Some Assembly Required (Buffy episode)
Encyclopedia
"Some Assembly Required" is episode two of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episodes was written by staff writer Ty King and directed by Bruce Seth Green
. The narrative follows the Scooby Gang as they find body parts all over Sunnydale High School. They follow the trail of the clues to find something more gruesome. Meanwhile, Buffy confronts Angel about their relationship, Willow admits that she loves Xander to Buffy and Ms. Calendar and Giles' romance begins to blossom, as he asks her on a date. There's only one problem: their date is interrupted by Eric and his sinister plans.
is waiting for a vampire to rise when Angel appears. They end up arguing over their relationship, or lack thereof (along with Angel's inability to express his jealousy of Xander because Buffy danced suggestively with him in the previous episode
), and Angel decides to leave. When Buffy tries to follow him, she falls face first into an open grave. A body was apparently dragged out from it earlier.
The next day, Buffy and Xander
catch Giles
practicing to ask Ms. Calendar
out on a date. Giles hears Buffy's findings at the cemetery and fears someone is raising an army of zombies. Buffy goes to find Willow
, who is signing up for the science fair and talking to Chris, the reigning champ. As Buffy approaches, Chris' friend Eric takes pictures of girls passing by.
Willow finds that the girl in question, Meredith Todd, died in a car accident along with two other girls. They head to the cemetery to investigate. Buffy tells others not to tell Angel because they are having problems. That night, Cordelia
is walking to her car after cheerleading practice when she senses that someone is following her. She eventually hides in a dumpster and when she thinks it is safe to get out, she encounters Angel. He starts to help her out when they find an arm and other body parts inside the dumpster.
The Scoobies return to the library to find a frightened Cordelia clinging to Angel. They decide to abandon Giles' zombie theory and search the lockers of science students. They find medical books and an article on Meredith Todd in Chris' locker and a jigsaw of female body parts in Eric's locker. Chris and Eric are building some sort of dream girl.
In a secret lab, the two geniuses are almost finishing their creation, except for the head. Eric lines up three candidates: Buffy, Willow and Cordelia. Chris' brother Daryl comes out from the shadows, showing a grotesque appearance, and chooses Cordelia's picture. Daryl was a popular athlete who died in an accident years ago, and he was revived by his brother and promised a stay-at-home companion.
The next day, Giles stumbles as he tries to ask Ms. Calendar out, but she ends up asking him to the football game instead, where she continues to tease him. Meanwhile, Buffy and her friends discover that the crazy boys are missing a head; brain tissue decays at such a rate that they cannot simply go grave-robbing to get one, and must actually kill a girl to gain the head they need.
Buffy finds a lab in Chris' house and discovers their target. She runs off to warn Cordelia, and Daryl walks out of the shadows. In the locker room, Cordelia is getting ready when Chris comes up behind her. Eric places a bag over her head, but is beat up by Buffy. After Cordelia leaves, Chris tells Buffy about Daryl. They head back to his house, only to find Daryl gone.
Buffy and Chris head to the school. Daryl watches Cordelia under the bleachers. As Cordelia goes to a water fountain, Daryl drags her away. He and Eric head to an abandoned building, where Eric plans to behead her. Cordelia sees her old crush and screams. At the game, Buffy and Chris realize they arrive too late, but Chris tells her where to find Eric.
Meanwhile, Willow and Xander crash Giles' date. Chris tells them what happened, while Buffy rushes to the old science lab. In the ensuing fight, a burner is knocked over and starts a fire. Xander arrives with the rest of the gang and gets Cordelia out. Giles and Willow drag out an unconscious Eric. As Daryl is about to kill Buffy, Chris stops him. Daryl decides to die beside the unfinished work while everyone else escapes.
Afterwards, Jenny promises Giles a second date. While Buffy talks to Chris, agonizing about the decision he made when he first resurrected his brother, Angel arrives. Willow and Xander talk; he brushes off Cordelia when she tries to thank him for saving her life. Buffy and Angel leave together through the graveyard. Angel admits to his jealousy, and Buffy reassures him that she doesn't love Xander that way.
