Welcome back to the Hellmouth! Here my thoughts on episode four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Teacher’s Pet.”
1. Only in Xander’s Dreams
Xander’s pining for romance continues.
“Teacher’s Pet” starts with a vampire fight scene where Xander romantically saves Buffy then he celebrates with a sweet guitar riff. Obviously, this is just a dream. In reality, Xander is asleep and drooling in Science class. Poor Xander.
Annoyingly in this episode, he shows his jealousy over Angel and states his love for Buffy, just not to Buffy herself. All the while he is openly lusting over the new substitute teacher, who of course is the monster of “Teacher’s Pet.” Sigh.
2. Don’t be Sorry, Just be Smart
When Dr. Gregory is getting onto Buffy about not doing her homework, we’re led to believe he’s the typical boring jerk of a teacher, but he reveals he’s not. During a one on one talk with Buffy after class, he tells Buffy that he just wants to see her make more of an effort to do better in her school work because he knows that she’s smart and that she’s able to prove her doubters wrong. Ultimately he shows that he’s a nice guy. Unfortunately, Dr. Gregory ends up getting beheaded and stuffed in a freezer. Though he dies, Dr. Gregory’s last words to Buffy does seem to stick with her. His final speech to Buffy about wanting to see her do better is referenced later when Buffy decides she’s going to do research on what exactly the killer is. Which leads to Buffy being able to save the day. Up to this point in the series, Buffy hasn’t been much for doing research, especially when it involves reading dusty books from Gile’s library. Dr. Gregory’s death is the first death we see in Buffy the Vampire Slayer that has a real impact on Buffy.
3. Bug Ugly
So the monster of this week’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode is a praying mantis. Yep, you read that correct, a praying mantis. To be exact Miss French ends up being a She-Mantis. This monster has the ability to transform into a human shape and her victims are always virgins and beheaded after she’s done mating with them. And please call her Natalie.
4. Angel’s Back
Angel’s back in this episode with his sad, lost boy routine. This time he shows up hurt and warns Buffy about a “Fork Guy.” He also decides Buffy looks cold and gives her his jacket. Isn’t Angel just the sweetest? (Sarcasm).
Well, Buffy finds Fork Guy, rather “Claw Guy,” and fights him in the park. He gets away, but before he fully gets away, Claw Guy runs into Miss French. Claw guy doesn’t like what he sees or maybe smells and hisses at her before deciding to bail into the sewer. Buffy witnesses this interaction and this is when she decides something is up with Miss French.
Later Claw Guy ties back into the episode. Miss French took on someone else’s name and records, so Buffy doesn’t know where to find her. Buffy forces the claw guy to sniff her out.
At the end of the episode, Angel returns back to Buffy. He tells her he’ll be around and leaves with the remark that his jacket looks better on her. Oh boy, indeed.
By the way, Claw Guy is kind of just random. I feel like his presence was just a way to remind viewers that The Master is still out there plotting and to give Angel a reason to reappear. He also happened to be a convenient way of finding Miss French’s dungeon.
5. Don’t Forget the Eggs
The monster in “Teacher’s Pet” is one of the more disgusting creatures in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The She-Mantis not only mates with its victims, but it lays eggs in them. This allows the eggs to become fertile and eventually hatch. Even just typing that made me shiver. Like episode three, “Teacher’s Pet” ends with a great reveal. The eggs in her lair were destroyed, but no one thought about the possibility that Miss French might have laid eggs in the school (Maybe through Dr. Gregory before she killed him?). Pretty gross.
Overall, another great episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Join me next week as I discuss episode five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season one, “Never Kill a Boy On the First Date.”
