I do like yours, however. Especially the fighting vs. war waging, and the different skill sets needed for each. Also, this:
in Jossverse once you start making deals with your conscience, you can't stop
is very well-put.
I'm a comics person, so I tend to be less than forgiving of where the series fell short as a comic book. I never doubt my ability to lose myself in the medium, because I've been doing so for decades and have even gone so far as to write sad little articles and academic papers on the subject. I don't have a problem with epic sweep and phlebotinum. But I do have problems with several of the things that you categorize as loose ends. The characters should make sense and the readers should be able to know, clearly, what's going on. Sadly, in Season 8, sometimes that happened and sometimes it didn't. Increasingly it didn't. Without those things, what's happening has no impact.
Most of the Joss-penned single issues were high points of sense-making (maybe not the Willow one), and the last issue continued that trend. It's not really enough to redeem the entire series, but it's a start. Too bad the good start came at the end.
I read it and I liked it, although I disagree with some of your points.
I'm a comics person, so I tend to be less than forgiving of where the series fell short as a comic book.
I have to admit that BtVS is the first comic I read. The first issues were pure torture: I didn't know how to read, I missed a lot of stuff. I asked stupidest questions. I'm still not sure if I read everything correctly.
But I do have problems with several of the things that you categorize as loose ends. The characters should make sense and the readers should be able to know, clearly, what's going on. Sadly, in Season 8, sometimes that happened and sometimes it didn't. Increasingly it didn't. Without those things, what's happening has no impact.
I agree that many arcs, especially Meltzer's with his sentient universe, are too complex and often don't make sense at all. But I wonder if it was Joss' intention to put the audience into Buffy's shoes. People who try to change History, are usually defeated, because, in the end, the History exploits and destroys them. They're blind and clueless about actual historical processes.
Okay, I may be wrong here. The majority of fans agrees that it's just bad storytelling. I don't know. I loved the issue. I have to reread the season to decide if I love it.
Most of the Joss-penned single issues were high points of sense-making (maybe not the Willow one), and the last issue continued that trend. It's not really enough to redeem the entire series, but it's a start.
I do like yours, however. Especially the fighting vs. war waging, and the different skill sets needed for each. Also, this:
in Jossverse once you start making deals with your conscience, you can't stop
is very well-put.
I'm a comics person, so I tend to be less than forgiving of where the series fell short as a comic book. I never doubt my ability to lose myself in the medium, because I've been doing so for decades and have even gone so far as to write sad little articles and academic papers on the subject. I don't have a problem with epic sweep and phlebotinum. But I do have problems with several of the things that you categorize as loose ends. The characters should make sense and the readers should be able to know, clearly, what's going on. Sadly, in Season 8, sometimes that happened and sometimes it didn't. Increasingly it didn't. Without those things, what's happening has no impact.
Most of the Joss-penned single issues were high points of sense-making (maybe not the Willow one), and the last issue continued that trend. It's not really enough to redeem the entire series, but it's a start. Too bad the good start came at the end.
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I read it and I liked it, although I disagree with some of your points.
I'm a comics person, so I tend to be less than forgiving of where the series fell short as a comic book.
I have to admit that BtVS is the first comic I read. The first issues were pure torture: I didn't know how to read, I missed a lot of stuff. I asked stupidest questions. I'm still not sure if I read everything correctly.
But I do have problems with several of the things that you categorize as loose ends. The characters should make sense and the readers should be able to know, clearly, what's going on. Sadly, in Season 8, sometimes that happened and sometimes it didn't. Increasingly it didn't. Without those things, what's happening has no impact.
I agree that many arcs, especially Meltzer's with his sentient universe, are too complex and often don't make sense at all. But I wonder if it was Joss' intention to put the audience into Buffy's shoes. People who try to change History, are usually defeated, because, in the end, the History exploits and destroys them. They're blind and clueless about actual historical processes.
Okay, I may be wrong here. The majority of fans agrees that it's just bad storytelling. I don't know. I loved the issue. I have to reread the season to decide if I love it.
Most of the Joss-penned single issues were high points of sense-making (maybe not the Willow one), and the last issue continued that trend. It's not really enough to redeem the entire series, but it's a start.
YES, YES AND YES.
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