"Prophecy Girl," written by Joss Whedon.
"Halloween," written by Carl Ellsworth. Season two, episode 18.
"You're still weak."
"No. I feel strong. I feel different. Let's go." (Xander and Buffy, "Prophecy Girl)
"Wow. You're a dish."
"This just isn't me."
"That's the point. Look, Halloween is the night not you is you, but you. You know." (Willow and Buffy, "Halloween")
"I don't get it, Buffy. Why'd you think I'd like you better dressed that way?"
"I just wanted to be a real girl for once...The kind of fancy girl you liked when you were my age."
"What? I hated the girls back then. Especially the noblewomen. They were just incredibly dull. Simpering morons, the lot of them. I always wished I could meet someone exciting...interesting."
"Really?" (Angel and Buffy, "Halloween")
"Who is that girl?" (Oz, seeing Willow walk in front of his van, "Halloween")
For those of you new to the show, some important events have happened between "Prophecy Girl" and "Halloween."
—The introduction of Spike and Drusilla, both with a long history with Angel (Angel turned Drusilla into a vampire). Spike and Angel were great buddies for a couple hundred years, wreaking havoc all over Europe, until Angel (spoiler alert) got his soul back and become good. Spike will in time become a major figure in the series.
—Oz, the guitar player in Dingoes Ate My Baby, whose lead singer is Cordelia's present squeeze and who play The Bronze regularly, clearly is attracted to Willow. They will soon become a couple.
—Jenny Callender will soon become involved with Giles.
—Ethan Rayne, who creates the mayhem in "Halloween," will return with more bad to do.
As I said in class, when "Prophecy Girl" was aired, it was unclear whether the show would return, so on some level it acts as the end of the story up to this point. As Maddie pointed out in her last blog, Buffy, following the archetype of the classic hero, "refuses the call," but then takes it up, dies, but returns in a new form—the true hero. So that said, thinking about the show also as an archetype of growing up, (1) what is the significance, to you, of Buffy coming back to life, stronger and more powerful?
"Halloween" is one of my favorite episodes, if just to see little kids turn into real monsters, Xander finally become a "real man," Willow save the day, and—surprise—a side of Giles we had no idea existed. It's a funny episode, yet at the same time, it gets at something(s) that speak powerfully, and sometimes uncomfortably, about growing up (and even, if we think of Giles here, about being grown up). So (2) what does this episode get at that's true about getting older? How so?
3. Last question: what stuck out about each episode for you? And why?
Guys, please don't simply repeat what others have said before you. Add to the conversation. Use details from the episodes. And don't give away what happens later in the series (even if I do occasionally). Of course, many of you do know, don't you?
Tomorrow, we'll watch the Buffy and Angel relationship get even more serious...with consequences, of course.
Finally, Leah, Mary, and Izzy: congratulations!
1) The significance, for me, of Buffy coming back to life, stronger and more powerful is the realization that in order to overcome something, you have to live through it first. When Buffy realizes that she has to die, “Buffy will face the Master, and she will die. – Giles), she is understandably angered. Both at Giles and at Angel, because all Giles knows are his books and Angel will never die. When Willow expresses her fear of the vampires taking over the world, Buffy knows that is her place to fight the Master. She is stronger then, and even stronger after Xander gives her CPR. Another significance is the fact that Buffy will never be as strong as she is without a little help.
ReplyDelete2) Growing up seems like a large theme in the whole show. Particularly in the episode, Buffy and the gang learn that you shouldn’t always pretend to be someone else. Willow becomes confidant in her own skin, at least for a little while, Xander realizes that he likes being protective, and Buffy is given the reassurance that Angel likes her the way she is. If it were not for Ethan’s spell, they would be different people.
3) What really stuck out for me in Prophecy Girl were little bits a dialogue, that at the time were probably not supposed to be funny, but were funny to me. Xander thinks he catches Angel looking at his neck, “I told you to eat before we left,” and when Xander and Willow come across Giles holding an ice pack to his face, “as the soon-to-be-purple area of my jaw will attest, I did not let her go.”
In Halloween, I really liked that Willow took charge of the group when Buffy becomes incapacitated by Ethan’s spell. I was getting tired of her being so wallflower-ish and she proved to me that she could as assertive as Buffy always is.
