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Buffy Season One Review

I’m on my first Buffy rewatch in a long time - I think over a decade? I have watched the entire series enough times that the episodes are all still kind of burned into my brain, but I’m curious what my reaction will be now I’m a bit older.

Anyway, I’ve finished Season One, and I thought I might do a quick review of each season as I go. Can’t promise I’ll be able to keep it up, but I’ll give it a go. So…

Season One Review

S1 is… fine. It’s okay. It’s not as good as later seasons, but it’s not bad; it’s shallower than later seasons, but having expected that I found there’s a surprising amount of depth here. (Partly because I’m watching after reading @herinsectreflection’s excellent analyses, which inspired this most recent rewatch.)

I actually don’t think there are many bad episodes in S1 - the problem is, there’s hardly any good episodes either, and none that rise beyond just being ‘good’. They’re mostly just perfectly serviceable - the metaphors are a bit blunt, the humour’s a bit broad, the MIDI soundtrack kind of sucks, the vibes are kind of cheesy and immature, and overall, it’s just…

It’s Power Rangers. It’s a bit deeper and scarier, and the action scenes are worse, but basically, Season One is Power Rangers. And that’s not bad - I kind of like Power Rangers, and it’s not a bad season by those standards - but it’s not what Buffy is trying to be, or what it will become.

Season Score: 5/10 - It’s fine.

Big Bad - The Master:

In some ways, the Master is perfect. It makes sense that Buffy’s first villain is this kind of ancient and powerful vampire - he’s not as interesting as later villains, but it feels appropriate that Buffy has to beat this more generic Big Bad to move on to them. And he has a strong enough presence that he can actually bear the mythic weight that is placed upon him - it makes sense that he’s the one that killed Buffy, that he sired the Bisexual Vampire Squad; it never feels inappropriate that he has this important place in the mythology of the series, and he can carry that weight in his rare later appearances.

Unfortunately, in this season, he’s a Power Rangers villain. He sits in his lair, sending out minions and screaming in frustration when they fail. (Even finally facing the hero directly in the finale, beating them easily before they get a power up and return the favour - classic Power Rangers villain stuff.) He spends most of the season both trapped and sickly - while at full power he’s a compelling, intimidating presence, for most of the season he seems weak and kind of effete, like a homophobic Bond villain. At his best, he's montrous yet civilised, brutal but witty; in his weakened state, he lacks the contrasts that make him compelling.

Still, he is charming, he does work well in the finale, and he’s always a delight in his rare later appearances. So…

Big Bad Score: 5/10 - He’s fine. (... and not in that sense.)

Rewatch Reevaluations

The biggest change in my perspective since my last rewatch is around Angel. When I was younger, I didn’t really think much about the age difference between him and Buffy; now I’m older, I’m extremely aware of it, but also, it seems like the show is too. The episode where he shifts from ‘random mysterious stranger’ to ‘potential love interest’ is Teacher’s Pet - an episode about an older sexual predator preying on teenagers. Then in ‘Angel’, we don’t just see him creepily staring at Buffy, we see him lie to her about it afterwards, in an episode where the age difference is a major topic of discussion.

In general, his obsession with her comes across as way more creepy and pathetic than I remember, and while part of that is just my interpretation, I do think think the series is aware of it; I think him following her around and staring at her from afar is meant to be kind of offputting. I’m curious how I’ll feel about their romance going forward - I remember on previous watches I thought their breakup in Season 3 was unmotivated, and I suspect I’ll feel very differently about it this time around.

I’m also generally more aware of some things after reading @herinsectreflection’s essays. In particular, I’m noticing Buffy’s relationship to death - from her ‘seize the day, because tomorrow you might be dead’ philosophy in the first episode, to her rebelling against and accepting it in the last… and her Faith-like smile as she enjoys mortal combat with vampires at the beginning of ‘Prophecy Girl’. I’m also much more aware of Giles as a very flawed figure torn between paternal affection for Buffy and sending her to her death - which is explicit in a few episodes, but I’m more aware of it as an ongoing arc, rather than just some isolated emotional beats.

