Buffy's expression in that last panel is extremely hard to read, imo. I thought maybe hopeful. rebcake thought tired. Neither sounded right to me. So, I asked the husband, a longtime comics book reader (and Buffy fan.) And he thought horrified. After staring at the picture for a while, I think he's right. Plus overwhelmed. Think her expression at the end of "Beauty and the Beast" when Angel is on his knees holding her.
Considered as a snapshot I think there are big similarities to the expression she has in Beauty and the Beast, especially at the point just before Angel falls to her knees. But I can’t imagine that her response would have been to have kissed him after that even if he’d been less feral and dumbstruck. I think the similarity comes from the Monkey’s Paw “be careful what you wish for” aspect to both situations. At the beginning of S3 she’s dreamt and dreamt of Angel coming back and in #33 I think it’s his final words “Don’t you want to be happy?” that finally get to her just as much as the glow.
I think what comes next is interesting. She doesn’t just grab him like she does Spike in Smashed, she floats up so she can bend down and kiss him almost as if she’s bestowing some kind of absolution. That part and the Monkey’s Pawness actually remind me of Becoming more than anything. Angel’s just got his soul back, he’s dazed and confused and not a little glowing. She knows she has to kill him but she doesn’t do it immediately. I don’t think she means to kill him now although some part of her is aware that probably the unholiness and all that’s happened means she should. But she doesn’t have the “me” she once had. In her gut she holds herself accountable for the War on Slayers despite all Riley and Xander’s talk about how proud they are of her. Until Twilight revealed himself she had a Big Bad she could blame instead but Angel took that away and told her straight up that the Slayer hate would have happened just as much without his intervention. They’re both guilty. They’re both terrified and the temptation to let destiny absolve them is too great to resist.
I think she will (resist). In the cover image for the Twilight arc she could equally be on the point of succumbing to Angel’s suicidal embrace or waking up from his spell. Twilight means sunrise as well as sunset after all. The Jeanty cover for #35 shows her walking away from the gang. I know people seem to think it represents the Scoobies rejecting her but I think in the X-men original it’s Scott is leaving, not being thrown out. Leaving much as Buffy did in Becoming.
I'd forgotten about the money's paw motif. That could easily tie in with my speculation - she could initially think this destiny/fate/glowy thing is what she wants, but I suspect there will be aspects that she'll hate enough to change them in a significant way.
I haven't had a chance, but I suspect if the series is reread from the beginning, there's going to be a lot of clues as to what's going on.
Considered as a snapshot I think there are big similarities to the expression she has in Beauty and the Beast, especially at the point just before Angel falls to her knees. But I can’t imagine that her response would have been to have kissed him after that even if he’d been less feral and dumbstruck. I think the similarity comes from the Monkey’s Paw “be careful what you wish for” aspect to both situations. At the beginning of S3 she’s dreamt and dreamt of Angel coming back and in #33 I think it’s his final words “Don’t you want to be happy?” that finally get to her just as much as the glow.
I think what comes next is interesting. She doesn’t just grab him like she does Spike in Smashed, she floats up so she can bend down and kiss him almost as if she’s bestowing some kind of absolution. That part and the Monkey’s Pawness actually remind me of Becoming more than anything. Angel’s just got his soul back, he’s dazed and confused and not a little glowing. She knows she has to kill him but she doesn’t do it immediately. I don’t think she means to kill him now although some part of her is aware that probably the unholiness and all that’s happened means she should. But she doesn’t have the “me” she once had. In her gut she holds herself accountable for the War on Slayers despite all Riley and Xander’s talk about how proud they are of her. Until Twilight revealed himself she had a Big Bad she could blame instead but Angel took that away and told her straight up that the Slayer hate would have happened just as much without his intervention. They’re both guilty. They’re both terrified and the temptation to let destiny absolve them is too great to resist.
I think she will (resist). In the cover image for the Twilight arc she could equally be on the point of succumbing to Angel’s suicidal embrace or waking up from his spell. Twilight means sunrise as well as sunset after all. The Jeanty cover for #35 shows her walking away from the gang. I know people seem to think it represents the Scoobies rejecting her but I think in the X-men original it’s Scott is leaving, not being thrown out. Leaving much as Buffy did in Becoming.
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I'd forgotten about the money's paw motif. That could easily tie in with my speculation - she could initially think this destiny/fate/glowy thing is what she wants, but I suspect there will be aspects that she'll hate enough to change them in a significant way.
I haven't had a chance, but I suspect if the series is reread from the beginning, there's going to be a lot of clues as to what's going on.
Reply
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