Buffy #37: Miss Kitty Fantastico Twilight Strikes Back.
First of all, I want to apologize to Scott Allie for not trusting him. I admit, I was wrong thinking that he could destroy the dynamic between Buffy and Spike. #37 proves that he can write vintage Spuffy: sexual tension between characters is palpable on every panel. Thank you, Mr. Allie! The issue made me swoon, laugh, go "awww", twist my brains over the plot and mark 3 Nov. - the day when the next issue will be on sale - with red marker.
Links to reviews and discussions:
Review by 2maggie2; review by angearia (Spuffy scenes only); review by shadowkat67; review by infinitewhale; review by tranquil_ity; review by penny_lane_42; review by lusciousxander; review by slaymesoftly; review by stormwreath; review by buffyfestblog; review by ladydorotea; review by IGN; review by CBR.
Discussions on Whedonesque, BuffyForums, BuffyBoards, SlayAlive, Bloodshedverse, Blood Roses.
Plot:
Buffy fantasizes about Spike (see below) while he explains her that The Seed is like a cork in the bottle and it protects the Earth from demons.
Faith and Giles talk about "their strategy" - nothing concrete, but pretty ominous. Dawn and Xander make plans for the future. Willow speaks with Saga Vasuki who tells her that if the Seed of Wonder is removed, the Earth dies; and if The Seed is destroyed, the Earth is saved but all magic dies (but vampires, demons, already-called slayers will remain.) The ship arrives at Sunnydale. Buffy with Spike in tow flies down to confront the Master (see above). Meanwhile Angel is on his own; he is fighting demons and dodging questions about the cause of the invasion. A creature morphs in front of him; it's the same creature that plagued Buffy in her dreams in issue 6, a giant cat with wings and clawed paws. "Your work isn't nearly done... Father," says Miss Kitty Twilight. "The real me isn't born yet. But I'm here now, father. You can't deny the universe you created. You will finish what you started".
Shippy tidbits:
Spuffy rules! Looks like Buffy and Spike are more or less in the place where Joss has left them in the end of season 7. Buffy cares about Spike, wants to be with him, but the circumstances work against her. Spike, as usual, thinks that she doesn't care about him. She is embarrassed and can't find words to explain that she cares. So the audience knows that she fantasizes about Spike while the object of her affection is absolutely sure that she only thinks about Angel. To me, this is a clear indication that writers want fans to root for the couple. Lost opportunities are the surest way to make the audience feel for the characters.
It was delightful to discover that Spuffy magic hasn't gone after all these years, after the change of the medum, and, very importantly, the introduction of a new writer. In the past, Scott Allie was very critical of the couple, so it's a nice surprise to see him write Spuffy at its best - snarky, funny, honest, completely trusting each other, comfortable with each other's flaws and inexorably drawn to each other.
Buffy (about space-frak): "It wasn't our fault." -- "Nobody says it was, except me right now in your face." Classic Spuffy.
Interestingly, Buffy's fantasy about sex with Spike is vaguely reminiscent of the love scene in "Innocence". Spike and Angel have switched their traditional places in Buffy's love life; now Buffy's sex with Angel is destructive and wild, while her daydreams about sex with Spike have sweet and intimate vibe. And Spike still considers Buffy his hero, despite her space-frak with Angel.
That said, I don't expect hearts and puppies for Buffy and Spike. (It's so liberating to have zero expectations. You always win.) I expect a lot of UST, unnuendos, quiproquos and more lost opportunities to keep fans in constant alert mode. But I don't think there will be a real Spuffy romance unless Joss finds a way to make it *very* painful for Buffy. A Twangel-level painful. So far, I see a possibility of Spike/Faith romance to make Buffy jealous in season 9. But, surely, Joss will come up with something more devious to torture us and our girl.
Spoilery specs:
The situation changes so quickly. Looks like The Master is Buffy's ally now: they both want to protect the Seed, although Buffy's priority is to protect the Earth. Looks like The Master thinks that Buffy and Spike came to remove the Seed and to give it to Miss Kitty Twilight. Looks like Buffy doesn't know about the consequences of the Seed's destruction. Willow didn't tell her (lie by omission). Hard to say if Spike knows - he could know and he could have told Buffy when she was daydreaming about sex with him. Willow's goal is to protect The Seed at any cost. And, most likely, Twangel has got an order to bring it to Miss Kitty Twilight.
The face-off will be quite intense, and I guess that Angel's mission puts him against the rest of the team. We know that after the betrayal the Seed will look like it has hatched, which goes well with current "birthing a Universe" twist. It's grotesque, but possible. If Buffy and Angel have procreated a universe, the Seed with the Master's help could procreate something to fight against it. Or maybe the partial damage of the Seed we saw on the "betrayal" flashforward panel in #10 is supposed to mean it's destroyed.
I wonder if Miss Kitty Twilight is the final Big Bad in the long file of season 8 Big Bads or it's a manifestation of somebody (something) else? If Buffy's dreams are supposed to be clues, then the real Big Bad must be the gigantic monster from her very first dream, in #2. But I admit, the plot leaves me utterly confused. I don't understard how The Master can be alive and why Buffy isn't surprised about it. I can't wrap my mind around the idea of not-yet-born Twilight manifesting itself through people and animals. Moreover, I'm not sure that an alternate universe as a Big Bad is a good idea. Non-personified evil in a visual medium is usually boring and unconvincing.
But I doubt that anybody in the audience really cares much about all those exotic McGuffins, though. The only question people debate is the identity of the traitor. And, frankly, I'm mostly interested in the identity of the traitor, too. So far, I think it's Angel.
If there is a fight, the only person who can match Buffy in strength is Angel. Of course, Willow could turn him into a frog for a moment, but I think the frog panel was inserted only for laughs.
Plot-wise, no-one is safe -- but, most likely Joss will go for the maximum pain. "The closest, the most unexpected". That's how Buffy sees Angel currently: her heart belongs to him and she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. That's how Angel has been positioned in Buffy's threesome dream: Angel as "the closest".
If the look at the situation from the outside, Jeanty said - and then confirmed - that something terrible will happen to Buffy/Angel relationship. Dark Horse has already announced that Angel will have his own title the next season, so he won't die in season 8. I think it leaves only one option.
Besides, it's Joss.
One of the prevalent mistakes in BtVS fandom is attributing IWRY script to Joss Whedon (I swear, it's not a non-sequitur). But he isn't the writer of IWRY. David Greenwalt and Jeannine Renshaw are - and I think Joss was unhappy that Greenwalt got all the sadistical fun to himself. So in season 8 Joss wrote his own version of IWRY. Again, Angel gets manipulated by dubious higher beings who promise that bad things will happen to Buffy unless Angel hurt her for her own good. Again, Angel believes them and acts accordingly, thinking that he is a noble savior. And again he fails spectacularly. His decision in IWRY didn't prevent Buffy's death in "The Gift". His decision to become Twilight doesn't save the world.
What's even more curious - Twangel arc in season 8 echoes crucial moments in the journeys of the majority of AtS regulars. Angel is corrupted with power and becomes what he hates, like Gunn in season 5; Angel creates a catastrophe by trying to prevent it, like Wesley in season 3; Angel involuntarily becomes a father of an entity that wants to ruin our world and create a new one, as Connor in season 4. So I guess, in a broader sense, it's Joss' take on AtS, uncensored and unlimited.
I wonder if according to this new, Jossian mythology, all Angel's journey was about this moment; that's why PTB (or was it Miss Kitty Twilight?) sent Angel to help Buffy back in 1996; that's why W&H couldn't kill him all along.
And you thought Greenwalt's take on Angel was dark. It's scary to think what Joss could do to Angel if he'd run the show. (I'm not sure I like what he did to Angel. My personal take on Angel is that he is very flawed - and I like him that way. But the panel where he tries to keep Buffy to himself in the Twilight paradize when her sister and her friends are dying on Earth - that panel makes me cringe. Just a week ago me and my fandom friends were rewatching earlier AtS episodes and it felt like mourning the character.)
I have to admit that I have a couple of cognitive dissonances with Miss Kitty Twilight. BtVS consistently depicted felines as a symbol of female power; it's strange that a Big Bad has manifested as a feline. My second gripe is about "birthing" the Bad Universe. Birthing experience as something negative? Evil baby? On a feminist show? It's so bizarre that I wonder if Miss Kitty Twilight is a gigantic hoax and the real Big Bad hasn't appeared yet.
