Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme: Epic-ized

I mean, does this really require an explanation?

Hope ya'll had a great weekend.

Thoughts on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot

I'm late to the party on this (I've been summer vacationing for most of the past two weeks--playing with bears in Alaska and then at the beach in SoCal), but news broke a few days ago that Joss Whedon is exec producing a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Monica Owusu-Breen as showrunner. The series is still in very early stages of development--no script, no casting announcements--but some of the more interesting details include the producers' intention to cast an African American woman as Buffy, and their hope to keep the metaphorical aspect of the show intact.

Hmmmm. Interesting.

I have...so many feelings about this. Like, very conflicted, convoluted feelings. Allow me to break those feelings down into something reasonably coherent, if you will, in an old-fashioned pro/con list.

PROS

• More Buffy! BtVS is, of course, my favorite show of all time. While I'm hardcore side-eying the reboot concept, even the slightest chance that I could get more of what made the original series so great is, in a word, sublime.
• A black Buffy. I'm all for this! The original serious had a very white-washed cast, and it would be awesome to see it take a more diverse direction.
• Hitting metaphor hard. "High School is hell" is one of the concepts that made the show take off to begin with, and some of the best episodes succeed largely through their use of metaphor. Given our current socio-political climate, there are more issues and concepts than ever to tackle, either through a monster-of-the-week or with much grander plot strokes. I would love to see this done well in a contemporary supernatural television program.
• Joss Whedon's involvement. This is a tough one because my feelings about Joss Whedon have largely changed over the past year (look at what they once were, and while I've yet to publish anything specific on how I've been feeling about Whedon lately, it's safe to say I'm disillusioned at best), but a reboot of BtVS without his name attached in some capacity just...wouldn't seem right?
• Monica Owusu-Breen. She's tentatively in the pro column--in looking at her IMDB writing credits page I see she's worked on some interesting shows, but none of her individual episodes stand out to me. This isn't a dealbreaker--hence her place in the pro column--but it mainly means I'm just very curious to see how she handles the show. I think she could add fresh, interesting, potentially delicious blood (see what I did there) to a reboot of the series.

CONS

• ...more Buffy? (Seriously, ya'll, I'm conflicted.) The original television series (not the film, for the record) stands as one of the best television shows of all time, even now, twenty years later. Why change what is so incredible? Can you even change it without inevitably making the new product worse? I'm not sure you can. Joss said it himself:“I see a little bit of what I call monkey’s paw in these reboots. You bring something back, and even if it’s exactly as good as it was, the experience can’t be. You’ve already experienced it, and part of what was great was going through it for the first time.” And yet, here we are, I guess. Shrug.
• A reboot? Really? I'd be much more interested in a continuation--in which we follow a new slayer, oh, say, 20 years after the original series--of the story. New characters, new villains, new apocalypses. Sarah Michelle Gellar could even make a few (ideally rare) cameo appearances as an older, wiser, perhaps more jaded and/or grizzled (or, perhaps, retired and very happy? I don't know!) Buffy--and Alyson Hannigan could totally show up as a bad-ass witchy woman in her prime! That would be amazing. An adaptation of something else in-world would also work--Frey being a prime target (And Hannigan could still cameo! It would be so cool!). That would also be amazing. When you could do something like that, why reboot the already incredible, much lauded original series? (For the record, I know why, and it's money. But still.)
• How they're using the African American casting as a marketing ploy. Or at least it feels that way. As I mentioned above, I think a black Buffy would be very cool. I also think it's weird of the producers to offer that as one of the only bits of information they give us when they've only just barely announced the reboot in the first place. It sort of feels like they're really nervous about the response to the show (a reboot of an original that was notoriously popular, albeit with very mixed opinions, among minorities), and are trying to placate the potential audience with such an announcement. In short, I don't like how they're going about it. It feels condescending and poorly planned. That said, I still think it'd be a potentially awesome casting choice. We will see.
• Ugh. Joss Whedon. (Did I mention my feelings are conflicted and convoluted here?) This is tough because despite Joss Whedon's objective strengths as a writer and creator, he's kind of been an asshole to women (allegedly)--particularly his ex-wife--in spite of his feminist proclivities. There was once a day where I would have consumed anything Joss Whedon remotely had a hand in creating, but that day has long past. Instead, I basically ask myself "could I like this in spite of Joss Whedon's involvement?" So...yeah.
• But...Joss Whedon isn't showrunning. (I'M ALL OVER THE PLACE ABOUT THIS, OKAY?) The way Joss Whedon ran the original BtVS TV series revolutionized the way stories were told on the small screen. If he's only involved as EP, well...look at it this way: the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer film is notoriously bad, precisely because the people involved didn't know how to handle the character and the premise. They twisted Whedon's original vision into a joke instead of playing it straight. There's a risk of that sort of thing occurring here, even with Owusu-Breen involved.
• Things Are Different Now. BtVS came about in a particular climate, with a particular message. Many particular messages, in fact, that were particular to the sociopolitical climate of the time--providing a strong, heroic, dynamic, profound, and multi-faceted central female character perhaps foremost among them. This was a revelation. The reboot, however, could not replicate this. It's attempting to following in the footsteps trailblazed--and subsequently etched, carved, and gilded--by it's own direct predecessor. The original series was both a product of and a reaction to its time, and while the reboot has some interesting ground to potentially cover (as I mentioned above about "metaphor"), the cultural moment simply doesn't exist. (Which is not to say that the reboot couldn't create a new cultural moment, but lightning doesn't strike twice, as they say--it could, technically, but I wouldn't hold my breath.)

So. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts about this as the project develops, but I don't know, ya'll. Right now I'm worried. I'm very tentatively, very small-ly excited about the prospect, but mostly I'm worried. And I'm not alone. With response articles like "Is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot Doomed to Fail?" and "Talent of Color Do Not Need White TV Show and Film Hand-Me-Downs," and Twitter in an outrage about it all, I'm clearly not alone.

