Entertainment
Why Attempts To Tear Down Buffy The Vampire Slayer As Problematic Are Wrong
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an insanely popular television show for many reasons, including its stellar writing and top-notch performances from some of Hollywood’s best actors. Beyond all this, though, the show is celebrated for being a feminist masterpiece that centers on a powerful young woman fighting against powerful men who try to keep her down. In this way, Buffy succeeds as both an entertaining urban fantasy series and a provocative exploration of sex, power, and gender roles in modern society.
However, many modern critics and fans have been re-evaluating Buffy and have come to a wild conclusion: that this girl-power cornerstone may actually be a shockingly bad portrayal of women. These arguments typically claim that the show is secretly misogynistic despite its surface-level message about fighting the patriarchy. While this has changed how some fans view their favorite show, defenders of Buffy maintain that the more problematic plotlines and portrayals in the series are just a side effect of having flawed and complex characters.
The Fall Of A Feminist Icon
It’s almost impossible to discuss a critical reframing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without discussing franchise creator Joss Whedon; after this show’s success, he became a major comic book movie director, helming two Avengers movies as well as the lackluster Justice League film. However, his career came to a screeching halt after his ex-wife Kai Cole published a letter alleging that he had cheated on her numerous times, including with unnamed actresses on Buffy. In her brutal missive, she also called Whedon out for the “hypocrisy” of his “preaching feminist ideals” while allegedly lying to his wife for a decade and a half.
Towards the end of that letter, she said that she wants “the people who worship [Whedon] to know he is human, and the organizations giving him awards for his feminist work, to think twice in the future about honoring a man who does not practice what he preaches.” Obviously, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains Whedon’s greatest work, a work designed to be the greatest feminist show ever made. Now that its creator has seemingly been revealed as a hypocrite (one who also faced allegations of abuse on the set of Justice League), many have been re-evaluating Buffy and how its characters and plotlines may be surprisingly harmful to women.
Critics Claim Buffy Secretly Reinforces A Status Quo
On paper, a big part of Buffy’s charm is that the titular character is a rebel: she is constantly defying Giles, her stodgy watcher, with the same sass that she tosses at various evil demons. Buffy is a troublemaker who clashes with corrupt cops and an evil mayor, and she never really respects authority. This is especially true when she puts the Council of Watchers (basically, her boss’s boss) in their place, reminding them that without the Slayer, their job literally has no meaning.
However, some critics believe that Buffy actually exemplifies a status quo established largely by and for men. After all, as a sexy, thin, heterosexual blonde, the Slayer is an exemplar of what most men consider conventionally attractive. To impressionable young girls watching the show in the ‘90s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer ironically reinforced some of the lopsided beauty standards expected of women, arguably continuing a very problematic tradition perpetuated by the patriarchy this show was designed to skewer.
Does This Show Secretly Hate Powerful Women?
Additionally, beyond her surface-level rebellion, Buffy’s character is presented as the safe and palatable alternative to other women who are presented as dangerously transgressive. For example, Faith is a fellow Slayer who loves sex and partying, and the show inevitably transforms her into a murderous enemy. Willow comes out as both gay and a witch, and when she really delves into her powers, she suddenly becomes a skin-flying Big Bad that can only be talked down from mass murder by a fairly useless man (sorry, Xander fans, you know it to be true).
What these other cases have in common is simple: women begin by embracing a hidden power that men disapprove of. They then act in selfish ways before they are vilified and then humbled: Faith serves prison time and then comes back to follow Buffy’s orders, whereas Willow rejects dark magic and becomes a loyal little Scoobie again. Each of these women is deliberately contrasted with Buffy, who constantly puts her own needs to the side for the sake of others.
Fans typically view this as a noble attribute, the same one that causes the X-Men to fight for a world that hates and fears them. But Buffy arguably spends most of the TV show named after her as a doormat for the Watchers, a group of men who essentially force her to do what they want until she finally stands up to them. In this sense, the majority of the show presents Buffy as a feminine ideal for being subservient to men and preserving their preferred status quo; Faith and Willow must eventually be fought by Buffy, someone whose line of work conveniently has her keep other women from ever getting too powerful.
Long story short? The claim is that Buffy is a show where rebellious women are tamed: Buffy by the Council, Faith by prison, and Willow by Xander. Heck, even vengeance demon Anya is tamed by her obsession with a man, ultimately trading all of her considerable mystical abilities for a life of domestic submission.
