Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Some assembly required;

The Good;
We have our first sympathetic monster/villains and the show is all the better for it. Love the grave-digging sequence, the fiery rescue, the kids telling Giles how to date Jenny and the date itself, especially Giles' opinion of American football. The twist that the villains are doing it for Daryl rather than themselves. And if you're a guy or girl-who-likes-girls Cordy in her cheerleader outfit. Giles dealing with Cordy's pain.

The Bad;
Angel wears a hideous tan jacket which makes him look like a used car salesman. Was all his black leather being dry cleaned or something? We thankfully never see it again. Jenny uses the word 'disses' which I normally negatively associate with people who wear their trousers around their knees and regularly stab each other.

Best line;
Buffy; Sorry, I'm an old fashioned girl, men dig up graves and women have the babies

Questions and observations;
Of course this resembles Frankenstein but also the Reanimator series and Wes Craven's horror film Deadly Friend starring the original Buffy Kristy Swanson
Chris and Eric's plan is just creepy in the extreme although a lot more understandable when you meet Daryl, they're doing it for him rather than just creating their own yucky sex toy. Once again Cordy is knocked out and tied up. Jenny again and more and more part of the group.
We have the first example here of the Hellmouth genius, that the supernatural energy of the Hellmouth can make certain people smarter, Chris Epps, Willow, Ted's creator, Warren so despite being in high school they can do things that have eluded scientists for centuries. Despite Willow's complaint in Doomed it actually seems to be Cordy who always seems to be finding the bodies. We see Cordy beginning to come around to Xander's better qualities.
I rather like to think that Chris goes home, pulls back the curtains, switches the TV off and takes his mother to Daryl's grave to say goodbye. As for Eric he has a picture in the Sunnydale High Class of 1999 yearbook where therapy seems to have done him a lot of good. A shame we don't see either of them again but there is only so much room in the show
Good ep; 8/10

Some Assembly Required was another good episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayers second season. While patroling Buffy discovers an empty grave, robbed of its owner, and Cordelia and Angel make their own discovery. It is interesting to see Cordelia try to get Angel, making Buffy jealous. The main culprits in this episode are 2 friends who brought back one's dead brother, and now they are trying to make him a girl friend who is just like him so he will never be alone. This is the series version of Frankenstine. I thought it was entertaining, funny, and also had some serious moments.

Giles is hilarious in this episode. We know he was a badass, and now he's as stiff as a plank, but to see him in full on schoolboy crush mode is just hysterical. I very rarely mention Anthony Stewart Head, as he's usually consistently brilliant, but he's even better when he pulls off the mumbling idiot.



The main storyline this week is less interesting â€" it's a playful episode, but there's not a lot to it. Angel and Buffy grow closer, while Xander and Willow do, too, but the bulk of the hour concentrates on a semi-interesting Frankenstein plot that leaves off exactly where you'd expect it to.



I'm not entirely sure how Angel missed that open grave. Buffy followed him directly, meaning he either saw the grave and chose to ignore it, or else Buffy was pissing him off so much, he took a gamble and waited to see if she'd fall in. And speaking of Buffy in said grave, this episode has 2, maybe 3 group shots used in the opening credits. I never noticed that before till now.



Jenny gets quite a bit of development in this episode. She's such an instantly likeable character, and Buffy's throwaway line about asking her to bless Giles' computer was a classic. The 'you caught that, huh?' on-running gag with Giles was just on the right side of cheese to get away with it, that and Giles and Jenny make such a great couple.



It's a decent entry during season 2s early offerings, one that has some great moments tucked away within an average monster storyline. Cordelia is such a shallow character and I love her all the more because of it. I couldn't help but laugh when Eric mentions that Cordy will now have the body of a 17 year old…yeah, cos she doesn't have the smokin' bod of a 20-something already? I keep forgetting these people are still supposed to be 16…

This episode was not so good but not so bad. I liked the concept of the episode, the acting, and the actors' hotness... However, although the concept was interesting and good, the way it played out had something missing. I liked Cordelia flirting with Angel, though. Haha. Angel, played by David Boreanaz, is extremely hot. I wasn't able to pay attention to much of the episode. Cordelia also looked good in the episode. The guy hanging the pictures of Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia was creepy yet cool. I liked Buffy's term "techno-pagan" for Ms. Calendar. Hehe, overall, a decent episode. :)

I just rewatched this episode for the first time in years, and I had forgotten about the great character moments that it contained. This is especially true for the developing Buffy and Angel storyline/romance. The first act and the last act of the episode were great in this regard. There were also other great character moments (Giles and Jenny, etc.), but the Angel and Buffy ones really stand out in my mind. I guess I hadn't rewatched the episode in so long because the story was cliched and weak. Oh well, it is worth a watch for the witty banter and the character development.

"he's alive!" -- that what I wanna yell every time I watch this episode. yeah, that reminds me about "Frankenstein" movies so much. but surely it differs from them 'coz it has our favorite characters...



241-year-old Angel is jealous 'coz of Xander and Buffy's "sexy dance" with him. almost 19-year-old Frankenstein (I'm sorry, Daryl) wanna a perfect "Franky" girl with Cordy's face. Giles and Jenny have their first (and it would be the second!) date. guess, I've watched this episode too many times (don't know the reason why), so I don't have enough passion to write about it in better and funnier words.



FAVE SCENE: Angel finds Cordelia in the trash.



FAVE QUOTE: Xander: People don't fall in love with what's right in front of them. People want the dream. What they can't have. The more unattainable, the more attractive.

This episode is good, but not one of my favorites from this season. Body parts show up and the team starts investigating which leads to a brother who has gone over the normal bounds of brotherly love. His reaction to his brothers death is understandable and reminds me of how Dawn reacts later in the series because his pain is understandable but at the same time he has let his grief cause him to do things that he normally would not. I like how Cordelia is incorporated into this episode and her interactions with Angel are really funny. A good episode, that doesn't have much going on, except for Giles who sees some hope of getting some.

With this episode of Buffy cleverly titled "Some Assembly Required" Buffy shows how concistent it can be weekly. The plot which has a little Frankenstein ish feel is very cool, creepy, and well written. SMG does good as Buffy, Xander and Willow continue to shine as well. But the big character development comes with the building relationship of Giles and Jenny who are now officailly dating- and its comically charming. Additionally Cordelia gets to do something again which she has been on a roll for the last 4 episodes! Overall while this episode could have been corny, its not and Buffy keeps getting better and better!

Some Assembly Required-The bodies of several recently deceased teen girls are stolen from their graves, and most of the parts are discovered in a dumpster on school grounds. From the missing pieces, the gang deduces that someone has collected almost enough parts to build their own girl. Now, all they need is a head, and it has to be fresh...



While the second season is one of Buffy's strongest seasons, the writers had a tendency to make a lot of "classic horror movie monsters" episodes. Ironically, they turned out to be the weakest episodes of the season. "Some Assembly Required" feels like a watered down teen slasher movie version of "Bride of Frankenstein." You suppose ot feel bad for Chris and for him losing his brother, Darryl, but as soon as Darryl comes out as a Frankenstein-eqse monster, you just see them as pathetic. Darryl is never scary or threating! As a matter of fact, his lifeless waste of a mother was way creepier than he was! Also, it's already getting tedious of Cordelia being the damsel in distress and you knew she would get saved in the end. But there is good here as the sub-plot with Giles asking out Jenny on a date is beyond hilarious. I mean watching Buffy, Willow and Xander giving him dating tips is priceless. I especially liked Buffy start to the point advice.



Buffy: "Hey, you've got a thing, I've got a thing, so let's have a thing."



Of course, Jenny manages to ask him out in end just as he fails which is hilarious yet expected from Giles. This 2 really are adorable together, and Jenny's little comments about dating him were nicely placed. All and All, besides a entertaining sub-plot, the episode's main plot just gets in the way and fails.

Buffy and the gang investigate when they find an empty grave in a local cemetery and it doesn't belong to a vampire. Later body parts are found and they conclude that someone is using the parts to stitch together a new person, like in "Frankenstein". They eventually learn that it's two boys who are building a girlfriend for one boy's brother, a popular football player. None of the heads are any good, though - they need a fresh one, and they set their sights on Cordelia.



This episode was definitely not a very good one. The makeup job the crew did on the dead guy is horrible. He looks like HE was the one stitched together. But why? The coroner would have done a better job than that had he needed any stitching, they would have made him look as normal as possible for the funeral. Also, there's no point in using body parts when one body would have worked. This episode also felt a little tired, the Angel and Buffy relationship is written badly in this episode and David's acting was pretty bad. He definitely gets better as the show goes on. Xander was extremely annoying and unnecessarily rude to Cordelia when for once she was being grateful.



Overall this episode was a mess. Entertaining and not the worst episode at all, but it could have been much better.

