Directed by David Semel
Written by Rob Des Hotel, Dean Batali, Matt Kiene, & Joe Reinkemeyer
The Master is waiting for the fulfillment of a prophecy, about the arrival of The Anointed One, apparently a powerful servant that he will use to destroy the Slayer. While Giles tries to research the prophecy and put together clues to stop this from happening, Buffy's eye is caught by Owen, a brooding, morbid, well-read boy who is making lots of local girls swoon. Giles tries to get her to put such matters aside and concentrate on the job of being a slayer, but after his first guess about the prophecy is wrong he reluctantly gives Buffy the ok to go out on a date with Owen.
Meanwhile, a mini bus carrying the driver, a woman, a mother and her child, and Andrew Borba (a burly fundamentalist on the run after multiple murders) is attacked by vampires and everyone is killed. Giles goes to the funeral home alone to investigate because he is reluctant to interfere with Buffy's date, only to find multiple vampires on the premises. He barricades himself in a room and tells Willow and Xander to inform Buffy and bring her there.
Willow and Xander try to help Buffy ditch Owen, but he follows them to the funeral parlor. Buffy manages to get away and joins Giles in searching for the Anointed One, but they find nothing. Meanwhile, Borba comes back as a vampire and attacks Owen, Willow and Xander. Buffy arrives, but Owen is hurt by Borba. Buffy and Borba both believe Owen to be dead, and Buffy attacks Borba furiously in response, finally killing him by throwing him into the incinerator.
The next day at school Owen tells Buffy how much he enjoyed the thrill of being there with her and found an excitement he never knew in the danger. He asks when they're going to do it again, but Buffy, realizing that Owen might not be so lucky next time, reluctantly breaks things off in an attempt to protect him from getting himself killed by his own eagerness. Afterward, she and Giles comfort themselves with the knowledge that the prophecy and the Master's plan were foiled.
At that moment the Master repeats his reading of the prophecy, and turns to the Anointed One; the young boy from the bus, who is now a vampire.
Tropes:
- Absurdly Ineffective Barricade: Xander and Willow lock themselves in a meeting room by shoving a couple of chairs in front of the door: so far so good. How do they reinforce this barricade? Chair cushions, and a lampshade.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Gender-inverted when Owen gets turned on by Buffy and what appears to be her thrill-seeking delinquent lifestyle.
- Anti Climax Cut:Giles: Tonight, you go into battle!
(Cut to Buffy and Giles in the graveyard, looking bored) - Ax-Crazy: Andrew Borba before he became a vampire.
- Bait-and-Switch: The Anointed One is always described as a great warrior and a powerful vampire, and they take down the one fitting the description. The episode closes showing what is apparently the actual Anointed One: A small child.
- Bat Phone:Buffy: If the Apocalypse comes, beep me.
- Berserk Button: Buffy inflicts a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown when she thinks Owen has been killed; in fact Xander stops Willow from telling her otherwise as she's doing so well.
- Bond One-Liner:I'm Buffy, and you're history!
- Buffy Speak: Owen thinks Buffy is Danger!Girl.
- Bus Full of Innocents: A minibus is attacked by the vampires seeking the Anointed One.
- Chekhov's Gag: Annoyed at being taken away from her date, Buffy says "Bite me!" then looks at Angel.
- Covert Pervert: Xander breaks a mirror trying to peek at Buffy changing clothes. That's seven years Unresolved Sexual Tension for you, Xander-Man.
- Discriminate and Switch: Owen comes by the library to borrow an Emily Dickinson anthology. Giles tries to play along when Buffy starts trying to flirt with him.Buffy: (clearly BS'ing) We're both fans.
Giles: Yes, uh, she's quite a good poet, I mean for a...
Buffy: A girl?
Giles: For an American. - Does This Make Me Look Fat?: What Buffy worries about instead of the important task of vampire slaying.
- Downer Ending: Buffy breaks off with Owen to keep him from killing himself, but takes solace that they stopped The Anointed One. Nope, they got the wrong guy. The Anointed One was actually a seemingly unimportant small child killed and turned during the raid. And now he's working with The Master. D'oh!
- Early-Installment Weirdness: When Buffy stakes a vampire, he leaves a ring behind, but in all other cases when a vamp is staked everything turns to dust including clothing and jewellery.