I do have hope, don't get me wrong. But hope and fear go hand-in-hand.

Salt Lake Comic Con 2017!

Salt Lake Comic Con is this week! And of course I'll be there. Here's the schedj:

Friday 22 Sept 6-7pm - Family Feud, Salt Lake Comic Con Edition! (251A) - If you want to see the coolest, nerdiest, awesomest gameshow panel of all time run by the fantastic Aaron Yeager (thanks Aaron!), you won’t want to miss this one. It’s going to be a blast!

Saturday 23 Sept 12-1pm - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 20 Years and Counting (255E) - Of course I’m on the BtVS panel, and I can’t wait! We’re going to talk about how BtVS changed the television landscape as we know it today. It’ll be a lot of fun.

Saturday 23 Sept 1-2pm - Christopher Husberg Signing (Shadow Mountain Booth 1807) - I get my very own signing! Stop by to get your books signed, pick up some swag, and chat with me about books, Buffy, writing, or anything else!

I’ll also be hanging out at Bard’s Tower—an awesome traveling bookstore where you not only buy books but also get to meet the authors, get books signed, chat about writing, and so forth. I’ll be one of MANY fantastic, talented writers at the booth, so you’re sure to find something you like.

If you’re already planning on attending SLCC, I hope to see you there! (And if you aren’t, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!)

Worldcon in Helsinki, Finland!

Hey alls!

In case you don't know, I'm currently in Sweden, and getting ready to cross the Baltic Sea tomorrow night for Worldcon in Helsinki, Finland later this week!

Before I share with you some decent photos of cool stuff we've seen so far, let me first share with you my official Worldcon schedule, which includes one panel this year, on one of my favorite topics of all time:

Saturday 12 August at 11:00 AM: "Legacy of Buffy" (203a)
The Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show premiered 20 years ago in 1997 and brought with it an unusual mix of supernatural horror, comedy, and interesting characters. Supernatural elements are very commonplace in television these days, but what is the real legacy of Buffy and the Scooby Gang?

Hey. I'm excited about this panel, ya'll. If there's one thing I love more than BtVS, it's nothing, and you can take that to the bank. (?) But really, though, I like the show a lot, and I think all of us on the panel will have a lot to say about the legacy this program left behind, particularly in relation to what many are now calling the "golden age" of television we're experiencing right now.

Other than that, I'll just be hanging around the convention center, talking to folks, and probably resting up a bit from our rigorous travels around Scandinavia! Speaking of which, here's a teaser photo for some more images to come, that I'll share in a later dedicated post:

Scandinavia is cool.

Fyrecon Schedule

Fyrecon is a science fiction/fantasy conference in Utah making it's debut this year, and I'm excited to be attending and participating! Fyrecon places a bit more emphasis on classes over panels and refining one's craft (as you can see in their banner above), which I think is a great idea. It'll take place at the Davis Campus of Weber State University next weekend, 8-10 June. Check out my schedule below.

Fri 9 June at 4:30 PM - "Comic Books as Literature" (Building D3 Room 203)
This will be a class I'll be teaching solo, and I'm very excited about it. I love comics, and I think it's clear they have every bit as much "literary" potential as conventional prose. Here's the description:

Comics, even today, too often carry with them connotations of immaturity, laziness, and low-brow writing. That could not be further from the truth! In this class we'll discuss why comics are important and powerful. We'll look at a few specific examples of fantastic comics and see what we can learn from them.

Points the Class Will Cover:
a) Comics as Literature 
b) Maus and Watchmen 
c) What can we learn?

Sat 10 June at 11:30AM - "Understanding Story Archetypes" (Building D3 Room 307)
As many of you know, story structure is something I've taken great interest in. A few years ago I wrote a number of blog posts detailing my adventures through story structure, and I've slowly been developing that (and doing more research) and developing a presentation of sorts. So this will be a two-hour presentation where we talk about numerous versions of story structure, why it's important in general, and what we can do with it.

We'll explore a few different archetypes of story structure, and then apply our understanding of those structures to our own stories, hopefully coming to a deeper understanding of the stories we are trying to tell.

Points the Class Will Cover:
a) The Hero's Journey 
b) The Virgin's Promise 
c) Dan Harmon's 8- Structure 
d) Foolscap Method 
e) What can we learn? 

Sat 10 June at 1:30PM - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Breaking the Tropes with Style" (Building D2 Room 110)
Well, it's a BtVS panel, so of course I'm on it, and of course I can't wait!

Sat 10 June at 5:20PM - "Is the Ultimate Evil Dead: What Are We Losing by Justifying Bad Actions? (Building D2 Room 110)
I'm looking forward to this one--it should be an interesting discussion. I have a lot to say about good, bad, shades of gray, and the differences between empathy and justification.

Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience!

Hey alls!

Salt Lake Comic Con's FanXperience is coming up later this month! It's basically an excuse to have another Comic Con event, and let me tell you the ones that these people put on are fantastic. There are tons of celebrities, lots of cool booths and shops and statue replica thingies and cosplaying and all kinds of other awesome events. Not to mention...I'll be on panels at this one!

I'm on two panels at FanXperience. Check 'em out!

Thursday 24 March at 3:00 PM (Room 151A) - "The Whedon Effect: Perfectly Imperfect Protagonists Then and Now"
Comic Con's description: "Joss Whedon is an undisputed master of the smart snarky hero/heroine that could really use therapy. Still they manage to save the world anyway, and we love them for every flaw. From Buffy and Angel, to Malcolm, River and the Firefly, and now to his grand twists on the Marvel Universe, Whedon has a way of changing the landscape and giving us worlds and characters we can't let go of... even years later. A discussion with authors and superfans of why we love these damaged characters and where Whedon seems to be headed next."

Friday 25 March at 1:00 PM (Room 255F) - "Buffy, Twilight, Vampire Diaries: Why Are Vampires So Popular?"