This was a semi interesting episode of Buffy. I loved Cordelia saying that you shouldn't be forced to do anything educational in school. That was classic Cordelia at her best.



The whole thing with Daryl was a little weird okay it was totally weird. I can't believe that Chris and Eric were making a girl for him. That was incredibly sick to see. The digging up of corpses was incredibly disturbing. I loved everything with Buffy and Angel. It was so obvious that Angel was jealous after seeing Buffy do the sexy dance with Xander. It was kinda cute that he was too stubborn to admit that he was jealous of Xander in the beginning. I loved how he finally admitted to it at the end of the episode.



This one was also foreshadowing Cordelia and Xander a lot. You could see here that there was kinda something going on with them even though neither would admit to it.



I loved Giles and Jenny. It was so sad to see Giles trying to come up with pick up lines and then Jenny said exactly what he was trying to say in his practice session. I hated how strong she was coming on though. This was a good episode but they could have done better.

Best Scene:

For me personally the best scene was probally when Cordelia got in the dumpster to hide from Angel. It was quite ammusing and obviously something Cordelia would only do if she was really scared. (How it was meant to save her I'm not quite sure!)



Worst Scene: For me the worst scene was pretty much the whole Frankenstein concept. I don't think that it is possible and it doesn't seem to fit with the Buffy theme of supernatural stuff (wereworlf, vampires etc) because it is something that people have done. But then I guess it does represent some of the terrible things that people do in this world today.



Funniest Moment:

Again this would have to be Cordelia in the dumpster! Soooo funny!



Sad Moment:

I found Daryl's mum reminiscing over her lost son by watching his football videos over and over quite sad. It was very much like her life had stopped when he died.



Best Quote:



Angel: So, uh, you're here alone?

Buffy: Yeah. Why?

Angel: I just thought he'd have somebody with you. Xander or someone.

Buffy: Xander?

Angel: Or someone.

Buffy: Nope. Why? Are you jealous?

Angel: Of Xander? Please... he's just a kid.

Buffy: Is it because I danced with him?

Angel: Dancing with is a pretty loose term, matted with might be a little closer.

Buffy: Don't you think you're being a little unfair? It was only one little dance, which I only did to make you crazy, by the way. Behold my success.

Angel: I am not jealous!

Buffy: You're not jealous? What, vampires don't get jealous?

Angel: See? Whenever we fight, you always bring up the vampire thing.

Buffy: Well I didn't come here to fight! (gets attacked by the vampire she was waiting for) Oh right, I did!



and another one because I like it!!



Giles: Grave robbery? That's new. Interesting.

Buffy: I know you meant to say gross and disturbing.

Giles: Yes, yes, yes, of course. Terrible thing. Must put a stop to it. Damn it.



I like these quotes because Angel is getting jealous of a 17 year old while he is 241; and I like the fact that Giles gets excited over the craziest things.



Worst Quote:

(couldn't find one right now might update later when not so much in a hurry)



14th out of 22.

A good installment. This episode is conceptually good...although it obviously has a sort of Frankensteinish feel to it. I didn't feel that the episode carried sufficient emoiton to do the concept the right amount of justice. Again, Cordelia being placed indanger in the first three season of Buffy is an absolute delight for me bacause I didn't really like her at that time. This episode also marks the first hint that there may be something developing between Cordelia and Xander. This episode also marks the beginning of Giles' relationship with Jenny Calendar, which will become important as the season progresses.

I have always felt like this was one of the weaker episodes of season two. Some of the earlier episodes felt too “monster of the week” for my liking. It still has the classic Buffy wit though and a few funny moments. My favorite quote from this is “I don't think anyone should have to do anything educational in school if they don't want to.”, which was said by Cordelia. That is classic Cordy, and though I like the character she later developed into I miss her stuck-up character too. Giles has his first date with Jenny in this episode, something I think everyone was rooting for. Other than that though, I don’t really like the whole “Frankenstein” theme they have going on in this episode and would rank it as one of the worst episodes of the series. But one of the worst episodes of Buffy is still better than the best episode of most shows.

The episode revolves around, Buffy & her friends, big shocker. Anyway this episode is about a boy called Chris whose brother, Daryl is killed. So Chris rebuilt his brother in a frankenstein sort of way, pretty ugly looking btw. And in Buffy everyone needs a partner, so naturally Daryl preasures Chris into making him a girlfriend, mate type thing. At first Chris took parts from dead girls, but when it came to the head he wanted it fresh. So Daryl chooses Cordelia, he grabs her, takes her to his lab. Cordie is saved by Buffy, a fight breaks out between Buffy and Daryl - Buffy wins, over!

