Buffy vs. Dracula

Season 5, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

When Dracula himself arrives in Sunnydale, he leaves the entire gang star struck. Buffy must find a way to stop him before she falls completely into his thrall, but his powers may be greater than even she can overcome.
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Fan Episode Reviews (28)

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  • The arrival of the dark prince (bator)

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By joxerlives, Jan 20, 2012 Report Abuse
    The Good;
    Lots of it, Buffy vs the dark prince (bator!). If I was to pick out a special performance it would be NB's excellent Renfield especially his wonderful Sesame Street impression.

    The Bad;
    ?

    Best line;
    Buffy; "I'm standing right here!"

    Women good/men bad;
    Buffy rejects Dracula's male domination.

    Jeez!;
    The killing of the delivery men is vicious but it's there to remind you that Dracula isn't all slow seduction, he's as evil as any other vamp

    Kinky dinky;
    The whole thing is one big seduction of Buffy by Dracula. Also of course Giles 'making time with the Draccy babes' as Riley memorably puts it and seems to enjoy a good nuzzling. And Dracula and Joyce? Those Summer's girls, they have the worst taste in men. Anya's bikini is also a highlight, odd that the rest of the Scoobygirls are pretty covered up at the beach. Check out the sexy nightie Buffy just happens to choose to sleep in that night, makes her look like the heroine in a classic Hammer vampire film. Does she subconsciously choose it as she wants to please Dracula, hoping he'll come to her? Buffy tries to reassure Riley that Drac has no attraction for her but her declaration that there was 'no penetration' is a poor way to put it. She also says that she can't go back to Revello Drive as 'He got inside once', she means the house right? Unusually it's Riley who figures out Buffy is enthralled. Buffy seems to prefer being bitten and controlled to biting and feeding/being evil suggesting that when it comes to S&M she's more into the M than the S.

    Captain Subtext;
    Joyce bemoans the perils of dating in Sunnydale and tells Will and Tara she feels like giving up on men altogether (Jowillta anyone?). She seems unaware of their relationship although this might change in The Real Me which we'll talk about then. Joyce seems lonely with Buffy at college but she'll soon have Dawn to cure that. Willow and Tara just advise her to avoid pale-skinned men in capes. Oddly Willow seems extremely attracted to Dracula 'Long slow neckbites that last for days' which perturbs Tara rather and adds to the bi-Willow theory (and the 'very naughty girl behind the softer side of Sears theory'). Xander comments that everyone knows about Willow and Tara but would still like to hear more about their love life. The first of the Riley/Spike bonding, Spike refers to Riley as 'cowboy' which he was in Restless. .
    Xander refers to himself as Dracula's 'man-bitch' and this is a homosexual subtext that is greatly expanded upon in the comics.

    Where's Dawn?
    Here's Dawn! When you're accustomed to seeing MT on 'Gossip Girl' and '17 Again' you forget how young she was when she started on Buffy, I remember seeing her for the first time and thinking "Oh, it's Harriet the Spy" which was one of my favourite books when I was younger and I quite liked the movie too. Oddly enough the first time Buffy finds her she's snooping about in her room.

    Missing scenes;
    Rumoured-Dracula "You are born of the darkness"
    Buffy; "Whoa, not born of the darkness pal, born of the Joyce thank you very much"

    Apocalypses; 5,

    Scoobies in bondage:
    Buffy: 8
    Giles: 4
    Cordy: 5
    Will: 3
    Jenny: 1
    Angel: 4
    Oz: 1
    Faith: 3
    Joyce: 1
    Wes: 1
    Xander; 1

    Scoobies knocked out: Anya and Xander
    Buffy: 15
    Giles: 10
    Cordy: 6
    Xander: 9
    Will: 5
    Jenny: 2
    Angel: 6
    Oz: 3
    Faith: 1
    Joyce: 2
    Wes: 1
    Anya; 1

    Kills:
    Buffy: not including Dracula Buffy kills 2 vamps so 81 vamps, 28 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
    Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
    Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon
    Will: 4 vamps
    Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
    Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
    Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
    Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, a demon, a demon
    Anya: a demon
    Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons

    Scoobies go evil: Xander falls under the thrall of his master
    Giles: 1
    Cordy: 1
    Will: 2
    Jenny: 1
    Angel: 1
    Oz: 1
    Joyce: 1
    Xander: 3

    Alternate scoobies: Renfield Xander
    Buffy: 6
    Giles: 3
    Cordy: 1
    Will: 2
    Jenny: 2
    Angel: 3
    Oz: 2
    Joyce: 2
    Xander: 4

