While the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer were always refreshing and relatable, the teen show underwent a huge evolution in its seven seasons.
There may be a lot of teen dramas to choose from, but for many fans,Buffy the Vampire Slayeris always going to stand out. The series, which stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as the butt-kickingprotagonist Buffy Summers, is a great combination of campy fun and edge-of-your-seat action. Sure,Buffy tried to be a regular high school girl, but that never really worked out for her.
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Even thoughBuffy had many tragedies,fans have fond memories of their favorite episodes and moments. The show went through a lot of changes over its seven seasons, from character arcs to new types of storytelling. Some of these were positive and others... not so much.
Buffy Summers is definitely a sweet characterand she changes a lot from the first season to the final one.
At first, she's a naveCalifornia girl who says hilariousthings and seems to hate high school as much as a typical teen would. But by the end of the series, Buffy isa young woman who is strong, powerful, and can hold her own in any situation even trying to save the world. The Buffy in the pilot is definitely different from the character in the series finale.
Buffy didn't always treat her mom well, but Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland) was a major part of the show until her death in the fifth season.
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Buffy lost her mother and experienced this terrible tragedy at such a young age. At the beginning of the series,Buffy had a lot of conflict with her mom and it didn't seem like they could find common ground, and then Buffy had to learn to live without her.
At the beginning of the show, it didn't seem like Buffy had fallen in love yet.
The show changed because she went through the huge range of human emotions when it comes to a romantic relationship. She found love for the first time with Angel (DavidBoreanaz) and she was completely devastated when they slept together and he broke her heart. She also found love with Spike (James Marsters), who was definitely not a love interest that fans would have expected since, of course, he was an evil vampire. The Buffy in the first episode would probably never have imagined how dramatic and painful her love life would turn out to be.
Buffy definitely experienced some struggles with mental health over the course of the popular TV show.
This happened at the end of season 2 when she ran away and again in the sixth season after her friends pulled her out of heaven. The show did a good job of portraying a character who was going through an incredibly difficult time and itwas never cheesy or like an after school special. When Buffy experienced depression, she felt insecure about her Slayer status, and she really felt like she had no reason to go on.
One of MichelleTrachtenberg's most memorable roles is that of Dawn Summers. Dawn did some awful thingsand she's definitely not a popular character.
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WhenBuffy's little sisterarrived on the scene in season 5, the show definitely suffered. Dawnwasn't a compelling character and fans weren't surethat they liked herrole as "the Key."Many wish she had never been on the show at all.
Alyson Hannigan's character, Willow Rosenberg, has some flaws in laterseasons. At the beginning of the series, however, she was a kind, nerdy studentwho was welcoming to Buffy when she was the new girl at the high school.
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The show changed a lot as Willow didn'tstaya dorky high schooler. Instead, she found out that she was a witch, and her powers were part of many major storylines. It was cool to see this character's evolution as she found her place in the world and her confidence as well even if it took her to some dark places.
While the show was formulaic in some ways because each episode featured Buffy encountering a new enemy/creature/conflict, it also took some risks.
For instance, the musical episode "Once More, With Feeling" is one of the most celebrated episodes in Buffyhistory, which is surprising since some other shows have struggled with this format (likeGrey's Anatomy, for example).
At first, it seemed like Buffy was the only Slayer in town, and that was fine with fans since SMG's character kicked so much butt.
Then Kendra Young (Bianca Lawson) was introduced in the second season, and Buffy wasn't alone in her duties.Buffyfans are also familiar with Faith Lehane (Eliza Dushku), and deep down the two Slayers had a lot in common. It was exciting to see how the other Slayers fared.
Buffywas never content to just be a teen drama or a show about Buffy's love life, and that's one reason why fanslove it so much.
While the question of whether Buffy would end up with Angel was on viewers' minds in the early seasons, as the show went on, it became less about Buffy's romantic life. Was she ever going to find true joy and contentment? Could she handle being the Slayer? These were the bigger questions that the show explored.
AsBuffycontinued, the stakes got even higher no pun intended and Buffy had even more reason to try to save Sunnydale.
Buffy was always concerned with the Hellmouth since, of course, this was what separated evil creatures from human beings, and no matter how strange some episodes were, this character was always determined to save the world. In the pilot, Buffy was getting used to her new school and trying to deal with her mother, and she seemed like just an ordinary teenage girl. The show definitely changed because by the series finale, Buffy had been through a crazy, dramatic journey and she finally felt like her work was done.
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Aya Tsintziras writes about travel and pop culture. She loves coffee, barre classes, avocado, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.
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How Buffy The Vampire Slayer Changed From Season 1 To 7 - Screen Rant
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