Also while most of this is going on Giles is put to the difficult task of asking Ms. Calander out on a date, awkward! Anyway Ms. Calander fills in the blank and asks Giles out to the football game (Where Cordelia is taken from) However their date is interupted by Willow and Xander, also having to save Cordelia.

Cute episode, not my favourite but i'd watch it again any day.

Seems that someone is stealing body parts from the local cemetary. Buffy finds out the hard way as she falls into an empty casket, in front of Angel. The gang finds out that they are stealing parts in order to make a new girl. They soon find out it is the handiwork of Chris and Eric, two fellow students. They also figure out that all they need now is a head (a fresh one) to complete the living dead girl. This was definitely not one of my favorites from season 2. I would say that the redeeming thing in this episode was that Giles finally went out on a date with Jenny. Not great but not a total loss.

In this episode a bereaved brother and a science geek plot together to make an undead girlfreind for Darryl.



Chris is driven to murder by the love of his brother, after ressurecting him he has found more problems in his unlief than his dead one.



Aside from the monster in this episode jealousy is also a key theme. Buffy is jealous of Cordy when she is hanging around Angel but he assures her that he is only being civil, Cordelia is yet to discover his undead status. Xander is jealous of Angel and Angel is in turn jealous of Xander as he gets to spend so much time with Buffy. All the emotions are out in the open and someone is bound to get hurt at some point.

a very funny episode of season 2. season 2 is just great! cordelia is in this episode loved by some dead guy who wants to make a mate and she is going to become the head of it. the episode has so many funny moments mostly xander and cordelia but also so much more. this episode is when i first really started to care about cordelia and she was just always much more interesting than the others. at the end the poor zombie is burned up. this is another great example of what buffy should always be.

So two guys have been experimenting with reanimation after one of their brothers, Daryl, died in an accident. Turns out the once dead, now alive guy is lonely and wants a girl. The boys start piecing together parts from girls that have recently died. But they still need a head and it needs to be fresh. As Daryl was dating Cordelia when she was alive the guys decide that she would be the perfect head (guess they weren’t looking for someone with brains). In other parts of Sunnydale empty graves and body parts have been found and the gang has figured out what is happening. They show up at Daryl and his brother’s house they figure out that Cordelia is the target. Chris (one of the two boys starts to get a conscience) and shows Buffy where Cordelia and the body is. Buffy shows up with the gang and get Cordelia out. The lab catches on fire but Daryl refuses to leave his undead bride and dies, again. Funny quote: Willow: This shouldn't take long. I'm probably the only girl in school who has the coroner's office bookmarked as a favorite place.

As the show is about to hit its stride, there are still only hints of what would become the status quo. They're still using horror archetypes and applying them to high school settings. This has been the basis for many good and great episodes, but it doesn't quite work in this episode, at least the way they wanted to. In this case, they wanted to cover relationships, with a "Bride of Frankenstein" update as the central part of the plot. However, what happens in this plot doesn't match the character stories.



A better choice for this supernatural occurrence would've been to have Franken-Daryl symbolize those who still hang out around the high school long after graduation. We can all relate to that and know people like that. Unfortunately, this theme wouldn't really work until later, when high school ended for the gang. Instead, the episode uses the brother of said jock to build a girlfriend for his reanimated brother. Maybe if Franken-Daryl wasn't a popular guy it would work better, since Chris may feel guilty about him not finding someone in life. Or they could have the girls fawning over him in a satire of high school politics.



There is some nice follow up of Buffy using Xander to make Angel jealous. It worked. Although even Xander knows he can't be with Buffy, this piece of knowledge eludes Angel, which is fitting for his social awkwardness. It also hints toward the tragedy of their romance. Angel can't be around her during the day, much less relate to contemporary people well.



During this episode, Angel inadvertently garners Buffy's jealousy by helping Cordelia when she finds the body parts. It's interesting to see this, as it is essentially the real beginning of Cordelia and Angel's friendship, one that will become very important in Angel's series.



Of course, Willow is still pining over Xander, but now the writers are setting up a potential romance between him and Cordelia. Xander saving her from Eric the perv and Franken-Daryl obviously scored major points, even when he blew off her showing of gratitude. At this point, people unaware of the overall scheme would probably be hoping for Willow and Xander to see what's in front of them. Knowing what's ahead for the characters makes these speculations moot.



