"Inca Mummy Girl"

Couple notable things about this episode:

• First sighting of Oz and Jonathon, as far as I can tell--which is sort of cosmic balance. The embodiment of cool and the social outcast intro'd at the same time. And Oz is attracted to Willow from first glance, which is nice.
• Buffy sees an analogy between herself and the mummy girl, both chosen, both sacrificing themselves. The only mention of Buffy and death is at the very end, when she tells Xander she wouldn't be alive without him and smiles...not the "thank you" she'd purred that he wished for when she danced at him, but a far more genuine acknowledgment. Contrasting that with the pat little speech she gives at the Magic Box to thank them for bringing her back in season 6...this, unspoken, is much more sincere.
• In an episode about sacrifice, it's Xander who offers himself as the sacrifice, pulling Willow out of danger and saying he wants to be in the line of fire--or kissing, as the case may be. (Judas imagery, but not...) This is almost practicing for the yellow crayon speech at the very end of season 6--same dynamic in the logic, and interestingly, same goal: saving Willow.
• The goofy Xander/champion Xander split is becoming more pronounced, I think. Even the way he's dressed in a scene forshadows which one we see--that's my theory. I'm going to keep watching to see if it holds true. Thus far, I still think the writers understand him better than any other character and so we're getting a more nuanced personality from him, but the others are coming along.

No Spike, Angel, or Jenny in this one, and Cordelia is just comic relief. But what I'm noticing (first impression--gotta see if this holds true) is that the episodes in season 1 & 2 that I originally thought were throw-aways or weaker (Teacher Pet, the Pack, etc)--usually not part of the meta-plot--are in fact character building/defining episodes and figure importantly into the overarching mythos of the series. Hm....gotta think.

Prophecy Girl: Entre Act

Quick note about something I forgot to mention earlier: In the very last episode, as Buffy is sending Xander away to keep Dawn safe (which doesn't work), Xander says something like, "I always thought I'd be there for you (with you?) at the very end." There's an implication, if I remember correctly, that he expected to have her back, to be able to pick up the flag, in a sense.

In "Prophecy Girl," this attitude surfaces but is not made explicit by Xander's insistence that he is following her to the Master, and his forcing Angel to go also (would Angel have gone anyway? Probably--if he had known. He doesn't know until Xander shows up at his door, and Angel insists that neither Buffy nor Xander know how overmatched they are).

NOt sure what I'm going to make of that, or if that's going to fit in definition of manhood, or Xander's infatutation with Buffy, but I wanted to mention it. Buffy is only alive because Xander followed; does he think he can be her savior again, or is it just needing to know she wouldn't die alone? Gotta see as this all transpires.

"School Hard"

Spike's here--and there's going to be a little less ritual and a lot more partying.

The "Buffyverse," a storyline with a rich history to draw from and a berth of characters and incarnations, is finally becoming evident. The characters are starting to jell, and (I think) the major themes explored throughout the rest of the series have been introduced, at least briefly. There are still more characters to come--even important characters--but the structure of the Buffyverse is fairly well established even though people, relationships, and storylines still mature.

With that said, here's my quick list of important stuff

• If your name involves time, for instance, Calendar, it's a hint that you can count the number of days (or episodes) you'll last.
  
• This episode has one of the first overt mentions of religion, I think, when Willow tells Cordelia to pray as they are hiding in the closet from the vamp attack. Even though religious imagery abounds, like when Xander used the cross to make Angel listen and cooperate last season, religious references are worthing noting when they happen. In this case, when nothing else seems possible, prayer is last resort--and then, Cordy's prayer is humorous and ironic.
• Spike claims to feel more "manly" when he uses weapons, but what this means is subject to interpretation. She knows he's not a man, he knows she knows--it could be meant ironically humorous, or to underline that as a non-man, he doesn't need a weapon (his speech to her in "Fool for Love" about how a vamp always has his weapon, but she has to reach for hers is an interesting contrast.). Note that he's lying/manipulating the truth in that scene--the last slayer didn't beg for her life (we see flashback in a later season), Angel is his grandsire (although in another show he clarifies: Dru made me a vampire, you made me a monster, he tells Angel)
• Joyce stops Spike. After hitting him on the head with the axe, she says something about not hurting her daughter. Irony/foreshadowing: we know Spike has a weakness for mothers and had a loving relationship with his. And Joyce and Spike end up getting along well, even though she knows he's a vamp. (Contrast that with Angel, who she didn't especially like even when she didn't know he was a vamp; knowing it didn't improve the situation any either)
• "A slayer with friends and family...never heard of that before," or something close. Spike makes that point two times, underlining how unusual that is. It keeps her alive, he says later--and it throws his plans for a loop; Xander gets Angel as reinforcments to help, and Joyce bops Spike and stops the crisis du jour.
  
• Foreshadowing: When Spike sets up the vamp attack at the Bronze, it's so he can see Buffy's fighting style. Buffy doesn't have a stake--a spike--on her person (and how often does that happen in 7 years?? Once, I think) so Xander dashes to her purse, grabs her stake, and throws it to her. Buffy then dusts the vamp, and Spike appludes the show. Notice that Spike gets to see how emeshed Buffy is with her friends--and symbolically, Xander has handed her (or thrown her) to another man, the one who ultimately is a bigger threat to his relationship with Buffy than Angel is.
• Spike's image is all emotion, red hot. Where Angel is dressed in black, or black and white, blood red is spike's color--in this season, I think he's always got some red on somewhere. His speech in season 5 about blood--of course it's blood, that's the color of life...etc--underlines how important blood is to him, and of course to all vampires. The color of life, of passion--that's Spike's trademark color, at least for now.
• Despite how strongly Spike is identified with emotion, impatience, and the Id, notice the strategizing and planning. He wants to see Buffy fight before fighting her, he approaches the Annointed to gain an "in" there before incinerating the Anointed. His talk with Angel isn't about bonding, but digging for info--but Spike is as much about deliberation and power as about emotion.
• Spike is as tied into pop culture as the Scoobies. He calls Angel his "yoda," and he makes another few references just in the time between Angel and the fight with Buffy. He lives in the human world in many ways.
• Spike is gentle and caring towards Drusilla, his ill (mentally, primarily) partner. He's more overtly gentle than Angel is--at least towards their respectivie romantic interests--and that's even though Spike doesn't have a soul. Soul doesn't control empathy, at least totally.
  

That's the short version for now...

"Some Assembly Required"

Ok, yeah, it's the Frankenstein show--are rather, the first incarnation of Frankenstein. Season 4 we revisit that perky plot in a lot more detail.

The point though, is only marginally the moral or ethical concerns about what the sci-boys do. Consider why they do the things they do: misplaced grief, extreme loyalty, love, community. The older brother, the "monster," is lonely. Very lonely. He needs community, love. Without them, he had no reason to live--if he could be said to be alive (and notice, he's fairly articulate, so his mental capacity is pretty much intact). As Willow says (and Buffy later repeats), "love makes you do the wacky." Bringing his brother back to life, trying to make a girlfriend--yep, wacky, all right.

Without love fueled by grief, the monster wouldn't "live." Because he's "alive," he needs other people.

