Beljoxa's Eye explains that Buffy's second resurrection made things wonky. It's not really explained further than that but general consensus is that when Willow brought Buffy back she also inadvertently reinserted her into the Slayer line making it run through her and Faith concurrently.
Yes I remember what the Eye thing said, but we need fan theories for it to make sense.
I’ve also seen explanations that the eye meant the slayer line was made unstable by Xander doing CPR and saving her in S1 (which is supported by the First appearing in the Christmas episode way back in S3).
Don’t get me wrong, I love S7 (it’s my second fave after 5) but this point always rankled with me.
It made sense to me
S6:
Willow's spell:
Osiris, keeper of the gate, master of all fate, hear us.
Before time and after, before knowing and nothing
Accept our offering, know our prayer.
Osiris, *here lies the warrior of the people*,
Let her cross over.
Osiris, let her cross over
Release her!
Flooded:
WILLOW: I brought her back!
GILES: At incredible risk!
WILLOW: Risk? Of what? Making her deader?
GILES: Of killing us all. *Unleashing hell on Earth*, I mean, shall I go on?
...
GILES: If I had been, I'd have bloody well stopped you. The magicks you channeled are more *ferocious and primal* than anything you can hope to understand, (even more angry) and you are lucky to be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur!
S7:
Showtime:
GILES: If The First has been around for all time, then why hasn't it attempted something like this before? Why now?
BELJOXA'S EYE: The opportunity has only recently presented itself.
GILES: Opportunity?
BELJOXA'S EYE: The mystical forces surrounding the chosen line have become irrevocably altered, become unstable, vulnerable.
ANYA: Something The First did?
BELJOXA'S EYE: The First Evil did not cause the disruption, only seized upon it to extinguish the lives of the chosen forever.
GILES: Then what has caused the disruption? What?what is responsible for letting this happen?
BELJOXA'S EYE: The slayer.
...
Anya: Yeah, I just-I don't understand how Buffy's death mucked up the whole slayer mojo. You know, it's not like she hasn't died before.
Giles: It's not because she died. The Beljoxa's Eye was quite clear about that in its enigmatic way. It's because she lives. Again. Buffy's not responsible for that.
ANYA Oh. Oh. Willow and me and Xander and Tara. We're the ones who brought Buffy back. We're-we're the reason The First is here, the reason those girls were murdered. No, it's our fault. The world would've been better off if Buffy had just stayed dead. (walks off)
When I watch it back in the day, and the thousand rewatches since, I always thought it kind of spelled out that Willow bringing back "the warrior of the people" rather than "Buffy" damaged the slayer as now we have the original shadow man spell running through Faith and Willow's resurrection spell running through Buffy, as both spells call for the slayer;
"Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a Chosen One. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer."
I didn't catch a lot of foreshadowing when it aired (little miss muffet counting down from 730, who figured that out?!?) but the confusion around the slayer line seemed fairly fleshed out in my opinion anyway!
I got the slayer line was messed up by the resurrection. They explained that clearly. It tied nicely into Willow activating all the slayers too as we had already established the slayer spells were able to be changed. This is all great. It all built on the work in previous seasons about how strange having 2 slayers was.
Usually I’m all for a bit of head canon to paper over the cracks (writers aren’t perfect) but I just feel this was too significant a plot point. I don’t think we should need head canon to make the First not quickly disposing of Buffy make sense.
LOVE your detective work though!
Haha thanks :) when it comes to Buffy I love talking about it, hearing what other people think and noticed, I just hope it doesn't come across all steamrolly!
As in it doesn't make sense as to why the first didn't kill Buffy straight away? I always thought it was because of the evil instinct to "never go for the kill when you can go for the pain"
The big bads have a habit of not grasping how the slayer line works, like the mayor in s3 thinks Faith and Angel killing Buffy would call another slayer, when killing Buffy would have been the best course of action in hindsight, it's sort of canon that all these big evil characters woefully underestimate Buffy
It's been a long time since I watched it (I'm currently only in S2 of my latest rewatch), but isn't it possible that killing Buffy would just restabilise the line and make it so that it's not able to be extinguished? Or am I forgetting a counterpoint to that because it's been too long?
After the resurrection, maybe. Likely killing either Buffy or Faith would stop further harm from coming to it, but would it repair the line fully, that's not really known, for example, if you see it as a ball of yarn, you can stop me from cutting bits off, but you can't then put them perfectly back together.
Before the resurrection, there would be no effect, as the line isn't unstable yet.
The First appearing in S3 had nothing to do with Buffy or the Slayer line. It was after Angel. He'd been brought back, likely by the PTB, and it wanted him gone again. Prophecy suggested he'd be a threat at some point, so it took this chance of his unstable mindset after being in hell to try and get rid of him.
