By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
If you’re a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, you’ve likely debated what the show’s worst episode is, and many would pick a story from the show’s generally-reviled sixth season. However, we’d argue that the worst one is “I Robot, You Jane,” the Season 1 schlockfest about Willow’s accidental romance with an internet boyfriend who turns out to be a demon and then turns into a robot. The episode may be a spectacular failure, but it also introduced us to the show’s most underrated trope of character dialogue extended into the credits.
Buffy’s Worst Episode
Normally, Buffy is a show where the best and worst episodes generally have something in common: a hard break between the episode and the end credits. Characters generally finish up their snappy dialogue just in time for Nerf Heder’s killer theme song to play over the end credits. In “I Robot, You Jane,” however, extends the final dialogue scene into the end credits, adding an extra bit of oomph to the episode’s final gag.
You see, while “I Robot, You Jane” is Buffy’s worst episode, its dialogue had plenty of the self-deprecating sense of humor that the show became so famous for. In the final scene, Buffy and Xander try to cheer up Willow after her accidental demon romance by pointing out that they had each fallen for monsters. Buffy, of course, fell for the vampire Angel, and Xander was once hot for a teacher who was secretly a monstrous praying mantis. The characters laugh over the idea that they are “doomed” to never find romance, but the forced laughter turns to awkward silence that continues into the credits.
The continued awkward silence made that gag much funnier, and after Buffy’s worst episode introduced this trope, better episodes would soon follow. In the Season 2 episode “Lie To Me,” Buffy is depressed about the complexities of identifying who the bad guys are and asks Giles to lie to her, prompting the watcher to tell her how life as a Slayer is a simple one full of obvious good guys and bad guys. As the credits roll, we hear Buffy’s gentle rejoinder to what her Watcher has been telling her: “Liar.”
“I Robot, You Jane” may be Buffy’s worst episode, but fans learned to love its “dialogue over credits” trope because of how it often deepened the show’s emotional moments. Sometimes, though, it was just used for a laugh, like when “Homecoming” ends with one of the gals chosen as Homecoming Queen over Buffy and Cordelia squeals about how she promised not to cry. Another great example is “Helpless,” where Xander teases a depowered Buffy about needing a “big, strong man” to open a jar of peanut butter before sheepishly asking Willow for help over the credits.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer popularized the use and recognition of TV tropes, and the one introduced by its worst episode is often overlooked by fans. However, we’d argue that extending the dialogue into the end credits is a confident move by a show that always knows how to draw attention to the snappy patter between characters. Next time you notice this trope in your favorite stories, try to appreciate the fact that it never would have happened if not for an episode where Willow’s out-of-town internet boyfriend was revealed as a demon with the robotic body of a Power Rangers villain.