#Severance S01E02 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fuckyeahgoodomens · 8 months ago

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Good Omens filming locations masterpost! ❤ 🐍😊 Part 2

(here to part 1 :))

(here to part 3 :))

Here to the map :)

Others in England (cont):

Tadfield Manor (S01E01, S01E02) - Bulstrode, Gerrards Cross

Scene: The Tadfield Manor where the satanic nuns run the hospital in the first episode and Aziraphale and Crowley visit in the second episode

Availability (as of 2024): The manor has been in private hands since 2016 - in 2023 sold again, I didn't find on the internet that it would be available to visit in any form, the manor is not visitble from the public road.

Link on the map

Four Horsemen meeting (S01E05) – Old School Cafe, Longcross Road B386

Scene: The cafe where Four Horsemen meet

Availability (as of 2024): street all day, the cafe Mon-Fri 7:30-15:00, Sat-Sun 8:30-15:00

Link on the map

Heaven middle floors (S01E01, S01E03, S01E04, S01E05) - Weybridge Business Park, Addlestone

Scene: The Heaven middle floors scenes in season 1 were filmed here

Availability (as of 2024): The places can be sort of seen from the street but I don't think that visiting is possible

Link on the map

Pollution by the river (S01E04) – River Wey Navigation, Guildford

Scene: The International Express Man delivers the package to Pollution

(fun fact: this one was the harderst one to pin down the exact location, I only knew bc of an article that the schooting took place by "Wey Navigation" which is a river long 32km (miles), I tried to find a better mention or through google maps comparing place for a long time but couldn't, finally I wrote to the River Way Navigation organization on facebook but they had no record of the shooting. Finally, in one of the photos I noticed that in the background there is a footbridge that I saw a photo of a similar footbridge while searching on a history of Wey Navigation river on the UK National Trust page and fortunately the previous mentioned facebook page knew where it was, WAHOO! :))

Availability (as of 2024): all day

Link on the map

Hogback Wood (S01E01, S01E02, S01E04, S01E05) - Painshill Park, Cobham

Scene: The Hogback Wood where The Them play, seen in several episodes.

Availability (as of 2024): The entrance to the park is paid (£11 with prebooking online on https://painshill.co.uk/visit-us/ticket-prices-booking/) They open at 10 and close at 16-18 depending on the season. The World Word II crater they shot the main scene at should be in the west-south tip of the park. The whole path there and back is 4km (2,5 miles).

Link on the map

International Express Man's house (S01E04) - Shetland Close, Guildford

Scene: The International Express Man leaves the house to make deliveries

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Agnes Nutter's village (S01E02) - Weald & Downland Living Museum, Chichester

Scene: The Agnes Nutter's village in episode two. In the map I highlighted which part we see the villagers and Witchfinder Major Pulsifer to through in the show.

Availability (as of 2024): The entrance fee is paid (£15.50 for an adult ticket prebooked online https://www.wealddown.co.uk/), it opens at 10 and closes at 16-17 depending on the month.

Link on the map

Tadfield Air Base (S01E05, S01E06) - RAF Upper Heyford, Bicester

Scene: For the shooting of the Tadfield Air Base the former RAF Upper Heyford was used, by the examining the google maps and screenshots from the series I think that the area labeled as 'Shelter 9' was used.

Availability (as of 2024): The place is no longer used by RAF purposes, there are several companies that use certain areas it but it is not available for public. The Upper Heyford Heritage though organizes (paid - £25.00) tours through the airbase: http://www.upperheyfordheritage.co.uk/home-page/tour-booking/

Link on the map

Soho (S1) – Bovingdon Airfield Studios

Scene: The Aziraphale's bookshop and Soho in season one were built at Bovingdon Airfield Studios

Availability (as of 2024): The studios can be rented but I don't think they are publicly available – the Soho is not there anymore though, it is now build in studios in Scotland.

Link on the map

The motorway on fire (S01E05) - M96 Training Motorway at Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh

Scene: The motorway on fire when Crowley is heading for Tadfield was filmed at M95 Training Motorway at Fire Service College that is usually used for training emergency service professionals

Availability (as of 2024): Not publicly available.

Link on the map

South Africa:

The 1941 church (S01E03) - St. Saviour's Church, Claremont, Cape Town

Scene: The scene in Season 1 where Aziraphale is outsmarted by the Nazis and is saved by Crowley

Availability (as of 2024): Their facebook says Always open

Link on the map

Famine at a fancy restaurant (S01E03) - Mutual Heights building, Cape Town

Scene: The restaurant where we meet Famine for the first time

Availability (as of 2024): It is a building with flats, offices and a reception, not available to public.

