Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7 Episode 4

HELP



The Good;

A real heartwarmer/wrencher, some lovely stuff here. And Willow visiting Tara's grave. Plus Amanda!



The Bad;

Can we really believe that jerk face wouldn't be interested in a girl as gorgeous as Dawn?



Best line;

Buffy the Student Counsellor; "...and all that shi...guff!"



Women good/men bad;

The SDH boys are loathsome scum who want to sacrifice Cassie for their own greed. They need a damn good killing! Cassies dad is a drunk but loves his daughter and would never hurt her. Cassie's friend Mike thinks making boy's crazy is part of girl's job.



Jeez!;

Threatening Cassie with the meat cleaver, ugh!



Kinky dinky;

Xander thinks Googling is some form of sexual act? Cassie speaks of her unused thighs in her poetry.



Captain Subtext;

One student fears that they're gay but it might just be an excuse to date Buffy. Willow tells Xander she's 'over you sweetie'. However she also used to write Doogie Howser fanfic (Alysson Hannigan now starring with Doogie Howser himself aka Neil Harris in 'How I met your mother' wonder if that was on the cards when they wrote this?)



Guantanamo Bay;

Buffy threatens the student with coins in his locker who reminds me a LOT of Jonathon.



Apocalypses; 7,



Scoobies in bondage:

Buffy: 8

Giles: 4

Cordy: 5

Will: 4

Jenny: 1

Angel: 4

Oz: 1

Faith: 3

Joyce: 1

Wes: 1

Xander; 2

Dawn; 4



Scoobies knocked out:

Buffy: 19

Giles: 12

Cordy: 6

Xander: 14

Will: 8

Jenny: 2

Angel: 6

Oz: 3

Faith: 1

Joyce: 3

Wes: 1

Anya;5

Dawn; 4

Tara; 1



Kills: 1 vamp and 1 demon for Buffy

Buffy: 109 vamps, 60 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot

Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.

Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon

Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human.

Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human

Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie

Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans

Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon,

Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon

Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons

Spike; 8 vamps and 6 demons

Buffybot; 2 vamps

Tara; 1 demon

Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon



Scoobies go evil:

Giles: 1

Cordy: 1

Will: 3

Jenny: 1

Angel: 1

Oz: 1

Joyce: 1

Xander: 4

Anya; 1

Dawn; 1

Buffy; 1



Alternate scoobies:

Buffy: 8

Giles: 4

Cordy: 1

Will: 5

Jenny: 2

Angel: 3

Oz: 2

Joyce: 2

Xander: 4

Tara; 1

Dawn;1

Spike; 1

Anya; 2



Recurring characters killed: 12

Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara



Sunnydale deaths; poor Cassie but like Joyce through natural causes

99



Total number of scoobies: 4, welcome Willow back to the gang

Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow



Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)

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

Riley; 1

Buffy; 1

Tara; 1



Notches on Scooby bedpost:

Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?

Cordy: 1?

Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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

Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore

Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya

Anya; 2 Spike and Xander



Dawn in peril; 12



Dawn the bashful virgin; 9



What the fanficcers thought;

Read a lovely one once where in order to honour Cassie's memory Dawn takes Mike to the winter dance in her place and they have a wonderful time.



Questions and observations;

Amanda for the first time, by a long chalk my favourite potential, I think she's just wonderful. Surely Tara's gravestone should have an epitaph? Glenn Mornoshower who plays Cassie's dad is one of those actors you see EVERYWHERE in films and tv. Buffy borrows Dawn's clothes, suprised they're not too tall for her. Dawn's dialogue seems very Law & Order, a show MT guest-starred on. Buffy resents being referred to as Dawn's sister just as she didn't like being known as Willow's friend at university. Wouldn't it make more sense for Spike to tackle the demon who he can hurt rather than the boys whom he can't?

Marks out of 10; 7/10 ( this mark becoming something of a habit in season 7)

Help-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

"Help" is one of those episodes of Buffy that sticks with you after watching it. While not considered one of the best episodes of the series among the fandom, "Help" is still truly a emotionally rewarding episode with a strong script, great performances from the main cast and guest stars, especially Azura Skye as Cassie. One of the best guest stars as well as one of the finest one off characters of the series, Cassie is a deeply trouble yetremarkablyfascinatingteen-agedgirl who finds herself doomed to escape her death. With Azura's inspiring performance and powerfully written dialogue (especially her speech to Buffy and Xander outside her house), Cassie is soundeniably real and I can't image young girls who watched this episode not relating to her. Sure her vague, mysterious psychicpower is never explained but from her strong sense ofindividualityto her touching poetry and her amazing intuition, Cassie is acharacteryou can't help but root for. Even her relationship with Mike was well done. While it was a minor side plot point, there were so believable and you even feel bad for Mike knowing he and Cassie will never go to the dance together. it was It's a truly tragic moment that even after Buffy saves her not once but twice, that we find out absolutely nothing could have stopped Cassie from dying and Cassie was right all along.

