tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post2480055903967086251..comments2024-02-04T05:13:04.501-05:00Comments on Nik at Nite: Buffy Rewatch Week 50Nikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-25794034800578184502011-12-20T17:19:43.848-05:002011-12-20T17:19:43.848-05:00@nikki looks like the live-tweeting will most like...@nikki looks like the live-tweeting will most likely take place some time next Monday evening, exact time TBD. Hashtag will be #GBRfinale for anyone interested.Shimonhttps://twitter.com/#!/slernernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-22403346269649763112011-12-19T13:10:11.222-05:002011-12-19T13:10:11.222-05:00@Shimon: I think watching and live-tweeting the fi...@Shimon: I think watching and live-tweeting the finale is a fantastic idea! Unfortunately I don't have the time to do it, but good luck with getting people to do it with you on Twitter! I'll be checking in to see it. :) Will you be using a specific hashtag? If so, let me know what it is and I'll try to remember to mention it in this week's rewatch. :)Nikki Staffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-37557607422041890052011-12-16T19:12:30.904-05:002011-12-16T19:12:30.904-05:00The fact that those within the whatever-it's-c...<i>The fact that those within the whatever-it's-called corporation are set up as somewhat heroic, at least in contrast to greater evils</i><br /><br />You might want to watch the rest of the show. The second season is much stronger IMHO, and then rewatching showed me it was all more cohesive and pointed than I first thought.Colleen/redeem147https://www.blogger.com/profile/17125457976511333341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-11136196016572793212011-12-16T14:07:00.375-05:002011-12-16T14:07:00.375-05:00@Blam: There are several items on today’s agenda. ...@Blam: There are several items on today’s agenda. First of all, I bow once again to your lyrical greatness. You got me humming a little ditty about ‘Sunnydale vam-py-urz’, and I just couldn’t be happier! :)<br /><br />B) Nice history lesson about Jack the Ripper. A sly reference indeed! I can’t help thinking about how LOST fans would’ve jumped all over something like that, slicing and dicing it, and squinting at it through a microscope from every possible angle to discern ALL of its possible meanings. Those were the days, weren’t they?<br /><br />Thirdly, let’s hear it for Blam’s wordsmithing prowess! I didn’t know I needed one before today, but I’m now shopping online for a good used subtrfuge!<br /><br />D) I loved your testimony that Santa really does exist! When I clicked on the link, I had no idea where it would take me. But as soon as I saw that I had landed on your blog, I knew that I wouldn’t DREAM of skipping the first several paragraphs. It was a sweet and wonderful story.<br /><br />As a rule, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions. (What’s the point?) But with the realization that I had missed seeing your Santa story for a whole YEAR, it occurred to me that I would do well to start checking your blog, if not daily, at least several times a week. The better to not miss your writings, my dear.Marebabenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-88560597010933156952011-12-16T03:31:12.721-05:002011-12-16T03:31:12.721-05:00Wow, you guys are a truly devoted bunch :)
consid...Wow, you guys are a truly devoted bunch :) <br />considering that the last week of the rewatch only consists of one episode it is not inconcieveable to watch it once without distractions and then again with....<br />anyways, seems the folk over on twitter are slightly more enthusiastic about this prospect so it may actually go down, in case any of you change your minds!Shimonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-51571516710481956082011-12-16T00:09:43.187-05:002011-12-16T00:09:43.187-05:00Quarks: My problem with this episode is what it d...<br>Quarks: <i> My problem with this episode is what it does to the relationship between Buffy and Giles. The father-daughter dynamic of their relationship was always something which I liked in the early seasons, so it upsets me that they are essentially destroying it now, especially so near the finale when it will be hard to resolve it satisfactorily in such a small amount of time.</i><br /><br />Agreed. I want to say more on that, but it will have to wait until next week, as it's spoilery of them; I shan't even say if it's an "although" or an "also". Your observations after the above are also on point, however, and it is particularly frustrating in light of how many times it seems Buffy has been divided from the Scoobies, or the Scoobies all from one another, including Giles, only to realize that letting themselves drift apart or quarrel is detrimental to them not only as people but as a fighting force. "Restless" is a particular moment that you wouldn't think would be written off, even if being pulled away from loved ones by circumstance or disagreement is after all only human.