The Great Buffy Rewatch: Season 2 Mid-point, Part 2
Time for the “character development” portion of the S2 Mid-point Recap. Beware of full spoilers ahead.
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Addiction and Domestic Violence.
The opening of season 2 brings about some interesting changes to the status quo by integrating Jenny Calender and Cordelia Chase more prominently into the cast, giving us a more “found family” vibe.
Rupert Giles: Softboi Dad
Giles spends a good portion of the season going too hard on Buffy until he realizes he’s driven her to dishonesty- and this is handled in a genuinely refreshing way. Rather than being a story about how adults are owed complete and total honesty regardless of the circumstances, this is a lesson about Giles’ perspective on Buffy and her Slayer identity. Watching as an adult, it’s understandable that he feels like he needs to drive her as hard as he does; her life is in his hands, and she’s already died once. The perspective he doesn’t consider is that she deserves to live as fully as possible before she inevitably dies young. As of episode 11, there isn’t much sign of that loathsome “character reset” thing these shows like to do, but the night is still young. We shall see how well this lesson sticks.
As of “Halloween” and “The Dark Age,” Giles is finally starting to get the intrigue he deserves. We learn that he’s held a long-term “friendship” with costume store owner Ethan Rayne, who set up shop in Sunnydale exclusively to curse a bunch of high schoolers’ Halloween wardrobes (and, unlike Spirit, remains open year-round(?)), based on their shared experience of being members of the Eyghon Summoning Club (*name not official). “The Dark Age” goes out of its way to highlight Giles’ emotional qualities, telling the audience how he cries at every funeral and is, overall, seen as weaker for his sentimental tendencies. I would have liked to see more of this shown rather than told, and it would have made a tighter theme if the narrative had done just a little more to emphasize that these “weaker” qualities are, in fact, what inspired Giles to become a better man. If he had remained callous-unemotional, as Ethan did, he probably would have made the same call and tried to cast his burden on someone else. The episode never uses the term “addiction,” but given the way Eyghon’s possessions work, he probably got addicted- and the only reason he stopped was because of profound remorse.
Overall, season 2 starts to show that Giles is not to be trifled with.
Jenny Calender: Techbro Mom
For the first eight episodes of season 2, Ms. Calender is 100% “Ride or Die” with Giles, his job, and Slayer-related antics. Unfortunately, getting used as a pawn by a demon gives her the need to step back, and we don’t hear from her much for a few episodes. As of episode 11, there are some signs that she may return.
I know there was more I wanted to say about her character, but unfortunately those notes are lost to time and poor fortune. And I still don’t get the “Ms. Calender was my father” joke.
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The Ugly Side of Summers
While Buffy’s character development for the first half of season 2 mostly maintains the status quo of season 1, we still get plenty of intrigue in episode 1- “When She Was Bad”- as well as the mid-season 2-parter “What’s My Line?”.
“When She Was Bad” shows Buffy handling the trauma of her death in season 1 by simultaneously pushing her loved ones away and acting out for their attention; the clearest example of this is when she tells Angel she’s over him, then orchestrates a sensual display with Xander to drive him crazy with jealousy. This was a very realistic depiction of a person struggling to deal with trauma, and I love that the narrative doesn’t minimize her struggles or use the moral “wrongness” of her behavior as an excuse to dismiss or punish her. In the end, Buffy’s greatest need isn’t to learn a life lesson; it’s to find a way to come to terms with what happened. Once she’s recovered enough to realize what she’s done, the only punishment she needs is to know she hurt the people she loves.
The Wisdom of the Other Sibling
Her interactions with Kendra in the “What’s My Line?” two-parter resemble “sibling rivalry”- where Kendra is cast in the role of the older sibling and Buffy, the younger:
- Kendra internalizes the existing structure and seeks to impose it on Buffy as a means of protecting her; Buffy defies the existing structure out of an internal drive for authenticity and unwillingness to live with the consequences of following the rules.
- They approach their Slayer identities from opposite perspectives. Kendra asks “Am I in alignment with the rules?” while Buffy asks “Are the rules in alignment with me?”
- Both see the flaws in each other’s positions and consider the other to be misguided. The narrative handles this nuance well, showing that there are consequences for following the rules to the letter regardless of what the situation calls for and for disregarding them wholesale when a designated procedure is in order.
- In the end, they may not totally understand each other, but both learn that there is wisdom in their counterpart. More importantly, their shared experience inspires enough kinship to bridge the gap of their opposing views. Kendra offers Buffy grace with Angel despite her reservations, and Buffy teaches Kendra the importance of the human experience- including showering her with appreciation for her hard work with a “normal” plane ride.
Cordelia Chase: Only NDs In the Building
Season 2 sees resident “mean girl” Cordelia starting to integrate herself into the core gang, and as her character becomes more fleshed out, it becomes more clear that the team behind this show absolutely does not know how to write a neurotypical character (and I love it- ’cause neither do I). It’s heartwarming to see her show up for Giles in “The Dark Ages,” and her blooming romance with Xander is one of my favorite things about the show, currently. It’s fascinating to watch her grapple with her completely unexpected attraction to a member of “the loser clique.”
Angel
This man continues to get on my nerves. From the script feeling the need to constantly point out his age difference with Buffy to his dismissive attitude when she was living through domestic abuse in “Ted,” she deserved a better boyfriend and I will die on this hill.
I bring him up now only because his character introduces some interesting quandaries. How responsible is ensouled Angel for unsouled Angel’s behavior? What is the purpose of a “punishment?” Does reformation negate the call for justice?
…and, for that matter, why does Spike get to torture people with railroad spikes and not get afflicted with the soul curse? Do “they” (whoever they are?) give you until your 210s to work out all your angst or something?
These would have been more interesting inquiries to delve into if the show wasn’t hell-bent on pushing the “good guy” agenda for Angel.
There are more characters and certainly more things to say about them, but I think I’ll have more to say about their character progression(s) later this season.
