Buffy - Season 6 impressions (episode 15)
I haven't posted any Jossverse reviews in ages due to a very busy RL which resulted in a lack of fannish motivation.
Then I spend an evening showing Buffy to my oldest friend hopefully winning another fan. (She liked the show and took season 1 with her for further watching.)
Anyway, rewatching episodes made me realise how much I care for this show.
Today I snuggled up on the coach and watched various episodes from season 3, 4 and 7.
I then decided that I want to finish my reviews of Buffy. There are "only" 30 reviews left after all and I enjoyed processing the episodes by writing. In addition, season 6 is actually my favorite season on Buffy. It deals with a lot of painful issues, but I heart it nonetheless. Season 7 isn't perfect, but without it season 6 would be incomplete. After all, the painful issues are resolved in season 7 and all the characters learn from their mistakes and grow so much.
Of course, I'm no longer a first time viewer now, but a second time viewer, so I will no longer speculate what may happen next and there might be spoilers for future events.
Regarding reviews for Angel: I will first focus on finishing my reviews for Buffy. If I still have energy left afterwards, I will continue my reviews for this show. Not sure I will cover all episodes, because the season 3 episodes felt mostly mediocre and I'm not sure I would like to rewatch them. Not right now anyway. We'll see.
Anyway, here are my thoughts for As You Were. I started this review *months* ago; time to complete it...
As You Were
What to say about this episode?
I was intrigued when I realised Riley would be back. Seeing how he interacts with Buffy after everything that happened would be interesting. However, this episode never delivers on this account. In fact, it feels like Buffy moved into a parallel dimension temporarily:
Riley doesn't feel like Riley, he feels like a Gary Stu persona. It is as if the script writer has over-identified with Riley and now hits us and Buffy over the head with the message: 'Hey, you all, do you finally realise how *cool* Riley is? Buffy, he could have been yours, but you rejected him. Now Riley is cool and you are working for a Burger Chain. That's what is called poetic justice, haha.'
And Spike is the Doctor? And runs a crime organisation?? Spike, the vampire who isn't keen on thinking things through, but rather charges into action??? Yes, I can see him making shady deals, storing stolen goods for money, but running a crime organisation in secret?
I can easily see Darla in that role. I can even see Harmony trying to take on that role - and failing spectacularly. Spike, however, is just not the type for this. He'd be bored to death by being subtle and secretive and organised.
During my holidays, I read this take on As You Were by elisi. I really like her attempt to make sense of this episode. I'm still not convinced the the writer put that much thought into the episode, but still elisi's interpretation makes me loathe the Doctor part of this episode less.
On to a closer look at some scenes:
- I noticed that in the opening scenes the characters are gently tip-toeing around one another. After the revelations in the last episode, everyone wants to be on their best behaviour.
Buffy still doesn't want to get close to Spike and yet their relationship feels oddly comfortable. There are no nasty words or blows exchanged, instead they feel surprisingly harmonious. Of course, the current harmony is most likely caused by Buffy being too lethargic for another fight. The relationship is definitely not a healthy one
Buffy tries to take care of her sister, bringing her a burger she "made herself".
Dawn tries to decline the burger gently, asks for permission to go out and promises to be back on time.
Willow apparently tries to spend more time with Dawn.
Oh, and it's nice to see Willow being cheerful and Willow-ish during the scene at the Bronze.
WILLOW: You know, when I was little, I used to spend hours imagining what my wedding to Xander would be like. And now I look at them... (shot of Anya and Xander at the bar) I just think... (mocking laugh) "Nee-hee-hee!
- Buffy in the meanwhile is having a hard time coping. She isn't accepted at college and plainly feels worn out by the thought that she has to show up at the Doublemeat Palace every day.
She also must have the impression that she isn't needed by anyone: Dawn is quite able to take care of herself, making breakfast for herself, making sure she's on time for school, ...
- Actually, so far the episode isn't bad. It turns surreal, though, when Riley appears at the Doublemeat Palace. In fact, Riley's interaction with Buffy is so odd that I felt transported back to the episode Superstar, only this time around Riley is the superstar and not Jonathan.
BUFFY: It's you.
RILEY: It's me.
BUFFY: You're here.
RILEY: I know.
BUFFY: And ... were you always this tall?
RILEY: (leans closer) Look, this isn't the way I wanted it. But something's come up, something big. We don't have much time. You understand?
BUFFY: (nodding) Not a word you've said so far.
RILEY: Right. I should have known, anticipated. You're working.
BUFFY: Well, just counter, not grill any more.
RILEY: I want to explain, I just don't have time. I've been up for 48 hours straight tracking something bad, and now it's come to Sunnydale.