We see the Frankenstein story in season four, but the emotions behind it--that fuels season 6. Grief, need for love, need for community--those themes transcend this episode, and this is one of the earlier expressions of that. When Willow turns evil, those emotions, twisted almost beyond recognition, are the fuel.

When She was Bad, Entre-act

The Dance Scene, yea, that one. It's as close as Buffy ever comes to a orgy, with her managing to hurt Angel, Xander and Willow all reeling in various ways from Buffy's ultra-seductive dance with (to? for? around?) Xander. The dance hurts Willow, who is raptly watching Xander "dance" with his dream girl. It hurts Angel, who admits in an other episode that even though he knows it's stupid to be jealous of a 17 year old kid, he is--Buffy's never danced like that for him. And, arguably most importantly, it hurts Xander. He starts out holding her, dancing some, but watch. As she gets closer and her movements become more languid, Xander stops moving completely, face blank, then slightly pained--then, subtly clenching and unclenching his jaw. He knows he's being used, he knows that she's intending to hurt when she asks, whispering and sultry, "Did I ever thank you for saving my life?...Don't you wish I would?" then walking away, leaving him on the dance floor, wounded.

Notice that it's after that when Xander tells Buffy he will kill her if Willow is hurt, and the process of Xander getting a more realistic view of his dream girl. Also notice that Cordelia talks to Buffy about trying to be the Queen of Mean after the dance with Xander--it seems that Cordy is more aware of Xander than she admits.

So what's the point? Not just that Buffy is mean, although Capt. Obvious is nodding now. Also, when she's hurt, she pulls away and splits the group, who are usually her greatest strength.

Season 2.1: When She Was Bad

Season one is over...but it's not. This episode demonstrates part of why BtVS was able to have characters that grow deeper and engage audiences in their journey. It has history, and the history matters. Buffy fought the Master, and died, and then they went to the dance at the Bronze. End of story, end of season.

And that's how season two begins, with business as usual--well, over the summer, Buffy's been in LA with dad, not slaying, not in touch with Willow or Xander. Willow and Xander have apparently been spending a great deal of time together, Willow's infatuation remains--and they nearly kiss when a vampire interrupts and Buffy materializes from the shadows. Life on the Hellmouth is back in full swing.

I could argue that for all her angst, Buffy is a fairly simple creature. She's not hardwired for deep thought and philosophy; she takes action, usually the most direct course and as time goes on, relishing the release of fighting. Dealing with emotion isn't easy for her, and that shows in a variety of ways. Tree pretty, fire bad--the world is more simple for Buffy than for many people, and the issues where it's not simple, she seems to lack the tools to express and deal with the issues. That's often when she isolates herself, as she shows repeatedly. As important as a soul is to Buffy--that nebulous spark that differentiates man from monster--even soul seems to run on a binary code: yes, no; black, white; right, wrong.

SO....Buffy was killed by the Master, and she doesn't deal with it well. Instead of starting season two with a new Big Bad right off, with shiny happy plots and people, the emotional baggage of season one has to be dealt with. Buffy can't articulate her issues, so she turns mean, insulting and hurting not only Cordelia (who may deserve it) but Willow, Xander, Angel and Giles. She's hurting, so she's lashing out. Cordy, who lives up to her name, tells Buffy the hard truth: you're going to lose your friends if you don't deal with whatever is causing the Joan Collins-tude, so "spank your inner moppet and get over it."

Before she does "deal with it" by smashing the Master's dones, Buffy tortures Xander with the sexiest moment seen till season 6, then walks away; she tortures a vamp girl by burning her with a cross; and she puts them all in danger by refusing to listen--leading Xander to tell her "If they hurt Willow, I will kill you"--and at that moment, the audience believes he could do it. Early in the episode, he's said he's over his infatuation with Buffy, but it's clear he wasn't; when he threatens Buffy, he has no vestige of affection for her. When she starts sobbing after pulverizing the bones, though, as Angel holds her, the expression on both Giles' and Xander's faces are heartrending.

But the writers are so clever. They do begin the season's meta-plot when Buffy and Angel have a emotionally vicious conversation. Buffy asks: "You think you can take me?" She needles him, saying she knows he's thought about it--implying that she has thought about it? Yes. Angel answers that he won't fight her, and Buffy still eggs him on, "Come on, kick my ass." Yep, that's season 2 in a nutshell. That's the question it will take 22 episodes to answer--who's stronger, Buffy or Angel?

At the end, Buffy is older and wiser. She realizes she was a moron, and can't figure out how to apologize. She fears that Cordelia is right and she's pushed away her best friends. But at the end, they save a seat for her and welcome her nervously, but genuinely. She's back, and it will be ok.

But in those shots, we see Xander intimately talking, and Willow laughing--seems fine, business as usual--but we only see Buffy's back. Is she still holding back? Has she found the redemption she needs? Not sure...stay tuned.

Episode 12: Prophecy Girl

The season started with the delicate blond who was really a nasty vamp; the audience gets warned that their preconceptions about how stories work will be twisted and challenged. The season ends with the characters being challenged: what they believe is true--the prophecies, the texts--those are all going to be twisted and challenged. The show has evolved so that not only the worldview of the audience is questioned. The characters themselves have become real enough that their worldview is suspect, too. And although Giles is the most overt example--finding that Buffy can thwart what he believes is an iron clad foretelling--most of the other characters all grapple with changes that lead their characters to begin evolving, also.

Giles' greatest fear is Buffy dying; that's established in "Nightmares." In this episode, he has to face that. At first,he doesn't tell Buffy what he knows, then he decides he is going to fight the Master to save Buffy--which would be certain self-sacrifice. Until this episode, though, most of the time, he's been the uptight, prissy English headmaster. Finally, Giles becomes a man of action, rescuing Jenny and Willow as best he can and shouting out orders to secure the library. I hadn't realized how close to Wesley he was in style and manner throughout the first season. Watching season two again will be interesting to see how much of the head master vibe exists next year.

I'm still surprised by how undefined Willow is, although she does become more Velveteen Rabbit in this episode. Interestingly, her speech about not going to Spring Fling with Xander ("Do you think I wanna go to the dance with you and watch you wish you were at the dance with her") foreshadows Oz's speech (season 2? 3? we'll see) when he refuses to kiss her because he has this fantasy that when he kisses her, she's kissing him back--not just trying to make Xander jealous. Willow's reaction after finding her classmates in the lounge after the vampire massacre also is a baby step towards defining her character. At the beginning, she was almost simpering, constantly apologetic, just the nerd girl with answers and the best friend who does exposition. While Willow's character still hasn't jelled, it's beginning--and I wonder if the fact there were so few female writers this season impacted how Willow's character was written? The male writers may have had fun writing for the fantasy girls--Buffy and Cordelia--and they've done well with Xander (although romantizing him hugely--looking at their own existence with rosy lens, anyone?) But at this point, Willow is the nerd girl who might have been their friend, but they didn't know her--they were too busy imagining the Buffys. That's the theory I've got, subject to updates!

