In The End, You're All You've Got

In the latest installments of Buffy, the theme of Buffy’s identity seems to be emphasized. From Becoming Pt. 2, Anne, and Faith, Hope, and Trick, Buffy is really tested as a person, much more so than just as a Slayer.

In the finale of Season 2, Becoming, Buffy struggles to hold on to her identity as everything she values is taken away. Her friends are grievously injured, taking away her support system and the ‘siblings’ of her unorthodox family.

Poor Giles is also abducted and tortured, leaving Buffy without her Watcher for the first time since assuming her duties as Slayer. Added to this, Buffy’s mother Joyce is unable to cope with the truth of Buffy’s calling, and has a reaction more appropriate for a temperamental teen than a loving parent. Joyce has been less than supportive in the past, but it’s the final straw in their mother-daughter relationship when Joyce threatens to kick Buffy out of the house. Thus deprived of her parent figures- however imperfect they are- and after losing her friends and lover, Buffy is stripped of everything that she has worked to maintain in her life.

In spite of the losses, at this point, she has nothing to hold onto but her Slayer duties. The only thing that separated Buffy from past Slayers, such as Kendra, were her relationships. Without her family and friends behind her, Buffy is able to fully embrace the roll of the Slayer. Turned cold and business-like, Buffy fights violently with Angel, and in the end is able to kill the man she loved. Before the fight, a resigned Buffy asked the demon Whistler “What more have I got to lose?” Although it seems she’s lost everything around her, he answers that there’s one more thing she can lose. In the next two episodes, it turns out that this last thing is Buffy’s own identity.

In Anne, Buffy attempts to run away from her Slayer duties. She’s been through more than anyone- even the Chosen One- can handle, and so hides behind an adopted persona. I think it’s telling that her friends attempt to carry on the slayage without her. The Scooby Gang does their best to replace Buffy’s identity as Slayer, until Buffy is able to once again pick up the mantle as hero.

Also, in Faith, Hope, and Trick, Buffy’s personal identity is threatened. Faith appears, and is able to take on the same duties as Buffy, and seemingly fits perfectly into Buffy’s life- charming her friends, mother, and Watcher. However, unlike other episodes where Buffy is willing and eager to give up her job, she feels threatened by Faith and fights to keep her place. She even gives up her attachment to Angel, returning his ring. When Buffy lists the things she wants in life, she says “I want to date, and shop, and hang out, and save the world from unspeakable evil. You know, girly stuff.” It’s interesting that the Slaying, which she’s so often described as a burden, is now an important part of her life. It took the loss of everything else around her, but Buffy is now fully ready for the next part of her journey.