It occurs to me that folks who are concerned about reading key bits involving “Buffy” episodes are really only affected if *I* say something in my blog. Because anything in the response area can only be seen via a separate, additional action on the part of the reader. Only my journal is “in your face,” so to speak.
So henceforth, what I’ll do is simply open up the discussion area, and that’s all that will appear in the journal entry itself. I’ll then put my opinions into the response area, safe from eyes of those who taped but haven’t watched it, or had it preempted for basketball or live in England or something. Same deal with “Angel.”
Instead in the main blog area I’ll simply speak in vague generalities: This week’s episode rates a solid “B,” and lays some groundwork that could factor in to the resolution of the story arc. Spoilers and detailed comments follow.
Okay, so…
Some people claim that nothing much happened this week, and we only learned what we already knew. I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion. For instance, back in the fifth season Buffy sought help from the First Slayer, who informed her that death was her gift. The phrase meant nothing to her, or us. It wasn’t until the season ender that we saw how it tied together. That may well be the case here.
Downsides: Character arcs were more or less by the numbers. Buffy told each of the regulars what she needed them to be. She then disappeared and they promptly became exactly what she said she needed from them. In script parlance, the general term for that is “too on-the-nose.”
Upsides: A popular soap opera technique is to introduce some piece of information that only the viewers and maybe one character knows, and then we wait with increasing tension for the others to discover it, knowing all hëll will break loose. BTVS does that as well as anyone, and better than some, and the Spike/Wood angle is the latest and niftiest of those angles. Spike obviously knows something’s up, but he’s not sure what yet. You just know it’s NOT going to end well. Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to a Spike/Wood confrontation, Spike could deliver the coup de grace, hesitates, and Wood dusts him. That would seriously suck.
The origins of the First. Now we’re talking. We see not only how the Slayer was first created, but also what were presumably the first Watchers. If I’m understanding what I saw, the Slayer power is based in what is effectively demonic possession. The First Slayer asked for it, and the “watchers” provided it. That means that, even though Buffy shied away from getting a booster shot, she’s still got some incredibly potent demonic energy swirling around in her.
What could be interesting is if the climax of the storyline involves her (and Faith?) effectively “releasing” that power to fight the First, and the resulting battle effectively annihilates the Hellmouth and all the demonic entities on earth…and leaves Buffy and Faith basically normal, their job done. Where this would leave Angel, I haven’t a clue.
Still not sure where all this is leading, but I know I’m enjoying the ride far more than the previous season. At least we’ve got heroes trying to act like heroes.
And Buffy really does need to work on her skills as a motivational speaker. I’m reminded of her rather sour exhortation to battle in the fifth season closer which prompted Spike to observe, “Not exactly the Saint Crispin’s day speech, is it.” “We few, we happy few,” replied the Shakespeare-Savvy Giles, to which Spike deliberately misquoted, “We band of bûggërëd.”
PAD
• 
I liked the Spikes scenes, and the scenes with Will and the gang. I loved that Spike has got his coat again. Buffy has never been my fav. character, but this episode really made me hate her. That whole (as Anya put it) “everybody sucks but me speech” really pìššëd me off.
You’re such a good host. Thank you as I have not seen it yet. I have it on tape for Friday viewing. 🙂
So make with the comments Peter 🙂
I come here to see what you have to say about the previous episode.
There was the one bit where the “First Watchers” told Buffy she was the Hellmouth’s last guardian, or something to that extent. Since the show is apparently set to continue with Faith replacing Buffy, I’m very curious what that means. Maybe Faith & Co. will go on the road, fighting evil everywhere because Sunnydale is safe after Buffy closes the Hellmouth.
Just a thought.
Bobby
Bobby Nash
Writer @ Large
Yeah, PAD, as a writer, did the phrase “Hellmouth’s last guardian” strike you as purposefully crafted to avoid an interpretation of “Last Slayer?” Or do you think the former may still suggest the latter?
In the comic book series “Fray”, which is the story of a future slayer, Joss Whedon makes it a point to mention that the Hellmouth was permanently shut at the beginning of the 21st Century. These are probably the events leading to that.
Ah, I see. Incidentally, did Whedon suggest that Fray was ‘in-continuity’ with the TV series? (On that note, what’s the skinny on that book? Who published it? How long ago?)