Buffy tries to quit slaying; she gets angry and scared and yells at Giles and Angel in an impressive scene. But...things happen and she accepts the idea that she is going to die. Her goal is to take the Master out with her. The first episode, she's not going to slay, then she will, but reluctantly. The season ends with her choosing to wade in...literally, since she drowns (and who would expect that the vampire kills her by drowning? Another expectation toyed with). Maybe her character shifts are subtle, but the fact that she's determined to save those she loves despite personal cost is not clearly articulated until this episode.

Xander was the surprise this season. I hadn't randomly rewatched season one like I have later seasons (not rewatched much 2 or 3, either), so I had forgotten--or hadn't realized--how fully realized his character was almost from the beginning. He's goofy and class clown in public venues, but with his BFF's or just one other person, there's maturity and insight and sincerity. And for me, working with kids, that dynamic rings true. Get a couple kids together and their collective IQ's and maturity levels dive bomb. One on one, though, that's a different story. I can believe both the crazy dancing Xander at the Bronze and the Xander who stands up to Angel and challenges him to prove that Buffy's right: "At the end of the day, I pretty much think you're a vampire. But Buffy's got this yen for you. She thinks you're a real person--and right now, I need you to prove her right--" all after forcing Angel down with a cross. Xander's loyalty and bravery as well as his vision are his hallmarks throughout the series (which is why it's so devastating in season 7 when he agrees to kick Buffy out of her house).

At this point, Xander is Buffy's lieutenant; at the beginning, he follows her down to look for the Big Bad even though he's told not to; after that, Xander has her back more often than Angel does, thus far. In fact, Angel and Xander flank Buffy as she's heading to the OK Correl for the final showdown with the Master. Xander saves Buffy when Angel can't--both because he bullies Angel into leading him to the Master's lair, then when he performs CPR, which Angel can't do. Xander doesn't get to kiss Buffy as his prom date, but symbolically he gets much more. But as the series continues, Xander's character gets lost in the shuffle or something; for several season, he is comic relief or plot device; based on season one, the actor has more chops than he will display during the middle seasons, when comic lines about his relationship with Anya or his distrust/jealousy of Spike/Angel are his most routine contribution to the plot. (Note for the future: Xander says "I want to dance with you" when he's asking her to prom; sometime--next season--in a memorable scene, she does dance with him, a dance that usually requires a pole, just to make Angel jealous. Unlike Willow and Oz, Xander settles for what he can get where Buffy's concerned.)

Overall--why is Buffy dressed in a white, gauzy prom dress as she faces the Master? Especially topped with the incongruous black jacket? Is it as obvious as the symbolism would seem--it's a black and white situation, she's going to face her death in a angelic style dress? She's the archetypal innocent scapegoat, being offered to quell evil? Even the dress symbolizes sacrifice; she tells her mom they can't afford it, yet Joyce got it anyway. The rule of 3's is in play as Buffy gets complimented on the dress, too, earning Angel a wry response when he complements her bedraggled, muddy appearance after the Master is dust.

I have more in my notes, but....I've rambled enough and would really like a shower. Later tonight, I'm starting Season two--and that means more Angel, plus Spike--I'm excited!

Episode 11: Out of Sight, Out of Mind

The invisible girl show, the one Joss says reflects his high school experience--he claims he sat in class once and watched his hand disappear. The premise is simple: everyone ignores girl, girl becomes invisible, then psychotic and tries to uglify Cordy.

The parallel is Buffy. In her old school, she was Cordelia. All the fuss about May Queen should have been hers, in theory--and it was clear that she would have been welcomed by that clique has she not chosen Willow, Xander and the Slayer package. Buffy is feeling invisible at the same time Cordy is the Queen Bee.

To top it off, Buffy is unusually aware that she is still new, still outside of the Xander/Willow friendship. Some random comment sends them into gales of giggles, and they can't explain the Buffy what was so funny about a 5th grade field trip, then Xander invites Willow for dinner; Willow's response makes it clear that she's has a history with Xander's family. Both seemingly throw-away lines, transitions from one important point to another--and both underlining that in significant ways, Buffy is alone.

Strikingly, even the climax of the story has Willow and Xander with Giles while Buffy is battling alone to save herself and Cordelia. They are together at the end, all's well in Sunnydale, but the specter of isolation floats in the background. In later seasons, when Buffy doesn't tell them things that they probably should know, when she pulls away, is she in a sense continuing the pattern that is set in this episode?

The interesting twist is the invisible girl being recruited by the government and training in an assassin school full of invisible kids. Again, Joss left an aha that could be picked up again later (Teacher's Pet, the larvae in the closet? Same thing. I think there was one other, too, but I can't recall what) He doesn't ever develop those further, but he was apparently keeping his options open. And the odd government tie-in? How did they know about the girl and related issues? That at least sets a precedence for season 4, when the military's experiment is the Big Bad. We now have a history of government interest in the Hellmouth.

Episode 10: Nightmares

Interesting episode, and an idea the writers repeat with variations (The episode "Restless," when all the characters are really asleep and dreaming, and the Halloween episode in season 4, when their fears come to life in the frat house, for instance.) This is the first overtly Jungian episode, even though a devoted Jungian would be having fun from the very beginning!

First, the episode looks as if it's part of the meta-plot, with the Master lecturing the Anointed about fear. That's setting the stage--and implies that the Master set the situation up, maybe? I can't imagine that he has that power, but...it's at least a handy coincidence. Fear is more powerful than any other emotion, the Master teaches. What a person fears tells you about what that person is.

First, the episode isn't dealing with the unconscious. It's clear that the characters know their fears, and they are awake (except Buffy in the opening scene when she dreams about being killed by the Master) The first few fears that come to life are somewhat universal: spiders, for instance. A bit of detective work, however, and Buffy et al discover that spiders have a very specific meaning to the boy who the spiders swarmed.

From there, the fears attack, and no one is exempt. In the deft blending of humor and drama that Whedon excels at, the audience sees Cordy's worst fear: bad hair, bad clothes, and being dragged to be part of the Chess Club. No surprise to the audience there. Cordy is the status queen, and Chess Club...right.

Likewise, Willow's fear of appearing in public transforms her into an opera singer dressed in geisha garb and full makeup--visually humorous, which is how she is dressed through most of the epiosode. (Ironically, Hannigan begged to not have to sing in the Buffy musical in season 6, and in fact has only a couple sung lines, never solo. The fear of singing in public isn't just Willow's!) Willow doesn't want to be noticed, doesn't want to be stared at or talked about. Importantly, she doesn't want to fail, especially publicly--she knows her strengths and doesn't go far outside her zone of competency. Even in "Restless,"a few seasons later, a public performance figures in her nightmare--as Dark Willow, she seeks the spotlight, holding hostages in the Bronze; in "real life" answering in class is the extent of her ability to command attention. In Willow's mind, then, is it evil or bad to be the center of attention? It's an obvious manifestation of her low-self-steem, at least in any non-academic arena.

