Buffy the Vampire Slayer; 20 years later

So I was a little late to the Buffy fandom… like 20 years late. I just started watching Buffy slay vampires on Netflix last year because I heard Alyson Hannigan was part of the cast and I love her in How I Met Your Mother. So I started the show for my love of Lily Aldrin, but I kept watching it for Buffy Summers.

Buffy is smart and sassy. She takes crap from no one, not even the undead. Well, let’s be honest… especially the undead. Buffy moves to Sunnydale after her parents divorce, moving with her mom and leaving behind her dad in Los Angeles. Buffy just wants to start over. She wants to have friends, have fun, and be a normal teenage girl.

But normal is not her calling.

Buffy is the Slayer. She is given supernatural powers, such as strength and agility, in order to hunt and slay vampires.

She is also given a Watcher, in the form of the school librarian. He guides her through he duties as the Slayer. He helps her train, but mostly researches vampires and other mythical creatures.

Buffy befriends Willow and Xander, best friends who are a little off beat for the popular kids. Willow provides the computer skills and intelligence, and Xander pretty much just adds humor and moral support when he’s not getting possessed, kidnapped, and attacked. So basically, Xander is the typical pretty blonde girl of the show.

I love how Joss Whedon came up with the premise of this show. He imagined the stereotypical situation of a vampire following a pretty blonde cheerleader down a dark alley. But then he thought, what if that tiny little cheerleader totally kicked the vampire’s butt?

And Buffy was born.

Not only is she the pretty blonde cheerleader, she really is just a typical teenage girl. A typical teenage girl who slays vampires after school, but whatever.

She spends her days worrying about her hair, trying out for cheerleading, and keeping an eye out for suspicious characters. She cuts class, hangs out with the librarian/her watcher, and avoids giving a straight answer to her mom.

It’s not just vampires overrunning the town. Willow chats online with demons and dates a werewolf, Xander gets possessed by a hyena and kidnapped by a giant praying mantis disguised as his science teacher.  They run into witchcraft, old legends, and curses.

Essentially, their high school is a truly hellish experience.

But Buffy finds moments of peace with Xander and Willow, when she’s not battling with vampires and her destiny of course.

While she may be killing monsters and deciphering ancient legends, Buffy is still a relatable character. She goes to prom, fights with her mom, gets called to the principals’ office, and falls in love… with a vampire, but still.

Buffy’s determination to have some normal in her life and be a teenager balances all the demon hunting and hell raising.

She’s strong, and not even a destiny to save the world is going to take away her right to live her life. She is truly one of the great television heroines.

Happy 20 year anniversary to Buffy and her vampires.