Bruce Seth Green
Bruce Seth Green is an American television director.His credits include Knight Rider, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Angel, Dawson’s Creek, Gilmore Girls, Law & Order, Diagnosis Murder, Baywatch and other series.His last directorial credit...
. The narrative follows the Scooby Gang as they find body parts all over Sunnydale High School. They follow the trail of the clues to find something more gruesome. Meanwhile, Buffy confronts Angel about their relationship, Willow admits that she loves Xander to Buffy and Ms. Calendar and Giles' romance begins to blossom, as he asks her on a date. There's only one problem: their date is interrupted by Eric and his sinister plans.
Plot synopsis
BuffyBuffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
is waiting for a vampire to rise when Angel appears. They end up arguing over their relationship, or lack thereof (along with Angel's inability to express his jealousy of Xander because Buffy danced suggestively with him in the previous episode
When She Was Bad
"When She Was Bad" is the first episode in the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written and directed by series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon...
), and Angel decides to leave. When Buffy tries to follow him, she falls face first into an open grave. A body was apparently dragged out from it earlier.
The next day, Buffy and 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...
catch 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...
practicing to ask Ms. Calendar
Jenny Calendar
Jenny Calendar is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Played by Robia LaMorte, Jenny is the computer teacher at Sunnydale High School...
out on a date. Giles hears Buffy's findings at the cemetery and fears someone is raising an army of zombies. Buffy goes to find 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...
, who is signing up for the science fair and talking to Chris, the reigning champ. As Buffy approaches, Chris' friend Eric takes pictures of girls passing by.
Willow finds that the girl in question, Meredith Todd, died in a car accident along with two other girls. They head to the cemetery to investigate. Buffy tells others not to tell Angel because they are having problems. That night, 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...
is walking to her car after cheerleading practice when she senses that someone is following her. She eventually hides in a dumpster and when she thinks it is safe to get out, she encounters Angel. He starts to help her out when they find an arm and other body parts inside the dumpster.
The Scoobies return to the library to find a frightened Cordelia clinging to Angel. They decide to abandon Giles' zombie theory and search the lockers of science students. They find medical books and an article on Meredith Todd in Chris' locker and a jigsaw of female body parts in Eric's locker. Chris and Eric are building some sort of dream girl.
In a secret lab, the two geniuses are almost finishing their creation, except for the head. Eric lines up three candidates: Buffy, Willow and Cordelia. Chris' brother Daryl comes out from the shadows, showing a grotesque appearance, and chooses Cordelia's picture. Daryl was a popular athlete who died in an accident years ago, and he was revived by his brother and promised a stay-at-home companion.
The next day, Giles stumbles as he tries to ask Ms. Calendar out, but she ends up asking him to the football game instead, where she continues to tease him. Meanwhile, Buffy and her friends discover that the crazy boys are missing a head; brain tissue decays at such a rate that they cannot simply go grave-robbing to get one, and must actually kill a girl to gain the head they need.
Buffy finds a lab in Chris' house and discovers their target. She runs off to warn Cordelia, and Daryl walks out of the shadows. In the locker room, Cordelia is getting ready when Chris comes up behind her. Eric places a bag over her head, but is beat up by Buffy. After Cordelia leaves, Chris tells Buffy about Daryl. They head back to his house, only to find Daryl gone.
Buffy and Chris head to the school. Daryl watches Cordelia under the bleachers. As Cordelia goes to a water fountain, Daryl drags her away. He and Eric head to an abandoned building, where Eric plans to behead her. Cordelia sees her old crush and screams. At the game, Buffy and Chris realize they arrive too late, but Chris tells her where to find Eric.
