What makes a "hero moment" for you?

[tkts]

OK, so obviously Buffy is full of ass-kicking scenes and Crowning Moments of Awesome. But there are a few moments that, to my mind, actually do more than the ass-kicking scenes to say "See, this is why she's the hero."

The first is from "Prophecy Girl," when, after deciding she's going to rebel against the prophecy and not fight the master, Buffy talks to Willow about the massacre in the A/V room. Willow asks "What are we going to do?" and Buffy makes up her mind and quietly replies, "What we have to."

The second is from "The Gift," when Giles says "Buffy, if the ritual starts, every living creature in this and every other dimension imaginable will suffer unbearable torment and death -- including Dawn," and Buffy replies, "Then the last thing she'll see is me protecting her."

Neither is an action moment; neither depicts an actual act of self-sacrifice. But both depict a moment of quiet determination as Buffy resolves that she is willing to die to protect someone she loves. The fact that both moments represent calm, measured choices instead of heat-of-battle judgments, and the fact that both are deeply personal instead of "I'm the Slayer so I'm going to save the world," combine to make the moments very poignant, and to convey the message "she's not just an ass-kicking action star, she's a genuine hero."

So -- what, to you, makes a "hero moment"? Is it scenes like these, or is it something else?

[buffyfan21]

One hero moment that I can think of off the top of my head is in Earshot, when Buffy is up in the clock tower talking to Jonathan:

"Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own. The beautiful ones. The popular ones. The guys that pick on you. Everyone. If you could hear what they were feeling. The loneliness. The confusion. It looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening. "

Certainly not Buffy's typical moment of heroism, but a heroic moment, nonetheless. This is actually one of the times that I look up to Buffy most. This moment shows that it is more than just physical prowess that makes Buffy a hero. She is still a hero here, just in a much different way. As Buffy herself says, "it's nice to help someone in a non-slaying capacity."

Maybe this isn't exactly what you meant by the question, but it's what came to mind for me...

[cutiepatootie]

"Are you ready to be strong?"

[snizapman6294]

Oct 19, 2009 15:54:26 GMT -5 cutiepatootie said:

"Are you ready to be strong?"

Agreed.

i'm gonna do it for a few characters and when i realized they were heroes:

Buffy: Prophecy Girl
Willow: Being knocked out by Dru's gang and still doing the spell
Xander: Graduation Day when he could've left with Anya, but didn't
Giles: "You have to perform the ritual... in a tutu."
Cordelia: When she staked her first vamp
Angel: I can't really think of one defining moment
Oz: Can't really think of one...
Anya: "Bunnies... Floppy... Hoppy... Bunnies..."
Tara: When she and Willow first kissed on screen after Joyce had died. That, to me, showed how Tara was truly Willow's Super-Woman

i'm too tired to do more, but there it is...

[HannahSlayer]

Good ones.

[Tea - Total]

It has to been when Buffy sacrificed her life to save her sister and the world. And the whole speech, it’s so relatable, “Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it.”