Buffy Summers

Buffy Anne Summers is the title character in the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the television show of the same name (though it should be noted that, being different interpretations of an original concept, these are actually two seperate entities, as explained below). The character was introduced in the financially unsuccessful movie in which she was played by Kristy Swanson. She gained popularity after being transferred to the small screen where she was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Romances & Friendships

The gradual change in her character was marked by constant failed relationships - first betrayed by Angel and forced to kill him, and later forced to confront him again, attempting to reconstruct a relationship only for them to decide they had to part despite their continuing (to the very end of the show) love.

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This had been preceded by a string of romances with failures and supernatural villains, and was followed by a relationship with Riley that ended in him very suddenly abandoning her.

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Buffy's final major relationship was with Spike, who she had long considered an enemy and rejected - but with whom she had sex in a desperate attempt to "feel anything" after her resurrection. Buffy's development of this relationship had a somewhat masochistic quality - and in a fight with a young and particularly psychoanalytical vampire, in the episode "Conversations With Dead People", Buffy was forced to confront her tendency to pick men who would hurt her so that she didn't have to commit.

Related Topics:
Spike - Masochistic - Psychoanalytical - Conversations With Dead People

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After having worked out those issues, Buffy then tried to slowly forge a real friendship with a recently souled Spike, until the final episode, when their relationship ended with Spike's sacrifice. Buffy had finally come to love and trust Spike as a real friend and ally. In the end, however, it became apparent that her heart still belonged to Angel, as it always had.

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Buffy's best friends are Willow and Xander. However, her role as Slayer forced her to be alone, in that she was ultimately the one with the most responsability and power as to fighting their foes, and as such, she had to emotionally separate herself to some degree. Giles became a father figure to Buffy, as her own father was never around, and it was with him she felt able to share some of the weight of her Slayer responsibilities. Giles' own life meant that for large periods of time he was forced to leave Buffy on her own, however.

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Buffy's relationships with the other "Scoobies" are difficult to define. She became close to Tara, tolerated Cordelia and showed little about what she thought of Oz and Anya. In Dawn, Buffy had for the first time a relationship that involved responsibility on her part outside the role of Slayer, and she was very overprotective. Dawn also helped alleviate some of Buffy's isolation, by being a part of her actual family.

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