The most interesting development is the fact that Ms. Calendar and Giles are starting to see each other. It does help make Giles more endearing to have the usually composed Watcher bumbling through his crush just like the rest of us. It also doesn't hurt that Ms. Calendar is really cute (although that hairdo leaves something to be desired).



Another strength of the episode is that the gang is noticeably disturbed by what's happening. For a show that frequently involves the deaths of young people, the main characters shake it off rather well. Granted, this way it keeps the gang from perpetually cowering in fear, which wouldn't make for a good show. It's refreshing to see them acknowledging just how disturbing this grave robbing situation is.



Although these bits are good, this episode had some major faults. For starters, Eric is a supremely annoying character. I know, that's the point, but there is only so much annoyance one can take before it hinders enjoyment. If I ever have to hear him butcher a classic soul song (which wasn't disturbing in the way they would've wanted), it'll be too soon. If only they substituted Warren from the latter years for Eric, the story would've worked much better (and it could explain why Chris would want anything to do with him and some of Warren's feelings toward women). Eric is just a lame SNL skit, which takes me out of the action. Why Cordelia didn't punch him the second he uttered a syllable is baffling.



Also, who has ever dropped their car keys in a way that would send the keys halfway underneath the car? Is there some slope that scenes like this are filmed on that could explain this? I guess this fits into the standard horror marks early "Buffy" wanted to hit, but I wish we saw more of them satirizing this. Remember, this show premiered shortly after the first "Scream" movie, which offered some choice jabs at horror movie cliches.



The finale, with the fire burning down the old lab (along with Franken-Daryl and Bride of Franken-Daryl), is a little too contrived to work. Why is there a big container of gasoline among the things there? There are plenty of flammable things in a science lab, especially one that is old and likely using old appliances. How about a Bunsen burner is knocked over?



This episode is very reminiscent of the first season (down to that awful lighting during the locker search scene), but the places are set for what will become the second season. Relationships are what make this second season, and they do deserve development, but the connection between this and the monster of the week is rather sloppy.

Buffy season two featured many episodes in which the writing team used an old horror movie bad guy as the basis for storylines. Later in season two we would be introduced to werewolves, mummies and fish creatures and this episode features Buffy's take on Frankenstein's monster.



Like the season premiere, the non-demonic storylines are the most interesting, with Giles preparing to ask out Jenny the most entertaining. I loved the concept of the Scoobies giving him dating advice and the way that, in the end, Jenny was the one making all the moves, was exactly what you would imagine would happen in a relationship story involving Giles.



The monster storyline was less successful. I found the build-up to the big reveal mostly entertaining (mainly due to the grave-digging and the dialogue in that scene), but the story quickly derailed as soon as we were introduced to zombie-Daryl, seeing as it then became a run-of-the-mill "save kidnapped Cordelia" thing. However, Cordelia was by far the stand-out character of the episode, being hilarious in almost every scene, especially when clinging to Angel for protection and being spooked out by severed hands in trash cans.



Whilst not entirely successful, the dialogue helped move the episode along at a steady pace and the sight of Xander going all James Bond and saving Cordelia was hilarious. But, if you want to see zombies in a better light, watch the episode Dead Man's Party, which handled them a hell of a lot better.



Director: Bruce Seth Green

Writer: Ty King

Rating: C-

An episode that's tough to remember the details to once it's over, this one just didn't have the spark to make it a standout.



One interesting scene which somehow is far more horrible than the gruesome body snatchings is the sight of seeing Daryl's mother sitting in a chair watching replays of Daryl's football career via VHS. It's obvious this is a habitual thing for her and in the meantime her other ALIVE son, Chris stands in the background completely ignored.



There's a few more cute scenes with Giles and Ms. Calender that are far more entertaining than the A-plot. This isn't one you need track down if you haven't seen it yet.

“Some Assembly Required” is another great episode, this time with Zombies. When the parts of dead girls go missing from their graves, Buffy and the Scooby gang uncover a plot to make the perfect woman for a zombie jock that used to go to their school. Cordelia is kidnapped by the zombie, and it turns out that they used to date, Buffy battles against the clock to stop the zombie from killing Cordelia. This is a good episode for character development- Giles works on pick up lines for Mrs Calendar, Xander saves Cordy- the seed of their future relationship?, and Buffy accuses Angel of being jealous due to last episodes sexy dance with Xander. Another Great episode.

And another excellent episode of Buffy, superb and clever writing making it 45 minutes of fun and laughter plus horror and drama.



