Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn’t the only series to explore the idea of a "chosen" hero, but it does fix a problem that’s inherent to the trope. “Chosen One” stories sometimes feel like they’ve been played out in every way possible. Between characters like Harry Potter, King Arthur, Neo, and Luke Skywalker, almost every genre of "chosen one" has been covered at one point or another and with varying levels of destined greatness. But this is what makes it all the more exciting to see how Buffy the Vampire Slayer breaks that mold and reinvigorates the trope, creating a more grounded version of what it means to be a “chosen one.”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer tells the story of the titular Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a "chosen one" born once every generation and destined to battle the supernatural creatures that threaten the earth. Among the many kinds of heroes in stories and literature, Buffy is an established "chosen one," the latest in a long line, and is guided by a Watcher who is appointed to be her mentor figure. In Buffy’s case, Slayers are also activated and trained when the Slayer before them dies, triggering supernatural strength, reflexes, durability, and other powers to help them in their fight against vampires and demons.
Buffy’s Chosen-One Status Was Flexible Early On
However, while Buffy was certainly one of the longest-reigning Slayers in a job with a notorious mortality rate, her status as a singular "chosen one" was flexible ever since the finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1. After her first “death” and subsequent resurrection, Buffy broke the typical cycle of Slayer activation, making it so that there were always at least two Slayers in the world at a time. As such, Buffy as a "chosen one" was already breaking the mold of what was expected from that type of character, as she was never the only one who could save the world, but one of two.
Buffy’s Chosen One Destiny Was To Destroy The Title
Additionally, Buffy pushed this fracturing of the Slayer cycle even further in later seasons of the show. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 7, Buffy has to train and guide several Potential Slayers because the First Evil is targeting them. Then, the series finale sees Willow (Alyson Hannigan) partially activate all of the Potential Slayers at once. With this move, Buffy was no longer "the chosen one" but "a chosen one," thoroughly destroying both the title and trope.
This remolding of the “chosen one” title fixed a problem with the character archetype by dealing with the concept of destiny and its lack of feasibility in the real world. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has always been a show that tackled grounded issues that any audience member might face, even if they don’t spend their nights staking vampires. After all, in the real world nobody is destined to fix even one of the world’s many problems, there are only those who decide to do so. Buffy mirrors this by showing how many young girls are “the chosen one,” ending Buffy the Vampire Slayer with an empowering yet altered message on the power of destiny and choice.