1. I went with 'good play', there is definitely an element of Joss' evil planning but I think it works quite well with how these kind of things operate, how you can be getting better one minute then drop dead the next.
2. Went with 'not sure' on this one, I think there were elements of her being 'shut down' in the sense of trying to be strong for Dawn and Joyce and still being affected by what happened with Angel. That Riley saw this as a problem probably makes it 'significant' but I don't think Buffy would see it in this way. Until after this episode (my answer to 3 would be 'yes'). It isn't the only significant issue in their break-up though. The biggest problem has to be Riley's lack-of-identity/purpose post-Initiative.
4. I wasn't sure about this one, ultimately I went for 'yes' as that has been stated I believe by Jane E but I don't know about the rest of the writers. The fact that there are nuances there makes me hope that they saw it as a lot more complicated issue than simply Buffy being 'shut down'.
5. Spike, (almost) as always pre-soul, was serving his own needs first. Buffy deserved to know but there were a lot of better ways that she could have found out. Spike showing her in the way that he did probably speeded up the inevitable though. If he had gone to one of the other Scoobies first or confronted Riley himself then Buffy/Riley could have dragged on for a few more weeks.
6. They both work for me.
7. I went for 'not sure' here. These vamps aren't trying to destroy the world and they're not walking around killing people but they are preying on vulnerable people, some of whom will commit crime to feed their habit and some of whom may die due to their addiction. Now I'm picturing The Wire but with Vampires. Awesome.
8. That's fucked up. I mean..how long does it take to make one of those? Do you have to special order? In which case has he had it lying around for ages just waiting for this moment?
9. Blaming Buffy for the vamp-whores.
10. I went with 'insulting' and 'hurt Buffy in the long-term'. I just rage at that scene. I hate it so much and I hate how it hurts Buffy for a long time afterwards. And how some of the writers seemed to believe that what Xander said was true. It's all about Xander continuing to put Buffy on a pedestal and with Riley he thought he had someone he could put up there with her, someone he finally approved of. Ugh, and Xander... your friend tells you her boyfriend has been getting 'suck jobs' off vampires and has now given her an ultimatum to get over it and instead of comforting her you basically say 'yeah but it is kinda your fault'.. these are not the actions of a good friend. Don't like.
5. Possibly. Though the army's offer to Riley would still have taken place. Maybe Riley wouldn't have been as interested if Buffy hadn't just caught him visiting the vamps? I'm not sure how that would play out.
5. As with most things in TV I think a lot could have been sorted out if they'd just spoken to each other openly. Hmm, forgot about the army offer... he had been slowly reintegrating himself into the army for the last few episodes so I suppose he was already going down that path and even some open communication with Buffy might not have stopped that. It might have made things end on a better note though.
It's all about Xander continuing to put Buffy on a pedestal and with Riley he thought he had someone he could put up there with her, someone he finally approved of.
Good observation!
The thing I keep coming back to is the notion of whether people get called on their douchery.
1. I went with 'good play', there is definitely an element of Joss' evil planning but I think it works quite well with how these kind of things operate, how you can be getting better one minute then drop dead the next.
2. Went with 'not sure' on this one, I think there were elements of her being 'shut down' in the sense of trying to be strong for Dawn and Joyce and still being affected by what happened with Angel. That Riley saw this as a problem probably makes it 'significant' but I don't think Buffy would see it in this way. Until after this episode (my answer to 3 would be 'yes'). It isn't the only significant issue in their break-up though. The biggest problem has to be Riley's lack-of-identity/purpose post-Initiative.
4. I wasn't sure about this one, ultimately I went for 'yes' as that has been stated I believe by Jane E but I don't know about the rest of the writers. The fact that there are nuances there makes me hope that they saw it as a lot more complicated issue than simply Buffy being 'shut down'.
5. Spike, (almost) as always pre-soul, was serving his own needs first. Buffy deserved to know but there were a lot of better ways that she could have found out. Spike showing her in the way that he did probably speeded up the inevitable though. If he had gone to one of the other Scoobies first or confronted Riley himself then Buffy/Riley could have dragged on for a few more weeks.
6. They both work for me.
7. I went for 'not sure' here. These vamps aren't trying to destroy the world and they're not walking around killing people but they are preying on vulnerable people, some of whom will commit crime to feed their habit and some of whom may die due to their addiction. Now I'm picturing The Wire but with Vampires. Awesome.
8. That's fucked up. I mean..how long does it take to make one of those? Do you have to special order? In which case has he had it lying around for ages just waiting for this moment?
9. Blaming Buffy for the vamp-whores.
10. I went with 'insulting' and 'hurt Buffy in the long-term'. I just rage at that scene. I hate it so much and I hate how it hurts Buffy for a long time afterwards. And how some of the writers seemed to believe that what Xander said was true. It's all about Xander continuing to put Buffy on a pedestal and with Riley he thought he had someone he could put up there with her, someone he finally approved of. Ugh, and Xander... your friend tells you her boyfriend has been getting 'suck jobs' off vampires and has now given her an ultimatum to get over it and instead of comforting her you basically say 'yeah but it is kinda your fault'.. these are not the actions of a good friend. Don't like.
11. Xander
12. No.
13. Two stars.
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2. Yep.
5. Possibly. Though the army's offer to Riley would still have taken place. Maybe Riley wouldn't have been as interested if Buffy hadn't just caught him visiting the vamps? I'm not sure how that would play out.
7. CROSSOVER NEEDED
8. lol! I hadn't thought of that!
10. YES
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Now I am too. And it's glorious.
This look like blood, motherfucker? Blood be RED!
It's Sunnydale, gentlemen. The Watchers will not save you.
Vampire, is you taking notes on an ancient fucking prophecy?
You happy now, witch?
Yo, this is my graveyard, I ain't runnin' NOWHERE!
Fuck them West Coast slayers. In Boston we aim to SLAY a vampire, you heard?
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Perfection.
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Good observation!
The thing I keep coming back to is the notion of whether people get called on their douchery.
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