BtVS
S01E02 The Harvest

Jesse's a vampire, Harmony's hilarious, and the Master is hungry!

I liked!

1. Everyone is working here.
   • ♥ Harmony ♥ is hilarious
   • Giles is his camp little early-show self, ASH gets so much personality into what could be dry exposition
   • Joyce is a genuinely good mother
   • Xander's reaction to not saving Jesse is painful to watch
   • Yet more Charisma excellence!
2. The Master is so put-upon. Very Hereditary, "I am your mother!" The church prison is also peak set design for the show, I don't think they ever topped this.
3. Luke's ambiguous-sexuality murder rampage, and his adorable death scene.
4. Creepy glowing vamp eyes in the tunnel!
5. This episode has fantastic music, particularly during the scenes at The Bronze. So moody!

I disliked!

1. Weird plot stuff, like: why does Xander know about the electrical tunnels? How did Angel get into the crypt?
2. Angel — he's just there being obtuse and pointless. It really shows that they didn't know what to do with him.
3. Cordy giving in to asshole!Jesse.
4. SMG's "tough girl" poses — they improve a lot.
5. The "mentally challenged" dialogue hasn't aged great.
6. The early version of the theme song. Because it's wrong.

Rating

Some cool stylish stuff, and a lot of directionless meandering. Some real ground laid for what's going to come, but — nothing special. That being said, like half of the opening credits footage comes from this episode so it is fun to do the Leo point every five seconds.