Episode Poll: 5.10 Into the Woods

[gabrielleabelle]

Welp, this episode is mightily controversial. You know the drill, guys! Ticky ticky, share your thoughts! Let's do Into the Woods.

Comments

[jaymi_leaf]

Oh goody, this episode

[gabrielleabelle]

1. Very true. I agree.

2. Yep.

5. Possibly. Though the army's offer to Riley would still have taken place. Maybe Riley wouldn't have been as interested if Buffy hadn't just caught him visiting the vamps? I'm not sure how that would play out.

7. CROSSOVER NEEDED

8. lol! I hadn't thought of that!

10. YES

[jaymi_leaf]

5. As with most things in TV I think a lot could have been sorted out if they'd just spoken to each other openly. Hmm, forgot about the army offer... he had been slowly reintegrating himself into the army for the last few episodes so I suppose he was already going down that path and even some open communication with Buffy might not have stopped that. It might have made things end on a better note though.

[beer_good_foamy]

Now I'm picturing The Wire but with Vampires.

Now I am too. And it's glorious.

This look like blood, motherfucker? Blood be RED!

It's Sunnydale, gentlemen. The Watchers will not save you.

Vampire, is you taking notes on an ancient fucking prophecy?

You happy now, witch?

Yo, this is my graveyard, I ain't runnin' NOWHERE!

Fuck them West Coast slayers. In Boston we aim to SLAY a vampire, you heard?

[ardentdelirium]

2/4: I think Buffy is more guarded with Riley than she was with Angel and Parker, which is totally understandable, but is not her being shut down. But Riley was looking for a Buffy/Angel dynamic and so perceived it as a bad thing. The writers...I don't know WHAT they thought was going on.

5: Buffy needed to know, but Spike wasn't doing it for her (or Riley's) good-he did it for douchey selfish reasons, and it wasn't his business.

8: I think this scene is problematic for different reasons than that Riley was potentially torturing Spike. This shows that Riley doesn't trust Buffy. I'm in a relationship right now where a mutual friend of ours is interested in me. My boyfriend isn't worried about it because he trusts me. Riley doesn't trust Spike, obviously, but this shows he also doesn't trust Buffy.

[gabrielleabelle]

2/4. *nods*

8. Good point! And we see that all the way back to The Yoko Factor where Riley thinks Buffy spontaneously slept with Angel.

[molly_may]

1. Good play. I know people like to rag on Joss for how much he loves bringing the pain, but the fact is, in real life people really do sometimes die suddenly, and I don't think the writers are jerking people around by portraying that

[mcjulie]

So. I'm forced to accept that the writers agree with Riley, because they never, ever contradict him in the text.

The only contra-indication in the text is Buffy's cookie speech in Chosen. Since that was Word of Joss, I have decided to believe that's the FINAL word on the subject. Because it makes me feel better.

[gabrielleabelle]

1. *nods*

4. Ah, yeah. I tend to lean towards thinking the writers bought into Xander's speech. Le sigh.

[angearia]

So. I'm forced to accept that the writers agree with Riley, because they never, ever contradict him in the text.

YES. This is when the Buffy POV guiding the direction of the story demands a counterpoint. It's so wrong that no one outside ever contradicts Riley's stance. Buffy takes it all on her shoulders, thanks to Riley and Xander, and no one offers another viewpoint on the situation intratextually. Ugh.

[menomegirl]

I left #9 blank because I wanted to check them all. I really hate the way Riley was written out.

I also left #11 blank. Because I couldn't decide which guy was the biggest douche. But I don't think Buffy was.

[gabrielleabelle]

I actually went with Xander on #11, mainly cause Riley is going through hardcore angst and such. He's still a douche, but he left reasonable three stations ago. Xander doesn't have such an excuse. He's just being a douche and insists on continuing to be a douche.

[angearia]

Yeah, I think that's a fair point. Riley's going through an existential crisis and serious angst and it's his relationship with Buffy that's falling apart

[molly_may]

Oh, I loathe that exchange between Xander and Anya. It's so smug and self-righteous. Buffy is twenty years old. TWENTY! She's had two serious, long-term relationships and a one-night stand that she thought was the beginning of something serious. That's hardly a pile of "relationship debris". Bleagh.

[kikimay]

Episode poll about Riley being a jerk and leaving all the blame on Buffy. 'Kay

[gabrielleabelle]

6. Ah, I hadn't thought of that.

8. rofl! So...I guess we know a bit more about Buffy and Riley's sex life...