Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a famous American TV show that aired from 1997 to 2003 for seven seasons. The show follows the main character Buffy Summers, a high school student who is also a chosen vampire slayer. She has been given the power and responsibility to fight against vampires, demons, and other supernatural beings that threaten the world. Buffy and her friends navigate the dangers of Sunnydale, a town on top of a Hellmouth, which makes it a hotbed for supernatural activity. Throughout her journey, Buffy faces many personal challenges and moral dilemmas, as she tries to balance her duties as a slayer, and her life as an everyday teenager. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a cult classic with its mix of action, horror, and drama, and the way their stories can parallel those of real life.
In Season 3 Episode 9 titled “The Wish,” we follow Cordelia, a former friend of Buffy’s, who makes a wish that Buffy never came to Sunnydale, and she was never involved with her or her friend group. This wish happens after Cordelia is put in life-threatening danger, being impaled by a metal rod, and finds out her ex-boyfriend Xander was cheating on her with Willow, his good friend, and casual friend of Cordelia. This wish sends Cordelia to an alternate reality where Buffy never shows up and evil takes over Sunnydale. Cordelia is faced with the consequences of her choice and how fragile life is
With Buffy never coming to Sunnydale, the entire town is run by evil, but Cordelia’s life is in more danger, which is the opposite of what she assumed would happen. Xander, her ex-boyfriend is a vampire and in a relationship with Willow, who’s also a vampire. She’s not able to escape their relationship and instead of it being a secret, it’s on open display in front of her. Everyone in the town is scared and very cautious about not drawing attention to themselves and angering the vampires. The consequences of her wish make Cordelia immediately want to take it back and seek out help so she can reverse it. Though life would’ve seemed easier without Buffy involved and avoiding all the events that take place with her arrival, how life would play out isn’t what she expected.
The show plays with the fragility of life the way one decision can have extreme consequences and the ripple effect decisions can have on our lives. Cordelia is forced to face the consequences of her wish, leading her to a reality that is darker than the one she was in. An alternate reality isn’t always what we want and it’s good to see the way life can be so different with even one change, or wish.
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