Comic Con's description: "Vampire lore has existed from the beginning of literature. Why does it remain so popular? What more can creators do to make them unique to their stories?"



I'm very excited to be on both panels. As you can see, both cover topics that I love to talk about. If you'll be at FanX, come check them out! Say hi! Get a business card (because I'll have official business cards)! It's gonna be awesome.

SLC Comic Con 2015 Schedule!

Hey alls! Long time no blog.

In short: my wife gave birth to a baby girl and I've been busy fathering. But more on that later, because tomorrow Salt Lake Comic Con 2015 begins! And I'm on paneling! Here's my schedule!

Logo courtesy of Comic Con website.

Thursday 24 Sept 4:00-4:50 PM (Room 151G): Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Icon and Heroine for the Ages
How. Cool. Is. This?!?!?!?! Me, on a BtVS panel! It's a good thing I did all that blogging earlier this year about it (and I guess that means I should probably finish the last BtVS blog post or two I've been meaning to write...). Anyway. Here's Comic Con's blurb for the panel:

There are a lot of fun, interesting discussions that can be had about Buffy. A conversation about Buffy herself and her impact as an icon is arguably more important than all of those discussions combined: Buffy means a lot of things to a lot of people. In this panel, her iconic status will be explored.

Friday 25 Sept 1:00-1:50 PM (Room 150G): I Ship It: Fandom's Favorite Couples
Man, someone must really think I have Things To Say about couples and relationships (considering I was on a "Romance" panel at CONduit and now this...). But I'm totally cool with it. Because you know what? I think I do have things to say. And I'm excited to say them. Here's how Comic Con describes the panel:

Troi and Riker, Harry and Ginny, Mal and Inara, Dean and Castiel...wait, what? Come for a discussion of what makes our favorite couples tick, why fans love to ship their own non-canon couples, and learn how to give some of those traits to the lovers in your own stories.

Saturday 26 Sept 2:00-2:50 PM (Room 151G): Welcome to Mystic Falls: Vampire Diaries and The Originals
I mentioned a few years ago some feelings I had about TVD--what I liked, and namely, what I thought they could do better. But the truth is, I've consistently watched the show for, what is it, six seasons now? There's a lot to like about TVD, and I'm excited to share my thoughts about it.

For fans of The Vampire Diaries, this panel will explore the characters we love (and love to hate), the plot lines that had us hooked, and the pitfalls the show has had to overcome. Come spend some time in Mystic Falls with us.

So there you have it! I'm very much looking forward to the Con, and to each of the panels I'm on. If you find yourself at Salt Lake Comic Con this year, drop by one of my panels, or just say hi! I'd love to chat!

THE BABADOOK and Why Horror is Important

I watched The Babadook recently, and it was wonderful. (And it’s on Netflix, so you should totes go check it out, post haste!) It also got me thinking about some things. [Be ye warned: SPOILERS FOLLOW.]

Fear: The Great Leveler

First: The Babadook is the best kind of Horror. It’s psychological, not slasher or gorified trash. I’m not a fan of the pornographic style of Horror that uses images for the explicit purpose of eliciting a physical reaction from me.* Rather, the Horror that makes me think, that tells a good story—that’s what I’m in to.

The Babadook is psychological. It’s terrifying. But it also tells a great story with good characters, and I think it’s more about grief than anything else; the main character, a young mother named Amelia, lost her husband seven years ago, but she tells herself and others that she has moved on—in the repeated, scripted way that only people who have obviously not moved on can.

What a horrifying thing to lose a spouse. What a terrible, haunting monster that kind of grief must be. But here’s a truth: that stuff happens. It happens to a lot of people. It might happen to me; it might happen to you. That’s life, and as unfathomably wonderful as life can be, it is nevertheless fraught with horror.

Hence my appreciation of the genre. Certain types of Horror can be cathartic. They help us deal with emotions and trauma we’ve experienced, or might experience down the road. Our own personal horrors are ineffable**—we are all uniquely broken, and suffer unique trauma. No matter how many words we put on a page, no matter how much we talk about what has happened (if we indeed find the courage required to do such a thing), no one can truly understand exactly what we have experienced. And that’s why Horror, as a genre, is important. It gives us a shared experience; it helps us feel less alone.

Unity Through Metaphor

Horror, and storytelling in general, accomplish this chiefly through metaphor. But don’t take my word for it; read it from someone smarter than me:

Metaphors…allow us to communicate about events, fears, and emotions that may not yet be understood fully by members of a society. Thus, metaphor serves as a way to discuss topics for which we do not yet have a language, or for which our vocabulary cannot reach in a one-dimensional way….metaphor creates layered dimensions of understanding by which the speaker and the listener can better communicate and through which a level of emotional or philosophical understanding can be reached that would not be possible with a straight description of the situation or feeling.

…metaphor has the ability to say the unsayable, thus haunting us with the idea that the metaphor and the reality may not really be that far apart. (“High School Is Hell: Metaphor Made Literal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer” by Tracy Little)

Metaphor provides a vehicle through which ineffability can be (somewhat) bridled.  As I’ve mentioned, metaphor is one of the main reasons I loved the BtVS TV series so much. Seeing the myriad metaphors on Buffy helped me to understand—and, in some cases, confront—struggles of my own.

Horror—good Horror—uses metaphor to allow us as readers/watchers/consumers to participate in this catharsis of shared experience. Fear is the great Leveler, and metaphor its scythe…and that’s actually kind of a great thing. Let me explain.

Grief and The Babadook

I loved The Babadook for many reasons—it terrifies on the visual, visceral, and psychological levels, it works as a story, it presents solid characters—but most of all because it’s one of the best examples of horror as catharsis that I’ve seen in quite some time. Mr. Babadook—the monster in the film—is a metaphor for the main character’s grief. That’s really all Mr. Babadook is, when you boil him down to his most concentrated state. If you don’t believe me, check out these lines from the children’s book that herald the monster’s arrival in the film (this is not the complete poem, just selections that were most applicable):

If it’s in a word, or it’s in a look,

You can’t get rid of the Babadook.