Thanks,
Carlos
Well, there were a few bits that I had to suspend disbelief for; Kennedy managing to become the newest Scooby, while the rest of SITs are sent to their room(s), as well as Spike going through the ceiling not causing any of the SITs to come out of said upstairs rooms. And Giles was sorely missed this week; I’d’ve rather he played a more major role and been in this week’s ep that the fairly minor role Head did in last week’s.
But the real problem I had was with Buffy’s “you’re all idiots” speech. Well, Chloe (and by extension, Wood) were idiots. By this point, it should be SOP that if someone starts trying to depress you, you order them to touch you, and if they can’t, you run/yell for company. Of course, under that SOP, the entire room should’ve dogpiled Buffy when she started lecturing them.
But the real problem I had with the speech was that the reaction of everyone in the room, or at least the Scoobies (and to a degree it was) should’ve been; “yeah, you’re right. We need to fight The First. But the problem is, we have *no idea* how to actually do that”.
I mean, Buffy gives ’em a pep talk that they’re not doing anything. But no suggestions about what to do (until Wood brings over the McGuffin box), probably because so far, with the possible exception of Willow using evil-causing levels of magic, they don’t have a single clue how to actually fight The First.
Well, maybe figure out a way for Willow to cast a binding spell, leave it in a room with Xander, and see if he can destroy it by doing bad jokes for a few hours. But Buffy can’t punch it. The SITs can’t punch it. Spike can’t punch it. Andrew can’t geek it to death (although he’d be my second choice after Xander at having a shot :-)). Anya, well, even the character is admitting she’s pretty much useless at this point (although I thought she, rather than Dawn, should’ve been reading from the book since she may actually have known Sumerian at some point).
So, how do they defeat The First or do anything other than kill off a few of its minions? No clue. Of course, I also don’t have a clue why the Bringers haven’t wired Casa Summers with explosives and blown up the SITs real good as soon as Buffy leaves for work. I mean, if it’s trying to get Andrew to kill ’em, there are much better ways to ensure their deaths.
“Did Whedon suggest that Fray was ‘in-continuity’ with the TV series?”
I don’t recall anything specifically saying this; however, nor do I recall anything saying that this wasn’t the case. Take that as you will.
“(On that note, what’s the skinny on that book? Who published it? How long ago?)”
Dark Horse Comics, publisher of the Buffy and Angel comics. It’s all been written, but (IIRC) the art is holding it up; the last two issues of eight still have yet to be released.
“We see not only how the Slayer was first created, but also what were presumably the first Watchers. If I’m understanding what I saw, the Slayer power is based in what is effectively demonic possession. The First Slayer asked for it, and the “watchers” provided it.”
This, however, condradicts the Joss Whedon-scripted “Prologue” story in the Tales of the Slayers comic. (It’s a TPB published by Dark Horse, about 85 pages if I’m counting right, published in November 2001. It has eight stories: three by Joss, including one about the first Slayer, and one about the Slayer from Fray; four by different Buffy/Angel staff writers, including one about Wood’s mommy; and one by Amber Benson. I don’t believe that the other five Slayers are ones that we’ve met before.)
So this begs the question: what should be accepted as right? The creator’s intent? What the first word is? What the most recent word is? What’s on film, be it first or most recent?
Did anyone else think that the god awful enormous horde of Uber Vamps at the end was just a tad creepy?
Quoth Andres: Dark Horse Comics, publisher of the Buffy and Angel comics. It’s all been written, but (IIRC) the art is holding it up; the last two issues of eight still have yet to be released.
Actually, as I understand it, Joss was painfully late with the scripts, so Karl Moline jumped at the chance to work at CrossGen (’cause, hey, steady paycheck), who work exclusivity clauses into their contract.
However, the two seem to have finally gotten it together, ’cause Fray #7 is being solicited for May (conveniently timed for the season (series?) finale of Buffy?).
I have to agree with the idea that the First obviously shops for troops at the same place as Saruman.
If the hellmouth is destroyed at the end of the season, Angel and next season (or any spinoff) would cover cleanup. Just because the war’s over doesn’t mean all the troops have surrendered.
The latest episode was weak. I know the season’s gonna end with a bang–’cause they all do–so I’m gonna let this one slide without too much b—-ing. But I will say that if I were a random viewer that finally decided to give Buffy a chance because so many people seemed to like it… This one wouldn’t have won me over.
