Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Harvest (2)

Season 1, Episode 2, Aired 3/10/97

Episode Summary

Buffy rescues Willow and Xander, but Jesse is left in the hands of the vampires. Buffy no longer resists her calling, but immediately begins to plan a rescue. Because they are already involved, Giles tells Xander and Willow about vampires and demons, and that Buffy is the Slayer.

They are overwhelmed by it all, but they insist on helping Buffy. Meanwhile, Luke and the other vampires are planning to begin The Harvest, a dark ritual that will free the Master from his underground prison. Needing to slaughter innocents for the ritual, they descend upon The Bronze to feed. And only the Slayer stands in their way.moreless

8.6

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Cast & Crew

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Sarah Michelle Gellar

Buffy Anne Summers
Nicholas Brendon

Alexander 'Xander' Harris
Alyson Hannigan

Willow Rosenberg

Fan Episode Reviews (55)

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The Harvest

8.0

"Great"

By joxerlives, Dec 28, 2011 Report Abuse

The Harvest

The Good;
Never suspected they'd turn Jesse and was shocked when they killed him (Xander bags his first vamp, it'll take Willow and Cordelia 2 whole seasons to kill their first). The fight at the end is terrific especially Buffy's trick and 'give me the Speilberg (such a shame that there are no more commentaries on season 1, roll on Buffy Special Edition DVDs). Love Willow's trick on Cordy and we have Harmony for the first time (here unnamed). Willow hacks for the first time.
Great scenes with the hand trying to pull Buffy back into tunnels (Xander saves her for the first time?) whilst the sun going down has never seemed quite so menacing not to mention Darla skipping along to the Bronze.

The bad;
The vamps seem affected by the all too common slow moving monster syndrome. Also all the bodies disappear from the Bronze at the end whilst considering they're supposed to be lifelong friends Willow and Xander seem to forget about Jesse awfully quickly. Also considering we later establish what a formidable vamp Darla is Willow seems to overcome her awfully easily with just a jar of holy water

Best line;
Willow; I need to sit down
Buffy; You are sitting down
Willow; Oh, good

Questions and observations; the vamps look slightly different to what we later see, their skin more mottled and talons more pronounced. We later see in The Wish that whilst the Harvest would have been bad it wouldn't have been the end of the world. Is it Cordy who bumps into Jesse and forces him onto Xander's stake? I must say I'd never seen the supposed gay subtext between the Master and Luke until it was pointed out by Joss but now it seems impossible to miss
8/10 solid Buffy
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0 0
Buffy manages to rescue Willow and Xander, but it's sadly too late for Jesse. Slowly, a plot emerges about a ritual that will release an ancient being from his limbo prison. A little less gripping than the first half, but still a very good episode...moreless

9.0

"Superb"

By Jay-Spacedust, Jan 30, 2011 Report Abuse

(...Review continued from Part 1, 'Welcome to the Hellmouth').

Not much more to say on this one that I didn't cover in WTTH really.

The story continues onwards keeping up the interest, though I did feel that in this second half things weren't quite as pacey. Don't get me wrong, things are still pretty great, but the first half is better.

As others have commented, Xander and Willow don't seem all that sad about their friend Jesse being turned into a vampire and later dusted, but I like how Joss Whedon's intention was to trick viewers into thinking Jesse was to be a regular, only to have him killed off. (In fact, Whedon wanted opening credits containing Jesse, to build on this more, but there wasn't enough time or the budget at this early stage).

It's also how fun how the fate of Sunnydale lays in Buffy's hands, yet she has to sneak out and not tell her mother, Joyce. This was great in the first season or so, though later, when it verged on getting a bit samey and limiting plots, they had Joyce find out.

All-in-all, 'Welcome to the Hellmouth' and 'The Harvest' set up the seven season run perfectly. No, it might not meet the giddy heights of some future plots, but even with this first tale, I feel the bar is significantly raised above most other shows around at the time.

