Buffy Actors Indirectly Addressed The Elephant Of Joss Whedon When Making Slayers
Content warning: this piece contains discussion of rape and sexual assault
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was once the most progressive show on television, so how is it possible that someone with a long history of mistreating women could create a long-standing feminist masterpiece? Series creator Joss Whedon was once at the top of the world of superhero fans and comic book nerds, many of whom fell in love with his beautiful blonde avatar, Buffy, a demon-fighting highschooler with superhuman strength and agility. The show's heroine was a uniquely powerful depiction of a ditzy Valley girl, turning the then-contemporary damsel-in-distress archetype on its head. But we've since learned that, behind the scenes, Whedon was doing everything he could to make the women of the show feel powerless.
Luckily, the newest entry into the franchise, "Slayers: A Buffyverse Story," gives fans a chance to reimagine some of their favorite "Buffy" characters through the lens of a female creator — Amber Benson, who played Tara on the original series run, and is reprising her role for the Audible series.
Despite the feminist messaging of the series, Whedon's personal issues definitely bled into the show at times. Benson was tasked with revisiting and revising some of the more problematic points of the beloved series, including the elephant in the room that is its controversial creator. One problem she was left to solve by re-introducing Cordelia Chase was her unexplored depth and the irresolute ending of her narrative arc. And in bringing Spike back into the fold, Benson also had to address the character's toxicity that culminates in his attempted rape of Buffy. How might Spike change when reimagined by a woman in 2023 — would he be unrecognizable?
Slayers will revisit Whedon's problematic characters
Although Buffy was a reversal of the helpless teen girl trope, Cordelia more or less fit the bill perfectly for the first three seasons of "Buffy." In fact, it's not until her very last episode on the show that she gets to stake a vampire of her own — a piece of character development that actress Charisma Carpenter had to fight for, as she revealed at a 2023 French convention.
Cordelia was definitely a welcome foil to Buffy and her Scoobies, acting as a pessimistic echo to their grating optimism. However, her sarcastic charm was arguably a bit surface-level. "Slayers" delivers Cordelia her long-awaited justice by placing her in an alternate universe where Buffy never existed. This time, the quippy brunette is fully empowered and even battle-worn, with superhuman abilities of her own. Carpenter welcomed this evolution for her character, but had trouble balancing it with who Cordelia once was.
"How do I play this embattled Slayer, who's living their purpose and sees it really as the burden that it is — taking on the big bad — and infusing that with the Cordelia from before, which is sassy and witty and pithy and all those superficial things?" she reflected in an interview with Variety.
But it wasn't just superficial character choices that Carpenter suffered from on the set of "Buffy" and the spin-off series "Angel," where she was bumped up on the billing order and given supernatural powers. The actress has also accused Whedon of creating and harboring a toxic environment on set — and she isn't alone.
Whedon's history of misconduct
Carpenter spoke out about Whedon's mistreatment on Twitter in 2021. The actress said that when she got pregnant while working on "Angel," Whedon called her "fat" in front of colleagues and even asked her if she was "going to keep it" in a closed-door meeting. "All that promise and joy sucked right out," Carpenter wrote, "and Joss was the vampire."
Her story was uplifted and reinforced by similar tales from other alumni of the "Buffy" cast and crew. Michelle Trachtenberg, who started working on the series at age 14, wrote in an Instagram post that the showrunner's behavior towards her was "Very. Not. Appropriate [sic]" and that there was "a rule" that prevented him from being in the same room as her. Whedon denied the existence of such a rule to Vulture, but a source corroborated Tratchenberg's story, noting that "it was possible that Whedon was not aware" of the rule.
Other allegations levied against Whedon on the "Buffy" set alone include a physical altercation with a costume designer and a graphic makeout session with a young actress directly in front of a female writer, both of which the series creator denied. He also denied after calling Carpenter fat, although "Buffy" writer Rebecca Rand Kirshner (whose last name has since changed) told a very similar story. Other actors that have spoken out against Whedon's workplace conduct include Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher, who played Wonder Woman and Cyborg, respectively, in "Justice League."
How Slayers offers justice for Cordelia
Fans of the Buffyverse have felt troubled by the idea that such an empowering and beloved fictional world could have sprung from the mind of such a malicious creator. Some have questioned the morality of watching and loving the show, the making of which caused so much pain for so many people. The beautiful thing about Benson's 2023 Audible series? It's not tainted by Whedon.
