Help (2002) User Reviews (9)

The One Where Cassie Thinks She's Going To Die...

[taylorkingston · 7/10 · 17 October 2014]

I really enjoyed this episode.

In this episode, Buffy has been working as a counsellor at Sunnydale High and she thinks she hasn't been making any difference, giving any good advice or helping anyone. But one day, a girl, Cassie comes along and tells Buffy that she's going to die on Friday. Everyone investigates to find out if she's suicidal and it turns out that she's not. Dawn tries to help her, but nobody seems to be able to. Then Cassie is kidnapped by other students at the school. She is supposed to be sacrificed to a demon, so that that the boys can be rich. How original. Buffy steps in and saves the day, along with Spike. Cassie tells Spike that Buffy will tell her one day. We don't know what it actually means, but you can have your guess. We will find out, eventually. At the end of the episode, Cassie has a heart attack and sadly, dies. Everyone is shocked, but Buffy understands that there was nothing she could do.

Overall, I give this episode a 7 out of 10.

Throwback to monster-of-the-week episodes

[nightwishouge · 9/10 · 6 May 2021]

As season 7 goes on, it embraces the completely serialized format that the writers implemented over on Angel's spin-off. Everything is related to the battle with the First and the Uber-Vamps. To be honest I miss one-off villains/problems such as might be found in season one's "The Pack" or season two's "Killed By Death"...and to be honest the problem is exacerbated for me because I find the First to be such a boring Big Bad. Heck, I'll take Adam any day over this.

So "Help" is refreshing to me. I think the main reason the episode stands out is Azura Skye's performance as Cassie--a fairly nondescript character outside of her psychic abilities and impending death, I think Skye imbues her with a compelling mix of vulnerability and sweetness that make me really like her during the limited time we get to know her. Hearkening back to my wish from "Lessons" that Dawn would form her own Scooby gang, I would rewrite the episode (and subsequently the rest of the reason) to have Cassie live and become the magically endowed member of the group, a la Willow before her.

Oh well. I guess that's what fan fiction is for.

Buffy's New Job - Rough Start

[Samuel-Shovel · 8/10 · 24 October 2018]

In "Help", starting her new job as high school guidance counselor, Buffy meets a young teen who is convinced that she will die on Friday. Cassie appears to be able to see the future in bits and pieces and knows what lies ahead. Buffy and the gang try to figure out how she is supposed to die and how they'll prevent it.

In the end it is revealed that a group of high schoolers are using her as a human sacrifice to summon a demon that is supposed to shower them with riches. Buffy stops their ritual in time but Cassie promptly dies of a brain aneurism anyways.

This has been my favorite of Season 7 so far. Sure, there's no big baddie that shows up or a whole bunch of action set pieces but the story is just well-crafted. "Help" really should have been called "Helpless" because that's how Buffy feels in the end. She did everything right, saved the day, played the hero but there are just some battles in life that you can't win. This episode had streaks of nihilism and determinism to it that gave the script an extra layer of meaning sometimes lacking from other BtVS episodes. I thought it was really well done.

Accept the things you can not change

[ossie85 · 8/10 · 23 August 2022]

Buffy's first week as a school counsellor is an eventful one, with a student named Cassie calmly tells Buffy that she is going to die Friday night and that she doesn't know how. Buffy asks for help from Principal Wood and gets Dawn to go under cover, but they still can't find any leads. Willow visits Tara's grave for the first time.

Why It's So Good - An underrated episode for me, an episode filled with drama, humour and tears. I was invested in Cassie's fate, and how the characters tried to save her. Azura Skye one of the more memorable guest appearances of the series.

Watch Out For - The kids that go to Buffy for help.

Quote - " And I'd love to see my cousins grow up and see how they turn out 'cause they're really mean and I think they're gonna be fat.." - Cassie.

I just don't get this episode

[katierose295 · 6/10 · 6 September 2006]

I don't get the point of this episode. Aside from the First bringing Cassie's "ghost" back in "Conversations With Dead People," it seems like "Help" is just a complete waste of time. It doesn't really have a point in the over all story arc or any significance as a monster-of the-week. I guess it's suppose to show Buffy that some things are beyond the Slayer's control, but haven't we already established that far more dramatically when she couldn't stop Joyce's death back in season five's "The Body?" At this point, there are only 18 episodes left of the show and I don't understand why we're focusing on this strange new girl's problems, instead of following that characters who I actually care about. Basically, if you're in a hurry to get through season seven, you could skip "Help" and not really miss anything.

