By Chris Snellgrove
| Revealed
When most Buffy the Vampire Slayer followers rewatch the present, they dread attending to Season 6 as a result of it’s such a downer. Not solely does Tara die, however that is the season the place we watch Buffy have a downright poisonous relationship with the vampire Spike and interact in different out-of-character habits to take care of the stress of being introduced again from the lifeless. Apparently, although, this terrible season is successfully foreshadowed by one of many present’s greatest and earliest episodes. We’re speaking in regards to the Buffy season 2 episode “When She Was Unhealthy” which additionally concerned the Slayer appearing out of character on account of immense stress.
Buffy followers had no method of figuring out it when the episode first premiered, in fact, however “When She Was Unhealthy” previewed the present’s sixth season by making everybody (followers and characters alike) indignant on the title character. For context, Buffy actually died on the Grasp’s arms within the Season 1 finale; nevertheless, Xander introduced her again to life by way of CPR and he or she vanquished the vampiric villain. However within the Season 2 premiere, she is notably out of character: she snaps at Willow, she’s merciless to Cordelia, and he or she’s cool to Angel, going as far as to flirt with him to harass her undead boyfriend.
In case you’re a Buffy fan watching “When She Was Unhealthy” for the primary time, you probably spend a lot of the episode yelling on the TV and asking why the Slayer abruptly acquired so detached and imply over the summer season. Nonetheless, it seems that every one of this can be a manifestation of Buffy’s trauma from her struggle with the Grasp, and he or she returns to her outdated self after she smashes the vampire’s bones, successfully destroying any probabilities of him getting resurrected by way of darkish magic. For probably the most half, this can be a well-regarded episode, which is ironic as a result of it foreshadows the core facet of Season 6 that so many hated.
It’s straightforward to isolate particular person parts of Season 6 that numerous followers hated, together with Buffy’s terrible relationship with Spike (one which culminates in tried rape). Nonetheless, that relationship and so different unhealthy choices are pushed by the truth that Buffy’s mates resurrected her after her Season 5 dying; they reasoned that she could possibly be caught in a hell dimension, however Buffy later revealed that they by chance yanked her out of heaven. This, mixed with the trauma of Buffy’s mom dying within the earlier season, ensured that the Slayer spent the season in a depressive state as she tackled mundane issues like payments in addition to undead monsters.
Given what we find out about Buffy in Season 6, it’s truthful to say that “When She Was Unhealthy” foreshadows that later season by exhibiting how she reacts to trauma by making unhealthy choices, particularly romantic ones. Within the earlier episode, that is maybe greatest exemplified by her incessantly rebuffing Angel and even main Xander on with an attractive dance in an effort to make her vampire boy toy jealous. We don’t need to reduce Buffy’s earlier trauma, but when getting killed after which instantly resurrected induced all this romantic drama, it’s completely plausible that getting yoinked from heaven after months would result in a poisonous relationship with Spike.
Sadly, what the Buffy writers and producers did not see is that “When She Was Unhealthy” was efficient particularly as a result of it portrayed a one-episode arc during which the Slayer triumphed over her trauma by the point the credit rolled. It’s wonderful to have a single episode or arc the place our hero is on the again foot, however as Season 6 reveals, no person actually wished a whole season of our title character getting introduced low by her depressive trauma.
For higher or for worse, although, this introduced followers nearer to Buffy as a result of the sixth season is a trauma we shared collectively, though solely the Slayer acquired to take care of her stress by having house-shattering intercourse with a sizzling vampire. On this method, you may say that every one traumas are created equal…some are simply extra equal (and method extra freaky) than others.
