12 Small Details You Only Notice Rewatching Buffy The Vampire Slayer
As if you needed another excuse to rewatch Buffy - how many of these did you catch?
Buffy The Vampire Slayer is the very definition of a cult show. Fans across the world obsess over its characters, its stories, its strong message of female empowerment. It has spawned copyists and comic book spin-offs, and inspired no end of cosplay. It has been off the air for over 15 years now, but it is no less beloved for it.
Part of the reason for this is Joss Whedon’s knack for filling his creations with amazing Easter eggs and hidden bonuses. It makes Buffy an incredibly rewatchable show, rewarding the viewer with new experiences each time.
Whether it’s the foreshadowing of future plot points, recurring characters, or moments that strike you a different way the second time around, Buffy has all kinds of additional content for the repeat watcher. Many of its ardent fans will no doubt agree - you simply can’t get bored of Buffy.
No doubt folks will be watching this incredible show for years to come and finding even more weird and wonderful moments, but for now, the detailed writing and production of Whedon and his team have given us plenty to be getting on with.
12. Demon Days
Vengeance demons are one of Buffy’s finest creations - vindictive spirits who can be summoned by wronged parties to cast dreadful spells on their client’s target. The most prominent is Anya, now in human form and an erstwhile-member of the Scooby gang. But we also spend a good bit of time with Halfrek, Anya’s friend and former colleague.
As a demon who takes pride in her work, Halfrek is a real scene-stealer, but watch the show again and you’ll realise you’ve seen her before. For a time in the late 1800s, she led an ordinary upper-crust existence as Cecily, the unrequited love of William Pratt, better known as Spike.
The series never expands on the history, but given William’s bloodlust began as a direct result of his rejection at Cecily’s hands, it seems she was working in the interest of vengeance even in this guise.
The two meet briefly in the present day and are sheepish around one another, though neither makes it clear that their paths have crossed in a previous life. The connection between Cecily and Halfrek is never stated in the show, but has been confirmed by Whedon - the rest is up to the viewer’s imagination.