Let’s talk Buffy Summers and her depression
When did it really start?
The show made it clear that season 6 would be considerably darker than previous season which definitely sparked controversy among the show’s enormous cult following. Even 20+ years after its initial release I still see the debate online around whether season 6 went too dark. And one of the contributing factors to that darkness was Buffy’s apparent depression and decent into suicidal ideation.
There’s no doubt that Buffy was suffering tremendously in season 6 with her mental health, that’s not in question. Instead, the question is when did this really start? I see fans who believe it started with her resurrection, some who think it began in season 5 after Joyce’s death and others think she was depression from the moment she first appeared on our screens.
I happen to agree with each of these views. I think Buffy was always depressed one way or another but in season 6 we see her go from having bouts of depression to being severely clinically depressed.
There’s no way in which someone can watch Buffy and not see the negative effect that being the Slayer has on her. In season 1, Buffy is clearly suffering from some traumatic experiences from the burning down of the gym in her old high school and does struggle with the responsibility of being the slayer. But one thing that’s clear is that she doesn’t yet want to die - as she says - she’s only 16. Buffy wants to live, she wants to be a normal teenager. And she’s sad because she longs for normality and can’t grasp it, yet she’s still holding onto that hope that she one day will.
It’s not until season 2 that we’re shown Buffy truly suffering from PTSD and I think this is the beginning of the end for her mental health. Girl has traumatic things happen to her daily and with the death of angel and Ms Calendar and all the changes in Buffy’s life she can’t escape the PTSD that it leaves her with throughout season 2 onwards.
Between season 2-3 is where I think she begins to lose that hope of ever being normal.
Her PTSD is the catalyst for her depression. And as the seasons go on and she adds traumatic event after traumatic event to her baggage we see it manifest in depressive episodes (not quite what we see from her throughout season 6) but there are noticeable moments where Buffy just doesn’t seem as though she wants to continue.
But being the slayer, Buffy has a responsibility to be the strong one and to save everyone and keep Dawn safe after their mothers death so Buffy pushes it down and covers it up with snarky comments and beating her enemies to a pulp. She bounces back every time. But every bounce back starts to take more time and more energy until suddenly she can’t quite manage it anymore.
And then everything bubbles to the surface in season 6.
For me the season 5 finale confirms that Buffy’s depression began long before season 6. She says the hardest thing to do in this world is live in it and then jumps headfirst in a sacrificial suicide to her death.
Do you agree? Let’s chat in the comments :)
