Big Sigh
I wasn't going to make a post about the new book; I've blathered my thoughts in other LJ's enough over the past couple days and people are probably sick of it. But I've gone from absolutely loathing it to seeing potential bright sides to indifference and back again multiple times. I keep thinking about it and I don't want to. Maybe a post, as inarticulate as mine usually are, will help quantify what's bugging me about it all so I can mentally flush it.
Gonna try to keep this strictly about the text of the issue, not subtext because while meta is fun and thought-provoking, stories run on the text.
There are numerous things I don't like about the story and they have nothing to do with ships. There's just no way for me to think of sentient universes as anything other than stupid and I don't really get WTF the point of this plot is or how it even makes sense. The Universe made B/A screw to give birth a new Baby!Universe, which they abandoned to save the world--I'm sorry their friends 'cause fuck the world. Now that ditched universe is angry and they have to find the Seed of Wonder to keep it from coming after mummy. It's unclear to me whether this means Buffy or the universe itself, but apparently it's a big deal. And that's it, I don't know. Why did this new universe let them leave so easily if it's so clingy? Why does it even care, does it want Buffy to attend its softball games? Is this supposed to be some kind of Joss thing and he's talking about when he left the show or some kind of ass-backwards abortion metaphor? I just don't get WTF this has to do with these characters or the show. I cannot understand this.
The Seed of Wonder is the heart of all the magic in the world, a rather important artifact and not at all reminiscent of Lost. I don't know what I think of this yet, it could be cool, it could be lame, but what's interesting are Spike's words, though I might be reading too much into it. He says they are digging, as in present, as if the plan is already in motion. The last page has The Master already in possession of it saying kids only come when they need something. I wonder if this implies The Master is working *with* them? As OOC as Angel is, it *is* rather convenient Spike shows when he does. Sure Andrew might have called, but still. Potential DUN-DUN-DUN moment there and I don't think for a minute Spike will come out of this smelling like roses.
Then there is the ship stuff. Yes, Buffy and Angel are super OOC from their TV selves. Comic selves? I don't even know. Maybe, maybe not. What gets me about this isn't so much what happens, but how it's done. I can't read it any other way than it 'fuck you' to S/B fans. Yes, the subtext might hint otherwise and I do expect it all to come crashing down, but the text itself is offensive to me. There are ways to do things and there are ways to do things and to me the whole thing comes off as rather vindictive. Going on text here, it also makes you dislike Buffy even more and I don't think this is unintentional. To what end Joss is playing toward, I don't know, but none of this looks good for Buffy or for the story itself if we're supposed to dislike the main character. I guess that's what's sticking in my craw about it all. Buffy was unlikeable before all this and now they're just piling on. It just doesn't compute with me why he's doing it (other than spite, of course). It's like he wants us to have no sympathy at all for her.
The family theme continues to be sledgehammery and will probably end up being the theme for the comics. It's not particularly well done, but all the undertones of this makes it pretty likely.
Other things I don't get: Amy was just planning to kill Warren, why are they making out?
Things I like: The bugs. There's should have been more bug interaction and I'd take a look at a bug one-shot. Willow turned Angel into a frog, though it must have slipped her mind before. Frankly, though, who is Willow to talk about ending the world, anyway? Maybe her stint as Bringer of Death is next to be retconned.
Gonna try to keep this strictly about the text of the issue, not subtext because while meta is fun and thought-provoking, stories run on the text.
There are numerous things I don't like about the story and they have nothing to do with ships. There's just no way for me to think of sentient universes as anything other than stupid and I don't really get WTF the point of this plot is or how it even makes sense. The Universe made B/A screw to give birth a new Baby!Universe, which they abandoned to save the world--I'm sorry their friends 'cause fuck the world. Now that ditched universe is angry and they have to find the Seed of Wonder to keep it from coming after mummy. It's unclear to me whether this means Buffy or the universe itself, but apparently it's a big deal. And that's it, I don't know. Why did this new universe let them leave so easily if it's so clingy? Why does it even care, does it want Buffy to attend its softball games? Is this supposed to be some kind of Joss thing and he's talking about when he left the show or some kind of ass-backwards abortion metaphor? I just don't get WTF this has to do with these characters or the show. I cannot understand this.
The Seed of Wonder is the heart of all the magic in the world, a rather important artifact and not at all reminiscent of Lost. I don't know what I think of this yet, it could be cool, it could be lame, but what's interesting are Spike's words, though I might be reading too much into it. He says they are digging, as in present, as if the plan is already in motion. The last page has The Master already in possession of it saying kids only come when they need something. I wonder if this implies The Master is working *with* them? As OOC as Angel is, it *is* rather convenient Spike shows when he does. Sure Andrew might have called, but still. Potential DUN-DUN-DUN moment there and I don't think for a minute Spike will come out of this smelling like roses.
Then there is the ship stuff. Yes, Buffy and Angel are super OOC from their TV selves. Comic selves? I don't even know. Maybe, maybe not. What gets me about this isn't so much what happens, but how it's done. I can't read it any other way than it 'fuck you' to S/B fans. Yes, the subtext might hint otherwise and I do expect it all to come crashing down, but the text itself is offensive to me. There are ways to do things and there are ways to do things and to me the whole thing comes off as rather vindictive. Going on text here, it also makes you dislike Buffy even more and I don't think this is unintentional. To what end Joss is playing toward, I don't know, but none of this looks good for Buffy or for the story itself if we're supposed to dislike the main character. I guess that's what's sticking in my craw about it all. Buffy was unlikeable before all this and now they're just piling on. It just doesn't compute with me why he's doing it (other than spite, of course). It's like he wants us to have no sympathy at all for her.
The family theme continues to be sledgehammery and will probably end up being the theme for the comics. It's not particularly well done, but all the undertones of this makes it pretty likely.
Other things I don't get: Amy was just planning to kill Warren, why are they making out?
Things I like: The bugs. There's should have been more bug interaction and I'd take a look at a bug one-shot. Willow turned Angel into a frog, though it must have slipped her mind before. Frankly, though, who is Willow to talk about ending the world, anyway? Maybe her stint as Bringer of Death is next to be retconned.