"Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl, in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires..."
Oh no, here she goes again... (c'mon, you didn't really think I'd let today pass without saying anything other than some idiotic blurb, didja?)
Today is a sad day for television. If you've been keeping up with the popular media, and if you've interacted with me at all you know why. Tonight, the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ends. Most people, unless they're fellow Buffyphiles, write off the show as some Saved By the Bell/Dawson's Creek/X-Files abomination. With a name like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", it's not hard to figure out why. I've already written a paean to the show, but since there are so many aspects to it that I love, I can't help but write another. It's show that's changed television. Huh? you ask, scratching your head. A low-ranking cult show, that began on the WB then moved to UPN as an influential show? Yes, that's right. Without Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there would never have been Alias and Dark Angel, or even (shudder) Charmed and Birds of Prey. Sure, there was Charlie's Angels, the Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman before her, but the show was never simply about "hot chicks with superpowers". Joss Whedon (the show's creator) took the notion of the helpless female victim in a horror story, imbued her with superpowers and presented her as a post-feminist role model. She was no one-dimensional latex-clad Amazonian on a pedestal, but a tiny blond Valley girl armed with a razor-sharp wit and a gaggle of geeky friends and a desire to fit in.
" It's always different. It's always complicated and at some point someone
has to draw a line and that is always going to be me. You get down on me for cutting myself off, but in the end the Slayer's always cut off. There's no mystical guidebook, no all-
knowing council -- human rules don't apply and Father doesn't know best. There's only me. I am the Law.”
Whedon doesn't allow his blond Valley girl to simply be an idealized female role model. The nature of power, what it means for a woman to be empowered, and how it changes an her comes into play. Slayers typically have short life spans - it's the nature of the gig, but Buffy has been able to succeed where her predecessors have failed. When crunch time came, it was her friends that pulled her through, and her friends that kept her grounded. (The bonds of family and friendship is an aspect of the show to explore... another day) Despite her ties to the world, her calling still separates from her friends. As the Chosen One, and the one with the power, Buffy must lead the group, make the hard and sometimes heartbreaking decisions, then pay the price for her mistakes. For the most part, she been able to make the right choice - she's never been one to abuse her status as Slayer for her own means. This season, however, when confronted with failure to protect those around her, she isolates herself further, unable to open up to her friends. They recognize this isolation, and even force her to relinquish her leadership. But when they needed her, she took charge again and came to their rescue, but she did not assign blame.
"It's about power."
This season's premiere was bookended with the above quote, and several of the past season's episodes have dealt with
issues of power intermingled with the isolation of the Slayer. In her most candid moments, she admitted that the power she wielded resulted in a superiority complex, and cutting herself off from those around her. I found this to be poignantly ironic, given that she started at Sunnydale High School with a wish to belong, and to fit in with other kids. Now that she has been reinstated as their leader, Buffy, with her friends and potential Slayers behind her, faces off against their most dangerous foe. I can't wait to see how she uses that power.