BUFFY: My hat has a cow.
RILEY: (sighs) I know that I'm putting you on the spot, showing up like this, but ... but you know, here we are. I need the best. I need you, Buffy. (Buffy staring at him) Can you help me?
Riley Superstar has a scar and is dressed all in black and seems to be - OMG!!! - much taller. He just has this air of command swirling around him like a cloak. And Buffy is in awe. In fact, she's so incredibly awed that she's unable to make any intelligent statement during the entire dialogue.
Please bear in mind that I like Riley! I know that Riley has been shown as a James Bond like character at times, e.g. during Hush. Only there, it worked. Perhaps because Buffy wasn't in kneebuckling awe of Supercool!Riley.
What also doesn't feel like Riley at all:
Buffy mentions that she died and Riley does not ask for any details. Go figure... Now I understand that he's thinking about killing the ReallyIncrediblyDangerous Monster - and yet, it's just not in character for Riley to not enquire about Buffy or her mother.
- Sam, Riley's wife:
Oh dear. First, the episode establishes that Buffy is still attracted to Riley what with her drooling for him, crying "Riley" a lot and them sharing a moment. As soon all viewers know that Buffy still likes Riley, Sam gets her entrance. Yeah, the episode feels like the writers did their hardest to make Buffy feel like shit on all counts.
Sam is beautiful and tough (she takes on the Suvolte demon by herself - thank heavens it's not her who kills it, but Buffy).
Since Sam is introduced so suddenly and is pretty much shown as the perfect woman, she is very much Mary Sue-ish. (She isn't the competitive Mary Sue who wants to be better than the other characters, she is the understanding/admiring Mary Sue who gets along with all the character and dispends approval and advise. She openly admires Willow for no longer using magic, she has a heart to heart with Buffy, ...)
- Buffy talking to Sam apparently makes her realise how much she has lost. So she goes to Spike to get some self-esteem back asking him to tell her that he a) loves her and b) wants her.
Hm, not sure that losing Riley would make Buffy act this way. But even though I don't buy the motivation for the scene, the scenario itself I can see.
- Riley discovering Spike and Buffy in bed together:
What I like in the aftermath of this scene is that it forces Buffy to admit out openly to someone (apart from Tara) that she's sleeping with Spike. She usually tries to avoid this issue completely and covering up an established fact with lies doesn't make anything better. In fact, it makes everything worse.
- Once again:
There's no way Spike is the Doctor. For one, the nickname is not only unimaginative, it also would remind Spike of his season 5 nemesis "the Doctor" who caused him fail in saving Dawn and therefore Buffy. So why would he select this name? Apart from that, Spike never reacts to this name at all.
Now I do believe Spike's explanation "If I may, the thing of it is, I'm holding these for a friend, who-". I guess he's "just" storing the eggs in exchange for some cash, most likely never wondering how dangerous the content of the eggs may be.
- Buffy breaking up with Spike:
That's a scene that worked for me. Buffy has known the entire time that she was using Spike in order to get a relief from the rest of her life and it makes sense that she would address the issue sooner or later.
Her sleeping with Spike was provoked by her talk with Sam and her ending the relationship with Spike seems to be motivated by Riley telling her Buffy, none of that means anything. It doesn't touch you. You're still the first woman I ever loved ... and the strongest woman I've ever known. And I'm not advertising this to the missus ... but you're still quite the hottie. and Wheel never stops turning, Buffy. You're up, you're down ... it doesn't change what you are. And you are a hell of a woman..
Once again, I like Buffy's scene with Spike, but not the motivation that leads up to it.
Something else I find intriguing, but I'm not sure feels right is Buffy calling Spike "William" before she leaves the crypt: BUFFY: I'm sorry ... William.
I've been mulling over this sentence, but can't decide if I like it or if I hate it.
She addresses his human side here... so it's not Spike (more demon than man) that deserves her apology but the human part of Spike's persona, the part that's caring and has a potential for good? Maybe that's the explanation. I don't know. (Mostly because I feel the rest of the episode is so "off" that I'm wary to take anything that happens in it seriously.)
- One additional thought regarding Super!Riley that came to me right now:
Maybe portraying Riley as cool and powerful doesn't say as much about Riley as it does say something about Buffy. Buffy is so down that she *perceives* Riley as perfect and his life (fighting side by side with his wife) is exactly the life she would want to have. Not working alone, but having an equal by her side. (And of course, this is something that she will have in season 7 when she and Spike start really complementing one another.)
So the episode might work better if we don't see it as Riley = the Superhero, but watch it from Buffy's POV. It then tells us something about Buffy's loss of self-esteem and her trying to regain it.
