Buffy Season 8 Comics Review

If somebody told me that Buffy could possibly be bisexual and that she’s gonna be romantically involved with another slayer, I would have said, “Nice fanfic. Did you write that yourself?” And yet here we are with the latest issue of the Season 8 comics, and we’re faced with exactly that. But the other slayer isn’t Faith, as most of you shippers might be salivating over. It’s Satsu, an apparently lesbian Japanese slayer and Buffy’s best protégé.

See, it all started in Issue #2 - The Long Way Home, when Amy the Witch put a sleeping spell on Buffy, which can only be broken by a kiss of true love. Yeah, yeah, cheesy, I know. But admit it. It was interesting. All the slayers, Xander, and Willow were in the room with our hero. It was suggested that they all close their eyes, and after a few moments, voila! The spell has been broken, Buffy is awake, but our mysterious kisser remained a secret.

Flash-forward to Issue #11 - A Beautiful Sunset. Xander sends Buffy to stake out a vampire nest in a cemetery, and chides Buffy to “take a date”. Buffy says she’ll take Satsu, because they need to talk about “more complicated girl stuff.” Our slayers go hunting in full battle gear, with Buffy wielding her weapon of choice, the powerful scythe from Season 7. But on their way to the cemetery, Satsu slips and falls on her face in a pool of mud. Ouch. It leads Buffy to say, “You remind me of a dream, I had once.” (Celine tells me this is a reference to the Season 4 finale, “Restless”, an episode of dreams where Buffy walked the desert with mud on her face. Surreal episode. Thanks, Celine!)

Buffy edges closer to Satsu to help her wipe the dirt off, which was real nice of her to do. She tells Satsu she’s in grave danger… because Buffy knows Satsu’s in love with her. All of a sudden, Buffy kicks Satsu to the vampires’ lair where she’s caught by one of the bigger nasties. A bit confusing for me, but maybe that’s their tactic? Anyway, it immediately dawns on Satsu that it’s her lip gloss that gave her away. Buffy got too close, and must have noticed it’s the same as the lip gloss of the mysterious kisser. Girls and their lip gloss, tsk tsk. While fighting with the gang of vampires, they engage in a serious conversation about Buffy’s less than stellar love life. Classic Buffy.

Satsu grows worried. “Are you gonna kick me out?” Buffy tells her that she’s missing the point, and actually thinks “it’s the sweetest thing ever”. This reminds me of how Buffy reacted to Willow’s coming out in Season 4. That scene was so touching, because Buffy was the perfect understanding best friend. A little confused at first, but thoroughly supportive. Sometimes I get so high on Willow/Tara and Willow/Kennedy that I forget to remember that, yeah, Buffy herself is cool.

Back to the lair. Satsu insists that it’s not just a crush, but Buffy assures her that she knows it’s serious. Otherwise, the kiss wouldn’t have woken her up. Kiss of true love. Valid point. Which leads us to…

At this point, I stare at my screen and ponder what Buffy just said. “It’s fine for me…. it’s fine for me… it’s fine for me…” over and over like a broken record.

Finally, I snap out of it. A man swoops down to Buffy and knocks her off. Satsu tried to help but the Unnamed Flying Guy in a Mask brushes her away and renders her unconscious. The man taunts Buffy for being helpless, and questions her actions, especially unleashing the power of the slayers. It works, and Buffy begins to doubt herself (and this is why I hate mind games). Flying Guy knows he won this round, and decides to spare Buffy for now. The man, we later learn, is Twilight, this season’s Big Bad.

Back at Slayer HQ, Satsu lies bandaged in sick bay. Buffy sits by her side, similarly looking bruised, but smiling. They agree that since Satsu has these feelings, and given the track record of Buffy’s ex-lovers, she should try to be more careful. This has me worried for Satsu. I hope she stays longer and that we get to know her better, because like Buffy said, “You’re hot, you have great taste, you’re a hell of a slayer, and you smell good.” More Satsu, please!

Joss Whedon, if any man deserves being given the title of Honorary Lesbian, it would be you. But I know that you can be evil, and you must be up to something. Please, don’t break our hearts

(Up next: In Issue #12 - Wolves at the Gate Part I, the Scooby gang and slayerettes travel to Tokyo where they duel vampires with unusual, yet strangely familiar, powers. Hmmm… Tokyo -> Japan -> Satsu! Yay!)

RELATED ARTICLES:

- Buffy Season 8, Issue 12 - Wolves at the Gate, Part I
- Buffy. Satsu. Sex.