Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S5/E01 Buffy vs. Dracula

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  • S1
    • E01 Welcome to the Hellmouth
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      • Trivia
    • E02 The Harvest
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    • E03 The Witch
    • E04 Teacher's Pet
    • E05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
    • E06 The Pack
    • E07 Angel
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      • YMMV
    • E08 I Robot, You Jane
    • E09 The Puppet Show
    • E10 Nightmares
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      • Trivia
      • YMMV
    • E11 Out of Mind, Out of Sight
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    • E12 Prophecy Girl
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      • Trivia
  • S2
    • E01 When She Was Bad
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    • E02 Some Assembly Required
    • E03 School Hard
    • E04 Inca Mummy Girl
    • E05 Reptile Boy
    • E06 Halloween
    • E07 Lie to Me
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    • E08 The Dark Age
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    • E09 What's My Line? Part 1
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      • YMMV
    • E10 What's My Line? Part 2
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    • E11 Ted
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    • E12 Bad Eggs
      • YMMV
    • E13 Becoming Part 2
    • E13 Surprise
      • Laconic
      • YMMV
    • E14 Innocence
      • YMMV
    • E15 Phases
    • E16 Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
      • Trivia
    • E17 Passion
      • Quotes
    • E18 Killed By Death
    • E19 I Only Have Eyes for You
    • E20 Go Fish
    • E21 Becoming, Part 1
    • E22 Becoming, Part 2
      • Quotes
  • S3
    • E01 Anne
      • Laconic
      • Quotes
    • E02 Dead Man's Party
    • E03 Faith, Hope, and Trick
    • E04 Beauty and the Beasts
    • E05 Homecoming
    • E06 Band Candy
    • E07 Revelations
    • E08 Lovers Walk
      • Quotes
    • E09 The Wish
    • E10 Amends
    • E11 Gingerbread
    • E12 Helpless
    • E13 The Zeppo
    • E15 Consequences
      • Quotes
    • E16 Doppelgangland
    • E17 Enemies
    • E18 Choices
      • Quotes
    • E19 Earshot
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    • E20 The Prom
    • E21 Graduation Day Part 1
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    • E22 Graduation Day Part 2
      • Quotes
  • S4
    • E01 The Freshman
    • E02 Living Conditions
    • E03 The Harsh Light of Day
    • E04 Fear Itself
    • E05 Beer Bad
    • E06 Wild at Heart
    • E07 The Initiative
    • E08 Pangs
    • E09 Something Blue
    • E10 Hush
    • E11 Doomed
    • E12 A New Man
    • E13 The I in Team
    • E14 Goodbye Iowa
    • E15 This Years Girl
    • E16 Who Are You
    • E18 Where the Wild Things Are
    • E19 New Moon Rising
    • E20 The Yoko Factor
    • E21 Primeval
    • E22 Restless
  • S5
    • E01 Buffy vs. Dracula
    • E02 Real Me
    • E03 The Replacement
    • E04 Out of My Mind
    • E05 No Place Like Home
    • E06 Family
    • E07 Fool for Love
    • E08 Shadow
    • E09 Listening to Fear
    • E10 Into the Woods
    • E11 Triangle
    • E12 Checkpoint
    • E13 Blood Ties
    • E14 Crush
    • E15 I Was Made to Love You
    • E16 The Body
    • E17 Forever
    • E18 Intervention
    • E19 Tough Love
    • E20 Spiral
    • E21 Weight of the World
    • E22 The Gift
  • S6
    • E01 Bargaining, Part 1
    • E02 Bargaining, Part 2
    • E03 After Life
    • E04 Flooded
    • E05 Life Serial
    • E06 All the Way
    • E07 Once More, With Feeling
    • E08 Tabula Rasa
    • E09 Smashed
    • E10 Wrecked
    • E11 Gone
    • E12 Doublemeat Palace
    • E13 Dead Things
    • E14 Older and Far Away
    • E15 As You Were
    • E16 Hell's Bells
    • E17 Normal Again
    • E18 Entropy
    • E19 Seeing Red
      • YMMV
    • E20 Villains
    • E21 Two to Go
    • E22 Grave
  • S7
    • E01 Lessons
    • E02 Beneath You
    • E03 Same Time, Same Place
    • E04 Help
    • E05 Selfless
    • E06 Him
    • E07 Conversations With Dead People
    • E08 Sleeper
    • E09 Never Leave Me
    • E10 Bring on the Night
    • E11 Showtime
    • E12 Potential
    • E13 The Killer in Me
    • E14 First Date
    • E15 Get It Done
    • E16 Storyteller
    • E17 Lies My Parents Told Me
    • E18 Dirty Girls
    • E19 Empty Places
    • E20 Touched
    • E21 End of Days
    • E22 Chosen
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Dracula: Do you know why you cannot resist me? Buffy: Because you're famous?