Link on the map

Crowley in a cinema (S01E04) - Joseph Stone Auditorium, Cape Town

Scene: Crowley in a cinema (with Neil Gaiman cameo) watching animated rabbits when Hastur interrupts

Availability (as of 2024): Not publicly available as such but they there are presentations and and such happening there https://www.facebook.com/josephstone1968/

Link on the map

Aziraphale dancing gavotte (S01E04) - Casa Labia, Cape Town

Scene: Aziraphale dancing gavotte in a discreet gentlemen's club in Portland Place in the late 1880s was filmed at Casa Labia in Cape Town

Availability (as of 2024): Casa labia is hotel and a restaurant so it can be visited in that way https://www.casalabia.com/

Link on the map

Anathema's child home (S01E02) - Llandudno Rock Villa, Cape Town

Scene: The home which we see Anathema as a child with The Book (in the show it's Malibu, California)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day, the villa itself seems that it can be rented

Link on the map

Eden desert and ep6 time bubble desert (S01E01,S01E06) – Atlantis Dunes, Cape Town

Scene: The Eden desert scenes and the time bubble with Adam and AC were filmed in the Atlantis Dunes at the outskirts of Cape Town

Availability (as of 2024): The Atlantis Dunes – or Witzands Aquifer Conservation Area – is a protected natural area. Biking adventures can be booked through https://atlantisdunes.com/ or also other activities through https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/see-all-city-facilities/our-recreational-facilities/Nature%20reserves/Witzands%20Aquifer%20Nature%20Reserve

Link on the map

The apple tree in the Garden of Eden (S01E01) - Waterfall Valley (formerly Cascade Country Manor), Paarl

Scene: The Eden apple tree with the waterfall in the background was filmed at the retreat Waterfall Valley (then Cascade Country Manor) (the tree was added by the film crew for the scene)

Availability (as of 2024): I am not sure if you can visit the waterfall like that or you have to be a guest in the restreat. The retreat is available for booking: https://www.waterfallvalley.online/

Link on the map

There were other scenes also filmed at South Africa (thought not specified exactly where): Hell was filmed in Cape Town in a former abattoir. The Noah’s Ark scene and the Crucifixion scene were filmed on a windswept plain just outside Cape Town. Also the Meggido scenes. The entire village used for the scene with War causing mayhem in an african village is in fact a set, built on scrubland over a sand mine just outside Cape Town. The French Revolution scene wa shot on a set that had been used twenty-four hours earlier for the scene in Ancient Rome. Famine visiting a burger place with Elvis was shot on a set in Cape Town. Also some scene's in Anathema's cottage with Anathema and Newt.

SEASON 2

Most of season 2 has been shot inside the film studio in Bathgate (f.e. the whole Soho has been built there), the driving throught the Blitz London in the Glasgow’s Wardpark Studios, the inside of the 1827 mausoleum in the River City studios in Dumbarton, the Hell in S2 has been shot in an old disused factory (not specififed which one). The shots of the Edinburgh castle have been shot from the top of the The Caledonian hotel.

Edinburgh:

Crowley and Shax in St James's Park (S02E01) – Inverleith Park, Edinburgh

Scene: Crowley and Shax meet to discuss the news in St James's Park – the scene though was actually filmed in Scotland.

Availability (as of 2024): All day

Link on the map

The place where Crowley parks the Bentley (S02E01, S02E02) – Circus Lane, Edinburgh

Scene: The place Crowley goes to to park the Bentley and sleep there

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

AC and Elspeth in Edinburgh (S02E03) - Moray Place, Edinburgh

Scene: Aziraphale, Crowley and Elspeth are taking the first "pickled herring" to be sold, Aziraphale and Crowley are debating good and evil

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Detective Aziraphale parks the Bentley (S02E03) – Victoria Street, Edinburgh

Scene: Aziraphale arrives in the Bentley and happily goes to investigate

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

The Resurrectionist (S02E03, S02E06) - Cask and Barrel, Edinburgh

Scene: Aziraphale goes to investigate to The Resurrectionist bar (also in Gabriel's memories with Beelzebub) – filmed in the Cask and Barrel bar

Availability (as of 2024): outside all day, inside 12-24, Fri-Sat 12-1

Link on the map

Stirling:

Edinburgh cementery (S02E03) - Old Town Cemetery, Stirling

Scene: The cemetery in episode 3 was filmed at the Stirling cemetery (grave, some gravestones, Gabriel's statue and the crypt has been added by the crew for the shooting)

Availability (as of 2024): all day

Link on the map

AC and Elspeth going through Edinburgh (S02E03) – Broad Street, Stirling

Scene: Aziraphale, Crowley and Elspeth going through Edinburgh while Aziraphale is trying to persuade her that she could do something else

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

Meeting Wee Morag (S02E03) - Mar's Wark, Stirling

Scene: The small corridor behind the gate where Wee Morag is staying

Availability (as of 2024): The front all day, the corridor if not through the gate then hopefully from the other side

Link on the map

Others in Scotland:

AC drinking whiskey with Mr Darlymple and the corridor to Mr Darlymple (S02E03) – Hopetoun House, Queensferry

Scene: Aziraphale and Crowley drinking whisky with Mr Darlymple while he explains why he needs fresh dead bodies also at the house has been filmed the corridor reading to Mr Darlymple

Availability (as of 2024): Hopetoun is visitable, Friday 29 March 2024 to Sunday 29 September 2024 Open 5 days per week (Thursday – Monday) from 11am to 5pm, £13.50 for an adult ticket for House and Grounds (to see both), or £13.50 for Grounds (to see the corridor)

Link on the map

The Windmill Theatre in 1941 (S02E04) - Hippodrome Cinema, Bo'ness

Scene: The theatre that Crowley delivered the broken alcohol to and Aziraphale performed the bullet catch

Availability (as of 2024): You can visit the cinema for a movie or an event https://www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/whats-on/

Link on the map

Aziraphale's trip to Edinburgh (S02E03) and Shax hitchhiking (S02E04) - Forrestburn Hillclimb, Shotts

Scene: The scene from Aziraphale's view when he travels to Edinburgh and Crowley calls him was filmed here.

Availability (as of 2024): Not available to public. The track is used by the members of the Monklands Sporting Car Club for special events. Outside of these the track is closed and no access is available except for hiring for special events/filming.

Link on the map

Soho and more (S2) - The Pyramids Studio, Bathgate

Scene: The S2 Soho has been built in the Bathgate studio, also there were built and shot many other scenes

Availability (as of 2024): It is not available to visit for public

Link on the map

London:

Possibly only streets were filmed and the Bentley was added with VFX.

C on the way to A after A calls him (S02E01) - Wardour Street, London

Scene: Crowley on the way to Aziraphale after Aziraphale calls him (to tell him about Gabriel)

Availability (as of 2024): street all day

Link on the map

(continue to Part 3 :))

#good omens #bts #filming locations #fun fact #masterposts #filming locations masterpost #long post

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appletvgifs · 11 months ago

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Severance (2022-present) Half Loop (S01E02)

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dreamlandcreations · 1 year ago

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Shanks masterlist

• Main Masterlist • Moodboards masterlist•

SERIES

Red dragon Shanks x noble!Reader Summary: What could a princess on the run and a pirate captain have in common?

Blood Red Water Shanks x siren!Reader Summary: You save his life and in exchange, Shanks helps you adjust to his world…

Red Tide (The Sea Beast AU) monster!Shanks x Mihawk’s daughter!Reader (+monster hunter!Mihawk) Summary: All you ever wanted to do was follow your brother’s path and become a great hunter…

Red haze Shanks x pirate hunter!Reader Summary: Luffy's cousin - the pirate hunter nicknamed The Fury - at the request of their grandfather, comes to collect her youngest and most elusive quarry...

ONE SHOTS

Red Dawn (Shanks x Reader x Mihawk) 🔥 Summary: Mihawk stays to celebrate... TEASER

Paint it Red Shanks x Mihawk's daughter

The Red string (of Fate) Soulmate AU

Roses are red... Soulmate AU

Something Red Shanks x Mihawk's sister

Code Red Shanks x CP9!Reader

OTHER STUFF

Imagine waking up after the celebration… (Shanks x Reader x Mihawk)

Imagine being (fr)enemies with Shanks…

Imagine being a genie…

Imagine being oblivious… (1)

Imagine being oblivious… (2)

Imagine being constantly worried…

Imagine sneaking around with your Captain…

Imagine being a government employee who is chased by several pirates…

Imagine having a personality much like Mihawk’s…

Imagine getting into a drinking game with Shanks…

Imagine being the only one who notices exactly how much Shanks struggles after losing his arm…

Imagine that you are out for revenge because a pirate stole from you…

Imagine that your cupid-like power accidentally made Shanks fall in love with you…

Imagine finding out that Shanks never celebrated his birthday…

Imagine having short-term memory loss…

Imagine getting into an arranged marriage with Shanks…

Imagine pirates robbing your ship…

Imagine getting kidnapped by pirates…

Imagine Shanks asking you to help distract him from the pain…

•

OPLA Shanks GIFs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

OPLA Shanks s01e01: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

OPLA Shanks s01e02: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

OPLA Shanks s01e08: part 1, part 2

#masterlist #character masterlist #opla shanks #opla shanks x reader #shanks opla #shanks #red haired shanks #red hair shanks #akagami no shanks #shanks x reader #shanks one piece #shanks x you #my stuff #my fics

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horror-aesthete · 2 years ago

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Severance, 2022, dir. Ben Stiller

S01E02 Half Loop

#severance #horror aesthetic #horror tv

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apomaro-mellow · 1 year ago

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The Bright Side S01E03: Brace Yourselves

S01E02

Steve was watching some mindless tv when El came through the front door, bags in hand from the mall.

