike will play some other role in The First's plans.

• Willow and Kennedy: Willow and Kennedy have apparently gotten together after their date in the previous episode.

• Principal Wood: Principal Wood has been revealed as a "freelance" vampire slayer. He was the son of a former slayer and manoeuvred himself into Sunnydale to fight the evil to come. It is also revealed that he was raised by his mother's watcher.

Referbacks

• 6x19 - Seeing Red: The trio escaped on jetpacks when Buffy foiled Andrew during Seeing Red. However, Andrew accidentally activated his jetpack beneath an overhang and crashed.

Jonathan: No wonder you crashed your jetpack.

• 1x04 - Teacher's Pet: Giles makes a reference to when Xander was nearly devoured by Miss French, a crazy she-mantis demon. She was the first in a long list of demons Xander has had an attraction to.

Giles: Something's eating Xander's head.

• 5x07 - Fool for Love: The slayer that Spike killed in the 1970s was Principal Wood's mother, whom he stole his leather jacket from. The subway fight was shown in a flashback during the referenced episode.

Wood: See, when I was a little boy, my mother was one. The one, actually—the slayer.

Trivia

The Show

• Recast: The woman who plays Principal Wood's deceased mother was recast from her appearance in "Fool for Love". Presumably this is because the original actress was older than the age that would associated with a Slayer.

Behind the Scenes

• Déjà vu: The shot of the vampire who comes around the corner is actually stock footage from "The Gift" and not a shot unique to the episode.

Allusions and References

• Joe Millionaire: Joe Millionaire is a reality series that aired on FOX about twenty women angling for a chance to marry a man who inherited $50 million. However, the twist is that he's not really a millionaire, he's just an average guy. The finale for the series aired on the same night as this episode.

Buffy: Watching a reality show about a millionaire?

• Kryptonite: Kryptonite is the only material that can negate Superman's powers. In the comics, kryptonite is a radioactive rock that is naturally green and causes significant damage to Kryptonians. There are other varieties that have different effects on different things like plants, Bizarro Supermen and Superpets.

Andrew: Say, um, do you have any weaknesses I should know about if I'm gonna work for you, like, uh, kryptonite or allergies?

• Scott Bakula: Scott Bakula is an actor who has starred in sci-fi series like Quantum Leap and Enterprise. As Andrew pointed out, he played Captain Archer in Enterprise.

Xander: I'm mentally undressing Scott Bakula right now. That's a start, isn't it?

Memorable Moments

• Principal Wood holding his own against two vampires.

Quotes

• Giles: Yes, and the language barrier is formidable. I was concerned that my Mandarin is a little thin, but as it turns out, she speaks Cantonese, which is thinner. But we muddled through and as I suspected, ice cream is a universal language.

Chao-Ahn: (subtitled) Like many from Asia, I am lactose-intolerant. I'm very uncomfortable.

• 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.

• Chao-Ahn: (subtitled Chinese) Why is everyone up? Are the flashcard monsters attacking?

Giles: She says she can't sleep. (to Chao-Ahn) Um, I made myself some warm milk. You can have it.

Chao-Ahn: (subtitled Chinese) You're trying to kill me!