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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: S2E4

The thing that catches my attention about Inca Mummy Girl is that we see a possible future for Buffy.  Not meaning that she will become a mummy, but that here is a girl with a destiny very similar to Buffy's in that she is chosen to save her people.  We see Buffy struggle in these early episodes with the burden of being "chosen" when she never wanted that life to begin with.  So Ampata represents that part of Buffy that wishes for a normal life.

The difference being, of course, that Buffy would never take an innocent life to save herself.   We see this in later seasons when she is willing to sacrifice herself again and again to save the people around her.  Which makes me wonder if Buffy's sacrifices are really as noble as we are asked to think they are.  Buffy is willing to put her life on the line, but if she feels trapped by her "chosen-ness" is it really a sacrifice or an escape?  Is this the theme that is explored with Spike and after Season 5?

My point in talking about this episode is that we can see, through Ampata's actions, how the burden of protecting other people at such a young age can be a heavy one.  That Buffy struggles with it just as much as this girl, but that she is stronger and better than the Inca Mummy Girl or anyone else that would be in their position.  Spike has killed two slayers, didn't he say something about how they invited it?  Buffy definitely does from time to time, but she always has her friends to bring her back - emotionally or physically.

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