Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s forgotten friend: How Jesse McNally's death proved the show was always one step ahead of TV tropes

Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s death, which occurred twice, and Tara’s death, which still ignites debate, and fans are beyond distraught over Joyce’s serene and gentle passing, there was Jesse McNally. Jesse was the first real shock—or as some might call it, a “gut punch”—that Buffy the Vampire Slayer never quite landed successfully.” Now, Jesse’s role in the first two episodes that were so easily forgettable actually represents something greater; an early warning for a show that aimed to make the viewers uncomfortable.

His death often comes to mind as a dampened and miscalculated catastrophic event stemming from budgetary limitations. However, it leaves behind a more subtle legacy. Jesse was not simply a throwaway. As the audience, Jesse was intended to have an emotional response upon his death, not the characters. He was a precursor for emotional exploitation within the series, functioning as an emotional gauge for many to test how Buffy would continually evoke feelings of absence more intensely than presence.

Mourned as more than a production footnote, Jesse's demise confirms Buffy's strive to reimagine TV genre's vernacular. In most ‘90s productions, the main credits and core members of the cast served as a promise: these were the people you could expect to see throughout the show. Buffy attempted to dismantle that promise a mere two episodes in.

However, even if the intention wasn’t fully executed due to restrained funding, it is very clear – Buffy the Vampire Slayer seemed intent on discomforting viewers from the very start. That is partially something that needed to be a form of budget consultation.

Jesse’s real role was to train the audience of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not the characters

Decades have already gone by, but the reason Jesse’s death still emerges is not because we miss him. It’s rather because we were “supposed” to miss him, and didn’t. Knowing Jesse, that might have been the point. A ghost from the very start, Jesse gets his character developed only in episode 2, and not after that with Xander. But what if that void in Buffy the Vampire Slayer canon was by design?

In stark contrast to Tara or Joyce, who were mourned and remembered, Jesse is a character who emotionally impacts no one. It is due to this reason that a strange narrative gap is formed, and shifts him from being a plot twist to a silent tutorial.

Whedon and the writers were preparing us for this revelation: ‘You better learn to pay serious attention while watching ‘Buffy’ because we don’t shy away from killing crucial characters.’ And it is this feature that sets buffs apart from other shows. As for Jesse, he wasn’t a tragedy – he was a warning.

The death that wasn’t big enough ended up meaning more than expected

It's almost humorous how Jesse, who died so anticlimactically that no one cared, is still remembered more than many characters who were featured for entire seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His mark remains not because of what the show did with him, but because of what it chose to leave out. He became Buffy’s most self-aware moment—a victim of budget cuts, yes, but also a testament to the show's ambitious visions.

Trending

In a sense, Jesse's lack of presence is what allowed Buffy the Vampire Slayer to flourish. The choice to omit mentioning him after the fact may come across as ruthless, but it crafted a tone for a series where people move on, far too quickly, leaving behind an intricate tapestry of grief juxtaposed with the multitude of monsters Buffy slays.

Fans reminisce over Jesse, but not out of fondness. It’s to admire what he stands for: the show being always surprising ahead of its time, even at times when it painfully couldn’t afford to be.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback