Does being a Slayer make you the leader?

I'm not sure it fits here, but oh, well...

I'm watching Fear Itself right now, and Willow said to Buffy: "Being a Slayer doesn't automatically make you the boss", and Buffy doesn't agree with her on that. And that led me to another episode, which is "Empty Places, where Buffy figures that she is the boss because she is the Slayer.

So my question is, does the fact that Buffy is the Slayer make her automatically the leader, the boss, the one everybody should listen to and follow?

I think it kinda does in a way.
But then again, just because you are a slayer, does that mean you have leader qualities?
Sure, you can handle yourself, but are you good at directing others and knowing what's best? Is that also part of being a slayer?

I'm a little undecided, really.

Yes, but not so much because she's a Slayer but because she's Buffy.
She's brave, kind, resourceful - ultimately she's the one who does the dirtywork at least in the earlier seasons before Willow got her magic on, Buffy killed all the demons and the vampires, why shouldn't she be the leader.

So my question is, does the fact that Buffy is the Slayer make her automatically the leader, the boss, the one everybody should listen to and follow?

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Of course not. In real life who is better suited to be a general - the best strategist or the best sharpshooter/pilot? Even in sports the best players usually aren't the best of coaches. Not to mention that such a conclusion has the unfortunate implications that Buffy's leadership qualities come from being a Slayer and not from being Buffy.

More like it forces her to be the leader. Well, that and the frequent bouts of PMS.

Yes. It does. In dangerous situations like Fear Itself and season 7, being the slayer automatically makes Buffy the leader. She was born to fight evil in situations like Fear Itself and season 7. That is her purpose in life... her calling... she had duty to fight evil...

In Fear Itself, she can also protect herself in a way no one else can with her superstrength. And that's just that. Being the slayer DOES make Buffy the leader in the fight against evil... that's just that.

The one with the super powers becomes the leader in most circumstances. In this case, Buffy is in charge because he's the best leadership qualities and the super strength to protect the group.

That said, sometimes you need someone else to be in charge. For example, if Batman is involved, he becomes the leader by default. Why? He can outsmart nearly any opponent he faces and can plan better than any other, despite having no super powers.

Just because you have more powers than me, doesn't mean I'm gong to let you boss me around.

I say nay!

msfantastico87 said:

Just because you have more powers than me, doesn't mean I'm gong to let you boss me around.

I say nay!

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I second this statement.
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I don't think it does.

Slayer should be the leader. Slayer should be the boss. Slayer should make important decissions. But every other Slayer worked alone. Buffy didn't.. she chose to have friends who'll help her. And that makes them a team. Every vote is valid, everything counts. Buffy has the power to stop evil, but that doesn't mean she's always right.

No, it doesn't. I think we saw this demonstrated rather well by Kendra (who didn't act unless she was told to) and by Faith (who did not care for leadership). We see it even more with the potentials turned slayers: they, most certainly, are not all leaders.

The reason Buffy was the leader is because she carved out that role for herself. It is often overlooked how brilliant a strategist Buffy was. On top of that she was brave and willing to take on the responsibility of her calling in a way that previous slayers had not done before. If she was going to be the Champion for humanity, it was going to be on her terms. Even during the Cruciamentum she took it upon herself, as weak human, to save her mother and take on that vamp in his house of horrors.

It was her supreme "Buffyness" that made her a leader. Not her slayerness. That was just an added bonus.

I'm agreeing with Kean and adding this proviso because the 'Should she be ... shouldn't she be' doesn't quite make sense to me. This isn't a management protocol or an election. The Leader is the one whom the team follows.

The core Scooby gang are still alive and together 7 years later because the leadership was good. Sometimes the leader was Giles, often Buffy, occaisionally it was Willow or even Xander assuming the role when necessary. It was flexible.

This whole question of leadership comes up at a time when there are a lot of new members who do not know how things work and do not trust anyone because they don't know them, but who need to input because they are scared and their lives are on the line. Faith did pretty much as badly as Buffy (led them into a trap and got people killed) but didn't get the flack because they had decided to elect her. Faith was their choice. Buffy was just the slayer and they tried to follow that and it didn't work.

The group did the only thing it could do which was to collapse under the weight and gravitate back into a more cohesive whole.

So I kind of agree with Willow but i would have tsk tsk'd at her phraseology if i'd been there 😉

I think it actually does. Yes, sure, Kendra and Faith weren't exactly leaders but that's just because they worked alone and therefor didn't have anyone to lead. Buffy on the other hand worked with the Scoobies and they needed someone to lead them, or there would have been chaos.
It's actually really hard for me to explain why I think being a Slayer also means being the leader, but I think that it comes down to the right of being able to decide how and on what terms you will face all the difficulties (in Buffy's case all the apocalypses and demons) and also knowing how others can help you in the fight. A leader can't be the person who sends others to fight while he/she sits at home and watches TV, a leader must be in the middle of things when they happen. And since the Slayer is always in the middle of things and putting her life on the line, then that makes her the leader.

A leader can't be the person who sends others to fight while he/she sits at home and watches TV

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So no general in the real world qualifies as a leader then? Since none of them actually go to the front line and fight.

Icarium said:

So no general in the real world qualifies as a leader then? Since none of them actually go to the front line and fight.

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Haven't they been on the frontline at some point though? Generally (hur hur) speaking.

A leader can't be the person who sends others to fight while he/she sits at home and watches TV

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So no general in the real world qualifies as a leader then? Since none of them actually go to the front line and fight.

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In a way that's the crux of the matter.

the leadership issue comes up because some of the potentials die. And the survivors question whether Buffy is the person to lead them when her plan is sort of to 'go back and try again'.

She would be there with them, yes, but they are challenging that whole ethic of 'troops' in a way that real world soldiers are taught not to.

"Lead" implies there's someone following. And in the case of most Slayers we'd heard about, they were all loners. Faith never cared much about the leadership role and Kendra had been taken away from anyone that could've worked as a team. She just followed her Watcher's orders. The potentials were awesome to see how many different girls are trained and conditioned for the Slayer gig. Some girls with more training seemed to be more willing to listen to authority, while people like Rona spoke their mind and didn't understand the idea of not questioning orders. So I think for the most part, whether they're the "leader" of a group has more to do with individual training and personality.

In the specific case of Buffy, she proved herself time and time again that she should've been the leader. She was courageous and willing to sacrifice herself in every fight, she also had a great way of assembling troops (think about the yummy sushi pajama scene) and coming up with plans. I think Buffy was the leader, and it had nothing to do with her being the Slayer.

I don't think it's always about being a slayer that automatically makes you a leader. I think character helps a lot. Buffy is a leader because she is confident enough to fight and protect everyone. She's the strongest in the group and the slayer in her is the bonus. If she wasn't a slayer I think she still would have been a leader in some form or another.

But we've seen being a slayer doesn't always make you a leader, look at Faith in season 7. She was made a leader suddenly and she was very uncomfortable with it as she was happy to be a follower but had to step up to the plate to protect and serve. I think if it hadn't have been Faith, Willow would have stepped in because she's shown remarkable leadership skills when Buffy hasn't been around.