From: daviderl666@gmail.com   
      
   https://screenrant.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-realistic-storyl   
   nes-v-nonsensical-plots/   
      
   Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The 5 Most (& 5 Least) Realistic Storylines   
       
   Although Buffy is considered to be a cult classic, many fans would agree that   
   there were some things that needed improving. Especially the storylines   
      
   BY MICHAEL CHIN   
      
      
   One of the reasons why Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer became an iconic   
   show was the degree to which it successfully married reality with magic.   
   Rather than settling for teen drama alone, like many of its fellow productions   
   from The WB in that era,   
    the central metaphor of Buffy captured high school as the stuff of horror.   
   The Slayer and friends grappled with the rigors of growing up just as they   
   battled vampires and assorted other monsters.   
      
   Within the framework of the show, some of the Buffy storylines felt quite real   
   for how they captured interpersonal dynamics and individual struggles. By the   
   same token, there were also a few key plot points that didn’t add up.   
       
      
   10   
   Most Realistic: “The Body”   
       
   Season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured one of the most emotional   
   episodes of the series. Buffy had a complicated relationship with her mom, but   
   nothing could prepare her for the death of Joyce Summers, or the immediate   
   aftermath portrayed in “   
   The Body."   
      
   This episode was limited to just one vampire who appeared late in the episode   
   and never posed much of a threat before Buffy dusted him. Instead, the episode   
   focused on shock and grief. The gang lost a loved one, and there was   
   absolutely nothing they    
   could have done about it.   
      
   	[ Just watched The Body a week or so ago, and now is a good time for a few   
   critiques -- As I have mentioned before, after Buffy vomited on the carpet,   
   she went after paper towels to clean it up, but never rinsed her mouth out.   
   I've thrown up a few times    
   and the first thing I did was get some water.   
   	As poignant as Anya's speech about Joyce's death was, it really made no   
   sense. She was a Vengeance Demon for 1000 years, give or take, and Joyce's   
   death was unfathonable to her?    
   	I think this should have been the one episode without a vampire. Buffy having   
   to fight a naked one in the morgue ruined the overall feeling of the episode   
   for me. ]   
      
      
      
   9   
   Least Realistic: The Rise Of The Trio   
      
   For most of season six, the arch-villains are The Trio. Hapless nerds Warren,   
   Andrew, and Jonathan band together, harnessing smarts, pent up resentment, and   
   a healthy dose of male entitlement to become a thorn in the side of Buffy and   
   friends.   
      
   The premise and motivations behind The Trio aren’t unrealistic. However,   
   given The Scoobies had survived a list of "big bads" that includes the most   
   powerful vampires in the world, a demon mayor, a military installation, and a   
   malevolent god in    
   previous seasons, the idea of The Trio causing much trouble felt silly. While   
   Warren’s use of a gun injected a bit of realism into the storyline, it was   
   immediately taken away when Tara ended up catching a stray bullet right in   
   front of Willow. It felt    
   a bit contrived that this was for the purpose of provoking Willow’s big turn.   
      
      
   8   
   Most Realistic: Willow And Xander Making Out   
       
   The fact that Willow and Xander were friends for years before Buffy came to   
   Sunnydale, and Willow had a crush on Xander was a pretty realistic dynamic.   
   Sure, it’s familiar territory for teen movies and TV shows, but it   
   nonetheless jived with real    
   complicated relationships between young people.   
      
   Season three saw Willow and Xander arrive at the best versions of themselves   
   to date. They were emboldened through their slaying adventures. Moreover,   
   their respective relationships with Oz and Cordelia had lent each character   
   more confidence. It was    
   only fitting that Willow would find her interest in Xander renewed and that,   
   for the first time, Xander would reciprocate the interest.   
      
      
   7   
   Least Realistic: The Digital Demon   
      
   The late 1990s were a time of technological advancement. The general public   
   grew acquainted and increasingly comfortable with the new phenomenon of the   
   Internet. With the mainstream surge in computer usage, the world saw a stream   
   of films and TV episodes    
   that capitalized on fears of the unknown.   
      
   Buffy explored this trope in season one episode “I Robot, You Jane.” The   
   premise was that Willow accidentally scanned a demon from a text, into a   
   computer, where it proceeded to romantically court her. It eventually gathered   
   minions and eventually    
   took the form of a robot. There are quite a few loose ends in the mechanics of   
   how all of this worked, and the clear capitalization on fear of the unknown   
   when it comes to computers hasn’t aged well.   
      
      
   6   
   Most Realistic: Spike Falls For Buffy   
      
   A big part of Spike's introduction to Buffy was that he had killed two   
   previous slayers and come to Sunnydale bent on making Buffy the third. This   
   unhealthy obsession with ending her life gave way to a different kind of   
   obsession--still unhealthy, but    
   geared toward romance.   
      
   Though Spike's love for Buffy may have been doomed from the start, it was   
   believable that the sense of passion he felt toward hurting her would give way   
   to attraction. That's especially so after he spent more time with the Slayer,   
   got to know, and    
   especially after the chip implanted in his head by The Initiative completely   
   disqualified him from hurting her.   
      
      
   5   
   Least Realistic: Dominating The Ubervamps   
       
   In season seven, the Turok-Han—colloquially described as Uberv   
   mps—arrived. They were vampires in a purer demonic form and the vanguard of   
   The First Evil. Initial encounters with these beasts don’t go well for The   
   Scoobies as they proved too    
   powerful for even Buffy to handle.   
      
   In episodes to follow, Buffy did slay an Ubervamp one-on-one, but not without   
   a significant fight. So it was a little ridiculous to watch Buffy and company   
   lay waste to an army of Ubervamps in “Chosen.” One particularly poorly   
   shot spot saw a fully    
   human version of Anya clumsily swing a sword at an Ubervamp's chest level and   
   dusts him, thus depicting the Ubervamps as suddenly more vulnerable than the   
   average vampire.   
      
      
   4   
   Most Realistic: Buffy Drops Out Of College   
       
   A major plot point for season four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer sees the   
   protagonist matriculate to UC Sunnydale. Transitioning to college was a   
   logical enough choice for the character and the show alike.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)