Some Assembly Required (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

"Some Assembly Required" is episode two of season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode aired on The WB on September 22, 1997. It was written by staff writer Ty King and directed by Bruce Seth Green.

When the body parts of dead girls are discovered missing from their graves, Buffy and her posse discover that the parts are being used to create the perfect woman, with the final touch being Cordelia's head. Meanwhile, Giles finally musters the nerve to ask fellow teacher Ms. Calendar out on a date, and Angel admits his jealousy over the amount of time Buffy spends with Xander.^[1]

At night, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is in the cemetery waiting for a vampire to rise from his grave. Angel (David Boreanaz) suddenly appears, and they argue over whether he is jealous that Buffy danced with Xander (Nicholas Brendon) at the Bronze. When Angel decides to leave, she follows him but falls into an open grave. Buffy notices drag marks on the ground and realizes a body has been stolen from it.

The next day, Buffy and Xander interrupt Giles (Anthony Head) in the library practicing how to ask Jenny (Robia LaMorte) on a date. Buffy informs Giles the body stolen from the grave belonged to Meredith, a girl who recently died in a car accident. In the school hall, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) is signing up for the science fair with Chris. As Buffy approaches, Chris' friend Eric (Michael Bacall) is taking pictures of female students passing by.

Willow discovers Meredith died in a car accident along with two other Fondren High cheerleaders. Giles proposes the culprit may be a voodoo priest creating an army of zombies. Buffy suggests checking the other graves to see if they are empty.

At the cemetery, Giles and Xander dig as Buffy and Willow watch nearby. When Buffy complains about Angel, Willow brings up Buffy's "sexy dance" with Xander, saying "love makes you do the wacky." She then tells Buffy about Cordelia's (Charisma Carpenter) crush on Chris' older brother Daryl, a Sunnydale High football player who died in a rock climbing accident. When Buffy opens the unearthed casket, they discover it empty. Meanwhile, Cordelia is walking to her car after cheerleading practice and notices someone following her. After hiding in a dumpster, she is surprised by Angel. As she climbs out, she discovers a severed hand stuck to her skirt.

When the Scoobies return to the library, they find a frightened Cordelia clinging to Angel. After Angel mentions the accuracy of incisions on the body parts in the dumpster, the Scoobies decide to search the lockers of students in the science club. They discover medical books and an article on Meredith in Chris' locker and Eric's collage of female body parts.

In Chris' basement, Eric and Chris work on a body. Eric hangs up three photos to dry: Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia. At school, Buffy questions why someone would create a girl. Xander explains people want what they can't have — the more unattainable, the more attractive. In the school hall, Giles struggles to ask Jenny on a date when she suddenly invites him to accompany her to the football game.

When the Scoobies meet later that day, Giles tells them three female heads were found in a dumpster, and they quickly realize Eric and Chris are still searching for body parts. Meanwhile, Eric warns Chris that the body will deteriorate if a head is not attached soon. Daryl, grotesquely discolored and covered in stitches, reminds Chris of his promise to provide him with a companion. After Eric shows Daryl several photos, he chooses Cordelia.

In the library, Willow and Giles realize the head of a living female is needed since formaldehyde speeds up neural decay in brain cells. Buffy goes to Chris' house and finds evidence in his basement indicating Cordelia as their next victim.

In the locker room at school, Cordelia is getting ready for the football game. Eric tries to kidnap her, but Buffy arrives and fights him off. Buffy confronts Chris, who admits he and Eric are creating a companion for his brother. The two head to his house and discover Daryl is missing.

When Giles and Jenny take their seats at the football game, Xander and Willow arrive and crash their date. Daryl hides under the bleachers, watching Cordelia cheer from the sidelines. When she approaches the water cooler, he drags her away.

At the abandoned science lab, Eric is preparing to behead Cordelia. When Daryl removes her blindfold, she screams in horror at his appearance. Daryl admits to ignoring her in school but now appreciates how much she wanted him. Buffy and Chris arrive, and in the ensuing fight, a burner is knocked over. Xander appears and rescues Cordelia as Giles and Willow drag Eric to safety. Before Daryl can kill Buffy, Chris intervenes. As the room is engulfed in flames, Daryl chooses to die alongside his unfinished companion while the others escape.

Outside, Buffy is talking with Chris when Angel suddenly arrives. Jenny expresses interest in going on a second date with Giles. After brushing off Cordelia's attempts to thank him for saving her life, Xander complains to Willow about his failure to get a date. When Buffy and Angel go for a walk in the cemetery, he admits to being jealous of Xander's ability to be with Buffy "in the sunlight." Buffy reassures Angel she doesn't love Xander and offers to walk him home.

According to David Fury, when he questioned the advanced technological abilities of Sunnydale residents, Joss Whedon replied: "You're just way overthinking it. The Hellmouth should be able to provide us with anything we want to do; the energy that comes out of it makes mad scientists out of humans who then go ahead and create something evil."^[2]

"Some Assembly Required" had an audience of 3.2 million households.^[3]

Vox ranked it at #118 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list (to mark the 20th anniversary of the show), writing that it's "a solid entry into the goofy/campy/silly stretch of early Buffy."^[4]

The episode received mixed reviews. Billie Doux complained about "the lame Frankenstein monster plot": "I've never understood why mad scientists cut the bodies up and sew mismatched pieces together before flipping the switch. Wouldn't they have more luck with reanimating a complete dead body, like Chris did with his brother?" She also praises Charisma Carpenter for "her ability to scream convincingly on cue."^[5] Roger Pocock agreed, saying, "The supernatural Hellmouth location is an effective sticking plaster for a lot of otherwise absurd story ideas, but instead the script plays fast and loose with what is even remotely scientifically possible in a way that feels at least a couple of decades behind its time." However, "The trio's twisted expression of the human mating impulse is offered up in stark contrast to some real new relationships, just getting started. The attraction between Buffy and Angel continues to be an effective slow-burn, while Giles agonising over asking Jenny on a date is the highlight of the episode."^[6]

Mike Loschiavo called Eric and Chris "the California version of Burke and Hare" and adds, "it was inevitable though; we had to have an episode that was about Frankenstein at some point."^[7] Theresa Basile lists it among her "10 Underrated Episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer," saying, "the villain of the week is not totally monstrous but rather sympathetic, even though we condemn his actions. Angel is a complete dork which is how I like him best."^[8]

Vox notes that the episode is "nothing earth-shaking, but it does see Giles and Jenny on their first date, and it lays some groundwork for Xander and Cordelia's relationship later in the season."^[9]

Rolling Stone ranked "Some Assembly Required" at #121 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list, calling it "whacky throughout but doesn’t move the needle too much. We do get our first date between Giles and Jenny Calendar though, which will become one of Season Two’s best plotlines."^[10]

"Some Assembly Required" was ranked at #128 on Paste Magazine's "Every Episode Ranked" list^[11] and #132 on BuzzFeed's "Ranking Every Episode" list.^[12]

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• "Some Assembly Required" at IMDb