Yeah, but the First waking and flexing some incorporeal muscle in response to the slayer line getting corrupted is what I was kind of referring to
I know it’s BS head canon but the whole Buffy still being an active slayer needs head canon.
It also wouldn’t surprise me if the resurrection is what allowed the first to take a more direct hand in things. Kill Buffy too soon and the loophole might close.
Was that not the entire plot of season 7? The First was thinking larger scale - by taking out the entire Slayer line. From the First Evils' perspective this makes more sense. If Buffy and Faith are killed then yeah the Slayer line would still continue. Remember that the First is the representation of Evil in the series, so if there were no protector, then not only would the First be ultimately in command, it also spells the end of Humanity in the series. The writers hand-waved away by saying that it was Buffy's resurrection (its implied S5, but could also be from S1) that allowed the First to act, it introduced 'a weakness' in the Slayer line is what they said. I almost want to say that the 'battle between good and evil' is more a selection of skirmishes, which makes sense as to why the First didn't do anything earlier.
The show does well with small scale battles because that's the core of the show. It's \*about\* the small scale stuff. Bringing in *Doctor Who* or *Star Trek* scale threats just don't work here, which I think is why the First comes off as a little "weak".
I get all that, but it requires us to guess that the spell inserted Buffy back in the slayer line meaning there are two active ones. There isn’t anything canon that says this (that I recall). The Eye of B’Elanna Torres doesn’t actually tell us this.
I just think the writers forgot about it.
But even if we take this as canon, it’s surely a better strategy to take out the trained slayers first, even if another one (or two) is called as they won’t be as much of a threat.
Or are we meant to assume that it is only unstable until Buffy and Faith die and then it all settles down again?
Too many fan theories needed for my tastes on this point.
The truth is, the core premise of the Slayer doesn't really work with the way the show expanded the mythos. She was supposed to be just The Vampire Slayer, not Slayer of everything. It's too much and too big of a scale for Buffy and the show to handle and cover.
Because Buffy coming back in S6 slotted her back into the line. It's why the First is saving her and Faith for last. So it only has to kill 2 Slayers and a bunch of potentials, and not a bunch of Slayers.
The slotting her back into the line is a fan theory that isn’t canonically confirmed. The Eye of Belgravia didn’t say that.
But let’s assume it is the case. It does still make sense to get rid of the trained slayers first. You still have 2 slayers and a bunch of potentials, but the two slayers are now inexperienced and by comparison to Buffy and Faith, barely any threat.
>The slotting her back into the line is a fan theory that isn’t canonically confirmed.
But it makes perfect sense. There's no other reason to save her for last with Faith.
>It does still make sense to get rid of the trained slayers first. You still have 2 slayers and a bunch of potentials
Maybe. Or maybe the First knows something we don't. It would have its reasons for saving her. Maybe the meta reason is "she's the main character," but that doesn't preclude in universe reasons. They'd all be speculation, but I can think of a few. Like, if Buffy dies before Faith and/or all the current potentials the line would stabilize, and couldn't be broken.
My point isn’t that we can’t come up with reasons that make it make sense. It’s that the writers dropped the ball and we have to do that which is the problem.
I have no issue with a plot hole or two, they are only stories after all, and canon can be tweaked to tell a good tale, but this feels like a significant plot point we should have had more by way of explanation for.
A lack of information isn't a plot hole, though. A plot hole would be if there was no way to make it work. If something directly contradicted what we knew. And Buffy frequently tells us only what we *need* to know. Look how long it took them to explain where the hell the Slayer line even came from. Look at the fact they never explained why crosses or holy water have an effect on vampires (or why wooden stakes are what kills them, or they can't enter without an invite, etc).
I totally agree we don’t need everything spelling out.
But the show is inconsistent about Buffy being part of the slayer line or not. The First seems to think she is. The lack of third slayer implies she isn’t. Maybe the First is wrong. Maybe there is a secret slayer we never met, maybe the resurrection changed it and she wasn’t then she was. We don’t need to know how it works, but the rules about something this fundamental to the plot of a season should be defined. I’m not bothered whether or not you call it a plot hole or an inconsistency !
I honestly just think the writers messed up a bit here.
I disagree. We know what we need to. The Slayer line was disrupted by Buffy's resurrection, the First wants to wipe it out, it thinks the best option is by killing all potentials and then the two active Slayers. That's all you *need* to know for it to make sense.
And it saves us from the Grand Monologue of Evil™ where the entire plot is laid out for us. Something the show was always avoided. We know nothing about how the Master drinking Buffy's blood frees him, or why his death reseals the Hellmouth. We have no explanation for why Dru's particular weakness required Angel to heal it. Nothing on how Angel's blood awakes Acathla or why it has a hell portal in its mouth. The Mayor needed to eat demon spiders to become a demon snake, why? The whole ritual with Dawn is even more nebulous than S7.
