"No Assembly Required"

Written by Ty King
Directed by Bruce Seth Green


In which Buffy must save Cordelia from some modern day Frankensteins, while dealing with the relationship issues brought on by Angel’s jealousy...

Synopsis - Analysis - Memorable Quotes - Observations


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Synopsis

As the episode begins, Buffy sits on top of a gravestone, awaiting the rise of a vampire. Angel arrives on the scene, and promptly begins with the jealous talk regarding Buffy’s little tease-dance with Xander (“When She Was Bad”). When Buffy calls him out on it, Angel denies his jealousy. However, the joyful conversation is brought to an abrupt halt when the vampire arrives. Once the vamp is dust, Buffy tries to resume the argument, only to end up falling into an open grave. She assumes that a vampire was involved…until she notices that the girl buried in the grave was actually dragged from it.

The next day, at Sunnydale High, Buffy and Xander walk into the library to find Giles practicing pick-up lines with an empty chair. The two of them try to give Giles a little bit of advice on the whole dating thing, well aware that Giles is smitten with Jenny. Once Giles gets them off the subject, Buffy tells him about the grave robbing. Buffy notes that the body was a girl named Meredith Todd, who recently died.

A little later, a boy named Eric bothers Willow by taking pictures of her. Another boy, Chris, gets him to stop, and then discusses the upcoming science fair with Willow. Chris always wins the fair, with Willow a close second. Cordelia arrives on the scene, complaining about having to participate, and Eric winds up bothering her with his camera as well. He also takes Buffy’s picture when she arrives. After the girls leave, Eric mentions how Cordelia “would be perfect for us”. However, Chris denies it, reminding Eric that she’s alive.

In the library, Willow finds information on Meredith Todd. As it turns out, she died in a car accident that also claimed the lives of two other girls from a nearby town. Faced with the notion of a body snatcher, Giles theorizes that it could be some kind of demon, or as Xander mentions, zombies. Buffy decides that they should check on the other two girls, and Willow asks if she’s going to invite Angel along for the fun. But Buffy decides that as far as Angel is concerned, they’re taking the night off.

That night, as they dig in the cemetery, Buffy comments on Angel’s jealous behavior to Willow while Giles and Xander do the dirty work. Willow remarks that Cordelia used to date Daryl, Chris’ older brother who died recently. Since then, Chris has been in his own little world. When the men are done with the digging, Buffy checks the graves.

Meanwhile, Cordelia finishes cheerleader practice. On her way to her car, she hears a noise, and sees someone waiting for her on the other side of the car. She runs, and evades her stalker by hiding in a dumpster. When she thinks it’s safe, she leaves her hiding place, only to run into Angel. She informs Angel that Buffy lied and is working in the graveyard, but she is distracted from saying more when she realizes that a severed hand is stuck on her skirt.

Later, at the library, the gang muses over the fact that the graves of the two other girls killed with Meredith Todd were missing. Angel shows up with Cordelia, a little annoyed at being lied to. Angel explains that along with Cordelia, he found parts of the exhumed bodies. It’s clear that whomever exhumed the bodies also chopped the bodies up, keeping some pieces and discarding the rest. Angel is sure that the slicing and dicing was done with practiced skill, and the evidence points to somebody at the school. They decide to check the lockers of suspect students that Willow identifies.

Meanwhile, at Chris’ house, he tries to tell his mother that he’s going out, but she is transfixed by old videotapes of Daryl’s football glory days. Not long after, the gang finds a number of anatomy books in Chris’ locker, along with a taped up copy of the newspaper article about the car accident. Eric’s locker reveals a collage of a woman made up of parts of several pictures of various women. Buffy sees the connection.

Chris meets with Eric, who is working on stitching together the various body parts in their collection. Eric notes that they are running out of time to complete the body, and offers that Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia would serve as good candidates.

Later, the gang discusses why Chris and Eric would want to make a girl out of dead body parts. They check in with Giles, but he’s still distracted by his thoughts of Jenny. They give him some last minute advice, and once they go, he tries to ask Jenny out. When all is said and done, he somehow gets asked out by Jenny to the high school football game that evening. Giles is both confused and relieved.