We can’t get rid of grief; we see reminders of it everywhere. It stays with us, at least on some level, forever.

…you’ll know that he’s around

You’ll see him if you look…

Grief, unprocessed, follows us around. We may not even notice it unless we really choose to see.

See him in your room at night,

And you won’t sleep a wink.

We may be able to white-knuckle our way through the day, but when we’re alone, at night, we can no longer deny it. Grief keeps us up, wondering, questioning, fearing.

I’ll wager with you, I’ll make you a bet.

The more you deny, the stronger I’ll get.

You start to CHANGE when I get in,

The Babadook growing, right under your skin.

Unchecked, unmonitored, un-dealt-with, grief changes us—and not for the better.

(That’s just analyzing a few lines of the poem, by the way; the way Mr. Babadook assaults Amelia and her son, even the way he’s presented on a visual level, scream grief. Re-watch the film and you’ll see what I mean.)

Amelia, terrified both by what Mr. Babadook is doing to her and what he signifies, denies his existence. But, just as the poem promises, the more she denies, the stronger the Babadook becomes, until he finally takes over Amelia completely and she becomes the monster. Only the love of her son, his willingness to protect her, and her ultimate acceptance of her husband’s death save her.

That in and of itself would make a phenomenal film, but The Babadook’s ending truly brought it home for me. Amelia and her son do not kill the Babadook; they do not even succeed in banishing it. The ending reveals that the Babadook still lives in their basement. In a curious final sequence, Amelia and her son gather worms from their garden, and Amelia descends alone into the basement to feed them to the Babadook. (When her son asks if he will ever get to see it, Amelia responds: “One day. When you’re bigger.”) The monster, obviously unsettled, towers menacingly over Amelia in the basement. But Amelia actually comforts the thing, using soft, soothing sounds, until the Babadook takes the worms and retreats to a dark basement corner. Amelia then returns to the light of day outside, and her son.

“How was it?” he asks.

“It was quiet today,” Amelia says, with a soft, peaceful smile.

And there it is. Amelia has not only confronted her grief, but she is learning to deal with it—to live with it—on a daily basis. And she is happier for it.

Do you see what I mean when I say horror is important?

I believe that each and every one of us will experience hopelessness, despair, and genuine terror in our lives, if we haven’t already. Disaster, abuse, heartbreak, horror, addiction, death. We are all broken. But no matter how deep our damage, the best thing it can do for us is help us see how unendingly beautiful life can be.

And, at least in my opinion, horror can help that along.***

* This seems as good a time as any to say that I certainly don’t enjoy, let alone appreciate, all forms and sub-genres of Horror. Some sub-genres offer little to no value, and others can be actively harmful. The Horror to which I’m referring in this essay has a purpose, has meaning, and while it explores dark places, it only makes the light that much more beautiful.

** “Ineffable” is one of my favorite words. It means, basically, that something is beyond description, too great or extreme to be harnessed by language.

*** Quoth Stephen King: "Here is the final truth of horror movies: They do not love death, as some have suggested; they love life. They do not celebrate deformity but by dwelling on deformity, they sing of health and energy. By showing us th emissaries of the damned, they help us to rediscover the smaller (but never petty) joys of our own lives. ... Omega, the horror film sings in those children's voices. Here is the end. Yet the ultimate subtext that underlies all good horror films is, But not yet. Not this time. Because in the final sense, the horror movie is the celebration of those who feel they can examine death because it does not yet live in their own hearts." (Danse Macabre)

Buffy: The TOP TEN EPISODES

AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…

Maybe I’m the only one that’s been waiting for this moment, but still. It’s a fun moment. In case you can’t tell, I’m totally fanboying out about all of this Buffy stuff. Let me bask.

…

Okay, I’m basked.*

Well, I don’t think there’s much else to say, except: ON TO MY TOP TEN FAVORITE BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER EPISODES OF ALL TIIIIIIME! (Oh, and: SPOILERS ABOUND.)

10. Season 6, Episode 17: “Normal Again”

What, you think this isn’t real just because of all the vampires, and demons, and ex-vengeance demons, and the sister that used to be a big ball of universe-destroying energy? (Xander)

While you can find a lot of the episodes from my list on just about any run-of-the-mill Buffy Top Ten ranking, I have a few unique favorites, and I think this is one of them. “Normal Again” is Buffy’s existential crisis: she is poisoned by a demon that convinces her she’s a patient in a psych hospital, that she’s basically been having one long psychotic break/schizophrenic episode since Season 1 (and, given the extremely creepy ending to the episode, we’re almost led to believe that Buffy’s sudden doubts about her reality may not be entirely wrong—it’s awesomely terrifying).

But what timing makes this episode truly effective; it comes at a point in Buffy’s life where it seems most plausible. Everything seems off to Buffy, out-of-sync, especially since her resurrection from death (which is explained brilliantly on the psych ward side of things as a summer in remission)—the “big bads” of the season are three nerds she knew from high school, her love current love interest is Spike of all people(/demons), and Buffy literally wishes she were dead. She’s in a bad place, disillusioned with her life. Not only that, but no one else is happy around her, either. Willow and Tara have broken up (and Willow’s been having some serious magic issues), Xander just left Anya at the altar, Giles is away in England, and Dawn is…well, Dawn. Basically, the episode chronicles very effectively one of the lowest points in Buffy’s life.

This is also an ideal time to introduce a theme recurring in many of my favorite episodes: Buffy’s loneliness. In “Normal Again,” Buffy has the opportunity to shirk that inevitable solitude that comes from being the Slayer—her friends make her life easier, of course, but they can never really help her with that responsibility, and in this episode it’s no wonder Buffy has second thoughts about staying in her “Slayer” reality.

