The thing is, in season 1, the vampires are very… traditional. They say things like "your life is forfeit" and "my body is your instrument", and they have a "master", and gothic music, and are basically boring and overacting.
I kind of liked the show, but the vampires were annoying.
And then came season 2.
Season 1's villain is The Master. Who spends most of his time lurking in his evil lair, making dramatic speeches, and killing underlings.
Season 2's villain is clearly going to be The Anointed One. Who is a prophesied Leader Of Vampires (in the body of a ten year old), and spends most of his time sitting on a throne, looking serious and stern, and getting underlings to kill each other.
So, three episodes in, there's this opening scene, in which a big black car smashes into the Welcome To Sunnydale sign, and a guy wearing army boots and a big black coat gets out - and, to the accompaniment of some funky rock music, he looks around and says "Home sweet home".
…which is not the scene I'm talking about.
Anyway, more stuff happens.
And then we see The Vampires, talking to their Great Leader The Anointed One, and discussing The Slayer, and Destiny, and other capitalised words like that.
And Big Dramatic Vampire says the following, in a very dramatic voice:
This weekend, the night of St. Vigeous, our power shall be at its peak. When I kill her, it'll be the greatest event since the crucifixion. And I should know. I was there.
It's all very dramatic and monumental.
And then, from behind him, a sneering voice speaks up:
You were there? Oh, please! If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock.
Of course, no self-respecting creature of the night can put up with an insult like this. Big Dramatic Vampire glares, and says:
I oughta rip your throat out.
Which this new vampire completely ignores, turning his back and continuing to soliloquise:
I was actually at Woodstock. That was a weird gig. I fed off a flowerperson, and I spent the next six hours watchin' my hand move.
…at which point the Big Dramatic Vampire rushes up behind him to punch him, and, without turning his head, the new vampire smacks his fist straight into BDV's face, knocking him out.
This is the scene commonly referred to as Spike's Entrance. With one fell swoop, he completely changes what it means to be a Buffyverse vampire. They go from dramatic and pompous to fun and resourceful.
The rest of the episode includes Spike saying things like: "Yeah, I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag. (laughs) Who am I kidding? I love to brag!"
"People still fall for that Anne Rice routine. What a world!"
And calling The Anointed One "the annoying one".
By the end of that first episode, he's killed the Anointed One, taken over leading the town's vampires, and settled down to watch some television.
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The thing is, in season 1, the vampires are very… traditional. They say things like "your life is forfeit" and "my body is your instrument", and they have a "master", and gothic music, and are basically boring and overacting.
I kind of liked the show, but the vampires were annoying.
And then came season 2.
Season 1's villain is The Master. Who spends most of his time lurking in his evil lair, making dramatic speeches, and killing underlings.
Season 2's villain is clearly going to be The Anointed One. Who is a prophesied Leader Of Vampires (in the body of a ten year old), and spends most of his time sitting on a throne, looking serious and stern, and getting underlings to kill each other.
So, three episodes in, there's this opening scene, in which a big black car smashes into the Welcome To Sunnydale sign, and a guy wearing army boots and a big black coat gets out - and, to the accompaniment of some funky rock music, he looks around and says "Home sweet home".
…which is not the scene I'm talking about.
Anyway, more stuff happens.
And then we see The Vampires, talking to their Great Leader The Anointed One, and discussing The Slayer, and Destiny, and other capitalised words like that.
And Big Dramatic Vampire says the following, in a very dramatic voice:
It's all very dramatic and monumental.
And then, from behind him, a sneering voice speaks up:
Of course, no self-respecting creature of the night can put up with an insult like this. Big Dramatic Vampire glares, and says:
Which this new vampire completely ignores, turning his back and continuing to soliloquise:
…at which point the Big Dramatic Vampire rushes up behind him to punch him, and, without turning his head, the new vampire smacks his fist straight into BDV's face, knocking him out.
This is the scene commonly referred to as Spike's Entrance. With one fell swoop, he completely changes what it means to be a Buffyverse vampire. They go from dramatic and pompous to fun and resourceful.
The rest of the episode includes Spike saying things like:
"Yeah, I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag. (laughs) Who am I kidding? I love to brag!"
"People still fall for that Anne Rice routine. What a world!"
And calling The Anointed One "the annoying one".
By the end of that first episode, he's killed the Anointed One, taken over leading the town's vampires, and settled down to watch some television.
He's rather awesome.