I think that there is a point to the “Jacket” that Spike wears. It is like Superman’s cape or Batman’s cowl. When he wears it, he is ready to get “dangerous” (amazingly I just heard the Danger Mouse theme pop in my head 🙂 ) Why? What is the significance in a leather coat?
Could it be this coat belonged to a very difficult prey and is a trophy? Maybe it is Wood’s mother’s coat. I do think it is significant, espicially having Wood comment on it.
Hi, new guy here… First off I want to thank you for years of entertainment. With BID, I feel like I’ve know you and yours for years. Congrats on your new arrival I hope you and the Mrs. are getting a good night sleep, I remember those years well…
About Buffy, I have enjoyed this season so much more than the last, I hope they keep it up… I thought it kinda strange that there seems to be an endless supply of ubervamps, why didn’t the First let them all out? Must need lots of blood. With both Angel and Buffy being sooo serious and end of the world like, it is too bad they can’t cross over any more… Finally, when are they going to let you write a script, so much potential there…
Cheers!
Why? What is the significance in a leather coat?
Could it be this coat belonged to a very difficult prey and is a trophy? Maybe it is Wood’s mother’s coat. I do think it is significant, espicially having Wood comment on it.<<
Yes, it’s definitely Wood’s mother’s coat. During fifth season, we saw Spike recount his battle with the second slayer he killed–the woman we now know to be Wood’s mother. He pulled the coat off her dead body seconds after he killed her (FYI, he got the scar on his mouth from the first slayer he killed.)
PAD
You’re right, Jeff, that *is* Wood’s mother’s coat. The fifth season episode, _Fool for Love_, showed him killing an African-American slayer in the subways of New York during the late 1970s (you saw a clip of it in the “Previously on” for this week’s episode). At the end of the fight, he grabbed the black leather coat from her corpse and walked off with it. That was the same jacket that he wore as “evil Spike” through most of the series.
You’re right, Jeff, that IS Wood’s mother’s coat. The fifth season episode, Fool for Love, showed him killing an African-American slayer in the subways of New York during the late 1970s (you saw a clip of it in the “Previously on” for this week’s episode). At the end of the fight, he grabbed the black leather coat from her corpse and walked off with it. That was the same jacket that he wore as “evil Spike” through most of the series, until he left it behind at Buffy’s house the end of last season (right before he went for resouling).
How the jacket got back into the basement is still an open question.
And the “Previously, on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER…” bit this week very specifically included Spike taking Ma Wood’s coat.
Now the question is, how did the coat get from Buffy’s bannister (where Spike left it before he rode his motorcycle to Africa) to a box in the basement of Sunnydale High?
I give it a B too. I did like Willow’s “Bring it On” quote since Faith was in that movie. Kinda nice.
On an MB I frequent, several persons are interpreting the empowering of the First Slayer as a having a rape subtext. Did anyone else think that, or are they just all crazy?
“You’re right, Jeff, that IS Wood’s mother’s coat. The fifth season episode, Fool for Love, showed him killing an African-American slayer in the subways of New York during the late 1970s (you saw a clip of it in the “Previously on” for this week’s episode). At the end of the fight, he grabbed the black leather coat from her corpse and walked off with it. “
Thanks I must have missed that. That reinforces, in my mind, the pyschological impact that wearing the jacket must have on Spike. I am enjoying the season so far and am looking forward to more.
Joss’s story from the “Tales of the Slayer” comic has a villager saying to the first slayer: “They say you are part demon. They say the shadowmen made you born with demon inside and that is how you are able to fight the vampires. That’s why they fear you. Why they ch- chose only one. They say that when you die, there will be another girl chosen. And then another, for always. And you will be in them and they in each other and you will never die.”
I don’t recall thi episode saying that what Buffy experienced with The First Watchers was analogous to how the first slayer was made, so there’s no conflict. Or it’s quite possible that the villager in the comic was misinformed.
One could infer that the demon from the original slayer is transfered from slayer to slayer. In that case, if the demon jumped from Buffy to Kendra when Buffy died the first time, what is in Buffy that continues to give her slayer powers?