Other than that, one thing I’m noticing is how much weight the show gives to the death of minor characters. It’s easy for an action/horror show to start treating death casually or flippantly, but so far the show is careful to give each death an emotional impact, to make every death matter… at least ‘til the end of the episode, at which point they’ll be promptly forgotten about. Sorry Jesse.

And unsurprisingly for a 90s show, I am finding the sense of humour a little mean and kind of misogynistic, especially towards Cordelia. That said, though Xander is often the face of this meanness, I honestly don’t dislike him, even in S1. The thing is, either the show is aware that he’s being an asshole, in which case it’s an intentional character flaw, which is good; or it isn’t, in which case I tend to blame the show itself rather than the character. Maybe that’s a little generous, but it lets me enjoy the character, so I’m willing extend that generosity. I am curious how I’ll feel about him going forward. I'm glad at least Cordelia gets to be more of a character towards the end of the season - it does make the jokes around her feel a lot less mean.

Honourable Mention Award for Underrated or Forgotten Characters Who Deserve to be Mentioned Honourably

3. Zookeeper Furry from ‘The Pack’. Just a really solid one-off villain performance, in an era where performances tend towards the broad and cheesy side of the spectrum.

2. The Black Cat from ‘The Witch’. Looks like stock footage, never shares a shot or even a set with another character, and achieves nothing except slightly startling Giles, after which he just continues as if nothing happened. Yet despite doing basically nothing, it achieves greatness by earning a place in the opening credits. Truly an inspiration.

1. Principal Flutey. With how much he gets overshadowed by Principal Snyder, it’s easy to forget how great Flutey is as a character. From tearing up Buffy’s permanent record and taping it back together again in front of her, to being eaten by Hyena-possessed students, Flutey is a delight whenever he’s on screen - he’s genuinely a highlight of Season 1 for me. Principal Flutey, I salute you, and hearby mention you as honourably as I can.

Episode Rankings

Might not do this for every season, but hey, it’s a short season, so why not. Starting from the top:

'Prophecy Girl' - Obvious choice, needs no explanation.

'Angel' - Strong character work, introduces a bunch of ideas that’ll be important for the rest of the series, and solves the problem of making a single vampire a threat by giving her guns, which I respect.

'Welcome to the Hellmouth'/'The Harvest' - A solid introduction to the series; I wouldn’t call it great by most standards, but it competently introduces everything the setting, characters and the premise of the series, which is impressive in its own way. Luke is perfect in his role - he’s a compelling presence that feels like a genuine threat, but he’s not so interesting that he distracts from the important things.

'The Pack' - A solid guest performance from the zookeeper, Principal Flutey’s last stand, and some juicy thematic and character goodness makes leaves this Monster of the Week episode at the head of the pack. (… I am so terribly sorry.)

'Nightmares' - Character! Themes! Imagery! This episode has it all, at least by the standards of Season One.

'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' - The first episode that treats Cordelia like an actual character. Also, invisible assassin school! Everybody loves invisible assassin school.

'The Witch' - A perfectly competent MOTW episode, this gets a boost for featuring the cat that accomplishes nothing.

'I Robot, You Jane' - Yeah, the 90s hacker schtick is goofy, but this ep’s not bad - I like the goofy robot demon and the surprisingly good demon prosthetics for its non-robot body that barely appears in the episode. I like the idea that scanning a magic book can summon a demon into the internet itself. Also, Jenny’s here.

'Teacher’s Pet' - Another MOTW episode that does its job adequately. I’m inclined to think of this as the Most Typical Season 1 Episode - it perfectly represents the season at its baseline.

'Puppet Show' - I kind of like some of the ideas in this episode, but the puppet’s a creep and parts of the plot feel contrived. (Why are they sure the demon will leave as soon as it has the organs? Why would Giles get into a guillotine under any circumstances?) Overall… Eh, it’s fine.

'Never Kill A Boy on the First Date' - There’s some good stuff in here, especially around Buffy’s relationship to Giles and to her own Slayerhood. Unfortunately, the plot just doesn’t work - even this early on, one vampire just doesn’t feel like enough of a threat to build an episode around, and generic serial killer vamp is no exception - he's certainly no Luke. It’s a plot entirely concerned with setting up the larger arc around the Anointed One, and that would leave this episode feeling empty and boring even if it was for an arc that was actually, you know, good.

So that's Season One. I enjoyed it fine, but... I'm definitely looking forward to the series really getting good. If somehow you've actually read this far: Thank you for putting my words into your brain. I take it as a great compliment, and hope you liked them - or, failing that, that they invoked in you a great fury, such as only the worst opinions may conjure.

In any case - and regardless of whether I can be bothered to write any more of these - I will continue my rewatch into the Actually Good seasons of Buffy.

random 'Inca Mummy Girl' thoughts:

In the museum, Buffy is disappointed her friends think she solves all her problems with violence. Then later, Giles agrees to let her go to the dance to end their training session, because when she trains while angry she unintentionally hurts him. Her response: "Yay! I win :)". Don't know if I have anything to say about that, but I'm definitely paying more attention to Buffy's characterisation on this rewatch, and noticing more of her Faith-like traits.

I think of Xander's jealousy over Buffy as a Season One thing, but it seems to be sticking around, and I am extremely tired of it. Hope it doesn't last much longer.

The Scoobies' assumption that Ampata can translate an ancient Incan relic just because they're South American is so wild I struggle not to read it as a joke at their expense. (Though given the show's approach to other cultures - as exemplified by this episode especially - it almost certainly isn't.)

It's interesting that this episode doesn't try to play itself as a mystery - the audience is never kept in the dark about what's happening, even as the Scoobies are. It's much to the episode's benefit - it allows Ampata to be an actual character, where a mystery would likely keep her at too much of a distance. It doesn't just make her sympathetic - it makes her a viewpoint character, which makes the Buffy parallels much more tangible.

Speaking of which, this episode has a Garth Marenghi approach to subtext, but honestly I kind of like that. It's nice to have subtext even I can notice sometimes.

I didn't remember going in that Oz first appeared in this episode, so that was a nice surprise. But then seeing Jonathan was even more of one - I really wasn't expecting to see him so soon. Strange that such a small role became a recurring character when so many Sunnydale students appear in one episode and then are immediately forgotten about, but I guess he does give a good, distinctive performance.

Sorry Buffy, but "I'll say one thing for you Incan mummies - you don't kiss and tell," is just a terrible quip. And you can tell Buffy was thinking of it on the journey - as she runs to the museum she's thinking to herself 'I need to say something funny about kissing, I guess?', and she does a bad job. I think she needs to take some improv classes or something if she's gonna keep doing this.

In Reptile Boy, once again the Angel relationship takes a step forward in an episode about older sexual predators preying on high-schoolers; like Teacher's Pet, the appeal of an older partner is recognized and questioned, and the dangers they represent are confronted. And Angel continues to stress the age difference between him and Buffy as a problem. I really didn't pay much attention to it when I was younger, but the show is way more aware of the issues here than I realised.

Also, yeah, the "When I kiss you I want to die," line is a complete non-sequiter - hell, they've barely even kissed. It might make some sense in Season 3, but it really doesn't fit where they are at this point in the series, and it really sounds way more like a reason to end a relationship than to begin one.

There is however a much more natural connection to her death drive when she expresses a desire to be swept up in an out-of-control romance - it's the "Seize the day, because tomorrow you might be dead" thing again. She wants to embrace passion now without regard for any possible consequences, because on some level she's deeply aware that she might not live to see those consequences; and if she denies herself now, she might not live to see real passion. I'd argue that both her vampire romances are defined by her inability to imagine a future for herself, simply taking whatever love or pleasure she can get right now - because the present is all that she can really believe in.

Halloween:

"This Whole Episode Smacks Of Gender" I holler as I smash Janus' statue on the ground and turn Buffy back into an actual character

Xander's plotline seems to recognise the problem with his masculine insecurities, but resolves itself by satisfying those insecurities rather than overcoming them. Luckily, this is a problem that will never appear again in the series.

