Buffy is injected with a serum that causes her to lose her Slayer abilities, as part of an initiation test designed by the Council of Watchers. Soon Buffy is in a fight for the life of herself and her mother against an ex-serial killer vampire.
Given that Slayers don’t live very long usually, it seems rather pointless to put them through an initiation that could very easily get them killed, just to train them in using their brains. There are a few too many holes and conveniences in the plot for my liking. Theoretically, Buffy should be able to outwit Zachary pretty easily, as he doesn’t come across as immensely clever, just psychotic. Therefore, a better test would be to pit the Slayer against a more intelligent vampire.
The way Buffy’s mother is captured smacks of a desperate attempt to give Buffy a reason to take on the vampire, especially as with everything Joyce should know by now, all she had to do was jump back inside the house and not invite the vampire in. This episode paints her as more stupid than she usually appears. Also, Zachary has several chances to kill Buffy, but doesn’t manage to, although it’s good to see that it’s not a case of someone arriving in the nick of time to save Buffy, and she is able to think her way to victory.
What does work well though is the father/daughter relationship building up between Giles and Buffy, with the Watcher coming across as being genuinely concerned about his charge, and looking after her to try to rectify his earlier mistake. The erosion of trust between them leads to an even stronger bond by the episode’s end, made more touching by the final moments. This makes the episode shine for characterization, and it also contains some moving scenes between Angel and Buffy about their relationship as Buffy turns 18. Scary and moving, but the vampire plot needs more work.
****
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