The legend himself comes to Sunnydale to bring the Slayer under his thrall. We are introduced to Buffy's sister Dawn.

• A Storm Is Coming: A storm heralds Dracula's arrival.
• Beach Episode: Starts as one.
• Bishonen: Dracula
• Blatant Lies: Giles on being licked by three buxom vampire sisters.

Giles: I was just about to kill those loathsome creatures when Riley interrupted me. Riley: Really? You were gonna nuzzle 'em to death?"

• Buffy-Speak: After going "Repeato Girl" over Dracula's charm, Riley accuses Buffy of transferring her feelings for Angel, causing her to assure him, "I'm not transfer-y!"
• Butt Monkey: Xander refers to himself for the first time.

Xander: Dammit! You know what? I'm sick of this crap. I'm sick of being the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis. As of this moment, it's over. I'm finished being everybody's butt-monkey! [Giles, Riley, and Buffy nod and try to look solemn] Buffy: Check. No more butt-monkey.

• Collective Groan: "Mum!"
• Cool vs. Awesome: Slayer vs. the Dark Prince
• Count Obvious: Dracula has just been Punched Across the Room by Buffy.

Dracula: You are resisting. Buffy: Looks like.

• Department of Redundancy Department: Willow's long way of saying "yes".

Giles: Willow, um... you mustn't repeat what I'm about to say. Especially not to Buffy. Willow: Uh-oh. Giles: You promise? Willow: Oh, god. Well, I guess. Now that I know there's something to know, I can't not know, just because I'm afraid somebody'll know I know, you know? Giles: Did that mean yes? Willow: Yeah.

• Did Mom Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: Dracula approaches Joyce in her art gallery, just to get her to invite him to her house.
• Does Not Know Her Own Strength: Buffy slays the football at the beach.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Xander compares Drac's Vampire Vords to the Count in Sesame Street until Buffy informs him that he really is talking to Dracula. Xander immediately Cower Powers behind Buffy.
• Dramatic Wind: Drac's "music video wind".
• Expecting Someone Taller

Xander: He totally looked shorter in person.

• Foreshadowing: Riley's jealousy over Buffy's attraction to vampires. Willow's use of magic for everyday purposes.
  • The tension between Riley and Spike continues over the season especially after Spike falls in love with Buffy.
  • Xander's rant about no longer being the Butt Monkey -- this season he starts making a serious attempt to get a life, starting in "The Replacement".
  • Dracula tells Buffy that her "power is rooted in darkness". Buffy discovers the origin of the Slayer's power in the Season 7 episode "Get It Done".
• Genre Savvy

Buffy: You think I don't watch your movies? You always come back.

• Getting Crap Past the Radar: Buffy, Anya, and Willow discuss how "sexy" Dracula is and Buffy mentions his "Dark, penetrating" eyes. When Buffy decides to hold off on killing him until they have more information...

Riley: You're not just saying that because of those "dark, penetrating" eyes of his . . . Are you? Buffy: No! His eyes were -- there were -- there was NO penetration! Cross my heart.

• Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Xander is more than willing to listen to Willow's secret, especially if it's a naughty one involving her and Tara.
• Geographic Flexibility

Riley: I've lived here for two years. You know what I've never noticed? Giles: Castle? Riley: Big honkin' castle.

• Gilligan Cut: Buffy assures her mother that slaying is "a total drag". Cut to Buffy in her Red Leather Pants of Death enthusiastically slaying a vampire.
• Go Through Me

Xander: Nobody harms my Master. You want him, you come through me. Riley: (knocks him out) Okey-dokey.

• Grammar Nazi

Xander: Here she is, Master. She Who You Most Desire...sorry, Whom.

• Green-Eyed Monster: Riley and Xander. Tara gives Willow the hairy eyeball when she goes on too much about Dracula as well.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Buffy wears the Red Leather Pants of Death when hunting vampires, but after being bitten changes into the Pink Leather Pants of Enthrallment.
• Hollywood Torches

Buffy: A guy like you should think about going electric. Seriously.

