In this series so far, whenever I have written Cordelia’s name, it has almost always been immediately followed with “, as Buffy’s Shadow Self,”. She has existed up until now as purely a reflection of Buffy. That is her narrative function, the purpose she was designed for. She continues to fulfil this role through to season three, when a certain slayer takes hold of the reins. But this is the point in which she stops being just Buffy’s Shadow Self, and becomes a full character, part of the show in her own right.
Tag Archives: essay
We’re All Trapped Inside His Wacky Broadway Nightmare (Nightmares)
Fear is in the mind. This is the hypothesis put forward by The Master at the start of this episode, as he wraps his hand around the cross he so innately fears. And he’s right, of course. What is any emotion but a series of electrical impulses, hammering away at our synapses? The Master reaches the conclusion that if it is in the mind, then it is therefore something that can be controlled – mastered, as his name would imply. That is an idea that is a little harder to prove, and the rest of the episode is dedicated to discussing: is this true, or not?
You Never Got A Single Date In High School Did You? (The Puppet Show)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a story about powerlessness. This remains the case throughout the series. It’s about how the universe is fundamentally unjust, how the worst things will relentlessly happen, how you will be forced to make the most difficult choices, again and againIt’s a show that confronts the fact that we as humans simply don’t have any control over the conditions of our lives. In the first three seasons in particular though, it’s also specifically about teen powerlessness.
Have You Googled Her Yet? (I Robot You Jane)
The 90s were a weird time. Music was pretty awful, everyone got into Tamagotchis, and the Satanic Panic of the 80s moved on from fearing Dungeons and Dragons to a new boogeyman that threatened to steal our children’s souls and destroy society as we know it: a little-known fad called the Internet. (They also fearedContinue reading “Have You Googled Her Yet? (I Robot You Jane)”
Am I A Thing Worth Saving? (Angel)
There comes a point in the life cycle of every piece of popular culture, when a major twist stops being a spoiler, and becomes instead common knowledge, presumably known by anyone who has not dwelt beneath rock for their entire life. Darth Vader is Luke’s father. Rosebud was his sled. It was Earth the whole time. Snape kills Dumbledore. I’m not tagging these as spoilers, because you already know them, even if you haven’t seen these films. And the fact that you do know these twists changes the fundamental experience of viewing them. You can never have the same experience that those original audiences did. The emotions that they originally intended to invoke are lost to time. The pop-cultural osmosis that these texts have undergone has twisted the texts themselves into something new.
It is in this context that we must view this seventh episode, Angel (named exactly the same as both a character and a show, seemingly in order to ruin my tagging system). Because this episode is built around a major twist: the shocking revelation that the mysterious Angel, the man who has been following Buffy around dropping cryptic warnings, is in fact…
All Men Are Beasts (The Pack)
The Pack starts off as a simple episode about bullying and social cliques. It shows us a group of bullies (never seen before and never to be seen again), and another newbie that they pick on – the nerdy and shy Lance. They get infected with a hyena spirit (as you do), and Xander joinsContinue reading “All Men Are Beasts (The Pack)”
Dates Are Things Normal Girls Have (Never Kill a Boy on the First Date)
If you’ve been active in the Buffy fandom at any point in the last twenty years, you’ll know that there are a few big questions that come up in fan spaces at least once every month to be endlessly debated. Topics that are litigated and re-litigated and re-re-re-re-ligitated until everyone who has participated in themContinue reading “Dates Are Things Normal Girls Have (Never Kill a Boy on the First Date)”
That Guy Just Bugs Me (Teacher’s Pet)
About four years ago, in the innocent and shining days of 2017, I decided to start writing a series of essays on Buffy. I wanted to track the show through every episode, analyse the themes and desires of the series, see how they morph and shift through the seasons. I opened up my DVDs, popped in Welcome to the Hellmouth, and set to taking notes. I scratched down all the little thoughts and ideas that occurred as I watched, carrying on through The Harvest and Witch, eager to fill my brain with the whole season before I sat down to write, noticing new themes and parallels, brimming with eagerness and love for this show.
And then I reached Teacher’s Pet.
It Could Be Witches, Some Evil Witches (Witch)
With the opening two-parter laying the groundwork for much of this season, introducing the characters, the setting, the basic premise, the Big Bad(s), this episode takes the effort to introduce us to the final main element of the show as it was originally conceived – the Monster as metaphor for a Relatable Teenage Experience. The final scene of The Harvest promises a cornucopia of villains (“Not just vampires.”) from the show, but this is the first time we see it in action, with our Witchcraft-powered villain. In a way, this episode can be seen as the third part of a three-part premiere, for how much it solidifies the character dynamics and main interests of the show.
I’m Not Done Baking (Welcome to the Hellmouth)
This is the story of a girl
This is the story of a young blonde woman with supernatural strength. Who subverts our expectations by refusing to be the victim, and instead of being chased in an alley, turns round and kills them. This is the story of a woman who shapes the world with her actions. A charismatic, smart, and powerful woman, whose name is said in admiration and fear. A woman who sacrifices herself, who dies and is reborn twice over.
I am talking, of course, about Darla.
Insect Reflection 