Who's That Girl?

With what we saw in Season Six, Buffy has grown up - considerably. Now she just needs to learn how to accept that fact. For the first half of the season she was simply adjusting to being alive again - adjusting to waking up, living, breathing. As the season progressed she began to adjust to her new life, but still bucked against that responsibility to be an adult by forcing her Watcher, Giles, to act as a father figure, falling into a seemingly bad relationship with Spike, and refusing to see the pain her younger sister was going through as a result of being ignored by Buffy.

In the final weeks of Season Six, notably "Older and Far Away", "Normal Again" and "Entropy", Buffy began to act like the adult she is. She started to make mature decisions and not waffle about the implications. She ended her co-dependent relationship with Spike. She began to stand up for what she believed in without seeking the advice or opinion of all those around her who don't have the answers either.

At season’s end, Buffy had to go up against a vengeful Willow, her best friend and confidante. Willow had suffered a tremendous loss and in her grief turned murderous. Buffy stood up to her and refused to give up saving the world and Willow. I think a Season Three Buffy would have hesitated to fight her best friend, but the mature and determined Season Six Buffy had no qualms about ending Willow’s killing spree.

Of all the characters on the show, I don’t think that she has gone through the most significant change, but she’s certainly had the most realistic and identifiable change. From abrasive teen to confident woman, that fits Buffy Summers to a T. It's an exciting way to end the season, and opens up all kinds of doors for Season Seven.

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