Like I said the main cast is great here, like James Masters, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenberg. I loved the moments where Cassie tells Spike that one day, she'll tell you and that one day Buffy will make a difference. It's thought provoking writing that foreshadows the series finale where Buffy in fact tells Spike she loves him and Buffy does make a difference, a HUGE difference by changing world by making all potential slayers throughout the world real slayers. I also loved the direction in certain scenes, like the sequence where the gang are hard at work trying to prevent Cassie's death while her poetry echoes through the background. Really stunning and artsy! Zachary Ty Bryan of Home Improvement fame guest stars as Peter, the student responsible for almost getting Cassie killed. It's a prettyforgettablerole for a pretty well known star at the time and the random demon that pops up during asacrificeritual reminded me of "Reptile Buy", which isn't good. The only good moments to come out of that were seeing Spike lose it on Peter, fighting through the pain from the chip, then the demon biting Peter and Buffy cleverly dismissing Peter's cry for help. But the moment that really gets me was the last scene with Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn. It's a tearjerker of a scene. Buffy coming to terms with knowing there was nothing she could have done to Dawn tearfully thanking Buffy for making Cassie her friend. Really riveting stuff. "Help" is the season's first stellar effort!

At a funeral home, a coffin creaks open, revealing.....oh, it's only Buffy clambering her way out of a coffin (again). You'd have thought that Buffy would have thought of infiltrating a funeral home before; it would save sitting around the cemetery all night. It's unclear as to why she's brought the gang with her, unless its purely for the comedy of Dawn trying to get out of the child-locked child's coffin.


Meanwhile, back in the real world, Buffy gets her first case, the psychic, poetry-writing, doomed Cassie. Before we get to know her, we meet Amanda, future potential, who features instead of a running girl (they seem to have dropped that motif) and who deals with bullies by beating them up. Sounds like another teenage girl we knew. This is very much an old skool episode, with Dawn standing in for Willow (spying on Cassie), a Larry style doofus (Pete), an evil girl-killing sect, a list of suspects (male friend, dad, sect) that reminds me of Earshot, and reference to novels which give a clue to the ep (every death in Slaughterhouse 5 is foretold). Buffy is so anxious to do her new job that she gets over involved in Cassie's case. But she's Buffy the Counsellor now, she has to deal with deadbeat dads rather than vamps and she can't go around punching students in the face if they don't give her the information she wants (but she can kick them in the stomach when they turn out to be the leaders of evil sects). Buffy finds that she can't deal with everything, can't be everywhere, can't protect everyone. Like Joyce, Cassie suffers a natural death, something Buffy can do nothing about. But she tried, she made a difference to Cassie's life: Cassie knew that someone was there for her, and dying of a heart arrhythmia is surely better than being killed by demon-raising hooded idiots or being shot in the head by an arrow. Cassie, like Buffy in Prophecy Girl - the scared teenager who doesn't want to die, who wants to experience everything life has to offer, but knows she has to meet her fate - tells Buffy that "you will make a difference". In the upcoming fight, when it seems utterly pointless to carry on, Buffy keeps on trying. You have to keep on going, and Buffy is back at her desk at work the next day.





Spike also keeps on trying. On our weekly visit to Insane in the Basement, he seems useless, mad. He wants to stop the voices in his head, but it's not schizophrenia caused by ensouled guilt about his victims, but the first evil and guilt about Buffy ("I hurt you, Buffy, and now I will pay") keeping him mad. But he finds the strength to help Buffy when she's fighting the demon and the sect, even prepared to beat Pete despite his chip setting off major pain. Spike knows he has to be punished for what he's done, but we see that he will get his reward as Cassie says to him: "Some day, she'll tell you".





As for the rest of the gang, Anya is absent, probably preparing for next week's vengeance-fest, and Willow is still not fully included in the gang and is still whining about power-controlling, but she at least goes to Tara's grave and gets some good advice about hammers from Xander.