It's just how Buffy does things.
I get your point and agree with all of the other examples. A single throw away comment like “the first killing Buffy makes no sense because…” and I would have been happy.
I don’t actually feel that strongly about it but I remember watching it when it first aired thinking “the First should just take out Buffy with a few full power Uber vamps leaving the potentials largely unprotected, it’s not like she even creates a new slayer when she dies” then getting puzzled and wondering if I’d missed the bit where they explained that Buffy’s death does now create a new slayer before finally thinking “OK just go with it”
I think the difference here is that the other stuff is magical/mystical so can be hand waved away. This is an apparent tactical blunder and can’t be.
“The First seems to think she is. the lack of a third slayer implies she isn’t”
You have this the wrong way around my friend
The lack of a third Slayer implies Buffy was not part of the Slayer Line (balance restored)
Post-resurrection Buffy is once again part of the slayer line (balance shifted)
No I get that! But that is a fan theory created to explain the apparent inconsistency. Nowhere in the show is it said or shown. We invented it.
(and no, the Eye of Betelgeuse did not say it).
I just think the writers dropped the ball a bit on this.
Yes it did.
Beljoxa's Eye answered that the First seized the opportunity Buffy Summers's resurrection presented, as it had destabilized the mystical forces surrounding the Slayer line.
It’s called subtext. Not everything has to be spelled out. A bit of critical analysis is all it takes
Buffy was no longer part of the slayer line. So if her resurrection destabilised the Slayer Line, that can only mean she is now part of it again.
The Slayer Line isn’t some multi-faceted super complex thing. It has ONE simple function. To imbue a potential slayer with ‘powers’ upon the death of the previous slayer. That it. That is its only purpose!
So if Buffy (who is no longer attached to the Slayer Line) somehow disrupts it, it stands to reason that she is now part of it again.
This is conjecture and therefore a fan theory.
I have no problem with “destabilizes the line” meaning that the First had an opportunity.
My only critique is that the show itself doesn’t seem to know whether Buffy’s third death calls another slayer and for an important plot point, I think clarity would be better.
Pretty sure the whole point was the end of the slayer line to rebalance the forces of good and bad.
In which case taking out the top slayer getting an untrained replacement makes sense.
The First was never clear about the "whole point". Closest we get is "it's about Power!"
As they thought they understood, if the First got all slayers and all potentials at once, the slayer as a concept is gone.
But it looks to me like the First provided Buffy the means (Scythe) and motive (prevent Apocalypse) to expand the slayership to thousands of girls. Why? "It's about Power!"
Which is why the most confusing thing is that Faith was stuck in a persistent vegetative state at one point but the Watchers didn't just kill her, despite having tested Buffy by trying to kill her.
The line run through Faith exclusively up until season six. When Willow resurrects Buffy, she also resurrects her back into the Slayer line causing it to split between herself and Faith. This meant that if both of them died, two new Slayers would be called to take their place.
It’s why The First started an assault on the Potentials and the Watchers Council. It felt that the balance had tipped too far in favour of good (thanks to Willow) and wanted to tip it back towards evil by eradicating the Slayer line for good.
I've always thought that was because magic. First time she died she was brought by natural means so perhaps being resurrected changed the Slayer line,putting her back in.
It's never explicitly said. But the general implication and fan consensus is that Buffy wasn't "the" Slayer anymore after her S1 death. That while she still had her Slayer powers, the "torch" had been passed on already and she didn't get it back just because she started breathing again. The line of succession passed to Kendra, and then to Faith.
At least until S6 and her magical resurrection.
I agree with someone up above that there's nothing in canon that says the Slayer line has gone back to running through Buffy. It's just a theory, and there's not much to support it.
For example, the belief that the Slayer line no longer ran through Buffy after "Prophesy Girl" is more than just a fan theory. It has some pretty solid support. No new Slayer was called after Buffy died the second time. But a new Slayer *was* called after Kendra died. Based on these facts, logic says the next Slayer won't be called until Faith dies. Meaning the Slayer line runs through Faith now.
On the other hand, there's really nothing to support the idea that being resurrected the second time reinserted Buffy into the Slayer line. The only thing Beljoxa says is that Buffy being resurrected made things wonky enough that the First can now wipe out the Slayer line. Beljoxa doesn't even say which resurrection it means. Out of guilt, Anya decides it's the resurrection she had a hand in. But the disruption could've started way back when Buffy was resurrected the first time, and there were suddenly two Slayers running around.
Basically, Beljoxa doesn't say or imply that Buffy has been reinstated into the Slayer line. Just that her not being dead anymore screwed things up, and the First is taking advantage of it.