"Someone was busy", Steve commented as she placed them right on the coffee table.

"I went to the mall!", she exclaimed, exuberant.

"Clearly. Whatjda get?"

"I got some shirts, some new scrunchies, I'm basically revamping my whole wardrobe. Max said I should've when we moved."

Steve nodded along as he watched her take more stuff out of bags. He noticed two new bracelets on her left wrist. And then another two on the other.

"New accessory?"

"Some guy at a kiosk was selling them. And I couldn't say no."

"You gotta be careful around those kiosk guys. They're ruthless", Steve said. "Remember when me and Robin worked at a keychain kiosk?"

El got a haunted look in her eyes. "I'd never seen her so aggressively nice. But they're cute right?"

"Yeah. Cute. Just make sure you avoid their eyes. We kiosk folk can smell weakness."

"Aren't you working at a gas station now?"

"Once a kiosk guy, always a kiosk guy."

--------------------------------------

"You're still wearing that?", Max asked when El showed up to school with one of the four bracelets she had bought that weekend.

"I think it's a nice bracelet. And I don't have a ton of accessories."

"You know what that means? More mall time", Max decided.

"Hey El", Mike greeted. "Nice bracelet."

"Thanks", El blushed.

"Yeah, I really like the color, uh green."

"Smooth", Will rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I'll get more. They've got a ton of colors", El beamed.

"Cool", Mike said.

"Cool", she said.

"Okay, since we're all cool, how's about we get to class?", Lucas cut in before either one could trip over their words.

"I'm right behind you", Will said.

The bell rang and the whole group went into their classroom. El was determined to get more bracelets if Mike liked them so much.

----------------------------------------

After school, Jim and Hopper were in the living room, taking some planks out of a box when Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Will all walked in without even knocking.

"Hello children who don't live here", Jim greeted.

"Where's El? Didn't she walk home with you guys?", Steve asked.

"No, she said she was gonna stop by the mall before coming back", Dustin said as he made himself comfortable on the couch.

"What are you guys doing?", Mike asked.

"Putting together a shelf", Steve answered as he removed the last piece from the box.

Will's eyes narrowed a bit. "Is this because of what my mom said?"

"No/Yes", Jim and Steve both answered at the same time.

"Little Miss Byers seems to think I can't put together a shelf as good as this Bob guy", Jim said, basically contradicting himself.

"It is a pretty nice shelf", Will said. "Now Jonathan had a place for his camera stuff."

"Yeah, well I can beat that", Jim said.

"I don't know", Steve took out the instructions and began looking through it. "This looks...not easy. Where'd you get this thing?"

"New place. Ikea", Jim said as he grabbed one piece. "It's a shelf. I don't need instructions. Just hand me that other piece."

Steve did as he was told and Jim started to hammer away at the shelf parts.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, El was by the kiosk again, looking at the different selection of rubber bracelets. Not only were there several colors, but many of them combined colors. She wondered what Mike liked other than green. Maybe he'd like blue? Or yellow?

"Please tell me you're not thinking about which one Mike would like", Max said, arms crossed.

"What if I am?"

"He's a boy. And boys don't notice when girls do things for them."

El's face screwed in thought. "Like that time you wore your hair in a ponytail and Lucas didn't say anything?"

"Exactly! I spent like ten minutes getting it just right only for him to not notice! I was in the bathroom forever!"

"10 minutes is forever?"

"It's long enough. And too long for a guy who doesn't notice details. Like Mike."

"Mike noticed today though. Maybe he'll notice a new one. And maybe bracelets can be my thing."

"They most certainly can", said the employee, waiting for the right moment to strike. "These kinds of bracelets can make a statement. But if you want something more versatile..."

Some time later, El came through the door, five bracelets on each wrist and a suspiciously large plastic bag in her hand. All eyes turned towards her.

"...Whatcha got there?", Steve asked.

"Just some...stuff. Whatcha got there?", she gestured to whatever Steve and Jim were doing.

"Building a shelf!", Jim shouted from underneath a pile of shelf pieces.

"You know, eventually", Steve added.

"Why are you guys here?", El asked the boys.

"Enjoying the show", Lucas answered.

"Also, we agreed to hang here after school", Dustin said.

Will nodded. "Yeah what took you so long?"

"I was getting more bracelets."

"Well, we gotta be getting home now", Mike said. "Good luck with the shelf?"

"I don't need luck I'm an expert craftsman", Jim said.

------------------------------------------

The next morning, El jingled down the stairs, having evolved from rubber bracelets to beaded ones with charms.

"When Hopper said he needed to put a bell on you, I don't think that's what he meant", Steve said, already in the kitchen getting breakfast together.

"Where is he anyway?", El asked.

