Picking up where the feature film left off, Buffy Summers and her mom move to Sunnydale, California, for a fresh start, unaware of the evil lurking in this quiet suburb. Somewhat reluctant in her role as the slayer, Buffy quickly makes friends and enemies at her new school. While also meeting her new "Watcher," Giles, the mercurial school librarian, her newly assembled team encounters the ever-abundant unearthly creatures in Sunnydale.[2]
Although the episode originally aired with "Welcome to the Hellmouth", in subsequent reruns and home media releases, the two episodes are typically presented separately.
In the library, Giles (Anthony Head) and Buffy give Xander and Willow a brief introduction to the world of vampires, demons, and Slayers. Willow uses a computer to view the city council's plans for Sunnydale's tunnel system. Remembering her fight in the mausoleum, Buffy realizes it must have access to the underground tunnels. Xander is hurt when Buffy declines his help but follows her anyway.
Willow is researching the Master in the computer lab when she overhears Cordelia and Harmony trash-talking Buffy. When Willow attempts to defend Buffy, Cordelia insults her. In turn, Willow suggests Cordelia press the DEL key to "deliver" her assignment, which erases all her hard work.
Buffy skips school to search for the hidden tunnels in the cemetery. Inside the mausoleum, the mysterious stranger appears just as Buffy is about to enter the tunnel system. He tells her his name is Angel and gives her directions to the Master's lair, only wishing her luck after she is out of earshot.
Xander catches up with Buffy, wanting to help save his friend. They enter the tunnels and manage to find Jesse. They are suddenly ambushed by vampires, and Jesse, upon leading them to a dead end, reveals he has been turned. Buffy and Xander barely manage to escape through a vent leading to above ground, with Xander pulling Buffy out of a manhole. Underground, the Master is unhappy about their escape and punishes the vampire Colin by poking his eye out.
Luke drinks the Master's blood and has a symbol drawn on his brow, turning Luke into the Vessel. Every soul Luke takes will give the Master more strength to break out of his imprisonment.
Buffy and Xander return to the school library. Giles explains that the Master arrived 60 years ago to open the Hellmouth, a portal to another reality, but was swallowed by an earthquake. He is now hoping to escape with the help of a Vessel in a once-in-a-century opportunity called the Harvest. To prevent the Master from escaping and opening the Hellmouth, they must kill the Vessel. Xander suggests that the vampires will be at the Bronze.
On her way there, Buffy stops by her house to get weapons and is promptly grounded by her mother, who has been called by Principal Flutie (Ken Lerner) about Buffy skipping classes. Buffy grabs her weapons from a secret compartment in a chest and climbs out of her bedroom window. Giles, Xander, and Willow head to the Bronze to back her up, with Giles warning Xander that the Jesse they know is dead and all they will see of him now is the thing that killed him.
Luke and other vampires burst into the Bronze and start killing those inside. Buffy arrives in time to save Cordelia before Luke can bite her. She also notices the Vessel mark on Luke's forehead. Xander eventually kills Jesse after a fleeing woman unknowingly pushes him into Xander's stake. Willow pours holy water on Darla when she is about to bite Giles, causing her to run away in pain.
After shattering a window, Buffy tricks Luke into believing a streetlight is the sunlight, then stakes him in the back when he realizes it is still night. With Luke dead, the Master's plan fails, and he is weakened again. The other vampires flee. Outside the Bronze, Angel realizes that Buffy has stopped the Harvest.
The next morning, Cordelia exemplifies the denial most Sunnydale residents undergo after paranormal encounters as she tells a fellow student about the previous night. Giles warns the budding gang of more battles ahead. Buffy, Willow, and Xander walk off while discussing ways that Buffy could get herself kicked out of school. Giles looks on after them and says to himself, "The Earth is doomed."
Production
Whedon hoped to include actor Eric Balfour in the title credits to shock viewers when his character dies. Unfortunately, the show could not afford the extra set of title credits at the time.[3]
Music included in this episode includes:
"Right My Wrong" by Sprung Monkey features in this episode as Buffy attempts to leave Sunnydale High but is stopped by Principal Flutie.
"Wearing Me Down" by Dashboard Prophets plays as Cordelia goes out on the dance floor at The Bronze.
"Ballad For Dead Friends" by Dashboard Prophets plays as Jesse gets Cordelia to dance with him
Writing
Although it is never revealed in the series, the Master's real name as listed in the script of this episode is Heinrich Joseph Nest.[4]
Joss Whedon noted in the commentary for this episode that he felt horrible for giving Eric Balfour so many lines with "s" in them, which he had to recite while in "Vamp-face". He had such a difficult time getting the lines out around the prosthetics that new ones were designed for vampire characters required to speak frequently; the older style ones were given to vampire lackeys with few or no lines in future episodes.[5]
Novelization
Richie Tankersley Cusick: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Harvest. Simon Pulse ISBN9780671017125
Broadcast and reception
"The Harvest" originally aired in feature-length format alongside part one, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", on March 10, 1997, on The WB. The broadcast attracted 3.4 million viewers.[1]
Vox ranked it at #99 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list (to mark the 20th anniversary of the show), remarking on Jesse's death "not because Xander screwed up his courage and found his inner hero, but because someone accidentally pushed him while they ran by," saying that the moment "goes a long way toward defining Buffy's tone from very early on."[6]
Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave "The Harvest" a grade of B+, writing that it helped set the precedent for the series. However, he criticized some of the action scenes for a "lapse into mano-a-mano action-horror clichés" and felt that the resolution was anticlimactic.[7] A review from the BBC stated that the episode was allowed "more time to breathe" than "Welcome to the Hellmouth", and praised the fight choreography and the developing characters.[8]
Rolling Stone ranked "The Harvest" at #116 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list, writing that the show "took a little time to find its feet," but calling it a "fine episode with some great moments – Darla and her fellow Vamps walking toward The Bronze as that very particular style of 90s grunge kicks in standing out as a particular highlight." The episode "establishes a core theme of the show at large. Buffy’s greatest strength isn’t just her power, but the family she surrounds herself with, and they’re instrumental in helping avert this disaster."[9]
"The Harvest" was ranked at #51 on Paste Magazine's "Every Episode Ranked" list[10] and #52 on BuzzFeed's "Ranking Every Episode" list.[11]
