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Score: 8.7 Great 333 votes

Help

Episode Number: 126    Season Num: 7    First Aired: Tuesday October 15, 2002    Prod Code: 7ABB04
Buffy is settling in to her job as the newest counselor at Sunnydale High helping troubled teens and sorting out problems. But when a student named Cassie calmly states that she has only a week to live, Buffy is at a loss. Buffy investigates, and soon comes to believe that Cassie is psychic rather than suicidal.

Cast and Crew

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Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Star: Emma Caulfield (Anya),  James Marsters (Spike),  Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Anne Summers),  Nicholas Brendon (Alexander 'Xander' Harris),  Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg),  Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers)
Recurring Role: Sarah Hagan (Amanda),  DB Woodside (Principal Robin Wood)
Guest Star: Beth Skipp (),  Anthony Harrell (),  Jarrett Lennon (Martin Wilder),  Daniel Dehring (Red Robed #1),  A.J. Wedding (Red Robed #2),  Marcie Lynn Ross (Dead Woman),  Zachery Ty Bryan (Peter),  Troy R. Brenna (Avilas Demon),  Rick Gonzalez (Thomas),  Glenn Morshower (Mr. Newton),  Azura Skye (Cassie Newton),  J. Barton (Mike Helgenberg),  Kevin Christy (Josh)

Notes

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While researching Cassie on the internet, Willow admits to posting "Doogie Houser fan fiction" on the web as a teenager. In real life, Alyson Hannigan's next television role as a series regular would be portraying Lily Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother along side Neil Patrick Harris, the actor who portrayed Doogie Houser. (edit)
DB Woodside and Glenn Morshower would later work together on 24. (edit)
According to the watchers guide Vol.3 Anya was in this episode, but her scene was cut due to length. Anya was suppose to seek vengeance, but instead counsels a woman. (edit)
Back to the beginning reference: The only other time we encounter students doing demonic worship on campus was in 'Reptile Boy'. Note that both of these situations had a demon offering wealth and power, and girls being sacrificed to that demon. (edit)
Most of the time on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when a character uses a computer, it's an iBook, made by Apple Computers. The crew of Buffy and Angel must have a deal with Apple, because Apple computers are used on both shows many times. (edit)

Quotes

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Mr. Newton: So, is she screwing up her grades again? Because she's not the sharpest apple in the barrel. (edit)
Principal Wood: Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where I come from.
Buffy: The hood?
Principal Wood: Beverly Hills. Which is... a hood. (edit)
Peter: Who are you?!
Spike: I'm a bad man! (edit)
Cassie: Summers... hey, are you the counselor's little sister?
Dawn: No. She's my sister. (edit)
Josh: I'm worried that I'm gay.
Buffy: Okay, first of all, I... I think it's great that you would come and talk to me about this. And second of all, you should know that there is nothing shameful about being gay, nothing.
Josh: I-I know, it's just, I'm not positive, so uh, I was thinking that, why don't you go on a-a date with me so I can be sure? (He grins) (edit)

Trivia

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Some of the promos for this episode referred to the show as "Buffy the Guidance Counselor." (edit)
After Buffy kicks Peter the second time and he falls he drops the knife and it's nowhere in sight. In the next shot he's holding it again, but when Buffy picks it up to throw at the demon she picks it up from where he first dropped it. (edit)
When talking to Cassie in the library, Dawn's hair is straight. When she gets home and talks to Buffy, Xander and Willow at the house, she has sections that have been curled. (edit)
When Cassie falls down, her head is upright, looking up at the ceiling, in the next scene her head is towards Buffy and then up again towards the ceiling. (edit)
In the scene where Buffy talks to the Principal after meeting Cassie, either her shirts neckline or her necklace changes length and then changes back while she's talking. (edit)

Allusions

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Xander: It's not the friendliest jingle, is it? It's no "I like Ike" or "Milk, it does a body good".
"I Like Ike" was the 1952 Presidential election campaign slogan of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike was his nickname).


"Milk, it does a body good" was the slogan of America's National Dairy Board in the 1980s. (edit)

Visual: Willow visits Tara's grave, places stones on headstone
Willow is performing a Jewish ceremony of honoring the dead when visiting the grave of loved ones. Stones are placed on the headstone while reciting prayers for the dead to be at peace in the afterlife. (edit)
Character name: Cassandra ("Cassie")
Cassandra was made a prophet by the god Apollo, but then was cursed so that no one would ever believe her prophecies, though they were always true. Among other things she foresaw her own murder, but couldn't prevent it. (edit)
Buffy: I bet it's 'cause you forgot the boombox playing some heavy metal thing like... Blue Clam Cult?
Buffy is actually thinking of Blue Oyster Cult, a rock band made famous in the 1970's by the song "Don't Fear the Reaper." (edit)
Visual: Cassie reading
Cassie is reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. The novel is largely concerned with themes of free will vs. predestination - the protagonist Billy Pilgrim is "unstuck in time" and thus knows about some things before they happen (but is apparently powerless to change them). (edit)
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Community Reviews (10)

 
9.0
Superb
Help
"Filler episode"
This girl isn't just dealing (with death), she's giving death a long sloppy word-kiss.
Continue » Posted May 22, 2008 8:07 am PST
9.0
Superb
Help
"Another great installment"
A girl named Cassie steps in.
Continue » Posted May 1, 2007 2:12 am PST
9.5
Superb
Help
"A very special episode"
Buffy is counseling
Continue » Posted Feb 21, 2007 9:14 am PST
9.7
Superb
Help
"Series classic"
Fantastic episode
Continue » Posted Nov 3, 2006 11:10 am PST
9.5
Superb
Help
"Well written"
buffy as a counselor
Continue » Posted Oct 27, 2006 6:01 am PST
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Episode Vital Stats

 
Episode: Help
Season Number: 7
Episode Reviews: 10
Episode
Score:
8.7 Great 333 votes
Rating Statistics:
great: 133 (40.1%)
superb: 95 (28.6%)
perfect: 52 (15.7%)
good: 37 (11.1%)
Other: 15 (4.5%)
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