These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
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Buffy Summers is the Slayer, but after being expelled from her old high school for burning down the gym (full of vampires) she just wants to forget about her destiny and be a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She and her mother move from L.A. to Sunnydale, California. A new school, new friends, and a chance to start over.
But Sunnydale is on top of a Hellmouth -- a center of mystical convergence that draws evil and demonic forces -- and Buffy soon realizes that she will have to pick up her stakes and holy water in order to save her new friends.
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"In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer."
I like how the teaser opens with what appears to be a generic horror scenario. Boy and girl sneaking away to have sex (presumably), and just when we get to the part where the girl, or both the boy and girl, get killed our expectations are completely overturned and the girl turns into a vampire and kills the boy.
Overall a passable job of introducing our protagonists, the story, the setting, and our villains for the season.
The episode does well in establishing that our heroine is super powered compared to ordinary folks. She has greater than human strength and reflexes as well as what appear to be prophetic dreams. Background info. is established for the other main characters, but Buffy's story is already established. She is not new to slaying vampires. She has already had to fight for her life, lost her friends, and been kicked out of her former school because of her calling. She doesn't want to do this any more. However when she sees what's happening, vampire going off with one of her new friends, she can't just stand idly by.
The other main characters are introduced as rounded individuals that we can like or hate from the start. Don't get me wrong, there is a long way to go in establishing a 3-dimensional character background for our core four, but they start off feeling like someone we might have known in our own high school. There is only so much that can be done in an hour, and this does a passable job of introducing our protagonists to the audience.
Sunnydale is established as a small town;
'Well, not much goes on in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale."
"...It's in the bad part of town. About a half a block from the good part of town. We don't have a whole lot of town here."
"It's two hours on the freeway from Neiman Marcus."
"This is Sunnydale! How bad an evil can there be here?"
We are introduced to Angel, who gives Buffy several gifts, a cross and information about the Harvest. The Big Bad (the Master) also makes his appearance before the end of the cliffhanger.
My view/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - undecided
Cordelia - dislike
Angel - undecided
The Master - undecided
Overall I consider this a good episode compared to part two as well as the rest of the season.
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