It has been confirmed that Hulu plans to rebootBuffy the Vampire Slayer,meaning the streaming service has the opportunity to fix some of the franchise’s biggest mistakes – including one in particular from the canonBuffycomics that fans are eager to have recontextualized, and hopefully done better, if it is done at all.
InBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight#12 – written by Drew Goddard, with art by Georges Jeanty – featured Buffy having sex with a woman for the first time, going to bed with a fellow active Slayer, Satsu, in a romance that had been built up since the season began.
While some would assume that this would prove a major shift in character development for Buffy, the franchisenever touched further on Buffy’s sexuality, framing her queer liaison as a one-off experiment.Fans believe the series mishandled the subject matter, but Hulu’s creative team has a second chance to rectify it.
Buffy Pursued Her First Queer Romance With A Fellow Vampire Slayer
Satsu and Buffy Sleep Together inBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight#12 – Written By Drew Goddard; Art By Georges Jeanty; Ink By Andy Owens; Color By Michelle Madsen; Lettering By Jimmy Betancourt & Richard Starkings
One year after the events of the televised series finale,Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eightpicks up with Buffy and Xander overseeing the Slayer Organization from a castle in Scotland, where they seek to train 500 active Slayers. Among these Slayers is Satsu, a young woman who was activated as a Slayer at the end of Season 7. Prior to becoming a Slayer, she was a talented young student with a good relationship with her high-maintenance parents that became strained when she came out as a lesbian.
Though she and Satsu later have sex a second time, ultimately it only reinforced the idea that Buffy was merely experimenting before deciding she is heterosexual.
Her potential as a student proved to aptly transition into learning to become a fighter once she begins training under Buffy. During these training sessions, Satsu quickly develops feelings for Buffy. This actually comes in handy once Amy Madison places a spell on Buffy that puts the Slayer in a deep sleep, only to be broken by a true love’s kiss.A kiss from Satsu works, but it also gets the pupil a scoldingfrom her teacher. Buffy doesn’t let Satsu down by saying she’s not attracted to women, but warns that everyone who loves her gets hurt.
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This turns out to be manifest destiny, as that’s the moment thatTwilight (later revealed to be Angel)strikes, attacking Satsu. Buffy tends to Satsu in her hospital bed, and in the next issue, they have sex. However, Buffy makes it clear she was just hoping for a one-night stand, which is perfectly reasonable for her to want. However, the series never fully delves into Buffy’s sexuality. Even though she and Satsu later have sex a second time, ultimately it only reinforced the idea that Buffy was merely experimenting before deciding she is heterosexual.
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Continuing An Unfortunate Trend For TheVampire SlayerFranchise
There’s nothing wrong with someone deciding they want to experiment with their sexuality, nor deciding that they’re still straight after experimenting, but the problem lies in that the series fails to actually explore Buffy’s sexuality. Buffy’s sexuality isn’t brought up again until Xander berates Buffy inSeason Eight#30 when defendinghis romance with Buffy’s sister, Dawn. He berates Buffy for choosing to sleep with a woman before examining her feelings for him. While problematic, Buffy once again shrugs off her experimentation as a"phase."
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The dismissal of her potential queerness by both the series and Buffy herself echoes the “bury your gays” trope that the franchise has been accused of falling into on occasion. Obviously, in highlighting Willow and Tara in the 2000s as television’s first long-term lesbian romance,Buffyis a pioneer in queer representation, but there are also moments like killing Tara off one episode after she and Willow rekindle, and consummate, their romance that make fans feel as if the show goes backward with its progression;hinting at Buffy’s queerness and hardly addressing it falls into a similar category.
Tthe Hulu Revival Of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Could Potentially Explore Her Sexuality In A More Appropriate Way
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Buffy the Vampire Slayerdidn’t necessarily have to dub its title character newly queer, bisexual, or a lesbian with this moment. The series could still have had her come to the conclusion that her experimentation only reaffirmed her heterosexuality, and that would’ve been fine. The problem is that the series never actually addresses the moment or explores it in an actual arc. Instead, it’s a handful of throwaway lines that discard the potential arc. By comparison, multiple episodes in Season 4 focus on Willow figuring out her own queer identity. Buffy isn’t afforded that same luxury.
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After Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003, the franchise has continued to tell incredible stories in the comic book medium.
This is when the upcoming Hulu sequel comes into play. TheBuffy the Vampire Slayercomics made a lot ofmistakes that Hulu needs to avoid, but it also left ideas on the table that the new creative team could pick up that the comics dropped the ball on.A sequel doesn’t have to reverse Buffy’s ideology on sexuality, but it can create an actual storyline out of Buffy questioning her sexuality, something the comics failed to do. The possibilities are endless for theBuffy the Vampire Slayersequel, especially in terms of reconciling with and recontextualizing the franchise’s past.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eightis available now in its entirety from Dark Horse Comics.