<br /><br />Quarks: <i>The question is whether that is because they are now facing an enemy which is much stronger than any they’ve faced before, or because Buffy’s ‘strategy’ of facing this enemy is different than before.</i><br /><br />While that's a good point, it's also a hard question to even tackle appropriately since the "real" reason is that the series is barreling towards a conclusion and life-altering (or -ending) things can be done with the core characters that couldn't when their involvement in future episodes was a consideration.<br /><br />Marebabe: <i>@Shimon: This is the second time you’ve suggested synchronized watching of the finale and simultaneously commenting on Twitter. ... I’ve always thought that dividing one’s attention between watching and tweeting would cause a viewer to miss at least some of the story, and that would be unacceptable as far as I’m concerned.</i><br /><br />I'll chime in with the same problem. Any show that I care enough to talk about I want to give my undivided attention while I watch. I was asked to help beta-test a new thing for <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> (not that it was all that exclusive; I think that any Front Row Panel members were invited) wherein you live-blog or text/Twitter your thoughts on favorite TV shows as you view them, and my reply was, well, what I just said. Part of that is just common sense to me — I've always liked to watch favorite shows and movies at home with the lights off, attention undivided — and part of it is that now I have concentration problems that make multitasking all but impossible; as it is, I often have to rewind something to get what's being said or done.<br /><br />Suzanne: <i>One realization I had this time around that I didn’t the first is that the reason she is alright with the idea of Dawn dying this time is that she knows Dawn will go to that wonderful place of peace that she went to after her death in Season 5.</i><br /><br />Nice observation! I don't know if that actually fed into the writers' thinking, but I'll definitely grab hold of it as a rationalization.<br /><br />VW: <i>subtr</i> — Take away the last few letters of a word. (You can then put them in a test tube and separate them in a — wait for it — <i>subtrfuge</i>.)<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-24895283603856343142011-12-15T23:57:48.490-05:002011-12-15T23:57:48.490-05:00Marebabe: I did, however, see a shirt company call...<br>Marebabe: <i>I did, however, see a shirt company called “effulgentcolors”.</i><br /><br />Do they use William the Bloody's poetry on their clothing?<br /><br />Colleen: <i>The girls in Xander's room are Colleen and Kelly. My friend Kelly and I ran a Buffy fan fic list, and for a while we wondered if Drew Goddard was reading it - but they're the names of his mom and sister.</i><br /><br />... That's just <i>wrong</i>.<br /><br />The Question Mark: <i>Speaking of which, I've yet to see any of "Dollhouse". Has anybody seen it? Is it as cool as I think it is?</i><br /><br />Colleen: <i>I had to watch it twice to think so. Hated it at first.</i><br /><br />Same here. Except for the first part. 8^) I hated it at first, due to having a very low tolerance for Eliza Dushku and not being able to wrap my head around how the very premise was not absolutely horrible. Some of the mythology was interesting, as was "Epitaph One", but I fell behind at the start of Season Two and still haven't gone back to watch it. The fact that those within the whatever-it's-called corporation are set up as somewhat heroic, at least in contrast to greater evils, just made me sick in terms of who and what I was being asked to root for. On the other hand: Amy Acker!<br /><br />Christina B: <i>The first time I watched Dirty Girls I was so shocked at what Caleb did to Xander, I just sat there, staring.</i><br /><br />Isn't that kind-of rubbing it in? <br /><br />Efthymia: <i>Although it did get me wondering why it is written with an 'o' instead of an 'au', since the greek word is </i>αυνανισμός.<br /><br />In English at least it comes from the Biblical figure Onan, a son of Judah. His name in Hebrew is אוֹנָן [don't know if that will come through right] and "Onan" is the simplest transliteration (although of course "Aunan" would work too; English is ridiculous with the variety). Onan was deemed wicked for spilling his seed on the ground — not through masturbation, the context in which "onanism" is now used, but through withdrawal before climax while having relations with his late brother's wife (something that he was supposed to do, to provide heirs for his brother; Onan pulled out because he didn't want to create children who would not be his own heirs).<br /><br />Efthymia: <i>It's the second confirmation in 4 years that Santa really does exist.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://blamken.blogspot.com/2010/12/nick-of-time.html" rel="nofollow">Here's another.</a> [You can skip the first several paragraphs to get to the real story.]<br /><br />VW: <i>raviness</i> — The essence of she who played Claire Littleton on <i>Lost</i>.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-80295633040104080652011-12-15T23:45:26.176-05:002011-12-15T23:45:26.176-05:00Questions, comments, and quotes...
