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watcherscouncil2024-03-17 09:13 am
wearing_tearing) wrote in watcherscouncil2024-03-17 09:13 am
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BtVS - 1.10: Nightmares
Original Air Date: May 12, 1997
Writer: Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt
Director: Bruce Seth Green
The episode starts with Buffy walking into the Master’s cave. It’s pretty obvious something isn’t quite right, considering how easily scared Buffy gets when seeing him—she doesn’t even try to fight! Turns out, she’s having a… nightmare!
Joyce wakes her up from it, and here we have a mention of Buffy’s dad! I think it’s the first one we get since the beginning of the show? He’s supposed to come visit during the weekend. We also have Buffy further explaining the existence of her dad to Willow and how the family dynamics work now that she lives in Sunnydale.
Xander having no idea of what’s going on/memory of class hits me in my ADHD brain lol Sometimes information just doesn’t stick! In his case, it was because he was ogling the teacher, but still.
And we have a child lurking around! I do find it a bit weird that this season has not one, but two creepy kids? They’re involved in the plot in very different ways, sure, but it does make one wonder why the writers decided to lean on that again. Maybe because it was a solid Horror trope that wasn’t all tired all yet? Maybe because the kid obviously Did Not Belong in a High School setting and made the audience instantly suspicious? Who knows.
I hate the bit with the spiders. True nightmare fuel.
Then there’s the Master being fatherly and explaining fear to Colin. Also, masochist Master confirmed! I wonder if there are fics about that somewhere on the internet :D
Xander does have so much confidence in Buffy. Can’t say he’s wrong, though. If there is something bad out there, she will slay it. But at what cost…
Giles getting lost is the stacks! We all have our fears, I suppose.
Okay, but Buffy suddenly having a test in a class she’s never been in and has no idea about is one of my recurring nightmares when I’m stressed! Nevermind that I haven’t been in school in years and years. Sometimes, the trauma of test taking sticks around.
ALSO! What does it say about the pressure school and academia in general put on students that the SLAYER’s worst nightmare is this situation??? Nothing good.
Willow being the one on the right track about what’s happening this time! I do like when things switch up like that. It shows that Buffy and Giles are not the only ones capable of connecting the supernatural dots.
Poor half-naked Xander.
GILES CAN’T READ.
And we have a name for creepy kid: Billy Palmer!
Buffy’s dad shows up! Do they let random adults walk around school like that in real life? Or is this a TV-only thing?
Oh wow, I had totally forgotten this nightmare conversation between Buffy and her dad. Hurtful, unnecessary, heartbreaking, traumatic. SMG’s expression here is a knife to the heart.
Willow getting it! Giles basically summing it all up with a “it’s easier when you live on a Hellmouth” is pretty great. It gives “this might as well happen” energy.
Cordelia’s worst nightmare being bad hair tracks.
I don’t remember what Willow’s nightmare is about so I am very! tense waiting for that reveal.
Also random swastikas. Great. And Xander, we don’t pick up food we find on the floor! That’s disgusting. The fact that he doesn’t even question it???? Please.
The implied child abuse re Billy and how that amps up as Buffy interacts with him is so so sad. I don’t think I realized what was going on when I first watched it and needed it spelled out for me, but as an adult… the signs are so obvious in the way he speaks and what he refuses to say, plus how he flinches from touch. :(
Okay, Willow’s nightmare is performing to the public! Not as nefarious as I thought it would be. Still so bad if you have any sort of anxiety like that.
I hate clowns, so I’m totally with Xander in this one. They are evil and stuff of nightmares.
LMAO THE MASTER LEANING AGAINST THE STONE I’M SO SLFJSLF that’s so funny and I love how campy he is sometimes.
I do very much like what he says about being free because Buffy’s nightmare made him free. It brings up interesting questions about the power and impact nightmares/the nightmare world can have on people and their real lives. Sometimes our fear truly do fuck things up for us.
Do people in Sunnydale not question all the weird shit that happens? Do they just accept it and then move on with their lives?
Giles’ nightmare of losing Buffy and Buffy’s nightmare of becoming a vampire always make me a little emotional. They are both things that can happen at any time considering the lives they live and what they face.
I do love Buffy saying she’s a scary thing! And watching her fight as a vampire is fantastic. It’s a bit different in style than her Slayer fighting and I very much enjoy the contrast between them.
So, the moral of this episode is to: face your fears! Not an easy thing for most of us. It takes a lot of courage to be able to do something like that and come out on the other side of it. As Xander says earlier, it is liberating.
Buffy realizes who the monster from Billy’s nightmare is and, honestly… I wish he would have been fed to a vampire or something.
Buffy’s dad comes back at the end of the episode and we have a smiling Buffy leaving with him. It doesn’t seem like her nightmare caused any lasting impact on her (like it did on me, watching it).
Aaaaaand, we finish with Xander calling himself sick because he was still attracted to vampire Buffy. Sure thing, Xander.
Vampires Slayed: 0.
Series Total: 12.
Giles Taking Off/Putting On Glasses: 1.
Series Total: 14.
Episode Quote:
The Master: Your nightmares are made flesh.