The big conflict of the episode comes from Buffy’s increasing desire to “snap out” of her delusion; she wants to live a normal life, where her parents are still alive and not divorced. She is tired; she wants to give up the mantle of Slaying and be coddled, become her parents’ daughter once more and let them “take care of her.” Her desire is hardly surprising, given the choices Buffy has had to make as the Slayer (choices I’ll talk about a lot in the following episodes). Ironically, it’s psych-ward Joyce’s admonishment that Buffy believe in herself that gives Buffy the impetus to stay in her “delusion”—or, if we’re being positive, to continue being a hero.

As Buffy herself says: “Cause what’s more real? A sick girl in an institution…or some kind of supergirl chosen to fight demons and save the world? That’s ridiculous.”

9. Season 1, Episode 12: “Prophecy Girl”

Giles, I’m sixteen years old. I don’t want to die. (Buffy)

The first season of Buffy, as many people say and I will reluctantly agree, is not the greatest. It’s choppy, the actors and writers are still exploring the roles of the characters, and yeah, it’s totally campy. But this episode ties the season together. All of the characters come into their own. It’s the first apocalypse Buffy ever faces, and sets a precedent that remains true throughout the series: Buffy would be dead in the water without her friends (see what I did there?). But, at the same time, there’s an interesting qualifier to that truth: Buffy carries a mantle that no one else can bear. She is the Slayer, and it’s her responsibility and hers alone, and that responsibility necessitates loneliness (see what I mean with the recurring theme?). So, while Buffy needs her friends to stay alive—and to save the world—she can never quite be one of them. The dilemma courses through the entire series, and it’s heartbreaking. 

“Prophecy Girl” establishes something else that remains constant throughout the series: Buffy’s courage. She goes to face the Master knowing she’s going to die. She makes the decision no one else can make, because she knows it’s what she needs to do. She does it without friends, without family, without her boyfriend. She does it herself. And yet this is the hardest decision she has had to make, and will ever have to make in some ways, because it’s the first one. She chooses to sacrifice herself, and many things and people she loves, in subsequent episodes and apocalypses. But this is the first time that decision is forced upon her, and the weight of it is clear.

Oh—and the theme song. I think this is the only episode where the theme song is used for anything other than the opening credits, and here it’s used twice to great effect. Nerf Herder, you rock.

8. Season 5, Episode 22: “The Gift”

She’s a hero, you see. She’s not like us. (Giles)

Glory is probably the single most powerful foe Buffy ever faces, so this episode is bound to be epic in nature, and it does not disappoint. It’s the only other episode besides “Prophecy Girl” in which Buffy chooses to sacrifice, literally, all she has for her friends, Sunnydale, and for the world. So, epic times two.

How gratifying is it to see Buffy finally beat the living hell out of Glory, though? And almost as gratifying (in a nasty, sort of horrible way) to see Giles kill Ben, and therefore kill Glory, when Buffy chooses not to—hence the quote at the beginning of this section—only emphasizing further the widening gap between Buffy and her friends. See? Loneliness.

“The hardest thing in this world is to live in it,” Buffy says to Dawn, at the end. “Be brave. Live.” Buffy knows, because she has lived in the world as the Slayer for more than five years, and made some incredibly difficult decisions in the process. In a way, Buffy’s death is not only a “gift” (“Death is your gift”) to her friends, and to the world, but to herself: she is finally relieving herself of her immense duty, fulfilling her measure and reaching her highest potential. She’s finally letting go of that solitude.

7. Season 2, Episodes 13 & 14: “Surprise”/“Innocence”

Angelus: “You can’t do it. You can’t kill me.”

Buffy: “Give me time.”

“Surprise” and “Innocence” are where Joss Whedon’s use of metaphor really takes off in the series. A few episodes in the first season (“Nightmares” and “Out of Mind, Out of Sight” come to…mind…) and “Ted” from the second do a fair job of it. But “Surprise” and “Innocence” are masterful. They take the idea of a boyfriend spurning his lover after finally getting her to have sex with him beyond a whole new level. I think that’s really one of the strengths of the early seasons of Buffy: the show manages to express regular teenage experiences through supernatural metaphors, and in the process opens up those experiences to all different types of people.

This two-parter has some great moments, what with the fantasy elements and heroics: it’s Angelus reuniting with Spike and Drusilla (and the introduction of Angelus, a truly despicable specimen and a perfectly horrifying foil to Angel is awesome in and of itself), it’s the Judge getting bloweded up by a rocket launcher, etc.

But the best parts of “Surprise”/“Innocence” are where things get real: it’s Buffy coming home after the night she spent with Angel and having that awkward encounter with her mom (“I don’t know, you just look…” W hat, Joyce? How does Buffy look??); it’s Angelus being absolutely awful to Buffy, insulting her love and affection in the worst way possible; it’s Buffy crying on her bed because of what’s happened; it’s Oz and Willow and Xander and Cordelia having relatively functional relationships when Buffy’s world is crashing down around her (Oh, and it’s Oz being about the coolest guy on the planet: “See, in my fantasy when I’m kissing you…you’re kissing me.” Oz, thou art the man.); it’s Buffy and Angel, together, finally—and then, oh so suddenly, not. And it’s Buffy and her mom watching a movie in their pajamas together, at home, after everything is over: “You look the same to me,” Joyce says, rebutting her line from earlier in the episode, reassuring Buffy that she is still Joyce’s daughter, the same girl she has always been—even if she is a bit older, a bit wiser, a bit less innocent, and a bit more inclined to kill her boyfriend.

6. Season 7, Episode 5: “Selfless”

Xander, you can’t help me. I’m not even sure there’s a me to help. (Anya)

I originally thought “Selfless” would be a lot lower on my list, around the nine or ten slot, but in watching these episodes again…I just really really love this episode. It isn’t one I see on many Buffy top ten lists, but it definitely belongs on mine. In case you haven’t caught on yet, Anya is one of my favorite characters of the series. And “Selfless” belongs to Anya  (Or should I say Aud?).