But, most likely, this Big Bad is the final one. The plot is so convoluted that adding another twist would be an overkill. Unless it's Connor who's behind it -- y'know, because he thinks that having a little sister would be fun. (He should have asked Buffy first.)
Links to reviews and discussions:
Review by 2maggie2; review by angearia (Spuffy scenes only); review by shadowkat67; review by infinitewhale; review by tranquil_ity; review by penny_lane_42; review by lusciousxander; review by slaymesoftly; review by stormwreath; review by buffyfestblog; review by ladydorotea; review by IGN; review by CBR.
Discussions on Whedonesque, BuffyForums, BuffyBoards, SlayAlive, Bloodshedverse, Blood Roses.
Plot:
Buffy fantasizes about Spike (see below) while he explains her that The Seed is like a cork in the bottle and it protects the Earth from demons.
Faith and Giles talk about "their strategy" - nothing concrete, but pretty ominous. Dawn and Xander make plans for the future. Willow speaks with Saga Vasuki who tells her that if the Seed of Wonder is removed, the Earth dies; and if The Seed is destroyed, the Earth is saved but all magic dies (but vampires, demons, already-called slayers will remain.) The ship arrives at Sunnydale. Buffy with Spike in tow flies down to confront the Master (see above). Meanwhile Angel is on his own; he is fighting demons and dodging questions about the cause of the invasion. A creature morphs in front of him; it's the same creature that plagued Buffy in her dreams in issue 6, a giant cat with wings and clawed paws. "Your work isn't nearly done... Father," says Miss Kitty Twilight. "The real me isn't born yet. But I'm here now, father. You can't deny the universe you created. You will finish what you started".
Shippy tidbits:
Spuffy rules! Looks like Buffy and Spike are more or less in the place where Joss has left them in the end of season 7. Buffy cares about Spike, wants to be with him, but the circumstances work against her. Spike, as usual, thinks that she doesn't care about him. She is embarrassed and can't find words to explain that she cares. So the audience knows that she fantasizes about Spike while the object of her affection is absolutely sure that she only thinks about Angel. To me, this is a clear indication that writers want fans to root for the couple. Lost opportunities are the surest way to make the audience feel for the characters.
It was delightful to discover that Spuffy magic hasn't gone after all these years, after the change of the medum, and, very importantly, the introduction of a new writer. In the past, Scott Allie was very critical of the couple, so it's a nice surprise to see him write Spuffy at its best - snarky, funny, honest, completely trusting each other, comfortable with each other's flaws and inexorably drawn to each other.
Buffy (about space-frak): "It wasn't our fault." -- "Nobody says it was, except me right now in your face." Classic Spuffy.
Interestingly, Buffy's fantasy about sex with Spike is vaguely reminiscent of the love scene in "Innocence". Spike and Angel have switched their traditional places in Buffy's love life; now Buffy's sex with Angel is destructive and wild, while her daydreams about sex with Spike have sweet and intimate vibe. And Spike still considers Buffy his hero, despite her space-frak with Angel.
That said, I don't expect hearts and puppies for Buffy and Spike. (It's so liberating to have zero expectations. You always win.) I expect a lot of UST, unnuendos, quiproquos and more lost opportunities to keep fans in constant alert mode. But I don't think there will be a real Spuffy romance unless Joss finds a way to make it *very* painful for Buffy. A Twangel-level painful. So far, I see a possibility of Spike/Faith romance to make Buffy jealous in season 9. But, surely, Joss will come up with something more devious to torture us and our girl.
Spoilery specs:
The situation changes so quickly. Looks like The Master is Buffy's ally now: they both want to protect the Seed, although Buffy's priority is to protect the Earth. Looks like The Master thinks that Buffy and Spike came to remove the Seed and to give it to Miss Kitty Twilight. Looks like Buffy doesn't know about the consequences of the Seed's destruction. Willow didn't tell her (lie by omission). Hard to say if Spike knows - he could know and he could have told Buffy when she was daydreaming about sex with him. Willow's goal is to protect The Seed at any cost. And, most likely, Twangel has got an order to bring it to Miss Kitty Twilight.
