Entertainment
The Forgotten Buffy Episode That Secretly Endorsed Communism
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, for the most part, a generally apolitical show. Obviously, there are embedded messages about the importance of feminism and accepting others who may be different (like being gay, being a witch, or being a gay witch). Some might consider those “woke” messages, but the show was simply emphasizing the importance of treating everyone equally. However, one memorable episode might have taken the idea of equality a little too far. You see, the climax of Season 3’s opening episode, “Anne,” actually endorsed Communism!
For some context, “Anne” was the first Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode of Season 3, and it continued from the previous season’s fairly startling cliffhanger, “Becoming.” In the Season 2 finale, Buffy killed Angel, who had turned evil. In doing so, she managed to save the entire world from getting sucked into Hell. However, at the last minute, Angel’s soul was restored, forcing Buffy to kill the man she loved to save all of humanity. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she previously got an ultimatum from her mother to never return home if she walked out the front door. Accordingly, Buffy packed her things and secretly moved out at the end of the episode.
A New Life In The City Of Angels
“Anne” continues Buffy’s story, revealing that she is now living in Los Angeles and working as a waitress. She just wants to lead a normal life, but she discovers a supernatural plot where a demon is forcing humans into hard labor at his evil factory. Buffy saves the day, of course, killing the demon and helping to free all of his captives. Realizing that she just can’t escape her calling as a Slayer, she returns home to Sunnydale, where she is reunited with her very worried mother.
Generally speaking, fans really like “Anne,” an episode that takes Buffy out of her comfort zone and even plants the seeds for the eventual Angel spinoff. However, most of this episode’s biggest fans miss Buffy’s not-so-subtle endorsement of Communism. You see, when she is fighting some of the demon’s sidekicks, the most prominent weapon she uses is a hammer and sickle!
It’s Hammer Time
The hammer and sickle is, of course, the famous symbol of the Soviet Union. These tools symbolically represent Communism because they show the workers and peasants unifying themselves against common enemies. Those enemies nominally include those who would try to take power and make themselves superior to others. In this way, there is also a threat embedded in this symbol. Namely, that when someone tries to oppress others, workers and peasants will unite to overthrow their usurpers.
Believe it or not, the climax of “Anne” really emphasizes this. On top of Buffy wielding a hammer and sickle (the latter of which she stole from a bad guy), she fights in a factory where a demon has uncharacteristically forced humans into hard labor. It’s not entirely clear what the purpose of the factory is, but it’s very obvious that the demon has tried to seize the means of production from the workers (a big no-no in Communism). Buffy even gets the workers to chip in, and they all work together to escape. Uniting the workers and peasants together to fight a demonic capitalist? In this case, both Giles and Stalin would be proud!
Obviously, Buffy the Vampire Slayer didn’t become an openly Communist show after this, and the inclusion of a hammer and sickle in “Anne” was likely nothing more than a glorified Easter egg. But it’s undeniably fun to see our protagonist become a hero of the people, openly leading helpless workers in a revolt against the literal boss from Hell. Speaking of bosses, “Anne” offers some gallows hope to anyone who hates their job. At least your employer is only sucking out your soul metaphorically rather than literally.