The End of the World, As We Know It: Defining Apocalypse in the Buffyverse

d'Herblay ~ Sept 8 2001

At least since Coppola, apocalypse has been used commonly in reference to the destruction of the world; Buffy is no exception. Notably, Riley, in "A New Man," says, "I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of 'apocalypse.' " While cataclysm, extinction-level event, or the theological eschaton (from the Greek escaton, meaning "the last") might be more pleasing to the ears of prescriptive logophiles, apocalypse is the signifier Joss attaches to the concept of "The End of the World." But exactly what does the signifier signify?

 

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