School Hard

"School Hard" is the third episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the fifteenth episode in the series. Written by Joss Whedon with David Greenwalt, and directed by John T. Kretchmer, it was originally broadcast on September 29, 1997, on The WB network.

Synopsis[]

PARENTS IN THE NIGHT — When parent-teacher night is interrupted by uninvited guests, Buffy must protect her fellow students, the principal and her mother while keeping her secret. Meanwhile, Angel's old friends, Spike and Drusilla visit Sunnydale for The Night of Saint Vigeous — the holy night of attack.^[1]

Summary[]

Buffy has found herself and Sheila Martini in Principal Snyder's office. He has decided that the two girls will prepare the school lounge for parent-teacher night on Thursday telling them that whoever does the better job will not be expelled. He also notes that doing a good job may affect what he tells their parents towards the positive. Sheila's continued unconcern puts even more pressure on Buffy, who already has a tough time balancing slaying with a social life. Joyce warns Buffy later that if she gets a bad report then she won't be allowed to spend time with her friends.

That night, a new vampire by the name of Spike arrives in Sunnydale, knocking down the city's welcome sign. In the abandoned factory that is now their lair, the Anointed One has called together the few remaining members of the Order of Aurelius. With the Master dead and all hope of resurrecting him gone, they are now discussing who will serve alongside the Anointed One. As the following Saturday is the Night of Saint Vigeous when a vampire's power is at its peak, it is agreed that whoever kills the Slayer will take the Master's place. As one vampire boasts of his prowess, Spike saunters in and puts him in his place. Spike then offers to kill Buffy for the Anointed One, revealing that he's already killed two Slayers. Suddenly Drusilla, Spike's paramour who has psychic abilities and is more than a little insane, arrives and begins to babble about what Buffy is doing and begs Spike to kill her. The Anointed One agrees to let Spike try.

While the Scoobies are busy preparing for Parents' Night, Giles and Jenny show up to inform Buffy that Saturday will be the Night of Saint Vigeous, named after the leader of a vampire crusade, and that during that night the natural abilities of vampires will be enhanced. Buffy is unimpressed. Buffy tries to combine school and social life by studying French at the Bronze. Spike is there watching Buffy and sends one of the Anointed One's minions to attack someone. This prompts Buffy to fight and slay the vampire while Spike watches. Spike then steps out of the shadows and tells her that he will kill her on Saturday. He later bumps into Sheila, who is enthralled by his bad boy charm.

Giles does not recognize Spike from Buffy's description. Angel walks in on the meeting and tells them that Spike is dangerously notorious and will be a huge problem — he then leaves. Later, Giles finds a reference to Spike as William the Bloody, and discovers that he has indeed killed two Slayers already and that the "Spike" moniker came from his reputation of torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Spike and Drusilla settle into their new home, with Drusilla unpacking her collection of dolls. It soon emerges that Drusilla is ill following an altercation with an angry mob in Prague. Spike is hopeful that being so close to the Hellmouth will heal her and encourages her to eat something, indicating the bound Sheila. Drusilla warns Spike that the Anointed One and his followers don't trust him, then sends him up to the surface to feed as she feasts on Sheila.

On Thursday night, the Scoobies are making weapons in the library while Buffy is preparing the buffet. Despite Buffy's best efforts to keep her mother, Joyce, from meeting any teachers or Principal Snyder, Joyce eventually meets the principal, and then she sternly orders Buffy home just as Spike and the other vampires crash through the window, too impatient to wait for Saturday. In the ensuing fight, Buffy leads the adults to safety in the science room while Xander, Giles, and Ms. Calendar barricade themselves in the library. Willow and Cordelia hide in a utility closet. Xander is sent out to get Angel. Buffy takes command of the incredulous adults, telling them to stay put as she climbs through the air ducts to reach the library and her weapons.

Xander returns to the school with Angel, who pretends to be his former evil self. Though Spike first welcomes Angel as a long-lost friend, he sees through the ruse and Xander and Angel are forced to flee. Xander hears Spike say that Angel was his sire. Buffy and Spike finally meet in the hall, and Buffy is almost bested when her mother shows up and hits Spike over the head with the flat of a fire axe. With the curse "Women!", he retreats. Joyce tells Buffy that she doesn't care about what Snyder said and is proud to have a daughter who knows how to take care of herself and others in a crisis. Snyder tells the police chief to say that the trouble was caused by a gang on PCP. When the chief wonders if people will believe it, Snyder asks if he'd rather tell the truth. Meanwhile, not knowing the vampires are long gone, Willow and Cordelia are still hiding out in the utility closet where Cordelia prays to God to be rescued, while Willow is desperate to be rescued from her company.