There have been hints that Buffy is now something beyond a normal Slayer: she is the first slayer to survive death (twice!); she merged with Xander, Willow & Giles at the end of season 4 (and shortly after was visited in her dreams by the first slayer); in season six she discoveres that she came back ‘not quite right’; the information that Giles and Anya learned a few episodes ago.
Buffy turns down the ‘gift’ from the First Watchers of extra demon power. This is probably a good thing–it continues her tradition of defying the Watchers Council, wihch has generaly served her well in the past.
Why doesn’t the First have its minions just blow up Casa Summers? That would be a logical thing to do, if its goal was simply to destroy the slayer line. But I believe that its plan is more complex than that. Many of the things that The First has done seem to be aimed at psychological warfare against Buffy: trying to get Angel to kill himself; tempting a souled Spike to choose evil; pitting Wood against Spike. In this light, taking out the potentials one-by-one is much more effective as a menas of sowing fear and dispair.
One final thought: remember how at the beginning of the season we saw The First appear to Spike as a sucession of the villains from each season? Recall the who was the last person that The First appeared as: Buffy…
“Of course, under that SOP, the entire room should’ve dogpiled Buffy when she started lecturing them.”
Hey! DID anybody actually touch her during that scene?
Overall, I thought, Tuesday’s was a pretty decent episode. `Still not up to the cracking level the season started on, but good nonetheless. However….! What was a big red flag for me this week came pretty early on. Namely, Wood’s Mother’s ‘Survival Kit’. Robin tells Buffy that, by rights, it should’ve been passed down to her over the years, but he kept it for sentimental reasons. As a Carl Barks character would say: Oh, so??
Assuming it’s Slayer Standard Issue, Giles never mentioned this or inquired about it in nearly seven-plus years?? For that matter, wouldn’t it’ve been the duty….however sad…of Robin’s Mom’s Watcher, to collect the ‘kit’ to ensure it changes hands?? Granted, one of the Scoobs ( I can’t remember which off the top of my head, but I wanna say either Dawn or Willow ) commented that the contents weren’t anything they hadn’t necessarily seen before. Oh, yeah….except for that honkin’ big tome! And the ‘puppet gods’ self-action figures, playset included!!
So….am I missing something, barking up a wrong tree, reading way too much into this, or what th’ heck??
Hooper
On an MB I frequent, several persons are interpreting the empowering of the First Slayer as a having a rape subtext. Did anyone else think that, or are they just all crazy?
I thought the episode was rather direct about that analogy, actually.
>>On an MB I frequent, several persons are interpreting the empowering of the First Slayer as a having a rape subtext. Did anyone else think that, or are they just all crazy?
I thought the episode was rather direct about that analogy, actually.<<
Yeah, and just in case it wasn’t direct enough, the use of the phrase ‘knocked up’ didn’t exactly refer to someone pounding on Buffy’s front door at an ungodly hour!!
Hooper
One problem seems to be that “demon” is not defined in this universe. it doesn’t necessarily mean “‘evil”‘, as klem, and some others have shown.
>>Why doesn’t the First have its minions just blow up Casa Summers? <<
I’ve noticed that The First only seems interested in killing the SITs. I’m thinking it needs Buffy alive.
Just my thought, as the First has not outright attacked Buffy.
One thing that gets me though, is why everyone is afraid of the First when it shows up. When First Jonathon showed up 2 weeks back, Andrew, Williow, at. al. seemed to flinch every time he moved toward them, knowing he/it couldn’t touch them.
The First, as a big bad, doesn’t seem to have any teeth. Yet.
Bobby
Bobby Nash
writer @ Large
ok–forgive me is this has already been explained or if it is just me reading a bit too much into things, but it has constantly been stated that the first could imitate any dead person. 2 things stand out to me.
it hasn’t/can’t? imitate tara which would be really cool and do wonders with manipulating willow, y’know the most powerful one there. (yes, i know amber had other committments but his is sorta planting a seed for her return if someone should choose to go that direction).
it keeps imitating buffy–is it simply because she was dead or is there more to it than that? have the scoobies even questioned this? has spike told them?
