The Good, The Bad, and the Really, Really Ugly

One might expect the storylines of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to follow a strict good-versus-evil rule. After all, stories that are clearly black and white, with no pesky gray area, have always done well in the fantasy genre. (See movies like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.) But from the very beginning of the series, the line between good and bad has been far from stationary. Buffy does fight and kill vampires and other hellish baddies, but to do so, she must break rules and deceive those she loves (like her mother.) She further muddies the waters by dating a vampire, and not just any vampire. Angel has killed many, many people. He may have a soul now, but that does not erase the fact that he committed unspeakable crimes.

In the three episodes we watched for Tuesday (2/24), we see even further evidence of the skewed vision of good and evil that exists in Sunnydale. In "Becoming Part Two," Buffy must face the demon, Acathla, and her former lover, Angel, who is now set on destroying the world. When things look bleakest, she finds help from the most unlikely source, Spike. That Spike has tried to kill both Buffy and those she loves is not what is most ironic, however. It is the fact that Spike is willing to help Buffy because of his love for Drusilla (well, that and his desire to stop the destruction of the world.) Though the viewer has seen Spike as a ruthless (though charming) killer, they suddenly feel at least a twinge of empathy for a character who is trying to keep his beloved. Buffy is conflicted by Spike's offer, but she ultimately decides to accept it in order to pursue a greater good. (If the Buffy/Spike detente is not an example of one big moral gray area, I don't know what is.)

In "Anne," Buffy slips away from Sunnydale to live in some unnamed town. It would appear, however, that the moral dilemnas followed her to her new location. She is immediately confronted by someone who needs her help, a girl from Sunnydale. Though "Lily" seems helpless and hopeless, she still tries to get money from Buffy and turns on Buffy when things go downhill. A character who might at first seem good (though not to regular viewers of BtVS) because of his apparent desire to help the needy, turns out to be an evil demon sent to recruit workers for some mysterious and deadly factory. Buffy must choose between protecting herself and helping others (a choice she makes often in the series) and, of course, chooses the latter. Though this episode does not necessarily show situational gray areas, it does play on our expectations of who is good and who is bad.

When it comes to moral dilemnas and gray areas, no character except Angel has ventured so far as Faith. In "Faith, Hope, and Trick," the new slayer (to replace Kendra) enters with an entourage of otherworldly baddies close behind. Though Faith is a slayer called to fight evil, she does so with much more relish than Buffy. She seems to enjoy the violence, whereas Buffy sees it more as a means to an end. Is Faith a "good" character? Her motives seem far from pure. Did she assume that Kakistos would follow her to Sunnydale? Did she hope that she could then let Buffy take over and relieve her of her pursuers? When she heard about Kakistos, she immediately tried to run (something Buffy would never do.) She is far more concerned about her own personal safety and fulfillment than the safety of those around her. It seems clear that the line between good and evil will only get more blurry the longer Faith is in the picture.

Buffy must also deal with her own gray areas as she finally admits to Giles and Willow that she killed Angel after he regained his soul. Yes, she was working toward the greater good. Killing Angel (or, at least, sending him to Hell) saved the world, but she also proved once and for all that when it came to choosing between love and slaying, she could make the right choice. It could also be argued, however, that she was "saving" Angel. She could have no way of knowing that Angel would return. Maybe she thought that by killing him she was freeing him from his tortured soul.