The Dark Age (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Last updated
"The Dark Age"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 8
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
Written byDean Batali
Rob Des Hotel
Production code5V08
Original air dateNovember 10, 1997 (1997-11-10)
Guest appearances
  • Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar
  • Robin Sachs as Ethan Rayne
  • Stuart McLean as Philip Henry
  • Wendy Way as Dierdre Page
  • Michael Earl Reid as Custodian
  • Daniel Henry Murray as Creepy Cult Guy
  • Carlease Burke as Detective Winslow
  • Tony Sears as Morgue Attendant
  • John Bellucci as Man
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Lie to Me"		Next →
"What's My Line"
Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2
List of episodes

"The Dark Age" is episode eight of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer . The episode aired on The WB on November 10, 1997. It was written by executive story editors Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali and was directed by Bruce Seth Green. The narrative follows Giles, whose friend has died, prompting the Scooby Gang to unravel his mysterious past; meanwhile, Buffy crashes into Ethan Rayne again.

Contents

Plot

A man is hurriedly making his way through the school grounds trying to find Giles, when he is approached by a decomposing woman, "Dierdre". As Giles is distracted by Buffy playing loud music in the library while doing calisthenics, he does not hear the man's cries for help at the door as the corpse strangles him, before falling to the ground and dissolving.

The next day, Giles tells Buffy to meet him later at the hospital where there will be a blood delivery, which attracts vampires. When Giles gets back to the library, a detective is waiting for him who informs Giles that there was a homicide on campus and the dead man had Giles' address on him. Giles identifies the body as an old friend from London, Philip Henry. The body has a tattoo, which Giles claims he does not recognize.

Shaken, Giles begins drinking in his grief and does not meet Buffy at the hospital, and she battles the doctor-dressed vampires alone until Angel shows up. She goes to check on Giles, but he shuts the door on her and calls another friend in London and finds out that his other friend Dierdre Page is dead too. Out of sight, he rolls up his sleeves, revealing that he has the same tattoo as Philip. Meanwhile, Philip comes back to life in the morgue, his eyes flashing, and escapes.

On Saturday, Cordelia finally tells Buffy about the homicide detective's visit. In the library, Buffy finds Giles' former friend Ethan Rayne, the costume shop owner who had caused chaos on Halloween. As she calls Giles, Ethan mentions the "Mark of Eyghon". Giles says she is in danger, and the dead Philip enters.

A panicked Giles shows up and, after a scuffle which leaves Jenny unconscious, Philip dissolves. When Jenny comes to, she seems normal but her eyes flash. Willow discovers the "Mark of Eyghon" in a book: the demon Eyghon has the ability to possess the body of a dead or unconscious host. They figure out that the demon has jumped from Philip's body to Jenny's. Possessed, Jenny tries to seduce Giles at his apartment. When Buffy comes to the rescue, Jenny jumps out the window. Giles explains to Buffy that he ran with a bad crowd when he was young, and they used the demon Eyghon as a temporary high – directing him in and out of each other's bodies. But one friend died, then Dierdre, and now it seems the rest of the group is being killed.

Buffy goes to the deserted costume shop to try to defend Ethan against Eyghon. Ethan knocks her out, ties her up and puts the mark of Eyghon on her. He then uses acid to remove his own tattoo so that Eyghon will take Buffy instead of him. Jenny enters, completely demonic, and Buffy breaks free. Angel arrives and chokes Jenny until she loses consciousness, whereupon Eyghon moves to the nearest dead body: that of Angel. The two demons, the vampire within and Eyghon, fight for control in Angel's body, and Eyghon is destroyed. Jenny returns to normal, but Ethan escapes. Traumatized by her actions in the incident, Jenny tells Giles that she needs to take a break from their relationship in order to heal, leaving him unsure if she will ever forgive him.

Continuity

Arc significance

Myles McNutt writes,

One of the things that is really interesting about this season is that there's some stealth seriality going on. If you were to read basic loglines for ("Lie To Me") and "The Dark Age," the connection wouldn't be overly clear, and you'd presume that the episode is more or less just a continuation of the Ethan Rayne story from "Halloween." However, the final scene of "Lie to Me" sets up questions between Buffy and Giles as it relates to maturity and challenges of the future; Giles' lie, that good and evil are always clear, plays as a broad statement about the series as a whole in that moment, but viewed in the context of "The Dark Age" we realize that Giles was talking about his own past, and his own present." [1]

Xander refers to his Uncle Rory being a taxidermist. This is corroborated in episode 16 of season 6 ("Hell's Bells") by Rory pointing out a poorly stuffed animal head at Xander and Anya's wedding.

