Why do people forget that this show was not about high school?

Why, yes.

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A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.

I always rationalized it as "Seasons 1-3 are about High School while Seasons 4-7 about life AFTER High School."

The metaphors are pretty thick in the first 3 Seasons and that's perfectly fine. It set the tone of the show. Meanwhile, the subsequent Seasons felt like it was tackling adulthood BUT from the perspective of high schoolers now having to face it.

Season 4 was about high schoolers now having to deal with university. The UC-Sunnydale Scoobies have their experiences that also affect the experiences started in their high school years (i.e. Buffy moving on from Angel and proving to be a good student, Willow coming out, Oz having to leave because of uncontrollable circumstances, ect.) Yes, it was college but more importantly, it was a look at how college affected these high school friends. Heck, they even keep mentioning how life now isn't much different from high school OR who things are vastly different. Episodes where Buffy feels like a fish out of water but discovers it's all the same water really. Or Willow expressing how she's very much not the meek nerd she was in high school. The characters are in college but constantly relate their experiences to high school. Friends who, as Freshman, still had to deal with transitioning. MEANWHILE, Xander's storyline was about the life of a high schooler who chose NOT to go to university. Very hard and depressing at first but he still manages.

Season 5 also struck me as "High Schoolers dealing with life after high school" but more so from a "truly transitioning" angle. Willow was thriving in her "life after" and knew it. Meanwhile, Tara was still living with the baggage of her teen years and had to realize it was time to move on from that. We see Giles finally transition into a job that's not a librarian BUT ALSO get his old job back as Watcher. And to ground us, we see Dawn's experiences in high school and how petty they are in comparison the rest of the groups. Problems they themselves would have gone through but seem to trivial now. Meanwhile, Buffy represents transitioning that's going to a place she didn't plan for. Circumstances are rearing their ugly head. She never saw herself as a single-parent. But, Dawn was her responsibility and Joyce was no longer around to take care of her. A harder sell for the high school angle but I could see it as still being a form of transitioning.

Season 6 was about "real life" being too much for high schoolers. To me, it didn't feel like a bunch of college students were having to deal with life problems. It still came off as the high school Scoobies having to deal. Buffy not feeling like her old self, Willow still trying very much NOT to be the meek little girl she was in her teens, Xander (an adult) still being affected by his childhood trauma. And a lot of high school friends return here, showing how much they've changed. Jonathan, Amy, (technically) Andrew...all people who were revealed to be horrible. Life got to them...

Season 7.....well, that STARTED as how high school is still a part of you even as an adult but kinda became a mish-mash of whatever. Buffy becoming a school counselor, Xander working on construction for the new school, Willow going back to school because those were the fruits of her high school labor. It was a fainter comparison but I could still see this being about high school.

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Probably because the writers used to refer to it as high school is hell. That was the premise. Plus, it's catchy.

Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead.

Because its easy to just stick it in that category. In general I feel like season 5 is so underrated(it's my personal favorite) and it's one of the most relatable seasons for me to rewatch. I just think Buffy is does a great job with supernatural and human problems.

"When life gives you lemons"
Jessica D: sleep with their fathers and have secret lemon children 

I agree. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' wasn't a show about High School or it would have ended after Season 3. It was a show about 'Buffy' being a slayer and her friends. The problem a lot of people have with the later seasons is they don't have that classic feel that a lot of the episodes in the first 3 seasons had and it is like comparing a famous band's newer songs to their earlier hits that were on top of the charts at the time. There were some great episodes in the latter half of the show that I think don't get the credit they deserve too but for me the show went down in quality and didn't really pick up again until the final season. I think 'Angel' become the better show during Season 4, 5 and 6 of Buffy.

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Make Same Sex Marriages Legal In Australia 'cause we deserve to have the same rights as everybody else and shouldn't be controlled by backwards people with outdated views.

Because 1-3 was its' glory time and the show rather meandered after that.

That's because the show WAS about high school and all the later seasons sucked.