Xander walks in a classroom unclothed, except for plain colored boxers (which is interesting; considering the shirts he routinely wears, who would have thought he'd wear boring boxers??) It's an Everyman fear, which may just simply be indicative of Xander's essential typicalness as the Everyman of the series. As an attractive, well built male, appearing in boxers wouldn't seem to be that fear-inducing to the character personally, who is willing to play the fool and call attention to himself as shown by his "crazy dancing" at the Bronze. Also, considering that he joins the swim team and wanders around in a little, tight Speedo in anther episode, Xander must not be incredibly physically self-conscious. However, as the series progresses, we find that underlying Xander's happy-go-lucky, goofy extrovert exterior he is embarrassed by his home life and fears turning into his father; later, when Cordelia wants to hurt and embarrass him, she mentions things he's apparently told her about his family. He makes joking references to them, but then he controls the info and frames the emtions; Cordy's public snarkiness exposes him. So perhaps symbolically, the exposure Xander fears isn't physical, but emotional.

Buffy has several fears revealed, with her first being a typical one for children of a divorce. Buffy had already alluded to this fear to Willow, in fact. In this scene, her dad tells her that she caused her parents break up. Typical fear, and neatly resolved at the end of the show when her dad comes to pick her up for a weekend. (However, he does disappear before too long, and Giles becomes a more overt father figure--the scene where Giles and Hank meet is in a sense the changing of the guard)

Another of Buffy's fears is strikingly mirrored in season 6. Being alive while buried and having to fight her way out comes true, although the turning into a vampire part doesn't. Interestingly, when she vamps out, Giles is caught off guard and asks why she never told him she feared being turned. No answer to that, either. But significantly, her fears and Giles intertwine. He sees her tombstone and ruminates about how it means he didn't teach her well enough, guide her well enough, and she paid for it. Their fears foreshadow the emeshed nature of their relationship and his role as her father-figure, and even lead directly to Giles' solo in the musical and his decision to go back to England.

So have I said anything insightful? No, not really. If I were to take the time to research fear and symbolism in more detail, I suspect there's a layer (or two) I haven't seen yet--and I know that as the series progresses, the multi-layer plot development intensifies. Maybe it's time for some Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung as bedtime reading!

Episode 9: The Puppet Show

Not much to say here, really. It's a very plot-driven episode, quirky and odd. The one thing I notice is that the puppet is the first character to explicitly say that Buffy has a very shortened life expectancy. It must not have sunk into the Scoobies; Willow comments on Angel staying young as Buffy gets old and wrinkled.

Is there a subtext that Buffy is now a puppet? That the Watcher's council and the demons/vamps/ hellmouth? Often, important points are made in what seem like random episodes, often in a more humorous or unexpected context than the gravity of the topic might engender. So it could be...

And it's worth noting, I suppose, that so many of themes from season one show up in season 7 resolved or clarified; Buffy's strings are pulled by her position until Willow changes the paradigm in the last episode--then the power lies with the Slayers themselves. Is that the way this episode ties in with the meta-plot? Not sure. Could be. Gotta think more.

(Until my bronchitis is much better, I will continue whipping through Buffy; using the remote requires I summon all my energy, so doing much more is just not worth the effort!)

Episode 8: I Robot, You Jane

Finally, a Willow-centric episode. Her computer-geekiness is highlighted, and she gets to play "infatuated girl" very cutely. The show's take on technology is interesting. Willow is the uber-techie, and her skills are often the deus ex machina of the plot. She's essential in that capacity. However, she and Jenny Calendar are just about the only people who touch computers in the show. I can't remember very many times that Xander or Buffy do, and Giles is blatantly anti-tech, although he's willing to have Willow use them.

For all Willow's savvy, though, it's Xander who understands that anyone can be anything on the internet. While Buffy is worrying that Willow's online boyfriend might "have a hairy back," Xander points out that Malcolm could be creepy and dangerous. Makes me wonder what Xander spent his evenings doing...

Even though he's definitely not interested in Willow romantically, Xander's speed at discounting Malcolm leads Buffy to conclude he's jealous, or at least missing his status as "belle of the ball." That's an interesting phrase; as the male of the triad, he's less masculine than the jocks and typical boys; he apparently has no male friends at this point--except possibly Giles. As we find out later, Xander's home life sucks and he's terrified of turning into his father, an overbearing boor, possibly abusive, possibly alcoholic. Just as Giles becomes Buffy's father figure, he may be Xander's model of manhood--and at this point, Giles is slight effete, bookish, and, well....old-maidish. That evolves, too. Calling Xander the "belle of the ball" because he's the male of the trio underlines his less-than-studly position in the group.

Giles gets a few moments to shine, finally having an adult to verbally spar with. Jenny Calendar is apparently his intellectual equal, but with a different enough viewpoint that sparks fly. He's incredulous about neo-paganism, she believes he's stuck in the Middle Ages.

And Willow, well, I'd like to say that she's at risk to turn into the female stereotype that Whedon wanted to overthrow by having Buffy fight back--Willow's needed rescuing a couple times now. However, this time she grabs the fire extinguisher and whales on Malcolm/Moloch as she banters--"I think we need to break up, but I hope we can still be friends..."

Thus far, her low self-esteem and puppy dog gratefullness at being chosen as Buffy's BBF have been defining characteristics (Hyena-Xander even commented on this: "You're doing what you're told," not thinking for yourself, he tells her). I suspect the writers struggled more with finding Willow's voice; she's the girl they had as a friend as they looked longingly at the Buffy-type girls in the school. I need to check, but I think the writers for the first season are almost entirely male. They understand Xander--maybe, like Whedon, some of them were Xander; Buffy is their linchpin, and they know what she wants and how she thinks. Joyce is still a fairly typical, clueless mom, and Giles has barely grown past the stereotype of stuffy British teacher--the evolution of Willow is perhaps one of the most compelling parts of the series. They don't know her yet...but they will!

Episode 7: Angel

Surprise: I liked The Pack better then this one, but this episode is fundamentally a building episode. Yes, Angel and Buffy finally kiss. Yes, we get a much fuller explanation of history--but...it's all plot. There's not that much going on below the obvious level.

The head writer on this one is David Greenwalt, who wrote "Teacher's Pet" and "Reptile Boy" (next season)--he seems to be more plot-oriented, maybe even monster-movie oriented, when I look at the list of episodes he authored. Willow is even more stereotypical "best girl friend" in this one, and Xander's jealous streak isn't subtle. After seeing this episode, it's difficult to imagine how nuanced the relationships and characters become in the series. The writers and actors are still in the character-building phase; that's my excuse!

Buffy finds out Angel is a vampire, but I'm not sure why she didn't realize earlier. She touches his skin and wore his coat--the total lack of body heat went unnoticed every time? Spike more than once mentions that Buffy is drawn to cold bodies (he's more specific than that, but it's still network TV). Does she no yet realize that vampires have no body heat? Curious, and not really salient. Even after she realized he's a vampire, even before she knows he's got a soul, she's drawn to him. Is Xander right that she's drawn to danger? Seems that way right now.

It may be important symbolically that Angel is the one to kill Darla, his sire--he's firmly aligned with the good guys and has definitely renounced his evil ways. (Of course, no one's ever totally dead in the Buffyverse. Darla shows up in flashbacks and on Angel's tv show!) Just to make sure the audience knows that Angel's willing to suffer to do what's right, at the end, Buffy's cross necklace (A gift from Angel in episode 1) burns into his chest as they kiss, tattooing his righteousness for all to see.

