Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 4 Enjoining Ritual & Symbolism Explained – Screen Rant

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fourth season was confusing for some, but the enjoining ritual at the end helped to tie things together. We explain how.

Buffy the Vampire Slayerseason 4was beset with problems, but the ritual in episode 21, "Primeval", tied themes together and introduced a rather confusing enjoining ritual. Thespell combines Xander, Buffy, Willow, and Giles, giving Buffy the strength to defeat Adam, a kind of Frankenstein's monster who is pieced together just as they are here's every element of the enjoining ritual, explained.

Season 4 was thematically ambitious and perhaps could have worked better, but the final two episodes ended up offering something more impactful. In Buffy the Vampire Slayerseason 4,Buffy is separated from her friends and family, feeling isolated as she enters adulthood, and, like the others, searching for a sense of identity. It is an important chapter, and one thatfits well with the overarching themes of the coming-of-age tale.

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The ritual symbolizesthat what makes Buffy special as a Slayer is her friends. Her calling is a lonely one: Buffy finds strength in singularity and in being the ultimate decider of courses of action and choices in morality. She is often set apart from the life she desires, but it is in her choice to belong to a group and share her power where she finds true leadership.

Theenjoining spell is Xander's unwitting suggestion: "No problemall we need is Combo Buffy. Her with Slayer strength, Giles's multilingual know-how, and Willow's witchy power." He notably leaves himself out, illustrating that he doesn't truly think of himself as an asset. Throughout season 4,Xanderwas floating around, moving from job to job in a rootless sort of way while his friends moved on with their lives in college.

Xander represents Buffy's metaphorical heart, his function greater than a simple sidekick. In season 1, episode 10, "Nightmares", Xander is the first one to face his fear, symbolizing the courage he offers Buffy. Xander acts as the guardian of Buffy's well-being,and once Buffy refers to him in a dream as "big brother," he guards her heart as if it was his own.

Buffyexplores different branches of philosophy quite a bit, so it's fair to ascertain that Willow's position as the spirit means that she represents circular, elevating, and idealistic thought. Magic is represented as the feminine and technology as the masculine, so there is a sense of sisterhood, as well as a representation of completion or circularity.

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Willow gives Buffy the art of elevation, something that Willow learns when she is first interested in witchcraft. Willow often has trouble with her spells, but when combined with Buffy, everything works ideally. It is clear that Willow still has things to learn of herself and confidence to gain, as is illustrated by her subconsciousness in the season 4 finale, "Restless", but with Buffy, Xander, and Giles on her side, her circle is complete.

Giles' mind allows Buffy to speak Sumerian and unmake Adam's technology. Giles' purpose as the mind has far more to do with his role as her true father rather than simply his intellect. Buffy turns to Giles as a source of wisdom and knowledge, but in season four, he feels useless. Buffy doesn't seem to need him in the same way, mirroring how a parent feels when their child grows up.

What Giles feels is about his life, not himself. His strength is in his mind-power, which he's aware is an asset to Buffy, but that does not make him better or more powerful. His treatment of Buffy with respect and trust reflects a father's love, and his willingness to add his strength to hers reflects a person who understands the true nature of Buffy's journey and what he can add to it.

When the first Slayer appears to Buffy, she is a lone figure.Buffy's choice to combine with her friends is an affront to ancient lore, which posits that the "hand" must be devoid of humanity. Buffy balks at this, rejecting the idea of homogenized identity.

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In one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer'sdefining moments, Buffy presents her mission statement: "I walk. I talk. I shop. I sneeze. I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back. There's trees in the desert since you moved out, and I don't sleep on a bed of bones." This personal philosophy was strengthened in "Primeval" when the ritual illustrated to Buffy that, unlike those who came before her, she needn't act alone.

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Elise Hanson is an award-winning playwright and novelist from Salt Lake City. She lives with her husband and three cats.

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 4 Enjoining Ritual & Symbolism Explained - Screen Rant

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