I had to struggle through snow that came halfway up to my knees to get this issue of Season 8. I hope you all appreciate my sacrifice. :-) ( Review of 8.39 'Last Gleaming' Part 4 )
You know, I stopped physically reading S8 after about issue #15 or so and have just been lurking about and reading your recaps for each issue (which, PS, thank you for doing it!). But I have to say, if this is really the direction Whedon wanted to take Buffy in, I'm glad the show never made it past S7 on television. But I also wish that Whedon had never even decided to continue Buffy's story after S7
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No problem. I'm actually surprised (but pleased) you're reading the reviews, since you stopped talking about the season yourself (as did so many other people).
I will say, Idon't think Joss kills off major characters to be "shcking", at least not anymore. He knows his reputation, he nows we're not going to be shocked now. Rather, one of the things he often mentions in interviews and such is that he wants to show the cost of our actions. That if people are going into deadly danger on a regular basis, some of them should get killed, or else it cheapens the whole thing. If we know that "nobody really dies", there's no suspense... but also, there's no triumph if they live. Yes, this issue was a big downer... but I'm waiting to see if/how Joss changes the mood in the final issue before I close the book on the season.
And, really, what cost of our actions? What did Tara do that warranted her being killed? What did Giles really DO that was so awful? What did Renee do? What did Anya do, really? Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all (apparently Tara and Renee's crimes were just being happy, because no one is allowed to be happy in the Buffyverse). Because see, very few people in Buffyverse who die actually DESERVE it.
Well isn't that true to life? How many people die tragically because they "deserve" it? How many people get to live to their old age even though they don't "deserve" it?
I do think that deaths show "the cost of our actions": every war, every battle has casualties, but as long as they are anonymous, we aren't really affected. We only realize the full cost when it's someone we care about. Which is why killing off a popular, beloved character that both the fans and the other characters care about means a lot more than killing off an unpopular character.
I watched his interview: I was a bit disapppointed that they didn't intend the "Giles kills in The Gift/Giles gives his life in Last Gleaming" parallel delibarately; but the analogy still works from a literary level. On the other hand, I'm pleased to see I nailed the "Angel needs to repent, and this story makes his need even more urgent" character development idea.
There's a disjuncture, though, between all the mayhem shown in #34 and on and a bunch of tourists strolling around.
Well, the reading of the events in 8.34 I prefer is less "The world is being destroyed!" and more "The world is starting to tear itself apart" with the emphasis on starting. It's lots of little changes - waves moving faster, a volcano in the Philippines erupting, earth tremors in the Arctic. Things you might not notice or connect unless you already knew something bad was happening, but the implication being that they'd get worse and worse and more and more intense over time. As for the destroyed cities - I think it's more that a small number of
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It'll be interesting if they can do a meaningful repentence story for Angel. I look forward to it. (It's more than just beating up a few bad guys and calling it quits -- but Allie seems to get that
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So i Guess Future!Willow's plot might have been to either have Buffy be able to get over Giles' death, or else be able to kill Angel like she did Willow.
You're the first person I've seen suggest that Willow might have been paralyzed by her fall. Thanks for that, I wasn't quite depressed enough by this issue. :-<
I wonder what Georges Jeanty meant a couple months ago in a Q&A when he said we'd soon have reason to "sing the praises" of Aluwyn. Makes me suspect there might be more of her and Willow's story coming up next issue... I dunno.
Regarding Willow,I may be reading too much into it, but we'll see.
The final issue is apparently all going to be from Buffy's perspective so I'm not sure how they'd fit in an interaction between Willow and Saga Vasuki. It could be that it's simply on the level of "The things she taught Willow help Willow to adjust to what's going on"; or it might be something more dramatic. Probably not "Aluwyn ressurrects Giles" level of dramatic; I think they'd see that as way too cheesy even for 'Buffy'. But maybe Aluwyn is the one responsible for Willow still having access to magic power in Fray's world; she somehow finds a way to restore that link for her even if other people in the world are without magic. If Willow then uses the power to heal her (alleged) spinal injuries, that would certainly be a reason to praise Aluwyn.
Or then again, maybe Georges was just talking about the exposition she gave Willow a couple of issues ago. Maybe in the original story plan that scene was more significant than it ended up on the page?
Reading the issue I did wonder how she's supposed to survive that fall without magic, but her being paralyzed didn't even occur to me. Pointing out the possibility made me flash back to Muffitt, Willow's wheelchaired guide in 'Goddesses and Monsters'...
Probably not "Aluwyn ressurrects Giles" level of dramatic; I think they'd see that as way too cheesy even for 'Buffy'.