The only other thing worth mentioning: Angel defines soul primarily as conscience, knowing what he did and understanding the consequences and suffering it wrought. That expands but still fits with Giles introduction to it earlier.

And yes, I'm doing very little except watching Buffy and writing these this weekend. Bronchitis is not getting much better yet,....

Episode Six: The Pack

Wow, was this one a surprise. I'd only seen it once before, and I didn't like it then. It's Xander-centric, but he's mean and rude and I thought it interrupted the flow of the season. I was considering skimming the scenes, whipping out a paragraph, then going to the next episode, "Angel," which is where I'd been waiting to get--it's where the love story picks up, and Angel's so... Anyway, I turned on The Pack and--taken in the context of the series, it's the most interesting episode yet.

First, what's BtVS really about? Girl Power? Sure. The existence of evil, and the fact that good people have to fight the good fight? Ok. That everybody needs people, who need people, are the luckiest...you know? Of course. That High school and life in general can be hellish, with metaphorical monsters stalking you? Umm...yeah. That redemption is difficult, but essential? Definitely. AND, that everyone has a dark side, that we are yin/yang, and need to seek balance, not letting the darkness take us? YES--and that's introduced in this episode.

This is the first episode with a dark tinge, foreshadowing the tone that is more prevalent in later seasons. While on a school field trip, Xander has been possessed by the spirit of a hyena and is now running with the pack of Sunnydale bullies--he quickly becomes the Alpha, of course. Whedon's trademark quick wit and fast lines abound, but not in every scene, and Giles' dry wit is more on display in this episode than previously.

There's one specific aspect of the show that strikes me: Xander turns predatory, mean, aggressive--and at the end, the girls explicitly allow him to take no responsibility for his actions because they know he was under the influence of the evil hyena and--importantly--they believe he has no memory of what happened. In their minds, none of it was Xander's fault, so they don't even tell him what he did, much less discuss the dynamics underlying Xander's actions. However, Giles outs him to the audience: Xander is well aware of what he did; amnesia isn't part of the animal spirit possession package. And Giles literally pats him on the shoulder, blessing Xander's sins of omission.

So what did Xander do? The less damning actions were against Willow. First, to the amusement of his Pack, he says that because he's going to drop geometry, he'll "never have to look at her pasty face again." He's well aware that she's got a crush on him, as proven by dialogue with Buffy later in the episode, and Willow has been his best friend since before kindergarten, as every Buffy fan knows. But hurting her in public, then later (after Buffy has caged him) wheedling and appealing to her as his best friend, claiming they were happy before Buffy : "Weren't things much simpler when it was just me and you," he asks, knowing how much Willow wants the "me & you" aspect of their relationship to blossom. At the end, although he doesn't apologize to Willow or acknowledge what he said hurt her, he saves her from the crazed zookeeper the second he is rid of the hyena-spirit, and he later hugs her as he says, "nobody messes with my Willow." For a love-struck 16 year old girl, that qualifies as affirmation, I'm sure.

But that wasn't all Xander did. In a very intense, fairly lengthy scene, Xander tries to rape Buffy. He is aggressive and mean, claiming that "We both know what you really want. You want danger, don't you? You like your men dangerous...dangerous and mean, right? Like Angel, your mystery guy. Well guess who just got mean." The transformation from goofy, harmless Xander to threatening, predatory Alpha is complete--and surprising, especially given Nicholas Bredon's scant resume at the time he started playing Xander. Later in the scene, he slams Buffy into a vending machine, saying "C'mon, Slayer, I like it when you're scared. The more I scare you, the better you smell." Then--instead of forcing a kiss--he goes for her neck, vamp-style.

Fast forward to season six and seven. Xander is overtly rude to Spike, especially after Spike attempts to rape Buffy. Xander repeatedly ridicules Spike's feelings, and rarely relates to Spike without that subtext. Is it because Xander knows that he is Spike? That when the guise of humanity was stripped away, he did exactly what Spike did--only with less justification? Spike and Buffy had been aggressively sexual; Spike's attempted rape didn't look that much different than the beginning of some of their consensual activities. And once Buffy kicked Spike away, he realized what he'd tried to do and was immediately upset.

Xander, however, gets kicked away and comes back for more--and that's without ever having any encouragement from Buffy that would imply interest. (Interestingly, I didn't time it, but I'm sure that the Xander attempted rape scene is significantly longer than the one with Spike) Without a soul, Xander is less human than Spike before he earns back his soul. Popular theory is that Xander's dislike of Buffy's boyfriends (except possibly Riley) is that he's jealous that Buffy doesn't ever respond to him romantically. And in the first season or two, that's an ongoing subtext. Later, though, I'm not as sure. It may be there somewhat, and Anya implies it a time or two, but as Xander matures, I think there's a chance he's more aware of the yin/yang within himself and how easily he crossed it. His evolution into the person who sees others, as is made explicit in season seven, comes because he has seen himself.

But in this episode, he's teflon. Any possible guilt slides off him, and the girls see only Xander's goofy, friendly demeanor at the end. After his conversation with Giles, though, he walks away with his head hanging. He knows what he did, and presumably is at least embarrassed, maybe appalled--and the girls don't even really have a clue about what's going on inside of Xander. Throughout the series, neither of them is gifted with emotional insight; in another gender twist, Xander evolves into the emotional savant of the Scoobies (another trait he shares with Spike, who without fail has more insight into people--especially Buffy--than they have themselves. Spike even echos Xander's speech about danger, claiming that Buffy "likes a little monster in her men.")

It's worth noting that because Xander never acknowledges what he did, he can't seek forgiveness or redemption; in contrast, although Spike doesn't exactly apologize for attempting to rape Buffy (saying that it's beyond simple words, or something like that), they do talk about it and is forgiven, even redeemed. Perhaps it is logical that Xander, young and inexperienced, doesn't find the way to broach the subject with Buffy. It's hard to imagine the more mature Xander of season six or seven not seeking resolution after letting his id loose. But still, it's possible that Xander's reactions to Spike says as much about Xander's own baggage as it does about Spike.

So Xander and Spike in a yin/yang do-si-do? Before this episode, I wouldn't have seen them as the negative image of each other, but now I'm thinking. Could be.

Three other quick points:

1. This is the first mention of "soul" in the series. Giles mentions it in connection with animal possession, saying "Humanity, the soul, is a perversion, a dilution of spirit The animal state is holy (to the Maori, who worship animal spirits)." The concept of soul is so crucial later in the series--and I suspect in the next episode about Angel, but I don't remember!
2. Buffy pulls a Simba at the end; the crazed zookeeper is killed by his hyena when he flies into the cage, meaning Buffy doesn't kill a human. In "The Lion King," Simba indirectly caused Scar (his uncle and King) to die by letting him fall to the hyena pack--so both Simba and Buffy are innocent.
3. Again, Xander is key in an early story. Whedon claims that he was Xander in high school, and it seems evident that in early episodes, they know the character better than they seem to know the other characters. At this point, Willow is still the brainy computer nerd who finds information and needs saved--little sense of her as a character.
   

