Prophecy Girl

Last updated
"Prophecy Girl"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 12
Directed by Joss Whedon
Written byJoss Whedon
Production code4V12
Original air dateJune 2, 1997 (1997-06-02)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight"		Next →
"When She Was Bad"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1
List of episodes

"Prophecy Girl" is the season finale of the first season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and the 12th episode of the series. It first aired on The WB on June 2, 1997. Series creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed the episode.

Contents

Buffy wants to quit slaying after Giles discovers an ancient prophecy that predicts her death, as the Master's ascent from the Hellmouth approaches. As the Scoobies battle an army of demons and the world's impending destruction, Xander finally asks Buffy to the prom, with equally disastrous consequences.

Plot

Reading a book of prophecies that Angel gave him, Giles learns that the Master is destined to rise the next day and that Buffy will die. An earthquake is felt all over town. The next morning, Buffy meets Giles in the library, the balcony of which has sustained significant damage from the earthquake. Buffy reports that the vampires are rising in number and getting braver.

Jenny Calendar interrupts Giles' study in the library to warn him that she sees apocalyptic portents. She tells him that Brother Luca, a monk in Cortona, is e-mailing her about the Anointed One. Giles asks her to get more information about this, promising he will explain everything later. Xander asks out Buffy to the dance despite knowing she likes Angel, but she turns him down. He asks out Willow as a rebound, but she turns him down too.

That evening, Buffy uses the restroom at school and finds the faucet running with blood. As Buffy enters the library she hears Giles telling Angel about the prophecy. Buffy, shocked, yells that she is quitting as the Slayer, throwing the cross Angel gave her on the ground. She goes back home and tries to persuade her mother to go away with her for the weekend; Joyce tells her how she met Buffy's father and instead gives her a white evening gown to go to the dance in.

The next day, Cordelia and Willow find the AV Club members slaughtered by vampires. Buffy, having heard, shows up in her evening gown at Willow's house; Willow expresses fear of their world being taken over by the vampires. Buffy goes back to the library, where Giles has explained to Jenny that Buffy is the Slayer. Giles decides to face the Master himself, instead of Buffy. Buffy reinstates herself as the Slayer, knocks Giles out when he tries to stop her and goes to kill the Master. Outside of school, Colin leads her to the Master's lair.

Willow and Xander show up at the library, where they hear that Buffy has gone off to see the Master. Xander goes to Angel's apartment, where he forces Angel to lead him to the Master's lair and help Buffy. The Master tells Buffy that it is her blood which will free him. He drinks from her and leaves her to drown in a shallow pool. Willow and Jenny suspect that the Hellmouth is underneath the Bronze and leave to warn the students there, but are surrounded by vampires. Cordelia rescues them in her car and drives it straight into the library. Xander finds Buffy and resuscitates her with CPR.

As Cordelia, Willow, Giles and Jenny fight off vampires trying to enter the library, a three-headed creature smashes through the floor, revealing that the Hellmouth is directly underneath the library itself. Buffy, now on the roof, tosses the Master down into the library, where he is impaled on broken furniture. He partly dusts, leaving only his skeleton. The world goes back to normal and everyone goes to the Bronze.

Production

Due to the first season of the show acting as a midseason replacement for Savannah , all twelve episodes were produced before the first episode aired (and as such, the conclusion of the episode serves to wrap the series up in case it were not renewed). All following seasons ran from September to May and received twenty-two episode pick-ups.

The exchange between Buffy and Angel, where he starts to tell her that he likes her dress but she cuts him off, saying, "Yeah, yeah. It was a big hit with everyone." was added in production and not in the original script. [1]

The budget for Buffy didn't allow for a computer-generated effect, so tentacle "costumes" were created for the huge demon that comes up out of the Hellmouth at the end of the episode. Each tentacle has a human being inside manipulating it from within. [1]

Broadcast and reception

"Prophecy Girl" was first broadcast on The WB on June 2, 1997. It received a Nielsen rating of 2.8 on its initial airing. [2]

Vox ranked this episode at #25 out of the 144 Buffy episodes, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the show, saying, "When Buffy’s voice cracks as she says, 'Giles, I’m 16 years old. I don’t want to die,' the show moves out of its goofy camp mode and into tragic horror, in the kind of tonal transition it would perfect over the next season." [3]

Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave "Prophecy Girl" a grade of A−, describing it as "a sterling example of how to write and direct this show". He particularly praised the quieter moments between the characters, and listed "the story feeling a little compressed" as his main qualm. [4] Emily VanDerWerff, also of The A.V. Club listed "Prophecy Girl" as one of the "10 episodes that show how Buffy The Vampire Slayer blew up genre TV", writing that it gave "a sense of the series at its early best." [5]

DVD Talk's Phillip Duncan described the episode as "a neat and tidy close without much fanfare" and felt that there was "too much crammed into this episode as several plot-points are struggled to be resolved". [6] On the other hand, a review from the BBC called it "a very satisfying conclusion", highlighting the tone and the performances. [7] Joss Whedon named "Prophecy Girl" as his tenth favorite episode. [8]

Screen Rant named it an episode including some of "The Best 60 Seconds From All 7 Seasons," beginning when "she faces the Master again, without fear, resulting in season 1's best minute. The Master attempts to hypnotize Buffy again, but she resists, grabs him by the neck, and launches him through a skylight." [9]

