This paper argues that fighting and martial arts skills were employed in BtVS to demonstrate Buffy's internal, emotional state. Although the program was ostensibly about vampire and monster slaying, the success or failure of Buffy's efforts depended not upon her objective fighting capabilities, but upon her mental state. Other characters usually expressed themselves through non-violent actions, and therefore developed new skills as they grew up and progressed. Buffy, by contrast, began her career as a vampire slayer with sufficient ability to accomplish her goals as long as she believed she could. Victory thus became a test of her character, rather than power or skill. Any increase in her power or skill would have diminished the value of combat as an indicator of her strength of character.

Buffy's stunted martial development carried through to stunted character development, leaving her virtually static. As a program based upon action and combat, Buffy could not only not change her fighting skills, she could also not move away from them. The convention was clear: life was literally a violent struggle to defeat the demons which assailed you, both literally and figuratively. As the exemplar of this struggle, Buffy could neither change the paradigm nor change even her own place within it. She had to fight, but her martial skills could never advance because to fight well would undermine the struggle within herself.