Angel: "E...<br>Questions, comments, and quotes...<br /><br />Angel: "Easy-Bake, flopapalooza, whoosh, <i>pop</i>. I don't skulk."<br /><br />I wanted to note last week, but couldn't, that we got flashbacks to New York, 75 years apart, the same week (as aired) — in <i>Buffy</i> 7.17 and <i>Angel 4.15</i>.<br /><br />Who but Andrew would choke on cigar smoke in his own reverie?<br /><br />Did anyone else notice that SMG has some serious lip-glossin' goin' on in "Storyteller"?<br /><br />Am I the only one amazed that nobody's yet made a snarky comment about the name Robin Wood? Not Xander, not Spike, not even Faith have let out so much as a "How'd it go against the Sheriff of Nottingwam?"<br /><br />Gunn: "I spent most of this year trapped in what I can only describe as a turgid, supernatural soap opera."<br /><br />Yeah, Andrew wasn't the only one speaking for the fans.<br /><br />Drusilla: "Such a pretty 'ouse you 'ave, Sweet Willie. Smells of daffodils — <i>and</i> viscera."<br /><br />I have to assume that Bernard Crowley, Nikki's Watcher, is a name-check of occultist Aleister Crowley, although Wikipedia has quite the list of other notable Crowleys.<br /><br />The sly reference that <i>really</i> got my attention, though, came when William asked his mother if he should "send the coach for Dr. Gull". Sir William Gull was a personal physician to Queen Victoria and has been theorized by some — including Alan Moore, in his and Eddie Campbell's brilliant graphic novel <i>From Hell</i> — to have been Jack the Ripper, perpetrator of the infamous Whitechapel murders less than a decade after Spike was turned. Some <i>Buffy</i> comics have stated that Jack the Ripper was in fact a vampire who encountered Spike, Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla.<br /><br />Spike: "Not much for self-reflection."<br />Wood: "Yeah. Makes sense."<br /><br />Gunn: "Wait. So the big nasty inside of Cordy is gonna give birth — to <i>itself</i>?"<br /><br />Andrew: "She wrapped evil around her like a large, evil Mexican <i>serape</i>."<br /><br />I couldn't watch <i>Firefly</i> when it aired, so although I knew he'd starred on that show my first real exposure to Nathan Fillion was as Caleb, Son of a Bitch of a Preacher Man, on <i>Buffy</i> and I really had to adjust my perception of him in later roles. <i>Now</i> of course I love him on <i>Castle</i>, know from interviews that he's a heck of a sweet fella, and highly recommend the film <i>Waitress</i> — starring Keri Russell and co-starring Fillion (a duo that would later reteam for the direct-to-DVD <i>Wonder Woman</i> as the title character and Steve Trevor); as I remember, <i>Waitress</i> came out right around the time he appeared as Dana Delaney's character's husband on <i>Desperate Housewives</i>, where as in <i>Waitress</i> he played an affable gynecologist.<br /><br />Affable Gynecologist is my new band name.<br /><br />Fred: "There's been an awful lot of dismembering going on in that basement lately if you ask me."<br /><br />So do you think the apocalyptic ultimate evil on <i>Angel</i> is upset at the one on <i>Buffy</i> for trying to get all ultimately apocalyptic first (and vice versa)?<br /><br />Last but not least: Oh, that yellow striped shirt...<br /><br />VW: <i>coaggas</i> — Yo, like, <i>clots</i>, yo.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-25772190374959783142011-12-15T21:05:41.546-05:002011-12-15T21:05:41.546-05:00Marebabe: It shocked Andrew out of his make-believ...<br>Marebabe: <i>It shocked Andrew out of his make-believe world, made him look straight into the eye of the camera and call things by their right names.</i><br /><br />It's the<br />Eye of the cam'ra<br />Takin' pics of the <i>fight</i><br />As the <i>Slay</i>-er dusts Sunnydale vam-<i>py</i>-urz<br />While the Xand-man's new window<br />Makes his lens zoom in <i>tight</i><br />Andrew's <i>watch</i>-in' it <i>all</i> with the <i>eyyyyyyye</i><br />Of the cam'ra<br /><br />To be continued (the comments, not the song)...<br /><br />VW: <i>healinc</i> — A medical conglomerate.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-60012583727379947972011-12-15T19:56:28.075-05:002011-12-15T19:56:28.075-05:00One last thought that I had about Giles and his ro...One last thought that I had about Giles and his role in Lies. It is disappointing to me that he would be so willing to blatantly deceive Buffy in the way he did in this episode after the fall out from his role in what happened to her in Helpless. Doesn't he remember how hurt she was by his betrayal in that episode? How is this different from that in his mind? Didn't he realize that his betrayal this time would be the last straw for her? I do have to say, though, that Buffy's stubborn behavior when it came to refusing to at least chain Spike up again or limit him in some way until it could be determined how to deprogram him was kind of hard to take. How could she willingly subject her friends, her