Buffy Thoughts (Public Post)
The sun and the clouds are currently at war.
Sun: Whee! I'm out!
Clouds: Nope.
Sun: Bitch?
Clouds: Yeaah... I thought so.
And it's all very 2000s. :P Meanwhile, my willingness to leave the house depends on the sun staying out, although I actually have to leave to do some shopping, so I don't have much choice. But I'd rather not leave in the rain, is all I'm saying.
So while I'm here rooting for the sun, how about some Buffy stuff? I've been rewatching Buffy via a podcast (so really not rewatching, just listening to recaps and watching a few episodes that I don't remember as well), so it's been on my mind. I sadly can't find any Buffy memes, so I am pulling from Quora and other places (maybe, haven't gotten that far yet).
SPOILERS for both BtVS and Angel, although I talk about Angel less. However, what do I say pretty much spoils everything. :P
Is Buffy the Vampire a Sexist or Feminist Show?
I would say that it's... very feminist for the 90's/early 2000's. That scene where Darla ends up being the monster and not the dumb blonde was the chomp felt around the world. :P And honestly, even for ten years ago, the show was fairly progressive. But feminism's changed a lot even in just a few years, and that makes certain aspects of the show more problematic. Like Xander being the "well meaning creepy friend," and that hyena episode. The hyena episode did do a good job of showing how problematic the "boys will be boys" mentality is. I'll give it that 1,000%. However, the problem is that Xander fails to take ownership of his actions. Also, there's a bit of implication that guys have this "rising monster" in them, which Joss Whedon may have used to defend his own actions. Finally, a snarky female heroine is almost expected anymore.
What I do think the show did a good job of is portraying women and girls as people, and showing different relationships between them, allowing them to be dynamic and complex rather than filling in boxes, etc. So in that sense it's ahead of the curve even compared to more recent television, and I do think that it set up this idea of powerful women having the main or one of the main roles. I just think that there's a lot that did not survive post-#MeToo, and I think knowing some of the things we now know about Joss Whedon, that's a little troublesome.
I still love the hell out of Buffy, though.
Do You Think Buffy Belonged with Angel or Spike?
This is my chance to actually rectify something I said in another entry, which is that I don't like Spike. I actually didn't mean that I don't like him, because I love his character. He's hilarious, he's fun, he's complex. But I don't like him with Buffy. However, I don't like Angel with Buffy either. I think that's partly realizing the age thing is kind of gross, partly that Angel as a whole stopped fitting on Buffy to me once I saw AtS. Angel on Angel is just a much better character. Who belonged with Cordelia. Please don't make me rant further.
I think I would've liked to have seen Buffy with someone in her field. A trainee Watcher actually would've been kind of interesting, for instance. They'd have a similar background and would be able to relate on a level that I think Buffy needed. I got the impression watching the show that Buffy wasn't necessarily just into the whole "bad boy thing", but that rather, she needed someone more entrenched in her world than someone like Xander or Oz, someone who was a Scooby but with more choice in the matter. Xander could've said "I'm not doing this anymore" at any point, and left without much thought. He probably wouldn't have, I don't think you can really forget that kind of knowledge, but he had more of a choice. It wasn't who he was. Oz leaves. We see Wesley quit the Watcher's Council), only to become a "rogue demon hunter." (Say with me, guys: "What's a rogue demon?") Clearly Wesley doesn't even consider just becoming something entirely different. He still wants the good fight, just not with the Watchers because they suck. Buffy tries to leave her life behind in S3, but gets drawn in again. So I think she'd really relate to a Watcher, or someone in a similar position.
All that said, I always kind of thought she would've been good with Gunn. He was also thrust into the world of demon fighting at a very young age, and I think he would get Buffy, if in a very different way. Just a thought.
What do you like better, "Angel" or "Buffy"?
I didn't like the direction Angel ended up taking, to be honest. This seems to be unpopular, but I actually liked the first season a lot. After that, it was really episode by episode. If memory serves me correctly, season two almost lost me entirely, but I really liked season three. Season four was WTF times 87, then I liked season five until the end.
My biggest issue with Angel overall is the same exact issue I had with Torchwood, which isn't surprising considering Torchwood is basically Angel with aliens instead of vampires and set in Cardiff instead of LA*: Both shows seemed to go really dark just to go really dark. Buffy had shades of that here and there, where I felt like they were pandering to certain kinds of darkness in ways that felt forced (magic as a drug addiction metaphor, anyone?), but Angel just did things with the characters that made zero sense. Cordelia gets possessed, then she goes into a mystical coma, then she dies. And all this happens RIGHT as she and Angel are about to confess their love to each other. Then Fred had almost the exact same fate, although apparently they were going to bring her back and the show got cancelled before she could. So okay. I don't know, it just didn't work for me.
Before anyone asks, no, I have not read the comics.
*The links are intentional. RTD was very inspired by Angel.
Why did Xander and Willow Cheat With Each Other on Cordelia and Oz?
Because Joss loves drama? :P Also, Willow and Xander always had a very strong connection, and Willow always had feelings for Xander that I don't think ever went away until they got caught. Then I think she became more committed to Oz, until Oz left, at which point she found Tara and Xander had found Anya. Their connection became platonic, if no less complicated and significant. Yellow crayon, anyone?
Also, that stuff happens in high school. Hormones make idiots even out of otherwise good kids. Which doesn't make it right, and I do think that the show did a good job of showing the realities of such a situation, where it's confusing and the fallout is terrible. There's actually consequences, not just when everything's been exposed but while the cheating's going on.
