Perhaps the scene most indicative of Buffy's looming adulthood is one where Willow and resident Sunnydale High prom queen Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) find a group of students slaughtered in the A/V room, a bloody handprint smearing a television set as it plays harmless old cartoons. "It wasn't our world anymore," Willow later confides to Buffy. "They made it theirs. And they had fun."
The entire episode is a stunning tour de force, with Whedon in the director's chair for the first time. His command of the screen is as present as Gellar's command of her character, and he crafts the series' strongest visuals yet. With "Prophecy Girl," Whedon fully delivers on the promise he's built up, and he accomplishes everything he could possibly have hoped to achieve with this first season, all in one fell swoop. The fact that he still had so much more to say, and so much more to accomplish, is a testament to his genius.
This first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, despite its occasional clunkers and uneven consistency, reveals one of the greatest American writers of the last decade or so finding his voice and coming into his own. This is even more remarkable considering that Buffy was a mid-season replacement borne from a terrible 1992 film which so butchered Whedon's intent that he cried when he saw it. Seeing him take back what is rightfully his is a beautiful thing to watch, just as it is to watch Buffy confidently pick up her stake and confront the Master in the face of everything she's been told.
The Episodes:
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" - 
"The Harvest" - 
"The Witch" - 
"Teacher's Pet" - 
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" - 
"The Pack" -
"Angel" -
"I Robot, You Jane" - (Worst Episode)
"The Puppet Show" -
"Nightmares" -
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" - 
"Prophecy Girl" - (Best Episode)
Article comments
1 - Wesley Mead
Great article man, a worthy tribute to the formative season of a genuine TV gem.
2 - niun
I have the full Buffy set and it is boxed bliss! hours, days, weeks and years of fun and sharp wit to memorize for later use. buy it, own it, love it!!!
3 - Mike M
Fantastic review on awesome television series that has lasting impact on the industry. Keep up good work, dude!