As far as Buffy’s speech went, I was vaguely wondering if it were tied in to the bad mojo going around the high school. If there’s enough bad energy going around that’s making our Slayer become more snappish and pissy. We know that the First earlier wanted one of the girls spared during one of the attacks.. the thoughts about him trying to push Buffy too far could be right. Especially if the First had hoped that Buffy would indeed find that shadow box and take the power offered…
I think the main reason (other than the fact that it would just muck up the show) that the First doesn’t just blow up Casa Summers has to do with the idea of destiny and balance. We’ve seen time and again on this show that there are very definite rules defining demon/vampire behaviors, and there are other rules that, while not mystically enforced, still hold sway over many vamps/demons (no killing on Halloween).
The Watchers’ Council, no matter what ties it may or may not have had to the Slayer, was never mystically bound to her itself, and was therefore a fair target in the First’s war. Buffy’s house, however, appears for some reason to be sacrosanct. No one’s EVER tried to burn it down or anything. The most damage we’ve really seen from a coordinated attack on the house was this season, and even then the Bringers were not there to hurt anyone but Spike.
I don’t know; I just kind of take these things to mean that whether it’s because of rules or just a personal preference, the bad things play the game. Kind of like the Joker: it’s been suggested several times that he knows Batman is Bruce Wayne, but in Arkham Asylum when someone wants to “see [Batman’s] real face,” the Joker insists that “That is his real face!” The Joker needs to defeat (and defeat doesn’t necessarily mean kill) Batman as Batman; the victory is as much symbolic as it is “real.”
Given that the First is essentially the symbolic manifestation of evil (and it has said as much), it may be somehow forced to fight on a symbolic level, thus preventing some of the “why not do this or that” kind of things viewers always bring up.
Does that make an ounce of sense?
Eric
I really liked one underlying theme in this episode: Spike and Willow needed to get in touch with their inner badness in order to use their power – at Buffy’s urging. But Buffy, when offered more power paired with evil, rejected it.
However, I thought that the pacing was off. Everything took too long – Buffy’s tour for Wood, the Spike/Anya scene, Buffy’s speech – and it just took too long to get to the opening of the portal.
But as a Spike fan, I really enjoyed him.
Y’know…I keep thinking back to that episode in season 3 when the First first showed up…everyone seems to think that a Higher Power saved Angel from offing himself by bringing in the snow storm…personally I think that the First was behind that, because even though Angel had refused to kill Buffy, it wasn’t done with him (and had made a comment to that regard just after he left its lair).
>I think that there is a point to the “Jacket” that Spike wears. It is like Superman’s cape or Batman’s cowl. When he wears it, he is ready to get “dangerous” (amazingly I just heard the Danger Mouse theme pop in my head 🙂 )<
“Let’s get dangerous” was Darkwing Duck, not Danger Mouse…
Eric, I have to agree that there is some kind of linkage between The Slayer and The First. I think that when the slayer was “bound to the Earth” the First Evil was likewise “bound to the Earth.” It may be that if the Slayer line ends, demons would pass from the Earth as they were supposed to with the Coming of Man. (Please forgive my vague memories of Season 1 Slayerverse theology explanations.)
I also think Wood may actually have something to do with the problems of the Slayer line. It’s never been stated, but for slayers to be unable to have children just feels right, doesn’t it? (For that matter, mythologically, shouldn’t the slayer be a virgin? That’s one of the reasons that Angel’s transformation was so shocking. He shouldn’t have been the one to change.)
I’d also like to see the First show up and just be completely ignored by the Scoobies. Perhaps Xander sticking his fingers in his ears and screaming “La La La! I can’t hear you!”
The “Hellmouth’s Last Guardian” comment would seem to intimate that it is what will be leaving, not the Slayer(s).
Another little thing about Buffy that seems to happen a lot more often this season is the “stop/start” nature of the episodes. When we get a good episode, where a nice chunk of the plot is given and the suspense level is high, the next episode seems to let off the “gas pedal” I guess in order to let us digest what has happened and we get an episode where not a lot happens.
I first really noticed this in the episode where it was found that Spike was killing people again. After that discovery, we were given an episode where Buffy and Spike spent an entire episode dancing around the issue.
It looks like that might be happening again. After this week’s episode with all the Slayer Origins and the discovery of what Buffy saw, the next episode blurb disappointed as it looked like a humor episode.