1. I think that the main significance of Buffy returning from the dead is to demonstrate how the experiences that we go through in High School truly do shape us and affect how we will act in the future. Although this is, of course, on a much smaller scale (as it is with most aspects of this show) the fact that Buffy confronts this issue that she has been avoiding for so long displays how she is assuming responsibility. It follows the mantra of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." After she fights the master she learns what his strengths and weaknesses are and also how to go about fighting him in future situations. Whenever I would become anxious about a test or a performance, my parents would always ask me what was the worse thing that could happen. In facing her fears, Buffy realizes that the worst thing that could happen (her dying) isn't even that big of a deal. Once she has gotten that over with she has no reason to feel fear.
ReplyDelete2. I think that this episode demonstrates that, when you get older, you are likely to change and you have to be open and ready for that change (as in the case with Willow). Also, it shows how you can not always hide and rely on others to lead you. When Buffy is turned into the princess, Willow and Xander have to show leadership, two people that usually hide behind Buffy. "Halloween" shows how, as you mature and age, you need to be flexible in that you can be open to changing yourself and the way that you handle certain situations.
3. "Prophecy Girl" really surprised me in that the stakes seemed much higher and the issues much more serious than in the previous episodes. It is very easy to get distracted by the corny jokes, situational irony, and cheesy special effects and forget that these situations are life and death. Even in the second episode of the first season where some people were killed, it never seemed to have a real effect on the community. The murders were forgotten or ignored and the team celebrated their narrowly-won victory. In this episode, however, the murders seemed to hold more weight. We were once again reminded that the people who were killed were really dead, that these were st udents who had real lives and relationships.
"Halloween" stuck out at me just because it didn't seem to be very well thought out. Sure it was amusing and interesting just because it was different from the other episodes we had watched but a lot of the episode did not make sense. For one part, Xander and Buffy remembered how it felt to "become" their costume but it seemed as if the children that they were accompanying simply forgot. Furthermore, the town had no real response to the situation. Like always, the incident was simply forgotten.
1.I actually thought the fact Buffy all of a sudden came back to life much more strong and powerful just odd. It didn’t really make sense that that would have happened even because it didn’t have a distinct answer on why she came back to life. Re-evaluating the situation though, I come to realize and connect this with normal teenagers over coming fears and from that, being stronger than ever. From the beginning of the season, Buffy had always told Giles, Willow and Xander that she’d do everything by herself and that she could take care of it. However, it was her friends that helped her and saved her; more specifically Xander and Angel.
ReplyDelete2.All three of the characters; Buffy, Xander and Willow chose costumes representing something they wanted to be. Buffy wanted to live as a princess, Xander wanted to be a strong man who could take care of himself and Willow just wanted to be invisible and hidden from the rest of the world. In this episode, on Halloween night, they all turn into the costume’s they were wearing. However, they all come to figure out that what they wanted to be wasn’t who they were. This relates to teenagers struggling to figure out their identity.
3.Even though it’s not necessarily a positive thing, something that stuck out to me in “Prophecy Girl” was the fact Buffy came back to life without any explanation. I found it quite random and because this might have been the last episode they had to follow the hero’s journey and let the protagonist fight the dragon, meaning the master in this case and then winning. I just think they could have elaborated on why she came back to life. The thing that stuck out the most in “Holloween” was the other side of Giles we haven’t seen before. In previous episodes we’ve seen this week, old man always reading books. However, in this episode he’s the one that pretty much saves the day and actually has the ability to fight. I’m curious to know his back story and why he covers that up now.
1. When Buffy has to bounce back from an unpleasant experience, ie death, the two things at risk of being fragile are her mental state and her physical state. Sometimes, like in Witch when she was knocked out, both are intact, but other times, at least one suffers, like in Angel where different things threw her off for most of the episode. At least there's one benefit to being the Slayer, you heal pretty quickly. And for the most part, that was the case for Buffy after her death. Almost immediately after her revival she returned to being spunky and slayage-y. But once the job is done, she sheds a few tears, and even though we didn't watch these episodes, there's a period in between Prophecy Girl and Halloween where she's pretty shaken up (I'm assuming that's not a spoiler cause we passed those). One assumes that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" or in this case, what does, but there's only so much someone can take. Buffy is one of the strongest characters ever, but she always stands to lose it, just like she stands to lose everything else.
