Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series) Reptile Boy (1997) User Reviews

The privileged taking advantage

[ossie85 · 6/10 · 8 August 2022]

This episode starts with a young girl being chased by a group of guys in robes and the guys catch her. The next day, one of the guys - Richard - and his friend Tom ask Cordy and Buffy to a fraternity party. But something demonic is going on and while the girls go the party a jealous Xander and Angel investigate.

Why It's So Good - Monsters aren't the only ones who are evil. Powerful people taking advantage of young women, a theme that should resonate with many.

Watch Out For - Poor Xander doesn't get what he hopes for.

Quote - "And you! I mean, you're gonna live forever! You don't have time for a cup of coffee?!" - Willow to Angel.

Cordy's evolution begins

[kellyq12 · 7/10 · 1 June 2022]

Barely.. that is. I love where things head with Cordelia and the group, and Cordelia and Xander, so I appreciate this episode for the early setups of that. Otherwise, it's a "monster" episode with Buffy and Cordelia in distress (again). Fun overall.

Buffy lies to Giles and nearly gets sacrificed to Machida the snake Demon

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 12 August 2017]

Things are pretty quiet in Sunnydale and Buffy is happy watching Hindi movies with Willow and Xander but Giles pressures her to train harder and continue her patrols. When she does patrol she doesn't find any vampires but she does find a piece of broken jewellery that belonged to a girl we'd previously seen trying to escape from a group of robed frat boys. Angel appears and says he can smell blood on it; he then rebuffs her advances. Back at school Cordelia asks Buffy to join her at a Frat party she has been invited to; feeling rather fed up Buffy agrees, telling Giles that she is actually looking after her sick mother; Xander decides to crash the party to keep an eye on Buffy. Inevitably the party doesn't go too well; Xander is discovered and humiliated while somebody slips Buffy a Mickey Finn. When she wakes up she, Cordelia and the girl we saw being chased are chained up in the cellar as the frat boys prepare to sacrifice them to the snakelike Machida.

This was a solid standalone episode with some good humorous moments and some tense moments; for once Buffy is actually vulnerable to human threats after she is drugged. I liked the fact that for most of the episode it wasn't obvious that there was a supernatural threat; the frat boys were actually more disturbing than Machida. Machida was just a demon doing what demons do but they were greedy and cruel… it was particularly satisfying when they get their comeuppance as do those who has sacrificed girls to Machida in previous years in exchange for wealth and power. It was good to see that Buffy still wants to be an ordinary teenager; hanging out with her friends and thinking about boys… well, a two hundred year old vampire! The acting was good, as expected, especially from the central cast. Overall this was a pretty impressive episode.

Damsels in distress

[Joxerlives · 6/10 · 23 May 2012]

The Good; Buffy slumping her head onto the table. Willow's rant at Giles and Angel. Cordy and Buffy getting all hot-to-trot for the party. Queen C's driving skills. Jonathon! On a date with Cordy no less. Buffy pouting (Giles her father figure more than ever)

The Bad; The endings a bit cheery considering the fate of all those poor girls over the years, just like the disappearing corpses in The Harvest. You utterly cringe at the misogyny of the Frat boys. What exactly do the Sunnydale police make of the demon's body?

Best Line; Buffy (to Angel)"When you kiss me I want to die"(of course 'die' also being a Shakespearean metaphor for orgasm...?)

Questions and observations; Buffy and Cordy go illicitly to a party with a bunch of older guys, pass out through drinking and end up in chains being menaced by a huge snake. Or what the girls at my old school used to call 'Saturday night'. (Apologies to the writers of Friends). Seriously though I was beginning to think I was seeing sexual subtext where there was none but upon listening to David Greenwalt's DVD commentary it's clear that's exactly what was intended. Xander also tries his hand at cross-dressing.

Another point for bisexual Will, she seems to fancy the frat boys. You wonder if Mayor Wilkins was a member of the fraternity? An OK ep but not the best, I'll give it 6/10 but that might be a little generous

College Party

[Realrockerhalloween · 30 September 2016]

Buffy wants to be a normal girl and accompanies Cordy to a college party where the fraternity hold a dark secret to their success. I love the concept that Buffy wants to be a girly girl again, want to make Angel jealous and try to stay under the radar. Yet it seems no matter where she goes her slayer skills are called into action. almost like destiny leads her to where she's needed most. My only problem is Richard being a nice guy of the group and their leader since it makes them out as psychopaths which isn't true and makes girl shy away from them.

