Season 1, Episode 10: "Nightmares"

Original Air Date: 5/12/97

I have a nightmare. It starts out like a normal day. I head to the gym, pick out a machine, and start up my Buffy episode. Then suddenly, Netflix freezes and I'm forced to continue on the elliptical for a sweaty Buffy-less eternity, flanked between a taut gym bunny and an elderly man (both going warp speed faster than me with inhuman ease), while the gym radio plays Kid Rock and the TV in front of me is set to Fox News. But this was no nightmare... THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far, far away from here...

Day 2: I face my fears and return to the gym. After a rocky start, the wifi is working, and all is right with the world. 

I feel like this episode pulls the show out of the mid-season slump. There's a fair mix of fun, supernatural intrigue, and emotional depth- all classic Buffy markers. As the title would suggest, this episode centers on nightmares becoming reality-- it's at first implied that this is the Master's doing, but later revealed to be the projections of a little boy stuck in a nightmarish coma. Don't try to think it through too much. Giles basically shrugs and offers the catch-all explanation: "Hellmouth". 

Many of the living nightmares are harmless, even ridiculous- spiders crawl out of a book, Buffy can't even answer her name correctly on a test, Giles can't read, Willow has to sing in front of a crowd, Cordelia has (gasp) bad hair, and Xander goes to class in his underwear and gets chased by an evil clown. While it's Xander's nightmare, I think it may be Nicholas Brendon's fantasy. I have a feeling he slipped one of the writers a 20 and said "Throw in a scene where I can show off my rockin' biceps and abs. Also, I'd really like to punch a clown..." 

Other nightmares are darker and reveal the fears buried deep in the characters' psyches. Most notably, when Buffy's dad arrives for a weekend visit and sits her down to tell her that her parents' divorce was entirely her fault and she's a complete disappointment. This scene is done well. You don't see the nightmare coming, which makes it all the more heart-wrenching. And SMG really brings her acting A-game in this scene. 

You're sullen and... rude and... you're not nearly as bright as I thought you were going to be... 

Could you stand to live in the same house with a daughter like that?

More fears are revealed as Buffy is buried alive and comes back as a vampire. When they come upon Buffy's grave, Giles explains that this is his nightmare- that he will fail to protect Buffy. This theme is explored at several other points in the series (notably in "Helpless" and the song "Standing" in "Once More, with Feeling"). I think that's what I like most about this episode-- that early on it lays out the insecurities that will run throughout Buffy's character arc. Failing the test represents her fear that she is not smart enough and will never function in "normal" life. Turning into a vampire represents both her fear of failure and her worry that she could give in to the darkness. And most significant, the conversation with her father shows her ongoing fear that she is poison and ruins the lives around her- a fear that will grow deeper and deeper as the series goes on. 

The framing of the nightmares through the kid in the coma (who it turns out was put there by an abusive Little League coach) is a plot device I could have done without. I also can't decide if it is referential to other stories that show children fighting their worst fears come to life (IT, Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors) or if it's just a straight up copy. It is also painfully corny at times and there's a lot holes in the story. Yet that scene between Buffy and her dad is SO powerful... Is this a good episode or not?
I'll split the difference. 2/4 Mr. Pointy's. 

Most Dated Line/Reference:
See these guys. 

They're supposed to be the school badasses. When I first saw them I assumed that some character must be living a nightmare about being in a live production of Grease. But, no, the nightmare is that the head greaser's mommy comes to school and pinches his cheeks, which could work as a cute joke if they didn't seem to have arrived in a time machine. Was 1997 still too early to use wannabe gangstas or closeted self-hating jocks as the school tough guys?

Favorite Retro Fashion Moment: 

I'm digging Willow's polka dot dress and green tights.
But can we have a conversation about Xander's choices here?

Workout Summary: 
Day 1: 2.9 miles on elliptical; 426 calories slayed.
Day 2: 35 minutes on elliptical; 345 calories slayed.