The ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Storyline That Ruined a Great Season

The Big Picture

• The transition from high school to college can be challenging for TV shows, but the change of scenery seemed to work for Buffy the Vampire Slayer at first.
• The introduction of the Initiative storyline in Season 4 took the focus away from the main characters and the show’s main plot, which was slaying vampires.
• Season 4 had good moments, but they were overshadowed by the Initiative storyline.

When it comes to teen-centric shows they’ve got quite a lot going for them. For one, they are never short on drama, and often feature the most bizarre storylines you can imagine. There’s usually an emotionally charged relationship or love triangle. Plus they’re extremely bingeable, and never lack in entertainment. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is no different, it’s full of juicy drama, has plenty of relationships to root for or against, and is chock-full of bizarre storylines that include the likes of vampires and demons. Not to mention the fashion is totally killer! But there is a downside to all teen shows, one that never fails to throw a wrench into a successful series; the natural transition from high school to college.

Many shows fall victim to the change, with a lot of the intrigue weaning off once the characters are dropped into a more broad and unfamiliar setting. It’s not always bad, but it is a big change which can often throw audiences. In the case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it seemed as though the show was actually managing to pull off the big change when it came along in Season 4. The transition didn’t feel quite as jarring as was expected… at least, not at first. What started out as a pretty promising season ended up being thwarted not by the college experience, but by the Initiative storyline and the characters that came along with it.

Season 4 of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Started Off Good

Season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had one of the greatest “big bads” in the show’s run with Mayor Wilkins (Harry Groener), who wanted to literally unleash hell on Earth with the help of Faith (Eliza Dushku). So following such a great season was never going to be an easy feat, especially with the addition of college being the new setting for the Scooby gang, but the show did do a good job in setting audiences up for it. Aside from the stuff with the Mayor and Faith, another huge theme of Season 3 was Buffy’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) struggle of wanting a normal life and not believing she’ll ever get to have one. Due to her duty as the Slayer it didn’t seem plausible she’d get to go to college, let alone go on to have a career someday. She eventually opts to stay in town and attend UC Sunnydale, as does Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Oz (Seth Green), semi-keeping the Scooby Gang together. There is of course a bit of a different vibe since Xander (Nicholas Brendon) isn’t attending the school with them, and Giles (Anthony Head) is reeling from his sudden unemployment as both librarian and Buffy’s watcher. Still, they all manage to reconvene often enough that it doesn’t feel too jarring — even if the super cool library hangout is now replaced with Giles’ living room.

Everything seemed to be par for the course, with Buffy balancing her school life by day and slaying vampires by night, and the show keeping on with the monster of the week format. It seemed like Buffy the Vampire Slayer was going to beat the college curse… and then the Initiative came along, and all the promise for the season went down the drain. At first, it wasn’t too bad, but it quickly grew stale and the storyline simply went on for far too long, with Riley (Marc Blucas) especially long overstaying his welcome. Suddenly the show became all about Riley and the Initiative, and felt more like “Riley the Demon Capturer” than Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Why Was the Initiative a Bad Storyline?

The Initiative was first introduced in the Season 4 episode “The Initiative” as a demon research agency. The members of the Initiative capture demons to research and learn about them, and at one point they capture Spike (James Marsters). They put a chip in his head that makes him incapable of attacking anyone, something that is hilariously proven when he attempts to bite Willow, fails, and they have a tongue-in-cheek conversation about him not being able to perform. Unfortunately, this is the only time the Initiative has any real intrigue, and it isn’t even because of the organization itself, it’s all thanks to Spike. The Scooby Gang eventually takes Spike captive, tying him to chairs just in case he’s lying about not being able to attack. It’s through Spike that Buffy and the others learn about the Initiative and eventually find it, with Buffy discovering her new beau Riley is leading a double life just like herself.

The problem with the Initiative is that it took away from the show and its main characters, the ones we’ve come to know and love, and who we want to spend time with. Riley was a fine character to start, a little boring, but stable, which is what Buffy needed after Angel (David Boreanaz). But he was never leading man material, and it’s through no fault of the actor, it’s simply due to how the show set up his character. There wasn’t much to draw us in about Riley, which led to a lackluster reaction when he was suddenly thrown onto the front lines of the season about midway through. The show however seemed to think that this idea was fantastic and kept pushing Riley deeper and deeper into the storyline to the point where it didn’t even feel like Buffy was the main character anymore. Sure the show had had some big characters come in before, such as Faith, but the difference there was that the screen time was always balanced in a way that still put the spotlight on Buffy. That just wasn’t the case with Riley. Not to mention Professor Walsh (Lindsay Crouse), Buffy and Willow’s psychology professor, and one of the head members of the Initiative. Riley is her T.A., meaning their storylines were pretty intertwined throughout Season 4, but the difference was Professor Walsh was a bit suspicious from the get-go. She was hyped up by so many people that it seemed like a no-brainer she would eventually be revealed as a demon or some sort of “big bad.” She is eventually revealed to be harboring a huge secret within the Initiative: Adam (George Hertzberg), a super creature designed by the agency. But just as we start digging into her character and are becoming intrigued with her sneaky ways, she’s killed by the creature, leaving us once again with boring ole Riley.

But the biggest flaw of the Initiative storyline was the fact that it took all attention away from the main plot, which has always been Buffy slaying vampires. There was hardly any slaying to be seen by the time the Initiative storyline really got going. There was maybe a brief scene at the beginning of each episode of Buffy (and often Riley accompanying her) slaying a vampire, and then it’s just not done again or even mentioned for the rest of the episode. Gone were the days of Buffy patrolling for bad guys, or researching demons and ancient tales with Giles and the gang. Season 4 lost what was the entire selling point of the series, the very thing it’s named for, and for what? Watching Riley and the Initiative not capture demons? Because for an agency dedicated to capturing demons, they sure lost out on quite a few.

Season 4 of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Wasn’t All Bad

Despite a pretty abysmal main storyline, Season 4 did have some rewarding moments. It had the episode “Hush” which is widely regarded as one of the series’ best episodes, focusing on a demon that steals everyone’s voice and renders them unable to speak. The iconic “Something Blue” in which Willow casts a spell that goes wrong and causes everything she says to come true, which results in Buffy and Spike getting engaged. There’s also the phenomenally weird Season 4 finale which has an unknown being attack the Scooby Gang in their dreams. Season 4 also puts Spike in the spotlight more and makes him a much bigger character. He’s constantly stirring the pot, he’s as dramatic as ever, and he’s hilarious through it all. And of course, one of the biggest highlights of the season (and maybe even the show itself) is the introduction of Tara (Amber Benson), and the subsequent romance that forms between her and Willow.

There are so many moments that make for a great season, but they’re overshadowed by the Initiative storyline, and right as you think the show is back on course with a moment that feels so perfectly Buffy-esque, we’re thrown right back into the thick of the Initiative plot. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a bad addition to the series had it been a shorter arc (and had a more interesting character fronting it) but the storyline just plain overstayed its welcome — and as the show went on it, especially going into Season 5 there wasn’t much lasting impact from it. At least with the Season 3 storyline, there were repercussions, such as the school and the library being destroyed, Faith being in a coma, etc… Season 4 didn’t have much to add going forward, aside from leaving us with Riley for a little while longer. Instead, Season 5 jumped into a brand-new plot with Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) and left the Initiative in the past – which may be for the best, since it’s not exactly a storyline we care to remember anyhow.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available to stream on HULU in the U.S.

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