Reception

"The Dark Age" had an audience of 3.7 million households on its original airing. [2]

Vox ranked it at #81 of all 144 episodes on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list (to mark the 20th anniversary of the show), writing, "This is one of the episodes that most toys with the idea of Giles having a super-cool, super-dark hidden backstory, and its conclusion neatly foreshadows the rest of Angel’s arc in season two." [3]

According to The A.V. Club , "The Dark Age" formed a good companion to the episode "Lie To Me", further exploring themes of good and evil and how light and dark can exist in the same character. It also provides insight into the character of Giles, who is central to the episode, and illustrates a common theme of Buffy, that "stains spread", that bad deeds can have long-running consequences. [4] Critically Touched found it interesting thematically but poor on the technical level with "far too many scenes that feel very awkwardly stitched together". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rupert Giles</span> Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The character proved popular with viewers, and Head's performance in the role was well received. Following Buffy's run, Whedon intended to launch a television spin-off focused on the character, but rights issues prevented the project from developing. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xander Harris</span> Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Alexander Lavelle Harris is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). He was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the television series by Nicholas Brendon and in two episodes by his twin brother, Kelly Donovan. He was conceived as an everyman and a male character for series heroine Buffy Summers to interact with, and to provide comic relief in the series. Xander is one of several friends of Buffy who assist her in saving the world against numerous supernatural events that plague Sunnydale, California, a town built over a doorway to hell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Calendar</span> Character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Jenny Calendar is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Played by Robia LaMorte, Jenny is the computer teacher at Sunnydale High School. Unbeknownst to Buffy or anyone else, Jenny has been sent to Sunnydale to keep an eye on Angel.

A Slayer in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, is a young woman bestowed (unwillingly) with mystical powers that originate from the heart, soul, and spirit of a pure-demon which gives her superhuman senses, strength, agility, resilience, and speed in the fight against forces of darkness. She occasionally receives prophetic dreams in the few hours that she sleeps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D'Hoffryn</span> Fictional character

D'Hoffryn is a fictional character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played by Andy Umberger. He is a powerful entity high in the demonic hierarchy. He is the master of the vengeance demons, a cabal which includes humans who are "elevated" to demonic status and endowed with mystical powers enabling them to invoke revenge at the behest of mortals who believe they have been wronged. D'Hoffryn rules over a hell dimension known as Arashmahaar.

"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.

"Passion" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the fantasy-horror television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). The episode was written by Ty King and directed by Michael Gershman, who served as the show's cinematographer. It originally aired on The WB in the United States on February 24, 1998.

"Becoming" is the season finale of the second season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, consisting of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes. The episode aired on The WB was split into two parts which were broadcast separately; "Part 1" first aired on May 12, 1998 and "Part 2" first aired on May 19, 1998. Both episodes were written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon.

"Anne" is the third season premiere of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, and first broadcast on The WB on September 29, 1998.

"Grave" is the sixth-season finale of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on May 21, 2002, on UPN. This episode is the second highest rated Buffy episode ever to air in the United Kingdom. Sky One aired the episode, which reached 1.22 million viewers on its original airing.

"Band Candy" is the sixth episode of season three of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Jane Espenson, directed by Michael Lange, and first broadcast on The WB on November 10, 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.

"After Life" is the third episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the 103rd episode of the series. It was written by Jane Espenson and directed by David Solomon, and aired on October 9, 2001 on UPN.

"Angel" is the seventh episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on The WB on April 14, 1997. It was written by co-executive producer David Greenwalt and directed by Scott Brazil.

"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.

"Lie to Me" is the seventh episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It originally aired on The WB on November 3, 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Long Way Home (Buffy comic)</span> 2007 comic arc

"The Long Way Home" is the first arc from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a direct continuation of the television series of the same name. It is written by creator Joss Whedon. It ran for four issues. The first issue was released on March 14, 2007, and the final issue of the arc was released on June 6, 2007. A collected edition of the arc was released on November 14, 2007.

<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.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten</i> Comic book series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten is the sequel to the Season Nine comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is published by Dark Horse Comics and ran from March 2014 to August 2016.

References

  1. ↑ McNutt, Myles (April 26, 2010). "The Cultural Catchup Project: "The Dark Age" (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)". Cultural Learnings. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's Second Season Archived 2006-08-23 at the Wayback Machine ."
  3. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily (March 10, 2017). "In honor of Buffy's 20th anniversary, we ranked it from worst to best episode". Vox. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ Murray, Noel (Jul 17, 2008). ""Buffy The Vampire Slayer: "Lie To Me" / "The Dark Age" / "What's My Line?: Part 1 & 2" "". AV Club. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Dark Age". Critically Touched. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2015.

Further reading

Attinello, Paul Gregory (2010). Music, Sound and Silence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. p. 25. ISBN   9780754660422.

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.