Spike returns to the factory and meets with Drusilla, telling her that he's never encountered a Slayer with friends or family but still promises to kill her soon. He then approaches the Anointed One who demands penance for attacking too early. After starting to go through the motions, Spike decides that he won't reduce himself to groveling for forgiveness from a kid and instead throws the boy in a cage and pulls it into the sun, killing him. From now on, he says, there will be less ritual and more fun in Sunnydale.

Continuity[]

• Spike's rather dramatic arrival in Sunnydale (running over the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign) is later recreated in "Lovers Walk," the only difference him being drunk. He makes the sign fall for one last time in "Chosen."
• When Sheila asks Buffy if she really burnt down a building one time, Buffy replies "Not exactly one time," referencing the events of The Origin, Part Three and "Some Assembly Required."
• Spike mentions killing a Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, referring to Xin Rong, as seen in the episode "Fool for Love" when both times he killed a Slayer are shown.
• This episode is the first appearance of Spike, who will figure heavily both in this series and the final season of Angel. The episode also marks the first appearance of Drusilla, who was also a recurring threat and influence in both series.
• Drusilla and Spike being attacked by an angry mob in Prague and her weakening is shown in the story "The Problem with Vampires."
• The yo-yo Xander pulls out of Buffy's purse is the same one she was playing with in the beginning of "Some Assembly Required."
• In this episode, Cordelia joins the other characters making stakes in the library without any specific backstory as to why she is there, marking her as a full Scooby for the first time.
• This episode establishes that Spike killed two Slayers, an exception among vampires. Later, Drusilla will achieve this status by killing Kendra ("Becoming, Part One") and Marianne (Family Reunion, Part Four).
• This is the first episode to reveal that Buffy's mother's name is Joyce Summers.
• Joyce and Snyder meet for the first time in this episode, developing their mutual disdain into season 3.
• Spike calls Angel his sire; in "Fool for Love," it's revealed that it was Drusilla who directly sired him, but Angel who would become his mentor, as seen in "Destiny."
• In this episode, Spike seems quite happy to see Angel, although they have had a very rocky relationship even when Angel had no soul. This animosity will remain through both the Buffy and Angel series.
• Spike tells Buffy that the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. In the episode "Damage," the deranged Slayer Dana repeats Nikki's plea: "Please, I have to get home to my son Robin."
• This episode establishes that Principal Snyder and the police are aware that there are supernatural happenings in Sunnydale. This foreshadows the development of Mayor Richard Wilkins as the Big Bad of season 3.
• Spike complains about "A Slayer with family and friends." Buffy's rejection of the typical "lone wolf" style of slaying will come up frequently in the series, usually in the context of people questioning her competence ("Restless," "Checkpoint").
• This episode marks the first time that a vampire, the Anointed One, is killed by immolation in sunlight, though it occurs off-screen. It will occur on-screen for the first time in "Becoming, Part One."

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

• Angel
• Collin
• Jennifer Calendar
• Cordelia Chase
• DeJean (Only mentioned)
• Dell
• Dwayne
• Drusilla
• Rupert Giles
• Alexander Harris
• Brian Kirsh
• Sheila Martini
• Master (Only mentioned)
• Bob Munroe
• Xin Rong (Only mentioned)
• Willow Rosenberg
• Saint Vigeous (Only mentioned)
• Snyder
• Spike
• Buffy Summers
• Joyce Summers
• Nikki Wood (Only mentioned)
• Big Ugly
• Lean Boy
• Unidentified girl (School Hard)
• Unidentified man (School Hard)

Organizations and titles[]

• Anointed One
• Nickel
• Order of Aurelius
• Scooby Gang
• Slayer
• Sunnydale Police Department
• Technopagan
• Watcher

Species[]

• Human
• Vampire

Events[]

• Night of Saint Vigeous (Only mentioned)

Locations[]

