NEVER KILL A BOY ON THE FIRST DATE (1x05)

There's a bit to like here. An episode with this premise could be boring, but with this show's unique dialog things stay snappy and interesting. This is the first time Buffy's personal life has come face-to-face with her job as the Slayer. This is handled pretty well with Giles on one side being the one continuously telling her to focus on her duties as the Slayer and Owen on the other, unknowingly being the object of desire for Buffy to pull her away from the said duties. This part of the episode succeeds fantastically as a first look at this issue and helps give it some value.

The actual plot of the episode suffers though. Unfortunately, I didn't care for Owen at all and I didn't like how he's another one of those characters that just suddenly appears and everyone acts like they've known him forever. Owen as a person comes off as not only not Buffy's type, but as the anti-Cordelia, who hits on him several times. Yet Buffy goes all flirty with him like he's her dream guy. So yeah, it's safe to say I really didn't like Owen's character even though I like what he as a plot device, for further exploration of the Slayer's issues involving her personal life, brings onto the table.

So once again what I like about the episode is the character interaction and themes running underneath the surface, while what I dislike is the actual primary plot. This is beginning to become a theme. I must admit that the twist with The Anointed One is cool and surprising, once again playing with expectations. That and the Slayer issues brought forth are enough to keep this episode from the garbage bin.