"Help" revolves around Buffy's new job as a councilor at Sunnydale High. She meets with all the troubled kids and tries to gives them advice. When a girl named Cassie comes to see her, though, Buffy is at a loss. Cassie says that she will die on Friday and that nothing can change it. At first, Buffy thinks that Cassie is suicidal. But Cassie explains that she can sometimes just "feel" stuff. She knows when certain things will happen and she can sense that her death is coming. There will be coins involved somehow and she will die. Buffy refuses to accept that. She and the Scoobies set to work trying to save Cassie.

Dawn follows Cassie around, befriending her. Willow "Goggles" Cassie poetry. Xander and Buffy confront her alcoholic father. When Friday comes and they still don't have a solution, Buffy goes to Spike for help. He's completely out of it. Hitting his own face, blaming himself for trying to rape Buffy back in season six's "Seeing Red." Buffy makes him stop and tries to make him understand that she needs help, but he doesn't seem to hear her. Buffy goes back upstairs and sees coins falling out of a boy's locker. Confronting him, she learns that he and his friends are planning to sacrifice Cassie to a demon in exchange for untold riches. Buffy stops their ritual in time to save Cassie but the demon has already been called. Spike arrives just in time to help her defeat it. As Buffy leads Cassie out of the room, though. The girl falls over dead of a heart condition.

There are some good parts to this episode. I'm glad that Spike finally came out of the basement to help Buffy fight those robed demon worshiping guys. He just keeps punching that one kid, even though his chip is going off. So, I guess Dru was right and Spike really could ignore the electric brain shocks if he tried hard enough. And I like that Cassie looks up at him as he unties her and says that "One day she'll tell you." I guess she's talking about Buffy finally declaring her love in "Chosen," but it really could mean anything and I like coming up with alternate theories. Also, I'm glad that the Scoobies investigate Cassie together. Willow, Xander and Buffy are the heart of the show and they don't have enough scenes together this season. Finally, I think it's great (in a sad way and all) that Cassie died. And, of a heart condition no less. It's just a cool ending to the episode.

I think the title "Help" refers to more than just the Scoobies trying to help Cassie. This episode has a lot of people helping each other and being helped in return. Willow and Xander help Buffy, which helps to bring them all closer. Helping Cassie, helps Dawn learn something about friendship and strength. Spike fights through his madness to help Buffy battle the demon cult. And Buffy tries to help Spike, making him stop punishing himself for trying to rape her. Buffy tries to help all the students at Sunnydale High as a councilor, especially Cassie. And Cassie, in the end, helps Buffy see that there are somethings even bigger than the Slayer. Really everyone in this episode is the recipient and giver of help.

On the down side, if I got to add a two second scene to any BTVS episode, "Help" would be it. As the Scoobies search the internet for Cassie's poem, they should have inadvertently found a reference to William/Spike's poetry. All they had to do is have Xander say, "Oh, here's something. But, wait this poem looks really old. Geez, what does 'effulgent' mean?" Then Buffy could answer, "Gleaming." Viola! A whole new reference to a past BTVS episode and a neat little tie in with history. I'd love that.

My favorite part of the episode: Willow claiming that all teenagers post angst-y love poems and Doogie Howiser fan-fic on the internet. Buffy and Xander just stare at her and Willow quickly refocuses on her research. It's really a cute, retro-Scoobie moment.

Buffy the School Counsellor

[Joxerlives · 7/10 · 20 July 2012]

The Good; A real heartwarmer/wrencher, some lovely stuff here. And Willow visiting Tara's grave. Plus Amanda!

Best line; Buffy the Student Counsellor; "...and all that shi...guff!"

Women good/men bad; The loathsome SDH boys who want to sacrifice Cassie for their own greed! They need a damn good killing! Cassies dad is a drunk but loves his daughter and would never hurt her. Cassie's friend Mike thinks making boy's crazy is part of girl's job.

Jeez!; Threatening Cassie with the meat cleaver, ugh!

Kinky dinky;

Xander thinks Googling is some form of sexual act? Cassie speaks of her unused thighs in her poetry.

Captain Subtext; One student fears that they're gay but it might just be an excuse to date Buffy. Willow tells Xander she's 'over you sweetie'. However she also used to write Doogie Howser fanfic (Alysson Hannigan now starring with Doogie Howser himself aka Neil Harris in 'How I met your mother' wonder if that was on the cards when they wrote this?)

Guantanamo Bay; Buffy threatens the student with coins in his locker who reminds me a LOT of Jonathon.

