#becomingbuffy

--ANGLE ON BUFFY as her face takes on a look of recognition. And just a faint smile, but the first smile we've seen in a long time.--

For fans of the comic series, the scythe Buffy finds looked very familiar when they saw it on screen for the first time. On February 20, 2002, over a year prior, Joss had written and published “Tales,” the eighth and final short story in the Tales of the Slayers comic anthology. Set in the 23rd century, it focused on a Slayer named Melaka Fray, a chosen one in a time when vampires (called “lurks”) are returning to the slums of New York City, and the rich-poor divide is even greater.

“In Fray, Melaka is depicted as the latest in the mystical line of vampire slayers, chosen ones born with the strength and skill to fight the forces of evil, over 200 years in the future. However, unlike other vampire slayers, Mel is unusual in that she was one of a pair of twins; her brother Harth somehow inherited the psychic aspects of a slayer's abilities, leaving her with only the strength, agility, and other physical attributes. Prior to Mel, a slayer had not been "called" to receive her powers for centuries.” -Wikipedia

Mel isn’t aware of the history of Slayers because they’ve all died out except for her. She is given the scythe by a demon and ends up finding a building filled with Watcher diaries and etchings of the scythe. She reads about 4 Slayers from the past, one of whom is Buffy Summers, and that’s how she learns about her heritage.

“It's Fray's SCYTHE... it's the scythe Fray will find in the Fray Comic books in the future. For people who are not aware of it... Joss Whedon created a comic book character named Fray, who is a Slayer in the future, who finds this weapon which is odd because we never saw Buffy wield it... and now we have (Jane Espenson, BtVS Writer, May 6th, 2003).”

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“There were a lot of other reasons I didn’t go back, but one was that I didn’t want Tara to go bad. As an actor, of course, it appeals to me to play kind of evil and bitchy and sexy, but, as a human being who gets letters that say, I didn’t kill myself because of what you and Alyson did, that part of me goes, you’re not just an actor any more you’re making a social commentary now, baby. You’ve got to be responsible.

I had had some issues with somebody on the show, and it had kind of come to a head as I was getting ready to leave. Leaving the show was sad because there are some of the crew and the writers and some of the cast that I just adore, but I had made my peace with that person and the show and I was done..And then all the shit hit the fan and Joss realized he had messed up.. I truly, for all of his faults and for all of the things about him that are frustrating, I don’t think he ever meant to hurt the LGBTQ+ community. …But I didn’t want to come back. He really wanted me to come back and we just couldn’t come to an agreement on it.”

"Empty Places" has several chunks of dialogue from the Scoobies during the Big Fight that were severely cut down. The first one is Willow. This excerpt is when we think Willow is going to agree with Buffy and stand against Kennedy:

WILLOW

Back off, stop it. Kennedy

Buffy looks relieved for the support.

WILLOW (cont'd)

(to Kennedy/re: Buffy)

It's not her fault. She's completely

strung out.

Whoops. There goes Buffy's relief.

BUFFY

I'm a who? I'm not --

WILLOW

Once you've had some rest, I think

you'll be able to --

BUFFY

I don't need rest! Willow, I'm fine.

I'm... I'm fine.

Willow backs down. Clearly not convinced.

BUFFY (cont'd)

And I don't recall any of you

complaining about the way we did

things when we were winning.

GILES

Buffy, the rules have changed. And

I'm not sure doing things the old way

will help you here.

BUFFY

The old way. You mean by leading.

WILLOW

No, that's not it at all, it's just --

BUFFY

Look, I wish this could be a

democracy. I really do. It would be

more fair, I agree. (Scene continues as it does in the episode)

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*Trigger warning for discussion on abuse and self-harm*

Through our research and engagement with the show and its fans, the topic of the Spuffy relationship has frequently been raised as a “mutually abusive” dynamic, with many people describing Buffy’s behavior towards Spike as abusive. First and foremost, mutual abuse is a myth, often exploited by abusers to manipulate and shame their victims into submission, and perpetuated by a patriarchal society that is more comfortable disbelieving women.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline disproves mutual abuse, saying that at its core, “abuse is about an imbalance of power and control,” and that “there may be unhealthy behaviors from both/all partners in response to the abuse, but in an abusive relationship, one person tends to have more control than the other.”

Although Buffy's actions towards Spike can be violent and toxic at times, they do not resemble those of an abuser; rather, every instance of physical violence is sparked by Spike's attempts to control Buffy for his own gain. Abuse takes many forms, not just physical, and while Buffy may be physically stronger than Spike, it's clear that she's currently in a vulnerable mental state that he's exploiting.

S5. Ep6. Family

One of the most beloved episodes in the series, “Family” is unique for many reasons. Not only is it the first episode of the season that is both written and directed by Joss Whedon, something that is typically reserved for episodes 1 and 7, but it is also the first and only episode to focus primarily on Tara.