The Argument Against Buffy’s Men
One of the things Buffy the Vampire Slayer is very good at is creating villains that fans love to hate. These foes were almost always men, which helps reinforce the feminist theme of the show: the fellows would mouth off and insult the female protagonist before she killed them. This is all part of why the show feels so empowering: what woman watching wouldn’t enjoy having the power to fight off the toxic men who are always making her uncomfortable?
The essential problem with Buffy as a character, though, is that she keeps falling in love with the most messed-up men of all. The vampiric Angel is already a redeemed mass murderer when Buffy begins dating him, and she takes him back even after he temporarily loses his soul and tries to destroy the entire world. The same goes for Spike, a notorious serial killer whom she begins secretly shagging; he goes to get his own soul back after intimately assaulting Buffy, and she proceeds to welcome him back just as she did with Angel.
There’s a rather ugly subtext here that Buffy is uncontrollably attracted to notorious murderers just because they are hot, and she takes them back after these characters commit the worst atrocities against her and her friends. Rather than painting our titular protagonist as a hero, Buffy is presented as a doormat who doesn’t hesitate to take her abusers back. This arguably sends the worst possible message to abused women who are watching the show, hoping to gain the strength to escape the people who are hurting them.
Why They’re All Wrong: It’s Complicated
Those are just a few of the reasons why many modern critics are reevaluating Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Heck, we barely touched on Xander, the problematic proto-incel that Joss Whedon wrote to be his class clown self-insert character. However, there is one ironclad defense of the show and its characters that fans continue to embrace: namely, that Buffy is stronger for having flawed and complex characters.
Most of the complex aspects of Buffy herself are arguably part of the character’s evolution. Sure, she falls in love with a couple of hot murderers, but she eventually breaks up with both of them. The Slayer works for a patriarchal group of old farts, but after a few years, she makes it clear that they now have to work for her. Heck, she even bounces back from the worst self-destructive streak in human history to save the entire world from the first evil it had ever known.
If Buffy didn’t start out as such a flawed character, such evolution would have been impossible; plus, it’s worth noting that we shouldn’t hold the Slayer to higher standards than we do popular male characters. Does anyone think Walter White or Don Draper are bad characters because they are selfish and self-destructive? No, we understand that these flaws simply make them human, and that humanity makes the characters all the more compelling.
In this sense, Buffy’s flaws make her show that much more relevant: Buffy the Vampire Slayer may be a silly comedy show from the ‘90s, but it has the epic stakes and realistically damaged characters of modern prestige TV. It’s a wild combo that has helped the Slayer’s show remain a fan-favorite for decades. Now that a Buffy revival is around the corner, we can only hope the new show retains the complex characters and murky morality that made the original series such a groundbreaking pop culture phenomenon.
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 1, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you’re a frequent flyer.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #994 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Little bite: CANAPÉ, FINGER FOOD, HORS D’OEUVRE, TAPA
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Construction equipment: HARD HAT, LADDER, NAIL GUN, TOOL BELT
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Vacation emoji: AIRPLANE, LUGGAGE, PALM TREE, SMILING FACE WITH SUNGLASSES
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Things you don’t eat that end in foods: COPYPASTA, JOHANNESBURGER, KNUCKLE SANDWICH, LICORICE PIZZA
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 1, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re not on. your best behavior.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Dressing down
The words are related to discipline.
Mashable Top Stories
Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe ways to chastise.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is The Riot Act.
NYT Strands word list for March 1
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Braidup
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The Riot Act
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Scold
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Castigate
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Reprimand
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Admonish
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
New Scream Movie Is Only For Diehard Fans
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
In 1996, iconic director Wes Craven rejuvenated the slasher genre with Scream, a film that served as the perfect deconstruction of horror movies. Scream was ahead of its time in many ways, predicting modern phenomena like true crime obsession and paradoxical relationships. At the same time, it worked as a perfect scary movie, one that transformed the entire genre for the better.
However, Scream was delivering diminishing returns even before Wes Craven died, and the franchise later re-oriented itself around a new pair of leads with Scream (2022). Unfortunately, the studio lost both Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, which necessitated the return of original franchise icon Neve Campbell for Scream 7. The new movie is directed by original Scream scribe Kevin Williamson, and while it provides competent kills and fun moments for returning cast members, the sloppy plotting results in a film that only diehard fans will really enjoy.
Sydney’s Coming, And Hell Is Coming With Her
The basic premise of Scream 7 is that a new killer (or is it killers?) is gunning for Sydney Prescott, and they are claiming to be the original Scream villain, Stu Macher. Syd is skeptical and thinks Stu’s taunting video calls are just an AI fabrication, but the danger is all too real when her daughter and her daughter’s friends become targets for the attacker. Now, Sydney must team up with Gale Weathers and other returning allies, but even their combined strength may not be enough to defeat the one type of foe they have never fought before: one who refuses to follow any kind of rules.
