10 Lucky Breaks -- Buffy in right place at right time

[David]

https://screenrant.com/buffy-summers-vampire-slayer-luckiest-breaks/


10 Lucky Breaks That Prove Buffy Summers Was Just In The Right Place At The
Right Time
BY
LAUREL HOSTAK

Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer, is a superhero worthy of admiration, but
a lot of her success can be attributed to sheer luck.

With the recent news that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot is now buried
in the development Hellmouth, disappointed fans may revisit the original
supernatural series for comfort. Its characters, humor, and heart still have
a lot to offer to audiences.

On a rewatch, the titular Slayer's superpowers and savvy are as impressive
as ever, but it's also clear that much of Buffy's success is the result of
sheer luck. Whether a would-be victim of a supernatural threat just happens
across the Slayer's path, or she herself escapes a near-miss due to
happenstance, Buffy frequently ends up in the right place at the right time.


The Move To Sunnydale

After Buffy earned a bad reputation at her LA high school, her mother moved
her to the small town of Sunnydale. While this seems like the fresh start
the Summers family needs, Sunnydale is also on a Hellmouth, and it's a
hotbed of supernatural activity. Ostensibly, Joyce chooses Sunnydale because
it's home to the only high school that would accept Buffy, but it feels more
like destiny that they settle there. A glimpse of an alternate reality in
season 3 shows a hardened Buffy who fights vampires in Cleveland, so it's
not a given that she would have ended up in Sunnydale.

While arriving in a town overrun by vampires and demons might not seem like
a stroke of good fortune, Sunnydale is lucky to have the new Slayer watching
over it. For Buffy, it's also the place where she meets her two best
friends, Xander and Willow.


The Hyena Exhibit Is Closed

In one of the more ridiculous Buffy episodes ("The Pack"), a Sunnydale field
trip to the zoo results in a group of students becoming possessed by vicious
[supernatural] hyenas. Attempting to stand up for a bullied student, Xander
follows the bullies into the off-limits hyena exhibit, which results in his
possession.

Seconds after Xander rushes in, Buffy and Willow attempt to enter the
exhibit as backup, but they're stopped by the zookeeper. Had Buffy not
hesitated, she would be among the hyena-possessed students; the idea of a
Slayer controlled by dangerous animal spirits is terrifying. Fortunately,
she was spared the possession and rescued Xander - though not before he did
some reprehensible things.


Xander's CPR Timing

The first time Buffy dies, it's by surprisingly natural causes. Cast off by
the Master, she drowns in a shallow pool, fulfilling an ominous prophecy.
Moments later, Angel arrives with Xander, who springs into action by
performing CPR. Opinions may be mixed on Xander, but this action proves he's
one of the best characters on Buffy.

Even with Buffy's resilience and superhuman healing abilities, it's a
miracle that help arrived when it did. Xander is able to revive Buffy, and
she experiences no long-term aftereffects. Buffy is lucky to be alive - and
audiences are lucky she stuck around for six more seasons.


Willow's Medical Know-How (the virus in Killed By Death)

In the season 2 episode "Killed By Death," Buffy infiltrates a hospital to
investigate a doctor she suspects is intentionally infecting children. With
Willow by her side, she's ready to swallow a test tube full of an undiluted
virus to get closer to the truth.

Fortunately, Willow has a modicum of knowledge and a quick hand; she stops
Buffy from drinking the pure, deadly virus and waters it down to a safe
level. Buffy is by no means unintelligent, but she's fortunate to have had
her brainy best friend present before she made such an impulsive decision.


The L.A. Interlude

After the trauma Buffy experiences at the end of season 2, she leaves town
and assumes a different identity in Los Angeles. It's here that she meets
returning character Lily and learns that homeless youth are being exploited
by an underground demonic factory.

Buffy is able to free numerous enslaved young people, whose suffering she
wouldn't have known about had she stayed in Sunnydale. Though her running
away causes other problems, Buffy shows up exactly where she's needed most.


Faith Stakes First

During their short-lived, reckless partnership, Buffy and Faith may damage
property, but they never intend to harm human beings. Sadly, as the Slayers
track down a dangerous demon, Faith is too quick with her stake, killing
Allan, the Mayor's assistant. The accidental killing starts a villain spiral
for Faith, who teams up with the Mayor, a villain Buffy fans love to hate.

Had the circumstances been only slightly different - if Buffy had been
standing in Faith's spot, or had she reacted faster - the roles might have
been reversed. Though implicated, Buffy is spared the fate of having human
blood on her hands. Tragically, Faith has to confront the consequences, and
she loses much of her humanity in the process.


Earshot

It's hardly a blessing to become infected with the aspect of a demon, but
Buffy's inheritance of telepathy through an encounter with mind-reading
monsters looks like one at first. Ultimately, it becomes an unbearable
burden, but it tips Buffy off to a sinister plot at the high school. Because
of what she overhears, Buffy rushes to the Sunnydale High clock tower, just
in time to stop Jonathan Levinson from taking his life.

