What If: There was no Cruciamentum

[nightshade]

What if there was no test from the Watchers on Buffy's 18th birthday?

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

she would have trusted Giles and men more. she would not have used her 'thinking muscle' the way she did that night. I think it is a horrible test and shouldn't exist, but I think the idea of mentally testing the slayer is sound. execution sucked. putting the one person who could save the world in jeopardy for no sane reason is stupid. What if Buffy died and they then had to fight apocalypse season without a trained slayer?

 

[NotASlayer]

putting the one person who could save the world in jeopardy for no sane reason is stupid.

I think the reason was the one Buffy herself stated later in "Checkpoint" - power. Power over the Slayer. Whether or not that was a sane reason is another matter.

Buffy would have trusted Giles more, he would not have been kicked off the Council, Buffy would still have been more trusting of the Council, and would not have grown up as independent of them as she did. Yes, she was always independent to a degree, but never completely shut them out.

Which leads me to the somewhat odd conclusion that it led to more growth as a person for Buffy. A stupid and dangerous test that altered the participant in ways the Council neither foresaw nor wanted.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

After the cruciamentum, Buffy never complains about wanting to be a normal girl anymore. She came out of that experience wanting to be a slayer and not treating it as a job. Kendra had pointed out to her that it is a calling, not just a job and Buffy finally sees it that way. Buffy had trouble getting used to the lack of strength normal people have and finally wanted to be the slayer.

 

[Stake fodder]

she would have trusted Giles and men more. she would not have used her 'thinking muscle' the way she did that night. I think it is a horrible test and shouldn't exist, but I think the idea of mentally testing the slayer is sound. execution sucked. putting the one person who could save the world in jeopardy for no sane reason is stupid. What if Buffy died and they then had to fight apocalypse season without a trained slayer?

I think the Council thought, big whoop, if she dies, another will be chosen. But that's shallow thinking, because a Slayer needs training - some were contacted by Watchers beforehand and trained, but you couldn't count on one of them being chosen. Kendra was trained all her life, yet Buffy was chosen first.

I think the cruciamentum confirmed for Buffy that she was brains as well as brawn, but it would have been better for all concerned if it hadn't happened. She lost all trust in the Council and never regained it again. As terrible as they were, they had experience and expertise that could have been useful if only they had chosen to work with her, rather than treating her like a tool.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

The Maasai Tribe of Kenya has a custom where a young man goes out into the wilderness to kill a lion by himself. Only after he succeeds, is he considered a man, that is, a warrior, and is worthy of joining the hunt. So, no, the idea of Buffy having some extreme ritual test to complete to demonstrate herself worthy of the powers she is set to fully inherit, doesn't offend me, at least in theory. The ancient world was harsh and cruel, the slayers and the watchers would have to be so as well. Nor do I mind that the Watcher's Council did this to her, after all, what good is instruction if it can't be evaluated? I mean, I wish Buffy would have tossed some of the Potentials into one, would have beaten some sense into them.

The issue is, short term, it did cause Buffy to distrust Giles, long term, I think it did help, as getting fired for a girl and saving her at the last minute did show he was on her side, in a way being a stuffy librarian never would have.

The bigger problem is Buffy and the council, but we never really saw enough of the council to really care that much, other than as a strawman.

 

[Kendar]

Here's a hot take....

I don't actually have a complete problem with the idea of the cruciamentum. I do have a problem with the way it is executed.

I think there's some logic in making sure slayers are actually smart and trained well, and not just relying on the strength. I'm not sure I'd object to Buffy being told that on her 18th birthday the council administers a test where you have to slay a vampire without powers. A well-trained slayer should be able to take out a vamp without them. After all, we see plenty of normal humans doing it all the time.

But you TELL her! There's a big difference between "I have a test" and "OMG I'm losing my powers for reasons I don't understand". The first is arguably fair. The second clearly is not.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

The Maasai Tribe of Kenya has a custom where a young man goes out into the wilderness to kill a lion by himself. Only after he succeeds, is he considered a man, that is, a warrior, and is worthy of joining the hunt. So, no, the idea of Buffy having some extreme ritual test to complete to demonstrate herself worthy of the powers she is set to fully inherit, doesn't offend me, at least in theory. The ancient world was harsh and cruel, the slayers and the watchers would have to be so as well. Nor do I mind that the Watcher's Council did this to her, after all, what good is instruction if it can't be evaluated? I mean, I wish Buffy would have tossed some of the Potentials into one, would have beaten some sense into them.

The issue is, short term, it did cause Buffy to distrust Giles, long term, I think it did help, as getting fired for a girl and saving her at the last minute did show he was on her side, in a way being a stuffy librarian never would have.

The bigger problem is Buffy and the council, but we never really saw enough of the council to really care that much, other than as a strawman.

the difference between the Masai test and the Cruciamentum is that one strips her of her power secretly and has her most trusted aide lie to her and abuse her. I imagine all Masai young men prepare for the test all their lives and spend time strategizing how they will do it -- that is NOT the same as having your powers taken from you and then having the worst of the worst set on you without preparation or your usual abilities. That's not a way to prepare her to succeed.

And after she succeeds, instead of crediting her watcher with making her be ready and crediting her with having the ability to think on her feet, they fire him and try to get rid of him and they treat Buffy like junk.

Personally, I think the fanfic that thinks the council (or just Quentin) would prefer to get rid of Buffy is correct. They council wants someone controllable. Funny, without Buffy they probably would not have survived a couple of those apocalypses. Buffy was stronger and more resourceful than she would have been had she been a 'green' slayer just out of potential class -- like Kendra, who did not make a year. Even Faith did not make a year before she was in a coma and then ended up in prison. If that was the quality of the Buffy replacements? Well, that wasn't likely to end well.