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Feb. 20th, 2003 02:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rusty_haloOkay, first of all, Buffy's speech was ridiculous. She's talking to a bunch of teenage girls who have been pulled out of their homes and forced to live with strangers, many of whom may not have had watchers or even been aware that the supernatural *exists*, most of whom are so new that they weren't even in the previous episode. And Buffy acuses them of being lazy and not getting the job done? What the hell are they supposed to do? Maybe Buffy should try actually leading for once instead of making boring, condescending speeches, "counseling" high school students, and making googly eyes at the principal.
Buffy's comments about Chloe pissed me off. She's talking about a terrified 15 year old who had been pulled out of her home (and just where the hell are all these girls' parents??) and forced to live with unsympathetic strangers who call her maggot and can't remember her name. On top of that, some ancient, all-powerful evil, that has already killed many girls like her, is trying to murder her. Again, maybe Buffy would be better off actually training these girls (or teaching them to do whatever she thinks it is they're supposed to be doing) instead of bitching about how useless they are.
Buffy's comments to Spike were warranted; he hasn't been fighting up to par lately. But he did *not* deserve to be mocked publicly in such a rude way, particularly considering that he got the damn soul for Buffy (remember "You don't have a soul" "You can't feel anything real" "You're an evil, disgusting thing"?). If she wanted soulless Spike she should have said so last season, and we could have avoided this whole boring soul storyline and kept kickass Spike instead of wasting 15 episodes on wuss Spike. If she had a problem with him, she should have taken him aside and spoken to him calmly about it.
Buffy's superiority complex and disregard for the feelings of others has always been her least admirable feature. Frankly, if I knew someone like her in RL, I'd avoid her at all costs.
Everyone keeps saying that Buffy's speech was "harsh, but necessary" or something to that effect. Can someone please explain this to me? Why is YET ANOTHER speech helpful or necessary? Considering how well the first two speeches turned out, wouldn't actual action be preferable this time? (And I know they took action afterwards, which was great, but what was the purpose of the speech other than to make me dislike Buffy even more?)
I should clarify that this little anti-Buffy vent is not intended as a criticism of the show. I'd certainly agree that Buffy is a well-drawn, multi-dimensional character, and I prefer complex characters to the typical cookie-cutter heroes of most television shows. Unfortunately, the simple fact is that I don't like Buffy, and I wouldn't put up with a show that focuses on her if Spike wasn't in it.
Speaking of whom, Rocks Back Spike made me insanely happy. It was left a bit ambiguous in this episode, but I think we're going to see that this is a good thing. He's not going to go back to wussy William, and he's not going to relapse into evil Spike; he's found the balance. He's just learned that being good does not mean moping around and brooding about the wrongs of the past; it means fighting for what's right in the present, and that's precisely what Spike did in this episode. He utilized his demon power in the fight for good, and it worked; he got the job done. All season, he's been holding back an essential part of himself for fear that it would get out of control, but last night he successfully managed to integrate the two aspects of himself, demon and human. Plus, he looked really hot in that duster.
(Incidentally, the duster in the school basement? This is why Doug Petrie will always be a sub-par writer. He has no respect for fans and no respect for continuity.)
I was glad to see Spike stand up to Buffy. I am so sick of "willing slave" Spike who lets that cruel, callous woman walk all over him. If he's ever going to be an emotionally healthy person, he needs to get over this obsessive dependency on what Buffy thinks of him/wants from him. He spoke back to her twice in this episode, which is excelellent progress: Spike's developing some backbone and self-esteem. I would definitely like to see more of this in the future; hey, maybe he'll even get over her? Nah, that would be too much to hope for.
Spike's scene with Anya was wonderful. I am *so glad* to see him interacting with a character other than Buffy! James and Emma have great chemistry, and Spike and Anya are two of the show's best characters. I'd love to see a more serious scene between them in the future too, though, considering how much they have in common (with the whole adjusting to being a good guy after being evil thing).
I'm disappointed with the progression (or lack thereof) of Anya's character. "Selfless" was probably the best individual episode this season, and it hasn't been followed up at all. Her character seems to have devolved to the point that I'd actually say she had more dimensions in season four than she does now. This makes me sad, because I like Anya, and I wish that the promise of "Selfless" had been explored.
I'm still making up my mind about Kennedy (although I'm leaning toward "kill her off as soon as possible"). I like seeing a strong, unabashedly sexual woman who stands up for herself and isn't evil (such a contrast to Tara, who let Willow walk all over her, and Faith, whose powerful sexuality was often closely tied to her "evilness"). I think in large part the Willow/Kennedy relationship is an attempt to prove that ME is not anti-lesbian, and a way of making repartations to the less-psychotic Kittens. And I think that ME did a good job with it; they gave W/K the frank discussion of their sexuality that W/T never had, the discussion of when they realized they were gay, what their parents thought, etc, so now no one can complain about the ending of W/T (and if they do, they've lost their political clout and can be dismissed as shippers like anyone else).
On the other hand, Kennedy's personality is grating and Mary Sue-ish, and her instant integration into the Scooby inner circle makes absolutely no sense. I would really have preferred to see her character portrayed with a defter touch, but hey, it could be a lot worse. At least she's not Riley.
And I'm surprised by the amount of negativity in this review, because for the most part I feel positively about the episode and enjoyed watching it.
I'm sad that "Angel" wasn't on tonight. These past few episodes have been so good that I'm craving more (whereas I'm normally apathetic about that show). I can't wait for it to come back.
Jane came over last night to watch "Buffy." (We had watched every episode together this season until KiM, when we started watching "Angel" instead.) It's so incredibly cool to be able to watch the show with someone just as obsessed as I am. We always have such interesting things to talk about. Plus I get to set up lots of yummy snacks and stuff; I love playing hostess.
