Unless they’ve been in Antarctica or something, fans of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” should now know two very important facts: the show, formerly on The WB, has moved to UPN; and, despite the tombstone at the end of the season finale, Buffy lives.
Well, to be precise, Buffy’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) still in her grave in demon-ridden Sunnydale, Calif., but at some point over the course of the series’ two-hour sixth-season opener, airing Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m., she comes back. How this happens has been the subject of intense speculation and rumor-mongering for months, and the truth is about to be revealed.
Last May, the series celebrated its 100th episode with a blowout finale called “The Gift,” in which Buffy sacrificed her life to save her little sister from an evil hell-god called Glory and prevent the destruction of the world (making this maybe the sixth time Buffy has saved the world, but who’s counting).
Although the ending was a shock to fans (those that hadn’t read the Internet spoilers, anyway), it was no big surprise to those working for series creator and guiding light Joss Whedon.
“No, no,” says co-executive producer Marti Noxon. “Originally, years ago, Joss used to say that, at the end of the fifth season, that Sunnydale was going to get sucked into the Earth. Then he realized that, if he did that, we would have no franchise, and we’d have to get all new sets, and they wouldn’t pay to rebuild it. It would be really hard.
“It was a good idea, though, really cool. It’s definitely not something you would expect. So, for years, that was the plan. Then as we got closer, he thought, ‘Oh, the show’s going to keep going. We can’t do that.’ “
So, early on in season five, he decided to do in his main character. “(We said) ‘Whuh?’,” says Noxon. “We’ve sort of learned to go with Joss’ ideas, because they seem to work out real well. Our first reaction, of course, was ‘How? What does it mean? What’s the thematic resonance? Where’s it going to leave us?’ Joss had answers for all of that that made a lot of sense to us.”
And so Buffy was sucked into an interdimensional vortex opened because Glory discovered the true nature of Buffy’s sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). Not really human, but instead an energy “key” in human form, Dawn could be used to open portals between dimensions, allowing exiled Glory to get back home. But since Dawn’s humanity was based on Buffy’s DNA – her blood – Buffy’s sacrifice was enough to close the portal and save the day.
As the episode ended, Buffy’s broken but immaculately coiffed body lay in the rubble, with all her friends standing around in shock – except for one. Tough-guy vampire Spike (James Marsters), whose reluctant allegiance with Buffy gradually blossomed into full-blown love, crumpled in a heap, sobbing into his hands.
“Yeah, well,” says the actor, “he failed.”
Lacking a soul (but, apparently, not a heart), Spike hasn’t been very big on guilt or remorse about all the people he has killed in his vampiric career. That’s about to change.
“One of the things that was so Spike-like,” says Marsters, “was that he had no guilt. Now he has incredible guilt. He promised to protect Dawn. He didn’t do that. He screwed up. He failed Buffy. Buffy’s dead. How much more guilt can you have?”
As the season opens, some time later, everyone’s still reeling from the shock, and trying to find a way out of this situation and the emotional wreckage it has caused. Apparently, since the show continues to be called “Buffy,” they do (at least the resurrecting Buffy part – the emotions will take a lot longer to sort out).
“What I can promise you is it’s done in a dramatically credible way, not cheesy at all, ” says Marsters. “It all comes down to the way you pull it off. There are only seven stories you can tell, and it all comes down to execution.”