Willow dying and becoming a ghost really feels like it should be forshadowing for something later in the series. Like, if she died at some point, we'd look back at this episode and be like 'Ah, the seeds were being planted even back then.' But nope - it forshadows nothing, she's just a sexy ghost for the episode.

I have to interpret Giles' face when he hears the costume shop is Ethan's as less "Oh, fuck" and more "Oh, for fuck's sake." Like, he legitimately can't believe he's still dealing with this asshole.

Also, he really didn't need to beat Ethan up to find out how to end the curse. I mean, "smash the statue"? You always have to smash the statue! Or the staff, or maybe the orb. He really could have worked it out on his own - I think he just wanted to give Ethan a bit of a kicking.

I'm a little mixed on the Ripper retcon. It comes out of nowhere, 'this man of tweed was actually a cool badass with a mysterious past' feels like a cheap way to add darkness to the character, and Giles' more interesting moments of darkness always come more from his position as a Watcher than in conflict with it. However, the show never leans too hard on the whole 'Ripper' thing, so rather than overtaking his character it just adds texture to it, something that is very needed as we move out of Season 1 and characters are growing depth beyond their initial archetypes. So I do think it's a good thing, but I'm glad it isn't taken further and ultimately remains a fairly minor part of the character.

Buffy. you're really just going to let Spike just run away? Not even gonna try to chase after him? I know he's a recurring character who can't die here, but you need to at least pretend that you don't know that. Still, I do think it's interesting that Spike already seems to be defined by his willingness to just hit the bricks the moment things aren't going his way. As much as he's supposed to be the current Big Bad, he's already being presented as a bit pathetic - he can be dangerous, sure, but in a pragmatic, human way, rather that a terrifying intimidating force that Big Bads tend to represent.

Finally, Angel seduces Buffy by calling other women 'simpering morons', and insisting that she's Not Like them. It's not great from a feminist perspecive, but looking at it from a character perspective this really feels like Liam coming out - and that makes sense! He's spent most of his ensouled unlife avoiding people, not really growing as a person or learning how to be better. He's only started being a person again since he came to Sunnydale, and he's not good at it - so he falls back on old habits, as Liam or even as Angelus, especially when he's trying not to seem like the awkward, barely functional weirdo he actually is inside. I'm think I'm enjoying his character a lot more on this rewatch now I see through his cool badass loner exterior to the dear little rat boy underneath.

(It is weird how invested Willow is in their relationship though - it's like Xander is with Riley. And I'm pretty sure she's barely spent any time with him. Buffy's friends are just really weird about her love life.)

Lie to Me thoughts:

Drusilla: "My dear boy's gone all away, hasn't he? To her... The girl. The slayer." Writers, could you stop foreshadowing things you couldn't possibly know about for five minutes?

Another older romantic interest turns out to be untrustworthy. Writers, could you stop intentionally mirroring the Angel/Angelus arc for five minutes?

Ooh, it's The Most Important Character In The Buffyverse.

It's surprisingly nice to see Willow and Angel have a scene together. It might be the most open Angel's been with anybody so far - he talks to her about the century he spent doing basically nothing, and he manages to not mysteriously disappear for the whole conversation. I think it's that he's not trying to impress her - they're just friendly, and it's nice. (Aside from the moment of 'No, don't invite him in, that's going to be bad later in the season!')

(Honestly, it's always funs to see romantic interests outside their designated pairing. Tara's rare but oddly meaningful interactions with Buffy stand out, as do Spike's friendships with Joyce and Dawn. It's one reason Spike becomes way less fun in the last couple of seasons - he interacts way less with the non-Buffy castmembers.)

And we get an Angel/Xander/Willow teamup at the club. It's fun, though the treatment of The Most Important Character comes across a little weird - kind of hippie-bashing, though it doesn't land when her naivety relates specifically to a evil soulless monsters that doesn't actually exist.

And now Angel's actually communicating with Buffy! Yeah, he lied to her earlier, and what he's communicating about is the time he tortured a girl to insanity and then turned her into a vampire, but still, this is a big step forward for him. This episode is the closest Angel's come to being a functional person so far.

(Which also comes with him being undercut in the club by the vampire poser dressing just like him - it's a very Angel joke, and this feels much more like the Angel of Angel than the old Angel we saw in 'Angel'.)

That said, Angel asking if Buffy loves him, and her saying she does (albeit without trust) feels weird - they're barely in a relationship at this point? Kind of illustrates the immaturity of both characters. (Which, fair enough - she's a teenager, and he's a complete disaster. Though he is becoming less disaster-like by the episode - things are definitely looking up for this guy.)

The last scene with Giles is nice - the speech is iconic for a reason - and kind of mirrors Reptile Boy, with him giving her support that's less paternalistic but more paternal than his past Watcher-y role. With Halloween as last episode and The Dark Age as the next, these four episodes all have an underlying arc about Buffy's developing relationship with Giles; and there's kind of an ABAB structure, where this ep rhymes with Reptile Boy, and Dark Age rhymes with Halloween, in dealing with the Ripper of it all.

The Dark Age thoughts:

Willow, on Giles and Jenny: "Feel the Passion" no Willow don't say that that's the name of an episode you're doing forshadowing

The magic as drugs metaphor is embarrassingly on the nose and afterschool special-y. Thankfully, this is the last time in Buffy the Vampire Slayer this problem ever occurs

Buffy trusting Angel to take the box of blood to the hospital. You can see the gears in his head turning. "Am I seriously going to do this? Just because she asked? And, I guess, to be a good person? ... Goddamnit." Another decent showing for Angel being a vaguely functioning person.

Eyghon-Jenny better not awaken anything in m-- Wait, no. Already awakened. Forget I said anything.

'Ripper' really does basically amount to 'Giles was young once'. And he's going to continue feeling great shame over that fact for the rest of the series.

Look at Willow, taking charge! Sure, she didn't know her plan would work, and she risked Angel's life for it, but everything worked out, so it's fine.

What's My Line part 1 thoughts:

MR GORDO! And Angel can't help playing with him. Someone should really get that guy some plushies of his own - you know he'd love cuddling with them.

Angel: "It's career week." Buffy: "How did you know?" Angel: "I lurk." Angel:

God, he's such an awkward, pathetic disaster [affectionate]. And he knows he is! When he's with Buffy, he's just fumbling around, trying to sound vaguely person-like. But because he's big and quiet and vampiric, everyone interprets his awkwardness as badass brooding.

Buffy says ACAB. Honestly, this subplot is just reminding me how how pre-9/11, the view of cops as corrupt, lazy and/or violent was pretty standard across pop-culture. (I'm currently playing Miles Morales: Spider-Man and it's so weird the way these games treat the NYPD as unambiguous allies, compared to how most Spider-man media has always treated them.)

Buffy and Giles' interactions feel like a regression after the last four eps developing their relationship. To be fair, Buffy is regressing a little due to having feelings about her life (never a good idea, always suppress those), but it still feels odd.

Looking at Spike's obsession with Buffy here, you can really see the origins of his feelings for her, on both a Watsonian and Doylist level.

Snyder, to Xander: "Whatever comes out of your mouth is a meaningless waste of breath. An airborn toxic event." Huh, is Principal Snyder part of the Buffy fandom? He really sounds like the Buffy fandom here.

Feel like Willow and Oz's big computer company opportunity isn't quite as exclusive as they're making it seem, if two students from a small town are being offered it.

Wonder how you comission the Order of Whatever. Is there a ritual, or do you just call them? Do you pay in money? Magical relics? Virgin sacrifices?

The ice-skating is really pretty. That's it, don't have any critical thoughts, it's just super pretty.

The piano soundtrack here isn't the iconic Buffy/Angel theme, but it sounds a little similar? But more innocent. Is this like an earlier variation? I guess it makes sense - this feels like their first real date beyond coffee at the Bronze; the first time they feel like they're in an actual relationship together. Which is kinda weird when they've already confessed their love, but idk, I guess teenagers and vampires are like that.