Now, to watch "Angel!"

Episode Five: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

On the surface, this is the episode that really lays out one of the fundamental tensions in Buffy's life: can she be a Slayer and still have a semblance of a "normal" life? Whedon's comments on the DVD underline that as a theme, and the answer to that is--in many ways--the point of the last scene in the entire series. It's possibly the foundational question the show is based on.

But...in episode four, we find the Willow has serious computer skills, a willingness to break the law to serve the bigger picture. She's not really bad, just....helpful. Because of the context, it's essentially innocent. But wait--in this episode, Xander lies to the potential boyfriend, claiming that Buffy doesn't like kissing, or dancing, or even being looked at. Again, because of context, it's funny. No one seriously believes him, and Owen (potential boyfriend #1) does look at Buffy and dance with her.

However, as benign as the situations are, both Xander and Willow now have a history of at least a bit of moral ambiguity. Willow's occurs in the context of doing whatever she can to help & protect; Xander's morals take a vacation when Buffy is (potentially) involved with other guys. We see those dynamics again in far less benign situations as the story progresses, but it's interesting to see the seeds of it this early in the show.

When I first watched season one, the episodes 3-6 seemed...odd. I didn't especially like them; they didn't "fit." Angel is peripheral, they aren't essential to the metaplot, and--honestly--they're a bit girly. Cheerleading? Crushes and dating? But really, they are character-creating episodes, and that's interesting to see.

And note: Buffy doesn't let Owen become a Scooby. She realizes that he's "Mr. Dangerman," and would put himself and others at risk. He's the only character I can think of that isn't accepted...hmmm. Oh, and his little speech about how almost dying makes him feel so alive? We see that turn into a whole theme in season 6. Slowly, the whole series is being foreshadowed, but with twists and turns that are amazing!

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, Entre-act

I watched part of this last night, then fell asleep, so I can't talk about it much yet--but in it, the Master was reading prophecy or something and said, "Thus endth the lesson."

That's said at some other point in the series, a key point. I don't remember where or when, though, and it's bugging me. I'm noting it so that maybe when it shows up, I'll know why it was significant. I think either Spike or Buffy says it....and neither of them were in the scene where it was said in this episode. Hmmm...

Epsiode 4: Teacher's Pet

Here's the truth: I've got several different directions I'd like to go with this, but I've got a cold and I'm grouchy and achy and I just want to watch Buffy, but until I write this one, I don't want to watch a different episode--it would cloud my memory. So pretend I'm far more nuanced, detailed and insightful than I'm really going to be.

This episode is one I had only seen once before. It's about a giant bug-lady trying to mate with Xander. I'm not into bugs. This is a stand-alone episode, one outside of the mega-plot for the season, which can be a find thing...but it just isn't an episode I love.

With that said, though, I love the opening. Xander fantasizing about rescuing a scared Buffy from a vamp in the Bronze, then jumping on stage to finish his set with the band, where he's the lead singer/guitarist. vintage boy-fantasy, I presume--and he's hot. the normal Xander geeky-gawky vibe is gone, and he's got moves. Serious moves--like Xander doesn't have in the whole series. (Side note: When BtVS began, he was 26, six years older than Sarah Michelle Gellar in real life, and 10 years older than the character he played. This scene is one of the few times his real age shows.) Interestingly, in the fantasy he bears a striking resemblance to Angel, who he hasn't seen yet, and he comments later in the show on how attractive Angel is.

If and when I write about a serious article about manhood and/or sex, this is a show I'll analyze in more detail, but today's topic is Willow. This is the first episode with serious reseach mojo happening. Throughout the episode, the gang is back at the library for more research, and this cements Willow's chops as a computer hacker. She's in the background constantly, and she's even been in danger in an eariler episode, but so far, she is not much more than a plot device. She gets to break important news, she gets to react to Buffy and Xander and Cordelia (who's not in this episode), but she hasn't really shone yet--she's the quirky nerd girl. In the last episode, we find out that she plays around with witchcraft, but treats it like a science experiment with no consideration for philosophical or ethical implications--a trait that continues until season 7. She becomes the cautionary tale of science/ability outstripping wisdom, but so far, she's just a handy, sweet, quirky friend for Buffy.

That's a formula we see throughout pop culture, the girl BFF who isn't as cute, as flirty, as desirable as the ingenue, but is a stalwart friend and invaluable resource. (We can call it the "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" formula--that play is an excellent example of the dynamic) Of course Willow is attractive, but lacking confidence and still dressing somewhat dumpy, not quirky/fun (although I think that begins very soon).

But we're still only four episodes into it; the characters are barely introduced. They all evolve from here---and I've barely mentioned Giles, who I adore! Soon, I'm sure.

Episode Three: Witch

What does it mean to be a man? BtVS is usually cited as an exploration into girl power, and in interviews Whedon speaks eloquently about women's studies and his mission as a male feminist--but the flip side of that is exploring what it means to be a man in a post-patriarchal paradigm. That is never answered explicitly in BtVS--in fact, it's not even alluded to as a question--but hints of the issue pop up like prairie dogs every so often, quickly scanning the situation, then retreating. The third episode of the series, which completely leaves the whole "Master Ascending" metaplot, is overtly about girls and their mothers, but the "what does it mean to be a man" issue is raised in several times.

Does Xander accept being emasculated to be one of Buffy's "slayerettes?" Willow uses that term in this epsiode as she and Xander affirm that they are choosing to be by Buffy's side, choosing to be in danger and fight for right. Both X and Willow emphatically agree that they want to be "slayerettes" for Buffy. The feminization of Buffy's title, the Slayer, is at once both bonding them into a unit and somewhat linguistically demarcating them as weaker, as the female partners. But by embracing the designation, Xander becomes one of the gang and perhaps by being inclusive, "-ettes" loses the derogatory connotations that it might otherwise imply.

A couple other snippets of conversation stand out:

• Buffy, giddy under the influence of a weakening spell, is aided by Willow and Xander, refers to Xander as her "Xander-shaped friend," and says it's as if he's not even a boy because he's so nice and isn't just trying to date her (which he'd been trying to get the nerve up to do). Although the audience knows that he is still attracted to Buffy, she becomes the unattainable dream girl, as alluded to in season 6 by Xander's financee, who knows that Xander's first allegiance is to Buffy. To be a man in Buffy's life, he chooses to not be someone who she thinks of as "a guy." Both times when Xander does get a serious love interest, the females involved are not actually friends with Xander or, significantly, with Willow and Buffy. Is part of being a man in the next wave dependant on checking your hormones at the door?
• In an especially interesting exchange, Xander says that Willow is like his best guy friend, but who understands girls. Does Xander pick up on Willow's sexual ambiguity long before Willow realizes she's gay? (and before the writers decide that, based on interviews). And does having a friend of the opposite gender require that there be no sexual tension, that the "friendness" of the relationship completely trump any awareness of other vibes? (Willow and Xander's one epically mistimed kiss in season 2 almost proves how dangerous it is to imagine a physical relationship with your "friend." Do new age men have to only notice a female's intellectual attributes if they are to be real friends?
  
