Vampires in fiction will be traced again to the 18th century, however these undead inventory villains solely grew to become a fleshed-out archetype in Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic horror, Dracula. In Stoker’s e-book, the Rely is a layered metaphor for social taboos and pestilence, whereas his transfer from Transylvania to England presents themes of xenophobia.
Ever since, Dracula has advanced into an everlasting determine, usually handled as the ultimate boss in most vampiric tier lists. Dracula has appeared in all the things from Nosferatu (1922) to Blade (1998). He usually symbolizes a grand risk that should be defeated earlier than it is too late.
The season 5 premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nonetheless, doesn’t deal with Dracula with such reverence. Titled “Buffy vs. Dracula,” the episode options Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) being confronted by Rely Dracula (Rudolf Martin), who unceremoniously seems in Sunnydale to hunt out the famend Slayer.
“Get out!” Buffy retorts with skepticism after her first assembly with the Rely, initially dismissing him as a “fanboy” just like the numerous vampires who “name themselves Lestat.” The remaining is an expectedly campy showdown between the Slayer and the Rely, turning “Buffy vs. Dracula” right into a enjoyable, albeit lackluster season premiere.
What’s Buffy vs. Dracula about?
Buffy has been juggling her fated Slayer duties and turbulent adolescence for the reason that present started. So by the season 5 premiere, Buffy isn’t ready for threats to disclose themselves. As an alternative, she’s actively looking for monsters — and appears to be hooked on the fun of the hunt. Her mentor Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) feels he has outgrown his usefulness and tells Buffy about his plans to return dwelling to England at first of the episode. Whereas navigating the nervousness of Giles’ impending departure and her personal affinity for darkness, Buffy offers with Dracula in probably the most no-nonsense approach possible.
“Buffy vs. Dracula” intentionally attracts from Stoker’s novel to subvert expectations. Dracula transforms right into a wolf and a bat, whereas with the ability to exert psychological affect over people. Buffy’s buddy, Xander (Nicholas Brendon), turns into the Rely’s bug-eating devotee, like Renfield, and Giles is seduced by three vampiric brides, very like Jonathan Harker within the unique novel.
In the course of the closing battle between Buffy and Dracula, our courageous Slayer falls beneath the vampire’s thrall like Mina Harker, however promptly snaps out of it to stake the Rely. These subversions stay characteristically tongue-in-cheek, with Buffy managing to stake Dracula a second time when he makes an attempt to resurrect himself.
Buffy’s season 5 premiere is a enjoyable subversion of gothic horror tropes
There are glimmers of seriousness on this enjoyably campy episode. Dracula appropriately identifies the truth that the Slayer’s energy is rooted in darkness. “You should really feel it,” he tells Buffy, who responds with a quippy, “No. what I really feel? Bored.” There’s a kernel of fact in Dracula’s evaluation of Buffy’s evolving outlook as a Slayer, as she is pressured right into a extra ruthless headspace after experiencing acute grief and loss. Buffy’s adventures have made her extraordinarily world-weary, pointing to a lack of innocence and a extra ambiguous ethical compass.
Even so, the episode staunchly rejects the cliched trope of passive girls being “corrupted” by Dracula’s evil. In any case, Buffy is not any damsel-in-distress. At one level, her boyfriend Riley (Marc Blucas) races to avoid wasting Buffy from the Large Dangerous, however she’s already saved herself (and the day) by the point he arrives. In the same vein, Buffy refuses to succumb to Dracula’s thrall as a result of she rejects outdated patriarchal notions about feminine sexuality and gender roles.
As for Dracula himself, he is markedly totally different from the present’s historically quirky antagonists-of-the-week. Though his affected accent and archaic prose add a comedic factor, Dracula feels intentionally misplaced in Sunnydale. He’s a relic of a bygone period, representing Victorian sensibilities that violently conflict with a postmodern world the place girls are now not outlined by ethical purity. Somebody as competent as Buffy Summers isn’t destined to turn out to be one in all Dracula’s brides. As an alternative, she chooses the position of a righteously bloodthirsty Slayer who resists the temptation of immortality to, as soon as once more, do the suitable factor.
“Buffy vs. Dracula” received’t be remembered as probably the greatest episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, however it’s a compelling one-off the place a legendary monster is defeated with campy ease. Whereas Buffy wrestles with conflicting impulses all through the episode (and the remainder of the present), she hardly breaks a sweat whereas driving a wood stake by way of an historical, undead coronary heart.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is streaming on Hulu.