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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Episode 7.04, "Help"
Written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner
Directed by Rick Rosenthal
Air Date: October 15, 2002
This outing of Buffy starts with a pseudo-standard vampire slaying. Buffy and the thinned Scooby ranks of only Xander and Dawn slay a vampire in a funeral home. Dawn, being the youngest of the bunch, is forced to hide in a child’s coffin while waiting for the vampire to rise, even though, as she points out, she’s not the smallest of the bunch. The actual rules of vampire risings have always confused me in this show. If the woman is in the funeral home and prepped for a funeral service, doesn't that mean she’s been dead for a little while? This inconsistency also applies to the vampires that are buried in graveyards and rise again. I mean, they do have to be dead for a while to have been buried already, right? I was always under the impression that vampires rose the same night they were killed. That’s just a small quibble I've had for a while now.
In any event, the meat of this show’s plot this week concerns a troubled young girl by the name of Cassie (or Cassandra, which is a parallel to the old Trojan War legend of a woman by that name being able to see the future and ultimately dying when nobody believes her prophecies). Cassie, like her namesake, is able to see the future, and the future she sees involves her own death by the following Friday. She confides this information in Buffy the Student Counselor after being sent to her office. Buffy is immediately drawn to help the young girl when one of her small prophecies actually comes true. Cassie tells Buffy that her shirt is going to get stained, and sure enough, it does. Buffy asks Dawn to befriend Cassie to keep an eye on her. Over the course of the next week, Dawn becomes close to Cassie and her friend Mike.
As the Friday draws nearer, Buffy finally gets a lead in the form of another of Cassie’s prophecies coming true. Coins fall out of an inspected locker, which falls in line with Cassie’s mentioning of lots of odd coins during her counseling session. Buffy tracks down the student who is assigned to that locker. She then uses him to infiltrate a mini-demon rising session. The ringleader of this demon ritual has captured Cassie as a sacrifice. Since she’s a troubled girl, he figures no one will be surprised when she disappears. Buffy promptly kicks the ass of some of the students involved and the demon that they raise. After Cassie has been saved, with a little help from Crazy Spike, Cassie tells Spike: "She'll tell you. Someday she’ll tell you." Buffy then escorts Cassie out. The door they use to exit has been booby-trapped, but Buffy reacts quickly and manages to save Cassie’s life yet again. Buffy has done everything right. She says to Cassie, "See, you can make a difference." Cassie responds, "And you will." Cassie falls to the floor and dies. It is revealed that she had an irregular heart. Buffy did everything she could to save Cassie, and there was still nothing she could do to save her.
It’s an overall depressing concept of not being able to fight fate no matter what, but it strongly reinforces one of this show’s main themes. Throughout the course of the series, there have been prophecies; by and large they are in the form of dreams that come to the slayer. Having a prophecy that couldn't be changed helps strengthen the prospect of the ultimate power that fate has on the characters of this show. That’s one of the stronger elements of this episode. Everything about it seemed to be prophetic. There were signs of foreshadowing throughout. Many will probably only be noticeable in retrospect, but that’s usually the fun of this show when it treads this ground. It doles out signs of what’s to come right in front of your eyes, but you can't see them without knowing what to look for.
I can't say that there was all that much wrong with this episode. The demon raised at the end wasn't especially intimidating or convincing looking, but they sort of poked fun at that by calling it a lame demon. Since it was an episode devoted to helping a troubled student, there wasn't much action or visceral excitement to be had, but that kind of story element wouldn't have worked in an episode like this. The drunken father was a bit overdone. Willow’s use of the computer also seemed a bit too TV-ish and simplistic. Finding Cassie’s website just by using Google wasn't all that believable to me.
To start off with the good, there was a very nice moment near the beginning between Xander and Willow as they just walked down a grassy path. It really showed their connection. The honesty with which Willow discussed her fear of succumbing to her own power was nice as well. This brief talk was made even better when they arrived at their destination. Willow walks through a graveyard until she reaches one particular tombstone. It is, of course, Tara’s grave. It was a much needed moment for Willow and I'm glad we got to see Willow dealing with her loss in a more normal fashion (ya know, not killing people).
There was also a nod to the show’s own history when Willow finds Cassie’s website. It’s a somewhat freaky website that gives some insight into Cassie’s mental state concerning her looming death. Willow persists that it is normal for teens to write the sort of poems they find on Cassie’s site. She admits that she has done the same thing, only they were love poems. Xander asks, "Love poems?" Willow replies, "I'm over you now, sweetie." Normally, in another episode, I'd have shrugged that moment off to a fun jab at their own pasts, but in an episode that focuses on prophecy and foreshadowing, a moment like that might carry more meaning.
As with the last few episodes, Dawn is once again proving that she is indeed a worthy addition to the cast. She doesn't come off as at all whiny or kid-sister-esque. She’s just a member of the gang doing her own piece. There is a scene, however, that bothered me when Dawn’s gut feeling about Cassie’s pending death was completely ignored. It downplayed Dawn’s importance to the group, which was not something that I felt should have been done now that Dawn is a full-fledged Scooby.
There wasn't much at all to dislike about this episode. Its focus wasn't on action or the comedy this show generally carries; it was merely intent on introducing a very likeable character who was faced with an unstoppable force. It showed that no matter what, some things in life can't be helped. I think in that regard, it succeeded very well. Before I end this write up, I'm going to leave you with one of Cassie’s poems that was read aloud during the episode. While its main focus could be applied to Cassie herself, it might be one of those hidden looks into the future of the season.
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.
The pale fish looks back at me.
Pale fish 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 who will feast.
Episode Rating: 8 out of 10.
- Brandon "Pyronics" Delancey is once again disappointed with the absence of the cloaked killers.
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