ReplyDelete2. The "Ripper" character that Ethan greets and Giles acts like is basically a badass, and I will always regret that his spinoff series was never made. Giles is always getting knocked out and beaten up, but it turns out there's a side to him we haven't seen. A side completely unlike Giles. There are some people who never change, and some people who completely flip a switch, and apparently Giles is the latter. I find that interesting in a show about growing up because I feel like none of the other characters fit into either category. Willow is somewhat more comfortable with herself and less shy but she's still awkward and nerdy. Cordy has more depth and is a little bit nicer but she's just as sassy. That's one of the reasons I wish Ripper was a show, actually, I would have loved to see much more gradual and realistic character development like we see in everyone else, because character development is essentially the television version of growing up.
3. I love Prophecy Girl so much, it is Buffy at her weakest and her strongest and her most realistic and she is exactly the hero I've always looked up to. Prophecy Girl was the episode I realized I wanted to be like her, but the moment I came to that conclusion was not when she decided to save the world, or even when she saved the world, but the moment she decided not to. Don't get me wrong, totally glad she saved the world, but her vulnerability and teenage-ness made it feel a lot more possible to become like Buffy than when she was just an invincible Slayer. And who wouldn't want to be like Buffy? And in Halloween, I loved that Buffy wasn't the one to save the day. Cordy and Willow contributed greatly since they were basically the only ones who knew what was going on, and Xander finally got the chance to play the hero, even if he wasn't, you know, Xander. Sarah is an amazing actress and got a chance to show it off when Buffy got stuck in the mindset of a damsel in distress, Ripper is a badass, and Spike and Dru are the greatest couple on the show. Not to mention the earliest episodes graced with Oz's "cool irony" and a thing for Willow. To me, this is when the show really starts.
1. I agree with what has been said, I think Buffy’s resurrection represents what a teen should do when they feel like the world is ending: they should try to start over, not wallow in their pain and give up completely in life. As a teenager, at the height of angst, it’s easy to think that there is nothing good in the world, no light at the end of the tunnel. For Buffy, it would have just been easier to die, because she knows that if she stats alive she’ll still have to face so many demons (literal and figurative) and continue fulfilling all her responsibilities, which are astronomical. This episode gives the message that teens shouldn’t just give up, and the writers, years out of high school, want the viewers to know that no matter how complicated and dark it gets, there is something at the end of the tunnel, and it is worth trying.
ReplyDelete2. One of the quotes you list above is "This just isn't me.", Willow’s response to her costume. Willow is lucky to know the difference between what is really her and what is a mask, an act. Teens often wear these masks to be accepted and liked by their peers, and in this episode, these teens saw what bad things could happen if you pretended to be someone else for long enough. In real life, obviously you are not going to morph into a monster or a ghost, but losing yourself in the hopes of popularity is just plain scary and this episode does a good job of extending the metaphor to place that makes it impossible to escape.
3. I was sort of surprised how everything worked out for Buffy in “Prophecy Girl.” i get that she is the heroine of the show and they wanted to wrap up the show in the face of possible cancellation, but it was still frustrating how unscathed Buffy emerged. She is very strong and that comes with her title of slayer, but it’s almost annoying how invincible she is.
I thought “Halloween” was very clever. While it didn’t seem to advance the plot much for the main characters, it was a funny, ridiculous premise that worked, in my opinion. The show sometimes leans on ideas and plots that have been done before, but this was very weird and odd but it worked. I think Buffy is the only show where showing kids morph into demons could be funny.
I think the significance of Buffy coming back to life stronger with regard to growing up is that she is finally accepting who she is. Before, she was trying to run away from the fact that she was the slayer but now she is accepting it. She is a changed person, and when most kids grow up they go through some sort of transformation, and this is Buffy’s. This also has a biblical metaphor, as Buffy is the vampire slayer Jesus. She is the chosen one, and dies and comes back to life more powerful.
ReplyDeleteThis episode shows that part of getting older is finding out who you want to be and experimenting with who you are. Xander wants to be manlier, so he dresses up as a soldier and ends up saving the day. Buffy wants to be more like a normal girl who cares about being pretty, so she tries to be that. Willow experiments with dressing more provocatively to see what it’s like.
