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Season 1, Episode 10
Teleplay by David Greenwalt
Story by Joss Whedon
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
Original Airdate: 12 May 1997
"We are defined by the things we fear. This
symbol, these two planks of wood... it confounds me, suffuses me with mortal
dread."
The Master
REGULAR CAST
GUEST CAST
CO-STARRING
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Dean Butler as
Hank Summers
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Justin Urich as
Wendell Sears
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J. Robin Miller as
Laura Egler
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Terry Cain as
Ms. Tishler
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Scott Harlan as
Aldo Gianfranco
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Brian Pietro as
Coach
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Johnny Green as
Way Cool Guy
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Patty Ross as
Cool Guy's Mom
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Dom Magwili as
Doctor
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Sean Moran as
Stage Manager
SYNOPSIS
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Buffy dreams of meeting the Master, and as he
leans in to bite, her mom wakes her up. They talk about Buffy's plans to
spend the weekend with her father. At school, Buffy and Willow talk
about Buffy's parent's divorce then go to class where they meet up with
Xander and discuss "Active Listening." The teacher asks Wendell, another
student to read, but as he opens his book tons of spiders crawl out and
onto him. As this happens, a young boy stands at the doorway and
watches.
Collin and the Master discuss fears and conquering them and how they
both sense changes for the worst above. Buffy is worried that her Dad
won't show when her mom drops her off for school. Willow is wigged about
the spiders but Xander has faith in Buffy's talents as the Slayer and
isn't worried. They find Giles in the library, claiming to have been
lost in the stacks. With no luck of finding any information, Giles
suggests that they should talk to Wendell about the incident. Wendell is
upset about the spiders but it turns out that he doesn't hate spiders,
he loves them, and they hate him. He says something exactly like what
happened in class has happened many times before in his dreams.
Cordelia informs Buffy of a History test she didn't know about and
because time literally flies by, Buffy doesn't even get to put down her
name. Buffy spies the young boy at the door again. The boy leaves and
follows a girl as she sneaks into the basement for a cigarette break.
She's attacked by an "ugly man" when she gets down there. Giles and
Buffy visit the girl, Laura, and all she can tell them is that the thing
said, "Lucky 19" before he attacked. They talk to a doctor who shows
them the first victim of the same crime. They spilt up in hopes of
stopping this before any of Buffy's nightmares start to come true.
As Willow and Xander walk into class, everyone stares as Xander, who is
now only wearing his underwear. At the library, Giles discovers he can't
read and Buffy finds an article with a picture of the boy she saw at
school. He turns out to be the same boy they saw in the hospital in a
coma. Buffy's dad, Hank Summers, shows up early at school wanting to
talk to Buffy. He tells her that he never wanted a daughter like her and
that they shouldn't get together on weekends anymore. Again, Buffy sees
the young boy across the school yard.
Willow and Xander go to Giles and finally Willow puts the pieces of the
puzzle together and finds that everyone's worst nightmares are coming
true. Giles thinks it's because Billy has somehow brought the nightmare
world he was in, over to reality. Buffy follows Billy into the school
gym and talks to him, but their discussion is cut short when "Ugly Man"
shows up and beats up on Buffy. Buffy and Billy narrowly escape and end
up in the cemetery which is mysterious across the street from Sunnydale
High now.
Willow's nightmare of having to sing - badly - in front of a large crowd
comes true. Xander follows a trail of chocolate bars until he runs into
a clown from his sixth birthday party, armed with a large knife. Buffy
and Billy meet the Master standing over Buffy's open grave and Buffy is
thrown in and buried alive. Willow, Xander and Giles meet up and then
run from the clown. Xander turns around, facing his fear, and knocks the
clown out.
They see the cemetery across the street and go there, finding Buffy's
grave. As Giles puts his hand on the grave, Buffy's hand reaches up and
she is pulled out of the dirt, now a vampire. Buffy is forced to
maintain control of the demon until they can get to the Hospital and
wake Billy. Billy's astral body is there, but he refuses to wake up.
Then the Ugly Man arrives and Buffy fights him, knocks him out, and then
Billy must unmask him, and face his fear.
Billy wakes up, just in time for his Kiddy league coach to show. His
coach caught up with Billy after the game and beat up on him, blaming
him for the team's loss. Xander and Giles stop the coach before he can
escape and he is taken to jail. Later that day, Buffy's dad shows up to
pick her up. Willow asks Xander if he still found Buffy attractive even
as a vampire, and he said he did.
TRIVIA
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Sarah Michelle Gellar hated the location
filming for this episode as she has a morbid fear of real graveyards and
being buried alive. The actress was far happier when the crew built
their own mock graveyard in the car park of the Buffy lot for
season two. In an interview on British TV with Richard Blackwood, Sarah
Michelle Gellar talks about herself being a "puss" at this stage.
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Buffy becomes a vampire - a soulless being
- yet she still helps the Scoobies as if she still has her soul. With
the exception of Angel's extenuating circumstances this is impossible.
She's also able to move around during the day. As this isn't an entirely
natural reality, we can't be sure whether normal rules would apply. It
may also explain why she can wear cross earrings without being burnt.
The point is further proven during Angel's fifth season where
Harmony doesn't have a soul, but remains on the side of Angel. Or at
least she tries to.
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Buffy's tombstone has the dates 1981-1997
written on it. She gets another tombstone in season five's finale,
The Gift. This contradicts
I Robot, You Jane, which gave
different dates again.
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Sarah Michelle Gellar is the first of the
regular cast members to don the vampire make up. Other than vampires
David Boreanaz and James Marsters, other series regulars in the
franchise in the make-up include Nicholas Brendon in
The Wish and Alyson Hannigan in
Doppelgangland. Anthony Stewart Head
also expressed interest in the idea at one point, while Emma Caulfield
hated her demon make up.
CONTINUITY
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Buffy dreams about entering the Master's
lair and battling him until he kills her. This happens in
Prophecy Girl.
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Buffy's fear about being buried alive comes
back to haunt her when it literally happens when she wakes up
resurrected in her coffin in Bargaining
(Part 2).
GOOFS
Welcome to the
Hellmouth | The Harvest |
Witch | Teacher's Pet |
Never Kill a Boy on the
First Date
The Pack |
Angel | I Robot, You Jane |
The Puppet Show |
Nightmares |
Out of Mind, Out of Sight |
Prophecy Girl
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