• Hypnotic Eyes: Dracula has hypnotic Blue Eyes that can enthrall even Buffy.
• I'm Standing Right Here: Dracula starts to reform again (after being staked twice) when Buffy tells him she's still here. After that Drac gives up and goes home.
• I Resemble That Remark: Joyce sighs over the difficulties in dating when you're a single mother. "Sometimes you just feel like giving up men altogether." Willow and Tara exchange a sly grin.
• Ironic Echo: Buffy tries to reassure Riley that she's not attracted to Dracula (or transferring her feelings for Angel) by saying, "I swear to you, I’m your girl, and I’m gonna stay that way." But Buffy had already told Angel (in "Enemies") that she'll always be his girl; sure enough the Buffy/Riley relationship will eventually break up because Riley suspects Buffy's attraction to vampires like Angel and Dracula is stronger than her attraction to him.
• Jedi Mind Trick

Dracula: I knew you'd come. Buffy: Why? Because I'm under your thrall? (suddenly pulls out her stake) Well, guess again, pal. Dracula: Put the stake down. Buffy: OK. (instantly puts it down, then looks at her hand in surprise) Right. That... was not... you. (sounding unconvinced) I did that. I did that because ... I wanted to. (looks around nervously) Maybe I should rethink that thrall thing. (whimpers a little)

• Just a Stupid Accent: Lampshaded repeatedly.
• Kiss of the Vampire: Very much played for its sexuality.
• Last-Second Word Swap: A rare version where adding syllables makes it ruder.

Xander: As if even that's enough to stop the unholy Master! (everyone stares at him) ...bater. Xander: I think you're drawing a lot of crazy conclusions about the Unholy Prince. (everybody looks at him funny again.) ...bator.

• Literary Agent Hypothesis: In-universe, Bram Stoker's Dracula was based on the Buffyverse Dracula, who is something of a publicity hound.
• Marty Stu: Dracula is unkillable and everyone he's encountered gushes about him. Except Spike.
• Meaningful Echo: "You think you know who you are, what's to come. You haven't even begun." (from "Restless")
• Mook Horror Show: We see a vampire running madly through a graveyard... and then we realize he's running for his (un)life. From Buffy.
• More Than Mind Control: Dracula finds Angel's bite scar on Buffy's neck.

Dracula: Unworthy. He let you go. But the embrace, his bite, you remember. Buffy: No... Dracula: Don't fight. I can feel your hunger. (bites her -- Buffy moans)

• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Spike complains that Dracula's taste for publicity has taught the entire world how to kill vampires. Dracula makes Buffy drink from his blood to reveal her true dark nature as the Vampire Slayer.
• No Hero to His Valet: Spike is the only member of the cast unimpressed by Dracula's reputation, calling him a "gloryhound" whose powers are little more than "showy gypsy stuff", adding that Drac has done more damage to vampires than even the Slayer has, that because of his movies, everyone knows how to kill them. He's also irked because Drac owes him £11.
• Not Herself: Buffy turns down Riley's offer of a jelly donut.
• Our Vampires Are Different: Dracula's stock powers (hypnosis, shapeshifting, teleportation, invulnerability) actually make him the strongest vamp in the Buffyverse. Spike claims it's all "showy gypsy stuff".
• Paint It Black: Drac in black. He's a dark's only man.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: "How do you like my darkness now?"
• The Renfield: Xander, right down to the urge to eat spiders.
• Silence, You Fool

Xander: Come on, Puffy Shirt! Pucker on up, 'cause you can kiss your pale ass good-- Dracula: Silence. Xander: Yes Master.

• Shrouded in Myth: Dracula, of course. Giles implies as much.
• The Slayers Who Say Squee: Buffy's initial reaction to Dracula is like a girl with a Celeb Crush. She's delighted that he has actually heard of her.
• Stealth Hi Bye: Justified due to Drac's ability to do his "poof thing"
• Vampire Invitation: Dracula gets Joyce to invite him home for coffee, thereby gaining access to Buffy.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting
• Wham! Line

Joyce: Buffy? If you're going out why don't you take your sister with you? Buffy and Dawn: MOM!

• What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: Dracula owes Spike £11.
• Worthy Adversary: Both Dracula and Buffy view each other this way.
• Your Cheating Heart: Buffy sneaks out of Riley's bed to get in a little slaying on the side. Later Riley reacts to Dracula's bite like a jealous boyfriend whose girl is sporting someone else's hickey.
• Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny: Albeit one with indecisive outcome.