In a lot of ways, the episode is a part two to “No Place Like Home,” as the show broadens the theme of family to encompass the family we create as well as the family we come from. Buffy confides with Giles about her estranged father and embraces Dawn as a sister, Riley’s wrestles with being estranged from his Initiative family, and Tara rejects her blood family.

Dawn and Tara’s status as outsiders has naturally created parallels between them, yet the show has linked them even before Dawn appeared. Willow’s dream in “Restless” mirrors the opening scene in “Family,” where both Willow and Tara watch the cat (symbolizing Dawn) while Willow shares that she feels safe. Tara’s response that Willow doesn’t know everything about her, foreshadows this episode, and Tara’s predicament.

S6. Ep7. Once More, With Feeling

The only episode of season 6 that Whedon writes or directs, “Once More, With Feeling” is the highest rated episode of the show, and easily the most popular. Nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Direction, unfortunately the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) neglected to include the title on the ballots for Emmy nominations in 2002 (rumor has it that it was Joss’ assistant that forgot to enter it) and attempted to remedy this by mailing a postcard informing its voters that it should be included, but the episode did not win.

Whedon, who has stated this is one of his favorite Buffy episodes, used a widescreen letterboxed format for filming (the only episode in the series to get this treatment), different lighting to bring out the sets more vibrantly, and long takes for shooting—These were designed to give viewers all the clues they needed to establish all the nuances of the relationships between characters. Davies commented that the intricacies of filming this episode were "infinitely more complicated than a regular Buffy" episode, and Whedon stated in the DVD commentary that he was ambitious to prove what television is capable of, saying "it just depends how much you care". -Wikipedia

Whedon commented that he was "obsessive about progressing a plot in a song, about saying things we haven't said", comparing the musical theater format to the fourth-season episode "Hush", in which characters begin communicating when they stop talking. “I actually think of it as a sequel to Hush, because singing is like being quiet. You say the things you wouldn’t otherwise say. So a lot of the emotions were building over the first few episodes of the season, and then they burst out, literally in song.” -Joss

He was adamant that they set up not just the episode, but the rest of the season and the rest of the series.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar fought against the decision to kill Joyce, saying in Katz’s book, “I was heartbroken. She wasn’t old enough to be my mom in real life, but she was just always such a calming presence to me. And I was dreading working up to that episode on every level: emotionally as a person and understanding that it meant losing Kristine. And Joss would keep saying to me, ‘it’s Buffy. We can bring anybody back. They all come back from the dead. Don’t worry. It’s not forever. But I was really sad. She grounded the character of Buffy. And at times on set, she grounded me because she was a mother in real life. And there were times where she could see me and the mom instinct kicks in: ‘You just need a hug. You just need to talk. Or, you need to take a nap.’ Whatever those things were, instantly my world would settle when Kristine was around.” -SMG

Kristine Sutherland said that the part was incredibly difficult due to the makeup and stillness. Apparently she only blinked once on camera, which they took out in post.

When asked why Joss decided to keep Joyce’s eyes open throughout the episode, Kristine said, “I think Joss wanted to make it really clear that this was real death. This wasn’t about vampires. I know some people have been critical of it, but I think that our society doesn’t really grapple with death at all. We make up dead bodies so that they look like they’re still alive, and shove them off to funeral homes and pretend they don’t exist. Our chickens and turkeys arrive neatly packaged in the grocery store so you can pretend you’re not really eating what you’re eating. I’ve found Europeans don’t have the same ‘ Let’s clean death up’ attitude. You go to the butcher, and it’s a lamb, it’s a chicken. It’s got its head on and its feet on. I can only imagine that their reaction to human death is not quite as antiseptic as ours is, as well. At an Irish wake they lay the body out on the kitchen table and everybody comes to look at it and have a big party. Not closing her eyes was part of that.” -Kristine Sutherland

This episode displayed a noticeable shift in the show's portrayal of Spike. For 3.5 seasons the show has clearly indicated that Spike is a villain, and season 5 in particular has gone out of its way to emphasize this, especially in his behavior towards Buffy.

Stalking, verbal abuse, stealing of her clothing and pictures, and escalating to kidnapping, Spike's "crush" on Buffy has been consistently shown as toxic and wrong. The creation of the Buffybot is just another example of Spike's feelings of entitlement towards Buffy, and is a disgusting violation of her.

By having Buffy kiss a battered and bruised Spike, as well as showing the Scoobies feeling sorry that his toy was taken away from him, the show effectively reframes him as a sympathetic character. In doing so, the writers do away with seasons of lore and characterization, and actively put Spike and his characterization, ahead of Buffy and her autonomy.