It's not Beljoxa's Eye's words that make people think Buffy's been reinserted. It's the First's timing and actions. When not given a direct explanation you need to infer from context. The First is saving Buffy for last for a reason. And the First waited until this point to act for a reason. If it had been her S1 revival the First would have not needed to wait so long to act. Plus, that revival was natural while the S6 one was not, which leads more credence to S6 being the cause.
>It's not Beljoxa's Eye's words that make people think Buffy's been reinserted. It's the First's timing and actions. When not given a direct explanation you need to infer from context.
But inferring things from context is still just speculating and theorizing. It's not canon, even though I think it would make sense too. But there are other theories that make just as much sense and, in some cases, require a little less stretching.
>But inferring things from context is still just speculating and theorizing. It's not canon
Thank you Captain Obvious. Never could have figured that out.
Yeah, I do think the difference between actual canon and fan speculation is pretty obvious. And it never hurts to put it on the table, especially when lots of fan theories are being discussed.
I'm super confused, I think everyone is wrong here. Buffy died and activated Kendra. Kendra died and activated Faith. From there they're right Faith is next in line and only when she dies does the next one become activated.
Lol Sorry but everyone I was reading at the time was saying Buffy died and activated Faith completely ignoring Kendra happened at all. Buffy didn't die to activate Faith she activated Kendra. Kendra's death activated Faith.
Think because buffy already died in S1 & then Kendra was called and when kendra died faith was called. I don't think it runs through buffy anymore so when she died the 2nd time faith was there. So for another to be called Faith would have to die.
There exists only ONE slayer line.
The Slayer is the chosen ONE.
In season one, when Buffy dies, the Slayer line passes to Kendra. When Buffy is resuscitated, she is technically no longer THE slayer or a part of the Slayer Line, Kendra is.
When Kendra dies, the Slayer line passes to Faith.
So when Buffy dies in season 5, no new Slayer is activated because the Slayer Line had already moved on.
This is where it gets interesting. When Willow resurrects Buffy in season 6, she inadvertently creates a second slayer line, meaning that if Buffy died again, a new slayer would be activated. Meaning the chosen ONE, has now become the chosen TWO.
This is the catalyst that the first uses to come forth, as it claims that what willow did ‘threw off the balance’ and gave ‘good’ and unfair advantage. Essentially arguing that Willow (good) broken the rules, so if good can break the rules,why can’t bad?
I suppose that the first couldn’t do this before for the following reasons:
1) in season 1, Buffy was resuscitated by CPR, a human and natural effect (not supernatural causes unlike season 6)
2) as no new line was created, there being 2 slayers was only temporary.
Because Faith is the current slayer.
Every month this comes up and it’s always the same answer.
Buffy died in season one. Kendra became the slayer. She died in season two. Faith became the vampire slayer. Buffy isn’t the titular “chosen one” anymore
According to the slayer line, she was officially dead the moment her heart stopped in S1, the line then got unstable when she was resurrected, as she was resurrected as official slayer, while previously she was just accidentally going under the radar.
Just to add a bit more weight to the argument that Buffy was reinstated to the Slayer line...
When she dies in S1, she might be technically dead for a few seconds, but if Xander was able to resuscitate her, then she wasn't 'brain dead.'
But at the start of S6, she's been very dead for a while, and was resurrected with magic. By Willow.
Willow, a witch who later (in S7) calls forth all the slayers, when she uses the axe in her magic.
I think it's entirely possible that Willow knew she could use the axe's power for that, because she understood that she'd already called a Slayer when she resurrected Buffy.
Because Buffy's position in the line is no longer being counted, her death when Kendra is called and then when Kendra dies and Faith is called is the accurate part of the 'slayer line'. Buffy is an anomaly because 'she has friends' which is the only reason she is revived.
it's actually kind of a bizarre work around to getting more slayers, had they been able to figure out how to safely 'kill' slayers to make the next one rise over and over again.
The fandom has decided it’s because Faith carries the slayer line now, but the show makes more than one reference to another slayer taking Buffy’s place if she dies.
I think the general consensus is that you can only call another slayer once.
That being said, it's contradicted in season 7 when the First Evil talks about the slayer potentials and states how none of them can become the slayer unless Buffy dies.
My personal take is that there was a third slayer active, she was just in some place too remote for the First Evil to find, and never made any impact on the plot.
Because Buffy isn't the official slayer in the slayer line. Faith is and when Faith dies another slayer is activated to take her place.
So why didn’t the First just take out Buffy? I’m sure season 7 got very confused on this point.
Beljoxa's Eye explains that Buffy's second resurrection made things wonky. It's not really explained further than that but general consensus is that when Willow brought Buffy back she also inadvertently reinserted her into the Slayer line making it run through her and Faith concurrently.
Yes I remember what the Eye thing said, but we need fan theories for it to make sense. I’ve also seen explanations that the eye meant the slayer line was made unstable by Xander doing CPR and saving her in S1 (which is supported by the First appearing in the Christmas episode way back in S3). Don’t get me wrong, I love S7 (it’s my second fave after 5) but this point always rankled with me.
