Was Buffy a liar when it came to her rule of not killing humans ?

[Madido24]

-“-
So let me explain.
I’m sure you all remember the episode, but some of you were oblivious to that one detail, one spot that instilled discomfort in the hero’s unbreakable rule of never killing humans.
that moment when Buffy hurled an ax at the Knight of Byzantium’s rib cage when the knight’s army swarmed around them, willing to Take Dawn away. I must say, that moment is a little sower for me. Up until now, I saw nothing but consistency on the part of Buffy, her word was legitimate, her principles coherent and solid, and her moral compass unwavering, but that moment made me re-question the hero’s faith, particularly when the situation was different, and Willow was to set vengeance on Warren for killing Tara, only to be scolded by Buffy because “we don’t kill humans.” I get that she was trying to protect her, I get she was trying to keep her from crossing a line, and I also get that by killing a human, Buffy would have to treat Willow as a stand-alone demon to vanquish (although she also failed at doing that seeing how soft and weak she went on her,) but that still doesn’t excuse the fact that this was a bit contradictory to Buffy’s past actions in that little scene where her ax met fatal part of a human’s chest.
What are your thoughts ? Share with us!

 

[KaitKat]

For starters there absolutely are moments of self righteousness, inconsistency, and hypocrisy from Buffy and the Scoobies. Mostly though it has to do with motive. Killing for vengeance is wrong as where killing for self defense is acceptable.

 

[Madido24]

For starters there absolutely are moments of self righteousness, inconsistency, and hypocrisy from Buffy and the Scoobies. Mostly though it has to do with motive. Killing for vengeance is wrong as where killing for self defense is acceptable.

However , she’s the slayer and has the ability to stun without killing…

 

[KaitKat]

Maybe but I don’t think I’ll ever hold a character accountable for killing in self defense. Things that get me are Buffy attempting to murder Faith in Season 3 or Xander summoning Sweet who killed two people in Once More With Feeling and it was never addressed.

Buffy has killed humans before as early as Season 1 in The Pack.

 

[thrasherpix]

I support her action, think it's silly that Buffy would play "nicely" with the Knights attacking them competently (the characters don't know they have plot armor for being in a TV show, and Buffy also fights a lot by instinct rather than calculation), and don't consider her a hypocrite or violating her standards here.

I do see a difference between murder (Faith, had she succeeded, but still a grey area for me with the other circumstances), manslaughter (what Buffy would've been guilty of, and was in her heart, over Ted), and self-defense (zookeeper, the Knights), and this example is self-defense.

Therefore, it is not a contradiction to me because self-defense is not murder, and it was not even done as a vigilante slaying or pre-emptive strike in war (war, having being declared on them, also another factor to be considered).

I will happily point out flaws in Buffy and the rest, but this one just doesn't strike me as one. If anything, her protecting Dawn (endangering existence itself), threatening her closest friends should they try to end Dawn as a desperate act (the same way Buffy did Angel in season 2) was more irresponsible, but I blame the spell that had been cast on her mind (but just to be clear, I do like Dawn).

 

[ILLYRIAN]

And were the Knights of Byzantium human?

As described they were of the army of God. Which was odd as mentions of God and the Devil were not in the series; they were replaced with the PTB and the First.

 

[The Bronze]

Buffy wants to do the right thing but struggles with her jurisdiction. Her default is don't kill humans because that's not her job. I disagree, her job is to defeat the forces of darkness which humans can definitely be.

The way that plays out in practise is that she'll kill humans in the heat of battle but otherwise would seek an alternative. That's why the Zookeeper and some of the Knights were killed.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

As far as I'm aware Buffy was known as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, was that stated by anything other than humans, she killed various demons presumably those humans who became demons. Has anyone specified who those humans who sought to be demons were and at what point they became demon? Madido24 do you know, as I asked were the Knights of Byzantium as stated in the series humans? As they are the armies of God. I also suggested that the Knights were a fact of the Byzantine Empire probably best to leave that fact alone as it is off topic.

About what *The Bronze* said about good young Buffy killing humans in the heat of battle, why would the human join forces with demons to battle the slayer? If they do get killed in a battle, serves them right.