"Kill as many of these assassins as you want, it won't make any difference. They won't stop. Unless you kill three of them, then they'll stop and never come back. But otherwise? They're completely unstoppable."

Has Buffy been to Angel's place before? It looks significantly nicer than where he was staying in 'Angel'. Fits with the sense that he's gradually learning to be a person. I do wonder how she knows where he lives, though. Like, that can happen off screen, but first time at his place seems like a significant step?

And now Xander has named the Scooby Gang the Scooby Gang! If you don't like the name, blame him. (The writing of Cordelia in this scene feels very Season One though. Not great.)

And Kendra's finally here! Man, these episodes are really paying tribute to Chris Claremont with this accent.

In general, I'm noticing a lot of Faith-in-Buffy on this rewatch that I missed on previous watches. 'Prophecy Girl' has a lot of it (after she dies, but also her smile while she's fighting vamps at the start of the episode), and obviously Buffy in 'When She Was Bad' is full of Faith.

And now, in 'What's My Line pt. 2', it's astonishing how much Buffy is Faith to Kendra. The way she provokes her, tries to bring out the passion in her - it's so Faith, so much a mirror of Buffy and Faith's relationship, with Buffy in the Faith roll. Just, you know, less homoerotic.

... I mean, it's still pretty homoerotic. Just... less so.

I'm sure the romantic music from Buffy and Angel's ice rink date playing as Buffy and Kendra say goodbye means nothing. You know, maybe the music is supposed to symbolise Buffy considering her path in life, which connects to ice skating and this last conversation. It just sounds romantic. It doesn't mean anything.

but what if they kissed, though?

In general, I'm noticing a lot of Faith-in-Buffy on this rewatch that I missed on previous watches. 'Prophecy Girl' has a lot of it (after she dies, but also her smile while she's fighting vamps at the start of the episode), and obviously Buffy in 'When She Was Bad' is full of Faith.

And now, in 'What's My Line pt. 2', it's astonishing how much Buffy is Faith to Kendra. The way she provokes her, tries to bring out the passion in her - it's so Faith, so much a mirror of Buffy and Faith's relationship, with Buffy in the Faith roll. Just, you know, less homoerotic.

... I mean, it's still pretty homoerotic. Just... less so.

I love that the scariest assassin in What's My Line is just Woman With Gun. Like, the bug guy is spooky, but turning to bugs is actually a pretty innefficient assassination technique compared to Gun Lady's strategy of:

1) Find target and 2) Shoot them with gun

I like to think she joined the Order recently. She needed to a way to make some money after the divorce, and stumbled onto a demon bar looking for a job, and someone suggested she join as a joke. But she'd been thinking about getting a gun anyway, and thought What the hell, why not?

Soon, she's the Order's top assassin. Turns out, Demon Made Of Fire and Guy Who Invades Peoples Dreams just can't compete with her power of 'just shoot them with a gun'.

I love that the scariest assassin in What's My Line is just Woman With Gun. Like, the bug guy is spooky, but turning to bugs is actually a pretty innefficient assassination technique compared to Gun Lady's strategy of:

1) Find target and 2) Shoot them with gun

I'd like to take a moment to sexualise shirtless David Boreanez in 'What's My Line pt. 2'.

*ahem* Awooga

Oz is such a slight presence in his first couple of appearances, I was worrying I might not like him this time around - then 'What's My Line' hits, and... Oz is here. He's fully here - not the deepest character, sure, but just being a vaguely enjoyable presence all over the place. Buffy needs that - the character who isn't fully a part of the big dramatic plots, but is just generally fun to have around; it's one of the roles Anya will fill when Oz leaves.

(I'm also realising that the reason I was surprised to see Oz earlier in 'Inca Mummy Girl' is that I always remembered this episode as his real introduction. I'd just forgotten in the more-than-a-decade since my last rewatch.)

I love Neil the Generic 90s Office Guy!