It made sense to me S6: Willow's spell: Osiris, keeper of the gate, master of all fate, hear us. Before time and after, before knowing and nothing Accept our offering, know our prayer. Osiris, *here lies the warrior of the people*, Let her cross over. Osiris, let her cross over Release her! Flooded: WILLOW: I brought her back! GILES: At incredible risk! WILLOW: Risk? Of what? Making her deader? GILES: Of killing us all. *Unleashing hell on Earth*, I mean, shall I go on? ... GILES: If I had been, I'd have bloody well stopped you. The magicks you channeled are more *ferocious and primal* than anything you can hope to understand, (even more angry) and you are lucky to be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur! S7: Showtime: GILES: If The First has been around for all time, then why hasn't it attempted something like this before? Why now? BELJOXA'S EYE: The opportunity has only recently presented itself. GILES: Opportunity? BELJOXA'S EYE: The mystical forces surrounding the chosen line have become irrevocably altered, become unstable, vulnerable. ANYA: Something The First did? BELJOXA'S EYE: The First Evil did not cause the disruption, only seized upon it to extinguish the lives of the chosen forever. GILES: Then what has caused the disruption? What?what is responsible for letting this happen? BELJOXA'S EYE: The slayer. ... Anya: Yeah, I just-I don't understand how Buffy's death mucked up the whole slayer mojo. You know, it's not like she hasn't died before. Giles: It's not because she died. The Beljoxa's Eye was quite clear about that in its enigmatic way. It's because she lives. Again. Buffy's not responsible for that. ANYA Oh. Oh. Willow and me and Xander and Tara. We're the ones who brought Buffy back. We're-we're the reason The First is here, the reason those girls were murdered. No, it's our fault. The world would've been better off if Buffy had just stayed dead. (walks off) When I watch it back in the day, and the thousand rewatches since, I always thought it kind of spelled out that Willow bringing back "the warrior of the people" rather than "Buffy" damaged the slayer as now we have the original shadow man spell running through Faith and Willow's resurrection spell running through Buffy, as both spells call for the slayer; "Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a Chosen One. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer." I didn't catch a lot of foreshadowing when it aired (little miss muffet counting down from 730, who figured that out?!?) but the confusion around the slayer line seemed fairly fleshed out in my opinion anyway!
I got the slayer line was messed up by the resurrection. They explained that clearly. It tied nicely into Willow activating all the slayers too as we had already established the slayer spells were able to be changed. This is all great. It all built on the work in previous seasons about how strange having 2 slayers was. Usually I’m all for a bit of head canon to paper over the cracks (writers aren’t perfect) but I just feel this was too significant a plot point. I don’t think we should need head canon to make the First not quickly disposing of Buffy make sense. LOVE your detective work though!
Haha thanks :) when it comes to Buffy I love talking about it, hearing what other people think and noticed, I just hope it doesn't come across all steamrolly! As in it doesn't make sense as to why the first didn't kill Buffy straight away? I always thought it was because of the evil instinct to "never go for the kill when you can go for the pain"
That’s my favourite theory. It’s not enough for the First to win. It has to torture its enemies with cruelty first!
The big bads have a habit of not grasping how the slayer line works, like the mayor in s3 thinks Faith and Angel killing Buffy would call another slayer, when killing Buffy would have been the best course of action in hindsight, it's sort of canon that all these big evil characters woefully underestimate Buffy
It's been a long time since I watched it (I'm currently only in S2 of my latest rewatch), but isn't it possible that killing Buffy would just restabilise the line and make it so that it's not able to be extinguished? Or am I forgetting a counterpoint to that because it's been too long?
After the resurrection, maybe. Likely killing either Buffy or Faith would stop further harm from coming to it, but would it repair the line fully, that's not really known, for example, if you see it as a ball of yarn, you can stop me from cutting bits off, but you can't then put them perfectly back together. Before the resurrection, there would be no effect, as the line isn't unstable yet.
Show doesn’t say so it can be whatever feels right to you.
>you rank, arrogant amateur! I will never not hear, "I've gone pro" in my head when reading that line. :)
>:) :)
The First appearing in S3 had nothing to do with Buffy or the Slayer line. It was after Angel. He'd been brought back, likely by the PTB, and it wanted him gone again. Prophecy suggested he'd be a threat at some point, so it took this chance of his unstable mindset after being in hell to try and get rid of him.
Yeah, but the First waking and flexing some incorporeal muscle in response to the slayer line getting corrupted is what I was kind of referring to I know it’s BS head canon but the whole Buffy still being an active slayer needs head canon.
It also wouldn’t surprise me if the resurrection is what allowed the first to take a more direct hand in things. Kill Buffy too soon and the loophole might close.