Wow! to this episode! It was amazing, my 2nd fave of season 7, i love it! Buffy gets into counselling at the new Sunnydale High and meets a young girl named Cassie, who tells Buffy she is going to die. How does she know this? She is physcic (is that how u spell it??) As Buffy tries to do all she can to save her it is no use because she is going to die anyway. Fantastic atmosphere, i tell you i love this stuff, one of the highlights of season 7.


Quote of the episode: Cassie goes to Spike, "She'll tell you." Meaning Buffy will tell you that she loves you. Which she did in Chosen. Aahhhhhhhhhhhh! That's good stuff! :) :)

Help was a perfect episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, combining classic teenage angst with supernatural situations. I really enjoyed watching this episode especially Buffy in her new role at Sunnydale High. This episode had a great story that was touching and emotional. There was also a lot of action and humor. This episode blended all of these elements together and came out very entertaining. Cassie was an interesting character, and given her gift, her name is an interesting choice too. Cassandra from Greek/Roman mythology who could see the future but no one would believe her. Cassie gave clues about the future to a few characters. I can't wait to see what happens next. It was sad to see Cassie knew all along either way.

It seems unlikely to care for a guest star that appears in only one episode, but Cassie was one of those characters you can really care about. Buffy starts counseling, and it doesn't go without trouble. We meet this young girl that can see the future, and Buffy's need to save her was just amazing. Everyone tries to help the poor girl although she warned then they couldn't. It was amazing seeing how people tried to do their best to save someone's life. The episode had a really interesting plot and is one of the best episodes of the first half of season 7. The girl who played Cassie did a great job. And although I was surprised by the ending, I knew that it had to happen.

I think Buffy working as a counselor is a great storyline! In combination with the school being reopened and her watching out over the hellmouth - that's just great!


Having watched the rest of the season already (of course), I loved all the references to later developments in Cassie's visions - like "She will tell you" or "You will make a difference". I loved this episode, it had so much depth and showed how serious this season is gonna get. Buffy got a first impression of how it really is: she can't always save everyone, some things are just meant to happen and Cassie's death - as sad as it was - was one of those things!

Before I begin can I just say that both Alyson Hannigan and Azura Skye who plays Cassie look absolutely stunning in this episode. Right.


After the more character driven Same Time, Same Place, Help is a more run of the mill, standalone episode – and an incredibly enjoyable one it is too. Buffy’s new counselling job provides a few laughs, and Spike’s insanity is again played well by Marsters. Also, Cassie is a great character, and Willow going to Tara’s grave is a fantastic short scene amiably played by Alyson. The Principal continues to be a new, fresh face on the show as well. Overall – a great episode.

i admit that this episode can be a little boring but what is good about this episode is BEYOND good. we meet the girl cassie who is very loveable but she says that she is gonna die. everything that does not revolve around cassie is boring but what is about her are some of the best scenes of this show. cassies poem. cassies death. cassies dialog. just brilliant. it is weird an episode can make you care about a character in only one episode so much.

I really liked this episode. It was cleverly scripted and really enjoyable.


It was obviously a take on the Greek myth of Cassandra, a Trojan princess who was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo only to have the gift cursed when she refused to sleep with him. The curse was that nobody would believe her visions until the day she died. Cassie (loving the name link!) predicted her own death in this episode and I love that the writers didn't take the nice and happy way out of this. Although her death was incredibly sad because she was such a likeable character, it was fitting, as it was part of her fate and I loved that they put the message across in this episode.





My favourite bits of this episode:


Willow going to see Tara's grave and wondering if she can help in the impending battle- it was a quiet scene but it was nice to see some non- supernatural related interaction. Xander's analogy was also very good.


Cassie's predictions at the end of the episode, telling Spike that "she'll tell you"- foreshadowing when Buffy tells Spike that she loves him and telling Buffy that she can change things- refering again to the season finale. Very powerful.

Help





This episode is breath-taking. I admit that I didn't like it as much the first few times I saw it. but then I started to realize how good it actually is. Buffy becomes a counselor and this girl says she is going to die no matter what on Friday. Buffy tries everything to save her but this wasn't meant to be. it was fait. the character of Cassie really grows onto you even if for one episode. specially her sad and beautiful poem.





cut to Buffy, Xander and Dawn in a place with dead people and this woman is gonna be buried and Buffy is afraid of tomorrow because she has to talk to kids and then the vamp woman wakes up and Buffy slays her.





the credits start





cut to some kids coming over to Buffy and Adanda kicked someone’s ass and others talk and one is bored and the other doesn't want to talk. cut to Xander and Willow walking outside and she says she is afraid of becoming evil and doesn't know if she can help them without becoming bad and then she goes to the gravestone of Tara and she touches the name. cut to everyone talking to Buffy again. one guy feels lonely and other thinks he’s gay and then Dawn comes to Buffy and then a girl named Cassie says that she is not gonna graduate because next Friday she's gonna die. she says she just knows but she is not gonna kill herself and that Buffy should ware a sweater and that there will be coins underground. and then she goes away.





cut to Buffy talking about it to Wood but he says sometimes students say awful things but Buffy wants to do more she wants to stop Cassie but then she ruins her sweater with coffee and realized what Cassie said. cut to Buffy going to Dawn and giving her a job. cut to Cassie talking to her friend Mike and he wants to go to a dance with her but she doesn't want to and then Dawn goes to talk to her and Cassie doesn't write anything down anymore and Mike goes and Cassie knows what for grade he's gonna get and she says that she's not gonna be around the night of that dance and Dawn doesn't understand. cut to Buffy's house and they don't think Cassie really knows and then they search her website and she has poems of dying and then Dawn arrives and she thinks that Mike is the killers. then they find the site of her father who is a alcoholic and Buffy and Xander leave to go to his house.


cut to his house and they tell him they think he's gonna hurt his daughter but he says he loves his daughter and they leave and they see Cassie outside who says he’s not it and she's thankful and she doesn't know how she's gonna die she just know she is. and she doesn't want to die but there is other way and that something is gonna kill her. cut to a cult with pictures of Cassie and they burn those up. cut to Buffy on school reading another poem and cut to Cassie reading it in her room. cut to Spike and Buffy goes over to him and he goes crazy again and tells her to not let them hurt the girl because he hurt her. cut to Mike walking through the halls and bumping into Buffy and she asks him but he says he's not mad and he wants to ask Dawn out and Buffy gets mad because it was his second choice. then Wood opens a locker and coins fall out so Buffy asks who’s it is.





cut to Buffy with the locker guy and she forced him to talk and he knows what she's talking about and tells her. cut to Dawn and Cassie being out and Cassie knows about Dawn but Dawn says she's worried and wants to be her friend and Cassie says she is and then a guy comes over and Cassie says that whatever happens it's not her fault and that guy is lame and when he goes away Dawn noticed that Cassie is gone too. cut to the cult going to sacrifice her but then Buffy appears to be there and starts to kick everyone and the demon comes and she fights it. Spike arrives with fire and Buffy burns up the demon and Spike cuts Cassie loose and she says that one day she'll tell him. then the demon explodes and Spike leaves. Buffy and Cassie outside and something almost kills her and Buffy says that she can make a difference and Cassie says she will and then dies. cut to the home and they say that Cassie had a heart disease and no matter what she was going to die and sometimes they just can't make a change.





Black Out





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Best episode quotes:





Amanda: Hello?


Buffy: Come in! Hi.


Amanda: Mr. Miller sent me here.


Buffy: Do you know why?


Amanda: I'm not sure. Maybe 'cause this guy was picking on me.


Tough Boy: I don't wanna talk to you.


Buffy: OK. That's fine.


Tough Boy: I'm serious. I don't wanna talk.


Buffy: OK.


Peter: You know, I hate to miss Bio, but I thought it was best I come speak with you.


Buffy: So, what's on your mind?


Peter: On my mind?


Buffy: Are you worried about school? Uh, friends, girls, your parents?


Peter: Yeah, yeah, that's it. My parents.


Buffy: What about them?


Peter: Oh, issues... of divorce.


Buffy: You know, it's awful... being teased. But the thing is, you know, with bullies like this, they're really just—


Amanda: Insecure? Yeah, everyone says that. You know, I'm really tired of everyone being so insecure.


Buffy: Divorce is terrible. My parents got divorced when I was a kid.


Peter: Yeah, my parents are happily married. It's hard. Uh, I feel... left out. B-but I'm also concerned about girls. OK, I'm just bored. Maybe I should get back to Bio?


Buffy: You have to stick up for yourself, Amanda. You need to show this bully that you're not gonna take any more of his sh guff. Uh, any guff.


Amanda: 'Cause that's what I did. I stuck up for myself. The other day after class, I jumped him in the parking lot, and I slammed his stupid-ass insecure face right into the pavement.


Buffy: You what?


Amanda: I guess that's another reason Mr. Miller wanted me to see you. Do you think I should pound on him some more?





Xander: I bet she's giving them great advice.


Willow: Absolutely! Those kids are lucky to have Buffy looking out for them. I just wish she believed it. She's still stressing over the whole "dropped out of college, not actually qualified" thing. Plus the salivating hellmouth underneath her feet and the whole…


Xander: From beneath you, it devours. It's not the friendliest jingle, is it? It's no "I like Ike" or "Milk: it does a body good."


Willow: I know. It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be real bad. And I wonder, will I Well, if it comes When it comes, will I be able to help?


Xander: I think so.


Willow: I don't know. I don't know what I can do. I mean, frankly, I'm—I'm scared of what I might do.


Xander: Yeah, I get that. Figuring out how to control your magic seems a lot like hammering a nail. Well, uh, hear me out. So you're hammering, right? OK, well at the end of the hammer, you have the power, but no control. It takes, like, two strokes to hit the nail in, or you could hit your thumb.


Willow: Ouch.


Xander: So you choke up. Control, but no power. It could take like ten strokes to knock the nail in. Power, control. It's a tradeoff.


Willow: That's actually not a bad analogy.


Xander: Thanks.


Willow: Except... I'm less worried about hitting my thumb, and more worried about going all black-eyed baddy and bewitching that hammer into cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts.


Xander: Right. Ouch.


Willow: Sorry. Xander, being back here... I don't know...


Xander: It'll take time. Are you sure you're ready for this?


Willow: Hey. It's me.





Tough Boy: I'm scared. I don't want to be left all alone. My brother's joining up with the Marines. Whew. You know, if he knew I was making a fool of myself, he'd smack me in my head. I guess I'm just being stupid.


Buffy: Sounds like your brother's pretty tough.


Tough Boy: Yeah, he's a man. I'm just all messed up right now.


Buffy: You are not messed up. It is not messed up to worry about your brother.


Tough Boy: What if he doesn't come back? What if he gets blown up?


Buffy: Have you talked to him? Have you told him how you feel?


Tough Boy: No. No, I don't wanna talk to him. I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna talk to him.


Buffy: OK.


Tough Boy: You understand?


Buffy: So, Josh, what's on your mind?


Josh: Well, I'm worried that I'm... gay.


Buffy: OK, 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, uh, a date with me so I can be sure.


Buffy: It sounds like it's difficult for you. Like maybe your sister makes it hard for you to establish your own identity. You said she's controlling, she doesn't let you make your own decisions


Dawn: Yeah, and she borrows my clothes without asking.


Buffy: I understand. That must be hard. So, you're not doing your homework.


Cassie: I guess not. It all just... seems kind of ... whatever.


Buffy: I know high school can seem kind of frustrating. But if you just get through it, then you can go to college, you know, or you can join the French Foreign Legion, or anything you want.


Cassie: Yeah, well, I'm not gonna do all that stuff.


Buffy: OK, no Foreign Legion. I get that. I mean all the changing your name, and being indentured for all those years, and occupying Algeria...


Cassie: It's just that I'm not graduating from high school.


Buffy: Why not?


Cassie: I really like that shirt. Where'd you get it?


Buffy: Cassie, don't change the subject. Why won't you graduate?


Cassie: Because next Friday I'm gonna die.


Buffy: What?


Cassie: Can we talk about something else?


Buffy: No, we have to talk about this.


Cassie: Just... never mind.


Buffy: Cassie, what makes you feel like this?


Cassie: Feel like what?


Buffy: Like you wanna hurt yourself.


Cassie: Oh, I'm I'm not gonna commit suicide if - if that's what you're saying. No way.


Buffy: OK then. Then what are you saying?


Cassie: Look, I don't mean to be a pain. You seem really nice, and I know you're just trying to help. But I'm wasting your time.


Buffy: No you're not. This is why I'm here. Cassie, please tell me, why do you think you're gonna die?


Cassie: I don't think it, I know it. I just know.


Buffy: What do you mean, you know? A-are you saying that someone's going to hurt you? Has someone threatened you?


Cassie: No. No, I just know that next Friday I'm gonna die. Some things I just know. I don't know how, I just do. Like I know there will be coins…


Buffy: Coins?


Cassie: Mm-hmm. Lots of coins. Weird ones. And I know that you'll go someplace dark underground. I-I don't know.


Buffy: What do you mean underground?


Cassie: And I know you'll try to help


Buffy: Cassie, I-I don't understand what you're saying.


Cassie: But you can't, OK? I gotta go. Trig. I don't want Mr. Corrigan sending me Principal Wood again.


Buffy: Cassie, please


Cassie: Thanks for being so nice. I really do like that shirt. You should put a sweater on so it doesn't get stained. I gotta go.


Buffy: Cassie, wait, please—


Cassie: Gotta go.





Buffy: What am I supposed to do?


Robin: Well, you did what you were supposed to do. You reported the situation to me.


Buffy: And...


Robin: Listen, Buffy, it's hard. Kids this age... they're hurting, they're pissed off, and they say things. Sometimes they say awful things. When I was in high school, I had a thing with this guy, right? Real bully. I kept telling everyone that he'd better sleep with one eye open 'cause I was gonna bust his ass. Well, I got suspended. Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where I come from.


Buffy: The hood?


Robin: Beverly Hills... which is a hood. Listen, the point is, I was talking big because I was scared. I couldn't bust a move back in high school, let alone someone's ass. Most of the time, that's what it is when these students act out. Fear, pain


Buffy: But sometimes, it's not just talk, right?


Robin: Every time there's a threat like this, we do the same dance. Inform teachers, search lockers, but we can't we can't know what's gonna happen, and we can't search their brains. We just we just do what we can.


Buffy: It's not enough. I need to fix this. I don't usually get a heads up before somebody dies.


Robin: What do you mean usually?


Buffy: No. No, not since I mean, I'm sure it's not usual to get a chance to stop something like I just I need to do something, OK? I have to make this better, Oh! Oh, shoot.





Mike: What're you drawing?


Cassie: Don't you have a history test to study for?


Mike: When are you gonna design me a tattoo?


Cassie: A tattoo? Oh, right. I could imagine that.


Mike: Come on. Design something. I mean, maybe we could get matching tattoos. How 'bout like a snake with fire coming out of its mouth.


Cassie: Hmm. Or a sexy hula girl who wiggles when you flex?


Mike: Yeah, now you're talking. Sexy hula girl. But a sexy snake hula girl.


Cassie: You are so ridiculous.


Mike: So, I was thinking... maybe we should go to that dance after all.


Cassie: What do you mean "after all." I told you I don't wanna go.


Mike: Well, I assumed you were kidding.


Cassie: It would probably be lame anyways.


Mike: Well, yeah, but lame is funny… and, you know, maybe fun if, you know, we're hanging out together.


Cassie: We hang out together all the time.


Mike: Right. And therefore we should hang out together at the winter formal.


Dawn: Hey. Um, I'm in ceramics class with you. I'm Dawn Summers. I forgot if we had an assignment last week. I spaced.


Cassie: Right. Um. Hey, Dawn. Uh, yeah, you know we did have an assignment, but I didn't write it down. I think something to do with glazes...


Mike: As scintillating as the pottery talk is, I'd better actually go study. I'm Mike, by the way.


Dawn: Hi, Mike. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to


Mike: Oh, don't worry about it. I better go hit the books if I'm gonna ace this test. Nice meeting you, though. Cass, I'll see you later?


Cassie: Yep. Hey, Mike, you're gonna get a "B".


Mike: Oh, "A+" baby, "A+".


Dawn: So, um, is that any good?


Cassie: Yeah. Actually, yeah.


Dawn: What do you have to read it for?


Cassie: Oh, just for me, I guess. I kinda stopped reading my homework assignments. I just... read what I want.


Dawn: That's so cool. I'd do that, but my sister'd be down my neck in a second.


Cassie: Summers... hey are you the counselor's little sister?


Dawn: No. She's my sister. Lucky me, huh?


Cassie: No, no, she's-she's really nice. I actually just saw her this morning.


Dawn: Oh, really? What about? Uh, I'm sorry, that's none of my business.


Cassie: No, I don't care.


Dawn: So, Mike's a cutie. Are you guys going to that dance?


Cassie: No, I don't think so.


Dawn: Oh. I mean, didn't he ask you?


