I have, in essays past, referred to Xander Harris as one of the most controversial characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After spending more time in the current fandom landscape, I need to correct that statement. He’s simply one of the most disliked characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A lot of people hate him,Continue reading “To Live So Close To The Spotlight (The Zeppo)”
Tag Archives: xander harris
He’s A Vampire – He Should Die (Becoming: Part Three)
This is the third of four essays on Becoming. The first focused on Willow’s arc; the second on the journeys of Angel, Spike and Drusilla; the fourth will focus on Buffy’s arc and final choice. I feel like we should acknowledge, at this point, two big clouds of controversy hanging over this episode: the debateContinue reading “He’s A Vampire – He Should Die (Becoming: Part Three)”
I Hate It When They Drown Me (Go Fish)
Guillermo Del Toro’s 2017 masterpiece The Shape of Water – a film built around the love story between a human woman and the “monstrous” Amphibian Man she finds a kindred spirit with – closes out its runtime with a shot of two lovers submerged beneath the water, and a poem that the narrator tells usContinue reading “I Hate It When They Drown Me (Go Fish)”
Whatever You Think You’re Feeling, It’s Not Love (Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered)
Last week, the show explored the fall-out from the Buffy/Angel disintegration through Willow, and her relationship with her new Monster Boyfriend. This week, it’s Xander and Cordelia’s turn to reflect the season’s central romance. There is no Monster Girlfriend for Xander – as much as he insists that dating Cordelia is more dangerous than fightingContinue reading “Whatever You Think You’re Feeling, It’s Not Love (Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered)”
The Wolf Is Inside Me All The Time (Phases)
With Angel making the switch from Love Interest to Big Bad last episode, the show switches its central focus too. The first two thirds of the season were concerned with Buffy’s burgeoning romanticism, and asking questions about it.Would she would commit to a sexual relationship with Angel? If she does, how will that go forContinue reading “The Wolf Is Inside Me All The Time (Phases)”
This Is Just My Outfit (Halloween)
“Do you love my insides? The parts you can’t see?” Drusilla asks Spike this question early in the episode, and it lays out the theme pretty clearly. This is an episode about hidden selves, about duality. It’s about taking a look at the characters’ Inner Selves – the parts we can’t see – and comparingContinue reading “This Is Just My Outfit (Halloween)”
I’ve Dropped Anvils (Inca Mummy Girl)
Sometimes, a metaphor within a Buffy episode is tough to tease out. It’s hidden in layers and double-meanings. It might take a third or fourth viewing for it to emerge. Sometimes, it’s a metaphor that was probably never intended by the writers, but emerges upon intense analysis. Sometimes, you discover a completely new metaphor thatContinue reading “I’ve Dropped Anvils (Inca Mummy Girl)”
I’m Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, And You Are? (Prophecy Girl)
Death has been coming for Buffy all year. It has stalked and preyed on the fringes of her life – in a teacher’s chalk, in Luke bearing down over her in a crypt at the end of Welcome to the Hellmouth, in the prophecies of the Anointed, in The Master hurling her into her grave, in Giles’ sad eulogy, in her dead lover, returning to her now, and bringing with him the omen of her doom. It is now written – in the ink of the Pergamum Codex, and in the clack of Joss Whedon’s typewriter. Tomorrow night, Buffy will face The Master, and she will die.
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.
Insect Reflection 