Steve pointed through the entryway towards the living room. El poked her head out and saw Jim sitting in his chair, staring pensively at an indescribable arrangement of wood that was supposed to be a shelf. El quietly went back into the kitchen.

"When did he get up?", she whispered.

"I don't think he went to sleep last night", Steve confessed.

El mouthed 'wow' and Steve nodded.

-----------------------------------------

Steve was in the middle of ringing up a customer while Robin restocked the candy.

"Okay, I've see another bag of Skittles I'm gonna puke the rainbow. Your turn to restock the shelves", she said.

"If I see another shelf I'm gonna puke. And it's not gonna be rainbows", Steve said.

"Your dad still hasn't finished the one he started. Hasn't it been days?"

Like on cue, the phone for the gas station rang. Steve answered it.

"Steve? Come home, I've had a breakthrough. But I need four hands for this."

Steve let out a sigh. "Four whole hands?"

"Today is the day this gets finished. I can feel it."

Jim hung up and Steve pinched the bridge of his nose as Robin walked over to the register.

"Uh, hey, isn't that your sister and her friends?"

Steve looked up to see El walking in the direction of home with another heavy looking back, bracelets up to her forearms and a few on her ankles as well. And if his eyes were deceiving him, some threaded friendship bracelets held her hair up. Steve held up a finger.

"One family member break down at a time."

-----------------------------------

Steve was aching and tired and Jim was sweating and the shelf was nowhere near being done.

"What are we even building anymore? A bedframe? A tv stand? I can't remember."

"It's a shelf and it's getting done whether it likes it or not", Jim said, holding his hammer threateningly at the object.

"You guys are obsessed", El said from the couch. The bracelets now went up to her elbows, up her calves, and there were even some tied to her belt. Rubber, beaded, threaded, charms and all.

"El...has anyone told you about your bracelets?", Steve asked.

"Mike said he liked my green one."

"Which one?", Jim asked, looking at her like it was his first time seeing her.

"Ummm, it'sss...it's around here somewhere", El said as she looked up and down her arms, moving other bracelets out of the way.

"I think you could stand to lose a few", Steve said.

"But bracelets are my thing!"

"Is not-standing your thing too?", Jim asked.

"I can stand!" El suddenly got to her feet but with her equilibrium off, she teetered before falling back onto the couch. "Well! Can you stand? You've been up for nights trying to build that thing."

Jim immediately shot up to his feet only to just as immediately fall face first onto the ground.

"Steve?"

"Yeah, Hop?"

"I'm callin' it quits with this shelf."

"Okay."

"Steve?"

"Yeah, El?"

"I think I should call it quits with these bracelets."

"Okay."

---------------------------------------------

"You don't need to ask Mr. Bob to fix it", Jonathan said as he snapped pictures of the mess of pieces. "It's actually a pretty good commentary about progress at the expense of tradition."

"Uh, yeah. Either way, make sure he makes it over here. I want a shelf. Not art", Jim said, swirling his coffee around. "What's happening out there?", he asked, gesturing to the backyard.

"A holy ceremony", Jonathan said cryptically.

All of the kids stood around El and Erica Sinclair.

Lucas stood as an officiator. "Do you, El Hopper, agree to relinquish all ownership over these accessories and transfer all titles?"

"I do", El said.

"And do you, Erica Sinclair, promise to care for these bracelets, so long as they are in your possession?"

"I do", Erica replied.

"Then let the transfer be done", Lucas ordered.

El and Erica shook hands. Then El slid all the bracelets on that arm onto Erica's. She did the same to the other arm. And then pushed a cardboard box with the rest towards her.

"What're you even gonna do with all those?", Dustin asked.

"Turn a profit", Erica said as she picked up the box. "Girl scouts go crazy for these things."

Episode 4

#apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #jim hopper #el hopper #steve harrington #happy father's day

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ravenya003 · 10 months ago

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Harvest, S01E02

Here we go, the second half of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s two-part premiere episode, picking up right where the cliff-hanger left off...

Despite having Buffy pinned down in a crypt, Luke is fended off by the cross around her neck. I knew it would come in handy at some point. She rushes outside and saves Willow and Xander, but the vampires manage to drag Jesse away.

Sorry Jesse, but you’re the only character in this scene not to feature in the opening credits, and you know what that means. (Whedon actually wanted to get Eric Balfour included in these credits, just to make his death more of a shock, but there are all sorts of legal issues concerning who gets to be in such things and who doesn’t).

Back at the library, Giles has accepted the presence of Xander and Willow in the Slayer’s inner circle remarkably well, and is filling them in on the show’s mythos. Whedon has commented in the past how surprised he was to get away with the line: “contrary to popular mythology, [this world] did not begin as a paradise,” which is obviously a direct refutation to what the Good Book says, and Giles goes on to describe it as a place where demons roamed the earth – at least until the rise of humans.

