I honestly don't know how anyone could even properly respond to this incredible essay on an incredible character. I have spent about two hours reading through this because I wanted to absorb it all, and it was the best two hours of my life. NGL, I got teary eyed in a couple of paragraphs, especially when you were talking about "You're Welcome." The work, the effort, the love, the analysis you put into this is...I don't think there's even a word for what it is! I kinda want to show this to Charisma Carpenter and Joss Whedon or David Greenwalt or someone involved with the show and any fan who ever questioned Cordelia's important role in AtS and her unbelievable character development and heroism and just be like "BAM! THIS is who she became! And it wasn't trite or Mary Sue or whatever the hell haters say about it, it just was. Cordelia fucking Chase is a saint bitches
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I think on some level this was a response to the dubious reactions I get when people find out that Cordelia is my favorite. "Cordelia's character arc is stupid" is such a meme in this fandom that a lot of people seem to take it for granted without taking the time to question the premise.
Being new to this fandom, I've never heard that, and I'm actually very thankful for it. It just shows that people aren't willing to understand her character, which sucks cuz she is brilliant!
Yeah I just remembered how new you are! It is just something that got tossed around a lot when the show was still fresh in everyone's minds. A lot of people weren't willing to accept Cordelia's character growth, and a lot of really angry B/A people said hateful things in an effort to protect their ship, etc. etc. I was never super involved in fandom but it wasn't hard to pick up on it even as a lurker.
I told you this had become a monster. I just... once I started I couldn't stop until I had composed like, the complete guide to Cordelia Chase. I love her sfm.
This was absolutely wonderful. The time you put into this is obvious, and this sort of deep reading of a character was an absolute joy to read. I myself have huge, huge issues with S4, and you did a marvelous job of articulating the many problems inherent in S4 and the disservice done to Cordy's character throughout.
Honestly, there's just so much here and it's all so wonderful, and I applaud you for taking the time to write this for us to enjoy. Thank you.
Season Four is mostly just such a disappointment to me, because I think the basic plot outline and the general themes are really smart. Wesley's journey, Lilah's journey, Angel's journey: all brilliant.
Even pseudo-Cordelia as the villain isn't bad at its core; I think the pseudo-Darla/pseudo-Cordelia showdown in "Inside Out" is a totally brilliant scene in any number of ways. The problem is the way the mystery rolls out, which is insulting not only to the character and the actress, but also to the audience. In this case, the 'gotcha' of "Calvary" was not worth the price.
Thank you. It's taken 7 years to get this meta, IMO, about the best character in the verse, but it was worth the wait. The way you weave her life and growth throughout both series is a monumental task and you did an amazing job of it
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Hmm. I never put all the pieces about TPTB together before. When tiny bits of mythos are spread out over 5 years of little comments here and there, it's tough to grasp the big picture.
Now, can you explain the X-files mythos to me because I got lost after about year 2. :P
I have obsessive notes about this kind of thing, because I am a big cosmology dork. Obviously we can't take everything Jasmine says at face value, but aside from the Deeper Well, Anya's explanation of demon purity in Buffy 3.21 "Graduation Day" and Giles's texts from Buffy 1.02 "The Harvest", Jasmine's about all we get with regard to the origin story. And, well, she was there.
I never followed X-Files that closely, so I'm afraid you're on your own there!
I'm not sure quite where to begin. I've read this over a few times and I wanted to take time to compose my comment. However, I keep going back to WORD! THIS SFM! and such. LOL
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People who ignore Cordelia's very clear character arc on BtVS annoy me, and nothing annoys me more than when people talk about what a bitch Cordelia is while giving Willow and Xander a free pass all the time. Frankly, they behave in far more atrocious ways. Cordelia is just impolite
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I think on some level this was a response to the dubious reactions I get when people find out that Cordelia is my favorite. "Cordelia's character arc is stupid" is such a meme in this fandom that a lot of people seem to take it for granted without taking the time to question the premise.
I'm so glad you enjoyed.
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I told you this had become a monster. I just... once I started I couldn't stop until I had composed like, the complete guide to Cordelia Chase. I love her sfm.
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Honestly, there's just so much here and it's all so wonderful, and I applaud you for taking the time to write this for us to enjoy. Thank you.
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Season Four is mostly just such a disappointment to me, because I think the basic plot outline and the general themes are really smart. Wesley's journey, Lilah's journey, Angel's journey: all brilliant.
Even pseudo-Cordelia as the villain isn't bad at its core; I think the pseudo-Darla/pseudo-Cordelia showdown in "Inside Out" is a totally brilliant scene in any number of ways. The problem is the way the mystery rolls out, which is insulting not only to the character and the actress, but also to the audience. In this case, the 'gotcha' of "Calvary" was not worth the price.
In any event, I'm glad you liked it!
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Now, can you explain the X-files mythos to me because I got lost after about year 2. :P
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I never followed X-Files that closely, so I'm afraid you're on your own there!
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People who ignore Cordelia's very clear character arc on BtVS annoy me, and nothing annoys me more than when people talk about what a bitch Cordelia is while giving Willow and Xander a free pass all the time. Frankly, they behave in far more atrocious ways. Cordelia is just impolite ( ... )
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