Sun: Whee! I'm out!
Clouds: Nope.
Sun: Bitch?
Clouds: Yeaah... I thought so.
And it's all very 2000s. :P Meanwhile, my willingness to leave the house depends on the sun staying out, although I actually have to leave to do some shopping, so I don't have much choice. But I'd rather not leave in the rain, is all I'm saying.
So while I'm here rooting for the sun, how about some Buffy stuff? I've been rewatching Buffy via a podcast (so really not rewatching, just listening to recaps and watching a few episodes that I don't remember as well), so it's been on my mind. I sadly can't find any Buffy memes, so I am pulling from Quora and other places (maybe, haven't gotten that far yet).
SPOILERS for both BtVS and Angel, although I talk about Angel less. However, what do I say pretty much spoils everything. :P
Is Buffy the Vampire a Sexist or Feminist Show?
I would say that it's... very feminist for the 90's/early 2000's. That scene where Darla ends up being the monster and not the dumb blonde was the chomp felt around the world. :P And honestly, even for ten years ago, the show was fairly progressive. But feminism's changed a lot even in just a few years, and that makes certain aspects of the show more problematic. Like Xander being the "well meaning creepy friend," and that hyena episode. The hyena episode did do a good job of showing how problematic the "boys will be boys" mentality is. I'll give it that 1,000%. However, the problem is that Xander fails to take ownership of his actions. Also, there's a bit of implication that guys have this "rising monster" in them, which Joss Whedon may have used to defend his own actions. Finally, a snarky female heroine is almost expected anymore.
What I do think the show did a good job of is portraying women and girls as people, and showing different relationships between them, allowing them to be dynamic and complex rather than filling in boxes, etc. So in that sense it's ahead of the curve even compared to more recent television, and I do think that it set up this idea of powerful women having the main or one of the main roles. I just think that there's a lot that did not survive post-#MeToo, and I think knowing some of the things we now know about Joss Whedon, that's a little troublesome.
I still love the hell out of Buffy, though.
Do You Think Buffy Belonged with Angel or Spike?
This is my chance to actually rectify something I said in another entry, which is that I don't like Spike. I actually didn't mean that I don't like him, because I love his character. He's hilarious, he's fun, he's complex. But I don't like him with Buffy. However, I don't like Angel with Buffy either. I think that's partly realizing the age thing is kind of gross, partly that Angel as a whole stopped fitting on Buffy to me once I saw AtS. Angel on Angel is just a much better character. Who belonged with Cordelia. Please don't make me rant further.
I think I would've liked to have seen Buffy with someone in her field. A trainee Watcher actually would've been kind of interesting, for instance. They'd have a similar background and would be able to relate on a level that I think Buffy needed. I got the impression watching the show that Buffy wasn't necessarily just into the whole "bad boy thing", but that rather, she needed someone more entrenched in her world than someone like Xander or Oz, someone who was a Scooby but with more choice in the matter. Xander could've said "I'm not doing this anymore" at any point, and left without much thought. He probably wouldn't have, I don't think you can really forget that kind of knowledge, but he had more of a choice. It wasn't who he was. Oz leaves. We see Wesley quit the Watcher's Council), only to become a "rogue demon hunter." (Say with me, guys: "What's a rogue demon?") Clearly Wesley doesn't even consider just becoming something entirely different. He still wants the good fight, just not with the Watchers because they suck. Buffy tries to leave her life behind in S3, but gets drawn in again. So I think she'd really relate to a Watcher, or someone in a similar position.
All that said, I always kind of thought she would've been good with Gunn. He was also thrust into the world of demon fighting at a very young age, and I think he would get Buffy, if in a very different way. Just a thought.
What do you like better, "Angel" or "Buffy"?
I didn't like the direction Angel ended up taking, to be honest. This seems to be unpopular, but I actually liked the first season a lot. After that, it was really episode by episode. If memory serves me correctly, season two almost lost me entirely, but I really liked season three. Season four was WTF times 87, then I liked season five until the end.
My biggest issue with Angel overall is the same exact issue I had with Torchwood, which isn't surprising considering Torchwood is basically Angel with aliens instead of vampires and set in Cardiff instead of LA*: Both shows seemed to go really dark just to go really dark. Buffy had shades of that here and there, where I felt like they were pandering to certain kinds of darkness in ways that felt forced (magic as a drug addiction metaphor, anyone?), but Angel just did things with the characters that made zero sense. Cordelia gets possessed, then she goes into a mystical coma, then she dies. And all this happens RIGHT as she and Angel are about to confess their love to each other. Then Fred had almost the exact same fate, although apparently they were going to bring her back and the show got cancelled before she could. So okay. I don't know, it just didn't work for me.
Before anyone asks, no, I have not read the comics.
*The links are intentional. RTD was very inspired by Angel.
Why did Xander and Willow Cheat With Each Other on Cordelia and Oz?
Because Joss loves drama? :P Also, Willow and Xander always had a very strong connection, and Willow always had feelings for Xander that I don't think ever went away until they got caught. Then I think she became more committed to Oz, until Oz left, at which point she found Tara and Xander had found Anya. Their connection became platonic, if no less complicated and significant. Yellow crayon, anyone?
Also, that stuff happens in high school. Hormones make idiots even out of otherwise good kids. Which doesn't make it right, and I do think that the show did a good job of showing the realities of such a situation, where it's confusing and the fallout is terrible. There's actually consequences, not just when everything's been exposed but while the cheating's going on.