In the first episode we saw, I was surprised at how easy it was to kill the master. Buffy fought him for a little and then just pushed him. He landed on a sharp piece of wood and then poof, he was gone. The most powerful vampire in the world killed just like that. I was expecting a huge fight scene, but I guess that’s just not how Buffy works. In the second episode, the part that stuck out to me was that Buffy wasn’t the hero. So far, every episode has ended with her saving the day. I liked that other people got the chance to be the hero.
1) I believe that it shows when you face something difficult that it “only makes you stronger”. At the middle of the episode when Buffy overhears her fate, we see her terrified, almost cowardly reaction to dying. Of course I don’t blame her for being cowardly, I would believe most teenagers find the idea of death scary. So, after being in this cowardly state, we see Buffy face her fears, go down to the master and die. The way she is able to then commended and applauded for her actions is by coming back as stronger, as well as the whole idea of becoming stronger from going through tough experiences.
ReplyDelete2) This episode shows the idea of wanting to change yourself because you believe it will somehow please the people, or a certain person, around you. The thought of changing yourself can become more and more appealing as you age and start to be aware of how others perceive you. This idea is shown by Buffy picking out the elegant, old-fashioned gown in order to fit her idea of Angel’s perfect girl. This of course backfires in the end when Angel admits that he didn’t like any of the girls back in his time and believed them to be “incredibly dull”. Angel’s statement solidifies the idea that if you just be yourself then people will love you for who you are.
3) The moment where Buffy overhears Giles telling Angel that she will die impacted me the most during Prophecy Girl. Buffy’s reaction was very realistic, going from laughing, to being angry and then crying. It really shows the stages of emotions you go through when learning about something upsetting. My other favorite moment within that episode was when Buffy knocked out Giles. I didn’t just enjoy it because Giles was being knocked out, though that definitely adds to it. I think it shows Buffy protecting him as well as taking on her responsibility. Then the moment that stuck with me was Giles kicking Ethan in the stomach while polishing his ring. It is a part of Giles that has never been seen before, and frankly is disturbing. Oh, and thank you John for the congratulations part of the post!
1) There's a saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". That is one of the truest statements throughout life, especially in regards to growing up. Everyone goes through tough times and situations, whether it be someone you love dumping you or someone you love dying, these things hurt. However, they make you stronger as well, they make you resilient. Buffy endures her first real challenge that truly knocks her down- in fact it kills her (going a bit against the saying I just wrote, but whatever), however, she rises up from it with resilience and becomes a stronger person, "No. I feel strong. I feel different. Let's go."
ReplyDelete(note: I wrote this bit earlier in the day and didn't post it until now at 10, reading through other's comments I realize someone else also cited this saying. That was purely coincidence- I promise there was no copying.)
2) To me "Halloween" says "Be true to yourself." Growing up is a time for experimentation, as well as wishing to be what you're not. Xander Buffy demonstrate that wish to be what you feel what you're supposed to be- a tough man, a princess. However, in the end they realize that what they're meant to be is who they are inside, a funny, albeit weak guy, a strong, powerful, badass slayer. With Willow, the theme of experimentation is demonstrated. Buffy dresses her up to be hot, but WIllow still wants to hide under a sheet. In the end, Oz sees Willow and asks himself who she is. Even though Willow wasn't comfortable with it in the beginning, her confidence ebbs off of her as she crosses the street in the end. Lastly, with Giles, we see his rebellious youth shadowed under his now reserved self. That just shows that these experimentations of one's younger years do matter and they can even be part of you even when you're as ancient as Rupert (just kidding).
3) In "Prophecy Girl", the fact that it was Xander who saves Buffy's life in the end really stuck out to me. Goofy, weak Xander saves the Slayer, thus saving the world. I feel like that shows that if your heart is really there, the difference is mad. Additionally, Xander is then responsible for the continuation of the rest of the show- everything. I actually forgot how Buffy is resurrected, and Xander's doing it reminded me of how important he really is. In "Halloween", I'll be honest, I was fangirling over Oz, Dru, Spike. I love Oz's character. I love him and Willow. I'm excited to get to see him again. And I'm not even going to get started on Spike. However, while he's bad, I really adore Dru and am simply intrigued by him. Drusilla's character's flow is just so lovely and her story is great to. I also like the psychic vamp idea. Basically, the introduction of new characters in the episode really got me.