Rolling Stone ranked "Prophecy Girl" at #32 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list, quoting Buffy's plea to Giles, "I’m 16 years old, I don’t want to die,” and goes on to praise the finale, saying season one had been "mostly silly up to this point, but 'Prophecy Girl' elevated the show closer to what it would eventually become, a show about loss and pain and heroism." [10]

"Prophecy Girl" was ranked at #14 on Paste Magazine's "Every Episode Ranked" list [11] and #13 on BuzzFeed's "Ranking Every Episode" list. [12]

Related Research Articles

Master (<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i>) Fictional character

The Master is a fictional character on the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). He is a centuries-old vampire portrayed by Mark Metcalf, determined to open the portal to hell below Sunnydale High School in the fictional town of Sunnydale where the main character Buffy Summers lives. The premise of the series is that Buffy is a Slayer, a teenage girl endowed with superhuman strength and other powers, which she uses to kill vampires and other evil beings. Each season of the series Buffy and the small group of family and friends who work with her, nicknamed the Scooby Gang, must defeat an evil force referred to as the Big Bad; the villain is usually trying to bring on an apocalypse. The Master is the first season's Big Bad.

"The Wish" is the ninth episode of season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Marti Noxon, directed by David Greenwalt, and first broadcast on The WB on December 8, 1998.

"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is episode 16 of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Marti Noxon and first broadcast on The WB on February 10, 1998.

"Innocence" is episode 14 of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written and directed by Joss Whedon and first broadcast on The WB on January 20, 1998. It is part two of a two-part story. Part 1, "Surprise," was broadcast the day before.

"Some Assembly Required" is episode two of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on The WB on September 22, 1997. It was written by staff writer Ty King and directed by Bruce Seth Green.

"Homecoming" is the fifth episode of the third season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written and directed by David Greenwalt, and first broadcast on The WB on November 3, 1998.

"Revelations" is the seventh episode of season three of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Doug Petrie, directed by James A. Contner, and first broadcast on The WB on November 17, 1998.

"The Zeppo" is episode thirteen of season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Dan Vebber, directed by James Whitmore, Jr., and first broadcast on The WB on January 26, 1999. Feeling left out by the gang, Xander ends up accompanying a student named Jack O'Toole, who raises some friends from the dead and decides to blow up the high school. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang are trying to stop an apocalypse.

"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It originally aired on The WB on March 10, 1997 in a two-hour premiere along with the following episode, "The Harvest". The episode was written by the series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon and directed by Charles Martin Smith. "Welcome to the Hellmouth" received a Nielsen rating of 3.4 upon its original airing and received largely positive reviews from critics.

"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.

"Witch" is the third episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It serves as the show's first regular episode after the pilot and originally aired in the United States on March 17, 1997, on The WB. Sometimes billed as "The Witch", the episode was directed by Stephen Cragg and was the first episode not written by show creator Joss Whedon.

"Teacher's Pet" is the fourth episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode originally aired on The WB on March 24, 1997, attracting 2.0 million viewers. The episode was written by co-executive producer David Greenwalt and directed by Bruce Seth Green

"The Harvest" is the second episode of the first season of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by series creator executive producer Joss Whedon and directed by John T. Kretchmer. The episode originally aired on The WB on March 10, 1997, forming a two-hour premiere with the previous episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", and attracted 3.4 million viewers.

"When She Was Bad" is the season premiere of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the thirteenth episode in the series. The episode aired on The WB on September 15, 1997. The episode was written and directed by series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon.

"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on The WB on May 19, 1997.

"I, Robot...You, Jane" is the eighth episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written by staff writers Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden, and directed by Stephen Posey. The episode originally aired on The WB on April 28, 1997.

"Phases" is episode 15 of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by series story editors Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, and first broadcast on The WB on January 27, 1998. In the episode, Oz learns that he is a werewolf, while Buffy endures the emotional trauma of dealing with Angelus.

"What's My Line" is a two-episode story arc in season two of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was broadcast separately and aired on The WB. Part one aired on November 17, 1997 and part two aired on November 24, 1997.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer originally aired between March 10 and June 2, 1997, on The WB. Conceived as a mid-season replacement, the season consists of twelve episodes, each running approximately 45 minutes in length, and originally aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm ET.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 15, 1997, on The WB and concluded its 22-episode season on May 19, 1998. The first 13 episodes aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm ET, beginning with episode 14 the series moved to Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET, a timeslot the series would occupy for the rest of its run.

References

  1. 1 2 Christopher Golden, Nancy Holder. (October 1, 1998) "The Watcher's Guide, Volume 1". Pocket Books. ISBN   978-0671024338
  2. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's First Season". Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Grady, Constance (10 March 2017). "Every episode of Buffy, ranked, in honor of its 20th anniversary". Vox. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ Murray, Noel (26 June 2008). ""Nightmares", etc". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  5. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily (13 December 2013). "10 episodes that show how Buffy the Vampire Slayer blew up genre TV". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  6. ↑ Duncan, Phillip (21 January 2002). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season 1". DVD Talk . Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Prophecy Girl: Review". BBC. 4 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Bianco, Robert (April 28, 2003). "Show's creator takes a stab at 10 favorite episodes". USA Today . Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  9. ↑ Kevin, Stewart (9 November 2013). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Best 60 Seconds From All 7 Seasons". Screen Rant. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Francis, Jack (May 20, 2023). "'Buffy the Vampire Slayer': Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  11. ↑ Rabinowitz, Mark (May 19, 2023). "The Best Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes: Every Episode Ranked". Paste Magazine . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  12. ↑ Peitzman, Louis (November 14, 2013). "Ranking Every Episode Of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". BuzzFeed . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.