Original artwork, not a still
Slayer prologue narration, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-98)
In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness.
— Buffy the Vampire Slayer ‧ 1997
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the show's mission statement in a handful of words: the old myth of the lone hero, rewritten so that the Chosen One is a teenage girl from California rather than a knight. The prologue frames every quip and heartbreak that follows, and the phrase "one girl in all the world" has become fan shorthand for the whole premise, even though the line as most people recall it blends two slightly different versions of the prophecy.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Buffy the Vampire SlayerShow the scene
The Slayer prologue is a short spoken narration that opened some, not all, episodes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first two seasons (1997-98), after the show's pilot, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" (10 March 1997). Season 1 used it in episodes including "Angel", "I Robot, You Jane" and "The Puppet Show"; in season 2 it was narrated by Anthony Stewart Head, who plays Giles, and turned up in episodes such as "School Hard" and "Reptile Boy". The exact wording is "In every generation there is a Chosen One", then the Slayer alone standing against vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. The other phrasing fans remember, "Into every generation a Slayer is born", comes from the same prophecy as told in the pilot.
Sources (2)
- Buffy Wiki: Slayeropening quote box and Behind the scenes notesReference checked
- Buffy Wiki: Welcome to the HellmouthinfoboxReference checked
Context reviewed