From Anya’s flashbacks to her quirky honesty and raging capitalism, “Selfless” crown-bejewels her character wonderfully. (Confession: there’s a part of me that wishes she would actually die at the end of this episode, just because it would make that beautifully jarring transition at the end that much more powerful. But I acknowledge she does have a role to play in the season, and that’s okay. It still works incredibly well.) This episode chronicles Anya’s entire character arc: Aud, the humble village weirdo and, apparently, communist —> Anyanka, the fierce Vengeance Demon who lives only for her work —> Mrs. Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins Harris (or Mrs. Anya Lame-ass Made-up Maiden-name Harris, whichever you prefer—that song is so perfect), the raging capitalist who defines herself completely by her boyfriend and friends —> just Anya, who realizes she still has a lot to figure out about herself. Ugh. It’s so good.

“Selfless” also has some interesting conflict in the Xander-Willow-Buffy arena (“I am the law”), going back to my theme of Buffy’s loneliness vs. her relationships with her friends. This episode, too, isolates her even further. When Buffy finds out Anya has gone back to her Vengeance Demon ways with a…er, well, with a vengeance, Buffy knows she has to kill Anya. Xander, and Willow, to an extent, vehemently opposes this decision. But in many ways, Buffy is right, as she (almost) always has been—like when she gave up her life (twice!), or when she had to kill Angel. This episode, and much of Season 7 in general, throws Buffy’s morality into doubt, but I really think she’s justified, and, as always, is willing to make the decisions that no one else can even fathom.

And man, that transition at the end, from Anya’s singing (a great throwback to “Once More, With Feeling”) to…well, you know what I mean. And if you don’t, you need to watch this episode.

5. Season 6, Episode 7: “Once More, With Feeling”

All those secrets you’ve been concealin’—say you’re happy now, once more with feelin’. (Sweet)

In contrast to “Selfless,” “Once More, With Feeling” actually ranked sightly lower than I thought it would. I thought the famed musical episode might be 2 or 3 on the list, but here it is at a solid five. Of course, being #5 of 144 episodes ain’t nothin’. Anyway, there is so much to love about this episode. It’s the MUSICAL episode, for crying out loud! Buffy and Spike’s kiss, Alyson Hannigan totally failing at singing, Tony Head and Amber Benison totally succeeding at it. But the great thing about this episode is that, while it is fun and musical and a complete change from the norm (and the complete opposite of the #3 episode on my Top Ten list in many ways, but that’s a whole other can of very interesting worms), it still does what Joss Whedon does best: gives us amazing characters.

“Once More, With Feeling” is all about revelations. Every character—and couple—get a spike in conflict from this episode: Tara discovers that Willow is manipulating her—and with magic, no less; Anya and Xander realize they both are having second thoughts about the whole wedding thing; Dawn’s kleptomania goes public; Giles decides Buffy is relying on him too much, and chooses to leave to allow her to grow; Spike doesn’t want to be around Buffy if she can’t reciprocate his feelings just as Buffy proves to him that she may actually be thinking about some semblance of reciprocation in the feelings department; and, of course, Buffy reveals to her friends that they did not in fact pull her out of hell, but rather, heaven. (In a lot of ways this episode marks the beginning of the downward spiral that leads to “Normal Again.”) And all of this is done through some really great songs! This is where Joss Whedon shines: escalating conflict in strange, unexpected, and fascinating ways. “Once More, With Feeling” does that so wonderfully.

And, as long as I’m keeping with my “Buffy = lonely” theme, the song “Walk Through The Fire” is yet another example of Buffy’s inevitably isolation, despite what her friends do or do not do to the contrary. “Understand we’ll go hand in hand, but we’ll walk alone in fear.” That’s Buffy’s theme throughout the series: her friends are always close, are always helping, but Buffy is the Slayer. No one can take that from her, or do it for her.

Oh, and for the record, I’m on board with Anya about the bunnies—what do they need such good eyesight for, anyway?

4. Season 7, Episode 22: “Chosen”

In every generation, one slayer is born—because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule…. I say we change the rule. I say my power…should be our power….From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power; can stand up, will stand up…every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong? (Buffy)

This episode just has all the feels. I know a lot of people aren’t in love with the final episode of the series, but I guess I am. From Buffy’s cookie dough spiel—

Ok, I’m cookie dough. I’m not done baking. I’m not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I’m gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day I turn around and realize I’m ready. I’m cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat m—…enjoy warm delicious cookie me, that’s fine. That’ll be then. When I’m done.

—to her final, beautiful speech about power; from the Angel-face drawn on Spike’s punching bag to Anya’s horrible, sudden death scene; from to Buffy’s loneliness, emphasized by the First—

There’s that word again—what you are, how you’ll die. Alone.

—to the fact that Buffy can finally share her power in order to save the world, this episode is an incredible climax to the series. And, really, that might be my favorite thing about the series finale: Buffy’s loneliness finally shatters. She’s no longer alone in her power or her responsibility. She is still the first among Slayers in many ways, of course, but that loneliness that plagued her throughout the series, the loneliness that her friends only barely keep at bay (and if they hadn’t been there, it’s easy to see that Buffy’s life would have ended long ago—back in “Prophecy Girl,” if not earlier), fades. After a horrible death at the end of Season 5 and being ripped from heaven in Season 6, Buffy finally finds her place, and connects with the world and with her friends.

And Buffy’s smile, at the end…it’s wonderful.

3. Season 4, Episode 10: “Hush”

Can’t even shout,

can’t even cry,

the Gentlemen are coming by.

