The Revelation We Will Be Talking About For Years
A few thoughts about The Revelation:
I've got nothing to add about the "OMG Buffy is Bi" thing of itself. Joss is on record as thinking heroes should be "open minded". So Buffy is open-minded. Good for her. Not so surprising, though. Which brings me to my point. This was sold as the revelation that would have issues flying off the shelves. This is the revelation that we'll be talking about for years. And that might be right. But how lame is that? There's no major shift in orientation for the character as Joss is at pains to tell us in his NYT interview. And the notion that a lonely, sex-starved Buffy might be open to some experimentation just isn't that jaw-dropping. So when we are told that this is something we'll be talking about for years, is that meant as a comment on us? Kind of odd coming from the guy who gave us a solid lesbian story line for years. Is the ante raised by having the hero of the show take a walk on that side of the street?
What's really weird about it, though, is that we DID have a revelation that did shock me, and that upended everything I thought I knew about Buffy. That, of course, was the revelation that Buffy is robbing banks. It's too soon to say if I'll be talking about it for years, but that revelation worked through me like acid. I literally woke up thinking about it for days on end. It put a hole into my stomach. And it gave me the glorious good fun of going back and seeing how it made sense of so much of the oddness that we've been seeing in these comics. We don't yet know why Buffy decided robbing banks was OK. But it's a signal change for her character and has had major ramifications, not the least of which is providing a reason for Twilight to take her on.
So how strange that it's the ho-hum Buffy is Bi thing that is sold as a Really Big Deal. Buffy robbing banks is bold story telling that opens up a huge canvass in terms of drama, character development, and philosophical/moral complexity. Buffy has a one-night stand with a girl. Yes, we'll get some interesting story about whether Buffy is still a taker in emotional relationships, or whether this has an impact on her authority with the rest of the slayers and so on. But of itself? Let's just say that it's not sparking the revolution in my view of the Buffyverse that the BtBR reveal sparked.
One observation about the issue itself that I haven't seen voiced (though it might have been -- I've not read all the reactions). The French farce scene that everyone (including me) delights in has an ominous undercurrent to it. Everyone who runs into the room, is running into the room to announce the attack that is underway. Xander announces wolves. Renee wants to sound the alarm. Andrew announces more wolves. Dawn announces bees. Willow announces an attack. It works to get everyone running into Buffy's room at just the right moment. But I wonder if it doesn't also serve to tie the two threads together. Is Buffy sleeping with Satsu also to be understood as "wolves at the gate"? There's a potential for some layering here as the story unfolds. And who knows? Maybe that will be an unfolding that really will make Buffy sleeps with Satsu the sort of Revelation that We Will Be Talking About For Years.
I've got nothing to add about the "OMG Buffy is Bi" thing of itself. Joss is on record as thinking heroes should be "open minded". So Buffy is open-minded. Good for her. Not so surprising, though. Which brings me to my point. This was sold as the revelation that would have issues flying off the shelves. This is the revelation that we'll be talking about for years. And that might be right. But how lame is that? There's no major shift in orientation for the character as Joss is at pains to tell us in his NYT interview. And the notion that a lonely, sex-starved Buffy might be open to some experimentation just isn't that jaw-dropping. So when we are told that this is something we'll be talking about for years, is that meant as a comment on us? Kind of odd coming from the guy who gave us a solid lesbian story line for years. Is the ante raised by having the hero of the show take a walk on that side of the street?
What's really weird about it, though, is that we DID have a revelation that did shock me, and that upended everything I thought I knew about Buffy. That, of course, was the revelation that Buffy is robbing banks. It's too soon to say if I'll be talking about it for years, but that revelation worked through me like acid. I literally woke up thinking about it for days on end. It put a hole into my stomach. And it gave me the glorious good fun of going back and seeing how it made sense of so much of the oddness that we've been seeing in these comics. We don't yet know why Buffy decided robbing banks was OK. But it's a signal change for her character and has had major ramifications, not the least of which is providing a reason for Twilight to take her on.
So how strange that it's the ho-hum Buffy is Bi thing that is sold as a Really Big Deal. Buffy robbing banks is bold story telling that opens up a huge canvass in terms of drama, character development, and philosophical/moral complexity. Buffy has a one-night stand with a girl. Yes, we'll get some interesting story about whether Buffy is still a taker in emotional relationships, or whether this has an impact on her authority with the rest of the slayers and so on. But of itself? Let's just say that it's not sparking the revolution in my view of the Buffyverse that the BtBR reveal sparked.
One observation about the issue itself that I haven't seen voiced (though it might have been -- I've not read all the reactions). The French farce scene that everyone (including me) delights in has an ominous undercurrent to it. Everyone who runs into the room, is running into the room to announce the attack that is underway. Xander announces wolves. Renee wants to sound the alarm. Andrew announces more wolves. Dawn announces bees. Willow announces an attack. It works to get everyone running into Buffy's room at just the right moment. But I wonder if it doesn't also serve to tie the two threads together. Is Buffy sleeping with Satsu also to be understood as "wolves at the gate"? There's a potential for some layering here as the story unfolds. And who knows? Maybe that will be an unfolding that really will make Buffy sleeps with Satsu the sort of Revelation that We Will Be Talking About For Years.