Buffy confirms that Eric and Chris bailed on school that day, making it more obvious that they are responsible. Giles walks in, and informs them that the heads of the three dead girls were found among the other discarded parts. It’s clear that the boys are one step short of their goal. At the same time, Eric argues with Chris about how to finish their project. Chris is squeamish about killing to get a head, but a revived but highly disfigured Daryl reminds Chris that he promised to make him a bride. Chris still balks at taking a life, but Daryl and Eric push him into agreeing to killing one of the girls. Daryl chooses Cordelia.

Meanwhile, the gang determines that there are no dead girls currently available for Chris and Eric to finish their little project. Buffy sends the others to Eric’s house, while she checks out Chris’ house. When she arrives, she finds Chris’ mother still sitting and staring at old football videos. She doesn’t seem to realize who is in the house, or who she’s talking to. Buffy goes into the basement and finds the pictures that Eric took, as well as a plan for the body…with Cordelia’s headshot on top. Daryl is about to attack her when Buffy leaves, not noticing Daryl in the process.

Before the big game, in the girls’ locker room, Cordelia is distracted when Chris appears, allowing Eric to pull a bag over her head so they abduct her. Buffy arrives on the scene, saving Cordy from the two boys, who get away. Cordelia insists on going out to join her cheerleading squad, leaving Buffy to find Chris and get him to stop. Chris explains the truth behind his project, while Eric tells Daryl what happened, promising that he’ll do what Daryl needs.

As the game gets underway, Buffy and Chris discover that Eric and Daryl are proceeding with the plan on their own. Giles and Jenny make some progress on their “date”, at least until Willow and Xander show up to wait until Buffy arrives. When Cordelia stops to take a drink from a water cooler near the stands, Daryl reaches out and grabs her. Her screams are drowned by the cheers of the crowd.

In the old science wing, Eric and Daryl prepare Cordelia for the gruesome surgery. She is extremely displeased when she finds out what they have in mind. When it’s clear that Cordy has been captured, Buffy forces Chris to tell her where Eric and Daryl would have gone. Buffy rushes in to stop the procedure, and Daryl attacks her with a meat cleaver. In the process, gasoline is spilled all over the floor. In the ensuing battle, the gasoline ignites.

Xander arrives on the scene, just in time to help get Cordelia safely out of the flames. Daryl tries to grab onto Buffy, and as she struggles out of his grasp, Chris rushes in and tells Daryl to stop. Daryl grabs the makeshift body that Chris and Eric were making, and the flames envelop the monster and his intended bride.

In the aftermath, despite the excitement, Jenny is willing to continue dating Giles. Despite having saved her life, Xander is oblivious to her attempts at showing her appreciation, while discussing the tribulations of the lack of love lives with Willow. Angel confesses his jealousy, and Buffy explains that she has no feelings for Xander. They walk into the night, hand in hand.


Analysis

This episode feels like something out of the first season, which is not unexpected. The first season was filled with twists on old conventions of horror stories, so unearthing the old Frankenstein concept fits well within that framework. Of course, like the first season, the conventional horror story is used as a platform to detail the current relationship situation, making the later changes to that status quo a bit easier to understand.

It’s good to see a slight attempt at follow-up to the last episode, especially since it rarely comes up again. Angel’s jealousy and almost comic broodiness is a hallmark of the characterization to come, while also deftly introducing any new viewers to the difference between the vampire with a soul and the rest of the vamps.

Equally important is the development of the relationship between Giles and Jenny. These are the moments where Giles opens up to Jenny like he never would again on the series, and it gives what could have been a very stale character a bit more depth. He is still the somewhat befuddled Watcher, but more of his former confidence and self-assurance come out as the season progresses.

Having more or less exhausted the triangle between Buffy, Xander, and Willow, the writers take a completely unexpected left turn and begin planting the seeds for a Xander, Willow, and Cordelia conflict. Cordelia begins showing her interest after Xander saved her life in this episode, though the actual progression of the relationship is thankfully built over a long period of time.

