I’ve watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer a few times over, at
this point; and it’s become one of my favorite shows to watch when I’m feeling
spooky. I love Buffy’s ferocity and strength, Willow’s quirky cheerfulness,
Xander’s humble vulnerability, and Giles just being Giles. This show was
brilliantly written. All vampire slaughtering and cringy puns aside, I’d like
to take a deeper look at Buffy’s journey and its meaning.
As we all know, Buffy is an ass-whooping, sassy teenage girl
who lives in a universe filled with vampires, demons, and other dark beings.
She’s a semi-magical being called the Slayer, a calling passed onto her after
the previous Slayer died. She stands alone as the conquering heroine against
all evil. But I think she was really an ordinary girl who was dealing with a
lot and needed something to help her cope.
Buffy is the star of this show, obviously; so, everything
that occurs is from her perspective. The story begins with her and her mother
living in a new town, and Buffy’s mentally preparing herself to start her first
day at a new school. She’s still dealing with the fact that she no longer has
both parents in one household; and, as an only child, she has to go through
this transition alone. Naturally, this leaves her with feelings of resentment,
frustration, and insecurity; though, she tries her best to keep those feelings
to herself. This is why she needs vampires to slay: they’re the symbol of the
anger she’s not able to show or take out on anyone else.
These feelings also bring out a rebellion in her that wasn’t
present before the divorce, which is why she’s always sneaking out of the house
at night, skipping classes, and dating older men. Like any teenager, she acts
out in the only passive aggressive ways she knows how.
The impending doom of the Master’s re-emergence into her
world is Buffy’s depression coming to a head, and Giles’ prophecy about her death
is actually the beginning of her suicidal thoughts. The Master is her symbol
for all that is making her upset and her want for escape from those things,
which is why she fears him so much and why he seems so powerful to her. Her
first death is a suicide attempt after facing all those fears and raw emotions
with as much courage as she had. Another Slayer being activated through these
events (Faith) is symbolic of Buffy losing her personal power and strength—her self-doubt
creeping in.
Around this time, Buffy and Angel do the deed, which results
in his turning evil (losing his soul due to a moment of true happiness). This situation
could be perspective-based or true to her reality: after getting the sex he
craved, her older boyfriend turns into a bit of a dickhead, which crumbles the
fragile trust that she had built up for him. But, like any young girl in love,
she wants to prove that what they had wasn’t just a huge façade. In the end, of
course, it ends in a brutal breakup that crushes her spirit.
A deeper look into Buffy will continue next week. Stay
spooky!