The face-off will be quite intense, and I guess that Angel's mission puts him against the rest of the team. We know that after the betrayal the Seed will look like it has hatched, which goes well with current "birthing a Universe" twist. It's grotesque, but possible. If Buffy and Angel have procreated a universe, the Seed with the Master's help could procreate something to fight against it. Or maybe the partial damage of the Seed we saw on the "betrayal" flashforward panel in #10 is supposed to mean it's destroyed.
I wonder if Miss Kitty Twilight is the final Big Bad in the long file of season 8 Big Bads or it's a manifestation of somebody (something) else? If Buffy's dreams are supposed to be clues, then the real Big Bad must be the gigantic monster from her very first dream, in #2. But I admit, the plot leaves me utterly confused. I don't understard how The Master can be alive and why Buffy isn't surprised about it. I can't wrap my mind around the idea of not-yet-born Twilight manifesting itself through people and animals. Moreover, I'm not sure that an alternate universe as a Big Bad is a good idea. Non-personified evil in a visual medium is usually boring and unconvincing.
But I doubt that anybody in the audience really cares much about all those exotic McGuffins, though. The only question people debate is the identity of the traitor. And, frankly, I'm mostly interested in the identity of the traitor, too. So far, I think it's Angel.
If there is a fight, the only person who can match Buffy in strength is Angel. Of course, Willow could turn him into a frog for a moment, but I think the frog panel was inserted only for laughs.
Plot-wise, no-one is safe -- but, most likely Joss will go for the maximum pain. "The closest, the most unexpected". That's how Buffy sees Angel currently: her heart belongs to him and she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. That's how Angel has been positioned in Buffy's threesome dream: Angel as "the closest".
If the look at the situation from the outside, Jeanty said - and then confirmed - that something terrible will happen to Buffy/Angel relationship. Dark Horse has already announced that Angel will have his own title the next season, so he won't die in season 8. I think it leaves only one option.
Besides, it's Joss.
One of the prevalent mistakes in BtVS fandom is attributing IWRY script to Joss Whedon (I swear, it's not a non-sequitur). But he isn't the writer of IWRY. David Greenwalt and Jeannine Renshaw are - and I think Joss was unhappy that Greenwalt got all the sadistical fun to himself. So in season 8 Joss wrote his own version of IWRY. Again, Angel gets manipulated by dubious higher beings who promise that bad things will happen to Buffy unless Angel hurt her for her own good. Again, Angel believes them and acts accordingly, thinking that he is a noble savior. And again he fails spectacularly. His decision in IWRY didn't prevent Buffy's death in "The Gift". His decision to become Twilight doesn't save the world.
What's even more curious - Twangel arc in season 8 echoes crucial moments in the journeys of the majority of AtS regulars. Angel is corrupted with power and becomes what he hates, like Gunn in season 5; Angel creates a catastrophe by trying to prevent it, like Wesley in season 3; Angel involuntarily becomes a father of an entity that wants to ruin our world and create a new one, as Connor in season 4. So I guess, in a broader sense, it's Joss' take on AtS, uncensored and unlimited.
I wonder if according to this new, Jossian mythology, all Angel's journey was about this moment; that's why PTB (or was it Miss Kitty Twilight?) sent Angel to help Buffy back in 1996; that's why W&H couldn't kill him all along.
And you thought Greenwalt's take on Angel was dark. It's scary to think what Joss could do to Angel if he'd run the show. (I'm not sure I like what he did to Angel. My personal take on Angel is that he is very flawed - and I like him that way. But the panel where he tries to keep Buffy to himself in the Twilight paradize when her sister and her friends are dying on Earth - that panel makes me cringe. Just a week ago me and my fandom friends were rewatching earlier AtS episodes and it felt like mourning the character.)
I have to admit that I have a couple of cognitive dissonances with Miss Kitty Twilight. BtVS consistently depicted felines as a symbol of female power; it's strange that a Big Bad has manifested as a feline. My second gripe is about "birthing" the Bad Universe. Birthing experience as something negative? Evil baby? On a feminist show? It's so bizarre that I wonder if Miss Kitty Twilight is a gigantic hoax and the real Big Bad hasn't appeared yet.
But, most likely, this Big Bad is the final one. The plot is so convoluted that adding another twist would be an overkill. Unless it's Connor who's behind it -- y'know, because he thinks that having a little sister would be fun. (He should have asked Buffy first.)