Why did Buffy go "bad"?

T

Taco Wiz

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I watched all of episode one and there didn't seem to be an explanation for Buffy's strange behavior. Was it because of the nightmares? I'm seriously confused. Please explain this to me.
 
She was having ''issues''. She'd been so scared by dying at the hands of the Master that she was pushing all her friends away. Her attitude changed, she was very aggressive, in a way she was trying to protect herself by hardening herself. much like Buffy in the alternate reality in season 3.
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
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M
Ms.Trick
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She was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she died. She killed the master but she was still angry. Also, she couldn't even talk to her mom about it. I can't imagine what that must have been like, to go through something so traumatic and not even be able to tell my mom about it...that's scary and upsetting. I'm also surprised that Joyce's reaction, when she learns that Buffy had to die to "activate" Faith, wasn't more...dramatic. My mom isn't very touchy feely but she would have lost it if I told her that I died.

Yikes. Sorry I kind of went off on a tangent haha.
 
crazysoulless
crazysoulless
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Shutting everyone out is how Buffy deals. When she gets stressed out, she tends to say rude things, act hard, etc. I think she did this as a coping mechanism for the fact that dying scared her. It shook her to the core, and she was simply coping in the normal Buffy way... We were just shocked 'cause we had never seen Buffy cope like that before.
 
M
Ms.Trick
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Taake
Taake
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C
CSIgirl86
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Something to be considered is that almost certainly during her summer back with her father, she spent time with some of her old friends from McHenry High, and from what we saw in the one single flashback, she, and they, were, if not exactly like Cordelia and her crew, a fair facsimile. I would say to just refer to the movie, but I'm not sure that it is considered canon. Anyhow, a summer of associating with them undoubtedly drew Buffy back into the world of endless shopping trips to the mall and sitting around talking about boys.

That's the Buffy Summers that came back to Sunnydale at the beginning of Season 2, coupled with the Slayer's strength and confidence. An airhead with a devastating right punch. It just took her a while in the "real" world to put that demon back in its place.
 
BuffyElevated
BuffyElevated
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white avenger said:
Something to be considered is that almost certainly during her summer back with her father, she spent time with some of her old friends from McHenry High, and from what we saw in the one single flashback, she, and they, were, if not exactly like Cordelia and her crew, a fair facsimile. I would say to just refer to the movie, but I'm not sure that it is considered canon. Anyhow, a summer of associating with them undoubtedly drew Buffy back into the world of endless shopping trips to the mall and sitting around talking about boys.

That's the Buffy Summers that came back to Sunnydale at the beginning of Season 2, coupled with the Slayer's strength and confidence. An airhead with a devastating right punch. It just took her a while in the "real" world to put that demon back in its place.
Click to expand...

I never thought about that, I always just assumed that she didnt have any friends from McHenry. She says to Giles in the first episode:

Buffy: Prepares me for what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them? Go ahead! Prepare me.

And girls, like those in Cordy's little group, seem less likely to welcome Buffy back into their group after she was kicked out of school and moved to a small town like Sunnydale, or so I would assume 🙂
 
I agree what a lot of people have been saying, Buffy died which is a big deal when she came back she just wanted revenge and make sure her friends were okay so after she killed the Master she just wanted to forget about it and go to the dance with her friends. So when she went to L.A with her dad she was away from Sunnydale away from where she died and all the demons because in L.A she didn't really deal with demons but vampires so when she was in L.A she had a lot of time to think and problz kept thinking when I go back I have to deal with the demons everyday and go back to where I died. When she did come back she was really happy when she saw Xander and Willow but as soon as they mentioned the Master it trigger something, she remembered how scared she was and how she thought she can handle it by herself that's why she push her friends and Angel away she wanted to hide her emotions and not break down in front of them. For example she was being nasty to Angel when he visited her because she didn't want to hear any danger but she missed him and wanted to open her feelings to him but she was scared that's why I think she said I miss you too cause she thought oh maybe I try let Angel know what's going on but was to late because he left. She finally realized she was in wrong when Xander said if anything happened to Willow he would kill her. Buffy suddenly thought what am I doing? So after she saved the others and smashed the Master bones into pieces all her friends finally understood why she was being mean and Angel felt her pain cause he can relate to her, he died and when he got his soul he felt like he came back to life that's why he was walking to her before she stop smashing the bones and hugged her when she broke down, Buffy was so scared and upset of death and what she was doing to everyone so she broke down. In the end of the episode she felt sorry for what she did and thought she lost her friends but when her friends saved her a seat and made fun of the teacher, without a word Buffy just smiled and realized she doesn't have to hide her feelings anymore and that coming back was a good thing, yes she has to deal with the demons and hellmouth but at least she has her friends and family always beside her side 🙂 well that's my opinon.
 
..But wait a second. Buffy didn't really die, did she? I thought Xander revived her with CPR.
 
^ he did but she was still technically died for like a few minutes, if she didn't die she wouldn't have needed to be "revived"
 
She was going through so much at the time. She just didn't know how to deal with it. I think HisMrs described it the best. It's crazy to see Buffy acting the way she does but at the same time, it's interesting to watch because we're not used to her reacting this way, well we weren't at this point anyway. Her sexy dance with Xander is still one of my favorite moments of that episode. She's just deliciously wicked in it. When she says "Xander, did I ever thank you for saving my life?"..."Don't you wish I would?", it just makes you realize how pissed off & angry she is. But it's really just masking all of the other issues going on underneath.
 
Because Buffy was still somewhat scarred by her encounter with the Master. She was dead for a short amount of time, and then brought back, so I'm imagining that this was a smaller version of what we saw in S6. Her going 'bad' was just her way of dealing with the pain she was feeling.
 
I agree with everyone, Buffy going "Bad" was a way of copping with her death and protecting her and the Scoobies. She pushes her friends away so they're out of danger and goes into full Slayer mode, making her better able to fight the monster. At least, that was her plan.
 
I believe it was a combination of withdrawing for self-preservation (a common occurance with Buffy) and dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I don't think it was that Buffy was scared of dying again or that she was still upset/shaken by dying. These both seem too mild. I think she developed fullbown PTSD, which probably came out over the summer. PTSD can manifest itself in numerous ways, including personality changes and distancing oneself from loved ones. It wasn't a small thing that Buffy went through - she willingly sacrificed herself and did technically die. Did she go to Heaven, the same way she did in Season 5? Maybe. Maybe she was ripped out, only this time her life was stable enough and happy enough that she didn't yearn to go back. Either way, what she went through at the Master's hands would have been traumatising and it's very understandable that she acted the way she did (even if we don't like her behaviour). I kind of wish they had extended her PTSD a little longer (maybe for a further three or four eps) it seems that she gets over it very quickly.
 
I dont think she ever got over it jokeing is just another way of copeing
I meen sure she pushed her emotional state to be more Buffy like. But her death is always there she is constanly reminded of it
 
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