ReplyDelete1. When Buffy died, everything should have been over for her. The fact that she came back and kept fighting illustrates her strength and resilience. It also shows how people can bounce back from horrible experiences, generally not anything as awful as dying, but still awful experiences. So I think this shows how horrible experiences can be motivators, that we learn from them and can recover. Buffy's been beaten, but she doesn't give up, and in the end she succeeds. It sounds pretty corny, but I think it shows how awful experiences can force us to grow.
2. I think this episode shows how we can be forced to become something we don't necessarily want to be to please other people. Xander is not the "real man" figure by any means, but he is expected to be so he is forced into the army guy costume. Similarly, Buffy dresses up to please Angel and later discovers he's not even interested in that type of girl. She's changed for no reason, and this change puts her at great risk. Most people feel a certain pressure to conform, to hide certain parts of who you truly are. It rarely endangers your life, but it can limit you and change you and I think in that way this episode really relates to growing up.
3. Watching Buffy and Xander act so unlike themselves in Halloween really stuck out to me, because they were behaving like much more traditional, if exaggerated, gender stereotypes. It made me realize how much I like seeing Buffy being the hero; she's not perfect, but she can really take care of herself and her friends and I think that's fun to watch. When she became herself again and fought off Spike, I felt sort of relieved. In Prophecy Girl, I liked the end when they just casually went back to being teenagers after all of the drama. I also liked how it made death seem more real, with the teenagers killed by vampires that Willow and Cordelia actually knew.
In the first season, Buffy’s main conflict is with her slaying duties. She tortures herself over her different responsibilities and expectations. She wants to be a normal high school girl. In prophecy girl, Buffy is literally reborn. She restarts, and leaves all her previous troubles behind both symbolically and literally. Buffy finally accepts who she is and becomes a better person for that reason. When Buffy awakes she says that she feels stronger and different, she is more resilient and becomes more of a kickass, no nonsense slayer who defeats the master quite handily.
ReplyDeleteThis episode outlines the reality of a person and the fakeness that they may show to their peers. Each character wants to be a certain way: Xander wants to be a “real man”, Buffy wants to be a princess to make Angel like her and Giles, conversely, is hiding a secret past in his librarian guise. On Halloween, when Buffy and Xander dress up how they want to be, they literally become that thing. This shows he people change, people aren’t always who they seem. People that are able to be, and accept, who they want to be are more genuine and more successful in the long run. Willow is able to do that, as we see with her and her typical teenage girl Halloween outfit, “This just isn’t me.”
In Prophecy Girl, the realness of the show seems to enter the scene. Willow is upset about the deaths of her peers, as none of them really have been before. Buffy is approaching her death terrified and feeling betrayed. Everything seems to be how normal people would respond to the vampire apocalypse at hand in the episode. But, after buffy happens to spot a shard of a table through the sky light behind the master and she pushes him down way to easily, the episode seems to lose its authenticity for me. And, at the end everything seems fine as they all laugh about it all at the end of the episode. In Halloween, the characters were explored more deeply through their Halloween costumes. This episode is my favorite so far, it is very real, humorous, and different. Although the episode didn’t advance the vampire slaying part of the plot that extensively, it was able to introduce several aspects of some characters that we haven’t seen before, specifically Giles and Willow.
1. i see Buffy coming back to life stronger and more powerful as a metaphor for when high schoolers feel they have hit rock bottom, but then find themselves and are better for it. the scene before she dies, she is vulnerable and scared; overpowered by the Master and frightened for her mortal life. in the words of our grand modern day scholars of social media, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." and although Buffy did actually die, she is resuscitated so therefore i believe that counts as not totally killing her. therefore, sticking to the theme of prophecy set by the pop-gods, she is destined to come back stronger and kick some serious Master ass.
ReplyDelete2. i believe that the episode "Halloween" correlates with the journey of growing up through showing role reversals. in all of the previous episodes, we have seen Giles as the adult, and all of the kids in their own set character niches. this episode showed Willow coming out of her shell, Xander becoming the man we know is inside of him, Buffy becomes the true damsal in distress, and Giles is our helpless and illiterate man who needs taking care of for a change. this parallels with the ever changing roles of high schoolers within their own lives as well as with adults; you never know who you'll learn from.