The episode will never be a favorite of mine, but if I bear my last comment in mind I will probably start liking it better. :-)
Then I spend an evening showing Buffy to my oldest friend hopefully winning another fan. (She liked the show and took season 1 with her for further watching.)
Anyway, rewatching episodes made me realise how much I care for this show.
Today I snuggled up on the coach and watched various episodes from season 3, 4 and 7.
I then decided that I want to finish my reviews of Buffy. There are "only" 30 reviews left after all and I enjoyed processing the episodes by writing. In addition, season 6 is actually my favorite season on Buffy. It deals with a lot of painful issues, but I heart it nonetheless. Season 7 isn't perfect, but without it season 6 would be incomplete. After all, the painful issues are resolved in season 7 and all the characters learn from their mistakes and grow so much.
Of course, I'm no longer a first time viewer now, but a second time viewer, so I will no longer speculate what may happen next and there might be spoilers for future events.
Regarding reviews for Angel: I will first focus on finishing my reviews for Buffy. If I still have energy left afterwards, I will continue my reviews for this show. Not sure I will cover all episodes, because the season 3 episodes felt mostly mediocre and I'm not sure I would like to rewatch them. Not right now anyway. We'll see.
Anyway, here are my thoughts for As You Were. I started this review *months* ago; time to complete it...
As You Were
What to say about this episode?
I was intrigued when I realised Riley would be back. Seeing how he interacts with Buffy after everything that happened would be interesting. However, this episode never delivers on this account. In fact, it feels like Buffy moved into a parallel dimension temporarily:
Riley doesn't feel like Riley, he feels like a Gary Stu persona. It is as if the script writer has over-identified with Riley and now hits us and Buffy over the head with the message: 'Hey, you all, do you finally realise how *cool* Riley is? Buffy, he could have been yours, but you rejected him. Now Riley is cool and you are working for a Burger Chain. That's what is called poetic justice, haha.'
And Spike is the Doctor? And runs a crime organisation?? Spike, the vampire who isn't keen on thinking things through, but rather charges into action??? Yes, I can see him making shady deals, storing stolen goods for money, but running a crime organisation in secret?
I can easily see Darla in that role. I can even see Harmony trying to take on that role - and failing spectacularly. Spike, however, is just not the type for this. He'd be bored to death by being subtle and secretive and organised.
During my holidays, I read this take on As You Were by elisi. I really like her attempt to make sense of this episode. I'm still not convinced the the writer put that much thought into the episode, but still elisi's interpretation makes me loathe the Doctor part of this episode less.
On to a closer look at some scenes:
- I noticed that in the opening scenes the characters are gently tip-toeing around one another. After the revelations in the last episode, everyone wants to be on their best behaviour.
Buffy still doesn't want to get close to Spike and yet their relationship feels oddly comfortable. There are no nasty words or blows exchanged, instead they feel surprisingly harmonious. Of course, the current harmony is most likely caused by Buffy being too lethargic for another fight. The relationship is definitely not a healthy one
Buffy tries to take care of her sister, bringing her a burger she "made herself".
Dawn tries to decline the burger gently, asks for permission to go out and promises to be back on time.
Willow apparently tries to spend more time with Dawn.
Oh, and it's nice to see Willow being cheerful and Willow-ish during the scene at the Bronze.
WILLOW: You know, when I was little, I used to spend hours imagining what my wedding to Xander would be like. And now I look at them... (shot of Anya and Xander at the bar) I just think... (mocking laugh) "Nee-hee-hee!
- Buffy in the meanwhile is having a hard time coping. She isn't accepted at college and plainly feels worn out by the thought that she has to show up at the Doublemeat Palace every day.
She also must have the impression that she isn't needed by anyone: Dawn is quite able to take care of herself, making breakfast for herself, making sure she's on time for school, ...
- Actually, so far the episode isn't bad. It turns surreal, though, when Riley appears at the Doublemeat Palace. In fact, Riley's interaction with Buffy is so odd that I felt transported back to the episode Superstar, only this time around Riley is the superstar and not Jonathan.
BUFFY: It's you.
RILEY: It's me.
BUFFY: You're here.
RILEY: I know.
BUFFY: And ... were you always this tall?
RILEY: (leans closer) Look, this isn't the way I wanted it. But something's come up, something big. We don't have much time. You understand?
BUFFY: (nodding) Not a word you've said so far.
RILEY: Right. I should have known, anticipated. You're working.
BUFFY: Well, just counter, not grill any more.
RILEY: I want to explain, I just don't have time. I've been up for 48 hours straight tracking something bad, and now it's come to Sunnydale.
BUFFY: My hat has a cow.
