And I definitely agree Riley had massive internalized misogyny issues. Like, I think he honestly meant well, but he had all that military/wholesome family/chivalry crap internalized and never really analyzed it. Add to that a good dose of "all girls want bad boys" stereotypes and you've got yourself one ugly breakdown.
YES. it was handled well in a lot of ways, whatever my impatience with the "poor Riley" implications pretty early on. But his behavior is IC, and the issue is one that affects women especially: being the "mindreaders" and knowing what everyone else needs, putting aside their own needs for everyone else. then the show just bolloxed it up by indicating that's exactly what Buffy should have done. Hence my issue with the whole thing.
And I rewatched the episode a while ago and noticed just how uncomfortable Buffy was with basically all of Dracula's advances. Just. Ugh.
Right? Again, vampirism has been associated with sexuality and rape since the beginning of the series, and Buffy is clearly under his thrall; she even hangs a lantern on that before she wipes the floor with his undead ass. I can understand that Riley doesn't "get it" - in a sense, he's got this entitlement thing going on. He's a guy and was an exceptional one at that; now he's ordinary and all his shiny toys have been taken away (the patriarchs love their toys) except for Buffy. Hence the jealousy, which is an emotion that I've never been able to access. Envy? Yes. Jealousy? I've been on the receiving end a lot and it's very ugly and based entirely on that other person's insecurities.
ME implying that Buffy was being unfaithful to Riley while under thrall is pretty much the same thing as Dark Horse's claim that Buffy was responsible for her behavior during the spacefrak in S8, even while they showed her under the influence of a metaphorical "rape drug". So she was but she wasn't? That's utterly gross, and it shows where Joss' thinking is on the subject. FYI, you were talking about Kendra in another comment elsewhere, and I feel the same impatience when it's implied that falling under Dru's thrall is proof that Kendra is an inferior Slayer. WTF? Buffy was under the Master's thrall when he killed her in PG. Was that also her fault?
Whatever the problems with Buffy&Spike S6 in terms of in-story, one thing they mostly got right was that both of them had to take responsibility for their OWN actions. No thrall, no "the devil made me do it", no excuses.
Humans are way too contrary and complicated for even love to work without, well, working for it.
Part of the problem is that despite the songs and poems throughout time, most people across the centuries haven't married for love first and foremost. There was a reason for arranged marriages: the parents and the entire clan/tribe vetted the union. It was for financial/political gain, it was a business deal much of the time. Which doesn't exclude the possibility of real love, or people marrying for love, but that wasn't first and foremost. This is possible when women are mostly seen as property to be "bartered away" of course; but I don't think we have centuries of experience in "love" behind us, not the modern-day kind we're "supposed" to feel. And it's supposed to be automatic, easy, like a bag of potato chips, like we're supposed to have perfect Christmas dinners, etc; it's a great big lie guaranteed to keep us anxious and feeling like failures, expecting too much of ourselves and others: Be my spouse, my lover, my best friend, the housekeeper, the breadwinner, the babysitter; read my mind; love me as much as my parents did or you'll disappoint me; give me the love my parents never did or you'll disappoint me. I love you exactly the way your are, now let me fix you.
YES. it was handled well in a lot of ways, whatever my impatience with the "poor Riley" implications pretty early on. But his behavior is IC, and the issue is one that affects women especially: being the "mindreaders" and knowing what everyone else needs, putting aside their own needs for everyone else. then the show just bolloxed it up by indicating that's exactly what Buffy should have done. Hence my issue with the whole thing.
And I rewatched the episode a while ago and noticed just how uncomfortable Buffy was with basically all of Dracula's advances. Just. Ugh.
Right? Again, vampirism has been associated with sexuality and rape since the beginning of the series, and Buffy is clearly under his thrall; she even hangs a lantern on that before she wipes the floor with his undead ass. I can understand that Riley doesn't "get it" - in a sense, he's got this entitlement thing going on. He's a guy and was an exceptional one at that; now he's ordinary and all his shiny toys have been taken away (the patriarchs love their toys) except for Buffy. Hence the jealousy, which is an emotion that I've never been able to access. Envy? Yes. Jealousy? I've been on the receiving end a lot and it's very ugly and based entirely on that other person's insecurities.
ME implying that Buffy was being unfaithful to Riley while under thrall is pretty much the same thing as Dark Horse's claim that Buffy was responsible for her behavior during the spacefrak in S8, even while they showed her under the influence of a metaphorical "rape drug". So she was but she wasn't? That's utterly gross, and it shows where Joss' thinking is on the subject. FYI, you were talking about Kendra in another comment elsewhere, and I feel the same impatience when it's implied that falling under Dru's thrall is proof that Kendra is an inferior Slayer. WTF? Buffy was under the Master's thrall when he killed her in PG. Was that also her fault?
Whatever the problems with Buffy&Spike S6 in terms of in-story, one thing they mostly got right was that both of them had to take responsibility for their OWN actions. No thrall, no "the devil made me do it", no excuses.
Humans are way too contrary and complicated for even love to work without, well, working for it.
Part of the problem is that despite the songs and poems throughout time, most people across the centuries haven't married for love first and foremost. There was a reason for arranged marriages: the parents and the entire clan/tribe vetted the union. It was for financial/political gain, it was a business deal much of the time. Which doesn't exclude the possibility of real love, or people marrying for love, but that wasn't first and foremost. This is possible when women are mostly seen as property to be "bartered away" of course; but I don't think we have centuries of experience in "love" behind us, not the modern-day kind we're "supposed" to feel. And it's supposed to be automatic, easy, like a bag of potato chips, like we're supposed to have perfect Christmas dinners, etc; it's a great big lie guaranteed to keep us anxious and feeling like failures, expecting too much of ourselves and others: Be my spouse, my lover, my best friend, the housekeeper, the breadwinner, the babysitter; read my mind; love me as much as my parents did or you'll disappoint me; give me the love my parents never did or you'll disappoint me. I love you exactly the way your are, now let me fix you.
Reply
Leave a comment