Apocalypses; 7,

Scoobies in bondage: Buffy: 8 Giles: 4 Cordy: 5 Will: 4 Jenny: 1 Angel: 4 Oz: 1 Faith: 3 Joyce: 1 Wes: 1 Xander; 2 Dawn; 4

Scoobies knocked out: Buffy: 19 Giles: 12 Cordy: 6 Xander: 14 Will: 8 Jenny: 2 Angel: 6 Oz: 3 Faith: 1 Joyce: 3 Wes: 1 Anya;5 Dawn; 4 Tara; 1

Kills: 1 vamp and 1 demon for Buffy Buffy: 109 vamps, 60 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.

Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human.

Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1 a demon, Anya: 1 vamp and 1 a demon Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons Spike; 8 vamps and 6 demons Buffybot; 2 vamps Tara; 1 demon Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon Scoobies go evil: Giles: 1 Cordy: 1 Will: 3 Jenny: 1 Angel: 1 Oz: 1 Joyce: 1 Xander: 4 Anya; 1 Dawn; 1 Buffy; 1

Alternate scoobies: Buffy: 8 Giles: 4 Cordy: 1 Will: 5 Jenny: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 2 Joyce: 2 Xander: 4 Tara; 1 Dawn;1 Spike; 1 Anya; 2

Recurring characters killed: 12 Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara

Sunnydale deaths; poor Cassie but like Joyce through natural causes 99

Total number of scoobies: 4, welcome Willow back to the gang Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?) Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula? Scoobies shot: Giles: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 4 Riley; 1 Buffy; 1 Tara; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes? Cordy: 1? Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 1 possible, Dracula(?) Angel: 1;Buffy Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?) Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley Xander: 2; Faith, Anya Willow: 2;Oz and Tara Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya Anya; 2 Spike and Xander

Dawn in peril; 12

Dawn the bashful virgin; 9

What the fanficcers thought; Read a lovely one once where in order to honour Cassie's memory Dawn takes Mike to the winter dance in her place and they have a wonderful time.

Questions and observations; Amanda for the first time, by a long chalk my favourite potential, I think she's just wonderful. Surely Tara's gravestone should have an epitaph? Glenn Mornoshower who plays Cassie's dad is one of those actors you see EVERYWHERE in films and TV. Buffy borrows Dawn's clothes, surprised they're not too tall for her. Dawn's dialogue seems very Law & Order, a show MT guest-starred on. Buffy resents being referred to as Dawn's sister just as she didn't like being known as Willow's friend at university. Wouldn't it make more sense for Spike to tackle the demon who he can hurt rather than the boys whom he can't? Marks out of 10; 7/10 ( this mark becoming something of a habit in season 7)

One of the rare good season 7 episodes.

[m-47826 · 6/10 · 10 February 2023]

It was the first time in a long time, the show was back to good « monster of the week ». With good drama, humor and suspense. It was also one of the rare episodes that nailed to capture the early seasons charm, since season 7 was clearly going that route. It's after that things strayed... Help, has an interesting premise. First, it focuses on Buffy's new job as Sunnydale High's guidance counselor, after opening with repentant Willow, visiting Tara's grave for the first time. And introduced us with a new character, Cassie, who's having strange premonitions about her imminent death. The whole episode mostly revolves around that, and it's nice putting the pieces of the puzzle together, the same time the Scooby gang did. We even get to know more about that mysterious student, and her talent for writing poetry. Of course, it wouldn't be a BTVS episode, without a supernatural side of the story. And it delivered fine in that aspect too. Only to end in a predictable yet dramatic way. They also have « crazy » Spike helping out, but I just don't care about that storyline, that ruined most of the season for me. And Buffy coming to terms with not being able to save everyone, but they already addressed that earlier I think...

A completely out of left field episode

[bpvalentine · 1/10 · 11 September 2013]

I don't understand the level of negativity in some of these other reviews towards Buffy as a series in general. But I agree about two things.

1. Buffy season 7, at least up to this point, is terrible. Season 6 was shaky but ultimately redeemed. And I wasn't crazy about the execution of the military Frankenstein arc in season 4, particularly with the largely one note soldier boyfriend who miraculously made David Boreanaz come edgy and exotic in contrast (though I like both actors, just the characters seemed to have been designed to never threaten Buffy's spotlight which is understandable). Season 5's "big bad" was pretty great. that season competes with Faith heavy season 3 as the series' best....after that all the best stuff ended up on Angel.

