Prophecy Girl

"Prophecy Girl" is episode 12 of season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is the twelfth episode overall.

When Buffy learns of a prophecy that foresees her death at the hands of The Master, she must decide whether to face him anyway or abandon her calling.

Plot
Xander is practicing lines on Willow in the Bronze, preparing how best to ask Buffy to the prom. Cordelia is in a car making out with Kevin, as Buffy slays a vampire nearby. An earthquake is felt all over town, and the Master revels in it.

The next morning, Buffy is meeting Giles in the library, where no significant damage was sustained in the earthquake. Buffy explains that the vampires are rising in number and getting braver, but Giles is distracted by his thoughts. After biology class, Willow finds an excuse to leave, leaving Xander alone to ask Buffy to the prom. Buffy gives him the "let's just be friends" routine. Xander takes the rejection badly, and walks off to wallow in his misery.

Meanwhile, Miss Calendar interrupts Giles' study in the library, telling him that she sees apocalyptic portents and demands to know what is happening. She tells him Brother Luka, 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. In the school hall, Kevin and Willow promise to help Cordelia set everything up in the Bronze for the dance. Willow sees Xander wallowing in his misery and offers sympathy. When Xander asks her to the dance, she refuses to be his second choice.

That evening, as Buffy enters the library, she hears Giles telling Angel that the prophecies say that she will face the Master and die. A shocked Buffy yells that she is quitting, leaving the cross Angel gave her on the table. She goes back home and tries to convince her mother to go away for the weekend. Instead, Joyce gives her a stunning white prom dress, and after she tells her about when she met Buffy's father, encourages her to go to the dance.

The next day at school, Cordelia and Willow find the members of the audio video club, including Kevin, slaughtered by vampires, as "Three Little Pigs" cartoons play. Having heard the news, a sympathetic Buffy shows up at Willow's, all decked out in her prom dress. Willow is shell-shocked; even though she has faced vampires and death before, until this it has never been quite so personal. Buffy heads back to the library, where Giles has explained to Miss Calendar that Buffy is the Slayer. Buffy reinstates herself as the Slayer, knocks Giles out when he tries to stop her and goes to face the Master. Outside of school, Colin the Anointed leads her by the hand to the Master's lair.

Willow and Xander show up at the library, where they discover that Buffy has gone off to see the Master. Xander leaves, only to show up at Angel's apartment, where he forces Angel to lead him to the Master's lair. Xander and Angel approach the lair, as the Master and Buffy fight and taunt each other. The Master tells Buffy that it is her blood which will free him, drinks from her and leaves her to drown in a shallow pool. At the library, Willow and Ms. Calendar decide that the Hellmouth is underneath the Bronze, and leave. However, as they leave, they see an army of vampires approaching the library. Cordelia rescues them in her car, and drives the car straight into the school. Xander and Angel reach Buffy, and Xander performs CPR (as Angel couldn't do it himself, since vampires don't breathe). When Buffy regains consciousness, she heads to the surface to kill the Master. Cordelia, Willow, Giles and Jenny fight off vampires trying to enter the library, and just as Giles realizes that the Hellmouth is directly underneath the library, a tentacled creature rises through the floor. Buffy throws the Master into the library, where he is impaled on a jutting piece of wood and his soft tissues disintegrate, leaving only his skeleton and the world turns back to normal. The stunned friends stare at each other wondering what to do now. "We saved the world. I say we party," suggests the resurrected Slayer. They then head off.



Starring

 * Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
 * Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
 * Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
 * Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
 * Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest Starring

 * Mark Metcalf as The Master
 * David Boreanaz as Angel
 * Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
 * Robia LaMorte as Jenny Calendar
 * Andrew J. Ferchland as the Anointed One
 * Scott Gurney as Kevin Benedict

Production

 * While Whedon had written other scripts for the show before, this episode was his first turn as writer/director.


 * 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.


 * The huge demon that comes up out of the Hellmouth at the end of the episode was created at Optic Nerve. The budget didn't allow for a computer-generated so tentacle "costumes" were created. Each tentacle has a human being inside manipulating it from within.

Broadcast

 * “Prophecy Girl” pulled in an audience of 2.8 million households.

Xander bails, wandering off under the archway. Buffy sits by herself on the bench, bummed. Which is when the hail of pebbles starts. The first few get Buffy's attention, tiny hard pellets hitting the ground around her. She stands as more start coming down.
 * The following scene - right after Buffy has turned Xander down - was cut because of length:

People - including Buffy - all run for cover as the real shower starts. Buffy stands under the archway, watching the hail come down.