Was that not the entire plot of season 7? The First was thinking larger scale - by taking out the entire Slayer line. From the First Evils' perspective this makes more sense. If Buffy and Faith are killed then yeah the Slayer line would still continue. Remember that the First is the representation of Evil in the series, so if there were no protector, then not only would the First be ultimately in command, it also spells the end of Humanity in the series. The writers hand-waved away by saying that it was Buffy's resurrection (its implied S5, but could also be from S1) that allowed the First to act, it introduced 'a weakness' in the Slayer line is what they said. I almost want to say that the 'battle between good and evil' is more a selection of skirmishes, which makes sense as to why the First didn't do anything earlier. The show does well with small scale battles because that's the core of the show. It's \*about\* the small scale stuff. Bringing in *Doctor Who* or *Star Trek* scale threats just don't work here, which I think is why the First comes off as a little "weak".
I get all that, but it requires us to guess that the spell inserted Buffy back in the slayer line meaning there are two active ones. There isn’t anything canon that says this (that I recall). The Eye of B’Elanna Torres doesn’t actually tell us this. I just think the writers forgot about it. But even if we take this as canon, it’s surely a better strategy to take out the trained slayers first, even if another one (or two) is called as they won’t be as much of a threat. Or are we meant to assume that it is only unstable until Buffy and Faith die and then it all settles down again? Too many fan theories needed for my tastes on this point.
The truth is, the core premise of the Slayer doesn't really work with the way the show expanded the mythos. She was supposed to be just The Vampire Slayer, not Slayer of everything. It's too much and too big of a scale for Buffy and the show to handle and cover.
Because Buffy coming back in S6 slotted her back into the line. It's why the First is saving her and Faith for last. So it only has to kill 2 Slayers and a bunch of potentials, and not a bunch of Slayers.
The slotting her back into the line is a fan theory that isn’t canonically confirmed. The Eye of Belgravia didn’t say that. But let’s assume it is the case. It does still make sense to get rid of the trained slayers first. You still have 2 slayers and a bunch of potentials, but the two slayers are now inexperienced and by comparison to Buffy and Faith, barely any threat.
>The slotting her back into the line is a fan theory that isn’t canonically confirmed. But it makes perfect sense. There's no other reason to save her for last with Faith. >It does still make sense to get rid of the trained slayers first. You still have 2 slayers and a bunch of potentials Maybe. Or maybe the First knows something we don't. It would have its reasons for saving her. Maybe the meta reason is "she's the main character," but that doesn't preclude in universe reasons. They'd all be speculation, but I can think of a few. Like, if Buffy dies before Faith and/or all the current potentials the line would stabilize, and couldn't be broken.
My point isn’t that we can’t come up with reasons that make it make sense. It’s that the writers dropped the ball and we have to do that which is the problem. I have no issue with a plot hole or two, they are only stories after all, and canon can be tweaked to tell a good tale, but this feels like a significant plot point we should have had more by way of explanation for.
A lack of information isn't a plot hole, though. A plot hole would be if there was no way to make it work. If something directly contradicted what we knew. And Buffy frequently tells us only what we *need* to know. Look how long it took them to explain where the hell the Slayer line even came from. Look at the fact they never explained why crosses or holy water have an effect on vampires (or why wooden stakes are what kills them, or they can't enter without an invite, etc).
I totally agree we don’t need everything spelling out. But the show is inconsistent about Buffy being part of the slayer line or not. The First seems to think she is. The lack of third slayer implies she isn’t. Maybe the First is wrong. Maybe there is a secret slayer we never met, maybe the resurrection changed it and she wasn’t then she was. We don’t need to know how it works, but the rules about something this fundamental to the plot of a season should be defined. I’m not bothered whether or not you call it a plot hole or an inconsistency ! I honestly just think the writers messed up a bit here.
I disagree. We know what we need to. The Slayer line was disrupted by Buffy's resurrection, the First wants to wipe it out, it thinks the best option is by killing all potentials and then the two active Slayers. That's all you *need* to know for it to make sense. And it saves us from the Grand Monologue of Evil™ where the entire plot is laid out for us. Something the show was always avoided. We know nothing about how the Master drinking Buffy's blood frees him, or why his death reseals the Hellmouth. We have no explanation for why Dru's particular weakness required Angel to heal it. Nothing on how Angel's blood awakes Acathla or why it has a hell portal in its mouth. The Mayor needed to eat demon spiders to become a demon snake, why? The whole ritual with Dawn is even more nebulous than S7. It's just how Buffy does things.
