Random S3 thoughts

[gabrielleabelle]

- The Wish is awesome, y'all.

- Amends is slightly less stupid this time round, though it very much feels like AtS Episode 00.

Oh, and the Magic Snow? Still not a fan.

- Buffy has very unfortunate hair from Amends onward. The Zeppo is especially boggle-inducing.

- You know, I still just can't wrap my head around Buffy's behavior in Bad Girls. I

Comments

[cal_turner]

S3 is the only season I very rarely rewatch. There are a few episodes I love (Lover's Walk and Doppelgangland being my favourites), but it just doesn't work for me. I enjoyed Bangel in S1 and S2, but by S3 it had overstayed its welcome. And I'd fallen in love with Spike by then, so was disappointed that he was only in one episode. S4-7 are the ones I rewatch the most.

[gabrielleabelle]

Yeah, I'm much more partial to the later seasons. I liked nearly all of the episodes in the first half of S3, though. It's just the latter half that drags for me.

[stormwreath]

the whole Buffy and Faith hang-out seems to be a new "thing" for Bad Girls

And 'Revelations'. Don't forget 'Revelations'.

"Well, I wouldn't use the word 'dating', but I am going out with somebody. Tonight, in fact."

And more to the point, there's Faith sharing with Buffy all about her previous love life, and hoping Buffy will do the same, and looking visibly disappointed when Buffy is reluctant to talk about it, but shrugging it off with a "whatever" because Faith can never let herself look vulnerable or needy.

Not that I disagree with you that it needed more build-up. Faith should have been in more episodes in S3. :nods:

[gabrielleabelle]

And 'Revelations'. Don't forget 'Revelations'.

Revelations where Buffy and Faith have a huge falling out that gets somewhat reconciled in Amends but then we still never actually see them hanging out again until Bad Girls? That Revelations? ;)

[stormwreath]

Lovers' tiff. :-)

(Srsly. Faith was all opening up to Buffy there, but Buffy just shut her down, and then Ms Post betrayed her too, and Xander played her for a chump, and she discovered Buffy was still seeing her ex-boyfriend behind her back and lying about it. But Faith liked Buffy too much to just give up, so she gave her a second chance in 'Bad Girls'...)

[gabrielleabelle]

Well, yeah, that explains Faith's behavior. Doesn't really make me buy Buffy's odd behavior any more, though.

[hazel75]

Oh, and I still can't quite manage to see the Buffy/Faith subtext.

*raises hand* Neither do I...

I also agree that Bad Girls kind of comes out of nowhere. The episode needed more set up for me to find it anything but terribly out of the blue for Buffy. ME kind of rushed this storyline. Same thing happens in S4 -- Buffy works with the Initiative all of one episode before Walsh gets rid of her. It's kind of wait...what?

[gabrielleabelle]

Yep. The arc of S3 really is kinda half-assed. That and all the doomsday talk about the ascension and it just turns out to be a giant snake. I mean...giant snake is scary, sure. But not "end of the world" scary.

[eowyn_315]

Yeah, I just can't really get into season 3. There are some great standalone eps (like all the ones with Spike and Vamp!Willow), but overall? Pretty meh. I've seen people go, "But OMG season 3 has FAITH! How can you not love it?" and... yeah, sorry, that's not gonna save it.

I don't get the Buffy/Faith subtext either.

[gabrielleabelle]

I'm wondering, do people complain that S3 became The Faith Show like people complain about S7 becoming The Spike Show? Cause...their roles in those respective seasons both do take a significant portion of the plot. And the other Scoobies do get shunted to the side in favor of the Faith storyline in S3. So...why do we never see this complaint?

I mean, I like Faith. And I like her arc till the end of the season (even though the actual plot doesn't really work for me). Just seems odd, though.

[eowyn_315]

I've never seen those complaints. And my guess would be that, as significant as Faith's arc is to the plot, it comes off somewhat differently than Spike's. For one thing, Faith's only a recurring character, so she only shows up when it furthers her arc. Spike, on the other hand, is in every single episode, by virtue of contract, even if there's no reason for him to be there

[gabrielleabelle]

True facts. I was thinking more of the latter half of S3, which does feature Faith heavily and has much, much less of the other Scoobies.

Maybe if Faith had been a regular character, or if they'd consolidated her arc to half the season, it would've worked better?I think making her a regular character would have been a big help

[alexeia_drae]

I started rewatching season 3 probably in May, and I've been stuck on Choices forever because I'm just tired of the season, want to move onto season 4 but don't want to do it without finishing season 3. It's rather pathetic. Hope you have better luck than me with finishing the season.

[gabrielleabelle]

rofl! I made it through Amends. I imagine I can finish out the season. :)