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#1 | |||
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Joined: May 2007
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Buffy Summers: In Charge, or In Denial..?
I posted this thread because I was interested to note the different opinions floating about regarding Buffy, and the amount she should have been expected to take on, following the demise of her mother/return from the grave.
Some put forward the argument that though her life was hard, life itself is hard; so she should really 'suck it up' in terms of taking care of Dawn, flipping burgers for a living and what-not. What do we all think? Did she really step up from the start? Should she have assumed more responsibility? Was too much expected of her? Was she really in charge of things, or just in denial..? __________________
Angel: I love you. Buffy: I love you. Angel: Nothing can change that. Not even death. |
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#2 | |||
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Joined: Jan 2007
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I agree that life is hard and you do really have to buck up and follow through on your responsibilities but that's not really fair in this circumstance. I mean, life for a slayer is never easy but how many have to deal with dying and coming back to life twice? Or crawling through your grave like a zombie or vamp? Or being ripped from heaven?
So I do believe that too much was expected from her. Considering that she had so many "friends" some who were living with her at the time, why did she have to be the one to provide for Dawn? As her watcher didn't Giles have a duty to protect and provide for her? As her best friend, shouldn't Willow have gotten a job seeing as she was living in her house? Both Xander and Anya worked so why couldn't they help with the bills? What about Tara? I'm not pointing fingers or playing the blame game but I think the responsibility was on everyone to help out. Slaying vampires and fighting the good fight , while living a hellish existence on Earth appeared to be too much for Buffy to deal with. And honestly because of her life, school wasn't an option either. So it's not like Buffy kept herself from living up to her human potential, it's just that the supernatural part of heralways interferred. Than her mother died and than she died and nothing was really ever the same after that. So in terms of S6, I don't think she was in charge of anything that was going on around her. So yes, she was in denial. __________________
I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart |
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#3 | |||
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I think although I sympathised with her so much in terms of her having to adjust to life post-resurrection, at the end of the day, she had to come to terms with the fact that even though she'd died, she was brought back and was still Buffy. And along with being not only the slayer but also an adult, comes responsibility.
I think by the end of the season she was portrayed as realizing how much she'd underestimated life itself, how you should make the most of it while you still can, and how important her relations with her family and friends were. Her friends were basically her family, along with Dawn. Yes it's true that they wanted to believe that she was simply herself again once they'd brought her back, because the reason they brought her back was that she was the missing element in their lives and they couldn't adjust to anything without her. But I think that was only to be expected. They'd got back their closest friend, as well as their protector, and it meant the world to them. They weren't ignorant to how she was feeling deep down about the whole resurrection thing, she just became good at masking her feelings. The two outsiders of the group, Spike and Tara, probably spent more time looking after Dawn than anyone else. (I say 'outsiders' not in an offensive way but simply because they weren't always part of the group.) But clearly shown in Dawn's behavior that season, she really needed her sister to be there for her without any agenda. Giles wasn't technically her watcher anymore and hadn't been for a long time. He stayed around because he felt very fatherly towards her. Once Buffy came into her own as a person, he felt like it was time to leave town and focus on himself, because there was no true need for him to be there anymore (at least that's what he thought). Deep down, she was suffering with her emotional demons, so yes, to an extent, I do believe she was in denial. But the problem was communication. She lacked faith in her friends thinking they wouldn't understand, so she hid the truth from them and that ended up being revealed in a way which ultimately hurt them. Even though I do understand why she confided first and foremost in Spike, I think had she been more open and honest with her friends who loved her, she wouldn't have spent the season feeling so tormented and isolated. Therefore, in a lot of ways, she wasn't in control, even though if she'd dealt with things on a more emotional level, she likely would've been. __________________
"Ele, I waited for you for a year. Trust me, I'd never ruin something so beautiful." Edoardo ♥ Eleonora Skam Italia icon Gwen |
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#4 | |||
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Xander had provided her with good plumbers and with cheaper prices and was seen to fix what was broken in her house for free. Plus, he and Anya were saving money for their own wedding. Not to mention the many times the gang had to baby-sit Dawn while Buffy patrolled. As well as the many times they helped Buffy with research and slaying demons. All these points count for helping Buffy. Without her friends, Buffy wouldn't have made it on her own. Quote:
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#5 | |||
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These are some really interesting points, guys.
Was there ever really an example of where Buffy completely failed to step up to her responsibilities? __________________
Angel: I love you. Buffy: I love you. Angel: Nothing can change that. Not even death. |
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#6 | |||
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Joined: Jul 2008
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It's kinda went back and forth between the two it started out she was in charge but she has slipped since then.
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#7 | |||
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Joined: May 2008
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Actually, didn't Joyce leave Buffy an inheritance after she died?
Though most of it was spent before Buffy's resurrection; I'm presuming that some of it went to pay off the mortgage. As for after Buffy was resurrected--maybe the income that Xander made as a construction worker, coupled with the income Anya made running the Magic Shop--as well as the salary Buffy made working with the Doublemeat Palace was enough so that Willow didn't have to work? __________________
Stephanie | Helena Bertinelli |
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#8 | |||
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In S7, Buffy didn't have to work So why did she have to work at the Doublemeat Palace? It also didn't seem to me as if anyone waas really watching Dawn in S6 S5 was the season when she had many babysitters. Quote:
I think there were many situations when I wished she'd done something different but it wasn't a result of her failing to step up to her responsibilities. Just personal preferenece. __________________
I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart |
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#9 | |||
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Joined: May 2008
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The closest that I can think of is when she tried to quit being a slayer in Prophecy Girl, but she did eventually face the master. There are some things I wish she would have done differently, but other than that, she has been pretty responsible. __________________
Stephanie | Helena Bertinelli |
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#10 | |||
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Joined: Dec 2007
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I think people put too much on Buffy, her friends did. Buffy had been through so much and life is already extremely hard. Why wasn't anyone helping her? She had been pulled out of Heaven and was truly unhappy and her friends didn't even try to help that much or at all.
Buffy was still fighting the good fight, she was still being the slayer. She is still human though and that showed even when she thought she killed someone - she was going to turn herself in. She wasn't high on herself on anything, she was human and in fact knew she needed help. I just feel her friends dragged her out of heaven, even though they didnt know that, they found out and then ...like Ashley said, left here there to drown. |
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#11 | |||
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Her friends never helped? At all? The writers didn't need to show us that Dawn had been watched, it was said on many occasions by Xander or Anya that they will be at Buffy's to babysit Dawn. In Doublemeat Palace for example, Xander got a phone call from Buffy that she'll get a double shift and she needed him to watch over for Dawn and he went there. In As You Were, Xander and Anya were asked to look after Dawn and they did. In regular days, Willow would stay home with Dawn. So Dawn had people watching over for her. It was mentioned but not needed to be seen.
Again, Xander provided Buffy with good plumbers and with cheaper prices and was seen to fix what was broken in her house for free. That doesn't count as helping? Willow's idea of helping Buffy was to use magic which back fired, and Willow paid a lot for her stupidity. When Buffy fell into trouble with the demon world, her friends were always there to help. They always helped with research. They helped in Doublemeat Palace. They helped when Buffy went invisible. They tried helped when she went psycho in Normal Again. And when she tried to kill them all, they forgave her right away because they knew she was going through a lot. Buffy's friends were all over Buffy in the earlier episodes, wanting to help, but she shut them out. I don't blame her, she couldn't face them because they were the ones who brought her back. But the point is still that they tried. Willow and Tara tried to help by taking Buffy to college, Xander gave Buffy a job at his construction site, Giles and Anya offered her a job at the Magic Box. When Buffy wanted beer, they took her to The Bronze. It was Buffy who didn't want to join them at the dance floor, it was Buffy who stood above watching her friends, unable to connect with them. So the problem wasn't that her friends didn't help her. The problem was that Buffy didn't want her friends' help. Quote:
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#12 | |||
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__________________
"Ele, I waited for you for a year. Trust me, I'd never ruin something so beautiful." Edoardo ♥ Eleonora Skam Italia icon Gwen |
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#13 | |||
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The gang in OAFA couldn't just leave their work and responsibilities to help Dawn find a gift for Buffy. And why did she just buy it at last minute? She should have done it earlier where Xander, Willow or Anya would be able to find the time to come along. |
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#14 | |||
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Maybe if there had been some mention of whether or not she still worked at DMP and when she left it would be clearer. As for the bills, well they never really explained that either. Especially after all the potentials moved in. I guess because the show was more focused on the big battle, little things like this wasn't explained __________________
I am done with my graceless heart
So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart |
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#15 | |||
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Joined: Oct 2005
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I guess the writers thought that little things like that didn't matter and that the fans will still remember that Buffy was working at Doublemeat Palace, and she just quit when she got another job. I don't really remember Lessons. I need to rewatch it. S7 is a big hole to me, I hated that season
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