Cassie: Uh, like 105 times.


Dawn: And you said no?


Cassie: 106 times. No, I-I can't go. I'm not gonna be around that night.





Buffy: Cassie's records all show the same thing. Good grades, good kid, then all of a sudden not so good grades, absenteeism, comments about apathy and depression


Xander: So, the question is, what changed?


Buffy: Right. If she did have some sort of psychic vision, that would explain it.


Willow: Do you really think this girl is some kind of precog?


Buffy: Oh, I don't know. I told you about the shirt, right?


Xander: Buff, you spilled a cup of coffee. I'm not saying you don't have slayer grace, but it's not the first time.


Willow: I mean maybe, just maybe, you're trying so hard to help that you're seeing paranormal when there's just normal.


Buffy: Maybe. But maybe not.


Willow: Want me to check her medical records?


Buffy: Her doctor already sent them.


Xander: Let me see that. Strep throat. Ear infections. Yeast infections. None of my business... no real info here.


Willow: Have you googled her yet?


Xander: Willow, she's 17.


Willow: It's a search engine. Look. OK, let's see what "Cassie Newton" pulls up. Hey, look. Check this. She's got her own site.


Xander: A day and a half of researching, and we finally try looking up her.


Buffy: Wow, that's a lot of poems.


Xander: Poems. Always a sign of pretentious inner turmoil.


Willow: The sheets above me cool my skin like dirt on a mad woman's grave. I rise into the moonlight white and watch the mirror stare Pale fish looks back at me Pale fish that will never swim. My skin is milk for no man to drink. My thighs unused, unclenched. This body is not ready yet. But dirt waits for no woman and coins will buy no time. I hear the chatter


of the bugs. It's they alone will feast.


Xander: OK, death is really on her brain.


Dawn: We all deal with death.


Xander: This girl isn't just dealing, she's giving death a long, sloppy word-kiss. She has a yen for the big dirt-nap.


Willow: I don't know. I mean, a lot of teens post some pretty angsty poetry on the web. I mean, I even posted a melodramatic love poem or two back in the day.


Xander: Love poems?


Willow: I'm over you now, sweetie.


Xander: Love poems!





Buffy: Buffy, the vampire slayer, would break down this door.


Xander: And Buffy, the counselor?


Buffy: Waits.





Cassie: It's not him. He's not the one who does it. Thank you for trying, but I probably shouldn't have told you anything. You're making such a big deal out of it, and I want it to all to just go away.


Xander: Are you talking about killing yourself?


Cassie: No, of course not.


Buffy: Then fight. Try.


Cassie: There's no point. I told you


Buffy: This doesn't sound like someone who really wants to live.


Cassie: You think I want this? You think I don't care? Believe me, I want to...be here, do things. I want to graduate from high school, and I want to go to the stupid winter formal... I have this friend, and it would be fun to go with him. Just to dance and hear lame music to wear a silly dress and laugh and stuff. I'd like to go. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to do. I'd love to ice skate at Rockefeller Center. And I'd love to see my cousins grow up and see how they turn out 'cause they're really mean and I think they're gonna be fat. I'd love to backpack across the country or, I don't know, fall in love, but I won't. I just never will.


Buffy: You will. Cassie, you will. You just have to tell us what you know. You have to tell us everything. Please, help us.


Cassie: I can't. I just know it's gonna happen. I don't know why and I don't know how, but something out there is gonna kill me.





Buffy: I sit alone at my window sill. Trees crackle, sunshine blares...


Cassie: ...and children laugh like death their sharp happiness is a knife to me, One jealous snake on a window sill.They will be here, trees and sun and children with canes and pruney skin when I am but a memory a laugh in the trees of time. I sit alone and try to love them I sit alone, a snake. I sit alone and try to love them I sit alone and laugh.





Buffy: Spike, what are you doing?


Spike: Nothing. If I don't move, if I don't think, if I don't listen to the voices, then I won't hurt...much.


Buffy: I need to ask you something.


Spike: Don't.


Buffy: There's a girl, she's in danger, and she needs your help. Now. Time is running out. It's Friday, the day Cassie said she's going to die.


Spike: I can't. I can't hear you.


Buffy: Is there something evil in the school? Down here, maybe. Spike, please, do you know anything?


Spike: Yes. There's evil. Down here. Right here. I'm a bad man. William is a baaad man. I hurt the girl.


Buffy: Spike, stop it! What did you do?