- The Fundamentalist: Borba starts out as some kind of far-right evangelical extremist who blathers on and on about the end of days and repenting of one's sins. He continues this after being turned into a vampire but is visibly startled when Giles is able to repel him by brandishing a crucifix.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Xander is blatantly jealous of Owen for getting a date with Buffy.
- Hypocritical Humor: Cordelia calls Buffy's behavior toward Owen inappropriate, then when she sees Angel, she says "That boy is gonna need some serious oxygen after I'm through with him".
- In Harm's Way: Buffy gives Owen the It's Not You, It's Me speech rather than bring him into the Scoobies, as his newly-acquired taste for danger will only get him killed.
- Ironic Echo: Both Giles and Owen say of Buffy that "She's the strangest girl." Giles when she gives his vampire stuff the brush off so she can go on a date, Owen when she gives the date a brush off so she can go save Giles from vampires.
- It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Buffy's attempts to have a normal date keep getting ruined due to her Slayer duties.
- Kill It with Fire: Buffy and Giles kill Borba by shoving him into a cremator.
- The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life:Giles: Buffy, when I said you could be the Slayer and have a social life, I didn't mean at the same time.
- Motivational Kiss: When Buffy has to leave Owen to fight a vampire, she gives him a passionate kiss on the lips to make it clear she's not just making up an excuse to walk out on him.
- Motivational Lie: Well, more like Motivational Lie of Omission. Buffy starts kicking Borba's ass after believing that Borba killed Owen, so Xander stops Willow from pointing out that Owen is alive and coming to until after the fight is over.
- Becomes a bit of foreshadowing for Season 2. Willow wants Xander to tell Buffy that she may be able to restore Angel's soul via magic. Xander instead chooses another lie of omission by not letting Buffy know this, ostensibly so she can fight Angel with no stalling or holds barred and save Giles.
- Murder by Cremation: Buffy gets rid of Borba by shoving him into the crematory oven.
- Neck Lift: When the Master learns one of his flunkies was careless enough to be found by Buffy and risked her learning of the Anointed One's coming, he warns the others against repeating such a blunder while picking one up and throwing him several feet away.
- "No Peeking!" Request: Willow and Xander are helping Buffy pick out something to wear on her date with Owen, and both girls give Xander a look when Buffy needs to take off her bathrobe to change clothes, but he just plays dumb until Willow physically grabs him and turns him around. And he still tries to sneak a peek by trying to angle her dresser mirror.
- Oh, Crap!: Giles, walking into the morgue, turns around to look at the empty cemetery behind him. He turns back around to see a vampire. He turns back around again to see another vampire. "Damn."
- One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Happens on a couple of occasions.Willow: What are you talking about?
Giles: What are you talking about?
Buffy and Willow: Boys!
Giles: Yes, well, I'm talking about trouble. - The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Giles is that used to using his Library as a Slayer base, he's genuinely shocked when a student walks in looking for a book.
- Rare Random Drop: A regular vampire drops the plot ring.
- Red Herring: Borba is set up as the prophesied Anointed One; a powerful vampire who will aid the Master. He would seem to fit the bill, what with being a ranting psychotic who's built like a tank.
- Sarcasm Mode:Giles: Alright, I'll just jump in my time machine, go back to the twelfth century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show.
Buffy: Okay, at this point you're abusing sarcasm. - Shaped Like ItselfXander: You're acting a little overly, aren't you? I mean, you could have any guy in school.
Buffy: He's not just any guy. He's more... Oweny.
Xander: Sure, he's got a certain Owenosity, but that's not hard to find. - Stab the Scorpion: Variation between the Master and a mook where the Master (who we've seen kill a mook with his index finger) plucks a bug out of the air next to the mook's head.
- Talk About That Thing: The Scoobies telling Buffy in front of Owen about the vamps in the funeral home.
- Talkative Loon: Initially, Buffy in the presence of Owen. Andrew Borba before and after he dies.
- Tap on the Head: Giles, of course. Owen. Borba, though it's very temporary. Buffy, too. This was a very concussive episode.
- That Came Out Wrong:Xander: So Buffy, how'd the slaying go last night?
Buffy: Xander! (indicates crowded lunchroom)
Xander: Oops, I mean uh, how'd the 'laying' go last night...no, wait, I don't meant that either!- Also Giles's "Plunge and move on, plunge and move on," gets a raised eyebrow from Buffy, although he remains oblivious.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Well, one of the bad guys wins this round, anyway. Borba doesn't win, but The Master does get his Anointed One.
- Use Your Head: Borba breaking through the glass.