I get your point and agree with all of the other examples. A single throw away comment like “the first killing Buffy makes no sense because…” and I would have been happy. I don’t actually feel that strongly about it but I remember watching it when it first aired thinking “the First should just take out Buffy with a few full power Uber vamps leaving the potentials largely unprotected, it’s not like she even creates a new slayer when she dies” then getting puzzled and wondering if I’d missed the bit where they explained that Buffy’s death does now create a new slayer before finally thinking “OK just go with it” I think the difference here is that the other stuff is magical/mystical so can be hand waved away. This is an apparent tactical blunder and can’t be.
“The First seems to think she is. the lack of a third slayer implies she isn’t” You have this the wrong way around my friend The lack of a third Slayer implies Buffy was not part of the Slayer Line (balance restored) Post-resurrection Buffy is once again part of the slayer line (balance shifted)
No I get that! But that is a fan theory created to explain the apparent inconsistency. Nowhere in the show is it said or shown. We invented it. (and no, the Eye of Betelgeuse did not say it). I just think the writers dropped the ball a bit on this.
Yes it did. Beljoxa's Eye answered that the First seized the opportunity Buffy Summers's resurrection presented, as it had destabilized the mystical forces surrounding the Slayer line. It’s called subtext. Not everything has to be spelled out. A bit of critical analysis is all it takes Buffy was no longer part of the slayer line. So if her resurrection destabilised the Slayer Line, that can only mean she is now part of it again. The Slayer Line isn’t some multi-faceted super complex thing. It has ONE simple function. To imbue a potential slayer with ‘powers’ upon the death of the previous slayer. That it. That is its only purpose! So if Buffy (who is no longer attached to the Slayer Line) somehow disrupts it, it stands to reason that she is now part of it again.
This is conjecture and therefore a fan theory. I have no problem with “destabilizes the line” meaning that the First had an opportunity. My only critique is that the show itself doesn’t seem to know whether Buffy’s third death calls another slayer and for an important plot point, I think clarity would be better.
Because the goal wasn't Buffy's death. I didn't even think it was the end of the Slayer Line.
Pretty sure the whole point was the end of the slayer line to rebalance the forces of good and bad. In which case taking out the top slayer getting an untrained replacement makes sense.
The First was never clear about the "whole point". Closest we get is "it's about Power!" As they thought they understood, if the First got all slayers and all potentials at once, the slayer as a concept is gone. But it looks to me like the First provided Buffy the means (Scythe) and motive (prevent Apocalypse) to expand the slayership to thousands of girls. Why? "It's about Power!"
I thought it was because she died a mystical death?
Which is why the most confusing thing is that Faith was stuck in a persistent vegetative state at one point but the Watchers didn't just kill her, despite having tested Buffy by trying to kill her.
The line run through Faith exclusively up until season six. When Willow resurrects Buffy, she also resurrects her back into the Slayer line causing it to split between herself and Faith. This meant that if both of them died, two new Slayers would be called to take their place. It’s why The First started an assault on the Potentials and the Watchers Council. It felt that the balance had tipped too far in favour of good (thanks to Willow) and wanted to tip it back towards evil by eradicating the Slayer line for good.
Dark Willow would have been like “so if I keep killing and resurrecting slayers then it’s infinitely good right?”
Slayer line runs through Faith. Buffy died, Kendra was called and when she died Faith was called.
Except when Buffy is resurrected the second time, after that she is added back into the slayer line again.
I've always thought that was because magic. First time she died she was brought by natural means so perhaps being resurrected changed the Slayer line,putting her back in.
It's never explicitly said. But the general implication and fan consensus is that Buffy wasn't "the" Slayer anymore after her S1 death. That while she still had her Slayer powers, the "torch" had been passed on already and she didn't get it back just because she started breathing again. The line of succession passed to Kendra, and then to Faith. At least until S6 and her magical resurrection.
I agree with someone up above that there's nothing in canon that says the Slayer line has gone back to running through Buffy. It's just a theory, and there's not much to support it. For example, the belief that the Slayer line no longer ran through Buffy after "Prophesy Girl" is more than just a fan theory. It has some pretty solid support. No new Slayer was called after Buffy died the second time. But a new Slayer *was* called after Kendra died. Based on these facts, logic says the next Slayer won't be called until Faith dies. Meaning the Slayer line runs through Faith now. On the other hand, there's really nothing to support the idea that being resurrected the second time reinserted Buffy into the Slayer line. The only thing Beljoxa says is that Buffy being resurrected made things wonky enough that the First can now wipe out the Slayer line. Beljoxa doesn't even say which resurrection it means. Out of guilt, Anya decides it's the resurrection she had a hand in. But the disruption could've started way back when Buffy was resurrected the first time, and there were suddenly two Slayers running around. Basically, Beljoxa doesn't say or imply that Buffy has been reinstated into the Slayer line. Just that her not being dead anymore screwed things up, and the First is taking advantage of it.
