ooh i would love your thoughts on prophecy girl as clearly itâs been too long for me, I didnât expect that in the top tier for buffy/willow!
oh hi!! yes!! ok, prophecy girl is perhaps the one where i was most subjectively biased lol because they don't *actually* interact that much, but it drives me so insane on a personal level. this is what i wrote during my 2024 rewatch (polished up a little bit just now):
prophecy girl is maybe the first time we really see buffy begin to shut down emotionally - to cut herself in that way she fears in s5. of course, she is not emotionally shut down... she is filled with emotion and filled with love... but here she is facing her fate (death) head-on in a way that feels more real and terrifying than anything before, and i think that in order to do that, she has to turn off... something. thereâs a button inside, or a switch, and itâs been flipped off. she has to approach each situation now like the slayer. like a leader. she has to be strong, outwards - not for herself, but for her loved ones.
willow, more upset than buffy has ever seen her, says: âim not okay.... it wasnât our world anymore. they made it theirs. what are we gonna do?â buffy, with resolve, says: âwhat we have to.â and prepares to walk to her death. willow says: âbuffy? i like your dress.â and buffy says: âtake care.â
buffy canât say goodbye to willow here. she canât do that to willow. she can't cause her loved ones worry or fear. (even when she faces dawn at the end, she says âbe brave. live.â)
thinking about how much buffy and willow directly/indirectly had more influence on each others' lives than anyone else in season 1. buffy inadvertently changes willow forever, not just bringing out some inner self-confidence, but also in introducing magic into her life... for better and/or for worse. willow inadvertently helps buffy to make some enormous decisions, just by being her friend.
when buffy "quits" in episode 1 and episode 12, there is nothing giles or angel can say that will change her mind. xander isn't placed anywhere near her decision, and is only involved in the aftermath. her mom has no clue. but willow... willow being in danger is why buffy un-quits and continues to follow her fated path - to protect her, to make the world safe for her.
(sidebar, fascinating that buffy's own presence in willow's life sets them on a path in which buffy/xander will eventually have to save the world from willow. <3)
to me, prophecy girl is symbolic more than anything of buffy's role as the slayer and the role that willow plays in her life, and the way that it parallels episode 1 so perfectly. it means so so so much to me.
re: ranking all 144 episodes of btvs by how central buffy and willow's relationship is to the story
