Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode Guide - 1x01: Welcome to the Hellmouth
Introduction
The Slayer is a female - usually mid to late teens when she is called - gifted with supernatural strength, speed, agility and prophetic dreams whose duty it is to fight the forces of evil. Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a Slayer who has been kicked out of Hemery High in LA for setting her high school gym on fire (there were vampires inside but I’m not sure how well that held up). Buffy’s watcher, the person responsible for guiding and training her, has been killed, and all she really wants to do is move on from the Slaying thing to have a normal life in her new town of Sunnydale.
At first, things look good. Unfortunately, Buffy’s new town happens to be on a hellmouth, which draws in the supernatural. Though she tries to ignore Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), her new watcher, Buffy’s calling is harder to ignore when a dead body is found in with two holes in the neck.
This is a solid start for the series.
It is very dated. As the series progresses, it begins to feel more timeless. The performances are good. Later on, you will see the full expanse of what they can do, but again, it’s a good start.
Welcome to the Hellmouth is the first of a two-parter, continued in The Harvest. This episode is not quite the Buffy that I love, but the blueprints are there.
Notes
- Watch out for Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and Darla (actor’s name omitted to prevent spoilers). There is much more to both characters than meets the eye. - The Bronze, which appears in this episode, will be a permanent fixture of the show.
Not Skippable
Even if this wasn’t the first of a two-parter I would say this episode is not skippable due to so much important set-up.
Rating: 3/5
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