10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Making Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer
1. The Fight At The End Of ‘The Initiative’ Was Inspired By The Matrix
The seventh episode of Season 4 focuses on the Initiative, a government organisation that captures demons. At the end of the episode, a group of soldiers from the Initiative go into UC Sunnydale’s Stevenson Hall and attempt to recapture Spike.
As strange as it may seem, this closing fight sequence was actually inspired by The Matrix, and if you watch this scene closely, there are several explicit nods to the famous sci-fi movie.
Firstly, when Buffy arrives in the hallway, she points a flare gun at the camera and says, “Contain this,” which is just like Trinity’s famous line: “Dodge this.” Secondly, there’s a moment in the fight when Buffy repeatedly hammers her fists into the stomach of a soldier, just like Agent Smith’s relentless punches against Neo during the subway fight. Thirdly, Spike’s escape from the hallway resembles Trinity’s jump through the glass window in the opening scene of the movie. Even the music feels like something straight out of The Matrix.
If you’ve never watched the episode commentary from writer Douglas Petrie, you probably wouldn’t pick up on this detail. But once you’re aware of it, The Matrix references are surprisingly obvious.