In the Season Four episode, Fear, Itself, Buffy and the gang head on their way to a haunted house themed frat party. But, of course, this can't just be a fun night out for gang, as the house turns out to actually be possessed by a demon who preys on their fears. Xander completely disappears to the eyes of the rest of the group, even though is is right next to them. Oz turns into a werewolf when its not a full moon. Willow casts a spell to help guide them nowhere they need to go, but it backfires horribly and attacks her. Buffy, while trying to reach Willow, falls into the basement and has to fight zombies. Eventually they all make into the room where the fear demon was first summoned, meeting a sombrero wearing, chainsaw wielding Giles and Anya along the way. Buffy destroys the Mark of Gachnar, thinking it would fix the issue... as Giles sabot to tell her that will just make everything worse. This summons the demon. And it is maybe six inches tall. So obviously Xander mocks it. I mean, wouldn't you? And then Buffy crushes him. Like an ant.
Gachnar, our monster, isn't human, like the dead college student used to be. He has horns, red eyes, pointed ears, and sharp teeth. And that's when he was in his demon form. But for the rest of the episode, he's possessing a house, which doesn't look at all human. Because it is a house. But there were monster things in the house looked human. The dead guy was human... before he died. He still looks human, but with a severely broken neck. And a super dead looking face. Because he's dead. But except for those two things, he still looks pretty human.
"The dark Lord of Nightmares" looks like he would be quite a fright if you take away his size. I think his size was more than just an attempt to draw a laugh from the viewers. He is a commentary on fear, and how we, as a society, make our fears seem way worse than they are. When Giles tells Buffy what they are up against, and Buffy's reply is that she can't fight it. But when the fear demon spawns, in all six inches of its mighty power, she simply crushes it with the sole of her shoe. I think his size was more than just an attempt to draw a laugh from the viewers. He is a commentary on fear, and how we, as a society, make our fears seem way worse than they are. Fear can't hurt you unless you let it. And sometimes, fear can be as easy to overcome as stepping on an ant.
You might be thinking, "Well that's all well and good, but how does the episode usr the monster to make commentary about our society?" And in my opinion, Gachnar, the fear demon, is used to bring common fears to light. Xander, like many of us, fears being forgotten. he is the only member of the group who didn't go to college. Buffy, Willow, and Oz all went off to have new experiences at school without him. And he doesn't want them to leave him out because he's not with them as much anymore. I feel like a lot of people can relate to that, especially now that we're off to college ourselves. Most of us are in a completely new place with completely new people, and we don't want our families and old friends from high school to forget about us. While we identify with Xander, we can also identify with Willow. She just wanted to help the group find where they needed to go. So she used her magic. But Willow feared not being good enough or talented enough. Therefore, she failed, and was attacked by the bugs she conjured up. Willow's fear was not being good enough. Everyone feels that way sometimes, in school, in sports, and in whatever else we do. And finally, when Buffy fell into the basement and was attacked by zombies, the dude who broke his neck on the stairs told her that no matter what she does, she will always end up in the same, hopeless spot. This is something we also fear; becoming stuck in an endless cycle of failure. Similar to Willow, Buffy, and the rest of us fear failing. They never really showed anyone facing their fears. Whatever was haunting the group just left them alone once they reached the coat room.
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