    Recurring characters killed: 9
    Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara

    Sunnydale deaths;
    82; including the delivery men

    Total number of scoobies: 7
    Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley

    Xander demon magnet: 5, ummm, should we add Dracula?
    Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

    Scoobies shot:
    Giles: 2
    Angel: 3
    Oz: 4

    Notches on Scooby bedpost: now I know we've always wondered exactly what happens between Buffy and Dracula when the screen goes dark so I'm going to put him down as a possible? But you know, what I've always wondered is does anything happen between Dracula and Joyce? We do know that Anya and Dracula used to be involved in her demon days.
    Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
    Cordy: 1?
    Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 1 possible, Dracula(?)
    Angel: 1;Buffy
    Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
    Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
    Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
    Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
    Willow: 2;Oz and Tara

    What the fanficcers thought; Plenty of Buffy/Dracula sex stories. Also Buffy/Drusilla fic cleverly called 'Buffy vs Drusilla' and 'At Last' and 'Never Part'

    Questions and observations;
    Very interesting. Once again Buffy rejects the traditional role of the horror heroine and be seduced into being a vampire by Dracula. But is there something between them? Maybe. But again it's Buffy's family and friends that anchor her, the traditional Slayer without love in her life might well have surrendered. But Buffy is about saving rather than the kill despite her feral hunting.
    Jelly doughnuts again, nice little gag when Riley offers it to Buffy. This is the third time Buffy will have been bitten by a vampire. Dracula notes the previous bitemarks, The Master's or Angel's? Riley observes that no one in Sunnydale seems to have noticed this big castle just outside of town. Buffy mocks Anne Rice for the second time, such a pity they never have a chance to knock Twilight. Reputedly Dracula was going to be played by Freddie Prince (aka Mr SMG) but he dropped out. As with Adam, Dracula hints to The Slayer's demonic nature which we will discover in 'Get It Done'. We have hints that Xander is going to make moves to get out of the cellar. Dracula has the same powers as he has in the book which make him far superior to the average vamp.
    So what if Buffy had surrendered to Dracula or Drusilla or whoever? Would a vamped Slayer be evil? Or would they still be the Slayer no matter what? What would feasting on Slayer blood do to the vamp, is Spike's unusually human nature due to him feeding on the Chinese Slayer? Lot of fanfic on the subject and all with a happy ending, most based on the internet rumour that in season 5 Buffy would be vamped and form her own undead Scoobygang whilst Faith would be released from jail to lead the Scoobs against her. Eventually Buffy would either have her soul restored by sorcery (like Angel) or bite Dawn and be returned to normal by The Key's magic blood.
    Buffy is apparently very famous in the supernatural world, the most successful Slayer ever. Love to see Spike and Drac's backstory? Riley says that he's lived in Sunnydale for a couple of years now so that probably means the Initiative were up and around at very least throughout season 3.

    Marks out of 10; 9/10
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  • Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Marc Blucas, Emma Caulfield, James Matsters, and Anthony Stewart Head as "Giles". Dracula comes into town to kill the infamous slayer, Buffy Summers.moreless

    8.5
    "Great"
    By budde22, Dec 23, 2010 Report Abuse
    I was very excited to see this episode bringing in a legend like Dracula (guest star Rudolf Martin) to the program. I thought the fight scene between Dracula and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was very well done, and i enjoyed it. I really enjoy that Willow's (Alyson Hannigan) is getting stronger, and i also really support the relationship with Tara (guest star Amber Benson). Now the bad, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) continues to get more and more annoying as the episodes continue, and i really am not a particular fan of the romantic relationship between Buffy and Riley (Marc Blucas), and have always thought that they should be friends not boyfriend/girlfriend. But what they heck is it with "Buffy take your sister with you." Buffy has a sister (Michelle Trachtenberg), since when.moreless

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  • A very solid episode; Buffy does it's version of Dracula. A really fun episode but ultimately forgettable.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By TwistedConverse, Dec 23, 2010 Report Abuse
    Buffy vs. Dracula is a great episode that starts off the season in a good way- all our characters are here and the storyline is easy to follow and has some laughs along the way. The infamous Dracula comes to town and mayhem ensues.

