All Grown Up And No Place To Go

The three episodes we watched for Tuesday emphasized Buffy's "in-between" status (not a child, not quite and adult) that was mentioned in our reading (Ch 16, Fighting The Forces.) Though Buffy is finally free from high school and the daily meddling of her mother, she seems trapped by a prison of her own making: insecurity. She may be a beautiful, demon butt-kicking Slayer, but she is overwhelmed at every turn by college life (both social and academic.) Our reading would seem to suggest, however, that her uncertainty as she navigates the path to adulthood is what keeps her aware of evil and how to defeat it. Though these episodes don't deal specifically with fairty tales like the examples in the reading, they do explore evils that Buffy must defeat specifically because she is in that in-between stage.

In "Living Conditions," Buffy must get pass the infamous college hurdle of The Roommate. While Kathy at first seems like a harmless, goody-two-shoes and Buffy like a spoiled, only child, it soon becomes clear that there is something darker going on in their massive dorm room. Though Buffy's reactions to Kathy are heightened by the soul-stealing process, the end of the episode shows that Buffy does, in fact, have a little trouble with sharing. If she had not possessed this arguably childish trait, she might have remained unaware of what Kathy (who is actually a demon) is up to during the night. Though Buffy has entered a form of the adult world (college), her connection to her still recent childhood is ultimately what saves her in this episode.

Buffy gets a taste of adulthood in "The Harsh Light of Day." As Willow reminds her, she is grown up and can do what she wants with regard to guys. She pursues and is pursued by Parker, who deceives her. After sleeping with him, she realizes that he is not what he seemed at first. Her disillusionment is a very adult experience. Her reaction, however, seems more childlike as she finds and questions and Parker, seeming more sad and hurt than angry. Her childlike vulnerability and willingness to blame herself serves as a sharp contrast, not only to her Slayer-self, but also to the adult situation in which she has placed herself.

"Fear Itself" seemed to me like a transitional episode in Buffy's personal development. The college Halloween party falls easily into the more childish end of the spectrum. The gang is dressed in costumes, and they are looking for fun. After the fear demon starts wreaking havoc, though, the adult ideas start to surface. The things they fear are far from childish (though some seem transitional, like Xander's fear of being invisible to his friends that have moved on.) Most significant, however, is the size of the fear demon once he is revealed. He is so tiny that Buffy simply squashes him with her foot. Could this signal a firm step into adulthood for Buffy?