sister, and the potentials to the threat of danger Spike represented in his brainwashed state in the way she did? It seemed out of character for her, really. The writers just don't seem to get Buffy this season for some reason. She seems so off much of the time.Suzannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-24767102108798801702011-12-15T19:43:33.532-05:002011-12-15T19:43:33.532-05:00I actually enjoyed Lies My Parents Told me quite a...I actually enjoyed Lies My Parents Told me quite a bit more than it seems a lot of people did given the comments. I found this episode to be incredibly revealing when it comes to showing who Spike truly is and how he managed to have such a strong soul even as a vampire. I attribute this to the extreme love and support he was shown from his mother. Unlike a lot of people, I don't see his real relationship with his human mother as being twisted. I truly believe that she loved and adored her child and simply wanted to support him. She probably saw that he was different than other kids from the time he was young, and she felt determined to provide him with the encouragement that others wouldn't give him. When he turned her, the demon inside of her took any subconscious feelings of resentment she might have had for her own missed life opportunities (feelings any mother, good or bad, devoted or not, would have inside of her) and twisted those feelings beyond all proportion. I also believe that the demon mother twisted the relationship that she and her son had to make it seem grotesque when it really was not that way. The expression on Spike's face when she describes his relationship to her in the horrible way she does speaks volumes to me since he seemed horrified and shocked, even as a vampire. <br /><br />I felt that the ending of this episode really allowed Spike to come full circle and to come to terms with feelings of inadequacy and loss that he had been dealing with for hundreds of years after what happened with his mother. It was a beautiful moment to me when he was able to listen to the music that usually triggered him and realize that he had nothing to fear from it. My one regret was the bitter way in which he treated Robin by making Robin feel that his own mother did not love him. I don’t agree with Spike, nor do I condone his actions, but Spike, much like Xander, is flawed and often uses words against others when he is hurt by them (like mother like son). Robin had physically hurt him and had treated him like a “monster” instead of a “man,” which I believe is the reason he wanted to get back at him by hurting him with his words. Maybe Spike already knew that he wouldn’t go through with killing Robin and words were the only weapon he could use to get back at him.<br /><br />Dirty Girls was good overall. There were many good moments throughout it, especially Xander’s speech about Buffy and the conversation between Faith and Spike. However, this time around, I wasn’t thrilled with Caleb (since it wasn’t such a surprise and delight to see Nathan Fillion as it had been the first time around), and I seriously questioned Buffy’s decision to take the potentials into the situation this time. She really seemed to rush in to the situation in a way she never would have done with Glory in Season 5. I am having a hard time understanding why she is reacting so differently this time from the way she did in Season 5 to a similar impossible threat, unless it can just be chalked up to her death and experience in the afterlife. One realization I had this time around that I didn’t the first is that the reason she is alright with the idea of Dawn dying this time is that she knows Dawn will go to that wonderful place of peace that she went to after her death in Season 5. This must make it easier for her to feel alright about Dawn or even the potentials dying, knowing now what they will face in the afterlife.Suzannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-16956770621270433472011-12-15T19:30:47.045-05:002011-12-15T19:30:47.045-05:00I agree that this week's episodes were much be...I agree that this week's episodes were much better than some of recent ones we have viewed. Of course, I love the funniness of Storyteller and agree that Andrew is a great edition to Season 7. In my eleven-year old son's eyes, he is the absolute best aspect of Season 7, and he would have loved to have seen Andrew in all of Buffy. I like him a lot, too, but I have to say that on rewatch, I found the episode to continue to be delightful, but not quite as much of a laugh riot as it was to me the first time through. <br /><br /> My slightly changed feeling might be because in older funny episodes like Tabula Rasa, usually all of the characters would add humor with their dialogue. In this episode as well as other Season 7 episodes, it just doesn't seem as if the writers are using some of the funny characters as much as they used to use them. Take Willow for instance, she used to really have funny lines, but this season not so much; they are too busy focusing on her annoying relationship with whats-her-name (unfortunately I actually do remember it since they won't seem to let us forget it). Another example is Spike. He used to always have a one-liner here or there to crack me up. This time, the scenes focus on Andrew almost exclusively (except for Anya's hilarious line about his bathroom time) when they could have a character like Spike or Willow throw in a funny line. A prime example would be in the scene when Andrew is going over the white board. It seems to take too long and be too painstaking as he went through it. Since it occurred in the basement, I would have loved to have seen Spike throw in a line from the background to taunt Andrew -- something along the lines of "can't a bloke get some rest around here?." They wouldn't have even needed to show Spike, but it would have helped the pacing. It isn't that I didn't like and appreciate the humor in this episode because I really did, but all season, I have just felt that the pacing is off in comparison to previous seasons.Suzannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-73019892520278418162011-12-15T02:33:19.764-05:002011-12-15T02:33:19.764-05:00@Quarks well aware of the time zone issue as I am ...@Quarks well aware of the time zone issue as I am even two hours ahead of you... nevertheless if I can make this work i shall be willing to play vampire for one night :)Shimonhttps://twitter.com/#!/slernernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-68799438095811485672011-12-14T19:49:44.023-05:002011-12-14T19:49:44.023-05:00Off schedule:
My husband is on his own rewatch an...Off schedule:<br /><br />My husband is on his own rewatch and last night he watched season <br />3's Amends (where Angel is waiting for the sun to come up so he can die, but it snows instead and the powers that be keep the sun from coming up). When he was done, all he could do was rub his eyes, moan and lament about how much Angel ruins every decent episode with all his "crying" and "whining" and such. He said watching Angel is like watching "Queer Eye for the Vampire Guy." He loved the episode before: Wish, sayint that Xander and Willow are the best vampires on the series during that episode, especially how they locked up Angel locked in the cage and they would screw with him like he was a puppy and flick cigarettes at him, etc. It was truly so funny. He despises Angel, and after every episode he again asks me and wants to know when he is leaving Sunnydale as he can't wait.Lisa(until further notice)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-45583377241840355962011-12-14T17:33:29.543-05:002011-12-14T17:33:29.543-05:00@Shimon: I'm afraid that I'm also a no for...@Shimon: I'm afraid that I'm also a no for watching and tweeting at the same time or two reasons. 1) Like Marebabe, I'm not on Twitter and currently have no plans to join and 2) there's the issue of time difference as I'm watching in the UK. The reason my comments are usually several hours after Nikki's posts is because it's 1am over here when they appear, at which point I am usually in bed asleep.<br /><br />@Colleen/redeem147: I didn't mean that it wasn't, but in the grand scale of bad things which the characters on 'Buffy' do it doesn't really compare with slaughtering half of Europe, for example. And really what I was saying there is that people have forgiven Xander for that (or at least I have) and, although I'm not really sure how much Buffy was listening in 'Selfless' when Willow exposes the lie, Buffy and Willow seem to have forgiven him, so what Giles actually does here deserves the same 'forgiveness'.Quarksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-12339017591284885742011-12-14T16:08:48.544-05:002011-12-14T16:08:48.544-05:00but I don’t think it’s any worse than Xander telli...<i>but I don’t think it’s any worse than Xander telling Buffy to kick Angel’s ass instead of about Willow’s plan back in Season 2. </i><br /><br />Actually, I think that was really, really bad.<br /><br />Add me to the no twitter vote please. I do sometimes go to twitter on my computer (Ricky Gervais is very chatty), but I don't have a smartphone and the TV is on the other side of the room.<br /><br />On the commentary track they mention that the original idea was to kill Xander and have him be the First, so he got off pretty light with the maiming. Still - ew!Colleen/redeem147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-52194129587735827352011-12-14T15:11:43.865-05:002011-12-14T15:11:43.865-05:00@Page48--I often don't comment until after 3am...@Page48--I often don't comment until after 3am. I watch all 6 rewatch episodes on Tuesday nights. I often don't finish until after 2am. ;)<br /><br />@Shimon--Sorry, I'm with Marebabe.<br />I can't tweet and watch at the same time. My full attention needs to be on the TV so I can cry my heart out. ;)Christina Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-59927064226563997472011-12-14T14:58:55.261-05:002011-12-14T14:58:55.261-05:00@marebabe thanks for the response. (almost anythin...