"One of the most important things to me about 'Slayers' is that it is an opportunity to give the 'Buffyverse' fandom permission to enjoy the show, enjoy these characters again in a way that is representative of perseverance, of work ethic, of the familiar," Carpenter explained to Variety. "It has really been made clear to me how much entertainment in general and the previous show and what this future show will do to provide comfort, empowerment, self-belief and reminders of our purpose."
In addition to being grossly mistreated on the set of "Angel," Carpenter's character was written off the show abruptly, slipping into a coma in the season 4 finale only to be given a proper ending in the middle of season 5 that would strike any Buffyverse fan as too little, too late. Thankfully, "Slayers" will right the way that Carpenter was wronged in more ways than one.
"The way that things ended for her was absolutely not what I wanted for that character that I had played, and all the blood, sweat and tears that went into her," the actress said in an interview with TV Line. "And also the life that I personally was living and sacrificing for. To bring this character to life and to have it go the way that it did was like a part of me died. And so to be able to bring this about in this way was the ultimate justice for Cordelia."
Spike's issues with consent
Cordelia isn't the only character whose history is being revisited through a post-#MeToo lens in "Slayers." Buffy's toxic vampire paramour Spike was a beloved character on the series. In fact, the vampire was supposed to be killed off in season 2, but was such a fan favorite he was brought back as a series regular in season 4. Whedon has been criticized for romanticizing abusive relationships through his depiction of Spike and Buffy's dynamic, although actor James Marsters argues that the conflicting messages of his character aren't entirely his fault.
"To his credit, I think Joss [Whedon] does not believe that evil is cool," he told ComicBook.com. "He thinks that evil is laughable. And I agree and that's why his vampires were hideously ugly when we bite someone because he doesn't want that to be a sensual kind of shot [...] I don't think that Spike was designed to be a romantic character."
In fact, Whedon and the other writers were frustrated that the audience saw Spike as a viable love interest for the Slayer. When Spike attempted to rape Buffy in the controversial season 6 episode "Seeing Red," many fans saw it as a beloved character's heartless betrayal. The way Marsters sees it, the scene was a desperate attempt to show the audience that Spike was a terrible character and a worse love interest.
"Joss was constantly trying to remind the audience, 'Look, guys, I know he's charming, but he's evil,'" the actor explained to The A.V. Club. "He's a bad boyfriend. It would be bad to date a guy like this. And I think he wanted to reinforce that in the most dramatic way imaginable."
'Slayers' gives Spike a 2023 rewrite
Knowing the allegations about Whedon's history of mistreating women, Spike's relationship with Buffy takes on a slightly different tone than the blatantly feminist one that Marsters suggests. Although the showrunner was never accused directly of sexual assault, his allegations of misconduct vary from sexually inappropriate behavior to emotional manipulation with malicious intent, and suggest a less-than-empowering view of women.
"Buffy" fans might have been rooting for Spike and Buffy's romance while the show was airing, but the tune of public opinion on Spike has changed following the #MeToo movement. With Marsters reprising his role in "Slayers," the more unsavory parts of the character had to be addressed. Benson got candid with Variety about Marsters' involvement and the updates they made to his character.
"No. 1, it's always important to separate the actor from the character. And I know that James has spoken about this. He is one of the best humans, I adore James. But yeah, there is problematic stuff with the character, especially around consent. We really wanted to do something different and not live in the past. So for us, it was sort of a reinvention of the Spike character. We wanted to see more of that human and empathetic version of Spike. That was really important to us — the more James-version of Spike. He still has all the Spike bells and whistles. He's still sexy as hell. But we also wanted to see that humanity [...] James really wanted to make sure we still kept him Spike, but we updated for 2023."
Can we separate the Buffy characters from their creator?
So, the question remains — can the most problematic "Buffy" characters be rewritten for 2023 by someone with a better understanding of feminist issues? Benson certainly thinks so, and the members of the cast that are reprising their roles for the Audible series are happy to see their characters through a modern lens.
"The way this story is told and the world-building skills of Christopher Golden and Amber Benson along with [co-director] Kc [Wayland] being there on the day-to-day helping with the performances, it's so satisfying and I am so confident that the fandom is going to be so thrilled," Carpenter gushed to TV Line. "It speaks to the origin story of the shows and that is female empowerment and working in and honoring your purpose, and the humanity and gravity of all that. It's beautiful and touching and funny, and that's all in line with the original Buffyverse story."
The series is certainly no stranger to adaptations and expansions — the story was previously extended past the end of the spin-off in a long-running graphic novel series. However, this is the first time a large chunk of the original cast will reprise their roles, making this new addition to the Buffyverse totally unique. "Slayers" doesn't just honor the world that Whedon created — it saves it.