| Series: | Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 5 |
| Production: | 4V05 |
| Guests: |
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| Director: | David Semel |
| Episode List: | List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes |
| Season Article: | Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1 |
| Prev: | Teacher's Pet |
| Next: | The Pack |
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" is the fifth episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on The WB on March 31, 1997. The episode was written by story editors Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, and directed by David Semel. The narrative follows Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), as she struggles to find a date and stop the rise of the Anointed One.
At night in a cemetery, Buffy stakes a vampire and Giles criticizing her technique. He notices a ring on the ground, which leads him to believe that the vampire she just slayed was not a random kill.
In his underground lair, the Master (Mark Metcalf) reads a prophecy from the Writings of Aurelius to his minions, stating that the Anointed One will rise and lead the Slayer into hell.
At school, Buffy and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) are in the library researching the engravings on the ring they found in the cemetery. Owen (Christopher Wiehl) arrives and inquires about a poetry book by Emily Dickinson. He expresses surprise at finding Buffy in the library since he doesn't think she has any interest in books. After Owen leaves, Buffy quickly tells Giles she needs any books he may have of Dickinson's writings.
At lunch, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Buffy excitedly chat about her interaction with Owen. Buffy spots Owen sitting alone and goes over to join him, but Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) beats her to it, inviting him to the Bronze. Ignoring Cordelia's invitation, he asks Buffy to meet him there instead. However, Giles has found out about the prophecy from the symbol on the ring and is convinced that the Anointed One will rise that night.
Despite Buffy's protests regarding her date with Owen, they spend hours sitting in a cemetery waiting for a vampire to rise. They encounter no vampires, and though Giles is certain that his calculations are correct, he decides to end their fruitless stakeout. Buffy rushes to the Bronze, only to see Owen dancing with Cordelia. Crushed, she leaves without trying to talk to him.
Meanwhile, in a airport shuttle on the way to Sunnydale, a young boy talks to a man. The man suddenly stands up and begins to lecture the other passengers on God's judgment, quoting prophecies. Suddenly, a vampire walks in front of the van, causing it to crash. Another vampire swarms the wreck, attacking the passengers.
The next morning at Xander's locker, Owen asks Buffy out on another date that evening and gives her his pocket watch so that she doesn't miss it again. Buffy jumps at the opportunity while Xander stews in his jealousy.
In her bedroom later that night, Buffy asks Willow and Xander about what she should wear on her date with Owen. Giles shows up unexpectedly, presenting a newspaper article that shows five people died when the van crashed. Among them was suspected murderer Andrew, the man who was quoting prophecies. Buffy insists on going on her date, stating that it is the 90's and she can be a Slayer while still having a social life. Giles relents and decides to check out the funeral home by himself.
While Buffy is dancing with Owen at the Bronze, Cordelia tries to interrupt them on the dance floor. Meanwhile, Giles is followed to the cemetery by vampires and barricades himself inside a room. Xander and Willow find him through a window and run to the Bronze to find Buffy.
Angel arrives at the Bronze and insists that Buffy leave because "serious things" are about to happen that evening. Eventually, Xander and Willow convince her to come to the funeral home by pretending to be a couple that wants to do something daring on a double date. Owen wants to tag along, but she tells him to stay behind and kisses him goodbye.
Buffy, Willow, and Xander arrive at the funeral home when Owen suddenly appears. While Giles and Buffy search the mortuary coolers, Borba rises as a vampire and attacks Owen, knocking him unconscious. Buffy, angry that he has "killed [her] date," kills Borba by sliding him into the burning furnace.
At school the next day, Owen is extremely excited about what they've gone through and wants more. He says this is what he likes about Buffy, and almost being killed made him feel alive. Buffy realizes that there is no way that she can have a relationship with him; sooner or later, he will get himself killed. With a heavy heart, she breaks up with him.
Giles comforts Buffy about her sacrifices by telling her what a burden it was for him as a ten-year-old to find out his destiny was to be a Watcher when he would rather have been a fighter pilot or possibly a grocer. Both agree that at least the Master will also be unhappy because the Anointed One was killed.
In his underground lair, the Master welcomes the real Anointed One — the young boy from the van.
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" first aired on The WB on March 31, 1997. It earned a Nielsen rating of 2.8 on its original airing. It was the 104th most watched show out of all 115 primetime shows of its time; fifth out of the eleven shows from The WB.[1]
Vox ranked it at #115 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list of all 144 episodes (to mark the 20th anniversary of the show), calling it "the kind of sweet, wistful little story that Buffy first cut its teeth on while it was still figuring out how to go mythic and grand."[2]
Noel Murray of The A.V. Club liked that the episode explored a new side of Buffy, but felt that the four previous episodes had not set up Buffy as a "person with normal teenage tastes and desires". He still found "a lot to like" in the episode.[3] A BBC review stated that some "very amusing scenes compensate for the absence of an involving plot". The review noted that the plot took a while to get started and the direction of the funeral home sequences made it fall short of its potential.[4] DVD Talk's Philip Duncan identified "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" the "weakest" episode of those relating to the Master plotline in the season.[5]