This episode is ultimately about the things that people will do for love, and as such, there ought to be some interesting parallels between the outrageous acts of Chris and Eric and relationships that are taking a turn for the better in this episode. If those parallels exist, it’s not clear from the episode. At best, there’s a loose association in how the various relationships are addressed, but that’s about it.

As usual with the early episodes in the series, Giles’ behavior is a little baffling. For someone who was once a very different person, given his Ripper persona, he has an awful time trying to figure out how to ask out Jenny. It would have been interesting to see, at some point, some of the events that broke down Giles’ confidence as much as it has.

Thankfully, Willow and Xander come across much less ditzy in this episode than in the season premiere. Willow is once again confirmed as one of the smartest people on the high school campus, something that was far from evident in the last episode. Xander is more his witty self as well. Overall, the characterization is better.

The entire investigation into the disappearing corpses is handled very well, and the ongoing disgust for what they are discovering is a nice touch. Considering how often the characters barely react to something that can rip out internal organs and use bones as a toothpick, it’s telling that they have such a visceral response to the notion of digging up and mutilating dead girls.

Also interesting is the parallel between Daryl in this episode and Adam during the fourth season. Similar techniques had to have been used, considering the final results, so one wonders where the Initiative’s idea can n the first place. It would be interesting to discover whether or not Chris or Eric would up being recruited by the Initiative or Professor Walsh.

Beyond that, however, there’s simply not much to the episode. Most of the good points of the episode are good because they relate to later developments during the season. The situation itself is interesting the first couple of times that one sees it, but it’s really up to the level of storytelling that comes with the bulk of the season.


Memorable Quotes

ANGEL: “‘Danced with’ is a pretty loose term. ‘Mated with’ might be a little closer…”

BUFFY: “I guess I never realized how much you like that chair.”

BUFFY: “Being called an idiot tends to take people out of the dating mood.”
XANDER: “Hmm…it actually kinda turns me on.”
BUFFY: “I fear you.”

GILES: “Grave robbing? That’s new. Interesting.”
BUFFY: “I know you meant to say gross and disturbing.”
GILES: “Yes, yes, of course. Terrible thing. Must put a stop to it. Damn it.”

WILLOW: “I’m probably the only girl in school who has the coroner’s office bookmarked as a favorite place…”

CORDELIA: “It was horrible. Angel saved me from an arm. God, there were so many parts, they were everywhere. Why are these terrible things always happening to me?”
XANDER: (coughing) “Karma!”

XANDER: “And speaking of love…”
WILLOW: “We were talking about the re-animation of dead tissue.”
XANDER: “Do I deconstruct your segues?”

GILES: “I just think it’s rather odd that a nation that prides itself on its virility should feel compelled to strap on forty pounds of protective gear just in order to play rugby…”

BUFFY: “Love makes you do the wacky!”


Observations

- It’s a little hard to believe that Angel would be taken out so easily by a stunt double with a shovel!

- Can’t say I hate that white top at the beginning of the first act...

- Apparently the students at Sunnydale read some enormously boring books...like that massive volume on “Fort Worth”!

- Of course Eric is evil...look at that shirt...

- Love Giles’ version of dealing with pain!

- Angel just looks wrong in grey...

- How could Cordy’s clothes be completely clean after hanging out in a dumpster?

- During the locker search, the video quality is absolutely horrible...even for 16mm...

- Love Jenny’s look at the game...especially those pants!

- Man, does that marching band suck...

- I wonder what kind of people volunteer for the Sunnydale Fire Department?

- Cordy actually looks better with the soot all over her face...imagine that...

- Anyone else notice that pyramid-shaped crypt in the graveyard at the end? I wonder if that’s a convenient connection to the rather meaningful Egyptian crypt at the end of the seventh season!

Overall, this episode just never seems to come together. There’s a lack of energy to most of the scenes, and even the direction seems less than inspired. In that respect, it feels like a mediocre holdover from a first season concept, and as such, it doesn’t really fit in with the overall excellence of this season.

I give it a 5/10.


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