The Watcher Diaries - Buffy vs. Dracula - Buffy Episode 5.1
Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 10.21.2009
Dracula comes to Sunnydale in search of Buffy! Meanwhile, Giles prepares to leave, Riley gets jealous and Xander's a butt monkey!
5.1 Buffy vs. Dracula
Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: David Solomon
Slayer Speak
Xander: Where'd you get that accent, Sesame Street? One, two, three — three victims. Mwah, ha, ha, ha!
Xander: Like any of that's enough to fight the Dark Master. (off stares) Bator.... See?! Buffy didn't feel it. I think you're drawing a lot of crazy conclusions about the Unholy Prince! (off stares) Bator.
Watcher’s Notes
Emma Caulfield has been added to the opening credits.
Jason Chamberlain has the full review!
Buffy is back!
I’m a big fan of the classic monsters. Frankenstein. The Mummy. Dracula. Dracula!
Seeing the big guy, or at least his BTVS version, interacting with the Gang is pretty cool. I’ve seen better takes on the character, mind you, but what’s here isn’t bad. Actually, he’s made far better in the extended Buffyverse, in both the Season Eight comic and the Spike vs. Dracula mini series.
My favourite thing about the episode, unsurprisingly, is Spike and his rant about Dracula. If only the pair had actually met on screen, it would have been a really cool scene. Riley does his best as the guy who doesn’t have a purpose outside of hanging with his girlfriend, and he’s a good addition to the Scooby’s as a normal guy (sans Initiative drugs) who can kick some ass. Willow, Tara and Anya don’t have much to do.
Xander is priceless as Dracula’s “butt monkey”. It’s the kind of quality goofiness that no other character on the show can provide. Eating bugs, trying to throw the gang off his ‘master’s’ trail and taking Buffy to him. “There’s this whole deal where I get to be immortal.”
The most interesting part of the episode, though, is Giles. Just as he’s getting ready to go back to England and leave Buffy to an adult life, she decides she wants him to be her Watcher again. ASH does a great job of playing Giles’ mix of pride and sadness that he has outgrown his usefulness in Buffy’s life, only to be pulled back in at the end.
Dracula is an interesting foil for Buffy as he continues on the First Slayer’s theme of highlighting Buffy’s demonic nature. At this point of the series, it makes sense to delve more into the history of the Slayer line.
She was a little too easily thrall-ed for my tastes, though.
And Giles in the chick pit. Awesome!
Oh, but then there’s Dawn... *sigh*. There goes the neighbourhood!
Ronny Sarnecky
Finally! After four complete seasons, Buffy finally comes face to face with the most famous vampire of all time- Count Dracula. This was an awesome episode. It was interesting to see the interaction between Dracula and the Scooby Gang. Buffy, Xander, and Willow were star struck upon first meeting the Count. The writers did a pretty good job in keeping with the Dracula mythology. Dracula is like a super vampire, and the creative team treated him as such. He had mystical powers that even Buffy couldn’t beat. However, he couldn’t beat her either. When I watched the episode for the first time, I marked out seeing Rudolf Martin playing Dracula. I’m a big “All My Children” fan, and Ruldolf, at one time, played a character on the show called Anton. His love interest on the show was Kendall Hart, who was played by everybody’s favorite vampire slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Seeing Sarah on “All My Children” is why I first gave the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” series a chance during it’s very first season. One of the scenes in the episode that worried me was when Giles told Willow that he would be leaving Sunnyvale and going back to London. It was one thing to lose Angel and Cordelia after Season Three to the new “Angel” series. However, we couldn’t lose Giles! He was the rock of the show. Buffy was the star, but Giles was the father figure that kept her, and the other kids focused and on an even ground. Of course, the big shocker to come out of the episode was the introduction of Buffy’s teenaged sister. WTF? The key has arrived. We just don’t know it yet.
9
Jeremy Thomas
Somehow, you just knew from the beginning of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that someday, Dracula would come to Sunnydale. The show had just enough camp to it that the big guy had to eventually show up. I know a lot of people were looking forward to it but frankly, I wasn't one of them. So when I saw the truck with the giant, coffin-shaped crate pulling up to Sunnydale's local castle, I was starting to worry. Leave it to the Whedonverse to surprise me pleasantly. The episode as a whole, written by Marti Noxon, did a wonderful job of fitting the infamous vampire into Buffy's universe. Dracula is played by Rudolph Martin, a character actor who had just played the Count in the USA film Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula. Martin did a better job here I felt, adding a bit of that camp I mentioned before and making his performance the better for it. I love that they made Dracula the rock star of the undead world, and people's reactions to him are fantastic. Buffy's question of "Are you sure this isn't one of those fanboy things" was great, and Spike's need to act like he knew him and they were enemies was worth a laugh. And who can forget Xander being the butt monkey?
At the same time, you have more than just the Dracula humor. You have some interesting developments going on here. Buffy is going out to fight again and again, looking for some excitement to make up for her "safe" relationship with Riley. She also has Dracula showing her how her power has a dark side. Giles is looking to go home to England, which will become an important theme. Oh, and then there's that little thing about Buffy's sister. This show's had a lot of "what the hell" cliffhangers, but that was the topper. There were a few things that bugged me--the foremost being the terrible special effect of Dracula turning into a bat, but Riley being all horny over Buffy being bitten by Drac too. He does get points for sardonically noting the sudden presence of a castle, though. All in all this was a show that immediately set out to show how much the show was NOT going to be Season Four, and it did that in spades.
8.5
Shawn S. Lealos
It was only a matter of time. You can’t have a vampire slayer without ever considering the most famous vampire of them all. Buffy vs. Dracula is one of the best season premieres the show ever had. Paying homage to Bram Stoker’s original story, each member of the original story is replaced with members of the Scoobie Gang. Xander is the best match, playing a perfect version of Renfield. Giles is the member to get the sister’s “treatment” (ala Harker) and Buffy pulls double duty as both Mia Harker and Van Helsing rolled into one. Rudolf Martin is fun as Dracula as well, all pomp and arrogance, smoke and mirrors. It is funny listening to Spike talk about how Dracula used to be his rival until he became famous and put all their lives in danger by exposing their weaknesses. All in all, Dracula is a great nemesis for Buffy and I love how he proves at the end that he cannot be defeated easily.
It is also interesting to see the show taking new angles this season, although some are just skimmed over as the norm. Willow and Tara are now lesbian lovers, something that seems sudden and abrupt. The fact they are bashful and secretive about it (to Joyce especially) is cute but Xander seems to know and not care, which seems strange. Willow also has strong use of her powers to start off the episode which is also strange, also coming across as sudden. I understand most seasons start after summer vacation, so I guess that is where it comes into effect.
The biggest plot changes in the season are the uneasy relationship between Riley and Buffy, with Riley very unlikeable in this episode, and the insecurities of Giles wondering whether he is even needed anymore or not. This is Buffy’s father figure and lover and both will end up leaving her down the line. This episode sets that up beautifully. This is the season Buffy learns what it really means to be a Slayer and both Dracula’s words kicking off this quest and Giles role in her search for the truth leads her through this season.
And can you imagine how jolting it must have been when the episode first aired for Buffy to suddenly have a kid sister in the last scene?
9
Mike Gorman
This is one of my favorite season premieres of the entire series because it was jam packed with traditional Buffy fun and had that killer ending. Having Buffy & the Gang go up against Dracula was a fantastic move in my opinion because it answered a long lingering fan question about where the most iconic of vamps fit into the world of the most iconic of slayers. Highlights of course include Xander's Renfield turn (which is referenced brilliantly in the Season 8 comic FYI), Giles' involvement with Dracula's wives, and Dracula refusing to stay dead in the end.
The premiere is also significant because of the abrupt cliff hanger ending where we met a character most fans would love to hate for the next three years, Buffy's sister Dawn. There was no real way to see it coming from what transpired during the episode. Like most good twists, it was sprung on the audience and we were left with "What the f---?!" looks on our faces until the next week arrived. In all this was a great start to a great season.
9
Ron Martin
There are a lot of reasons to love this episode. The writers do a great job of staying true to the myths and legends of Dracula while keeping all the Buffyverse regulars in character. This is a fun episode that once again hints at Buffy's fame around the world as Dracula has searched her out instead of it being the other way around. This may be one of the most underrated episodes in the entire series. Dracula becomes the third vamp to bite into Buffy and we get plenty of the hilarity we've come to expect from Giles, Xander and Anya. Even Spike fits in well with the storyline explaining away Dracula's eccentricities and why he is not like other vamps. In the end, Buffy had to win, but I am glad that they didn't dust Dracula. It seemed fitting.
Upon first viewing, the last five minutes of this episode confused the hell out of me and I was ready to be pissed with the lack of continuity. However, I trusted the writers enough to give them a few episodes and they didn't disapoint. I enjoy the Dawn storyline and think Michelle Trachtenberg was a nice add to the cast. I know I am in the minority on that one as well.
9
GRR!!! ARGH!!!
The 411: A strong episode to start the new season, but with the addition of Dawn, things are about to whiny, screechy and incredibly lame.
My favourite thing about the episode, unsurprisingly, is Spike and his rant about Dracula. If only the pair had actually met on screen, it would have been a really cool scene. Riley does his best as the guy who doesn’t have a purpose outside of hanging with his girlfriend, and he’s a good addition to the Scooby’s as a normal guy (sans Initiative drugs) who can kick some ass. Willow, Tara and Anya don’t have much to do. 
The most interesting part of the episode, though, is Giles. Just as he’s getting ready to go back to England and leave Buffy to an adult life, she decides she wants him to be her Watcher again. ASH does a great job of playing Giles’ mix of pride and sadness that he has outgrown his usefulness in Buffy’s life, only to be pulled back in at the end. 