• Edessa, Turkey (Only mentioned)
• Harran, Turkey (Only mentioned)
• Prague, Czech Republic (Only mentioned)
• Sunnydale, USA
  • 1630 Revello Drive
  • Bric & Broc
  • Bronze
  • Fish Tank
  • Hellmouth (Only mentioned)
  • Sunnydale High School
    • Sunnydale High School library

Objects[]

• 3HUJ259 (Only mentioned)
• HIA873
• Miss Edith
• Spike's duster
• Stake

Death count[]

• Big Ugly, staked by Buffy outside the Bronze.
• Dwayne and Dell, killed by Spike outside the Fish Tank.
• Sheila Martini, sired by Drusilla.
• Brian Kirsh, neck snapped by Spike.
• An unidentified parent, killed by raiding vampires on the school lawn.
• An unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy in the hallway outside the science room.
• An unidentified vampire, staked while fighting Buffy.
• The Anointed One, exposed to the sunlight by Spike.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

• The title and some plot elements of this episode are reminiscent of the action film Die Hard.
• Spike pronounces Angel's vampire name "AN-ge-lus" (similar to the pronunciation of the city of Los Angeles); throughout the remainder of the series, the pronunciation "an-GE-lus" is more often used.
• Buffy turning her head when Big Ugly says "Spike, give me a hand" and her turning her head when Spike starts clapping are the same exact shot used twice.

Broadcast[]

• "School Hard" had an audience of 3.4 million households.^[2]

Deleted scenes[]

• Spike's line was cut from the original script for length:^[3]

  Spike: "Would it kill ya, a little mouthwash every couple hundred years?"

• Xander's line was cut from the original script for length:^[3]

  Xander: "The important thing in punch is the ratio of vodka to schnapps.... That was obviously far too sophisticated a joke for this crowd."

• An exchange between Buffy and Giles was cut from the original script for length:^[3]

  Buffy: "I don't suppose this is something about happy squirrels?"

  Giles: "Vampires."

  Buffy: "That was my next guess."

Pop culture references[]

• Spike mentions having attended the musical festival Woodstock (August 15–17, 1969).
• Willow wears a Scooby-Doo shirt at the PTA night.
• Giles comments that the name Spike is "a little unorthodox" for a vampire, to which Buffy replies: "maybe he's Reform," a word play on Judaism branches.
• Spike calls Angel an "Uncle Tom," a derogatory term that describes a subservient person who betrays their own group by participating in its oppression.
• Spike compares Angel's role with of the fictional character Yoda, in reference to him proving guidance and training.

Goofs[]

• When Buffy, Willow, and Xander leave the table to dance, it's loaded with schoolbooks and homework. When Xander returns for a stake, the table contains only Buffy's purse.
• When Buffy and Cordelia are talking by the punch bowl during parent teacher night, Cordelia has her arms crossed when the camera is behind her facing Buffy. When the camera switches to show Cordelia speaking, her harms are by her sides. This continuity error remains as the camera view switches back and forth twice.

Music[]

• Nickel — "1000 Nights"
• Nickel — "Stupid Thing"
• Shawn Clement and Sean Murray — original score

International titles[]

• Armenian: "Ուսուցման դժվարությունները" (Learning Difficulties)
• Czech: "Školní trable" (School Troubles)
• Finnish: "Kovaa Koulua" (Tough School)
• French: "Attaque à Sunnydale" (Attack in Sunnydale)
• German: "Elternabend mit Hindernissen" (Parent-Teacher Conference with Obstacles)
• Hungarian: "Kemény iskola" (Tough School)
• Italian: "Un avversario pericoloso" (A Dangerous Opponent)
• Japanese: "ダイハード・スクール" (Die Hard School)
• Polish: "Twarda szkoła" (School Hard)
• Portuguese (Brazil): "Escola da Pesada" (The School of Tough)
• Romanian: "Școală din plin" (School Full)
• Russian: "Трудности учёбы" (Learning Difficulties)
• Spanish (Latin America): "Terror en el Instituto" (Terror at School)
• Spanish (Spain): "Santrictos"
• Swedish: "Hård Skola" (Hard School)

Adaptations[]

• The episode script is included in The Script Book: Season Two, Volume 1.
• This episode is featured in The Slayer Collection: Spike DVD.

Gallery[]

Promotional pictures[]

Behind the scenes[]

Advertisement[]

"School Hard" promo

"For centuries, his reign of terror has spanned continents. Next stop, Sunnydale."

Quotes[]

References[]