    Dracula was used to great effect; I liked that they made him a bit of a cheesy, comedic villain that a dark one. I hear he was originally meant to be the season's big bad but I am glad he isn't as while he's good for an episode, he would grate after a while and I love the big bad for this season anyway. The accent, the mist, the wolf and bat transformations and the over the top castles and coffins were used really well. I always love when Buffy does a spin on something like this.

    The whole undercurrent of the episode "What is a Slayer?" is especially noticeable here as Buffy is hunting instead of patrolling these days and Dracula tells her her powers are rooted in darkness. I liked that this was continued from Restless as I really like that storyline. The scene where Buffy drinks Dracula's blood was interesting and very, very gross.

    Xander was great here- very funny and producing some really great lines like "The Dark Master! Bator" always gets a laugh. Willow also had some great lines and the two brought a good comedy side to the episode.

    Riley unfortunately was not good here. It is around this stage where I start to get really, really sick of him. The whole Buffy/Riley drama is so played out now that you're just sort of waiting for their scenes to be over. He gets more pathetic with each episode and unfortunately Marc Blucas can't act to save his life. Not to be mean but he's so wooden he could stake himself.

    The shock at the end was very big when the episode first aired and of course caused much controversy. Buffy has a sister? Since when? It is at this point where the show becomes instantly more adult and the dynamics completely change with the introduction of Dawn. Some may dislike her but she was absolutely necessary in my opinion.

    Buffy vs. Dracula was a great episode with some really good moments and a shocker end. It is unfortunately a bit forgettable but it still enjoyable.moreless

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  • Buffy vs. Dracula

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 25, 2010 Report Abuse
    Buffy vs. Dracula was a perfectly classic episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This was such an awesome episode and a great season five opener. I really enjoyed watching this episode. Buffy encounters the original Count Dracula, and is easily ensnared by his thrall. It was funny to see how everyone fell under Dracula's charms especially Zander. This episode layed the basic ground-work for this season. I think it was great that Buffy finally met Dracula since she is the Slayer after all. The end of this episode was a little emotional when Buffy and Giles talk. I thought it was touching that she once again filled him with purpose. Giles was ready to move on with his life when Buffy realizes that she needs him now more than ever to learn more about herself!!!!!moreless

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    0 0

  • Dracula arrives in Sunnydale and is treated like something of a rock star, particularly by the female contingent. Xander becomes a minion, Buffy gets bitten, Giles makes time with the Weird Sisters, and Riley starts pouting. Eventually Drac gets staked.moreless

    6.6
    "Fair"
    By westernhomes, Aug 04, 2010 Report Abuse
    I'm beginning my look back at "Buffy" with Year Five, because it's my least favorite of the full 22-episode seasons and the one I feel most deserves my attention anew. Season Five falls uncomfortably between Year Four and Year Six. With a slow-developing but focused central storyline, it lacks the kinetic energy of the electic College Season. It's as bleak as the year that followed, but sorely lacks the sardonic black humor of the Resurrection Season.

    The writers put themselves in a corner with both Riley's exit and Glory's entrance, and each are given way too much screen time to somehow justify their stated importance. That said, "The Body" and "Blood Ties" are two of the series' very best (albeit humorless) episodes, and several things begin here that pay off beautifully in the two years to come. Spike's crush. Joyce's death and Buffy's acceptance of adult responsbilities. Tara and Willow's wonderfully drawn relationship and its unintended consequences on Willow's magic abilities. Oh, and Dawn.

    "Buffy vs. Dracula" is a rather low-key episode for a season premiere. Season 4's "The Freshman" introduced a host of new characters and an entire new setting for the show. Season 3's "Anne" saw Buffy's first foray out of Sunnydale and took the heroine literally to hell and back. Even Season 2's "When She Was Bad" introduced a new psychological depth that would grow and blossom as the show came of age. "B vs. D" on the other hand begins with its characters relaxing on the beach. Nothing has changed since last we saw them except for some hairdos.

    Dracula's introduction into the "Buffy" universe is well-handled, as each of the regular cast has their own spin on the Dark Prince. Buffy is flattered that Dracula has heard of her. Willow is star-struck. Anya and Spike claim to already know the guy. Weak-willed Xander becomes Drac's bug-eating servant. Only Riley seems nonplussed, which is understandable seeing as his girlfriend would rather see the Lord of Darkness coming in through her bedroom window than her boyfriend. Poor, forgotten Joyce is so lonely she invites Dracula in for coffee.