Meanwhile, Willow and Xander crash Giles' date. Chris tells them what happened, while Buffy rushes to the old science lab. In the ensuing fight, a burner is knocked over and starts a fire. Xander arrives with the rest of the gang and gets Cordelia out. Giles and Willow drag out an unconscious Eric. As Daryl is about to kill Buffy, Chris stops him. Daryl decides to die beside the unfinished work while everyone else escapes.
Afterwards, Jenny promises Giles a second date. While Buffy talks to Chris, agonizing about the decision he made when he first resurrected his brother, Angel arrives. Willow and Xander talk; he brushes off Cordelia when she tries to thank him for saving her life. Buffy and Angel leave together through the graveyard. Angel admits to his jealousy, and Buffy reassures him that she doesn't love Xander that way.
Cultural references
- The Bat-SignalBat-SignalThe Bat-Signal is a distress signal device appearing in the various interpretations of the Batman mythos. It is a specially modified Klieg searchlight with a stylized symbol of a bat attached to the light so that it projects a large Bat emblem on the sky or buildings of Gotham City...
: The Bat-Signal is a light with the shape of a bat on it, which is shone into the sky in Gotham CityGotham CityGotham City is a fictional U.S. city appearing in DC Comics, best known as the home of Batman. Batman's place of residence was first identified as Gotham City in Batman #4 . Gotham City is strongly inspired by Trenton, Ontario's history, location, atmosphere, and various architectural styles...
to alert BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
that the police need his help. In popular culture, it has become a phrase used to denote an emergency or something important. - FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
: This episode has many obvious allusions to Frankenstein, in which a college student, Victor Frankenstein, attempts to create life using the body parts of dead people. In the novel, Frankenstein’s creature, whom Frankenstein abandoned shortly after its creation, finds Frankenstein and demands that he create a companion for him, much as Daryl does in this episode. Similarly, in both the book and the episode, the companion is destroyed before its completion. - Sterile enough for government work: This is a play on the phrase ‘close enough for government work’, a disparaging phrase usually meaning that there is no reason or point in investing additional time in perfecting something.
- Cyrano De BergeracCyrano de Bergerac (play)Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
: GilesRupert GilesRupert 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...
makes a reference to the famous Edmond RostandEdmond RostandEdmond Eugène Alexis Rostand was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism, and is best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand's romantic plays provided an alternative to the naturalistic theatre popular during the late nineteenth century...
' 1897 French play, by saying to BuffyBuffyBuffy may refer to:*Buffy the Vampire Slayer , various media on the TV series.*The Buffy EP, 1999 EP by Velvet Chain*Buffy coat, a component of blood...
, "Well, thank you, Cyrano."
Continuity
- This episode marks the first of three instances in the series of 'making girls', the other two being the more successful April and the Buffybot, both made by Warren MearsWarren MearsWarren Mears is a fictional character portrayed by Adam Busch in the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as its canonical comic book series continuation.-Television:...
. - At the game, the cheerleaders are shouting "Go Greenbacks Go." Though the Sunnydale High team are known as the Razorbacks, this isn't actually a mistake. As demonstrated by Herbert the Pig in "The Pack", the Razorback of the team mascot is, in fact, green.
- This marks the first episode to deal with the morality of bringing a person back from the dead, a theme which will become much more prominent in later seasons of the show, particularly Season 6.
- This is also the first episode where Cordelia shows more than a grudging respect for Xander. They would end up dating for a short while later on.
Soundtrack
- This episode features the debut of the Buffy-Angel love theme "Close Your Eyes" by Christophe BeckChristophe BeckChristophe Beck , also credited as Chris Beck, is a Canadian television and film score composer....
, which can be heard briefly during the final graveyard scene.
Arc significance
- This episode marks the beginning of Giles and Jenny's relationship, which will be a vital subplot for most of the season.
Trivia
- This is the first episode in which Anthony HeadAnthony HeadAnthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
recites the opening narration, "In Every Generation...", replacing the announcer who recited the lines in season one.