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EPISODE

14. First Date

Buffy accepts an invitation to dinner from Principal Wood, and the secrets of his past are revealed. Xander impresses a beautiful girl with his knowledge of knots, and she seems to be interested in tying him up. Meanwhile the First contacts Andrew in another attempt to destroy the Potentials, and Giles finds himself tongue-tied with the new Potential, Chao-Ahn.

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Plot summary and ending

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Complete story — includes the ending

Buffy accepts a dinner invitation from Principal Wood; Anya is jealous when Xander has a date, but it turns out to not be so innocent. Actress and stunt double April Weeden-Washington, who played the original "Subway Slayer" Nikki Wood, told an interviewer, didn't get the part for this character; K.D. Aubert replaced her. Vox, ranking it at #123 of all 144 episodes on their "Worst to Best" list, noting that this quiet episode has its charms. It brings back a little of the Scooby camaraderie that made the early seasons so fun. In 2023, Rolling Stone, ranked this episode as #99 out of the 144 episodes in honor of the 20th anniversary of the show's ending. Mark Oshiro wrote a mixed review, finding some of the jokes cheap, and the character of Chao-Ahn, "an awful, gross stereotype taken to extremely racist/xenophobic ends." While he liked the appearance of Ashanti as Lissa, he asks whether "this episode sort of criticizes itself?"

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