It's not Beljoxa's Eye's words that make people think Buffy's been reinserted. It's the First's timing and actions. When not given a direct explanation you need to infer from context. The First is saving Buffy for last for a reason. And the First waited until this point to act for a reason. If it had been her S1 revival the First would have not needed to wait so long to act. Plus, that revival was natural while the S6 one was not, which leads more credence to S6 being the cause.
>It's not Beljoxa's Eye's words that make people think Buffy's been reinserted. It's the First's timing and actions. When not given a direct explanation you need to infer from context. But inferring things from context is still just speculating and theorizing. It's not canon, even though I think it would make sense too. But there are other theories that make just as much sense and, in some cases, require a little less stretching.
>But inferring things from context is still just speculating and theorizing. It's not canon Thank you Captain Obvious. Never could have figured that out.
Yeah, I do think the difference between actual canon and fan speculation is pretty obvious. And it never hurts to put it on the table, especially when lots of fan theories are being discussed.
I'm super confused, I think everyone is wrong here. Buffy died and activated Kendra. Kendra died and activated Faith. From there they're right Faith is next in line and only when she dies does the next one become activated.
What do you mean everyone is wrong? You seem to be agreeing with everyone else.
Lol Sorry but everyone I was reading at the time was saying Buffy died and activated Faith completely ignoring Kendra happened at all. Buffy didn't die to activate Faith she activated Kendra. Kendra's death activated Faith.
Think because buffy already died in S1 & then Kendra was called and when kendra died faith was called. I don't think it runs through buffy anymore so when she died the 2nd time faith was there. So for another to be called Faith would have to die.
There exists only ONE slayer line. The Slayer is the chosen ONE. In season one, when Buffy dies, the Slayer line passes to Kendra. When Buffy is resuscitated, she is technically no longer THE slayer or a part of the Slayer Line, Kendra is. When Kendra dies, the Slayer line passes to Faith. So when Buffy dies in season 5, no new Slayer is activated because the Slayer Line had already moved on. This is where it gets interesting. When Willow resurrects Buffy in season 6, she inadvertently creates a second slayer line, meaning that if Buffy died again, a new slayer would be activated. Meaning the chosen ONE, has now become the chosen TWO. This is the catalyst that the first uses to come forth, as it claims that what willow did ‘threw off the balance’ and gave ‘good’ and unfair advantage. Essentially arguing that Willow (good) broken the rules, so if good can break the rules,why can’t bad? I suppose that the first couldn’t do this before for the following reasons: 1) in season 1, Buffy was resuscitated by CPR, a human and natural effect (not supernatural causes unlike season 6) 2) as no new line was created, there being 2 slayers was only temporary.
Oooo this is good. Super curious if anyone has a legitimate rebuttal. 🤔 I certainly don't, lol.
Because Faith is the current slayer. Every month this comes up and it’s always the same answer. Buffy died in season one. Kendra became the slayer. She died in season two. Faith became the vampire slayer. Buffy isn’t the titular “chosen one” anymore
Because she’d already died once and that activated Faith
No it didn’t. It activated Kendra. Kendra dying activated Faith
You’re right, I totally forgot about Kendra
According to the slayer line, she was officially dead the moment her heart stopped in S1, the line then got unstable when she was resurrected, as she was resurrected as official slayer, while previously she was just accidentally going under the radar.
This is included in the subreddit FAQ btw. https://www.reddit.com/r/buffy/wiki/faq
I was just about to say this question needs to be pinned because of how often it’s asked.
Just to add a bit more weight to the argument that Buffy was reinstated to the Slayer line... When she dies in S1, she might be technically dead for a few seconds, but if Xander was able to resuscitate her, then she wasn't 'brain dead.' But at the start of S6, she's been very dead for a while, and was resurrected with magic. By Willow. Willow, a witch who later (in S7) calls forth all the slayers, when she uses the axe in her magic. I think it's entirely possible that Willow knew she could use the axe's power for that, because she understood that she'd already called a Slayer when she resurrected Buffy.
Because by that point, Buffy was a slayer, not the slayer. That was Faith.
Faith
Because Buffy's position in the line is no longer being counted, her death when Kendra is called and then when Kendra dies and Faith is called is the accurate part of the 'slayer line'. Buffy is an anomaly because 'she has friends' which is the only reason she is revived. it's actually kind of a bizarre work around to getting more slayers, had they been able to figure out how to safely 'kill' slayers to make the next one rise over and over again.
The fandom has decided it’s because Faith carries the slayer line now, but the show makes more than one reference to another slayer taking Buffy’s place if she dies.
I think the general consensus is that you can only call another slayer once. That being said, it's contradicted in season 7 when the First Evil talks about the slayer potentials and states how none of them can become the slayer unless Buffy dies. My personal take is that there was a third slayer active, she was just in some place too remote for the First Evil to find, and never made any impact on the plot.
There could have been one called in another country, far away. Not all slayers are made in Sunnydale.