[1] Picking up where the feature film left off, Buffy Summers and her mom move to Sunnydale, California, for a fresh start, unaware of the evil lurking in this quiet suburb.
While also meeting her new "Watcher," Giles, the mercurial school librarian, her newly assembled team encounters the ever-abundant unearthly creatures in Sunnydale.
Luke (Brian Thompson) attempts to bite Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who is trapped in a stone coffin, but is repelled by the silver cross that a mysterious stranger (David Boreanaz) had given her earlier that evening.
Buffy escapes the mausoleum and rescues Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) from the vampires in the cemetery.
In the library, Giles (Anthony Head) and Buffy give Xander and Willow a brief introduction to the world of vampires, demons, and Slayers.
In turn, Willow suggests Cordelia press the DEL key to "deliver" her assignment, which erases all her hard work.
Giles explains that the Master arrived 60 years ago to open the Hellmouth, a portal to another reality, but was swallowed by an earthquake.
After shattering a window, Buffy tricks Luke into believing a streetlight is the sunlight, then stakes him in the back when he realizes it is still night.
The next morning, Cordelia exemplifies the denial most Sunnydale residents undergo after paranormal encounters as she tells a fellow student about the previous night.
Whedon hoped to include actor Eric Balfour in the title credits to shock viewers when his character dies.
[4] Joss Whedon noted in the commentary for this episode that he felt horrible for giving Eric Balfour so many lines with "s" in them, which he had to recite while in "Vamp-face".
[7] A review from the BBC stated that the episode was allowed "more time to breathe" than "Welcome to the Hellmouth", and praised the fight choreography and the developing characters.
[8] Rolling Stone ranked "The Harvest" at #116 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list, writing that the show "took a little time to find its feet," but calling it a "fine episode with some great moments – Darla and her fellow Vamps walking toward The Bronze as that very particular style of 90s grunge kicks in standing out as a particular highlight."