Now
that Buffy the
Vampire Slayer has staked
its last vampire, we can finally examine the series'
contribution to lesbian visibility
in its totality--for despite some controversial storylines
and consistently low ratings, there is no denying that Buffy
has had a lasting impact on the way lesbians are portrayed
on television.
Beginning
in 1997 on the fledgling network The WB, the series about
a high school girl who fought demons and vampires quickly
developed a small but loyal fan base despite the fact that
few believed a show organized around a female lead fighting
evil could be successful; when the series end in 2003, there
were a dozen shows trying to copy the formula. Besides its
contribution to the advancement of women in television overall,
Buffy broke more television taboos around lesbianism
than any other series on network television, and introduced
American TV viewers to three sympathetic lesbian characters
during its seven-year run.
It
all started--and ended--with Willow,
masterfully played for seven seasons by Alyson Hannigan.
Over the years, we watched Willow transform from a shy,
insecure teenager to an assertive, self-confidant young
woman, from a computer geek to a powerful witch--and from
a straight teenage girl with a boyfriend to a lesbian.
Buffy
(Sarah Michelle Geller), Willow, and Xander (Nicholas Brendan)
were the backbone of the series, and Willow not only appeared
in almost every one of the 144 episodes, but had the second
greatest number of lines (after Buffy). Willow became one
of the most popular characters on the show almost immediately,
a fact which was not lost on the writers who early on coined
the acronym “PWIP” to describe the plot device
most likely to emotionally engage viewers: Put Willow in
Peril.
Willow's
popularity did not wane after she came out as a lesbian
in the fourth season, either, when she fell in love with
fellow wicca Tara shortly after ending her relationship
with her high school boyfriend Oz (Seth Green). The two
women had a relationship for two and a half years (although
technically they were broken up for awhile during that time,
emotionally Willow and Tara were always together), during
which time they became surrogate parents/big sisters of
sorts to Buffy's younger sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg).
Tara
(played by Amber Benson) developed
a strong following among lesbian and bisexual Buffy
fans. Besides the fact that Tara was gay, fans were drawn
to her because of her shy, humble, and introverted personality,
which contrasted sharply with the more outgoing personalities
of the other female characters on Buffy. Not all
Buffy fans liked her, of course--many viewers found
her too passive or whiney--but overall, most found Tara's
sweet nature to add an interesting dynamic to the Buffy
mix.
Although
it was revealed later that Tara's death had long been planned
as a catalyst to push Willow over to the dark side, most
fans were caught off-guard when she was killed at the end
of Season Six. Buffy producers Joss Whedon and
Marti Noxon had anticipated the usual number of complaints
that follow the death of any regular character on a TV series,
but they were wholly unprepared for the depth of anger expressed
by many fans after Tara's death. They were also clearly
unaware of how this storyline played into what is commonly
referred to as the "Dead/Evil Lesbian Cliche,"
a phrase coined to describe the pattern in which lesbian
and bisexual characters in movies and film are routinely
killed off or made evil.
Willow
did indeed become evil in the wake of Tara's death, and
was barely stopped by her friends from destroying the world
at the end of Season Six. When the final season began, Willow
was still in mourning over Tara and afraid to use magic
for fear it would seduce her to the dark side again.
But
in the middle of the final season,
Willow met Kennedy (played by Iyari
Limon), a lesbian slayer-in-training
who was almost the polar opposite of Tara: aggressive,
self-confidant, and comfortable with her sexuality. Kennedy
more than Willow or Tara tended to inspire extreme reactions
in fans; some saw her as a spoiled brat, others saw her
as a young woman who wasn't afraid to go after what she
wanted.
Kennedy
pursued Willow quite aggressively from the moment they met,
and although Willow was initially caught off-guard and even
dismayed and by her directness, Willow was eventually won
over by Kennedy and the two women developed a relationship.
(Almost everyone--even Kennedy fans--agreed that it was
far too soon after Tara's death for Willow to be in a relationship,
but extended periods of mourning tend to make for boring
television.)
When
the series finally ended with the destruction of the Hellmouth
and the town of Sunnydale along with it, Willow and Kennedy
were among the survivors and still happily together.
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