At first I didn’t really enjoy this past episode. Wood’s probing curiosity on the Slayer’s home base got me thinking that he has alternative motives (other than Spike). Though it could’ve been just a lead into “show me the vampire” and with her giving him the tour his desire to go to Spike didn’t raise eyebrows. Also the SIT’s training in the yard, yeah, real scary. They still just seem like a bunch of whiny loser girls who would rather be painting their nails than learning how to kick some ášš. Kennedy was super annoying this episode. Trying to be a hard ášš with the SIT’s and standing up to Buffy with the whole “Willow is more powerful than you” bit. Ugh. I hope she bites it. I wasn’t bothered too much with Buffy’s speech because in my opinion, she’s right. Everyone is just sitting on their hands. The fact that they don’t know what to do or how to beat the First shouldn’t matter, doing something proactive is better than doing nothing at all. Though I am getting tired of every episode’s speech of “We have to do better.” First Buffy, then Giles, then Buffy … we get the point now show us the action. It was mentioned above that “The First Slayer asked for it, and the “watchers” provided it.” From what I understood the FS didn’t ask for it. The “Watcher’s” basically picked a girl, chained her to the earth and forced the demon into her. I wouldn’t call it rape, that would imply sexual intercourse, involuntary possession yes, not rape. Or am I misunderstanding what I saw?
After the last scene with the “Army of Darkness” my boyfriend turns to me and says “Best Buffy ending … Ever.”
I thought that this week’s was overall a good episode, not great, but good. The only two things that really bugged me are that Giles is gone again with no explanation as to where he went (even one line saying that he went to get another potential would have been enough), and that the Chinese potential now seems to understand English, again with no explanation (she’s in the background with other potentials during the training drill, following directions perfectly). One of the things I liked is the reference they had to the “Dr. Strangelove” movie (btw, a very good movie to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet) when Andrew complains to Buffy that she shouldn’t keep bringing people into the house, as he’ll see the Big Board. I had to pause the show there for a moment to laugh, as I immediately got this picture in my head of George C. Scott as one of the Scoobies.
I think Jon Robertson might have a point, characters do seem to be more snappish than usual, with Giles last week and now Buffy this week; the bad energy disrupting things at school seems to be affecting the Scoobies as well.
I guess that the first Watchers’ comment about Buffy being the last guardian of the Hellmouth could mean one of two things: either that it will be closed forever in this season, or maybe Buffy will jump into it and become a sort of gatekeeper making sure that nothing else ever comes through it again. Of course the mystical energies there would keep her alive an young forever so that the stalemate can never be broken. Kind of like what happened with the JSA in the comics, where they spent decades in Limbo fighting Surtur and other demons.
I know there wasn’t a new Angel this week, but I have a new theory regarding their Big Bad; it just popped into my mind when I heard that David Boreanaz said in an interview that “there’s a big twist happening [about the Big Bad]. And all I can tell you is that it’s really weird”. What if the Powers That Be, or at least a faction of them, are the Big Bad? Maybe they are as sick and tired of maintaining a balance between Good and Evil as the First is over on Buffy, and decided to clean house. They’re off to a good start with it as Wolfram and Hart is gone already, and ever since the sun went out in LA, vampires are flocking there from all over the world and, I can only assume, so are a whole mess of other demons. Now, imagine that this goes on for a few more weeks (to give enough time for everyone to join the party) and then a nuclear bomb is detonated, destroying LA and much of the world’s demon population in the process. Sure, millions of innocents would die, but they’d probably just chalk them up as “acceptable losses”. Of course, the gang would find out about it and then race against the clock to stop the bomb from going off (hey, maybe they could have a crossover with “24”) 😉 Also, this would explain what’s going on with Cordy and the fact that she seems to be alternating between helping Angelus and trying to kill him even when there’s no one else there to witness it. She’d be the real Cordy (and not an impostor as some, myself included, have theorized) who just happens to be mind controlled by the PTB faction from time to time, much like Spike has been on Buffy. This would also be a nice parallel, with both shows being mirror images of each other (and it only makes me wish even more that they were as free to have crossovers as when both shows were on the WB). I could go on for quite a while on the Spike/Cordy parallels alone, but this post is already much longer than I expected it would be.
Of course, all that I said in the paragraph above is just speculation on my part and it’s probably wrong, but who knows…
Raphy
Was anyone else surprised by Dawn all of a sudden having translating skills? I mean, when did she learn to read ancient Sumerian? It seemed to me that the book didn’t start changing to English until well after she started reading it. It seemed to me like a part more fitting to Giles.