The character interactions were perfect, all the characters fitted so well together and it made it lots of fun to watch. Giles falls more inlove with Mrs Calendar aka Jenny and he wanted to ask her on a date but was too shy to, and she is the one that comes through and asks everything he was too afraid to ask. Also Cordelia was hilarious, she and Angel were awesome together (even more interesting than with Buffy) also Xander’s jealousy towards Angel and disgust towards Cordelia. It was all just perfectly done.



It begins in the cemetery where Angel and Buffy have an argument, Angel walks away and Buffy follows him ‘It’s not so easy to get rid of me’ and then she falls into an open grave, a girl has just been dragged out.



When Buffy and Xander enter the library next day they se Giles talking to a chair, it’s obvious he is practising to ask Jenny out but doesn’t seem to be that good. Buffy gives him a few tips and then she begins to talk about the open graves and that they should look up if someone is eating them or wants to built up a zombie army.



In school there is a weird kid taking pictures of all the girls, he seems to like Cordelia a lot. There is also another boy, he and Willow get along fine and h seems to be very smart.



In the library, they find about the deaths. Buffy and her friends are going to dig up the corpses of the girls, when they open the coffins they find the bodies gone. When Cordelia is done with the cheerleading-practise she feels like someone is after her, she hides in the trash but it turns out to be Angel. He asks about Buffy and didn’t except Cordy to be in the trash, she wants to get out but is stuck and she sees it’s a hand.



When Buffy and her bosom buds come back, they find Angel and Cordelia together. Angel tells them about the dead bodies, Cordelia acts all fragile and innocent and makes Angel take her home, she’s driving.



When the Scooby’s look in lockers, they find out that Chris and his friend are involved, they are gonna make a girl out of the body parts.



Meanwhile Giles is still trying to find the courage to ask Jenny out, when he sees her he blanks out and she’s the one who asks him to come to a football game, he seems pleased.



The body of the girl has to be brought back to life soon or else the bodies are gonna rot, they don’t have a head yet and Daryl (Chris brother who died in an accident) begs Chris to help him, he wants Cordelia’s head.



When the football game starts, Chris and his friend grab Cordy but Buffy comes to the rescue after seeing the basement, she knows they want Cordy. After saving her Cordy has to do the cheer but Eric and Daryl have already made another plan without Chris, Daryl grabs Cordy from behind and she wakes up in an old science lab where she gets to see Daryl. She begs him not to kill her but he knows she won’t stay with him if he lets her look that way.



Chris tells Buffy where the guys are and there Buffy tries to save Cordy which sets up a fire, Xander saves Cordy and Daryl stays with the dead body and burns up.



Chris tells Buffy that the first thing Daryl said was that Chris shouldn’t have brought him back to live, but he was just looking out for him. In the cemetery Buffy and Angel walk together and he finally admits that he was jealous because Xander can be with her when he can’t. In the light but she tells him that she doesn’t look that pretty in direct light anyway.



This episode was really good, some scenes can be considered as smart comedy. Giles and Jenny’s relationship is great and there were more excellent character interactions, Xander/Angel and Cordelia/Angel. But one that is gonna happen soon without them knowing Cordy/Xander.

Once again Cordelia saves the show. You may also may see a glimpse of what is to come in the future show of Angel, when he saves her. She also forces him to take her after the discovery of the body parts in the dumpster. On the other hand this is one of the rather dull episodes. This is probably due to the fact that there aren’t any demons or vampires in this episode. They tend to bring out the best of the writers and actors, which usually results in a great episode. This makes these episodes not so special and they look more like something from the X-files.

The only benefit of this episode is the Cordelia parts.

This was a pretty average episode of Buffy. Of course average Buffy is still better than an episode of most other shows. Basically in this episode a kid from school and his friend are using dead girls body parts to make a "girlfriend" type person for his reanimated and pretty ugly dead brother. I loved the whole Giles/Jenny thing, definetly a high point for this episode. This episode also showed Buffy and Angel getting a bit closer. As always the dialogue in this episode was sharp and witty and all the actors were great here. Overall this a really great episode of TV thats just average by Buffy's standards.

In this episode Buffy and the Scoobies are trying to solve the mystery about who is stealing body parts, and more specifically, who's head they are attempting to obtain to finish the Frankenstein-like moster.



This episode is a good one as it lays many foundations that will crop up again in later series. It is well written, as usual, with great moments of humour and alot of horror. I think this was the first episode that really made me jump out of the chair.



