12 Small Details You Only Notice Rewatching Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The exploration of Willow’s sexuality is one of Buffy’s proudest legacies. Her relationship with Tara was among the first prominent same sex couples on mainstream American TV, and while the development of her character may have been surprising, it was never the least bit exploitative.

Re-watching, though, this was set up a way back. In season three episode Doppelgangland, a vampire version of Willow is brought to Sunnydale from an alternate universe. Willow observes her sexually liberated lookalike, and quickly notes that she’s “kinda gay”.

Dialogue from Angel goes on to confirm that the vampire version of yourself would essentially maintain all your characteristics. Willow would go on to enjoy a committed, monogamous relationship with Tara (as opposed to the hedonistic lifestyle practised by Vampire Willow), but her uninhibited undead self shows that these desires were always simmering under the surface.

Coupling this with the eventual brief turn to evil and Doppelgangland is an important episode for the character. Buffy was a great show for allowing actors to fully explore their characters, and Alyson Hannigan gets to dig deep into the hidden sides of Willow before they came to prominence.