Characterization In The Buffyverse — ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ Season 5 Wrap-Up

This is part of a bi-weekly series concerning the characterization of Buffyverse characters. Arguably the best place to begin reading this series is at the beginning, but that is up to each reader. As a reminder: this column will cover major and some minor characters from the shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and Angel (1999-2004). Other Buffyverse media, such as the graphic novel Spike: Into The Light (2014), are not pertinent to this series. Also there will be no references to real world events that have direct relation to either program. That said, references to things that have no direct relation to the show in order to examine certain elements, such as metaphors and literary analogues, will appear.

This week wraps-up the examination of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 5. The following seasons will still be put under a figurative microscope, but I think it is important to examine where select characters are after each season. And as each concludes, we will also see who holds the titles of “most negative characterization” and “most positive characterization.” Also, in these wrap-ups, we will see who gets the most and least focus, respectively. Lastly, later wrap-ups will refer back to previous ones where appropriate.

(Warning of spoilers from this point on!)

(Trigger warning for mentions of abuse, suicide, and non-consensual acts)

Dawn Summers’s (Michelle Trachtenberg) personality is quirky and various versions of being juvenile. Unfortunately, her development as a character will come about more in future seasons than this one, which arguably only begins with her kleptomania (Season 5, Episode 18, “Intervention”).

Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland) gets some good moments and growth this season. Nevertheless, her interactions with Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) are different after the spell that results in Dawn’s arrival since Joyce is now a mother to two children. Thus, when it comes to parenting, she will naturally treat each child in dissimilar ways because of their distinct personalities and needs. Additionally, the spell presumably makes her and Buffy act more protective of Dawn than they might naturally be. While Joyce’s tumor storyline is good, it also makes her a damsel-in-distress Buffy wishes to save (Season 5, Episode 8, “Shadow”). Lastly, Joyce’s death falls into the women in refrigerators trope because it adds to the weight of responsibility Buffy is feeling for Dawn (Season 5, Episode 16, “The Body”)

Benjamin Wilkinson (Charlie Weber) and Glory (Clare Kramer) are two sides of the same coin. They share a physical space via magical means while having opposing views and different genders. One can view their struggle against each other to be a fight between siblings or a bad metaphor for being transgender. Although other metaphors exist for Ben and Glory, these options are the most consistent as multiple episodes more often imply one or the other. No matter which one  a viewer adopts as canon, both personas are evil in their own ways. Finally, the lack of a full identity-switch near the last few episodes lessens this particular plot twist.

Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) learns more of magic to the detriment of her other traits. There are hints of her upcoming addiction to magic (Season 5, Episode 11, “Triangle”) throughout this season. While she has great love for Tara Maclay (Amber Benson), she does not seem to respect the other woman’s knowledge and experience. Yet, it is not to the extent that she dismisses Anya (Emma Caulfield Ford). Her feud there is also a display of Willow’s desire for everything to be according to her own expectations. Therefore, she is changing as a character, but she is remaining static on select negative personality traits.

Tara’s past gets some unveiling when her abusive family visits (Season 5, Episode 6, “Family”). Nevertheless, the only real developments to her character: she stops stuttering as a much and stands up for herself.

Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) goes forward and backward in terms of development. On the one hand, he becomes a store owner. However, he also goes back to being an official member of The Watcher’s Council. So, in a way, he again has a cover job on top of the secret Watcher career — this is a step backward. He also becomes a harsher person as the season winds down. Sadly, we only see an exploration of his romantic feelings for Joyce upon her death. Lastly, on some level, he still sees the Slayer as a tool of the Council since he does not argue for her, slayers in general, or any of the Scoobies to receive a salary for their work.