Looking in windows,

knocking on doors,

They need to take seven

and they might take yours…

Can’t call to mom,

can’t say a word,

you’re gonna die screaming

but you won’t be heard. (Girl in Buffy’s dream)

I have a lot of Buffy t-shirts, and two of them are actually inspired by this episode, so that alone makes it pretty awesome. “Hush” is a bright spot during one of the less interesting seasons of Buffy (that said, a “less-interesting” season of Buffy is still pretty damn good television IMO). The Gentlemen may be the most horrifying baddies to ever grace the Buffy screen. That line, “Can’t call to Mom, can’t say a word, you’re gonna die screaming and you won’t be heard,” is genuinely frightening. That loss of control, that lack of ability to connect with others, it’s horrifying, and this episode plays on that fear beautifully.

“Hush” starts like any normal episode, but from the moment the cast goes silent, things get real. Also, they get awesome. One of the great things about television is that you can do “concept” episodes—you can take risks, do strange things, experiment a bit, and in general get away with it. Film is a less forgiving medium; I don’t think audiences would be nearly as open to an “all-silent” film in this day and age as they would be to a single episode of television (The Artist, of course, is an exception, but at the same time proves my point—the stakes are that much higher in film)—we can endure any kind of episode for forty-five minutes, plus the cost isn’t as up-front as a movie theater. I think this actually makes television the more powerful medium, and we’re seeing the reality of that today with shows like Breaking Bad, Lost, The Good Wife, and Game of Thrones, just to name a few. Anyway, that’s something of a tangent, but “Hush” really succeeds because it’s a risk. That’s the real heart of “Hush” (pun intended—ha!): it’s a concept episode, but it uses the concept of silence to further character and plot. Buffy and Riley, Willow and Tara (Tara! So great to see her in this episode! When she and Willow perform that spell together it’s magical.), Anya and Xander (and Xander thinking Spike was feeding on Anya, and Anya’s suggestion afterward…so good); “Hush enhances each of their character arcs. The silence that takes place in this episode isn’t a fluke or a gimmick, but has real consequences in the world.

Three scenes define the episode, I think:

1. Buffy and Riley’s “babble-fest” conversation--filled with words but no meaning--at the beginning,
2. the moment where Buffy and Riley encounter each other, in forced silence, as they’re fighting the Gentlemen’s henchmen in the clock tower, and then
3. that moment in the end, where they sit across from one another in Buffy’s dorm room, and simply don’t know what to say to one another, despite having their voices restored. Filled with meaning, but no words. Ending with that silence is powerful stuff, and great television.

Also: Giles’ overhead presentation! Delightfully gory, and Buffy’s response to Xander’s question “how do we kill them” is hilarious. In fact that whole presentation might be one of the funnier sequences in the series. Also: BUFFY WILL PATROL TONIGHT. (That’s one of my t-shirts, by the way. The other is the Gentlemen.) 

Anyway, if this episode taught me one thing, it’s this: if I’m ever near a “laryngitis outbreak,” I’m getting as far away from that place as possible.

2. Season 2, Episodes 21 & 22: “Becoming, Parts 1 and 2”

Bottom line is, even if you see ‘em coming, you’re not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can’t help that. It’s what you do afterwards that counts. that’s when you find out who you are. (Whistler)

Remember my aforementioned recurring theme? Buffy making difficult choices, because of, despite, or sometimes in spite of what her friends may suggest? Yeah, that’s happenign big time in “Becoming.” This entire series is very much about Buffy’s connection with her friends, but there’s almost always a certain point where Buffy transcends her friends and everything boils down to just her. (Two notable exceptions to this are “Primeval” in Season 4 and the end sequence of Season 6, but the theme recurs far more than it doesn’t.) This is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, after all, not Buffy and All Her Friends. Her friends can only do so much; in the end, Buffy always has to be the one to make the choice.

And, in “Becoming” (just like in “Prophecy Girl,” and “The Gift”), she makes one hell of a choice. “In the end you’re always by yourself. You’re all you’ve got. That’s the point.” Whistler, the random sort-of-good demon whose purpose seems to be exposition and mentor-y stuff, emphasizes Buffy’s loneliness. And, when Buffy goes to face Angel, she really is alone. Xander gets Giles out of there ASAP; Spike and Dru take off; Willow, Oz, and Cordelia are busy spell-casting. In the end, it’s only Buffy. But, in the end—and this is the beauty of these episodes, that’s all she needs. “That’s everything, huh?” Angelus asks, having cornered Buffy, a sword at her throat. “No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away, and what’s left?”

“Me,” Buffy says, in what might be the defining moment of the entire series. And, then, she kicks Angelus’ ass.

1. Season 5, Episode 16: “The Body”

I don’t understand. I don’t understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she’s…there’s just a body, and I don’t understand why she can’t just get back in it and not be dead anymore. It’s stupid. It’s mortal and stupid, and, and Xander’s crying and not talking, and I was having fruit punch and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch, ever. And she’ll never have eggs, or yawn, or brush her hair, not ever and no one will explain to me why. (Anya)

Being honest, this episode is the reason it’s taken me a week to write another Buffy post. I’ve been dreading watching it, and when I finally did…yeesh. To say it’s emotionally draining is an understatement.

There is so much I could say about “The Body,” but now that I’m trying to say it, I don’t think I should say any of it. There are some media experiences that capture life in all it’s horror and beauty in the most accurate, painfully perfect ways possible, and this is one of them. The writing, the cinematography, the sound/music (or lack thereof), the incredible acting (spearheaded as always by incredibly performances from SMG, Alyson Hannigan, and Emma Caulfield) all come together for a genuinely moving, beautiful, and haunting episode.

I’ll be up front with the fact that my love of Buffy is completely subjective, dependent on my attachment to the characters and how what they are going through relates to what I was going through at various times when I watched the show. I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but you may not, and that’s okay. But I feel absolutely confident in saying that “The Body” is, hands down, the best hour of television ever produced. It’s incredible. It’s worth watching the Buffy series just to get to this episode—which, by the way, is at full effect when you’ve watched all the episodes that lead up to it, so I highly suggest you do that, and not just watch “The Body” on its own. It’s worth it—trust me.

I must’ve seen it five or six times, now, and it still makes me cry.