We actually learn very little about how/why they left, only that the last demon (or Old One) to leave this reality fed off a human and mixed their blood together, resulting in the first vampire: a human body infected by a demon’s soul.

Again, we don’t exactly learn why the demon did this, though that explanation very much tracks with how vampirism works throughout the course of the entire show. When a person is turned, their body remains but their personality (through their lack of a soul/possession by a demon) is drastically different.

Now vampires drink the blood of humans, occasionally creating more of their kind, waiting for the Old Ones to return.

Okay, I’m going to be a complete nerd about all this, so bear with me. I love trying to parse through rudimentary world-building and pulling questions/possible fanfic scenarios out of it.

If the Earth originally belonged to demons, only to be overcome by humans, does that mean that a war between them took place at some stage? Every decent fantasy story needs a Great Offscreen War in its distant past, right? Think the Battle for the Dawn, the Butlerian Jihad, the War of Power, the War of Wrath, the Great Hyperspace War...

Maybe something similar happened in the Buffyverse: a war for supremacy between demons and humans. Was it the reason the Slayer was created, which (as we find out much later) occurred very early in humanity’s history. Did she have something to do with the demons leaving this reality for a hell dimension, or to wherever they are now?

And who was this unidentified demon that made the very first vampire? And why? It’s not hard to imagine it was intended as a final “fuck you” to humanity if we assume that the demons were forcibly banished from this dimension... but perhaps even as a contingency plan considering this particular band of vampires are trying to bring the Old Ones back by opening the Hellmouth.

In the seven years of this show, none of this ever gets elaborated on. They even move away from the concept that demons are attempting to return to this earthly plane – the Mayor was trying to ascend into a demon, and Glory was trying to get back to her hell dimension by whatever means necessary, though I suppose any attempts (of which there were several) to open the Hellmouth came with the objective of unleashing demons back into the world.

Poor Jesse; he’s completely bewildered by whatever the heck’s going on, even after he’s been “upgraded to bait.” I did, however, appreciate the intelligence of the Master when he points out that the Slayer will come to rescue her friend. No Evil Cannot Comprehend Good, here. This guy is smart enough to understand that heroes are the ones who help other people.

It turns out the Master is trapped in an underground church (more on this later) and I had to chuckle when he mentions his “ascension” out of it. The writers obviously enjoyed that word, as it essentially becomes the Arc Word of season three.

The issue of the existence of a police force within a show that incorporates supernatural elements is raised and just as quickly discarded when Willow suggests calling them, only for Giles to point out that no one will believe their story. Moving on. (That said, I’ll have a LOT to say about how the police – what little we see of them – are portrayed in later episodes/seasons, why they’re such a hassle to deal with in these types of shows, and how they’re connected to the failure of the Initiative as a concept. Stay tuned).

In trying to figure out where Jesse may have been taken, Willow shows off her hacking skills by bringing up a map of Sunnydale’s sewage system – completely illegally of course, making this our first glimpse of Willow demonstrating some hidden depths behind that nerdy exterior.

Then we get a fun deconstruction of Behind the Black. This is a trope in which a character doesn’t notice something obvious because it’s not visible to the camera. It’s usually used when villains need to sneak up on our hero, or for comic effect when a character talks about someone even through they’re standing right there.

In this case, the average viewer will be forgiven for thinking that Luke sneaking up on Buffy at the end of the last episode was a case of Behind the Black. She didn’t notice him until he grabbed her neck because it’s just more dramatic that way. It’s such a prevalent trick that most probably wouldn't have even questioned it.

But as it turns out, it wasn’t just a standard use of this trope, but a plot-point. Buffy thinks about how she was facing the mausoleum door and realizes that Luke came up behind her – which means that the vampires must have doubled-back with Jesse and gone through a secret passage located in the building. Nicely played, Whedon.

Xander wants to go with Buffy and when she shoots him down he commends: “I’m less than a man.” Urgh. I realize that Xander coming to terms with his perceived emasculation in the face of Buffy’s strength is a significant part of his character arc, but in this case it was enough for him to just be disappointed that he can’t help his friend. Make Jesse his motivation, not a desire to protect his manhood.

In my last review I observed that the writers got lucky when they only shot scenes of Angel at night (having not yet decided that he was a vampire), a comment I may have to retract considering he’s clearly standing in sunlight in this next scene. Muted sunlight, but sunlight nonetheless.

And his personality is still so weird. David Boreanaz is playing Angel as that “smarmy know-it-all smartass” character type, not the wounded, broody soul who was so moved by Buffy’s plight that he decided to join the good fight after a single glimpse of her through a window. He actually reminds me of Whistler here.

Buffy says to Angel: “I’ve got a friend down there – or a potential friend. Do you know what it’s like to have a friend?” He’s stumped by this question. Oh Angel, just you wait...

