Relationship Spotlight: Xander Harris, Buffy Summers & Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Before there was Harry, Hermione, and Ron, there was Buffy, Willow, and Xander (and yes, I maintain that the Buffy trio was a precursor to the Harry Potter team.  I mean, come on!  The Chosen One, the nerdy girl, and the insecure wisecracker?  Sound familiar?)  For me, Buffy the Vampire Slayer only got better when it expanded its cast – I love Oz, and Anya is fabulous – but there’s something so special about these three.

First, there’s the simple fact that Buffy so quickly becomes friends with Willow and Xander.  Buffy’s new in school and desperate to fit in, and being immediately taken under Cordelia’s wing gives her a chance at the same popularity she had in LA.  However, it speaks to Buffy’s character that she doesn’t even consider joining Cordelia in spurning losers/geeks like Xander and Willow.  Buffy’s conscious of her image and wants to be popular, but her kindness and sense of justice outweigh those desires easily.  And so, even as Willow awkwardly tries to warn Buffy about the social dangers of hanging out with her, Buffy does precisely what she wants and befriends Willow and Xander, Cordelia be damned.

At first glance, just being friends with someone like Buffy probably seems like a big enough change for Willow and Xander, but of course they both radically adjust their definition of “big change” when they get to the real revelation:  Sunnydale is a frequent stomping ground for vampires and other demons, and Buffy has been endowed with superpowers to fight them.  Despite their shock and the very real threat to their safety – now, Buffy is the one trying to warn them off – they instantly fall in line with Buffy, unwilling to sit on the bench when the world needs protecting. 

With Harry Potter, the main thing Harry has going for him is a prophecy of his all-importance, but Buffy is literally capable of things that her friends aren’t.  She has superhuman strength and agility and is generally a lot less breakable than Willow and Xander.  So, she has more of a point when she gets on the “lonely savior” kick and tries to sideline her friends for their own protection.  But despite the disparity, Xander and Willow never back down from the fight.  They do whatever they can to help Buffy, from researching demons to learning magic, from whittling stakes to wielding them.  And that’s the kind of people they are – having learned what’s out there, they have to help, and knowing that their friend stands between the world and hell, they have to stand beside her.

Really, this is what sets Buffy apart from so many slayers who came before her.  I mean, yes, Buffy’s amazing and strong and brave, and even though she’s a teenager, I kind of want to be her when I grow up.  But the slayer line is long, and she’s not the only amazing, strong, brave one.  So, when we look at why she’s able to survive so many years and withstand so much, the difference is that she’s not doing it alone.  She doesn’t have to be everything because she has other people’s talents to lean on; Willow has a far greater aptitude for research, and Buffy depends on her insight and research.  She goes into the fray with people at her back, and when things go badly, she has Xander to make her smile and remind her of all that she can do.  Buffy’s the Chosen One, so the burden of holding the demons back is ultimately hers, but thanks to her friends, she’s not the only one shouldering it.

Favorite Characters: Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

 

There’s an episode of Spaced where all the characters are startled in the middle of the night.  Each in turn shouts something different – “I’m sorry!” from Daisy, “I’m hit!” from Mike, and “I’m blind!” from Brian.  Tim, however, calls out for someone to save him:  “Buffy!” he cries.

 

As well he should.  It kills me that Buffy the Vampire Slayer existed (albeit in its later seasons) while I was in high school and I never watched it.  Every teenage girl ought to be exposed to Buffy and her devoted gang of Scoobies.  I know I could’ve used a hero like her.

 

At the start of the series, sophomore Buffy Summers is the slayer, the solitary chosen one imbued with extraordinary powers to fight vampires and other demons.  She has super strength and incredibly fighting abilities honed by her watcher Giles, a trainer and mentor.  She alone has this power, and when she dies, another slayer will be called.

 

However, she’s also every inch a teenage girl, and a rather girly one at that.  She likes clothes, boys, and junk food, and although she’s bright, her grades aren’t stellar and there’s only so many times she can say “a demon ate my homework.”  One can never forget that she didn’t chose to become the slayer; she was chosen, and there are days when she’d much rather be an ordinary girl.  Days when the principal grows suspicious of the trouble that seems to follow her, when she gets grounded for sneaking out in the middle of night, when a pesky apocalypse gets in the way of a date with a cute boy.

 

Oh, to count the ways I love Buffy.  Obviously, she can handle herself in a fight, and while she has her unmotivated moments, she’s fantastically determined when she puts her mind to it.  She has bravery in spades – more than once, she goes into battle with a far more powerful opponent, sometimes knowing her death has been prophesied, but she goes anyway.  In the face of all her enemies, challenges, and monumental bouts of adversity (that Whedon sure knows how to put ‘em through the ringer,) she remains bloody but unbowed.

 

Beyond that, she’s a charming girl with a sly sense of humor that almost borders on endearingly dorky sometimes.  She’s an occasionally distracted but genuinely caring friend, and what’s more, she judges people by their merits.  When she first arrives in Sunnydale, the pretty, perky Buffy is courted by high school royalty like Cordelia, but she almost immediately aligns herself with nerds and losers like Willow and Xander.  Part of it is her natural inclination to defend the underdog, and part of it is her ability to see Willow and Xander’s untapped heroic potential.

 

And of course, Buffy is, importantly, not perfect.  Her strong will can make her stubborn, she can be overly reckless and impulsive, and once she’s formed an opinion of someone, she tends to see them in black and white rather than shades of gray.  If she didn’t make mistakes or get herself in trouble sometimes, it wouldn’t be half so satisfying to see her triumph.  It’s remarkable to see her grow over the course of the series, becoming a true leader while still maintaining her innate Buffyness.