* If you got that reference, I will love you forever.

Buffy: The Honorable Mentions

So, as I mentioned in my post last Friday about Joss Whedon, I’ve been thinking a lot about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, of course, watching some of my favorite episodes. As I’ve been doing so, it seems inevitable that I write a post about my top ten favorite episodes—and that’ll come soon enough.

But, for today, I want to talk about some episodes that almost made it into my Top Ten. Some Honorable Mentions, if you will.* I’ll talk about these episodes in chronological order, because I don’t feel like ranking them. Ranking them is for the big leagues—ranking them is for tomorrow. Also, I won’t go into as much detail with these episodes as I will tomorrow, I just figured they were worth mentioning. Honorably. Oh, and SPOILERS FOLLOW, people, you have been warned. So, without further ado…

Season 1, Episode 10: “Nightmares” takes the “High School as Hell” metaphor to a literal level and plays perfectly on the fears of all the main characters (and some not-so-main characters, too). It’s also one of the first great—and successful, for that matter—conceptual/“grand metaphor” episodes**, where a young boy is tormented by, and finally confronts (with the Scoobies’ help), his abuser.

"Bored Now," Part 1...

Season 3, Episodes 9 and 16: “The Wish”/“Doppelgangland” - I kind of combined two relatively separate episodes (Which is kind of cheating I guess, but who cares! It’s Buffy!) because of one common thread: Vamp Willow. She is delightful, and we see far too little of her—and she’s such a great foil to Willow’s actual character at this stage in the series, not to mention the foreshadowing of (1) Willow’s sexuality and (2) her dark turn at the end of Season 6.

Season 3, Episode 13: “The Zeppo” is a special episode in more ways than one, but mainly because it tells the story from Xander’s perspective. He goes off on his own adventure while Buffy and co. fight what would normally be classified as a season-finale-level apocalypse in the background. Seeing things from Xander’s point of view is refreshing, fun, and, well, a bit sad, too. Because he’s Xander.

Buffy Summers: Class Protector

Season 3, Episode 20: “The Prom” - This episode has some solid qualities, but it’s really only on this list for one reason: Buffy getting the “Class Protector” award. Buffy does what she does—she saves the world, a lot—with little to no recognition throughout the series, but this is one of the very few exceptions. That scene makes me feel all the feels and then some. 

Season 3, Episodes 21 & 22: “Graduation Day, Parts 1 and 2” - All of Buffy’s season finales have their qualities, some more than others, but the Graduation Day episodes very nearly made it into my Top Ten list because of Faith alone. Well, Faith and the Mayor. And all the emotions of graduation, moving on, defying the Watcher’s Counsel, the climactic Buffy vs. Faith fight scene, and Angel leaving. Oh, and Anya! So great.

"Because it's wrong."

Season 4, Episodes 15 & 16: “This Year’s Girl”/“Who Are You” - These episodes have more Faith (cue “Faith” by George Michael), and Faith is a reason to put them on the list in and of herself, but Eliza Dushku’s portrayal of Buffy and SMG’s portrayal of Faith in “Who Are You” are stellar and make this two-parter really phenomenal.

Season 5, Episode 7: “Fool for Love” - In “Fool for Love,” we get our first extended glimpse into Spike’s past, and it’s wonderful. Spike goes from almost a throwaway villain at the beginning of Season 3 to becoming one of the most developed characters in the series by the end of Season 7, and seeing him slay the two Slayers provides a lot of insight into his character, especially considering his growing crush on Buffy. We also discover the origin of Spike’s original title, “William the Bloody.” Definitely a turning point in the series for Spike.

...and "Bored Now," Part 2...

The Last 5 Episodes of Season 6: “Entropy,” “Seeing Red,” “Villains,” “Two to Go,” and “Grave” - Okay, I know, I’m really cheating now, but this whole sequence is just…crazy. From Tara’s death to Willow’s murderous rampage (little taciturn shy Willow that Whedon endangered all the time in the early seasons because she was so helpless!), from Giles’ return to Xander Saves Us All, oh, and that little scene between Spike and Buffy that sent an almost-redeemable Spike to a point almost-beyond redemption, these episodes were truly intense. And, of course, who could forget those immortal words: “Bored now.”

Season 7, Episode 7: “Conversations with Dead People” - I think Season 7 rarely gets the credit it’s due, and “Conversations with Dead People” in and of itself is due a lot of credit. The episode is structured well, but the titular “conversations” and how they contrast are the true genius of the thing. Between Buffy’s entertaining—and slightly sad—conversation with Holden, Willow’s foreshadowy and disturbing chat with Tara/Cassie/The First, or Dawn’s horrifying encounter with “Joyce,” there’s a lot to love, and love to hate, about this episode.

A momma's boy at heart.

Season 7, Episode 17: “Lies My Parents Told Me” - “Lies” is sort of Spike’s culminating episode. I’m not a fan of Spike through most of Season 7, but he finally comes back into his own in this episode, and it’s all worth it. Spike has many issues, to be sure, but he has many qualities, too. IMHO, he easily edges Angel out of the “tortured hero” spot. No contest. And who can forget that song…

So there’s the Honorable Mentions, folks! Tomorrow I’ll dive into my top ten Buffy episodes of all time, and on Friday I’ll share some overall thoughts I have about the series. 

* I know what you’re saying—if I talk about ten “honorable mention” episodes, and then do my top ten, aren’t I basically just giving you my top twenty episodes of Buffy?

…

Yes.  The answer to that is yes.

** While “High School as Hell” is the metaphor that weaves itself throughout the first three seasons, there are some really fantastic episodes that take specific high school “horrors” and turn them into monsters/demons/anything scary. And as the series progresses, these metaphors persist (i.e. the abusive stepfather as robot, cyber boyfriend is actually a cyber demon, etc.). I’ll mention a few of these episodes tomorrow, but “Nightmares” was one of the first successful ones.