Buffy the Vampire Slayer/The Harvest (2)

The Harvest (2)
Season 1, Episode 2
Airdate	March 10, 1997
Production Number	4V02
Written by	Joss Whedon
Directed by	John T. Kretchmer
← 1x01 Welcome to the Hellmouth (1)	1x03 → The Witch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season One

The Harvest (2) is the second episode of the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase)

and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles)

Guest Starring: Mark Metcalf (The Master), Brian Thompson (Luke), David Boreanaz (Angel), Ken Lerner (Principal Flutie), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Julie Benz (Darla)

and Eric Balfour (Jesse)

Co-Starring: Mercedes McNab (Harmony), Jeffrey Steven Smith (Guy in Comp. Class), Teddy Lane, Jr. (Bouncer), Deborah Brown (Girl)

Plot Overview

Picking up from where the first episode left off, Buffy escapes the graveyard with Willow and Xander but discovers Jesse has been taken. When Buffy goes into the sewer system to try to save Jesse, Xander follows - both unaware that Jesse has already been turned into a vampire and the Master is using him as bait.

After Buffy and Xander escape, they return to the library where they, along with Giles, determine that the Master was trapped in an earthquake when he tried to open the Hellmouth sixty years before. Once every century, he can enlist the help of a "Vessel" to try to escape in a ceremony called "The Harvest". To stop the Master's escape, the Vessel must be killed, and Xander suggests the vampires will attack at The Bronze.

Meanwhile, Luke drinks the Master's blood and becomes his Vessel. Every human Luke kills will make the Master stronger and help him break out of his confinement. While Buffy saves Cordelia and kills Luke, Xander accidentally stakes Jesse, his friend.

Notes

Monster of the Week

• The Master: Because this episode continues from the events of the previous episode, The Master and his vampire minions are still the main focus. Although Buffy has many of its own rules which run counter to common myth, it is said in this episode that vampires are harmed by holy water.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Anonymous Vampire	Buffy	Staked	Cemetery
2	Bouncer	Luke	Blood drained	The Bronze
3	Anonymous Girl	Luke	Blood drained	The Bronze
4	Jesse	Xander	Staked	The Bronze
6	Luke	Buffy	Staked	The Bronze

Music

• "Right My Wrong" by Sprung Monkey: When Buffy is attempting to leave Sunnydale High early to find Jesse, "Right My Wrong" by Sprung Monkey can be heard in the background. Sprung Monkey appeared in the first episode at The Bronze, where they played three songs.

• "Wearing Me Down" by Dashboard Prophets: The song that Cordelia says that she likes in the club is "Wearing Me Down" by Dashboard Prophets. It can be heard a second time when Luke is leading the other vampires to the club as well. "Wearing Me Down" was released on Dashboard Prophets' debut 1996 album Burning Out the Inside.

Arc Advancement

Characters

• Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles work together to find a way to prevent the Harvest. This is the first time the "Scooby Gang" (or "Scoobies") works together in this capacity, though the group's members will change over time. Xander will be the first to dub them the "Scooby Gang" in episode "What's My Line, Part One" of season two.

Trivia

The Show

• First Appearance: Harmony Kendall appears for the first time in this episode. She'll also appear from time to time as a crony for Cordelia and have a billed role in the final season of Angel.

Behind the Scenes

• Death Averted: Darla was originally meant to die in this episode. Instead, Whedon decided to let her escape and return to fight another day. She would eventually become crucial in Angel's backstory as well as future "big bad" storylines.

• International Titles: Because Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an international phenomenon, the title of this episode has been translated into several different episodes to go along with the redubbed show. Some of these names are listed below:
  • French: "Bienvenue à Sunnydale - 2ème partie" ("Welcome to Sunnydale - Part 2")
  • German: "Die Zeit der Ernte" ("The Time of Harvest")
  • Italian: "La riunione" ("The gathering")
  • Japanese: "収穫" ("Shūkaku" - "The Harvest")
  • Portuguese: "A Colheita" (literal translation)

Allusions and References

• The Wild Bunch: The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western about an aging group of outlaws looking for one last score as the world around them begins to turn into a modern society.

