Reptile Boy (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Reptile Boy" is episode five of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written and directed by co-executive producer David Greenwalt
. The narrative follows Buffy Summers, the Slayer, who is tired of being responsible and goes to a frat party where she's nearly devoured by a giant snake named Machida, who the fraternity worship.
and flees into a cemetery, where she is caught. Meanwhile, Buffy's gang are happy with the apparent lack of activity on the Hellmouth. Giles
presses her to train harder, but she just wants to be a teenager. The next day at school, Cordelia
introduces Buffy to two college guys, one of whom invites Buffy to a party. She turns him down, claiming she is involved with someone. Buffy goes on patrol and meets Angel, who smells blood on a bracelet on the ground. He says that their age difference is a problem and that she does not know what she wants in life. She runs off, upset.
Buffy decides to go to the frat party with Cordelia. She chooses not to tell Giles or Angel about her date. Later that night, Giles and Willow discover that the bracelet is from Kent Preparatory School, just outside of Sunnydale
and where Buffy is partying. Angel appears and asks about Buffy. Willow tells the two men why Buffy lied to them. They then rush off to save Buffy and Cordelia.
At the party, Buffy tries to avoid drunken frat guys. Xander
has sneaked in to protect Buffy, but other partygoers recognize him for a crasher and dress him up like a girl. Meanwhile, Buffy relents and decides to accept a drink. Drugged, she stumbles her way up to the bedroom where Cordelia is lying unconscious. When they wake up, they find themselves chained in a basement as an offering for a reptile demon named Machida. Cordelia is chosen as the first victim, but Buffy distracts the demon and breaks out of her chains.
Willow
, Angel and Giles head to the frat party and meet up with Xander. They enter the house and beat up the frat guys. Buffy kills the demon, the frat guys are arrested, and Giles promises to stop pushing Buffy so hard. Afterwards, everyone gathers at The Bronze
. Angel appears and asks to have coffee with Buffy sometime. She plays it cool.
David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel. He is also co-creator of the short-lived cult television show Profit...
. The narrative follows Buffy Summers, the Slayer, who is tired of being responsible and goes to a frat party where she's nearly devoured by a giant snake named Machida, who the fraternity worship.
Plot
A girl jumps out of a second-floor window of a frat houseFrat House
Frat House is a documentary film exploring the darker side of fraternity life. The film was directed by Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland, and largely filmed at Allentown, Pennsylvania's Muhlenberg College; the majority of the film was shot in the house of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, which has...
and flees into a cemetery, where she is caught. Meanwhile, Buffy's gang are happy with the apparent lack of activity on the Hellmouth. Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
presses her to train harder, but she just wants to be a teenager. The next day at school, Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
introduces Buffy to two college guys, one of whom invites Buffy to a party. She turns him down, claiming she is involved with someone. Buffy goes on patrol and meets Angel, who smells blood on a bracelet on the ground. He says that their age difference is a problem and that she does not know what she wants in life. She runs off, upset.
Buffy decides to go to the frat party with Cordelia. She chooses not to tell Giles or Angel about her date. Later that night, Giles and Willow discover that the bracelet is from Kent Preparatory School, just outside of Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
and where Buffy is partying. Angel appears and asks about Buffy. Willow tells the two men why Buffy lied to them. They then rush off to save Buffy and Cordelia.
At the party, Buffy tries to avoid drunken frat guys. Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...
has sneaked in to protect Buffy, but other partygoers recognize him for a crasher and dress him up like a girl. Meanwhile, Buffy relents and decides to accept a drink. Drugged, she stumbles her way up to the bedroom where Cordelia is lying unconscious. When they wake up, they find themselves chained in a basement as an offering for a reptile demon named Machida. Cordelia is chosen as the first victim, but Buffy distracts the demon and breaks out of her chains.
Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
, Angel and Giles head to the frat party and meet up with Xander. They enter the house and beat up the frat guys. Buffy kills the demon, the frat guys are arrested, and Giles promises to stop pushing Buffy so hard. Afterwards, everyone gathers at The Bronze
The Bronze
The Bronze is a fictional nightclub in Sunnydale, the fictional setting for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Of 144 episodes of the series, 66 have at least one scene at the Bronze, not including its appearance in the unaired pilot....
. Angel appears and asks to have coffee with Buffy sometime. She plays it cool.
Production details
- In his DVD commentary for this episode, writer/director David Greenwalt says that when he wrote the episode he thought that he had invented a great demon name, Machida. He later realized that he had been inspired by the word MakitaMakitaMakita Corporation is a Japanese power tool company founded in 1915, and based in Anjō, Japan. Makita is a manufacturer of professional and consumer power tools, and operates factories in Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, Romania, UK and USA. Annual turnover is equivalent to US$1.8 billion.-...
, which he had seen written on the drills carried by the show's gripsGrip (job)In the U.S. and Canada, grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions...
. - The episode ends with the main villain frat-boy being led away by Angel while Cordelia upbraids him. In the original script, however, Machida emerges from the pit and eats him. This proved impossible for the production crew to do with the CGI of the time. David Greenwalt mentions in the DVD commentary that the CGI problems also ended plans for Machida to be a reoccurring villain.
- Although Cordelia tells Buffy "Don't wear black, silk, Chiffon or spandex: these are my trademarks," Buffy shows up in a little black dress.
Cultural references
- The opening scene of this episode is reminiscent of an early episode of the sitcom Friends, in which the characters watch a show in another language and make up the words themselves.
- "You could join a fraternity of rich and powerful men—in Bizarro World," a fictional world in the DC UniverseDC UniverseThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
where everything is opposite to Earth; for example, Bizarro bonds lose money, which is considered a good thing there. - Tom refers to the 'drunken lout' who charges Buffy as "The HulkHulk (comics)The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
".
Continuity
- Cordelia's preference for older boys, first mentioned in The HarvestThe Harvest (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)"The Harvest" is the second episode of season one of the WB Television Network television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by executive producer Joss Whedon and directed by John T. Kretchmer. The episode originally aired in feature-length format alongside part one, "Welcome to the...
, is reiterated here, though by the end of the episode, Cordelia appears to have, at least temporarily, changed her mind. - Angel is able to enter the fraternity house without an invitation as the fraternity brothers are only temporary residents.
- Cordelia intimates to Xander that the only way he'll ever go to college is to deliver a pizza, foreshadowing his choice not to enroll in college in Season Four. Ironically, Cordelia will never go to college either.
Arc significance
- At the end of the episode, Buffy agrees to have coffee with Angel, which marks the beginning of their formal dating relationship.
- This episode marks the first of several fraternity-related supernatural incidents, most of which occur from Season Four to the end of the series.
- This episode also marks the first incident of students using magic to better their situation in life, which often occurs in later seasons.