The Stu Macher stuff is mostly an excuse to bring fan-favorite actor Matthew Lillard back into the fold, and his taunting video calls to Syd are easily one of the best parts of the film. Unfortunately, his presence is also evidence of the worst part of the film: namely, that Scream 7 is much more interested in wallowing in nostalgia than really building anything new. This is a franchise that once deconstructed the entire horror genre, and every movie was fair game. Now, the latest Scream is only interested in its own lore, and with nothing left to really deconstruct, all director Kevin Williamson can really do is play the hits of yesteryear.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
On paper, that happens through a loose reconstruction of the first film: Sydney now has a daughter of her own, one who is the exact age that Syd was when the Woodsboro murders went down. She’s got a slightly creepy boyfriend who likes to climb in her window for surprise snuggles and a group of hapless friends that soon become cannon fodder for a marauding masked killer. The police (including her dad, the chief) are helpless to stop the carnage, forcing these plucky teens to take matters into their own hands lest they get picked off one by one.
A remake (or requel, or whatever we’re calling all this crap now) of the first film works well on paper, but the essential problem of Scream 7 is that it can’t decide which characters to focus on. We start out with an uneasy balance of newer and older actors, but the film soon focuses almost exclusively on legacy characters like Sydney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and even Scream 5 and 6 veterans Chad and Mindy. While that leads to some great fan service for returning audiences, it creates one of the film’s biggest problems: we don’t really get to know almost any of these younger characters before Ghostface is picking them off.
Ghostface Is Back For More Blood Than Ever Before
Fortunately, the kills in this movie are some of the nastiest and most memorable in the entire franchise, and Ghostface is as viscerally scary as ever as he dispatches victims in increasingly grotesque ways. Accordingly, your enjoyment of Scream 7 will largely hinge on your primary motivation for watching slasher movies. If you’re here for killers looking cool (the kids call it aura farming) and pretty faces dying ugly deaths, this latest franchise entry delivers all that and a bloody bag of chips. If you prefer to get to know the virtual victims before they are transformed into raw meat, you’ll likely find Scream 7 to be the weakest movie in the entire series.
Speaking of weak, the reveal of the killer (or is it killers? Don’t worry, I’m keeping this spoiler-free) is particularly disappointing because the motivation for stalking Sydney comes out of nowhere. In the first movie, Stu Macher and particularly Billy Loomis had tangible reasons for stalking Syd, and discovering who the killers were felt a bit like solving the puzzle of a whodunnit. Like Scream 6 before it, Scream 7 tries too hard to surprise fans with the reveal, and this came at a cost: namely, the killer’s motivation makes no real sense, and it comes in the form of an exposition chunk so thick it threatens to choke the climax of the movie.
Killer Performances From Actors Old And New
Aside from the cool kills, Scream 7 does a few other things very well. The new additions to the cast are awesome: Community’s Joel McHale is weirdly perfect as Sydney’s top cop husband, and the character steals his handful of scenes with McHale’s trademark rogueish charisma. But I was even more pleasantly surprised by Isabel May, who convincingly gives Sydney Prescott’s daughter an aching vulnerability whose pain masks ice-cold reserves of hidden strength.
As you might imagine, the returning actors all do a great job, starting with Courtney Cox: her Gale Weathers is as fierce and funny as ever, and she has taken the characters played by returning actors Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown under her wing as journalistic interns. Those younger characters continue to provide humorous, Randy-like commentary on the violent proceedings around them. But the actor truly giving it her all is Neve Campbell, whose Sydney reluctantly saddles up for one last fight with the ghostly demons of her past.
When You Stare At The Past, It Stares Right Back
Ultimately, how much you like Scream 7 will depend on how much you enjoy the franchise as a whole. As for myself, I’m a superfan: I saw the original in theaters, I’ve listened to the cast speak at multiple conventions, and I’ve got a house filled with way too much Ghostface merchandise. From the perspective of a superfan, the film is decent (good, not great) in bringing back our favorite characters and wrapping up its derivative story in the bloody packaging of some truly innovative kills.
If you’re not a Scream fanboy, though, it’s worth waiting to catch this on streaming, assuming that you catch it at all. Kevin Williamson wrote the legendary first film in this franchise, but now that he’s in the director’s chair, he created a movie that only complete franchise diehards will really enjoy. As for everyone else, let’s just say that if Ghostface calls, Scream 7 will never be the answer to this franchise’s age-old question: “what’s your favorite scary movie?”
After capturing gold, Wild trio focused on Blues
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for March 1, 2026
