Back again with a “review” of my favourite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am by now halfway through the sixth season and still amazed at the complexity of the world that Joss Whedon manages to squeeze in a forty minutes episode.
The episode I now have in mind is “Older and Far Away”. It brings together in a tension-charged narrative several issues that we’ve all been affected for, at least once in our life-time.
In an age-based order, I should begin with Dawn, Buffy’s younger sister. Notwithstanding the typical teenage issues of the character, Dawn is still remarkable by her portraying of far more universal human emotions. Loneliness and need for affection among them. One of the most common symptoms for someone in need for attention is “turning bad”, whether that means taking up smoking, drinking, casual sex or criminal behaviour. In Dawn’s case, the symptom is kleptomania. And when it turns out that she’s been stealing small things here and there, and that one of the places she’s been stealing from is a store ran by her friend, another problem comes up.
Trust. The group of characters created around Buffy Summers is often made to behave like a large family. Responsibilities are sometimes transferred from one to another, tasks assigned to each person in accordance with his or her skills, and problems discussed and solved together. All of this involves a lot of trust, naturally, and whenever there is a breach of trust, a link is broken and the group is thrown out of balance. Such is the case when Dawn is discovered to have stolen from Anya’s store. And it gets even worse when trust is misplaced as, again, is pointed out in this episode, when a curse falls on the head of everyone just because Dawn had expressed her wishes in front of a stranger, trusting her, of all people, with her most intimate thoughts.
But again, the very fact that that person WAS a stranger might have motivated Dawn to confide in her. As much as we trust our loved ones, we often find that we can’t share our deepest thoughts with them for fear of their judgment. And that’s the third issue dealt with in this episode. Coming out. Admitting that you are not the person everyone else expects you to be. And taking full responsibility for that. Even if you think it makes you look like a monster. Because if you don’t, you only create a vicious spiral: everyone holds their secrets safe from everyone else, for fear of their judgment, but in doing so they may breach the trust that everyone else has placed in them. And, naturally, lack of trust leads to fear, hatred, and suffering.
And just so you know, the last line isn’t mine. I must give credit for it to another fictional character, the all-wise Yoda of the Star Wars. So I’ll leave you to his exact words on the matter: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
The episode I now have in mind is “Older and Far Away”. It brings together in a tension-charged narrative several issues that we’ve all been affected for, at least once in our life-time.
In an age-based order, I should begin with Dawn, Buffy’s younger sister. Notwithstanding the typical teenage issues of the character, Dawn is still remarkable by her portraying of far more universal human emotions. Loneliness and need for affection among them. One of the most common symptoms for someone in need for attention is “turning bad”, whether that means taking up smoking, drinking, casual sex or criminal behaviour. In Dawn’s case, the symptom is kleptomania. And when it turns out that she’s been stealing small things here and there, and that one of the places she’s been stealing from is a store ran by her friend, another problem comes up.
Trust. The group of characters created around Buffy Summers is often made to behave like a large family. Responsibilities are sometimes transferred from one to another, tasks assigned to each person in accordance with his or her skills, and problems discussed and solved together. All of this involves a lot of trust, naturally, and whenever there is a breach of trust, a link is broken and the group is thrown out of balance. Such is the case when Dawn is discovered to have stolen from Anya’s store. And it gets even worse when trust is misplaced as, again, is pointed out in this episode, when a curse falls on the head of everyone just because Dawn had expressed her wishes in front of a stranger, trusting her, of all people, with her most intimate thoughts.
But again, the very fact that that person WAS a stranger might have motivated Dawn to confide in her. As much as we trust our loved ones, we often find that we can’t share our deepest thoughts with them for fear of their judgment. And that’s the third issue dealt with in this episode. Coming out. Admitting that you are not the person everyone else expects you to be. And taking full responsibility for that. Even if you think it makes you look like a monster. Because if you don’t, you only create a vicious spiral: everyone holds their secrets safe from everyone else, for fear of their judgment, but in doing so they may breach the trust that everyone else has placed in them. And, naturally, lack of trust leads to fear, hatred, and suffering.
And just so you know, the last line isn’t mine. I must give credit for it to another fictional character, the all-wise Yoda of the Star Wars. So I’ll leave you to his exact words on the matter: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
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