A reflection on Buffy Season 5 Finale and Paul's Theology in Philemon
I don't watch alot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but my wife does and I watch it from time to time with her. Recently, I've been in a deep dive study of Colossians and Philemon (these are books in the Bible, letters from Paul).
If we can understand the finale of Buffy season 5, we catch a glimpse of Paul's theology and understanding of what salvation looks like for the community of people who follow Jesus.
Earlier in Buffy season 5, all of the sudden, she has a sister named Dawn. I don't understand how this happens, but she is just there. Is Joss Whedon a great writer? I don't know about that either. Then we find out, she is a human form of a mystical energy called "The Key." Everyone has had false memories implanted as if she had been there the whole time.
"The Key" is this pathway for opening a portal that will collapse all dimensions, destroying all worlds and unleashing unimaginable horrors. There are these monks who formed Dawn out of some essence from Buffy to create an further bond between the two beyond just the implanted memories.
Philemon is a fascinating letter, written by this guy Paul to Philemon in regards to a slave named Onesimus who had fled (or at least been estranged) from Philemon. Paul, a follower of Jesus, writes the letter with the intention of reconciliation of the two. And more than just reconciliation, that, because they are all Jesus followers, that Philemon would welcome Onesimus back as a brother.
As the end of Buffy season 5 builds up, we meet Glory - a hell-god demon who wants to us The Key to open the portal so that she can go back and restore her god status. In order to do so, she has to cut Dawn so that her blood can open the portal. It's wild.
At the climax of the finale, Buffy has been in a daze, repeating scenes from previous episodes or dreams or implanted memories. There is a haunting line she and others repeat, "death is my gift." When she comes to, the right moment in time has come for Glory to perform the ritual with the monks on Dawn.
There is another character in Buffy named Giles. He is her mentor and protector and general father figure and more. He is also no nonsense and will do the things that need to be done. Everything is all coming to a head and its figured out that the only way to stop this is to kill Dawn before the ceremony begins and her blood opens the portal.
And here is the scene:
GILES: (quieter) If Glory begins the ritual ... if we can't stop her...
BUFFY: Come on. Say it. We're bloody well talking about this. Tell me to kill my sister.
GILES: (whispers) She's not your sister.
BUFFY: (pause) No. She's not. She's more than that. She's me. The monks made her out of me. I hold her ... and I feel closer to her than ... (looks down, sighs) It's not just the memories they built. It's physical. Dawn ... is a part of me. The only part that I- (stops)
"She's me"
"Dawn is a part of me"
Paul, in commending Onesimus to Philemon, will say the following about Onesimus:
"I am sending him, that is my own heart, back to you"
"Welcome him as you would welcome me"
"If he ... owes you anything, charge that to me"
Translations are hard, but Paul, in light of his understanding of the good news about Jesus, is convinced that the community of followers of Jesus are a new family, bonded stronger than blood. In other letters, he will say that the community is the body of Jesus himself in the world. It is as if Paul is saying to Philemon, "accept Onesimus because he is our brother" and "accept Onesimus because he is a part of me".
The connection breaks down a bit. Buffy is less a Paul character and more a Christ archetype. Buffy, realizing that her and Dawn's blood are the same, understands what she can do instead of killing Dawn.
But she's too late! The ritual has begun and some of Dawn's blood drips and the portal begins to open. All sorts of monsters and demons and dragons begin flying around. Buffy makes it to Dawn. Dawn knows that if she jumps in, the portal will close. As Buffy tries to stop Dawn, she realizes that she can jump into the portal in her place.
Buffy yells to another character named Spike, "She's me. The monks made her out of me." Then Buffy makes the dive into the portal, the portal closes, and she falls to her death on the ground below.
Before she makes the dive, she whispers something to Dawn, which includes, "You have to take care of each other."
This is all mixed up a bit, but for Paul, this is what taking care of each other. Family and reconciliation. The community of followers of Jesus are a part of each other, the same way any part of a body is part of one another. The parts have to take care of each other in a way that supersedes master and slave dynamics. The parts reconcile with one another to take care of one another.
Paul says to Philemon, "so that you might have him back for the long term, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother - especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord"
We are made to be a part of one another, more than just in a congenial or cursory way, actually living as if we are brothers and sisters with the same blood, actually as if we are a part of the same body.
If it takes Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5 finale to help us see that, that is ok.
"The hardest thing in this world is to live in it"
"I have indeed received from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother"