Some Assembly Required

"Some Assembly Required" is the second episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is the fourteenth episode altogether. It was written by Ty King and Joss Whedon and directed by Bruce Seth Green. I was originally broadcast on September 22, 1997.

Two science club nerds use body parts to create the "perfect girlfriend" for a teenager who has been brought back from the dead.

Synopsis
Buffy was waiting for Stephan Korshak to rise as a vampire when Angel appeared. They ended up arguing over their relationship, or lack thereof (along with Angel's inability to express his jealousy of Xander because Buffy danced suggestively with him in the previous episode), and Angel decided to leave. When Buffy tried to follow him, she fell face first into an open grave. A body was apparently dragged out from it earlier.

The next day, Buffy and Xander caught Giles practicing to ask Ms. Calendar out on a date. Giles heard Buffy's findings at the cemetery and feared someone was raising an army of zombies. Buffy found Willow signing up for the science fair and talking to Chris, the reigning champ. As Buffy approached, Chris's friend Eric was taking pictures of girls passing by.

Willow found that the girl in question, Meredith Todd, died in a car accident along with two other girls, Jane Atkins and Cathy Ryan. They headed to the cemetery to investigate. Buffy told others not to tell Angel because they were having problems. That night, Cordelia was walking to her car after cheerleading practice when she sensed that someone was following her. She eventually hid in a dumpster and when she thought it was safe to get out, she encountered Angel. He started to help her out when they found an arm and other body parts inside the dumpster.

The Scoobies returned to the library to find a frightened Cordelia clinging to Angel. They decided to abandon Giles's zombie theory and search the lockers of science students. They found medical books and an article on Meredith Todd in Chris's locker and a jigsaw of female body parts in Eric's locker. Chris and Eric were building some sort of dream girl.

In a secret lab, the two geniuses were finishing their creation, but still needed a head. Eric lined up three candidates: Buffy, Willow and Cordelia. Chris's brother Daryl came out from the shadows, showing a grotesque appearance, and chose Cordelia's picture. Daryl was a popular athlete who died in an accident years before who was revived by his brother and promised a stay-at-home companion.

The next day, Giles stumbled as he tried to ask Ms. Calendar out, but she ended up asking him to the football game instead, where she continued to tease him. Meanwhile, Buffy and her friends discovered that the crazy boys were still missing a head; brain tissue decays at such a rate that they could not simply go grave-robbing to get a head, so they needed to actually kill a girl to gain the head.

Buffy found a lab in Chris's house and discovered their target. As she ran off to warn Cordelia, Daryl walked out of the shadows. In the locker room, Cordelia was getting ready when Chris came up behind her. Eric placed a bag over her head, but was beat up by Buffy. After Cordelia left, Chris told Buffy about Daryl. They headed back to his house, only to find Daryl gone.

Buffy and Chris headed to the school. Daryl watched Cordy under the bleachers. As Cordy went to a water fountain, Daryl dragged her away. He and Eric headed to an abandoned building, where Eric planed to behead her. Cordy saw her old crush and screams. At the game, Buffy and Chris realized they arrived too late, but Chris told her where to find Eric.

Meanwhile, Willow and Xander crashed Giles's date. Chris told them what happened, while Buffy rushed to the old science lab. In the ensuing fight, a burner was knocked over and started a fire. Xander arrived with the rest of the gang and helped Cordelia out. Giles and Willow dragged out an unconscious Eric. As Daryl was about to kill Buffy, Chris stopped him. Daryl decided to die beside the unfinished work while everyone else escaped.

Afterward, Jenny promised Giles a second date. While Buffy talked to Chris, agonizing about the decision he made when he first resurrected his brother, Angel arrived. Xander talked to Willow, brushing off Cordelia as she tried to thank him for saving her life. Buffy and Angel left together through the graveyard. Angel admitted to jealousy and Buffy reassured him that she doesn't love Xander.

Continuity

 * This episode marks the first of three instances in the series of "making girls," the other two being the more successful April and the Buffybot, both made by Warren Mears in "Intervention".


 * At the game, the cheerleaders are shouting "Go Greenbacks Go." Though the Sunnydale High team mascot is known as the Razorbacks. Though this is actually a mistake, Herbert the Pig ("The Pack") has a green razorback.


 * This episode marks the beginning of Giles and Jenny's relationship, which will be a vital subplot for most of the season.


 * Daryl is the second known instance of a person being revived from the dead in the Buffyverse, the first being Buffy in "Prophecy Girl", and the first successful attempt with someone who could not be resuscitated by conventional means. However, it is a scientific/medical--rather than magical--reanimation of Daryl's body, begging the question of whether his soul would be returned to his body; this could explain his considerable lack of morals (blatant manipulation of his brother; willingness to commit murder).


 * In the teaser Angel mentions that when someone is first awakened in their grave, it tends to be disorienting. Buffy would later discover that when she is brought back to life in "Bargaining, Part One" and "Bargaining, Part Two" inside her coffin and subsequently has to dig her way out of her grave.
 * After Cordelia is rescued by Xander, it is obvious she begins to see him in a different way, as she thanks him for his heroic act. This hints at their relationship later in the season.
 * After Angel leaves to take Cordelia home, Xander makes a comment about this, stating "How about that? Always pegged him as a 'one woman' vampire." Despite saying this jokingly, this may have been foreshadowing of Angel loving Buffy and Cordelia both since Season 3 of Angel.
 * The only ever episode where we see Angel wearing a tan jacket.
 * Chris is the first recipient we see of the 'Hellmouth Genius Effect', Sunnydale residents who are able to perform incredible scientific feats presumably because of the influence of the dark energy from living on the Hellmouth.
 * Eric and Chris never occur again in the series but they do feature in the official Sunnydale High Yearbook 1999 where both seem to have benefitted from therapy.

Body Count

 * Stephan Korshak, dusted by Buffy
 * Meredith Todd,Jane Atkins and Cathy Ryan, killed in a car's accident (only mentionned)
 * Daryl Epps, before the start episode, in an accident alpinism. Once resurrected, finally dies in a fire.

Production

 * When Cordelia is in the library talking about her "pain" and Giles half-heartedly pats her on the back and says "There, there", Cordelia can be seen mouthing the word "Thanks" although no audio accompanies it. Either Charisma Carpenter didn't say the word aloud, or the audio was removed in post-production.

Broadcast

 * "Some Assembly Required" had an audience of 3.2 million households.

Pop Culture References

 * This episode is a nod to Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. The writers would later also pay homage to Frankenstein with the character Adam. The comic book Angel vs. Frankenstein and its sequel depict the story of Frankenstein as actual events in the Buffyverse, with the Frankenstein monster being an old rival of Angelus'.
 * "Then if you wouldn't mind a little Gene and Roger..." Gene Siskel (of the Chicago Tribune) and Roger Ebert (of the Chicago Sun-Times) are arguably the two most famous film critics in America.
 * Giles talk about Cyrano de Bergerac.


 * Willow asks 'does it really count as an army if there are only three of them?' in reference to Plan 9 From Outer Space.
 * Buffy mentions the Bat Signal from Batman.

Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors

 * Even though the dead girls were cheerleaders for Sunnydale High's rival, Fondren High, the newspaper article about their death showed the three of them wearing cheerleading sweaters with a large letter "J".

Music

 * The Temptations - "My Girl" (Sung by Eric in the basement of Chris' home as he works on assembling a girl for Daryl.)
 * Christophe Beck - original score

Other

 * This episode sees the destruction of the "old science building," the only structure of the original school still standing after the earthquake of 1937.