• All these seemingly emasculating concerns are juxtaposed against a plot line involving cheerleaders. Buffy, Cordelia, Amy and a bevy of others bounce around in short skirts, which Xander panting on the sidelines. Xander is obviously enjoying the view, but does Whedon unwittingly divide women into "my friend" (Buffy, who Xander chooses to not actively pursue so they can be friends) and "my eye candy," girls who he'd gape at and date, but not "friends" (When we get to season 3, we can argue about whether Xander buying newly-destitute Cordelia a prom dress is about friendship, or about something else; I'll argue that's not indicative of the depth of their relationship)
• If Giles is the role model for manhood in an age of female power, note that he both guides Buffy and takes orders from her (last episode he does that). He places himself in danger for her, and insures her safety as best he can--but always conceding that she's stronger and more able. And notably, Giles' only male friend (Ethan) is a destructive force in the Buffy-verse; Giles is only safe around women, it seems.
  

I'm realizing how much I'm writing about Xander in these early posts. That's curious; I have things to say about Willow, and about the Buffy/Joyce relationship, but...it's late. I'm done for tonight.

Episode two: The Harvest

There's lots of things I could say to use the blatheringly impressive cultural criticism-y words I know, but there's really just one thing about this episode that I want to add.

Near the end, after Buffy rescued all the people at the Bronze from the Master's minion, Luke, Xander says "Nothing will ever be the same." Next shot, the high school courtyard the next day, Cordelia suggesting the it was rival gangs or something that invaded the Bronze--it's John Hughes High again, complete with totally un-Buffy-like soundtrack. Giles, Xander, Willow and Buffy walking, and Xander ironically comments about how wrong he was.

But he wasn't wrong. Buffy coming and those two chosing to be in the vortex of vamp chaos has changed everything--for them. Willow, simpering, scared bookworm, stood up to Cordelia in computer class both verbally and by giving "helpful" advice that caused Cordy's homework to be deleted; After trying to do the Luke/Annikan speech to his friend ("I can feel that there's still good in you," Xander claims as his friend is trying to turn Xander), Xander stakes Jesse, albeit by accident when a bypasser bumps into the vampire. Still, Xander was in position and had be specifically admonished by Giles that Jesse was no longer his friend, but rather the thing that killed his friend. Xander and Willow both begin redefining themselves because of their role in saving the humans from the Master. Jesse is the only male friend Xander apparently has; later in the series, he comments on needing some male friends. It's ironic then (and probably worth thinking about) that he ends up in a career that is traditionally male, as a construction worker. Hmmm...will ponder this more.

And Buffy? She was not going to be the Slayer. No way, not her--but outside of the Bronze, she's issuing orders like Patton. She hasn't embraced the role, but instead of focusing on being one of Cordelia's crew, she seeks out Willow and accepts Xander as her friends. She shows from the beginning that her way of being the chosen one is different; she's connected to others--which is the key, according to Spike in season five to why she's lasted so long as a Slayer: Slayers may have a death-wish, as Spike claims, but Buffy's also got a life outside of slaying.

Couple quick notes: we still don't know Angel's a vampire, interestingly enough, and he stays totally out of the fight--we find out later that Darla (the blond vamp) is his "sire," the person who turned him, and it's his vampire family that is in Sunnydale trying to raise the Master. So his reticence at pitching in? Maybe he's just waiting for the right moment to announce his presence.

And that ties in with the other point: yeah, some supernatural traditional lore is used (stakes, Holy Water, etc), but Whedon takes artistic licence with legend and folklore whenever he wants. That doesn't bother me usually, but I'm not a purist!

Episode One: Welcome to the Hellmouth

I didn't want to like Buffy, the show or the character. Not at all. Teen fodder, icky visuals with drippy slimy demons, trivializing evil, glorifying violence--those were my assumptions, and so I didn't start watching Buffy until about a year ago. I was sick in bed, too infirm to wrest the remote from my cultural missionary friend: "You've gotta watch this, you'll love it. It's not what you think," he insisted. If I had gotten a pneumonia shot like I was supposed to, I never would have discovered Buffy.

But the first season, maybe even into season two, it was a fun show, not an imperative. I watched those first couple seasons leisurely, not watching for a couple weeks, then hitting a couple on a spare evening. It was probably sometime in season four when I'd starting jones-ing if I didn't see it for two days, and by early summer, I was portioning out the last two seasons, dreading and relishing the coming last episode.

So when I decided to rewatch from the beginning and write about it, I'd forgotten things about the early seasons. I'd rewatched favorite episodes ("Once More With Feeling" ran on an endless loop for a week, in fact), but not much of the earliest shows.

Knowing what I know now,...wow. First, the beginning sets the hook for what is essentially the thesis statement of the show. Spooky music, high school at night, delicate scared blonde--the audience knows that the Slayer is Girl Power Personified, but the scared girl's not the Slayer. She's just a scared....no. So wrong. The vamp face comes, the scared girl becomes the scary girl, and the paradigm shifts. It's not just the Good Girls (aka Buffy, the Slayer) who wield power; the vamps can be cute, whispery blonds too. The world has shifted, and your sexist expectations are about to be shaken and poured as thoroughly as Yahtzee dice.

I'm not going to go scene by scene, but the first shots of Sunnydale High School in the light of day, vampire-free, caught me off guard. I'd been watching latter, darker seasons for so long that I was amazed by the John Hughes-esque feel of the high school. Whedon captured the upper-middle class teen comedy feel exactly, down to the hyper-realized cliques. Xander could be any Jon Cryer or Robert Downey Jr. character, and the school is populated by Molly Ringwald-wanna-bes. It's jarring to see that after wallowing in Spike's crypt for months on end.

But BtVS (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) doesn't stay there either. The suspenseful mood in the alley outside the Bronze, when Buffy meets Angel for the first time (and we don't know he's a vampire yet--glib lines--"I don't bite"--hint at it, but only in retrospect.) and the Yoda-like discussion between Buffy and Giles in the balcony of the Bronze are unlike anything in Hughes' teen comedies, and hint at the genre-shifting to come (note that the movie Ghost, blending romance, comedy, supernatural and thriller came out in 1990; audiences responded enthusiastically to the unpredictably of Ghost's formula-bending. BtVS, which premiered in 1997, may well have inherited that audience)

Why did people watch--and tell their friends to watch? The plot line is ok, the premise ok, but the dialogue is fun. In the first episode, the characters are templates yet, which is to be expected. We need first impressions of them; they can't spring like Athena completely nuanced and mature. Watching them make that leap is the reason people tune in. BUT, we know these characters. The actors know and like their characters. Bitchy Cordelia, brainy Willow, hovering Joyce--they are the backdrop of teen life.