Ah, the Absurdly Spacious Sewer, another classic of the genre.

Back at school in the computer lab, Willow does research for Giles while Cordelia struggles with the assignment. And look – it’s Harmony! At this early stage she’s depicted as a complete airhead (okay, I suppose that never truly changes) and a sycophantic member of Cordelia’s girl-posse (a dynamic that does change – quite profoundly).

Fun fact: if we count this premiere as a single episode (they did originally air together on the same night) then David Boreanaz and Mercedes McNab are the only two actors to appear in the very first episode of Buffy and the very last episode of Angel.

This scene is mostly filler, were it not for the aforementioned introduction of Harmony, and that fact that Willow stands up for Buffy in the face of Cordelia’s malicious gossip. Already she’s starting to grow a backbone and not just scurry away.

Buffy and Xander finds Jesse, and one of them (I forget who) utters that most beloved line of all screenwriters: “we’ve gotta get outta here.” We already know it’s a trap, so it’s no big surprise when vampires start to emerge from the shadows to cut off their escape route – but to this day it’s a considerable gut-punch when Jesse reveals his new vampiric state.

They fend him off with a crucifix and manage to escape through a manhole to the surface. I love the scene when Xander tries to pull Buffy away from the vampire that’s grabbed her ankle, only for the sunlight to burn its skin and drive it back underground.

More filler when the Master hears of Buffy’s escape and pokes out a minion’s eye.

Giles and Willow compare notes, and Willow has come up with some pertinent information: in 1937 there were a rash of murders in Sunnydale that match the profile of vampiric activity, only for them to cease when an earthquake hit the town. When Buffy and Xander return, Giles hypothesizes that sixty years ago the Master tried to open a mystical portal that the Spanish called “Boca del Infierno,” the Mouth of Hell. Or more colloquially, the Hellmouth. His goal: to bring about the apocalypse.

Yay, more mythos! I just love made-up supernatural history.

But I have more questions, because CLEARLY this isn’t the whole story. Obviously, the Master failed in his attempt to open the Hellmouth, because now he’s trapped in a buried church behind a mystical barrier after an earthquake prevented him from going through with his plan. So there’s no way that earthquake was a coincidental natural occurrence. And that invisible barrier is magical, dammit! That means someone had to have put it there.

Surely the Watchers Council would have had records if a Slayer had been involved in all this, so if it wasn’t her, who was behind the Master’s entrapment back in 1937? Honestly, I don’t think Whedon ever had it mapped out; at this stage the point was simply to set up the mechanics and get on with the story at hand. That’s fair enough, but it’s still interesting to ponder these gaps in the history.

Giles has also figured out how the Master plans to escape his prison: by making one of his disciples the Vessel, which will allow him to draw enough strength from the blood that his servant drinks to break through the magic that keeps him trapped underground. We’ve already seen the first stage of this ritual take place: Luke drinks from the Master’s wrist and gets a three-pointed star rendered in blood on his forehead.

Xander realizes that the most obvious locale for the second stage of the ritual to take place is the Bronze, filled with all those fresh young bodies, and the gang heads out as a team for the first time. However, Buffy takes a short detour home to grab some supplies, and Joyce confronts her with the fact Principal Flutie called her to say she’d missed some classes.

Joyce tries her hand at discipline but the moment she’s out of the room Buffy promptly grabs her bag of weapons and slips out the bedroom window. This is kind of cute actually, since Buffy having to sneak out of the house without her mother knowing is a reasonably big part of these early episodes, but not a factor at all in the later ones. (Also, the episode never returns to this development – as far as we know, Joyce never realizes that Buffy left the house).

Vampire!Jesse approaches Cordelia at the Bronze, and she’s immediately struck by his more assertive persona. This is a fascinating first glimpse at the allure of vampires: as a human, Jesse was a complete loser, now all he has to do is stare at Cordelia and she turns to deferential pudding.

Yeah, you can feel the nasty subtext of Whedon’s “nice guys finish last” mentality at work here (especially since Jesse gets Cordelia to dance with him by telling her to shut up) but it’s also consistent with how vampires will be portrayed in episodes to come. In many ways, they serve as an unsubtle allegory for sexual predators: attractive and magnetic on the surface, only to reveal their monstrous true faces when they attack.

I love the slow-motion approach of the vampires to the Bronze, especially with Darla merrily skipping as she leads the way.

Just in case Buffy wasn’t able to notice the symbol etched on Luke’s forehead that identifies him as the Vessel, he helps out by taking the stage and making a speech in which he will not shut up about this fact. Warm bodies are brought to him and he starts to drink, though just before he bites into Cordelia, Buffy makes her presence known.

The rest of the team help the civilians escape, and then it’s Buffy versus Luke, Xander versus Jesse, and Giles versus Darla – at least until Willow comes along and throws the vial of holy water that Buffy gave her into her face. Darla rushes off – screaming in pain, but with the opportunity to return another night.

