I want you so bad . . .

3.21: Graduation Day, Pt. 1
3.22: Graduation Day, Pt. 2
4.1: The Freshman


Irony does seem to haunt Sunnydale, not only within the show's context in modern culture, but also within the overall arc of the story—the "Buffyverse." In the middle of Season 1, Principal Snyder sneered at former Principal Flutie's views: "'Kids need understanding. Kids are human beings.' That's the kind of wooly-headed liberal thinking that leads to being eaten." Amusingly, Snyder suffered the same fate—not at the jaws of a pack of hyena-students, but at those of an ascending snake demon. (At least, it was amusing for everyone else. And, since he WAS such an officious rodent who hated both fun and young people—though not as much as the two combined—no one will miss him terribly.) Things like this within the show make Giles's comments about the "certain dramatic irony" and "synchronicity that borders on predestination" doubly ironic, since even the characters take note of and comment on the underlying forces at work. I heard somewhere that, in film writing, that's called "hanging a lantern" on a character or a concept, but perhaps more subtly.


In response to some of the questions from Dr. Rose:

"Do other characters [besides Faith] blur the boundaries between sex and violence?" It is impossible not to realize that the blurring of that particular border is practically the definition of the vampire itself. I think it was Katie Moore who was pointing out how the concept of "the vampire" has its origins in the most sexually-active stereotype imaginable. I have read essays on how being infected by a vampire is analogous to a venereal disease (in a recent movie version of Dracula they pushed this idea to its limit, adding to the story by giving Lucy's husband Arthur hereditary syphilis—an interesting facet, but one that didn't really work). Since the change from "3 bites, you're out" slower routine and the "new, American vampire" mere blood exchange between Dracula and the Buffyverse, the analogy should perhaps change from venereal disease to flat-out rape.

Everything about the vampire (particularly the "European" model) is suggestive of sexual intercourse: their inextricable correlation with blood, their predation of the weak and often opposite in gender (especially historically), even their physical position in relation to their victims. This came across very strongly at the beginning of "Graduation Day, Pt. 2" when Buffy had to force Angel to drink her blood to survive: she provoked him to a frenzy by punching him in the face so that his violent soulless nature would take precedence over even his feelings for her, and when she had succeeded, he fell on her with what seemed to be an uncontrollable and unstoppable hunger. While their earlier physical relations were born of their love for one another and were represented as tender and unhurried, with something of the sacred about them, the mixture of demonic bloodlust and actual human desire had not been so vividly displayed before this point.


Completely outside of the show and its inner workings, I really appreciated Willow and Buffy's discussion of classes at the beginning of "The Freshman":

Willow: 'Images of Pop Culture.' This is good. They watch movies, TV shows, even commercials!
Buffy: For credit?
Willow: Isn't college cool?

I just found this also perfectly ironic and charming, given our class's particular persuasion, and I must agree with Willow: college is all the more cool for taking an academic angle on pop culture.