Buffy and her "closing her eyes, zen-like concentration" powers...

[tbessie]

You know the various scenes where Buffy closes her eyes and focuses on sounds/feelings, because something is invisible or moves fast (eg. catching Angel's sword in "Becoming, Part II"; throwing the axe up to hit the giant spider demon in the trees; the Watcher Council's tests of her blindfolded; finding the invisible girl, etc.)?

I was wondering - it seemed to me that she was *taught* that later in the series, when she decides to accept Giles' help in meditation, focusing, etc. But she does it several times beforehand, too.

That always seemed a little strange to me, because when Giles is teaching her to focus, it seems like she didn't quite get that "silent, paying attention" skill until that point, but she has used in many times in the past, as mentioned.

Any opinions on that? I mean, it's cool when the writers have put in a "Buffy focuses intently, closes her eyes, and grabs/kills the invisible thing through sheer concentration" kind of moment, but her having done it in the past doesn't seem to jive with her having to be taught to do it in later seasons.

P.S. As you can see from my avatar picture, that "power" is one of my favorite things in the series. 🙂

- Tim

 

[Xin Rong]

I would say she was taught to hone the skill in the later series, but it seems something innate in being a slayer, i.e. they use a similar skill to detect vampires.

 

[MikeyTheWatcher]

I've noticed that too! I think it's just something she does, like how some people take a deep breath to steady and calm themselves.

 

[dexeded]

I think she's more of a practical learner. Some people don't apply themselves because they don't think it applies to real life, like for Math or whatever, but when it actually comes to the real deal they excel.