The plot, as mentioned before, is loosly based on Frankenstein, but in true Buffy style, they have added a unique twist. This plot also works well as a stand alone episode.



In all, a good episode, but not the best in the series.. it's still very much worth watching.

Season two of Buffy started off with the strong and dark "When She Was Bad", and immediatley followed it up with this light, kinda silly, but still fun episode. The credits for this episode should have included "Based on a story by Mary Shelley". What the show has always done so well, and what I have written about in other reviews for the show, is how the series does great episodes that have a neatly created metaphor wrapped up in horror stories. This is what the show does. But I guess even the greats like Buffy will not hit the ball out of the park with every ep. The episode is fun, entertaining, and stylishly directed by Bruce Seth Green(no relation), but the story itself is a rehash of the "Frankenstein" storyline with nothing much else to say. Even worse, is that there doesn't seem to be any real clear meaning underneath it all. I am not seeing any real point here, and if there was to be some kind of metaphor, well, it just isn't happening. Maybe it's loss?. Maybe it's about how someone just can't let go of someone close to them and they will try to do anything they can to bring that person back into their life. Yes?. No?. I recently went through a loss that I am still reeling from, and I can see where your mind will make you think things that are just out of the norm. You think of getting that person or loved one back. In that regard, I can understand where Chris is coming from. Then again, maybe I am overanalyzing the whole thing and it's just a fun excuse to cash in on the "Frankenstein" story. Who knows. All I am saying is that this is a fun hour with a shaky plot that doesn't live up to the fun of the actual episode itself. This episode also feels like it's just a typical, run of the mill horror/slasher cliche as well. Anyways, what happened?...



Buffy and the gang are noticing something pretty sinister going on in Sunnydale. Buffy falls into a dug up grave while on patrol with Angel, and realizes that the body of a young girl was taken. More body parts turn up. Shortly, the gang learns that there is a Dr. Frankenstein immitator on the loose who has brought his dead brother, football star Daryl Epps, back to life and is trying to create a living dead girlfriend for him. They just need a head for the project, and Cordelia's will just do the trick.



The episode is basically about relationships. Starting ones, not having ones, rekindling ones, or bringing back ones. Chris has brought his dead brother back to life, and is now trying to create a relationship for him by making a woman for him. Angel and Buffy's relationship moves up as the two seem to re-connect. Giles and Jenny continue to flirt with the idea of going out, and Giles tears himself up wether or not to ask Jenny out. Then there is Willow and Xander. The two are bemoaning the fact that they are alone and always end up alone. This changes in the end after Xander rescues Cordelia(in a fiery hospital gurney extravaganza that is hilariously fun and cheesy all at the same time), and there is some inkling that there could be something between them. That maybe Cordelia has some kind of interest in the X-Man. Of course, he ruins the moment by not noticing this at all!. Oh Xander. But there is the sad and tragic relationship in the Epps family. Daryl was the star quarterback for the Sunnydale football team. He was the star. He was the hero. Sure, Chris is a good kid and is probably the smartest in school, but does that really matter when you are up against a star football playing brother?. After Daryl's death, the Epps brothers mother goes catatonic and just shuts everyone out. Including her one remaining son. The relationships in this episode cover the good, the bad, and the ugly. The title may not just mean the creation and assembling of body parts to create Daryl and his girlfriend, but the assembling of the relationships that are all going on in this episode.



There are some cheesy flaws and genre cliches that fill up this monster of the week episode that are so frustrating because this show, and it's writers, should know better by now. Most of it involves Cordelia. Cordelia is great and she's great in this episode, as is Charisma Carpenter. And anytime Charisma is in a cheerleading outfit, well, all the better for us. But the problem is that Cordelia becomes the all too typical/cliched horror movie damsel in distress here. She acts too stupid...even for Cordelia!. Despite everything that is going on this week, and everything that she has been involved with, she doesn't seem to take any of it seriously and doesn't do anything to keep herself safe. She just shrugs it off and ignores it as if it were all just some miniscule problem. Earth to Cordelia!. Females are dying and their corpses are disappearing. Say, why don't I walk in the dark, unpopulated parking lot completely by myself?!. But the most ridiculous of them all happens later. Cordelia stays in the locker room all by herself before the big game to apply some make-up and gets attacked and kidnapped. Luckily, she is saved by Buffy, but acts as if it were nothing and needs to get to the game. Where are your priorities, Cor?. Your life or the game?. To make it worse, after being attacked and kidnapped, she wanders off alone again, not seeming to remember the event just a few minutes ago. This, while fun, has always bugged me every time I see this episode. It bugs me because it is just so not this show. The show, right from the beginning, has always risen above stuff like this. They go out of their way to avoid stereotypical genre cliches like this. Ty King wrote this episode, and it's clear that he hasn't gotten a firm hold on the series yet. It is no surprise that he isn't with the show for very long.