The same can’t be said for Jesse, who is mocking Xander on his inability to kill him, only to be pushed into Xander’s stake and dusted by a panic-stricken girl rushing to escape the building. It’s a deliberately anti-climactic, killed-in-mid-sentence death that sets the tone for how characters (even the beloved ones) are going to be dispatched across the course of this show. Get used to it.

Buffy distracts Luke by making him believe it’s sunrise and breaking a window behind him, then stakes him as he tries to figure out what’s going on. The other vampires gather round only to flee at this zoom-in:

Oh yeah.

Outside, Angel watches the vampires run for it, and says “she did it – I’ll be damned,” the most serendipitous line since Uncle Owen said “that’s what worries me” to Beru’s “he’s too much like his father” in the first Star Wars movie, well before anyone working on the production knew that Vader would turn out to be Luke’s father. (In this case, the writers had not yet realized that Angel was a vampire himself, and therefore already literally “damned”).

Giles takes off his glasses and cleans them for the first time, and the following day Buffy is bemused to hear Cordelia pass off the situation as gang warfare, while her friend declares: “I wish I’d been there.” Xander expresses his disbelief at how people have rationalized everything, and the phrase "Sunnydale Syndrome" is born – at least in the fandom. I don’t think it’s ever uttered on the show.

Giles is excited about what they might face next (again, I’m mildly astonished that he puts up no protest at all that Willow and Xander are involved in this) and the trio walk off, jabbering nonsense to each other.

The last line is Giles muttering: “the Earth is doomed” and my mind flashforwards to the reiteration of this scene in the show’s very final episode. I take a deep breath. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us, but it’s going to be these three friends who’ll be standing there at the finish line.

Miscellaneous Observations:

Jesse is a perfect example of a Forgotten Fallen Friend, even though he should have been a huge part of the show going forward. And I don’t mean in the sense he should have been spared (though I can also envision an arc in which Xander spends the entirety of the season gearing himself up to killing his former friend) but that he could have been touchstone on the brutal nature of death in this show; a reminder that no one is safe, whatever their proximity to the Core Four.

He should have been the ongoing source of Xander’s hatred for vampires; a sobering reminder that Buffy can’t save everyone; someone who was mentioned frequently as the “first one down.” Did this kid have parents? Was there a funeral? Everything is swept under the rug instead of mined for maximum angst potential.

Apparently there were plans to have Eric Balfour return in season seven as an aspect that the First took in "Conversations with Dead People", though as cool as that could have been, it also had the potential to be completely baffling since – as stated – no one ever speaks about this guy after his death.

And at this point it occurs to me that Buffy essentially comes along and takes Jesse’s place in that particular triad of friends.

For a hot second I considered the possibility that the demon who created the first vampire was meant to be the Master, but no – supplementary material makes it very clear he was once a human called Heinrich Joseph Nest who was turned into a vampire six hundred years ago. And that’s all the background we ever get on him. Makes you wonder who turned him into a vampire all those centuries ago, especially when you consider that he’s the “grandsire” of Darla, Angel, Drusilla and Spike – the four most famous vampires in this entire franchise.

Whedon is quite clever in giving the Master two separate goals, which allows him to be defeated in this episode, while still keeping him around as the season’s Big Bad. The Harvest is designed to free him from the underground church, but the opening of the Hellmouth is something else entirely, and won’t be attempted until the final episode. Nicely done.

Towards the end, we get the vague implication that killing a Slayer is considered a great trophy for vampires, and that her blood is particularly powerful. These hints will certainly become more explicit plot-points later on in the show.

A quick theory on how crucifixes work on this show: they’re regularly used to ward off vampires, even when used by people who aren’t affiliated with Christianity. In fact, the concept of Christ and Christianity is never explored – or even discussed – in any detail at any point during the show’s run.

This is unsurprising given Joss Whedon’s lack of faith, and I can only assume he simply felt obliged to keep that specific bit of vampire lore in. I’ve always supposed that in this context the crucifixes work a bit like metaphysical negatively-charged magnets in how they can deflect vamps. They symbolize the fact that many people believe Christ died and came back to life by the grace of God as a living, breathing human being. Vampires on the other hand, die and come back to life as members of the undead; soulless and filled with demon blood. The same process, but fundamentally different. As such, a crucifix repels them because they symbolize the complete inversion of what they went through.

Or something, I don’t know.

Best Shot: This wide shot of Buffy and Xander on the ground, having just escaped the sewer system:

Best Line: Giles telling Xander: “Jesse is dead. You have to remember that if you see him. You’re not looking at your friend, you’re looking at the thing that killed him.”

Most Random Scene: This surfer dude who pops up out of nowhere and the fact that Cordelia seems friendly with him: