At approximately 21:50 on the 1st of August 2013, I finished watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I started watching the amazing show around the start of June, when my Junior Cert was upon me. Derek Landy, my favourite author, was the man who recommend it, and seeing as how he said it influenced his writing style, I thought I'd give it a go.
At first, I was wary, I was expecting some washed out, monster-of-the-week garbage that so many other TV Shows have provided. I was so wrong.
Although, it did start of with less than a bang, after a few episodes I was hooked. I think it really became pure amazing during season 2.
It wasn't long before I fell in love with the characters, and I mean all of them. They're like friends, best friends, and knowing I'll no longer be able to watch them breaks my heart.
Buffy: The heroine of the story. Buffy is probably one of the strongest characters I have ever had the pleasure to get to know. She's brave, witty, clever, caring, kind, considerate, determined and everything a heroine needs to be.
From her post-battle quips to her pre-battle speeches, she has always been someone to admire. She is a strong leader, and has always made sure the Scooby Gang triumph over whatever evil there is to face.
Sure, she's not perfect, but who is? She wasn't always truthful with her friends, sometimes she had poor judgement calls and often people died because of her. Despite these flaws, Buffy is genuinely good person who has sacrificed herself to save the world, which is more than anyone could of asked from her.
Xander: The heart of the story. Good, old Xander is always going to be my favourite character. The guy is a hero, a proper hero. He is so kind and funny. He is the funniest character I have ever encountered and never ceases to make me smile. He's the reason people laugh in the face of danger.
However, that's not all he does. He sees things the other don't. He was the morale core of the group, never afraid to speak his mind when he felt something was wrong. He often spoke up to Buffy when the others wouldn't. He was loyal to the very end, always sticking by the Scoobies, even when some had turned evil. *cough* Willow *cough*
Despite not being supernatural like his best friends, Xander was as courageous as both of them. He constantly fought demons much stronger than himself to protect the ones he loved. He actually boosted morale (which is rare) and I would describe him as a friend. God I'm going to miss watching him.
Willow: The bumbling, beautiful girl that caused me so much emotional turmoil. She started off as a meek, shy 'nerd' who seemed to be hopeless at social stuff. This all changed when Buffy came along. Buffy made Willow come out of her shell and become a shining ball of sunshine.
Willow was gentle, caring, forgiving, loving, trusting (to the point of naivety sometimes!), intelligent and sweet. She seemed to be always helping others and was so nice in her efforts. She was so clever, a master of computers and eventually - magic.
This is where the whole 'emotional turmoil' comes into play. Poor Willow became addicted to magic, and it warped the sweet girl into an arrogant witch. She lost my love for a long time, but I realise know it was not her fault. I'm just glad she's okay now.
Giles: The father I never had. I liked Giles from the very first episode. He was the British cool guy, with his suave accent and his ... Britishness. He was calm and collect, he always had the answers, he was a reassuring presence that everything was going to be alright. He's like the father of the Scoobies.
Giles was intelligent and a natural leader. Almost all of time, he always knew what to do. He commanded Buffy and taught her what she needed to know to become the best Slayer she could be. He was her Watcher, and a damn good one at that!
Not only was Giles a good Watcher, he was a good father figure. It wasn't long before Giles and Buffy grew very close and developed a Father-Daughter relationship. He was her shoulder to cry on, her safety net when things got dire. We felt safe when Giles was around, and I always felt sad when he was in pain.
That's my thoughts on the four main Scoobies, but there is still many characters I love that I need to talk about. However, I'll try and keep them short for my own sake.
Spike: I love Spike very much. He started off as the Big Bad of season 2, but ended up being one of the nicest fellows you will ever come across. He's a vampire, and was a very evil one. He had killed two slayers and planned to kill Buffy, yet he still managed to maintain an English charm.
Eventually, a chip was inserted into his brain to stop him from hurting people. This was the first step in Spike's transformation. He eventually became a loyal and valuable ally to the Scoobies, frequently saving their lives. He became reasonably not evil.
Soon, it became clear he had fallen in love with Buffy, despite being a soulless vampire. Buffy told him it would never happen, and that she despised him. Despite this he tried to do good to win her over, to earn her trust and respect., but more importantly - her love.
But that wasn't enough, Spike had began to feel love and loyalty but he was still evil at heart. So Spike set out to change this. He faced challenges and triumphed over then, so he was rewarded with his soul.
He returned to Sunnydale (where the show is set) and proved he was ultimately a good guy. His true nature was shown and he won over Buffy. He was a devoted and honourable, which is more that can be said for most humans. Ultimately, he sacrificed himself to save beat the bad guys and save the world, showing just how kind and loving he really is. Never before has a character's death touched me so much. Manly tears all round.
Anya: Oh Anya, you lovely, lovely lady.I'll admit I have a crush on Emma Caulfield, the actress who portrays the ex-demon. She started off as a minor villain who created a warped reality of existence. As soon as I saw her (and I swear this is true) I wanted her to be regular. I guess wishes really do come true.
However, Anya lost her demon powers and became a regular, old mortal. She quickly fell in love with my hero, Xander and they began a relationship. It was lovely.
As well as being astonishingly pretty, Anya was brutally honest and lacked any social skills. This was due to her lack of being a human for a 100 years. She often was confused by human customs and emotions, and there's this one scene in which she sobs over her confusion at death and why no one will explain why it happens. That scene gets me everytime, it just shows how helpless Anya really felt around that time.
Tara: Poor, poor Tara. Tara, Willow's lover, was the sweetest character on the show, more so than Willow. She came across as shy, with a slight stutter that only highlighted her insecurity. People showed little to no respect for her, that is until Willow came along.
Tara and Willow's love was one of the most beautiful things I have ever watched. In a musical episode Tara sings such a sweet song about their love that everytime I listen to it I smile. It is beautiful and if you don't want to watch Buffy, just listen to that song.
Tara was loving and selfless, putting people before herself all the time. She grew up with a horrendous family and despite this became a lovely person. Her death was so sad, and she did not deserve it. God, I missed her.
Oz: I don't really have much to say about Oz other than he was a really nice guy who seemed to genuinely care about Willow and his friends. He was a quiet guy who didn't say very much but seemed to just say enough. I liked him and was sad to see him leave.
Dawn: I didn't really like Dawn too much. She was whiny, annoying and full of angst. Eventually she grew on me and I began to like her. She turned out to be brave, kind and clever. She dealt with a lot and I often felt bad for her.
Riley: Again, I don't have much to say. He was also a really nice guy and a cool secret agent to booth. He seemed to have a strong morale code that sometimes posed a problem in his relationship with Buffy, but other than that I liked him and I think his leave was one of the saddest moments in Buffy.
I think that's them all! I realise I said I'd keep those last ones short but those characters meant a lot to me too and I needed to write that. You may have noticed I've left out Cordelia, Wesley and Angel, but that's because they're all on Angel, which I plan to continue watching soon. I will probably write about them when I finish watching it.
I could also write about the Big Bads of Buffy (the villains), but that could take forever! The villains were great too, my favourite has to be either Mayor Wilkins or Warren. '
You might of also noticed I didn't write about the plots or the story, but only the characters. This is because Buffy is a character show. It's a show in which characters shine beyond the plots or the special effects or the fight scenes. The characters are colourful and wonderful and I think of them all as close friends whom I hold dearly. I am so terribly sad that I will never watch them again.
Sure there's the comics, but it just won't be the same, I know it won't. Buffy the Vampire Slayer will always work best on television, where the actors can bring the characters to life, and I know for a fact the comics won't do the characters justice.
It's because of this I'm hesitant to read them, but I will, I have to. Right after Angel I think. So that's it. I'm glad I got that out of my system. Once again, I just want to say how fond I am of Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles, Spike, Anya and Tara and I'm so glad I discovered this show. Thank you Joss Whedon, thank you so very much.