ANGLE: XANDER

Walking away, not near Buffy. He hears:

Student: (O.S.) "Check it out! It's raining stones!"

Xander looks back over his shoulder.

Xander: "Figures."

Other

 * A "Just say NO" poster was hung in the room where Xander was wallowing in his misery, where Willow rejects his rebound attempt to get a date to the dance. This is ironic because both Willow and Buffy "just said no" to Xander.


 * The Master is well over 600 years old, even older than Dracula (also known as Vlad the Impaler and ruled from 1456-62), and seems to have gained the kind of hypnotic powers Dracula is famous for.

Quotes
Willow and the Master - "By the way, I like your dress."

Xander - "You were looking at my neck." Angel - "What?" Xander - "You were checking out my neck. I saw that." Angel - "No, I wasn't." Xander - "Just keep your distance, pal." Angel - "I wasn't looking at your neck." Xander - "I told you to eat before we left."

Xander - "How could you let her go?" Giles - "As the soon-to-be-purple area on my jaw will attest, I did not let her go."

Buffy - "I'm sorry. It's just... been a really weird day." Xander - "Yeah, Buffy died and everything." Willow - "Wow, harsh." Giles - "Should've known that wouldn't stop you."

Willow - "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. I'll see you on Monday." Xander - "That's okay. I don't wanna go. Just gonna go home, lie down, and listen to country music. The music of pain."

Buffy - "When he wakes up, tell him... I don't know. Think of something cool, tell him I said it."

Buffy - So that's it, huh? I remember the drill. One slayer dies, the next one's called. I wonder who she is. Will you train her? Or will they send someone else?" Giles - "Buffy... I..." Buffy - Does it say how he's gonna kill me? Do you think it'll hurt?" Buffy - [Angel walks towards her]] "Don't touch me! Were you even gonna tell me?" Giles - "I was hoping I wouldn't have to, that there was some way around it. I..." Buffy - "I've got a way around it. I quit." Giles - "It's not that simple." Buffy - "I'm making it that simple. I quit! I resign! I-I'm fired! You can find someone else to stop The Master from taking over." Giles - "I'm not sure that anyone else can. All the signs indicate..." Buffy - "Signs? Read me the signs! Tell me my fortune! You're so useful, sitting here with all of your books! You're really a lot of help!" Giles - "No I don't suppose I am." Angel - "I know this is hard." Buffy - "What do you know about this? You're never gonna die!" Angel - "You think I want anything to happen to you? Do you think I could stand it? We just gotta figure out a way." Buffy - "I already did. I quit, remember? Pay attention!" Giles - "Buffy if The Master rises..." Buffy - "I don't care! I don't care. Giles I'm 16 years old, I don't wanna die."

Buffy - "It's getting hairy out there Giles. I killed three vampires last night, one of them was practically on school grounds." Giles - "Their numbers are increasing." Buffy - "And they're getting cockier. Look, I'm not loving it. Last night was a pretty close call." Giles - "Yes." Buffy - "Giles, care? I'm putting my life on the line battling the undead. Look, I broke a nail, okay? I'm wearing a press-on. The least you could do is exhibit some casual interest. You could go "hmmh"." Giles - "Hmmh?"

Angel - "I really like your..." Buffy - "Yeah, yeah. It was a big hit with everyone."

Continuity

 * Buffy dies for the first time in this episode, not from the Master's bite, but from drowning in the pool of water after he feeds on her. This will have major repercussions for the future of the Buffyverse, as her death means a new Slayer, Kendra is called.


 * Buffy is now essentially cut off from the Slayer line (no new Slayer is called after her second death), with Kendra, and later Faith, being the ‘active’ Slayer, although most of the characters assume in later episodes (especially Season 7) that Buffy's death will still activate a new slayer.


 * As seen in this episode and the early episode Angel (episode), Buffy tends to favor the crossbow when heading to face a particularly dangerous vampire.


 * The monster that comes out of the Hellmouth reappears in The Zeppo.


 * The Master, the season's Big Bad, dies. Unlike lesser vampires, The Master's bones are left behind after his death.


 * In this episode it is first revealed that the Hellmouth is actually directly beneath Sunnydale High School library.

Music

 * Nerf Herder - "Buffy Theme"
 * Patsy Cline - "I Fall to Pieces"
 * Jonatha Brooke - "Inconsolable"