Quotes

• Giles: This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons, demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their Hell. But in time, they lost their purchase on this reality and the way was made for mortal animals, for man. All that remains of the Old Ones are vestiges; certain magicks, certain creatures.

Buffy: And vampires.

Xander: Okay, this is where I have a problem. See, because we're talking about vampires. We're having a talk with vampires in it.

• Willow: Oh, I - I need to sit down.

Buffy: You are sitting down.

Willow: Oh. Good for me.

• Giles: For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One.

Buffy: He loves doing this part.

Giles: Alright. The Slayer hunts vampires, Buffy is a Slayer. Don't tell anyone. Well, I think that's all the vampire information you need.

• Buffy: Jesse is my responsibility. I let him get taken.

Xander: That's not true.

Willow: If you hadn't shown up they would have taken us, too. Does anybody mind if I pass out?

Buffy: Breathe.

Willow: Breathe.

Buffy: Breathe.

• Giles: You have no idea where they took Jesse?

Buffy: I looked around, but soon as they got clear of the graveyard, they could have just, voom!

Xander: They can fly?

Buffy: They can drive.

Xander: Oh.

• Giles: Let's take an enormous intuitive leap, shall we, and say they went underground.

• Giles: So all the city plans are just open to the public?

Willow: Um, well, i-in a way. I sort of stumbled onto them when I accidentally decrypted the city council's security system.

Xander: Someone's been naughty.

• Xander: So, what's the plan? We saddle up, right?

Buffy: There's no "we", okay? I'm the Slayer, and you're not.

Xander: I knew you'd throw that back in my face.

Buffy: Xander, this is deeply dangerous.

Xander: I'm inadequate. That's fine. I'm less than a man.

• Xander: This is just too much. I mean, yesterday my life's like, "Uh-oh, pop quiz." Today it's rain of toads.

Willow: I know. And everyone else thinks it's just a normal day.

Xander: Nobody knows. It's like we've got this big secret.

Willow: We do. That's what a secret is, when you know something the other guys don't.

• Angel: They really don't like me.

Buffy: How could that possibly be?

• Angel: I knew you'd figure out this entryway sooner or later. Actually, I thought it was gonna be a little sooner.

• Buffy: Do you know what it's like to have a friend? (Angel looks away) That wasn't supposed to be a stumper.

• Boy: (about Buffy) Why was she kicked out?

Cordelia: Uh, because she's a psycho loony!

Willow: No, she's not.

Cordelia: What?

Willow: She's not a psycho. You don't even know her.

Cordelia: Excuse me? Who gave you permission to exist? Do I horn in on your private discussions? No. Why? Because you're boring.

• Xander: It's cool. Buffy's a superhero.

• Jesse: I'm connected, man, to everything! I can hear the worms in the Earth!

Xander: That's a plus.

• Giles: It's all coming together. I rather wish it weren't.

• Xander: I don't like vampires. I'm gonna take a stand and say they're not good.

• Buffy: So, Giles! Got anything that can make this day any worse?

Giles: How about the end of the world?

Buffy: Knew I could count on you.

• Buffy: This is really, really important.

Joyce: I know. If you don't go out, it'll be the end of the world. Everything is life or death when you're a sixteen-year-old girl.

• Cordelia: Senior boys are the only way to go. Guys from our grade? Forget about it. They're children, you know? Like Jesse. Did you see him last night, following me around like a little puppy dog. You just wanna put him to sleep. But senior boys - ruff! They have mystery. They have... What's the word I'm searching for? Cars. I just am not the type to settle, you know? It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more.

Girl: You know, I...

Cordelia: Hello, Miss Motormouth, can I get a sentence finished?

• Giles: Jesse is dead. You have to remember that, when you see him, you're not looking at your friend. You're looking at the thing that killed him.

• Buffy: What exactly were you expecting?

Xander: I don't know, something. I mean, the dead rose. We should at least have an assembly.

• Giles: We're at the centre of a mystical convergence here. We may, in fact, stand between the Earth and its total destruction.

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.