THE HARVEST (1x02)

Welcome to the Hellmouth (1x01) was so effective because the focus was on introducing the characters. It favorably succeeded in accomplishing that goal. Now that the characters are well introduced we want a good plot to see them in action. That is what this episode should have accomplished. Instead we get a corny plot with corny acting. Aside from a handful of good lines, some good mother/daughter scenes, and more explanation on the vampire mythology this show adopts, all we get is a rudamentary plot that moves slowly.

The biggest flaws in this episode are its often stilted dialog, awkward camera work, and pacing. Lines like Angel's "Well I'll be damned" don't help the cause at all. The scene towards the end when Luke falls to his death is all slow-mo and has weird music playing, this just doesn't work for me. Another major problem is the excessively slow pace. From Buffy taking forever to find Jesse to the long scene at The Bronze, I unfortunately wanted this episode to end almost near the beginning.

The positives in this episode once again come back to the characters. Aside from the corny villains, who actually get better lines later on this season, the dialog (some of it) and character interaction (most of it) once again succeed. The outline of the plot isn't so bad, it's unfortunately the execution of that outline where the episode suffers. One thing to take note of here is that Darla comes across as completely out of character and excessively one-dimensional, corny, and weak here. This is fortunately rectified in this season's Angel (1x07).