Rewatching BtVS S4.
I have a fic due the 15th set in S4, so I rewatched the season and was struck by some realizations.
1. I really liked Riley in the beginning. It was only after he hooked up with Buffy, got his heart broken and began doing some incredibly stupid things that I ceased to like him. Initially, he was adorable.
2. Riley and Willow had a boatload of chemistry - much more than Riley and Buffy. I wonder what would have happened if Riley and Willow had gotten together?
3. Buffy wanted to love Riley, but I don't think she really did and he knew it. She told Angel that she loved Riley, but she never, ever told Riley. That can't have been accidental.
4. Riley sleeping with Fuffy was definitely the beginning of the end. I don't believe Buffy ever forgave him for that. After all, she could tell it was Giles inside the Fyarl demon by looking into his eyes, I think she expected Riley to be able to do the same. Tara, who had never even met Buffy, was aware that it wasn't 'her'; I believe Buffy firmly believed Riley should have been able to tell it wasn't her in the driver's seat, and it wasn't like Faith hadn't given him a ton of OOC clues during their intimate moments. Buffy was possibly justified in thinking that if he couldn't tell she wasn't herself, he couldn't really have known her very well. Although, maybe she was too hard on him, because apparently perceptive-guy Spike didn't pick up on it, either!
5. The Gentlemen still scare the crap out of me. They're right up there with The Birds and Wait Until Dark in the scare factor for me. And, probably for many of the same reasons. The inability to scream or verbalize in any way while terrible things are happening to you is a visceral fear, along with the blind Audrey Hepburn being terrorized by home invaders in Wait Until Dark (not being able to see what's coming at you is another visceral fear) and commonplace, everyday things - like birds - acting with concerted malevolence is so OOC that it's truly creepy.
6. I was never especially fond of Angel on BtVS, and only really began to enjoy the character when he moved to LA and got his own show, but this S4 appearance was the one crossover of his I really loved! He was funny and snarky, and came to apologize - "It's a . . . going pretty good, don't you think?" Hee! I enjoyed that almost as much as his jumping into the wrong car. (On S1 AtS.)
7. Riley was truly scary when he was falling apart in Willy's Place. I wasn't quite sure which way he'd jump.
8. I still can't stand Where the Wild Things Are, and must confess I couldn't actually rewatch the whole ep. I sort of fast-forwarded to the part where Giles sings in the Espresso Pump, and then went on to New Moon Rising. Seriously, I like Beer Bad much better than Wild Things, which is not creepy enough to be really scary, but more boringly creepy, y'know?
9. Dubbing in other languages is hilarious and oh, so very wrong. There was absolutely no attempt made to match the voices with the actual actor's voices. French Buffy sounds much more manly than French Riley. And Xander? Is awful. Giles is rather smarmy in both French and Spanish.
1. I really liked Riley in the beginning. It was only after he hooked up with Buffy, got his heart broken and began doing some incredibly stupid things that I ceased to like him. Initially, he was adorable.
2. Riley and Willow had a boatload of chemistry - much more than Riley and Buffy. I wonder what would have happened if Riley and Willow had gotten together?
3. Buffy wanted to love Riley, but I don't think she really did and he knew it. She told Angel that she loved Riley, but she never, ever told Riley. That can't have been accidental.
4. Riley sleeping with Fuffy was definitely the beginning of the end. I don't believe Buffy ever forgave him for that. After all, she could tell it was Giles inside the Fyarl demon by looking into his eyes, I think she expected Riley to be able to do the same. Tara, who had never even met Buffy, was aware that it wasn't 'her'; I believe Buffy firmly believed Riley should have been able to tell it wasn't her in the driver's seat, and it wasn't like Faith hadn't given him a ton of OOC clues during their intimate moments. Buffy was possibly justified in thinking that if he couldn't tell she wasn't herself, he couldn't really have known her very well. Although, maybe she was too hard on him, because apparently perceptive-guy Spike didn't pick up on it, either!
5. The Gentlemen still scare the crap out of me. They're right up there with The Birds and Wait Until Dark in the scare factor for me. And, probably for many of the same reasons. The inability to scream or verbalize in any way while terrible things are happening to you is a visceral fear, along with the blind Audrey Hepburn being terrorized by home invaders in Wait Until Dark (not being able to see what's coming at you is another visceral fear) and commonplace, everyday things - like birds - acting with concerted malevolence is so OOC that it's truly creepy.
6. I was never especially fond of Angel on BtVS, and only really began to enjoy the character when he moved to LA and got his own show, but this S4 appearance was the one crossover of his I really loved! He was funny and snarky, and came to apologize - "It's a . . . going pretty good, don't you think?" Hee! I enjoyed that almost as much as his jumping into the wrong car. (On S1 AtS.)
7. Riley was truly scary when he was falling apart in Willy's Place. I wasn't quite sure which way he'd jump.
8. I still can't stand Where the Wild Things Are, and must confess I couldn't actually rewatch the whole ep. I sort of fast-forwarded to the part where Giles sings in the Espresso Pump, and then went on to New Moon Rising. Seriously, I like Beer Bad much better than Wild Things, which is not creepy enough to be really scary, but more boringly creepy, y'know?
9. Dubbing in other languages is hilarious and oh, so very wrong. There was absolutely no attempt made to match the voices with the actual actor's voices. French Buffy sounds much more manly than French Riley. And Xander? Is awful. Giles is rather smarmy in both French and Spanish.