@marebabe thanks for the response. (almost anything beats just being ignored) totally understand your perspective of not wanting to miss any detail.Shimonhttps://twitter.com/#!/slernernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-36374444895066757132011-12-14T14:27:32.729-05:002011-12-14T14:27:32.729-05:00@Shimon: This is the second time you’ve suggested ...@Shimon: This is the second time you’ve suggested synchronized watching of the finale and simultaneously commenting on Twitter. So far I’ve not seen any responses to your proposal, so I’ll start.<br /><br />I’m not interested in doing that, so you can put me down as a NO vote. I’m not on Twitter, and I have no plans to ever start. Also, I’ve always thought that dividing one’s attention between watching and tweeting would cause a viewer to miss at least some of the story, and that would be unacceptable as far as I’m concerned. (Some LOST fans used to do that, live-blogging, but I never participated.)<br /><br />Even though my response was negative, I hope you prefer that to being ignored.Marebabenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-32815776522822837312011-12-14T10:22:52.081-05:002011-12-14T10:22:52.081-05:00Although I did love ‘Storyteller’, I think ‘Dirty ...Although I did love ‘Storyteller’, I think ‘Dirty Girls’ may be my favourite episode from this week. Like I said earlier, we are now so close to the finale that an episode furthering the plot and the Big Bad doesn’t feel entirely out of place. Like on ‘Angel’ I do like the return of Faith to the series, bringing some more humour to the show for the scenes Andrew and Anya aren’t in, but also because she is growing on me as a character. I really like the scene where Faith meets Buffy at the cemetery, and also the scene with Spike and Faith in the basement, and I like Faith a lot more now she’s fighting on ‘our’ side (and I think Caleb’s “Your Cain to her Abel” is quite a good description of Faith).<br /><br />I do feel slightly left out as I haven’t yet watched ‘Firefly’ (although I do recognise Nathan Fillion from ‘Castle’), but that should be remedied soon as the DVD box set is at the top of my Christmas list.<br /><br />Although some of characters do have problems with it, I do agree with Buffy’s plan (at this point). The potentials need some field experience, and they can’t just wait around for the First to make its move. Admittedly, it was clearly a trap but it did give the gang a chance to judge their enemy’s strength so that they could theoretically do better against them next time. Of course, it didn’t go to plan but I think the principle of what Buffy was trying to do was right.<br /><br />As for why Willow was left at home, Buffy mentioned in the episode that she needed somebody strong to remain at the house in case it was a trap to lure all the powerful people out of the house and then the Bringers could kill all the weaker potentials. Also, in terms of a writing decision, I imagine that the writers wanted to show just how strong the First’s forces were, and they didn’t want Willow there as she would probably powerful enough to stop them. I believe it was for a similar reason that Willow got knocked out fairly quickly in the fights in ‘Never Leave Me’ and ‘Get It Done’.<br /><br />Xander (telling the potentials what to do if they come across a demon in the battle): Go for the centre— brains, heart, eyes. Everything's got eyes.<br /><br />Xander having his eye gouged out has to be both one of the most gruesome and shocking scenes in the whole of ‘Buffy’. It’s the first time that any of the main main characters has been really seriously permanently injured (aside from Buffy’s deaths, but they were never really permanent). The question is whether that is because they are now facing an enemy which is much stronger than any they’ve faced before, or because Buffy’s ‘strategy’ of facing this enemy is different than before.<br /><br />Overall, this week is a really good week of episodes as we approach the end of ‘Buffy’ (the TV series at least). I may have various problems with this season, but I do really like it from here on and there is a lot to look forward to in the next couple of weeks.<br /><br />NB Like the situation with ‘Orpheus’ last week, next week’s ‘Angel’ episodes don’t entirely fit chronologically with next week’s ‘Buffy’, as the finale of Season 4 of ‘Angel’ technically takes place before 7.21 of ‘Buffy’, but like last week there aren’t (as far as I can remember) spoilers for either series. But if you’re wondering about the timings, it’s just something to be aware of.Quarksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-2386131483735011192011-12-14T10:21:43.264-05:002011-12-14T10:21:43.264-05:00Now we move onto ‘Lies My Parents Told Me’, which ...Now we move onto ‘Lies My Parents Told Me’, which unfortunately is where the issues I mentioned earlier come into play. I wouldn’t say that I dislike this episode, but I do have a couple of problems with what actually happens in it. <br /><br />The main problem which I have with this episode centres on Giles. Now, I do like Spike as a character (although not to the same extent that