Spike: I hurt you, Buffy, and I will pay. I am paying because I hurt the girl.


Buffy: Spike. No. It's not me. It's a different girl, OK? Her name is Cassie Newton. Please, do you know anything specific?


Spike: Don't don't leave me. Stay here, and help me be quiet.


Buffy: I think it's worse when I'm here.


Spike: Don't let him hurt the girl.





Cassie: Well, I guess this is goodbye.


Dawn: No. I mean, let me walk you home.


Cassie: Oh, don't worry about it, I'm going to my Mom's. It's kinda far.


Dawn: Far is good.


Cassie: Dawn, I know what's going on here.


Dawn: What?


Cassie: Buffy told you about me, right? She told you to pretend to be my friend?


Dawn: No. Maybe. Cassie, she was scared. She wanted to help you.


Cassie: Well, she can't.


Dawn: Maybe she can. She's not like you think. She's got powers... of helping. And look, she was worried and now I'm worried and I wasn't pretending at all. I really wanted to be your friend.


Cassie: You are my friend.


Dawn: I am?


Cassie: Yeah. Just remember, I'm not as dumb as I look.


Dawn: I'm glad.


Peter: Hey, Summers!


Cassie: Listen, Dawn, whatever happens now, it's not your fault, OK?


Dawn: Uh... Uh, what's up, Peter?


Peter: I was just wondering if anyone had asked you to winter formal.


Dawn: What? Oh, uh, no. not exactly.


Peter: Well, uh, I was just doing a poll. I'll see you.


Dawn: That guy is such an ass. Cassie? Cassie? Cassie!





Peter: Who are you?


Spike: I'm a bad man.


Cassie: She'll tell you. Someday she'll tell you.





Peter: Help! Help me, please! I'm bleeding.


Buffy: Sorry. My office hours are 10 to 4.





Buffy: It's all OK now. I hope you're not too disappointed. See? You can make a difference.


Cassie: And you will.





Willow: How is her mom?


Buffy: OK. As OK as... she told me that her family had a history of heart irregularities, but she never told Cassie.


Willow: Cassie didn't know? Then it was fate?


Xander: I think she was gonna die, no matter what, wasn't she. Didn't matter what you did.


Buffy: She just knew. She was special. I failed her.


Dawn: Uh-uh. No. You didn't, 'cause you tried. You listened, and you tried. She died 'cause of her heart, not 'cause of you. She was my friend because of you. I guess sometimes you can't help.


Buffy: So what then? What do you do when you know that? When you know that maybe you can't help?





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Story: 10


Acting: 10


Writing: 10


Picture: 10


Gripping: 10


My Rank: 10


----------


Total: 10

Such... an amazing episode. My favourite ever. Azura Skye's performance is the best guest-star performance all of season 7, maybe even EVER on Buffy, she is a very, very talented actress. This episode makes me cry and cry and cry, without becoming rediculous. Even though the sacrifice scene is cliche, and we've had Buffy appear from being a disguise before, it has a sense of familiarity which works. And just as you think Cassie will live, th emost heart-breaking scene as she falls to the ground... dead. The scene where Cassie says she doesn't want to die, her cousins being brats, it's pure brilliance. Well done everyone.

Wow, season seven just keeps getting better and better. "Help" is the best episode in ages and manages to combine comedy, thrills, shocks and sadness all in one hour.





With Buffy settling into her role as school counselor, she meets with Cassie Newton, a young girl who tells her that she is going to die on the coming Friday. Whilst the Scooby Gang try to find out why she is saying that she'll die, Dawn befriends Cassie and tries to keep her out of harm's way.





Guest star Azura Skye is phenomenal as Cassie. Her heartbreaking performance is astounding and the scene in which she expresses her deep desire to not die is tear-inducing stuff. It's nice to see all the Scoobies working together again to investigate a little mystery and the episode uses the high school setting very well.





The episode is spectacular all until the clichéd finale, in which we discover a group of dumb jocks are planning to sacrifice Cassie to raise a demon. How many times have we seen this before on Buffy? It's like they had just discovered a book labeled "Stupid Ways to Get Killed Written by Former Sunnydale High Students".





The closing moments, in which Cassie dies of a heart attack, and the cast realise that they couldn't change fate, are some of the best in a while and are all superbly acted.





"Help" is a truly brilliant episode which manages to be extremely sad but not getting too melodramatic.