Well, they were going to resurrect Tara in season 7, if Amber Benson hadn't shot them down... and that would have been all kinds of cheesy. But no, I'm pretty sure we've seen the last of Giles.
But three things make me wonder...
1. Georges' mysterious statement that I mentioned;
2. The vagina monster. It's pretty clear that one way or another, the path to Aluwyn's world lies through a vagina... look at the way Willow normally gets there, and look at the shape of the portal in #37 that Aluwyn opened to pull Willow in. Now look at the shape of that demon, and the fact that it seemed to be zeroing in on Willow particularly.
3. There's that panel in "Fray" of a woman's arm disappearing into a (vagina-shaped) portal, accompanied by a snaky-type appendage. We still haven't seen that.
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I will say, Idon't think Joss kills off major characters to be "shcking", at least not anymore. He knows his reputation, he nows we're not going to be shocked now. Rather, one of the things he often mentions in interviews and such is that he wants to show the cost of our actions. That if people are going into deadly danger on a regular basis, some of them should get killed, or else it cheapens the whole thing. If we know that "nobody really dies", there's no suspense... but also, there's no triumph if they live. Yes, this issue was a big downer... but I'm waiting to see if/how Joss changes the mood in the final issue before I close the book on the season.
On an up note, Warren is dead again now. :-)
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Well isn't that true to life? How many people die tragically because they "deserve" it? How many people get to live to their old age even though they don't "deserve" it?
I do think that deaths show "the cost of our actions": every war, every battle has casualties, but as long as they are anonymous, we aren't really affected. We only realize the full cost when it's someone we care about. Which is why killing off a popular, beloved character that both the fans and the other characters care about means a lot more than killing off an unpopular character.
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Some fanfic authors have made the Buffyverse interesting without magic. At the very least, I'm curious to see how [well] Joss does it.
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I watched his interview: I was a bit disapppointed that they didn't intend the "Giles kills in The Gift/Giles gives his life in Last Gleaming" parallel delibarately; but the analogy still works from a literary level. On the other hand, I'm pleased to see I nailed the "Angel needs to repent, and this story makes his need even more urgent" character development idea.
There's a disjuncture, though, between all the mayhem shown in #34 and on and a bunch of tourists strolling around.
Well, the reading of the events in 8.34 I prefer is less "The world is being destroyed!" and more "The world is starting to tear itself apart" with the emphasis on starting. It's lots of little changes - waves moving faster, a volcano in the Philippines erupting, earth tremors in the Arctic. Things you might not notice or connect unless you already knew something bad was happening, but the implication being that they'd get worse and worse and more and more intense over time. As for the destroyed cities - I think it's more that a small number of ( ... )
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Of course the vagina monster would be a vagina dentata, but we knew that.
I'm hoping I can turn this into FtVS inspiration over the weekend, before Dexter Sunday night grabs my attention way again.
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Seems Buffy has her priorities screwy though :-(
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I wonder what Georges Jeanty meant a couple months ago in a Q&A when he said we'd soon have reason to "sing the praises" of Aluwyn. Makes me suspect there might be more of her and Willow's story coming up next issue... I dunno.
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The final issue is apparently all going to be from Buffy's perspective so I'm not sure how they'd fit in an interaction between Willow and Saga Vasuki. It could be that it's simply on the level of "The things she taught Willow help Willow to adjust to what's going on"; or it might be something more dramatic. Probably not "Aluwyn ressurrects Giles" level of dramatic; I think they'd see that as way too cheesy even for 'Buffy'. But maybe Aluwyn is the one responsible for Willow still having access to magic power in Fray's world; she somehow finds a way to restore that link for her even if other people in the world are without magic. If Willow then uses the power to heal her (alleged) spinal injuries, that would certainly be a reason to praise Aluwyn.
Or then again, maybe Georges was just talking about the exposition she gave Willow a couple of issues ago. Maybe in the original story plan that scene was more significant than it ended up on the page?
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Well, they were going to resurrect Tara in season 7, if Amber Benson hadn't shot them down... and that would have been all kinds of cheesy. But no, I'm pretty sure we've seen the last of Giles.
But three things make me wonder...
1. Georges' mysterious statement that I mentioned;
2. The vagina monster. It's pretty clear that one way or another, the path to Aluwyn's world lies through a vagina... look at the way Willow normally gets there, and look at the shape of the portal in #37 that Aluwyn opened to pull Willow in. Now look at the shape of that demon, and the fact that it seemed to be zeroing in on Willow particularly.
3. There's that panel in "Fray" of a woman's arm disappearing into a (vagina-shaped) portal, accompanied by a snaky-type appendage. We still haven't seen that.
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