intelligent side to her seemingly vapid personality. Although the season contains several standalone episodes, there is season-long story arc which focuses on The Master, an ancient vampire who recognizes Angel as having been a great evil prior to being cursed with a soul. The Master commands a cult of vampires known as the Order of Aurelius and is trapped in another dimension by mystical forces. The Master plans to kill the Slayer to regain his former power and open the Hellmouth. Buffy learns of a prophecy involving her death at the hands of The Master. Just as The Master begins his plot, Buffy finally confronts him. The Master bites Buffy and leaves her to drown. Buffy recovers and confronts The Master again. After a final standoff, The Master is impaled and killed on a piece of wood after falling through a skylight, leading Buffy to accept her responsibilities as the Slayer with help from her friends. Cast and characters Main cast Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles Recurring cast Guest cast Elizabeth Anne Allen as Amy Madison Dean Butler as Hank Summers Production Series creator Joss Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner, and wrote three episodes: the two-part premiere and the finale, the latter of which he also directed. Whedon also received a "Story by" credit for the episodes "Nightmares" and "Out of Mind, Out of Sight". David Greenwalt joined the series as co-executive producer because 20th Century Fox wanted an experienced television producer as Whedon had never run a television series before. Greenwalt wrote three episodes, one of which was based on a story by Whedon. Two pairs of story editors, Rob Des Hotel & Dean Batali and Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer, wrote three episodes between them. Staff writers Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden wrote two episodes, one of which was based on a story by Whedon. Dana Reston wrote a single episode as a freelance script. The only director to direct more than one episode was Bruce Seth Green, who directed three episodes. Whedon says that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress was really the first incarnation of the Buffy concept, just the idea of some woman who seems to be completely insignificant who turns out to be extraordinary." This early, unproduced idea evolved into Buffy,