I agree that the sequence of the Scoobies getting to business was a bit too pat, but it’s also useful to remember the characters’ core competencies from time to time. (In particular, it addressed something that people on this site have complained about: Why is Anya still there? Well, she’s got centuries of personal experience with magic and demons; she just hasn’t had a chance to be useful in that capacity lately…)
I loved Buffy’s line about things on the Hellmouth getting exciting “usually in May.” I’ve been waiting for some time for someone to acknowledge that fact (tongue-in-cheek, of course).
The revelation of the origin of the Slayer power was a interesting continuation of the fight-not-with-monsters-lest-you-become-a-monster theme we’ve seen from time to time (most notably in the Watchers’ Council and the Initiative).
One could infer that the demon from the original slayer is transfered from slayer to slayer. In that case, if the demon jumped from Buffy to Kendra when Buffy died the first time, what is in Buffy that continues to give her slayer powers?
The impression I had was that it wasn’t so much an individual demon being bound in as a reservoir of demonic energy (so the Slayer is less like a vampire and more like whatever Cordelia became last season). Buffy’s continuing to draw on that energy may well be part of the imbalance that’s connected to the First’s actions. (I’m still leaning towards a Buffy’s-Slayerness-gets-transferred-out-to-redress-the-imbalance ending, although a lot hinges on future plans for the show.)
>>After the last scene with the “Army of Darkness” my boyfriend turns to me and says “Best Buffy ending … Ever.”<<
With all deference to your boyfriend, Best Buffy ending(s) ever
1) Spike draped on the cross with smoke rising from him as he asks if he can rest.
2) Angel and Buffy strolling in the snow falling upon Sunnydale.
3) Giles walking into a tree at the end of “Earshot.”
4) A distraught Buffy looking down at a wounded Faith being carried away in the back of a truck while Angel lays dying.
5) Buffy and Spike’s first genuine kiss at the end of “Once More With Feeling.”
6) Buffy discovering Joyce’s corpse.
So I’d peg this one at #7.
PAD
It also occurs to me (he said after reading the 5 posts that showed up while composing the last one) that the in-group snappishness we’re seeing is pretty typical of the group when they don’t have a good idea of where to direct their energies (sometimes helped along by outside agencies, as in “The Yoko Factor”). The length of the arc from snippiness to direct action was just unusually short this time…
“With all deference to your boyfriend, Best Buffy ending(s) ever…”
Methinks you’re forgetting the end to “Fear, Itself”:
Giles: “Oh, bloody hëll – the inscription! I should have translated the Gaelic inscription under the illustration of Gachnar.”
Buffy: “What’s it say?”
Giles: “Actual size.”
To continue with PAD’s endings: what about the one after Joyce’s death when Dawn is about to touch Joyce corpse? That one stacks up there pretty well. It’s the one ending I cannot shake off.
IIRC, at the end of last season, didn’t Buffy say she was going to train Dawn in the useful arts of combat? In fact, didn’t we actually see Buffy training Dawn at the start of this season?
It seems to me that, despite the fact that Dawn isn’t an “official” potential, she should be joining in on the training sessions with the other SiTs. After all, even if both Buffy & Faith buy the farm, only one (or, possibly two, depending on how it works out) of the SiTs are going to be “activated” as Slayers. The rest are going to be teenage girls no more powerful than Dawn who have learned how to fight.
Is there any logical reason Buffy hasn’t insisted on training Dawn to fight like the others, just in case?
Regarding Fray‘s information regarding (presumably) Buffy’s final battle…it came to my mind after watching the latest ep myself. But, after rereading the reference, it seems that – particularly if either show continues past this year – that this season’s battle with the First isn’t the same battle. When the “final battle” is described in Fray it’s stated that the end result included all demons being driven from Earth, which would preclude the continuation of either “Whedon-verse” series.
As far as best / favorite endings go, I’d have to agree with my fave Writer O’Stuff….plus one. When Harris Yulin (I think it was) tells the group that Glory isn’t a demon, but a god, a look of shock flashes over Buffy’s face before she finally responds: “………oh.”.
But let’s not forget what I was inquiring about before (scroll up) vis-a-vis the ‘Slayer Survival Kit’. Deus ex machina, sloppy story editing, or what??
Hooper