William Pratt — alias Spike (James Marsters) — changes this season from being villainous, if under an electronic leash, to a lovesick anti-hero. His most negative actions this year: his abuse of Harmony (Mercedes McNab) plus non-consensually tying up and threatening both Drusilla (Juliet Landau) and Buffy (Season 5, Episode 14, “Crush”). Nevertheless, he displays nobility both in the present day and withing flashbacks. He keeps Dawn’s nature secret from Glory, for example. The scenes set in his past even display the difference between him and various other vampires since he evolves throughout his existence.

Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) behaves more maturely after being split in half by Toth (Michael Bailey Smith) and getting certain parts of his life in order (Season 5, Episode 3, “The Replacement”). Nevertheless, he seems to have the most static and toxic characterization out of all the original main characters.

Anya displays her intelligence when it comes to succeeding at business and acquiring profit. The former matter is obvious since her work at the Magic Box requires her vast knowledge of the supernatural. The latter appears not just from her job, but in her dealings with online trading (Season 5, Episode 15, “I Was Made to Love You”). Unfortunately, she still acts as if she has no understanding of the world and being human. This is despite her time as a demon requiring her to interact with and manipulate humans (Season 3, Episode 9, “The Wish”). Lastly, her anxiety causing her to throw out ideas to defeat Glory is both a sign of her ability to think quickly and a become puppet of the plot.

Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) becomes more of an adrenaline junkie early in this season. This stems from his hero complex and his prior career as a super soldier. He seeks new outlets — such as dancing with death via vampire bites — for his toxic desire to be a savior. When it comes to the progression of his romance with Buffy, he talks about trying to be there for her, but he never actually listens to her. He also wants her heavily reliant on him, which is a big hint that he is a narcissist. However, none of these traits really alter him from his Season 4 persona if one considers how insistent he initially acts when beginning the romance (Season 4, Episode 11, “Doomed”). Also, he insults and underestimates her a lot this season as well as throughout the last (Season 5, Episode 1, “Dracula” and Season 4, Episode 12, “A New Man”).

Buffy’s actions and reactions result mostly from the needs of the plot this season. Still, she gets to grow as a character. Unfortunately, that growth mainly comes from the losses she suffers along with Riley’s abuse and Spike’s toxic actions. These incidents contribute to the mental health issues she experiences both here and in the future. Thus, she goes from a character who exhibits happiness in spite of the horrors she deals with to one who wants peace even if it is the ultimate kind.

Harmony Kendall is present for a significant portion of this season, but she moves over to the Angel before the end of that show’s current season (Angel Season 2, Episode 17 ,“Disharmony”). Thus, her characterization be examined in the next installment of this column, which will wrap-up Angel Season 2.

Graham Miller (Bailey Chase) sees use as a familiar face for Riley and Buffy to interact with when dealing with Riley’s health problem. His existence in this season has no other purpose than to reengage Riley with the military, which means Graham is more a prop than a character.

Warren Mears (Adam Busch) exhibits toxic behavior, but nothing suggesting how bad he will become next season. While not a heroic character, his creation of two robots assists in the development of other characters and unintentionally aids in Glory’s defeat.

Doc (Joel Grey) is a relatively major villain who simply lacks a real character arc. Thus, he arguably comes across as a slasher movie bad guy who randomly sees inclusion in the series.

Drusilla and Angel (David Boreanaz) make appearances during this season with the majority of them being in flashbacks (Season 5, Episode 7, “Fool for Love”). Since they also have more scenes in Angel Season 2, the exploration of their characters will occur next column.

This season has multiple plot lines that help develop the various characters. Yet, one can boil the majority of this season down to just five types of plots. The first is the cost of being a Slayer and how compounding losses leads to Buffy’s suicidal sacrifice. A second: how Ben and Glory being a dual entity fits into an exploration of the battle of the sexes, sibling rivalry, and possibly being born in the wrong body. Next are the plot lines involving love and the lack of it that the main characters, plus Ben and Glory, all experience. Lastly, there are the “magic cannot fix every problem” plot lines that Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and Joyce are the major examples of. In conclusion, while certain episodes fail to truly help characters grow, there is at least an ongoing narrative that is doing so.