    Although its first half is breezy and fun, the episode doesn't do much with its setup. Dracula tells Buffy she will do as he says and he will make her into his bride, Buffy lets him bite her, and then for no reason other than episode being almost over, she changes her mind and stakes him. The whole episode seems a rather weak leadup to a closing scene where Buffy asks Giles, who is pondering a return to England, to resume actively teaching her more about her abilities as Slayer. Buffy could have just as easily decided she needed to know more about her powers after the Season 4 finale, "Restless," where she first encountered the spirit of the First Slayer.

    Rudolf Martin gives a winking, ghoulish performance as Dracula. Thank goodness that Freddie Prinze, Jr., who was originally intended for the role, proved unavailable. It's nice to see Kristine Sutherland back as Joyce, who was almost absent in Season 4. Marc Blucas seems to be tipping his hand as to what Riley's overall arc for the year will be, going into a funk that will pretty much continue until he and his character are ushered out. And of course we can't end without noting the first (brief) appearance of Michelle Trachtenberg's Dawn, who for better or for worse will be around for a while.

    Overall, an awkward beginning for what will prove a difficult year. Season Five got serious much more rapidly than was the norm, and an attempt to begin on a lighter note fails. "Buffy vs. Dracula" isn't that funny, and its themes are murky at best. Anya, Willow, and Tara are pretty much wasted. They should have skipped right ahead to "Real Me" to begin the year.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When Buffy dusts Dracula for the first time, the English subtitles on the original DVD release read "[Dagger thrusts]", even though she has obviously used a wooden stake. Edit
    • At 7:14 when Joyce says "It's so quiet." there is a plate in front of her, but when the shot changes the plate is gone. Then suddenly, when the shot changes again, there is a large salad bowl in front of her. Edit
    • After Buffy first attempts to stake Dracula, when she says "OK, that's cheating", she is standing with a stone pillar behind her on her left. She hears Xander say "Hey Buf, what's up?" and turns around 180 degrees and the stone pillar is still behind her on her left. There was no need to turn around as Buffy was already facing the direction from which Xander and Willow were coming. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Although this episode marks the beginning of Michelle Trachtenberg's run as Dawn on the show, she does not appear in the regular credits, presumably so that those watching wouldn't know there would be a new character introduced, and is instead credited as a guest star in the end credits. This would have presumably been done to make Dawn's appearance more of a shock to viewers. Edit
    • In the season four finale Restless Tara says to Buffy "Be back before Dawn". This is a reference to Dawn appearing in this episode. Edit
    • In the episode "This Year's Girl", Faith says (in one of her dreams) "Little sis coming. I know. So much to do before she gets here." This could have been referring to this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • (After the defeat of Dracula, he comes back to life, but Buffy is standing right there to stake him again as he materializes) Buffy: I've seen your movies, you always come back. (Dracula dusts again, and after a brief pause, the clouds of his resurrection start to swirl again) I'm standing RIGHT here! (The clouds vanish) Edit
    • Xander: I'm supposed to take you to the master now. There's this whole thing where I get to be immortal, you cool with that? Buffy: Take me to him. Edit
    • Dracula: I knew you'd come. Buffy: Why? Because I'm under your thrall? (whips out her stake) Well, guess again, pal. Dracula: Put the stake down. Buffy: Okay. (puts it down) Right. That... was not... you. I did that. I did that because... I wanted to. Maybe I should rethink that thrall thing. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • A lot of elements of Bram Stoker's book Dracula are in this episode. The transformation into a wolf, bat or mist; the servant who eats bugs looking for life; Dracula eating a woman slowly; the three sisters seducing a man; a storm annoucing Dracula's arrival and him being transported in a box to a incredible big house. Edit
    • Title: Buffy vs. Dracula "Dracula" is a popular vampire character in many books and movies. The first appearance of the character "Count Dracula" was in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, written in 1897. Stoker based the character on a real "Dracula," Vlad III Dracula, is also known as Vlad the Impaler. The name Dracula means "Son of the Devil" in Vlad's local language. Although Vlad was never associated with vampires before Stoker's book, the two of the them have become confused by many people. Many of the elements associated with Dracula are shown in this episode such as his ability to turn into a bat or mist, a thick foreign accent, having a hypnotic effect on people (especially females) and him having vampire brides and a crazed servant that eats bugs. Edit
    • Buffy: Like I paint clowns or something.
      When Dracula refers to Buffy as a killer, she objects saying it makes her sound like she paints clowns. This is a reference to famous serial killer John Wayne Gacy who painted clown pictures as a hobby, and also enjoyed dressing as a clown. Edit

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