What those characters have that real teens don't have is Joss Whedon writing for them. When Xander paints a picture of how provincial Sunnydale is, he calls it a "one Starbucks town." Cordy "compliments" Willow in the way of mean girls everywhere with a too-kind mention of Willow finding "the softer side of Sears." Cordelia asks Buffy "What's your childhood trauma," when Buffy nearly stakes Cordy in a dark corner, mistaking her for a vampire that Willow has left the Bronze with. Witty lines, cultural allusions, and pointed stereotyping draws in the smart, almost post-modern audience. The show isn't for everyone, and doesn't try to be, the sly word games imply. Even the "dumb" character, Xander, could ace the SAT with ease based on his vocabulary alone.

Here's the part I most want to mention, though. Whether Whedon and his merry band of wordsmiths carefully planned it or not, the issues and arcs leading to the very end of the series show up in episode one.

• Xander's first sentence in the series is to Willow: "You're very much the person I wanted to see," after wiping out on his skateboard after watching new girl Buffy walk up the stairs. In the last season, Xander is noted as "the one who sees" as his superpower, and he is blinded in one eye in one of the last episodes to symbolically punish him for seeing too much.
• Willow relates a vinette about she and Xander in kindergarten, underlining their long, close friendship--which parallels how Xander breaks through to Willow (who's gone totally evil) when she is on the verge of destoying the world (well, at least Sunnydale) at the climax of season 6.
• Giles' speech about having to guide Buffy is precient considering how he later leaves her, believing she needs to learn to stand alone, and then again in season 7 when he attempts to "train" her so that Spike, her best warrior, can be executed.
• And maybe most importantly, Buffy's speech to Giles about why she refuses to be the Slayer is almost a blueprint for season 7. She doesn't want to be "kicked out of school" (she ends up out of college and unable to re-register), "lose all her friends" (yep, and they even kick her out of her house, with Giles, Willow and Xander casting no confidence votes) and "spend all of my time fighting for my life and never tell anyone because it would endanger them." (all the people who know are endangered and suffer in one manner or another) She ends that speech with "Go ahead, prepare me," challenging him--and he knows she's right and lets her walk away.
  

There's more to say, but I've about run out of steam for the night. Just a quick mention, though, that Xander has already brought up manhoood as a recurring theme ("what do you look for in a man," he asks Buffy) and images of light and dark are already used symbolically, both in Buffy's bedroom as she has nightmares and in the crypt at the end as the vamp Luke is about to attack her.

Why Buffy (copied from Zippy's Zeitgeist)

That's the question I was asked last week, and the question that I've seen in the amused or befuddled eyes of people who know that this has been the Summer Of Buffy for me.

Taking a step backwards, when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the religion practiced by my dad and my daughter, I scoffed. Laughed at their insistence that I'd like it if I just gave it a chance. Isn't that what heroin dealers say, too? Teenage cheerleader valley girls who are also mystical vampire slayers, right. I read Chekov and Dickens, I'm both hoitier and toitier than Buffy.

I'm now eating those words.

First, I have the luxury of watching all 7 episodes at my leisure, not needing 7 years to bring the story to fruition. At the beginning, I watched the first couple seasons lackadaisically, episodes when I had time as school was winding down. Then--the story line picked up as I suddenly had more time. Voila! Since summer began, I've done the intensive buffy-a-nalia at times--several episodes in a day, just soaking it all in--then, as I realized that I was getting closer and closer to the end...parceling the shows out, one new episode a day, building towards the end.

I've got just 4 episodes left to finish the whole series and see how it turns out. I want to watch them, but... summer ends when Buffy ends. And I suspect that even if I think the end is great, it won't be the happy, satisfying, tie up all the loose ends-they-live-happily-ever-after that I'm hoping for on some level.

So why Buffy? Here are some reasons, in no particular order:

• It's the Monkees' fault. Honestly. At a critical point in my development, the Monkees imprinted on me--friends, living in a beachhouse, entwining their dreams and working for the common good. And a bonus: Davy was so cute! Buffy has that same dynamic: best friends through thick and thin, through apocolypse and demons, working to keep evil out of Sunnydale. And the bonus: Angel. And Xander. And Giles (I admit that the fact I think he's hot is showing my age). And Spike...although it took me five seasons to add him to the list.
  
• Brains are respected in the show. Giles, Willow, Oz--all book-ish nerds, all central and respected, and not in the black glasses, pocket protector Pointdextery way.
  
• The writing is amazing. Each character has a different voice, different syntax. The vocabulary used is expansive--and I don't mean the made-up demon names; even Xander, who claims to be the dumb one, has a rich and varied vocabulary that fits his character like spandex. And the smart characters, Willow and Giles? Wow. The writers rank right up with Northern Exposure, MASH and Moonlighting--the best-written shows ever.
  
• The character development. The funny little quirks in Willow's personality in the first few seasons turn into tragic flaws, Xander's quiet persistence becomes his greatest strength by the end--the characters change and grow, but the seeds are true throughout. Evil Spike's redemption is almost worthy of Tolstoy, well, just add leather and blood, true. But the manipulation of flaky Willow to first-class threat, and deadly Spike to stalwart defender--and the fact that those transformations ring true...Charles Dickens would have been proud to write on a staff that created those characters.
• The complex story arcs. While each episode is a complete story, each season has a metaplot that draws in the audience, making the show as addictive as coffee. The basic formula is inevitable: Bad guy/thing/situation threatens Sunnydale/the world, and Buffy and the Scooby gang must stop it. However, Joss Weadon and his merry band of writers make as many variations on the theme as Mozart. They do kill off major characters--and they do let their characters make bad decisions and suffer for them. Major, totally unexpected plot twists (like a sister showing up in season 5), make sense and work--and make for a chaos factor I really appreciate.
  
• As I've talked with friends and family about my Buffy habit, they constantly want to know how far into the series I am. People are anxious to tell me things that happen, and I'm astounded by the extent of my friends' emotional buy-in to the characters and the overall story--and this is years after they have found out what happened! The story and the characters are compelling, and I'm abashed to admit I've gotten totally hooked.
• Love trumps evil and weakness. The friends' relationship with each other, with Giles (Buffy's mentor), and with their various romantic relationships give strength and heart to their battle.
• Fun to think about. For instance, it's the Wizard of Oz, in ways. Xander's the Tin Man, all heart; Willow's the scarecrow, the thinker; Cordelia's the Cowardly Lion, refusing to fight, but in the thick of it...see? It's a fun game!
  
• Last, it's just fun escapism. In this morally ambiguous time, I like knowing that Drusilla is bad. Always. That the badness du jour threatening Sunnydale is really, really evil. No room for political correctness, no need for Jimmy Carter. Kicking its ass to the Hellmouth and sealing it tight is the mission, and Buffy will do it...sooner or later. I'm discovering the joy of labeling something bad, evil, nasty--and knowing that Buffy, and Giles, and the rest of the gang, will do whatever it takes to make the world safe.

So...four more. After tonight, three. I want to know how it ends...but I don't. Once I know, I lose the freshness and discovery of watching. I'll miss that. I'll rewatch earlier episodes, and really enjoy them, and find new and interesting meaning in them, but I'll know how the story ends. I'll be watching with a shadow...and I know I'm not going to like some of the plot twists at the end...

I'm sure I'll write more Buffy related posts later, but this is for the people who asked, why Buffy?