For some reason I archived three Spike/Angel(us) fics tonight. Weird; I'm not much of a S/A fan. But I liked each story and I needed a break from S/B.
Buffy's comments about Chloe pissed me off. She's talking about a terrified 15 year old who had been pulled out of her home (and just where the hell are all these girls' parents??) and forced to live with unsympathetic strangers who call her maggot and can't remember her name. On top of that, some ancient, all-powerful evil, that has already killed many girls like her, is trying to murder her. Again, maybe Buffy would be better off actually training these girls (or teaching them to do whatever she thinks it is they're supposed to be doing) instead of bitching about how useless they are.
Buffy's comments to Spike were warranted; he hasn't been fighting up to par lately. But he did *not* deserve to be mocked publicly in such a rude way, particularly considering that he got the damn soul for Buffy (remember "You don't have a soul" "You can't feel anything real" "You're an evil, disgusting thing"?). If she wanted soulless Spike she should have said so last season, and we could have avoided this whole boring soul storyline and kept kickass Spike instead of wasting 15 episodes on wuss Spike. If she had a problem with him, she should have taken him aside and spoken to him calmly about it.
Buffy's superiority complex and disregard for the feelings of others has always been her least admirable feature. Frankly, if I knew someone like her in RL, I'd avoid her at all costs.
Everyone keeps saying that Buffy's speech was "harsh, but necessary" or something to that effect. Can someone please explain this to me? Why is YET ANOTHER speech helpful or necessary? Considering how well the first two speeches turned out, wouldn't actual action be preferable this time? (And I know they took action afterwards, which was great, but what was the purpose of the speech other than to make me dislike Buffy even more?)
I should clarify that this little anti-Buffy vent is not intended as a criticism of the show. I'd certainly agree that Buffy is a well-drawn, multi-dimensional character, and I prefer complex characters to the typical cookie-cutter heroes of most television shows. Unfortunately, the simple fact is that I don't like Buffy, and I wouldn't put up with a show that focuses on her if Spike wasn't in it.
Speaking of whom, Rocks Back Spike made me insanely happy. It was left a bit ambiguous in this episode, but I think we're going to see that this is a good thing. He's not going to go back to wussy William, and he's not going to relapse into evil Spike; he's found the balance. He's just learned that being good does not mean moping around and brooding about the wrongs of the past; it means fighting for what's right in the present, and that's precisely what Spike did in this episode. He utilized his demon power in the fight for good, and it worked; he got the job done. All season, he's been holding back an essential part of himself for fear that it would get out of control, but last night he successfully managed to integrate the two aspects of himself, demon and human. Plus, he looked really hot in that duster.
(Incidentally, the duster in the school basement? This is why Doug Petrie will always be a sub-par writer. He has no respect for fans and no respect for continuity.)
I was glad to see Spike stand up to Buffy. I am so sick of "willing slave" Spike who lets that cruel, callous woman walk all over him. If he's ever going to be an emotionally healthy person, he needs to get over this obsessive dependency on what Buffy thinks of him/wants from him. He spoke back to her twice in this episode, which is excelellent progress: Spike's developing some backbone and self-esteem. I would definitely like to see more of this in the future; hey, maybe he'll even get over her? Nah, that would be too much to hope for.
Spike's scene with Anya was wonderful. I am *so glad* to see him interacting with a character other than Buffy! James and Emma have great chemistry, and Spike and Anya are two of the show's best characters. I'd love to see a more serious scene between them in the future too, though, considering how much they have in common (with the whole adjusting to being a good guy after being evil thing).
I'm disappointed with the progression (or lack thereof) of Anya's character. "Selfless" was probably the best individual episode this season, and it hasn't been followed up at all. Her character seems to have devolved to the point that I'd actually say she had more dimensions in season four than she does now. This makes me sad, because I like Anya, and I wish that the promise of "Selfless" had been explored.
I'm still making up my mind about Kennedy (although I'm leaning toward "kill her off as soon as possible"). I like seeing a strong, unabashedly sexual woman who stands up for herself and isn't evil (such a contrast to Tara, who let Willow walk all over her, and Faith, whose powerful sexuality was often closely tied to her "evilness"). I think in large part the Willow/Kennedy relationship is an attempt to prove that ME is not anti-lesbian, and a way of making repartations to the less-psychotic Kittens. And I think that ME did a good job with it; they gave W/K the frank discussion of their sexuality that W/T never had, the discussion of when they realized they were gay, what their parents thought, etc, so now no one can complain about the ending of W/T (and if they do, they've lost their political clout and can be dismissed as shippers like anyone else).
On the other hand, Kennedy's personality is grating and Mary Sue-ish, and her instant integration into the Scooby inner circle makes absolutely no sense. I would really have preferred to see her character portrayed with a defter touch, but hey, it could be a lot worse. At least she's not Riley.
And I'm surprised by the amount of negativity in this review, because for the most part I feel positively about the episode and enjoyed watching it.
I'm sad that "Angel" wasn't on tonight. These past few episodes have been so good that I'm craving more (whereas I'm normally apathetic about that show). I can't wait for it to come back.
Jane came over last night to watch "Buffy." (We had watched every episode together this season until KiM, when we started watching "Angel" instead.) It's so incredibly cool to be able to watch the show with someone just as obsessed as I am. We always have such interesting things to talk about. Plus I get to set up lots of yummy snacks and stuff; I love playing hostess.
For some reason I archived three Spike/Angel(us) fics tonight. Weird; I'm not much of a S/A fan. But I liked each story and I needed a break from S/B.