I love when the group come to their rescue showing Giles as her father figure, Angel her white knight and Xander as the best friend willing to put their lives on the line for you. It feels like a close family unite and shows once again without them Buffy would be a short term slayer.

least predatory frat party lol

[nysmbs · 6/10 · 19 December 2022]

If it were just any show, I'd say Buffy's actions in the episode are sympathetic, understandable even. Frustrations with existing social connections lead her to take risks in another. Angel and Giles both infantalize her.

The problem is very little of what occurs is within the bounds of where each character is at. I don't mean Angel, who acts as usual. But Giles's behavior, and Buffy's response to it seem amnesiac. Apparently Buffy has been mentally checking out of her sessions (why? We are not told. Whatever drove her there occurred offscreen), so Giles stresses importance of training. Buffy gets unusually upset about this and decides to go to a frat party behind his back.

I just don't buy it. Giles and Buffy have regularly done this dance, with Giles stressing the need to stay at the top of her game as a slayer and Buffy advocating for the existence of her own social life, and in all previous cases both characters have found ways to be more mature and understanding about it. Buffy generally makes a point of showing Giles she cares and Giles tends to concede that she does deserve some semblance of a normal life. But in this episode all of that nuance and mutual respect that has defined their relationship has suddenly been washed away, and they both act extremely immature and hostile towards one another.

Stronger points of the episode are the portrayal of the antagonists (frat guys are predators, it's true, even the "nice" ones like Tom) and a good recurring gag with Cordelia. Overall, Reptile Boy is an improvement over the disaster that was the Inca episode, but still pretty weak by Buffy standards.

The One With The Fraternity...

[taylorkingston · 9/10 · 13 October 2016]

How have I not reviewed this already? I clearly didn't remember it enough to write a review, so I just rated it, but now that I have rewatched this episode, I am so happy to be able to write this review. I absolutely love this episode. Another reason why I'm so surprised I hadn't done it already.

In this episode, Cordelia wants to go to a Fraternity party so she can try, and lock-down a man. But one of the guys was impressed with Buffy, so she reluctantly asks her to come to the party with her. Meanwhile, the gang discover that girls have gone missing, on this day, every few years. Xander goes to the Frat-house because it's near where one of the girls went missing. It turns out that the Fraternity have been sacrificing women to a "giant snake" demon for decades, in return for wealth, and power. Ugh. How pathetic is that? Anyway, Buffy, and Cordelia end up being almost sacrificed, but Buffy being Buffy, kills the demon, and all the boys, and their relatives who were also frat brothers, end up going to jail.

Fun fact: Cordelia tells Buffy not to wear black, as it's one of signature things, but at the party, Buffy wears a black dress.

Fun fact: During the "giant snake" scene, Buffy is seen wearing flats. When she walks up the stairs a moment later, she's wearing chunky heals. I assume this was because most actresses wear flats during their fight scenes, and are usually not seen.

Fun fact: Greg Vaughan's name is spelt wrong in the opening titles.

Best part of this episode: Everything.

Worst part of this episode: The horrible frat-boys being mean to Xander.

Overall, I give this episode a 9 out of 10, which in my ratings book is: Amazing.

The cult of Machida

[saxon-7 · 8/10 · 16 November 2006]

Buffy and Cordelia is invited to a fraternity party, but the fraternity is a cult and plan to use them as an offering to their snakelike patron.

The story in this episode is great and the execution is splendid. The fraternity is very cult-like with robes and a well placed base of operations. At the center of this episode is the unknown workings of the very secretive fraternities, you just don't known what might lie at their center (The Skulls is an other movie that deals with this issue). The acting is good while not breathtaking and the effects is just great, the snakelike patron is perhaps the best made effect in this episode (yes, yes I known that given the possibilities in our day and time it could be better, but this is/was not a million dollar budget) but the cave or cellar is also good. An 8 out of 10.

Xander: I hate these guys. Don't you hate these guys? Willow: Yeah. With their charmed lives and their movie-star good looks and more money than you can count... I'm hating.

