Buffy
the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
“What
are we going to do now?” little sister Dawn asked as the camera
closed in on the lead heroine just before the screen turned to black.
Thus ended the 144th and final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
on May 20, 2003, putting an end to one of the biggest cult-favorite
television series in the medium’s history.
Or did
it? A few months ago, Dark Horse began releasing new Buffy
comic books. Nothing unusual there; comic book publishers have always
produced issues based on popular television shows and motion pictures.
In fact, Dark Horse had released close to 100 Buffy comics
during the show’s initial television run. The difference this
time were the words “Season Eight” off to the side—comics
have always been on offshoot of the source material, a continuation
of the characters by writers not associated with the source, containing
stories that were never considered “canon,” i.e., they never
“actually happened” within the confines of their fictional
universes.
These new comics,
however, are canon, with the first four-issue story-arc written by series
creator Joss Whedon, who will then oversee the remainder in the role
of “executive producer.” It turns out the story did not
end on that Tuesday night back in May 2003, but simply took a brief
hiatus, as well as a change in medium.
The final
issue of that initial quartet, entitled “The Long Way Home,”
was released in June. And while the series started off a little too
“comic-booky,” as Buffy might say, what with James Bond-like
parachuting out of helicopters, thought-balloons enabling readers to
get into the characters’ heads, and little sister Dawn now 50
feet tall (apparently sleeping with a thricewise demon has such an effect),
once the central characters had been re-established and the main plot
kicked in, there could be no doubt: Buffy was back.
In some
ways, better than ever. While the first five seasons, all on the WB,
are television at its finest, the final two seasons, on UPN, were never
considered up to the same standard by fans and critics alike. Some of
this had to do with Whedon stepping down as the day-to-day showrunner
in order to pursue other projects, namely the ill-fated Firefly.
And some of it had to do with darker story-lines that many didn’t
appreciate, at least not at the time. With Season Eight, however, the
story comes full circle as these books live up to the reputation of
the early seasons while continuing plots explored in the final ones.
As the fourth issue
of “The Long Way Home” concludes, for instance, we discover
that the motives behind a shadowy military organization bent on bringing
down Buffy, even going so far as to brand her a “terrorist,”
have to do with Buffy’s decision at the end of season seven to
have witch Willow draw upon the power of The Slayer to “activate”
the thousands of potential slayers in the world in order to defeat the
First Evil.
“Do
you really think we were going to sit by and let you create a master
race?” the leader of this new military unit asks in Season Eight.
“You’ve been to war with the demons, with the First, but
believe me you picked the wrong side. If you win then you’ll decide
the world still isn’t the way you want it and the demon in you
will say just one thing: ‘Slay.’ We’re not waiting
for that to happen—you’re at war with the human race.”
Buffy’s response? “Oh—,” with an initial look
of surprised confusion that evolves into steadfast, bring-it-on determination
as she continues with “—Kay.”
Buffy has crossed
paths with the government before. In season four, it was the Initiative,
a military band of demon-fighters whose methods led to disaster. Buffy’s
reaction was simply: “This is not your business. It’s mine.
I’m the Slayer. You’re playing on my turf,” she told
the commanding general in the episode “Primeval,” effectively
summing up one of her predominate traits. Yes, her love life has been
a bit of a disaster. She has suffered heartbreak, with the death of
friends at the hands of vampires, and the death of her mother by natural
causes. And let’s not forget her relationship with kid sister
Dawn, which is apparently just as complicated as ever. But when it comes
to her “calling,” her powers, there is no doubt that Buffy
is fully in charge.
In the season seven
episode “Conversations With Dead People” it was referred
to as a “superiority complex,” and soon manifested itself
in her iron-handed training of the potential slayers. This led to a
mutiny against her in favor of fellow slayer Faith, but then climaxed
with her eventual willingness to share her powers with the potentials.
Season Eight makes it clear that she is still Slayer Number One, and
her “Oh—Kay” response says that this superiority complex
is still firmly in place. And with these “concerns” that
the government has being somewhat legitimate (did she create a “master
race”? what would she do if all demons were destroyed?), Season
Eight has set up a story-hook that should keep fans coming back for
more.
Not that
it’s necessarily needed. The first issue of Buffy Season
Eight sold out its first day, and each subsequent issue has been in
the top ten of all comics sold during their respective months of release,
making it one hot commodity. Even author Janet Evanovich cites it as
her “must read” for the summer in a recent issue of Time
magazine.
It’s
a shame that Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any Joss Whedon series,
is not on television at the moment. But shows do not last forever, either
because of bad ratings, the desire by actors to move on, or simply the
drying up of satisfying storylines. Season Eight certainly proves the
latter does not apply to Buffy, and we should be gratified
that the story does indeed continue. And it may even have started a
trend: IDW will soon start releasing Season Six of another Whedon series,
Angel, and DC Comics has even approached Veronica Mars
mastermind Rob Thomas about doing a Season Four of that recently cancelled
show.
Which just
goes to show that nobody, not even television executives, can kill great
writing, great characters and great storytelling. At least not permanently.
(This article
orginally was published in Flak
Magazine.)
July 26,
2007