I know some people do), but I don’t have a problem, per se, with Giles trying to kill him. I mean, it’s not his shining moment, but I don’t think it’s any worse than Xander telling Buffy to kick Angel’s ass instead of about Willow’s plan back in Season 2. My problem with this episode is what it does to the relationship between Buffy and Giles. The father-daughter dynamic of their relationship was always something which I liked in the early seasons, so it upsets me that they are essentially destroying it now, especially so near the finale when it will be hard to resolve it satisfactorily in such a small amount of time. Also, because Spike is such a popular character, it does feel as though the writers are deliberately trying to turn the audience against Giles, which again upsets me as he has always been one of my favourite characters.<br /><br />The other problem I have with this episode, or more generally this season, is how Buffy is pulling away from everybody and becoming the archetypal Slayer. In this episode we see her relationship with Giles completely break down, and all season she has been pulling away from her friends. In many ways, the only person she really has now is Spike, and even they aren’t as close as they have been in the past. What frustrates me is that Buffy’s success as a Slayer has always been in a large part down to her friends. Indeed, she would be dead twice over if it weren’t for them. So I do think that in part Buffy’s decision to pull away from her friends is not going to be good for them, and perhaps if Buffy still treated them like she did a couple of seasons ago they wouldn’t have suffered such a defeat in ‘Dirty Girls’.<br /><br />Linked with this, Buffy admits in this episode how she would now be willing to let Dawn die for the greater good, and I don’t understand why this is almost portrayed as a positive character development. Another quality about Buffy which was commendable in the earlier seasons was her loyalty to her friends and family, and her reluctance to do any harm to them whatever they did. She took weeks to give up hope on restoring Angel, and she was even reluctant to seriously injure Faith. Even just going back one season, I don’t believe that she would have been willing to kill Willow unless there was absolutely no other choice. But in this season, she quickly decides to kill Anya in ‘Selfless’ and would be willing to let anybody die if it would save the world. Spike seems to be the only person exempt. I mentioned back in my comment on ‘Selfless’ that I felt the events of ‘Help’ had a large impact on her decision to kill Anya, and I think they also had a large impact on her attitude towards death in general. It forced her to acknowledge that sometimes death is inevitable, and from that that sometimes it is ok to sacrifice people if it means saving the world.<br /><br />Those were my main complaints this week, so now I’ll move on to some of the things I did like about this episode. I did quite enjoy the Spike flashbacks this week, more than I did when I initially watched this episode. From 6 seasons of ‘Lost’ I feel I am now quite an expert in ‘daddy issues’ or more generally ‘parent issues’, but Spike’s situation with his mother is something very different and quite creepy. And yet, still slightly less creepy than Connor and Cordelia.<br /><br />Robin’s mother has got the same name as that character from ‘Lost’! :)Quarksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-3753181566230467282011-12-14T10:19:57.379-05:002011-12-14T10:19:57.379-05:00This week is where, for me, the season starts to p...This week is where, for me, the season starts to pick up again after ‘drooping’ slightly of late. I think part of the reason for that is that we are now very near to the finale, so I don’t find it unreasonable for the show to focus on the plot so much. All three episodes this week are quite good and, although I do have a couple of issues I’ll talk about later, I feel like I’ve been complaining a lot about ‘Buffy’ recently so it is nice to be able to say lots of positive things about these episodes.<br /><br />‘Storyteller’ is a fantastic episode, and brings some much needed humour back into the series in a season which has become very serious. Whoever it was that decided to bring Andrew back after Season 6 is a genius, and he really comes into his own in this episode. I think there is only one whole episode in the Buffyverse that has me laughing more, and that’s to come in ‘Angel’ Season 5. I don’t think I stop laughing through at least the first half of ‘Storyteller’; from Andrew’s commentary to Anya’s comments to the ‘flashbacks’ there is so much that makes me laugh in this episode.<br /><br />One of my favourite things about ‘Buffy’ is its ability to combine humour, emotion and a great plot together seamlessly, and ‘Storyteller’ is the perfect example of this. Although it is primarily a funny episode, by the end it does become serious and deals with Andrew’s feelings regarding what he did to Jonathan.