This week on the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story: Halloween (Season 2 Episode 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer):

(1) why Buffy is the protagonist but someone else saves the day; (2) Willow gains confidence incrementally; and (3) we see another side to Giles that foreshadows future episodes and keeps us coming back.

As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning).

Next Up: Lie to Me S2 E7

Last Week: Reptile Boy S2 E5

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Buffy and the Art of Story Season One: Writing Better Fiction By Watching Buffy

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Where You Can Find The DVDs

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About Lisa M. Lilly

In addition to hosting the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story, Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the bestselling four-book Awakening supernatural thriller series and the Q.C. Davis mysteries, as well as numerous short stories. She also writes non-fiction, including books on writing craft, under L.M. Lilly. She is the founder of WritingAsASecondCareer.com.

Episode Transcript for Halloween

Hello and welcome to Buffy and the Art of Story Season Two. If you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you love creating stories – or just taking them apart to see how they work – you’re in the right place.

I am Lisa M Lilly, author of the Awakening supernatural thriller series and the Q.C. Davis mysteries and founder of WritingAsASecondCareer.com.

This week we're talking about Halloween, Season Two Episode Six.

What's In Store For Halloween

I'll cover:

how the writers handle side key character emotional arcs;

story questions about Giles that keep the viewers hooked and coming back for future episodes;

small progress in ongoing storylines like Willow and Oz, which also help keep viewers coming back; and

how Buffy can still be the protagonist when another character saves the day.

As always, there will be no Spoilers except at the end to talk about foreshadowing but I'll give you plenty of warning.

Okay, let's dive into the Hellmouth.

Halloween was written by Carl Ellsworth and directed by Bruce Seth Green.

Opening Conflict

We start with our Opening Conflict. Right away, we see a sign that says Pop's Pumpkin Patch. Buffy is thrown on the ground. Hay and pumpkins are all around. She fights back against the vampire by throwing small pumpkins and gourds at him.

As they are fighting the viewpoint shifts. We see a vampire holding a video camera. He is recording the entire fight from a safe distance. Buffy finally uses another sign that is wooden and on a wooden stake. She uses it to dust the vampire. Despite that she won, she leaves looking fairly disgusted.

This is about 1 minute 36 seconds in, and we go to credits. After the Credits we get the conflict that is at the heart of the story.

Remember, our Opening Conflict in a story can be what hints at our main plot or it can be completely unrelated and just there to bring the reader into the protagonists or another character's ordinary world.

Here, we had both in the pumpkin patch. This definitely brought us into Buffy's ordinary world – yet another night of fighting vampires. We will also see right after the credits how that plays into t...