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My writing teacher once taught me the importance of keeping your fictional characters
silent. He felt it far more powerful to strip away all that witty urbane dialogue and
allow a character to silently experience whatever life was throwing their way. He defined
the "big moment" as that point in time when the character finally opens their mouth
because they have no other choice. The moment is ripe for it. And he believed whatever
was said after maintaining this peace would be so powerful it would open up "everything"
in the story.
The crew over at Buffy seems to have learned this lesson well. After killing off Buffy at
the beginning of summer and assuring us that she was, indeed, rotting in her grave,
everyone speculated "how" she would be brought back from the dead. You can't move to a
new network with a show called Buffy without a Buffy.
So speculation abounded... maybe she's not really dead, but caught in a different
dimension. Perhaps, her body won't die, since she didn't die a natural death. Maybe
Willow would cast a witchy spell and bring her back.
The writers at Buffy, who have an incredible track record of staying one step ahead, asked
a different question. Not "how will she get back," but how will she feel about coming
back? They did bring her back in a way that wasn't unexpected. Willow did cast that
successful "raise the dead" spell and happy, joy time was to return to Sunnydale. Right?
Wrong!
Buffy came back, silently (catch the theme here?) wandering the streets of Sunnydale after
an apocalyptic demon biker gang destroyed her town. Destruction and burning remains were
everywhere, paralleling Ground Zero in New York. However, this episode, ironically, was
filmed well before the events of September 11th.
To keep your lead character quiet for most of a two-hour season opener is not an easy
feat. Sarah Michelle Gellar gave an outstanding performance showing Buffy's confusion and
desperation upon her return. In a brilliant bit, Buffy is resurrected "in her coffin" and
left buried six feet under after her friends are drawn into combat with the demon gang.
She must claw her way out to survive and reach fresh air. When she finally opens her
mouth, she asks her incredulous sister, "Is this hell?" This shocking question comes
towards the end of the show, after many wanderings and interactions with friends who she
can't seem to hear.
Sadly, it reminded me of some of the accounts of those who survived in New York. One
woman was covered in ash, but ran from the cloud of destruction, walked quietly from one
street to the next desperately searching for a bus. She had little to say until she found
the inside safety of a bus and faced the other passengers. "You should all be glad your
alive! Every last one of you!"
So when Buffy said, "Is this hell?" It reminded me of what all of us have been going
through, and it paid off a long-time prediction of mine. Buffy fans have been sensing
that the show's writers were attempting to spark a romantic connection between Buffy and
the big bad, Spike. Many people were disgusted by these hints, but I kept reassuring
everyone, "Don't worry. It will be handled with care. The writers know what they're
doing."
Although Spike and Buffy are still not an item, they were brought several degrees closer
when Spike softly acknowledged the hell Buffy had been through trying to escape her
coffin. He gently touched her badly bruised hands and said, 'Clawed your way out. I know.
I did it myself.' And he was the only one who understood among Buffy's happy, shining
friends.
I have a feeling my favorite show is about to get a whole lot darker. Al Smith on the
alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer agrees: "Wow. Willow has certainly grown over the
dead-Buffy summer. The attraction of the dark side seems irresistable. The scene where she summons the
innocent fawn, then kills it, was chilling. She was so calculating and self-contained.
Reminded me of Giles when he smothered Ben with his hand. She makes Spike look like an
old softie." A darker Willow? Bring it on!
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"Sympathy for the Undead"