3. particular parts of these episodes definitely stuck with me both positively and negatively. in "prophecy girl" what stayed with me was Buffy's continuation to still win every time. even when we think she's dead, she becomes alive again and at full strength...i get she's a super hero and all, but this still seems unlikely. also, how does she so readily defy prophecy? how can we credit any future prophecies if we know that they may not hold true? the part that i'd like to talk about from "halloween" is on the positive side. i love seeing Willow evolve through the episode, from the shy covered ghost, to the sexy actual ghost, then finally just the sexy girl walking home after a super wacky night of supernatural happenings. i think she's a girl whom a lot of teenagers can relate to, being shy and self conscience. watching her break out of her shell and be conferrable in her own skin.
1. Throughout life people face many challenges: some bigger than others but all significant in one way or another. Buffy, like all teenagers, faces friend and popularity problems, but she also faces much more difficult challenges, such as slaying monsters and quieting the forces of evil. Buffy’s death is not only a result of fighting the master but of all the hardships she faces in life. The fact that she comes back to life a stronger and more powerful person shows that she made it through the tough times and came out on top. This is a valuable lesson that everyone learns as they grow up: challenging times are unavoidable in the course of life, but if you manage to survive them you’ll come out stronger than ever.
ReplyDelete2. As kids we make-believe we’re soldiers, princesses, etc.: it’s fun to dress-up as someone you’re not and then be able to take off the costume at the end of the night and be yourself again. As adults, this doesn’t happen: there’s no make-believe, only reality. In Halloween, Buffy and her friends get a taste of what it’s like to be an adult as they’re forced to stop pretending and deal with actual problems.
3. What stuck out to me in Prophecy Girl was the emotion Buffy expressed upon learning about her impending death. It’s surprising to see such fear and confusion coming from someone who is so strong and brave. It’s one of the few moments where we see the vulnerable and truly human side of Buffy. I love the Halloween episode: it’s funny and exciting, yet dark at the same time. It introduces some important new characters, which is why the first scene with Spike and Drusilla really stuck out to me. They’re both such mysterious and odd creatures/people that you can’t help wanting to know more about them.
1) For a moment there in “Prophesy Girl” I thought Buffy had turned into a vampire. Even though I’ve seen the first few seasons, I was thrown off when she said a similar thing to what Jesse said in the first episode, about feeling stronger. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, but I agree that her dying and coming back to life stronger represents a sort of rebirth, even more so because she was in the water. I think her coming back to life shows that even if you fail once, there is still hope to prevail. Teenagers sometimes feel crushed if something bad happens. But Buffy shows the truth in the, clichéd but true statement, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
ReplyDelete2) Growing up is scary, and oftentimes teenagers don’t know what to do or who to be. We hear “be yourself” so much, but many times we don’t know who that is or what that means. The solution for many is to figuratively, or in this case, literally put on a mask and pretend to be someone/something that he/she is not. We see this in “Halloween” when Buffy tries to be someone else for Angel, and it backfires on her. I like how it allows Buffy to be vulnerable. It also lets Willow come into her own.
3) What stuck with me from “Prophesy Girl” was Willow’s reaction to seeing the dead students. It felt very real, and similarly with what Emma K. said, it had a real affect on people, whereas before the deaths don’t seem to affect them much, even Jesse’s in the first episode.
I really like Willow’s newly found strength in “Halloween.” She has to take charge because Xander and Buffy are not themselves, and this gives her confidence. It opens up doors of possibility for future episodes.
Buffy’s coming back to life exemplifies her growth as an individual, as well as her perseverance against adversity. Additionally, not abiding by the prophecy displays Buffy’s newfound ability to make her own decisions without the presence of an outside influence. Buffy’s experiences during her conflict with The Master have drastically altered her as an individual, emerging from the conflict not as a teenage girl but a capable young adult, arguably even a tried and experienced woman.
ReplyDelete“Halloween” displays how an individual’s insecurities lessen their restrictive control on their life as they age, as well as the beneficial effects of expressing one’s individuality. Both Willow and Xander utilize Halloween as a time to become an embodiment of their respective insecurities, which proved by the episode’s conclusion to have an incredibly beneficial effect. Xander dresses as a soldier to shroud his perceived lack of masculinity, and Willow dresses in a provocative fashion to dispel her insecurities regarding her appearance. As every individual becomes a manifestation of their desires and insecurities in some respect during this holiday, Willow and Xander are allowed to comfortably emerge as genuine individuals by the night’s end, as exemplified by Willow removing her ghost costume following her return to reality.
