Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season One - Review

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Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). Mutant Enemy Productions. Image Link.

"I may be dead but I'm still pretty which is more than I can say for you."
Buffy Summers, "Prophecy Girl", Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). Mutant Enemy Productions (Video).
Link to YouTube.

The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer consisted of twelve episodes and originally aired between 10 March and 2 June 1997. The series was created by Joss Whedon and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, and Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles. The show follows Buffy Summers, a teenage girl running from her destiny as the Slayer, the chosen one born with the strength and skill to fight vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. She moves to Sunnydale with her mother after getting kicked out of her old school for burning the gymnasium. She enrolls at Sunnydale High and makes friends with two schoolmates, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, and meets the school librarian Rupert Giles who reveals that he is her new Watcher. With the help of her friends and Watcher, Buffy tries to balance battling evil with being an ordinary girl, while going to school on the mouth of hell.


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). “Welcome to the Hellmouth” Mutant Enemy Productions (Video). Link to YouTube.

The general idea behind the show was female empowerment and to subvert the Hollywood trope of the “dumb blonde” who is always the first to be killed in slasher films by making her be strong and powerful. The opening scene in the series premiere ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’ does a great job subverting expectations. A young woman named Darla (Julie Benz) is led into Sunnydale High School at night by a young man looking to hook up with her. Darla is nervous and frightened that something is lurking in the school. Her date mocks her for being afraid. When Darla is certain that they are alone, she transforms into a vampire and then kills him.


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). “Welcome to the Hellmouth” Mutant Enemy Productions (Video). Link to YouTube.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was a perfect casting choice for Buffy Summers. In the first season, Buffy is still very much a child. When she meets Giles she rejects him as her Watcher because she doesn’t want to be the Slayer. The last time she battled vampires she ended up getting kicked out of school and having to move town. Antony Stewart Head is great as Rupert Giles. His relationship with Buffy is fantastic to watch unfold. He helps her accept her destiny and becomes a father figure and mentor to her and her friends.


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). “Welcome to the Hellmouth” Mutant Enemy Productions (Video). Link to YouTube.

In season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy could be described as a “valley girl” which is a trope that emerged in the 1980s of a materialistic upper-middle-class young woman from California who is known for being rich, attractive, and popular. The dialogue in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a variation of ‘valley girl speak’ known as ‘Buffy Speak’ where characters make jokes, pop culture references, speak very quickly, and often with sarcastic undertones. I love the way that Buffy speaks. I love her peppy attitude, her confidence, her sense of humour, her youthfulness, and her snark. Her scenes with the vampire Luke in ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’ are a great example of 'Buffy Speak'.


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). “The Pack” Mutant Enemy Productions (Video). Link to YouTube.

The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has some rough spots. The earlier episodes have aged quite a bit. The costumes, hair, make-up, special effects, dialogue, and music choices are very 90s. There are some filler episodes that are a bit of a hit-and-miss like ‘Teacher’s Pet’, ‘Never Kill a Boy on the First Date’, ‘Angel’ and ‘I, Robot…You, Jane’. There are also some episodes that really shine like ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’, ‘Witch’, ‘The Pack’, ‘The Puppet Show’, 'Nightmares’ and ‘Prophecy Girl’. One of my favourite filler episodes is ‘The Pack’. The plot of the episode is pretty silly. Xander and a group of school bullies get possessed by the spirit of a hyena while on a field trip to the Sunnydale Zoo. The transformation leaves the kids in an altered state. They form a pack of bullies and start tormenting the weak with mocking laughter. Their behaviour worsens over time and they start acting like vicious animals. The premise of the episode is hormonal teenagers can act like feral animals sometimes. The hyena that possesses the kids always makes me laugh because it is a poorly made puppet with glowing eyes. My favourite moment in this episode happens when Xander and the rest of the Pack are strutting around Sunnydale High to “Job’s Eyes” by the band Far. I really like how this episodes explores the idea that teenagers can sometimes act like animals.


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). “Prophecy Girl” Mutant Enemy Productions (Video).
Link to YouTube.

My favourite episode of season one is the series finale ‘Prophecy Girl.’ Giles uncovers an ancient prophecy predicting that the Master will rise and kill Buffy and unleash hell on Earth. ‘Prophecy Girl’ does a great job showing what an awful gig being a vampire slayer is. Buffy never chose to be a slayer and she cannot quit. It is so unfair to expect a sixteen-year-old girl to face an ancient vampire and give up her life to save the world just because it is her destiny as the slayer. When Buffy hears about the prophecy, she quits slaying, throws things at the wall and tells Giles “I am sixteen years old. I don’t want to die.” Sarah Michelle Gellar absolutely nails the performance. An amazing scene.


Whedon, J. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). “Prophecy Girl” Mutant Enemy Productions (Video).
Link to YouTube

Buffy eventually does find the courage to eventually face the Master in ‘Prophecy Girl’ and is killed by him just as the prophecy predicted. Xander and Angel find Buffy’s body lying face down in a pool of water with a bite mark on her neck. Xander is able to revive her using CPR. Buffy immediately gets back up and goes to find the Master to finish things between them. When the Master sees that Buffy is alive he is shocked. “You’re dead!” he shouts. The camera pans to Buffy, who smirks at him, and drops one of her most iconic lines in the entire series “I may be dead, but I’m still pretty, which is more than I can say for you.”

Buffy Summers is remembered as a feminist role model and as one of the most influential pop culture icons of the 20th century. I can’t help but wonder if this show were to be made today would Buffy be called a Mary Sue and would the show be review bombed and labelled as woke for being about female empowerment? I also can’t help but wonder would the show have survived past season one? I recently reviewed Star Wars The Acolyte . It was cancelled after season one which I think was a mistake. The show had potential and needed more time to grow and develop. Buffy the Vampire Slayer season one is rough in parts but it also had great ideas. Thank god Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn’t cancelled after season one. Buffy was a fantastic role model for me growing up. I would’ve been devastated if the show had been cancelled after one season.

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