From the standpoint of anthropology and comparative mythology, BTVS is a triumph of modern innovation on ancient archetypes. In Season V, Buffy seemed poised to complete the Frazerian journey by either becoming a Goddess herself (upon vanquishing Glory/Ben) while risking transforming Glory into a super-powerful Goddess. The essence of Buffy as a Vampire Slayer is justifiable killing. The power to break taboos is the ultimate, inherent power of divine kings/queens. By killing only "evil" creatures, Buffy was excused from the burdens of divinity which in Frazerian terms adhere to successful killers. But when she confronted a Goddess, even a rather flaky/evil goddess like Glory, Buffy's risks were exponentially greater than ever before. At the woods surrounding the Temple of Diana at Lake Nemi, the new King of the Woods could only accede to the throne by killing the old. Buffy might have, herself, ascended into Godhead by killing Glory, but she did not. Modern society, it seems, does not accept kings or queens or gods. Thus it is that Season V can be seen as the first step towards the final transformation of Buffy's potential status as a Frazerian Divine King/Queen into the final collapse of the "one slayer" myth into the diffuse, democratic universe of slayers/potential slayers. Comparative Mythology is often paired with the comparative analysis of political structures to reveal information about basic tendencies in the social organizations of the societies which generate or accept the myths. Calling Buffy's death "The Gift" has, of course, deep Christian overtones. The only author who seems to have even come close to this kind of analysis is Gregory Erickson in "Fighting the Forces" (2002). Buffy's enemies, prior to Glory, were powerful but never too powerful. Mayor Wilkins was one of Buffy's most interesting adversaries---epitomize what Hannah Arendt called (in reference to Eichman) "the banality of evil." One could envision Mayor Wilkins after his ascension as a gigantic dragon, like the one St. George fought, but instead he ended his life as a medium-sized dinosaur-like snake---really not so impressive at all (more like Eichman or Himmler than, say, than Hitler?) So the scale of Buffy always shied away from that of epic mythology, despite the hints and themes. Buffy's failure or refusal to achieve divine rulership status at the ends of seasons 1, 3, 5 and 7 is instructive regarding the political structure of the society that created her, and its inherent fear of either acknowledging or challenging truly superhuman authority structures. In a sense, then, the Buffyverse stands for a denial of the proposition that there are any powers beyond human control in the world today, and this may be something of a programmatic mistake or dangerous myth in and of itself, when we consider the actual power of global corporations and the Pax Americana that supports them.