<br /> <br />I always like it when shows make fun of themselves, so I love Andrew’s reaction to Buffy’s motivational speeches.<br /><br />The other plot thread in this episode is dealing with Xander and Anya’s relationship. It was exactly one season ago that Xander left Anya at the altar, and since then they have both tried to move on from their relationship, with little success. So here, they finally sit down and talk about where they are now. Part of me wishes that we had had a bit more resolution here, with either them getting back together or finally moving on from each other. Perhaps to a certain extent we did get the latter, but there are still very clearly feelings between them. However, I appreciate that feelings aren’t things that can be turned on and off, so some kind of concrete resolution was unlikely.<br /><br />Robin: I don't know why any of you should trust each other. You've all been evil at some point, right?<br /><br />Buffy: No, that's not true. Yeah, Willow had a bad patch, but I've never been.<br /><br />Yes, because knocking your friends and family out, tying them up and locking them in the basement with a demon isn’t the slightest bit evil.Quarksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-12029237921141464622011-12-14T08:06:29.478-05:002011-12-14T08:06:29.478-05:00These episodes make me wish that Andrew had been a...These episodes make me wish that Andrew had been a scooby throughout the series. And Wood is certainly nice to look at. He's also a very strong person to be able to (eventually) work alongside Spike.<br /><br />I don't think I've heard any dialogue from Dawn in at least two episodes. Am I right?<br /><br />As for Willow being left behind in dirty girls, I get why Buffy did that. They've been down the bait and switch road before. But Buffy tells Willow she's her most powerful weapon in one instance, and then she tells Giles that it's Spike in another. Which is it? It sure isn't Kennedy.<br /><br />Faith is a welcome addition as Buffy has been so annoying and out of character. <br /><br />Who is going to pay all the potentials' hospital bills? I just got a doozy of a bill for my son and I don't think Buffy would have been able to afford it. Maybe Willow will have to sell her sweet ride.<br /><br />Richard Castle's hair is better than Caleb's.<br /><br />Methinks if Willow had just waxed Warren's chest rather than flaying him, there would have been close to the same amount of pain without the death.<br /><br />Over on Angel, I find it interesting that the "disturbed" or somewhat "crazy" individuals are those that are able to see Jasmine for her true self, just as they were on Buffy in season 5 when they were able to see Dawn for who she truly was. A little bit of continuity. <br /><br />Love how Angel wears pastels and yellows now that he is under Jasmine's spell. <br /><br />I find it most disturbing that Wesley is unable to see through Jasmine. <br /><br />Charisma Carpenter did a great job making Cordy so unlikeable and evil...and in a much different way than she did when she was "affected" Cordelia in Sunnydale.Lisa(until further notice)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-42484823243417561452011-12-14T07:47:45.704-05:002011-12-14T07:47:45.704-05:00Ok quick show of hands: would anyone be interested...Ok quick show of hands: would anyone be interested in a synchronized watching of the finale while we simultaneously comment over twitter?Shimonhttps://twitter.com/#!/slernernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-59566283780622536252011-12-14T06:37:18.678-05:002011-12-14T06:37:18.678-05:00"Dirty Girls":
"Angel's dull a..."Dirty Girls":<br /><br />"Angel's dull as a table lamp, and we have very different colouring!" indeed...<br /><br />Personally, I love that the First's -aka the Most Evilest Evil Villain's- right-hand man is a misogynist priest, but maybe that's just me.<br /><br />Ah, Season 3 flashbacks... How I love that season!<br /><br />Chao An may be my favourite Potential :)<br /><br />Ugh, I want to slap Buffy in this episode so very much! The fact that you're still here even after having died twice is due to these people that you're so easily dismissing right now, lady!<br /><br />No, not Xander, NO NO NO!!!<br />I can watch many gruesome things, but I have this thing with eyes... I can't stand even hearing about them being damaged in any way, I've never used an eye-pencil or an eyeliner out of fear that by some freak sequence of events I would end up stabbing my eye with it, and I certainly can't watch eyes being poked! And now to have this happen to Xander... I'm shaking just thinking of it!<br /><br />I have a fiery hatred for Caleb! I find him a far more interesting villain than the First itself.<br /><br />By the way, I had a dream just last night that my LOST posters had fallen of the wall, and as I was trying to fix them Xander came to help me, and I somehow was Buffy and not myself at that point. Hmm...<br /><br />THANK YOU, THANK YOU Ensley Guffey, I SO wanted a list like this!<br />It's the second confirmation in 4 years that Santa really does exist.Efthymianoreply@blogger.com