Patrolling

[Tueuse de Vampires]

I was watching an episode of Buffy earlier when I came up with a question.

How often/how long does Buffy go patrolling?

Especially in the earlier seasons, we see her go out to the Bronze a lot, and in the one I watched today (Reptile Boy) her, Willow and Xander were watching a movie one evening, Buffy went to the frat party another evening, and at the end of the episode they're hanging at the Bronze.

Now a night is probably between 5-14 hours long, depending on the season. So there's literally hours where vampires have the time to do their thing.

With the rates of what time she has left to spend after substracting her social life + sleeping, how much time does she actually spend patrolling? And how does that compare with the hours of the night?

It would obviously be easier during the summer, but in the winter I'm really doubtful of how much of an impact she could really make.


Maybe that's why Sunnydale never ran out of vamps.

 

[JCoatsworth]

I was asking myself the same thing. When is she out patrolling and for how long?

I figure she's hanging out at the Bronze or doing something with Xander and Willow earlier in the evenings and later she's going out patrolling for a few hours. She's the Slayer and has self-regulating forces, so I think she also doesn't need as much sleep as a normal person. I also couldn't imagine that she's going out patrolling every single night. She should and maybe she is, but I kind of doubt that. I also don't think she's out all night.

 

[white avenger]

Where, when, and for exactly how long Buffy patrols each night, or even if she does patrol every night, is never actually discussed or explained anywhere in the series. Most likely, though, there is some sort of predictable pattern, like the migratory habits of Canada Geese, that allows her, or more likely Giles in the beginning, to know when and where certain types of demons will be passing through (that would also explain how she always seems to have the proper weapon most times) Also, simply checking the obituaries every day would tell her when someone died unexpectedly due to a mysterious, unexplainable, blood loss, which would tell her the most likely spots to check for new vampires.

Almost certainly, there are nights when no harmful demons are scheduled to be out, and no new deaths have been reported, when Buffy can skip, or at least shorten her patrol time, allowing her to have a little time off. Also, almost certainly, as the seasons progressed, the First Evil's influence in the area was gradually increasing, which is why she began to depend more and more on the Scoobies, Riley and his men, and Spike, at various times, to help take up some of the slack, though it was obviously taking a definite toll on her physically (Compare Buffy in Season 1 and Season 7, and you can see a definite weight loss, a sure sign of overwork)

Slayer physiology makes the Slayer stronger and faster than a normal human, and her recuperative powers, both for healing and requiring rest, would also be enhanced, but it must be kept in mind that these girls always die quite young, usually after only a few years of service. The perfect example, whether intentional or not, of the candle burning at both ends

 

[Buffy Summers]

To me they always made it seem like she went out every night - she always seemed to have to be leaving somewhere (like the Bronze) or missing out on something so she could patrol.

 

[brinkster130]

I always got the impression it was nightly, with an occasional night off here and there. Buffy seemed to enjoy Halloween because it was an (almost) guaranteed night off for her. And didn't we see her or Giles talking about enjoying a night off a couple times?

I often wondered how she functioned with so little sleep, by the time you figure in school, homework, social life and slayer duties there would have been only a few hours for her to sleep each night....maybe one of her special slayer abilities was functioning with little or no sleep.

 

[tkts]

I can't remember if it's ever stated outright, but it's strongly implied that Buffy only really needs a few hours of sleep per night.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

As we see every time Spike drives into the Sunnydale sign, the population is 38,500, so there is not that much of a normal death rate due to natural causes.

Also, the sun sets more or less the same time at night every year and it is relatively early - up here in the Toronto area, there is twilight until 10:30 PM at the beginning of summer. In California, I have never seen sundown go past 8 PM. You could get in a couple of hours of patrolling and not have a late night.

Even thought there are several cemeteries in Sunnydale, she always seems to stick to the same one.

She is responsible for demons as well as vampires and this may be a less predictable clientele with appearances possible at any time.