Maybe I enjoyed 'The Harvest' slightly less than the first part, but I still like it enough to give it a very reasonable 9 / 10.moreless

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2 part series opener

5.5

"Mediocre"

By Thestorysofar, Jan 30, 2011 Report Abuse

Another day at Sunnydale school and another evil plot to kill people. Some harvest to bring the master to the surface.

And his followers turn Xanders friend in to bait. and chain him to the wall only to find he has turned into a vampire as well. great rescue attempt. I think the vampires put on a pretty poor show to get them. they just sort of hang in the back ground with funny glowing eyes. Buffy finally got to kill Luke another soldier on the vampire team but she let lots of them live. Always why she doesn't just kill them while she has the chance. you know they will just come back again. And the Julie Benz vampire could have been killed off as well but was allowed to hang around for a few more episodes.moreless

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The second part of the series premier.

9.5

"Superb"

By Phunner1416, Jan 08, 2011 Report Abuse

The continuation of the first ever episode of the best show in the world... Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It continues where the last episode left off, with Luke about to kill Buffy, where Angel, saves Buffy, for the first time out of millions. This episode also shows Buffy's resourcefulness when she tricks Luke into thinking that it was sunrise and distracting him so that she could stake him. The only thing I didn't like about the episode is that they killed off someone who could have been a good member in The Scooby Gang, Jesse, Xander and Willow are good for the Scooby Gang, but it would have been nice to have Jesse in the Gang.moreless

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The Harvest

10

"Perfect"

By TrueTvWatcher, Oct 10, 2010 Report Abuse

The Harvest was the second episode of the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The story picks up where it left off in the first episode. Buffy eventually over comes the vampires, only to find new friend Jesse is missing. All of the main and future regulars have been pretty much introduced by now, and we are starting to really get to know the characters. They sort of fall into their roles, Buffy the Slayer, Giles the Watcher, Willow learning from Giles but being a Computer Savvy Whiz Kid too, and Zander the Gentle Heart and Helping Hand. We are also seeing Buffy and Angel developing a relationship. The enemies are evil, and fun to watch in action. This episode is a classic.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- When the episode begins and Luke goes to bite Buffy, he stops because of the cross that she is wearing. When the camera shows the cross it is not actually around her neck, it is only sitting on her neck. Later when she runs out into the cemetery we cannot see the cross. Edit
- Luke feeds on several people on stage at the Bronze, then lets them fall lifeless to the floor. Yet after Buffy kills Luke, an overhead shot of the stage area shows no bodies lying on the floor. Edit
- In the scene where Principal Flutie stops Buffy at the school gate watch Buffy's left arm. When the camera faces Buffy, her arm is bent with her hand on her hip. When the camera is behind Buffy, her arm is straight. Also, when Buffy says "Mr. Giles", her left hand is on her hip, but is suddenly held away from her body when seen from behind. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- Despite the fact that no actual decapitation was shown, the scene of Buffy slaying a vampire with a cymbal was removed when the episode aired in Britain due to "graphic content". Edit
- Originally Julie Benz's character Darla was supposed to die in this episode when Willow attacks her with holy water. But Joss Whedon decided to keep her for the episode Angel. Edit
- The scene of Buffy and Xander escaping from the vampires in the tunnel was shot using a camera on a skateboard. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Cordelia: So she comes running at me, screaming: "I'm gonna kill you!" I swear! She had this stick and attacked me with it! Boy: Who? Harmony: Buffy! Edit
- Giles: For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. Buffy: (to Willow and Xander) He loves doing this part. Edit
- Xander: Jesse, man. I'm sorry. Jesse: Sorry? I feel good, Xander! I feel strong! I'm connected, man, to everything! I can hear the worms in the earth! Xander: That's a plus. Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- The Master: My blood is your blood. My soul is your soul. Similar words are used in many religions, and the ritual enacted here bears a striking parallel to the Christian ritual of Communion. Edit
- Buffy: Don't go all wild bunch on me. The Wild Bunch is a 1969 Western directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Ernest Borgnine and William Holden. It was one of the first films to feature excessive violence as it is known today. Buffy warns her friends not to attack the vampires. Edit