I've decided he should have becomes a major character for the rest of the series, and am now inventing AUs to that effect

I have a weird amount of affection for this random one-scene character. He's like the living embodient of the phrase "hump day".

Vamp Neil AU: After he gets sired, his IT skills make him a sought after henchman, who goes on to work for for every Big Bad - so in every villain scene, he's around somewhere, saying things like "Mondays, am I right?" and "Working hard or hardly working?"

Eventually, due to a series of unlikely coincidences, his soul is restored and he moves to LA to work for Wolfram and Hart. S5 of Angel is about the deep rivalry between Angel, Spike, and Neil.

I have a weird amount of affection for this random one-scene character. He's like the living embodient of the phrase "hump day".

I'm sure this won't go anywhere.

Man, people complain about Joyce, but this lady has absolutely no hesitation about covering up a murder for Buffy.

We rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, each time hoping that this time, it might be different; this time, maybe Xander will just fuck a dude and stop being so insufferable.

Not to be painfully insightful, Xander, but perhaps it is you who is having parental issues, and I that should be doing a little dance as I tell you that.

I just think him immediately latching onto Ted as a seemingly functional father figure isn't just about the tasty, tasty drugs.

I’m way behind on posting about my rewatch - there’s plenty I do want to say about S2, and there’s a whole essay about gender and Phases that I’m probably never going to write - but I’m into Season 3 and I really want to note how much early S3 establishes the issues that are going to drive Buffy’s long breakdown in seasons 6 and 7.

Firstly, Buffy's tendency to pull away from her friends, feeling she has to take care of everything for herself and protect them from her problems and her feelings rather than sharing them. It’s a consistent pattern, and we see it in her running away at the end of Season 2, and continually refusing to talk about what happened with Angel with both the Scoobies and Faith. When she eventually does try to talk to her assigned school counsellor about Angel, she explicitly says she can’t talk to anyone else about what’s happening (only to find him dead, which I’m sure didn’t help).

Of course, this isn’t just a flaw of Buffy’s - her friends have a pretty big role to play, especially Xander. His sanctimonious, judgemental whining about Buffy leaving, as well as anything to do with Angel, does a lot to push Buffy away. (Not to mention the first thing he does when he finds out Angel is back is try to manipulate Faith into murdering him.) It’s also hard not to suspect that Xander’s lie back in Becoming did a lot of damage - because of that, Buffy thinks even Willow hates Angel and wouldn’t understand her continued feelings for him. ‘Kick his ass’ made Buffy feel like literally no-one is on her side.

Regardless of the reason, here we see the beginning of the split that will make Buffy feel increasingly isolated and unable to trust or rely on anyone as the series continues into the depression years, especially Season 6. But we also see the start of a pattern that will become a central flaw in Season 7 - her inability to express empathy or care for anyone who she sees as a reflection of herself.

I’m actually not talking about Faith here - that’s related, but it’s also a whole can of lesbian worms I don’t want to get into right now. But aside from Faith, in the first few episodes of Season 3 there are two girls who mirror Buffy, specifically in her relationship with Angel. In Anne, we have Lily/Anne, who’s wants to spend the rest of her life with her older boyfriend, who has a criminal past and seems a little crappy but also genuinely loves her and is trying to be good to her, and who ends up being sent to hell. Then in Beauty and the Beasts, we see Abby, who started dating a guy who seemed nice at first, but who turned out to be an abusive monster. Both are very obvious parallels to Buffy in her relationship with Angel (in soul-having and soulless forms), and serve as ways for her reflect on that relationship.

But what I want to focus on is the fact that, while Buffy does try to help both girls, she’s also unusually harsh and unempathetic towards them. Her attitude is ‘This is how things are, and you need to set aside your emotions and just deal with it immediately and without emotional support’; it reflects how she treats herself, but it’s also a pattern in how she treats people whose challenges reflect hers. Which will come to a head in how she treats the Potential slayers in season 7, and the way she alienates everyone around her in part through her treatment of them (and therefore also her treatment of herself).

It’s just interesting to see these issues that will dominate the last couple of seasons come across so strongly in this early part of Season 3.