Buffys time in LA

[CordelliasHeart]

One possible reason for buffys problems first episode of season 1 that Ive never heard addressed really?

is that she might have been enjoying having a Cordellia esque social life again, losing it again might hav ebeen painful. as much affection as she felt toward her gang.

 

[Blaze]

I don't think Buffy ever showed regrets for being friends with Willow and Xander, and on top of it all, she sort of disliked Cordelia passed that point, I don't think giving up on her popularity hurt her all that much.

Also, I don't think Buffy really wanted to be popular, but more so wanted to be a normal teenage girl.

 

[brinkster130]

I think once Buffy became the slayer her priorities began to change and shift away from things like high school popularity. She knew that her responsibilities were more important and would put a damper on the social life she had in her life prior. Also, I think her views on the "helpless" (unpopular) kids changed, she started sticking up for others pretty quickly once she arrived in Sunnydale; even though she pretty much had an in with the cool crowd if she wanted it.

 

[Wesley Pryce]

I think its a fair point. Most people that age want to be popular and I don't think that Buffy was any exception to that. She wanted to be normal,but i think by "normal" she meant popular,she was much like Cordy before she was called to be a slayer and I'm sure parts of her missed her old life style.

 

[itssmiletime]

perhaps she viewed Cordelia as a former version of herself, someone who she no longer wished to be? And once her slayer duties kicked in, she became more compassionate, and the fact that Cordelia showed no shame whatsoever in her treatment of Willow, was a massive turn off. The Buffy I see in season 1 desired a fresh start, yet still wanted to feel like a 'teenager'.

Buffy and Cordelia did 'click' in Welcome To The Hellmouth, yet it was quite shallow, connected by jargon and pop culture references as opposed to a genuine emotional bond and similar values.

 

[Lyri]

Just an observation, but this thread is in the S2 forum and the OP seems to be referring to when Buffy came BACK to Sunnydale after she'd had her social-life 'again'. So, although the OP refers to S1, to me it sounds like they're talking about S2, 'When She Was Bad'.

But, to keep the conversation going, I think Buffy's issues in S1 are the fact that her Slayer-ness forced her out of school, forced them to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere, which was the only place who would accept her after what she was forced to do.

In S2, however, I don't think it's the fact that she got her 'Cordelia-esque' lifestyle back, but more to do with the fact that she was able to be a normal teenager for a few months. She didn't do ANY Slaying when she was with her father, no patrolling, and she got to remember what it was like when she was a normal person, a normal teenage girl. But when she got back to Sunnydale, literally the second she stepped foot out the front door and went to look for her friends, she was shoved head first back into that life, she was back to being the Slayer. And not only that, but she still hadn't come to terms with the fact that she had fulfilled the prophecy of being the Slayer - she died. She never faced that, never dealt with it, just pushed it to the side to deal with the immediate problem - The Master - and then forgot about it to celebrate the fact that the world hadn't ended.

All of that added together made Buffy a very unhappy girl and she dealt with that by trying to push everyone away so that she couldn't hurt them.