RILEY: (sighs) I know that I'm putting you on the spot, showing up like this, but ... but you know, here we are. I need the best. I need you, Buffy. (Buffy staring at him) Can you help me?
Riley Superstar has a scar and is dressed all in black and seems to be - OMG!!! - much taller. He just has this air of command swirling around him like a cloak. And Buffy is in awe. In fact, she's so incredibly awed that she's unable to make any intelligent statement during the entire dialogue.
Please bear in mind that I like Riley! I know that Riley has been shown as a James Bond like character at times, e.g. during Hush. Only there, it worked. Perhaps because Buffy wasn't in kneebuckling awe of Supercool!Riley.
What also doesn't feel like Riley at all:
Buffy mentions that she died and Riley does not ask for any details. Go figure... Now I understand that he's thinking about killing the ReallyIncrediblyDangerous Monster - and yet, it's just not in character for Riley to not enquire about Buffy or her mother.
- Sam, Riley's wife:
Oh dear. First, the episode establishes that Buffy is still attracted to Riley what with her drooling for him, crying "Riley" a lot and them sharing a moment. As soon all viewers know that Buffy still likes Riley, Sam gets her entrance. Yeah, the episode feels like the writers did their hardest to make Buffy feel like shit on all counts.
Sam is beautiful and tough (she takes on the Suvolte demon by herself - thank heavens it's not her who kills it, but Buffy).
Since Sam is introduced so suddenly and is pretty much shown as the perfect woman, she is very much Mary Sue-ish. (She isn't the competitive Mary Sue who wants to be better than the other characters, she is the understanding/admiring Mary Sue who gets along with all the character and dispends approval and advise. She openly admires Willow for no longer using magic, she has a heart to heart with Buffy, ...)
- Buffy talking to Sam apparently makes her realise how much she has lost. So she goes to Spike to get some self-esteem back asking him to tell her that he a) loves her and b) wants her.
Hm, not sure that losing Riley would make Buffy act this way. But even though I don't buy the motivation for the scene, the scenario itself I can see.
- Riley discovering Spike and Buffy in bed together:
What I like in the aftermath of this scene is that it forces Buffy to admit out openly to someone (apart from Tara) that she's sleeping with Spike. She usually tries to avoid this issue completely and covering up an established fact with lies doesn't make anything better. In fact, it makes everything worse.
- Once again:
There's no way Spike is the Doctor. For one, the nickname is not only unimaginative, it also would remind Spike of his season 5 nemesis "the Doctor" who caused him fail in saving Dawn and therefore Buffy. So why would he select this name? Apart from that, Spike never reacts to this name at all.
Now I do believe Spike's explanation "If I may, the thing of it is, I'm holding these for a friend, who-". I guess he's "just" storing the eggs in exchange for some cash, most likely never wondering how dangerous the content of the eggs may be.
- Buffy breaking up with Spike:
That's a scene that worked for me. Buffy has known the entire time that she was using Spike in order to get a relief from the rest of her life and it makes sense that she would address the issue sooner or later.
Her sleeping with Spike was provoked by her talk with Sam and her ending the relationship with Spike seems to be motivated by Riley telling her Buffy, none of that means anything. It doesn't touch you. You're still the first woman I ever loved ... and the strongest woman I've ever known. And I'm not advertising this to the missus ... but you're still quite the hottie. and Wheel never stops turning, Buffy. You're up, you're down ... it doesn't change what you are. And you are a hell of a woman..
Once again, I like Buffy's scene with Spike, but not the motivation that leads up to it.
Something else I find intriguing, but I'm not sure feels right is Buffy calling Spike "William" before she leaves the crypt: BUFFY: I'm sorry ... William.
I've been mulling over this sentence, but can't decide if I like it or if I hate it.
She addresses his human side here... so it's not Spike (more demon than man) that deserves her apology but the human part of Spike's persona, the part that's caring and has a potential for good? Maybe that's the explanation. I don't know. (Mostly because I feel the rest of the episode is so "off" that I'm wary to take anything that happens in it seriously.)
- One additional thought regarding Super!Riley that came to me right now:
Maybe portraying Riley as cool and powerful doesn't say as much about Riley as it does say something about Buffy. Buffy is so down that she *perceives* Riley as perfect and his life (fighting side by side with his wife) is exactly the life she would want to have. Not working alone, but having an equal by her side. (And of course, this is something that she will have in season 7 when she and Spike start really complementing one another.)
So the episode might work better if we don't see it as Riley = the Superhero, but watch it from Buffy's POV. It then tells us something about Buffy's loss of self-esteem and her trying to regain it.
The episode will never be a favorite of mine, but if I bear my last comment in mind I will probably start liking it better. :-)