2. Help is an utterly sickening episode. A total anomaly in the series, and almost a prototype for everything n high school that made me cringe back in the day. I mean, really. the guest star goes to Buffy with a problem she could hardly get any more melodramatic about building up, then says, oh, nothing, forget it. I can't tell you. Less a cry for help and more like a plea for attention. there's a difference. the episode seems to have been written by somebody who wore band aids for affect and confuses that with people who really struggled with things in their teen years beyond boredom and not being as popular as they'd like.

I'm all for episodes that stand on their own. But this doesn't. And it seemed to think it was speaking to "issues." At the end the gang sit around at home sharing a cry and Dawn implores to know the meaning of it all. the girl died of a heart malfunction. She knows Spike's and Buffy's thoughts intimately but can't tell her parents are hiding something from her? And oh yeah, the way Buffy barges in on the father accusing him of beating his daughter because he has a booze issue, to which the daughter is like thanks for trying (still not helping the Scoobies and they still jump through her hoops). What? I've never felt this series had its own head so far its own ass before. Baffling.

I'd like to rent the DVDs if there are any commentaries here. I feel like I want an explanation for the level of badness achieved here. ha-ha.

I really dig the show in general. And I was mourning being so close to the end. But now suddenly I'm thinking Whedon did himself and everybody a favor by ending this thing when he did.

Help (Unfortunately...this episode/series is beyond help)

[skay_baltimore · 1/10 · 7 August 2010]

Chalk up another one in the "L" column. "Help" can't even help itself.

How do you spell B O R I N G? BtVS, Season 7.

Buffy = Dr. Phil + Jessica Fletcher = DRIVE SHARP METAL SPIKES THROUGH MY HEAD INSTEAD

(And clearly the concept of confidentiality is completely foreign to Buffyverse).

The biggest difficulty in watching BtVS now? Trying to decide which character is the most insecure.

We have Willow, whose levels of insecurity span multiple issues. (i.e. I didn't finish the Giles rehab course, so will I revert back to Dark Willow? Will my old friends ever really forgive me for having killed Warren in cold blood? Will I be strong enough to help fight that thing that's beneath us that will devour us? I'm afraid of who I was. I'm afraid of who I am. I'm afraid of who I might become. Yeah...that pretty much covers it.)

Then there's Buffy. (i.e. Can I help these high school kids because I'm not qualified/I dropped out of college? Why do my relationships never work out? Does wanting to control everything and not being able to control anything make me a bad person? Will I be able to protect Dawn until she's 108 years old? Do I have a secret death wish? Am I actually sluttier than Faith? Do people really think my nose looks funny?)

Then there's Xander. (i.e. Do I even exist? I have no super powers like the rest of my friends, other than looking a lot like the Michelin Man; how will I ever fit in -- to the bath tub? How come I have to wear clothes that look like they came from Wal-Mart? Was Willow impressed with my nail/hammer analogy? Did I turn Willow gay? Why am I oddly aroused thinking about Cassie's yeast infection? Is Anya The Vengeance Demon going to be the only woman I'll ever sleep with?)

Then there's Anya. (i.e. Did I make the right decision returning to my vengeance demon form? Will I meet my vengeance demon quota this month? Why do I still have these feelings for Xander even though he left me at the altar? Would it be OK to turn Xander into a wooden statue then mount him like a Sybian?)

Then there's Dawn. (i.e. Will my breasts develop better than this series? Will I follow in my sister's footsteps and turn into an uber slutty slayer? Are the monks really my daddies?)

Then there's Giles. (i.e. How come the Watcher Committee doesn't like me? How come I'm stuck in bloody England while all my teenage pals are in Sunnydale? Am I the British Michael Jackson? Will I ever get another acting job after this series is over?)

Then there's Spike. (i.e. WHY THE BLOODY HELL DID I EVER THINK THAT GETTING A SOUL WOULD BE SUCH A GRAND IDEA? What can I do to get Buffy to love me? What would it take to get Buffy and Dru together for a night out on the town, capped off by a kinky little menage a trois? Chip goes off...OUCH...Slaps side of head...BLOODY HELL for even THINKING about that menage a trois!!!)

And if it's possible, the only thing more annoying than the insecurity of the characters is the immaturity of the characters. Even the decision to switch the focus away from college life (i.e. which would mean that the characters actually grew up) back to high school infantalizes the entire series. Were the writers/directors/producers THAT hellbent on targeting the chronically pubescent demographic group?

Who knows? And frankly, at this point...who cares?

The actually story line of "Help"? Totally Irrelevant.