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2021-09-06

Come For the Vamps, Stay For the Coming-of-Age Teenage Drama

I may be a nerd, but I never actually watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it was on TV back in the day. Just an episode here and there.

But y'know what? It's on Disney+, and I have a lot of time on my hands. Yay!

The Nineties Called

Do you remember when people didn't have mobile phones and the internet was something obscure that people really didn't see a use for? I get nostalgic about things like corded home telephones and big CRT monitors in that series. I don't even know why I do that.

Big Scary Demon Again, Huh?

In the beginning of the series a Big Scary Demon is a really big deal. They spend a lot of screen time dealing with how to defeat it.

Later on it's literally more like "Are we saving the world again this week? Okay." And a Big Scary Demon looking for a Very Powerful Artefact becomes nothing more than a slight nuisance used as a backdrop or catalyst for the inter-personal conflicts and emotional journeys of our protagonists.

And I like it. I'm rooting for them! All of them!

Sunnydale Has a Loooot of Cemeteries

12, actually, within city limits.

When our protagonists become seniors we see two football players walking by casually saying "I really think we're gonna do well this year. I mean, if we can avoid any mysterious deaths."

A vamp that moves in tells his boss "I've looked at the death rate in this place. You wouldn't believe it. We'll fit right in."

We learn early on that the police are wilfully covering mysteries up so as not to alarm the populace.

One character, upon learning that vampires exist, is told that "I guess this is really shocking for you" but casually replies "Actually it makes a lot of sense."

I totally love how the series just leans into how bizarre everything is in it. It's a great fit for my humour.

-- CC0 Björn Wärmedal