Buffy’s strikingly sudden sense of maturity stuck out to me in “Prophecy Girl”, as it displayed her incredible strength as an individual and her ability to overcome adversity in a manner that few individuals can. Willow eventually finding comfort in her own body stuck out to me the most in “Halloween”, as the insecurity appeared to be a defining aspect of her personality, and something that would take incredible efforts for her to disregard.
1. I think that Buffy coming back to life stronger and more powerful is significant because like others have said before it is symbolic of hitting a snag in life, but still being able to come back fighting. Buffy is able to come back from death and kill the master. Our stumbles make us stronger. Buffy comes back to life with a new found strength. She overcomes failing the first time to try again. Buffy never lets up to get to the finished results. It connects to life as we all have to try again and overcome difficulties to make things right.
ReplyDelete2. Buffy, Willow. and Xander learn a lot about self image through this episode. In the beginning Willow does not have the confidence to wear anything but the ghost costume that fully hides her from the rest of the world. Through the course of the episode, as she has to wear Buffy's outfit as a ghost, Willow has a growing sense of self confidence. By the end of the episode we see her completely rid herself of the costume by putting it in the trash. Buffy tries to adapt herself into a person who she thinks that Angel would like more than herself after reading up on him in the watcher diaries. For Halloween she dresses as an 18th century girl, so that she can be a girl for once. This causes problems when everyone when everyone turns into their costume and in the end we find out that Angel didn't even like the girls of his century anyways. Buffy finds out that it is best to just be her vampire slaying, somewhat messy, self. Xander's self confidence is low when Buffy sticks up for him in a fight. He dresses up as a soldier and gets to act like the man he always wanted to be when everyone turns into their costume. He gets to punch out the same guy who Buffy saved him from and gets closure. Xander has to deal with the fact that Buffy is stronger than him and sometimes that will be presented in a public forum. Through the episode all of the characters grow up a little as they learn more about themselves.
3. In the episode "Prophecy Girl," the fact that Xander saved Buffy doing CPR, really stuck out to me. Who knew that the one of the most common human first aid rescue methods would save Buffy the Vampire Slayer? She isn't saved by a magic locket, spell, or toad, but by something much more ordinary. Xander gets to be the hero for once and he saves Buffy instead of the other way around. Everything that I would have guessed was turned upside down and that was very interesting to see. In "Halloween," Willow gets to take charge for once. With Xander and Buffy completely out of themselves Willow has to be in charge and think on her feet. Cordelia sums it up when she says, "Who died and made her the boss?" Technically, Willow is the one who died, but is the death of the personalities of Buffy and Xander that makes her the boss. Her growing confidence culminates in her throwing away her ghost costume. She grows a lot during this episode and becomes more comfortable in herself.
Well not only does Buffy (almost) dying play into the classic hero archetype theme that started with odysseus, but it also plays into growing up with one classical lesson. Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up (batman quote booyah!) Up until this point, Buffy has confronted the possibility of death almost every night, but she has always been strong enough to overcome her opponents. This might have lead to a subconscious feeling of invulnerability, that her strength could solve any problem. When she went up against the master (who beat her easily), she learnt the hard way that she has limits, that she can fail. However, she picked herself up and this shows a growth in maturity
ReplyDeleteWell for one, at halloween every character picked a costume of a character that was almost opposite from themselves. Buffy, wanting to be a “normal girl,” chose a victorian era gown and got turned into the classic damsel in distress. Xander, a weaker character, got turned into a he-man, gruff (still slightly idiotic) soldier. Willow dress up in a kind of sexy costume which attracted the attention of Oz at the end of the episode but quickly covers up with a ghost costume. All in all, the Scooby gang, just as all teenagers do, wanted to be something that isn’t truly them, because they haven’t truly accepted who they are. There acceptance of certain parts of themselves (like when willow decides to not put the ghost costume back on showing new confidence) is a part of growing up for the characters
I was interested in Gile’s dark side. Before this I really hadn’t seen him a very strong character and more of (I admit) a weakling who main strength is his textbook memory and advice. But after seeing him wail on Ethan Rane and stand up to him, I have to say, I respect Giles a lot more. I’m also really curious to find out what Gile’s past history is now.
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