In the end, "Some Assembly Required" is a shaky piece of work. It has a story with flaws and cliches, but the overall execution of the episode is quite good and it is fun for an hour's worth of entertainment. Other than that, the only important issues this episode has going for it is the ongoing development of the realtionships within the characters on the show.

Let's just get down to brass tacks here....this episode is basically a retelling of the Frankenstein story. (which was never one of my favorite stories to begin with) The only difference here really being that the mad scientest(s) were creating a mate for a dead brother. The one redeeming quality of this episode is Buffy's complete and utter disgust at what the 2 mad scientests have done. I find it hard to believe that Willow would even remotely stand up for these two buffons. Also notice the character development of Xander here, as he rather bravely rescues Cordelia. A little foreshadowing of things to come? This episode is the early frontrunner for worst episode of the season.

Ah, Love. Love love love. It makes you, as Willow puts it, do the wacky. This is a rather standard Buffy episode however and it opens in an everyday Buffy way. Or an everynight Buffy way as we are once again in the graveyard with Buffy and Angel arguing and Buffy slaying a vamp and falling over….into a clue. Giles is pretty interested in the empty grave that Buffy tumbles into, definitely more so than in the gang, who are having fun mocking him practising asking out the “reasonably dollsome” Ms Calendar on a date. He ignores Buffy suggestion of: ”Hey, I got a thing, you maybe have a thing, maybe we could have a thing” in order to bumble around whilst Jenny invites him out. Girls take control in this episode as Jenny takes Giles to the football game, Cordelia drives Angel and Buffy walks him home. This contrasts with the main story in which the two junior Dr Frankensteins try to create the perfect woman, Weird Science-style. The twist is that the butchered woman is not for their adolescent fantasies but as a zombie bride for one of the science nerds’ zombie brother. As you do. “It’s just a lousy girl,” states one of the ‘scientists’, as they contemplate killing someone to get a head for the lady zombie. Along with his porn collection, this proves that in Buffy-land, he is a Bad Person.



The someone is of course Cordelia, although she apparently had a crush on Darryl the zombie brother when he was alive which is the reason he chooses her and not just a coincidence that she gets kidnapped every week (Xander’s explanation is karma). The episode plays cleverly on Cordelia’s tendency to get nabbed in the scene when she thinks she is being stalked. She ends up hiding in a rubbish bin whereas the presumed villain is really only Angel looking, as ever, for Buffy. Now that Darryl is dead, he recognises Cordelia’s attraction to him as important; unfortunately for him, she’s interested in another walking corpse - Angel. He is interested in Buffy who isn’t interested in Xander – that’s Willow’s deal. What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to fall in love! Cordy is starting to show the softer side of the cheerleader, less snarky, more appreciative of Buffy’s aid and very grateful to Xander. But just as he doesn’t appreciate Willow, he is not interested in her telling him that if there is anything he can do….until later on in the series. Perhaps this is when Xander becomes unattainable to Cordy and the flames of passion are fanned (literally, as they escape the laboratory inferno – conveniently situated in the school; Snyder has become very lax).



Meanwhile, Giles and Ms Calendar are on their date, Giles laden down with snack food whilst Jenny enthuses about the ruggedness of American Football. Giles is less impressed – “I just think it's rather odd that a nation which prides itself on its virility should feel compelled to strap on forty pounds of protective gear just in order to play rugby” – but is still seemingly enamoured of his date, telling Xander and Willow that they should circulate “nearer the field”, especially when Jenny suggests another rendez-vous. Xander is rankled that even librarians can get dates, but perhaps she sees the dangerous side of Giles.



The episode is about love and relationships, but also about loneliness. Chris and Darryl’s mum can’t get over Darryl’s death, forcing her ignored still living son to do something drastic about it. When Darryl is brought back from the dead, his zombie-ness makes him isolated. He can no longer play football, no longer date the cheerleaders – which is what his life was all about. He is nothing, literally. Chris, who is brains and not brawn, saves Buffy and ends up alive. "Go Fish" is a better story about school sports, but this one shows that science nerds, even ones with massive pornography collections, win out over jocks, especially zombie ones.