Writer: Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt
Director: Bruce Seth Green
The world of nightmares and reality become one when everyone in Sunnydale is living out their worst fears. While Xander comes to school in his underwear and Giles is unable to read, Buffy must unravel the mystery before reality folds completely into the world of nightmares.We’ve arrived at one of my favorite Season 1 episodes!
The episode starts with Buffy walking into the Master’s cave. It’s pretty obvious something isn’t quite right, considering how easily scared Buffy gets when seeing him—she doesn’t even try to fight! Turns out, she’s having a… nightmare!
Joyce wakes her up from it, and here we have a mention of Buffy’s dad! I think it’s the first one we get since the beginning of the show? He’s supposed to come visit during the weekend. We also have Buffy further explaining the existence of her dad to Willow and how the family dynamics work now that she lives in Sunnydale.
Xander having no idea of what’s going on/memory of class hits me in my ADHD brain lol Sometimes information just doesn’t stick! In his case, it was because he was ogling the teacher, but still.
And we have a child lurking around! I do find it a bit weird that this season has not one, but two creepy kids? They’re involved in the plot in very different ways, sure, but it does make one wonder why the writers decided to lean on that again. Maybe because it was a solid Horror trope that wasn’t all tired all yet? Maybe because the kid obviously Did Not Belong in a High School setting and made the audience instantly suspicious? Who knows.
I hate the bit with the spiders. True nightmare fuel.
Then there’s the Master being fatherly and explaining fear to Colin. Also, masochist Master confirmed! I wonder if there are fics about that somewhere on the internet :D
Xander does have so much confidence in Buffy. Can’t say he’s wrong, though. If there is something bad out there, she will slay it. But at what cost…
Giles getting lost is the stacks! We all have our fears, I suppose.
Okay, but Buffy suddenly having a test in a class she’s never been in and has no idea about is one of my recurring nightmares when I’m stressed! Nevermind that I haven’t been in school in years and years. Sometimes, the trauma of test taking sticks around.
ALSO! What does it say about the pressure school and academia in general put on students that the SLAYER’s worst nightmare is this situation??? Nothing good.
Willow being the one on the right track about what’s happening this time! I do like when things switch up like that. It shows that Buffy and Giles are not the only ones capable of connecting the supernatural dots.
Poor half-naked Xander.
GILES CAN’T READ.
And we have a name for creepy kid: Billy Palmer!
Buffy’s dad shows up! Do they let random adults walk around school like that in real life? Or is this a TV-only thing?
Oh wow, I had totally forgotten this nightmare conversation between Buffy and her dad. Hurtful, unnecessary, heartbreaking, traumatic. SMG’s expression here is a knife to the heart.
Willow getting it! Giles basically summing it all up with a “it’s easier when you live on a Hellmouth” is pretty great. It gives “this might as well happen” energy.
Cordelia’s worst nightmare being bad hair tracks.
I don’t remember what Willow’s nightmare is about so I am very! tense waiting for that reveal.
Also random swastikas. Great. And Xander, we don’t pick up food we find on the floor! That’s disgusting. The fact that he doesn’t even question it???? Please.
The implied child abuse re Billy and how that amps up as Buffy interacts with him is so so sad. I don’t think I realized what was going on when I first watched it and needed it spelled out for me, but as an adult… the signs are so obvious in the way he speaks and what he refuses to say, plus how he flinches from touch. :(
Okay, Willow’s nightmare is performing to the public! Not as nefarious as I thought it would be. Still so bad if you have any sort of anxiety like that.
I hate clowns, so I’m totally with Xander in this one. They are evil and stuff of nightmares.
LMAO THE MASTER LEANING AGAINST THE STONE I’M SO SLFJSLF that’s so funny and I love how campy he is sometimes.
I do very much like what he says about being free because Buffy’s nightmare made him free. It brings up interesting questions about the power and impact nightmares/the nightmare world can have on people and their real lives. Sometimes our fear truly do fuck things up for us.
Do people in Sunnydale not question all the weird shit that happens? Do they just accept it and then move on with their lives?
Giles’ nightmare of losing Buffy and Buffy’s nightmare of becoming a vampire always make me a little emotional. They are both things that can happen at any time considering the lives they live and what they face.
I do love Buffy saying she’s a scary thing! And watching her fight as a vampire is fantastic. It’s a bit different in style than her Slayer fighting and I very much enjoy the contrast between them.
So, the moral of this episode is to: face your fears! Not an easy thing for most of us. It takes a lot of courage to be able to do something like that and come out on the other side of it. As Xander says earlier, it is liberating.
Buffy realizes who the monster from Billy’s nightmare is and, honestly… I wish he would have been fed to a vampire or something.
Buffy’s dad comes back at the end of the episode and we have a smiling Buffy leaving with him. It doesn’t seem like her nightmare caused any lasting impact on her (like it did on me, watching it).
Aaaaaand, we finish with Xander calling himself sick because he was still attracted to vampire Buffy. Sure thing, Xander.
Vampires Slayed: 0.
Series Total: 12.
Giles Taking Off/Putting On Glasses: 1.
Series Total: 14.
Episode Quote:
The Master: Your nightmares are made flesh.