In Its Later Seasons, ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Took On Its Toughest Foe: Adulthood

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about many things: Vampires, witches, cheerleaders, death. It’s a swirling amalgam of ’90s culture and the occult. But at its beating heart, it’s a classic coming-of-age tale about what it takes to endure the trials of adolescence and come out the other side alive. Buffy is in good company with shows like Veronica Mars and The OC that offer resonant — albeit heightened — portrayals of almost-adulthood. At least for a while. As its characters aged out of adolescence, so did the show, taking its viewers beyond the high school years into the uncomfortable realities (and occasional creative stumbles) that come with age and experience and portraying that powerful transformation. Where the first four seasons of Buffy are about our heroine accepting her responsibilities as the Slayer, seasons five and six find her realizing what it takes to be an adult, before bringing the show’s journey full circle in its seventh and final season.

Creator Joss Whedon understood the stakes of this shift, expressing his creative mission for Buffy in an interview with The A.V. Club in 2001, shortly before the show’s (somewhat darker) sixth season began. While, yes, Buffy was focused on saving the world from a number of apocalypses and world-enders of various sorts, the fact that she was a relatable teenager was always at the fore.

Between leaving the relatively safe space of high school (minus all that slaying and multiple apocalypses) and experiencing true gut-wrenching loss and the crush of a different kind of responsibility, Buffy The Vampire Slayer managed to take the high drama of the Whedonverse and turn it into a smart, affecting portrayal of growing up in seasons five and six.