[bombersflyup · 9/10 · 26 July 2019]

Reptile Boy is about Cordelia coercing Buffy into attending a frat party with her.

An extremely good episode, not quite a great one. The cast's separated a lot and the frat guys eat up some scene time. The first half's much better, with an excellent scene in the graveyard between Buffy and Angel. Xander and Willow sorta play out Buffy's nightmare from "When She Was Bad," exchanging food on the couch. Sarah's super cute.

Angel: You're 16 years old. I'm 241. Buffy: I've done the math. Angel: You don't know what you're doing. You don't know what you want. Buffy: Oh, no, I-I think I do. I want out of this conversation. Angel: Listen. If we date, you and I both know one thing's gonna lead to another. Buffy: One thing already has led to another. You think it's a little late to be reading me a warning label? Angel: I'm just trying to protect you. This could get out of control. Buffy: Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

A slow-ish monster of the week episode

[katierose295 · 4/10 · 17 July 2006]

Season's two biggest problem is its almost TOO good in places. The Mythology Arc this season, (Angel, Spike and Dru) is nothing short of brilliant. They light up every scene they're in and you find yourself waiting impatiently for them to show up on screen. It makes other, unrelated episodes seem less interesting by comparison. When a completely separate monster-of-the-week episode rolls around, like "Reptile Boy," it just can't stand up against the season's real story arc. Not only that, but "Reptile Boy" is a lack-luster episode in-and-of itself. Basically, this is one you can skip if you're in a hurry and watching BTVS on DVD.

The episode revolves around Cordy and Buffy attending a fraternity party, where things (predictably enough) go very wrong. Buffy, feeling unappreciated by Angel and pressured by Giles, decides to take a walk on the wild side. Cordelia's new crush and his friends are holding a party at the local college. One of them, a charming fellow named Tom, takes an instant shine to Buffy. (She really should know better. In the long run, nice guys in Sunnydale always turn out to be bad news.) Anyway, Buffy and Cordy wind-up at the frat house, and thanks to some spiked drinks, are soon chained to a wall and nearly sacrificed to a big snake-y demon thing.

The episode has some good points. Cordelia and Buffy are actually pretty funny together. Cordy's so oblivious to the havoc she leaves in her wake that its hard not to laugh. Her lecture to Buffy on how to act and dress and laugh at the party is hilarious. And Xander's jealousy/disdain of the frat brothers and their subsequent hazing of him is pretty funny. Also, I like Willow's lecture to Angel and Giles, where she reams them for not taking Buffy's feelings into account. She becomes more confident and outspoken this season, which is an indication of things to come.

On the downside, the episodes anti-drinking, anti-frat party message gets a little heavy handed. The story itself, with the evil rich guys, the monster in the basement, and the chains on the wall, is a kind of predictable. Also, the cast is separated for a lot of the episode, so they don't interact with each other enough. It can get a little slow in places.

My favorite part of the episode: Buffy, Willow and Xander sitting on Buffy's bed watching Channel 54, Indian television.

Dark Allegory, Supernatural Twist

[Aegelis · 8/10 · 24 March 2024]

As one can deduce from the title, our monster of the week is reptilian in nature, specifically an ancient summoned giant serpent.

More disturbing (if possible) is the fraternity surrounding the ritual of sacrifice around the creature. The warnings of the show imply a lot about the dangers of college party life for the under-protected girls who attend them. From being drugged to forcefully being physically overwhelmed, there is more reality than fantasy for much of the show.

The 'lift' arrives during the melee where a fantasy battle finally ensues. Wild to see Buffy overpowered in rather unexpected ways due to poor decisions and deception. Important conversation starter of an episode.

Fun monster of the week.

[m-47826 · 5/10 · 14 June 2021]

Early season two had fun monsters of the week. Some episodes were going for the drama. But not in a very relevant way. Coincidentally, this episode in which frat boys offer young impressionable girls to a demon. Was shot around the time SMG did Scream 2, playing a sorority girl. So for that reason, it is one of my guilty pleasure episodes of the season. It's also very funny and, with the exception of Cordelia, who has never been this vapid and annoying. It has solid character development. Greg Vaughan, before his Charmed days, was a reminder of how the WB could be a closed circle. And that Louie Says song, featured twice in the episode, was a very good choice to describe the Buffy/Angel relationship, back then.