"Earshot" was set to air in April 1999, but was pulled after the Columbine
High School Massacre and aired out of sequence. The episode demonstrates
nuance and compassion for Jonathan's experience. The character would go on
to play a complex role in the future of the series, thanks to Buffy's
well-timed malady and exercise of empathy.


Matriculating At UC Sunnydale

High school has to end sometime, and Buffy has a bright future with an
acceptance at Northwestern University. However, prioritizing her Slayer
duties, she decides to enroll at the nearby UC Sunnydale; luckily, so do
Willow and Oz. It just so happens that the Sunnydale campus is home to an
underground government installation, the Initiative, which becomes the focus
of the season's over-arching story.

The Initiative employs Buffy's new boyfriend Riley, and it conducts curious
experiments on the demonic element of the Hellmouth. Had Buffy followed her
dreams to Northwestern, she would still likely have encountered supernatural
threats, but doubling down on Sunnydale puts her in the right place to
confront the looming evil of the Initiative and Adam. It's even more
fortuitous that Xander, Willow, and Giles remain in Sunnydale with her, as
they are instrumental in winning the final showdown.


Random Roommate Selection

For some reason, though Buffy and Willow are both attending UC Sunnydale,
they don't request to room together in the dorms, and both get unsavory
roommates. Through the random selection process, Buffy is, naturally, paired
with a demon in disguise. In the underrated Buffy episode "Living
Conditions," Kathy is revealed to be consuming pieces of Buffy's soul.

Presumably, Kathy would have preyed on any roommate she was paired with, but
fortunately for the Sunnydale student population, Buffy and the Scoobies had
the tools to take her down. Buffy has to endure some demonic soul-sucking,
but at least a helpless freshman wasn't mistaken for a demon and taken to
hell.


The Scythe Or The Bomb

In a heartbreaking season 7 episode, the Potential Slayers and the Scoobies
remove Buffy from leadership and eject her from her own home. As they
reorganize and Buffy recovers, new Slayer-in-charge Faith leads a strike
against the First, only to fall into a trap.

Meanwhile, Buffy, who is only on her own because of the mutiny, has a
successful showdown with Caleb and discovers the Scythe: a key to her
ability to win the final battle. Had she remained in charge of the Potential
army, she would have been the one to unveil the bomb that Faith finds. Once
again, Faith gets the short end of the stick when it comes to Slayer luck.




David

[Madlove]

On 09/10/2022 10:52 AM, David wrote:
>
> https://screenrant.com/buffy-summers-vampire-slayer-luckiest-breaks/
>
> 10 Lucky Breaks That Prove Buffy Summers Was Just In The Right Place At The Right Time

This show is loaded with people being in the right place at the right time.

[Wouter Valentijn]

Op 12-9-2022 om 02:52 schreef Madlove:

Maybe the mystical forces of the place also cause people or objects to
be the right place. Or wrong place. Maybe it charges 'probability' with
some kind of 'magnetism'. Like why Xander finds himself as a point of
attraction for really unhealthy gals.


--
Wouter Valentijn

Kirk: "No beach to walk on..."
Star Trek (s01e07): The Naked Time

http://www.nksf.nl/

liam=mail

[Scott Lurndal]

Wouter Valentijn <li...@valentijn.nu> writes:
>Op 12-9-2022 om 02:52 schreef Madlove:
>> On 09/10/2022 10:52 AM, David wrote:
>>>
>>> https://screenrant.com/buffy-summers-vampire-slayer-luckiest-breaks/
>>>
>>> 10 Lucky Breaks That Prove Buffy Summers Was Just In The Right Place
>>> At The Right Time
>>
>> This show is loaded with people being in the right place at the right time.
>
>
>Maybe the mystical forces of the place also cause people or objects to
>be the right place. Or wrong place. Maybe it charges 'probability' with
>some kind of 'magnetism'. Like why Xander finds himself as a point of
>attraction for really unhealthy gals.

Or maybe television programs aren't interesting when nothing happens.

[Madlove]

On 09/13/2022 05:14 PM, Wouter Valentijn wrote:
> Op 12-9-2022 om 02:52 schreef Madlove:
>> On 09/10/2022 10:52 AM, David wrote:
>>>
>>> https://screenrant.com/buffy-summers-vampire-slayer-luckiest-breaks/
>>>
>>> 10 Lucky Breaks That Prove Buffy Summers Was Just In The Right Place
>>> At The Right Time
>>
>> This show is loaded with people being in the right place at the right time.


> Maybe the mystical forces of the place also cause people or objects to
> be the right place. Or wrong place. Maybe it charges 'probability' with
> some kind of 'magnetism'. Like why Xander finds himself as a point of
> attraction for really unhealthy gals.

More like lazy writers taking the easy way out. :-D

Like when Faith had Xander on her bed and was holding him down and
strangling him. Suddenly Angel showed up and conked her in the back of
the head, rendering her unconscious and saving Xander.

Vamps must be invited in so when did he get permission to enter her room?
Why was he there at that crucial moment?
I think he used a shovel. Where did he get it?

[Wouter Valentijn]

Op 13-9-2022 om 23:28 schreef Scott Lurndal:

Those exist too.