Season 1, Episode 1: Welcome to the Hellmouth

The first episode of Buffy introduces main characters, establishes ties between them, and delves into their backgrounds. It also begins to explore some of the important themes within the show, such as gendered stereotypes, the danger of ignorance, and the threat posed by oppressive patriarchal power structures.

In the opening sequence, a teenaged boy and girl break into Sunnydale Highschool at night to go up on the Gym roof. This idea belongs entirely to the boy who is tall and muscular with spiked hair and a leather jacket. The girl is pretty, blonde, in school-girl attire, and very unhappy and anxious to be there. The first words of the show are her nervously asking, ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ She seems very unwilling to enter, but not certain enough to decide without his approval. His response is to dismissively say, “It’s a great idea, now come on,” take her by the hand, and pull her inside. As she follows him, she grows increasingly jumpy. When she finally tells him in a stammering voice that she doesn’t want to go, the boy sleazily suggests that she “Can’t wait, huh,” and moves in to kiss her. The scenario seems familiar: the overbearing, hormone-driven boy lures the naïve blonde away, and just as the young couple becomes caught in the throes of passion, a terrible monster (in this case, a vampire) will come upon and kill them. But instead of fulfilling our expectations, the scene takes a dramatic twist. After assuring the blonde that they are alone, she replies ‘good’, he turns in time to witness her undergo a frightening change. Her face transforms into a hideous façade, wrinkled and furrowed, with yellow eyes and long fangs, as she bites his neck.

This scene summons and plays upon many of our assumptions, especially those concerned with gender roles. Darla (we later learn her name) is petite, blonde, and dressed innocently. She seems as simple and innocent as she dresses, and one expects that she will be a tragic fatality, some anonymous ‘good kid’ who wound up in ‘the wrong place at the wrong time.’ The boy with his tough-guy appearance and aggressive body language seems pushy, somewhat rebellious, and entirely in control. When they kiss, the viewer unconsciously recalls countless scenes from horror movies where an unsuspecting, amorous couple is discovered by some monster/sociopath and one or both brutally killed. While the viewer is prepared for some horror to spring from the shadows, they never expect the danger to come from the helpless blonde. The horrifying transformation in her face and the ease with which she attacks the boy shows a complete change of power. It also demonstrates her cunning. All along, she has possessed incredible physical strength, but chosen to conceal it. Every gesture of nerves or anxiety was consciously done to play upon his perception of women as timid and easily dominated. In allowing him to think he is in control and lure her away, she effectively plays with her food before eating it. Thus, Darla seems to possess what have been traditionally considered masculine (physical strength, aggression, logic) and feminine (subtle, clever, manipulative) powers, making her twice as threatening. It is this exposing and fracturing of stereotypes which is so typical of the show and its goal to reinvent the gendered identity of a warrior/hero.

~ by dkirkwood on April 10, 2007.