Buffy vs. Lying Liars

9. It is important to be honest [sincere, truthful]


Summary:

Lots of discussion of lies here: Xander’s to Buffy, Giles’ to Buffy, Buffy’s to Giles, Buffy’s about Angel to everybody, Riley’s to Buffy, the Scoobies drifting apart, Willow’s to Tara… Of course, there’s the litany of truths that characters struggle to accept, like Xander’s doubts about his impending marriage or Willow’s insecurities. What people seemed to argue here is that while there are many examples of a lack of full disclosure, the series makes honesty a central value through the consequences a lack of it can have.

And, of course, facing the truths brings people closer together and teach us values through the emotional “Awws” we get from such revelations, such as here with Buffy and Willow admitting why they were growing apart in season four.

Two other points interested me. First, respondents noted that Giles and Joyce “get away with” two lies of omission, as Giles never reveals on a TV screen what happened to Ben and Joyce never tells Buffy about her confab with Angel. I hadn’t thought of those. Second, nobody mentioned Buffy hiding her sexual relationship with Spike.

Your Comments:

See: Xander and Buffy in "Becoming Pt.2" where he lies to her about what Willow said so that Buffy won't try to put off killing Angel to allow the spell to take place.

Important! However, after 7 beautiful seasons it seems to be a continual theme that all of the scoobies continue to fail to grasp:)

It was important but untruths or at least misdirection had to be employed at times. Such as when Angel came back from the Hell dimension and Buffy didn't tell Giles or friends for a long time. Of course they felt betrayed and she was between a rock and a hard place.

Difficult one, there are lies, and lies have consequences. Lies usually lead to some agony. But sometimes they are needed, like in "Lie to Me".

Giving this one a 3 because while I thought the characters considered honesty a value or a virtue, they were often not honest themselves.

The first time Buffy lies to Giles, she almost gets eaten by a demon. In season 6 when she lies to her friends about sleeping with Spike, she spirals downwards into an abusive relationship that is not healthy towards her, or Spike. When her friends find out, she feels a huge burden taken off her back, and realizes that it is always to be honest with her friends.

For the most part, the show preached honesty, or at least consequences for dishonesty. However, sometimes a teenager would get away with lying to his or her parents about his or her whereabouts. While Xander eventually came clean about his lie about Angel -- "Kick his ass" -- he never really faced direct repercussions. Giles got away with killing Ben, though, to my knowledge, he never told anyone about that. These are the exceptions that prove the rule, though, as honesty was, time and again, definitely shown to set one free.

Buffy is almost always honest but giles is not like when he kills ben. I think this one occasion makes honesty seem like a luxury for the strong and that special people like buffy need other people to do their dishonesty for them

Again, Xander is the best example of this value. There is a lot of deception on this show under the pretense of protecting the others or "for their own good."

buffy taught me that while we have been taught that everything thing in life is meant to be black and white, right and wrong….nothing really is...we operate on a morally gray scale...all we have our are choices and those choices have ramifications (both good and bad) far beyond any one of our control and even perception

I think the best example of this is in season four when the scoobies let their friendships fall through the cracks by hiding things from one another. Doing this allowed Spike to weasel his way in and cause them all to fight with each other. Honesty truly is the best policy.

Sort of hard to be truthful when fighting monsters.

Again, I feel like not telling people the truth caused many problems. Relationships suffer because people lied to either protect people's feelings or out of shame. I think this is the same with the forgiveness things. Sometimes you just can't forgive and sometimes you just can't be honest with yourself, let alone others. It's about the process of it.

Dishonest characters always get punished, e.g. Xander and Willow S3, Xander S6

Most lies or omissions lead to later suffering (the Crucimentum, Riley going to pay-for-bleed nests), but some are intended with noble (or at least mixed) intentions ("Kick his ass," Giles going years before admitting he murdered Ben). Lying is seldom simply "wrong," but it must never be done lightly.

If you lie to the people you care about, it WILL come back to bite you on the ass.

Being dishonest almost always has sever consequences.

Things usually get messed up when characters are dishonest.

There are several occasions on the show where a character's lie comes back to bite them in the ass, so it would appear that the series is suggesting that honesty is always the best policy. For instance, Buffy lies to the Scooby Gang and Faith about the return of Angel in season 3. This leads to a large confrontation involving all the characters in the episode 'Revelations', some of the ramifications of which are seen later on. For instance with Faith, this is where we can see the beginnings of her 'trust issues' really developing.

Some facts are smudged over a bit, but sincerity matters.

Telling the truth was never fun but lying always led to serious repercussions.

I think the show does illustrate the gray areas….I think of the 18th birthday test - where the truth is not there and it is an unraveling….I think it is more degrees….And how about when Buffy hides Angel at the first 3 months of the 3rd season - not truthful.

Buffy's life is kind of one big lie, but then again, if she wasn't honest with her friends she wouldn't have their support and be able to be such an amazing slayer.

The Scoobies' project is shrouded in secrecy for the entirety of the show, largely due to the team's concerted efforts to hide the truth of the Hellmouth. …Also, it is suggested that "noble lies" are sometimes necessary, i.e. when Giles kills the human Ben to destroy Glory, which Buffy was unwilling or incapable of doing, but which was necessary.

Willow lying to Tara about magic use, and Xander and Anya hiding their feelings. For the four of them, OMWF is all about hiding the truth, and look how it turns out for them.

Depends on the circumstances. Joyce never told Buffy that she asked Angel to leave (that we know of). Buffy having to keep her Slayerness a secret from *most* people is more important than being upfront about it with them.

Not really. Buffy had a real problem with honestly when it came to her personal life and choices.

Honest, sincere truthful is not the same as correct, thoughtful or merciful. The white lie or tougher love from Xander to Buffy or Dawn can be more human.

While I think all the characters would say it's important to be honest, everyone has their fair share of secrets and lies, which sort of undermines the "honesty is best" line.

You rarely - if anytime - get away with anything on the show.

I think this was a value but the characters struggled with it in certain situations. There were quite a few instances of dishonesty.

It is important to be honest to your team/friends. But there is a little bit of "it's not lying if they make you lie"

....except the other half of the time when it's important to be dis-honest (in the context of the show) :P