At a point in previous seasons where the plot has built up speed like an express train, this week gives me a sense of going nowhere fast.
Stan Lee used to write that the trick in serial comic storytelling was to provide “the illusion of change.” Make it *seem* that the situation was changing, but in fact most everything was remaining the same.
So let’s see what happened tonight:
The situation in Sunnydale is deteriorating. We knew that. Caleb is real real strong. We knew that. Xander’s eye is gone. We knew that. Faith knows how to party. We knew that. Cops are looking for Faith. We knew that. The place where Buffy and Co. attacked last week should be attacked. We knew that. Caleb and the First are in cahoots. We knew that. Buffy believes she is better than everyone else, but also has an inferiority complex. We knew that. Buffy, who has planned countless strategies in seven years, seems to have lost all her leadership skills. Unfortunately, we knew that too.
We learned exactly two things tonight: There’s a vague inscription in a church that annoyed Caleb, and–most importantly–how to make that brilliant onion flower thing that Spike fancies. That was the one moment in the entire episode I said, “Well, THAT was interesting.”
We learn nothing new and we’re three eps away from the end. At this point, the only thing we have a clear idea about is that the First is doing something nasty with the Hellmouth. Okay. Except we’ve seen the Hellmouth opened three times already in the series history. Once it took a season to get there, but the season was only twelve episodes. The other two times, it took exactly one episode to get there. Hëll, in one of those episodes, opening the Hellmouth was the “B” plot, taking second fiddle to Xander’s getting laid and hanging out with zombies. The seventh season is taking 22 dámņëd episodes, two dozen slayers, Xander’s eye, and endless angst to get to something going on with the šøddìņg Hellmouth.
I’ve been trying to tell myself a large part of the problem is the less-than-generous airing schedule. That “Angel” is playing so much better because the WB is running the show consecutively as opposed to the one new, two reruns, two new, two reruns, etc., that we’re seeing for “Buffy.” That perhaps this season will play better where aired nonstop on FX, which, frankly, I have to admit season 6 has. But nothing can overcome the fact that tonight’s episode gave us nothing substantive until the last act, and what was there was–frankly–horrendous. The troops revolt against Buffy. I could almost handle that. Almost.
So does Buffy say, “You don’t like it? Fine. Get the @*$# out of my house.” No. She slinks away…AT THE ORDER OF HER SISTER. Oh my GOD. I don’t care if she DOES have an inferiority complex. It’s HER SØÐÐÍNG HOUSE. They don’t like how she’s calling the shots? Let them move in to Xander or Willow’s place. And I’m sorry, there’s NO WAY Dawn orders her out. No way. Furthermore, she’s still a Slayer with formidable skills. Giles once said, “Our plan? Buffy IS the plan.” At a time when the Apocalypse is nigh, Giles lets one of their most potent weapons evaporate because she’s got management issues? The Bringer might as well have cut his head off, because he’s not putting the thing to any use. Mortimer Snerd could manage a military campaign better than this.
It’s almost as if they tried to paint this as a tough love intervention situation. “Buffy, your behavior is unacceptable. Get out.” No. They’re in a situation where they may be facing 10,000 Ubervamps, the only strategy they’ve got is, “Okay, Buffy, take the 5000 on the right, Faith, the 5000 on the left,” and they just cut their resources in half. Unless Willow is planning to crank up the Witch-o-Meter a few hundred decibles and put paid to Caleb singlehandedly (which, let’s face it, she probably could), then let us quote Xander from season two: “Hi, for those of you who just tuned in: Everyone here is a crazy person.”
It didn’t help that poor Gellar obviously was battling laryngitis during filming. Couldn’t they have looped it? One could try and rationalize it that Buffy got her throat injured by Caleb and was battling raspiness. But the First was sounding hoarse too.
This season was supposed to go back to the beginning. Instead it’s been fits and starts, with short arcs that begin and then taper off. Spike is being tortured by the First and going nuts except, okay, he gets cured of that. Giles isn’t touching anyone and might actually be the First except, wait, no, it was just some bad writing to hose viewers. Andrew killed his friend and then admits he did it, and that pretty much goes nowhere. Someone’s going all over the world to kill Slayers and Caleb blows up the Watchers, except now that the Slayers are all together, no one’s blowing them up, for some reason, not sure why, rapidly not caring. Xander and Anya might be getting back together except, no, they’re not. It’s like watching a finely tuned race car that keeps stalling out every three laps. A season that started promisingly, and has had a few standout episodes, is suffering from inertia and soggy storytelling. And since comparisons to “Angel” are inevitable, it’s almost painful.
They’ve got, what, three weeks to pull it together? I’m still hoping the resolution is that the First is planning to open up Hellmouths all over the world, Buffy thwarts it by sacrificing the primal power of the Slayer, that’s the end of the Slayer line, and the Hellmouth is gone forever. Which would be pretty major and a considerable payoff. But getting there has been all fits and starts; we keep waiting for it to start and have fits when it doesn’t.
PAD
• 
This season’s Buffy is mostly made watchable by the good grace of the first three excellent seasons. Sigh.
And since comparisons to “Angel” are inevitable, it’s almost painful.
It’s even more painful when you realize that this has been the least of Angel’s four seasons. Though to their credit, the Angel staff has realized what went wrong, and took steps to fix it. Meaning that if we get a fifth season, it might rank up their with Season 2.
Anyone here ever see “The Singing Detective”? (Just came out on DVD, btw). There was this great scene in the last episode where these two detectives that have been skulking around the entire series are breaking into a file cabinent. As they’re reading one of the records one of them suddenly looks stunned and says (the best line in the history of television). “We’re padding!”. They then decided to go off and kill the author. I wish that
at least one of the characters in Buffy had that level of self-awareness.
Yeah, not the season I’d hoped for. It’s funny, Gellar told Entertainment Weekly that one of the reasons she decided to pull the plug was the great quality of the episodes this season. I wondered, Is she watching the same show that I am?
OK – PAD you would know better than me, but I thought the writing here was just lazy. They wanted to get from point “A” to point “B”, and did it, logic be dámņëd.
I mean, all right, they did set up the fact that the Jr. slayers wouldn’t like Buffy much. But all her friends and associates would know that Anya’s little speech about Buffy not having earned leadership was completely off base, and would have said something. That’s the WHOLE PREMISE OF THE SHOW – that Buffy approached the mantle of Slayerhood differently from all the other slayers, and became the most successful ever.
Ðámņ it – do _I_ know the premise of the series better than the writers? That’s just wrong!
Even this year Buffy has pulled off some great “leadership” moments, like leading the girls out to watch her take out the UberVamp – a bold move that’s always been the type of thing she’s been good at. How could they forget that – and why now? Smells like the plot leading the characters by the nose to me.
And yeah, letting whiny little -under age- sister kick her out of her own house was just lame. God this was lame.
On another note, in the first couple of scenes I though “what a great touch – Buffy’s voice is rough”… Just as if she’d been wandering all night on the verge of tears or a breakdown or something. I had visions of her yelling for an hour before each shoot to roughen her voice (ala the Beatles “Oh, Darling”). But yeah, when the First had the same voice my illusions were shattered…
Well, judging from the previews next week will be the “all humping” episode. God help us all.
Does anyone else feel as if we’re getting a bit of a Season 4 redux here? I get the feeling that it was Caleb and the First’s plan to demoralize and fracture the troops and look, that’s exactly what they did. Someone above mentioned how Showtime was a prime example of Buffy making a plan and winning and it was. However, it was also an example of everyone working together and coming off victorious. Buffy had the idea and then finetuned it with her lieutenants. Somehow, since then, she’s stopped consulting and listening to other’s opinions.
Shoot, last episode it was as if Xander and Willow were the only ones who backed her up anymore and now because of the eye they’re re-evaluating their support. Like they say, divide and conquer.
I get the feeling that Robert Jordan has been ghost writing the last half of this season, and that is not a good thing as he is the king of build up with no culmination;-). I’m hoping for the best where the finale is concerned but I’m not all that sure anymore that we’re going to get it.
Tonight’s episode overall: Bleh. I agree on the onion bloom, tho, as being the best part of the episode. I was more excited watching the teaser for next week’s “everyone gets it on” ep than this weeks hour. Except for Caleb. He’s watchable thanks to Nathan Fillion’s performance. He’s put more menace and character into Caleb in two episodes than all the actors playing the First put into it all season.
On a side note, what did people make of the First/Caleb talk about Buffy being just about to do what they want her to do? I think it’s that they want to do a massive Slayer sacrifice that will, as PAD suspects, rip up Hellmouths all over the world. And Buffy was playing right into it, wanting to charge back into the vineyard with the whole gang. I have to wonder where B’s brain went. She’s smarter than that. She’s been in ditz/react mode almost all season.
The other thing that’s been ticking over in my brain is what Caleb is, exactly. Back when this season started, the First said it was no longer interested in balance. So here’s my take: Buffy draws power from the First to fight evil. So perhaps Caleb is the Anti-Slayer, for lack of a better term. So there is a Slayer out using First’s power for good, and Caleb out using it for evil. Then along comes Faith and two active Slayers. Two warriors out using First’s power (potentially) for good. This throws things out of ballance and gives the First the opprotunity to upset the balance and perhaps take it’s power back from the Slayer line.
According to my theory, it pumps up Caleb with a double dose of power and brings him into contact with the Slayer, which it had avoided (“It’s been so long” comment by Caleb) because perhaps they could cancel each other out at “equal” power. Now that things are out of balance and Caleb has “double the fun” and the Slayer power is the same, albeit in two Slayers, the First now has it’s chance for ending the balance, however it means to do it.
But then, it’s just my theory, what do I know? 🙂
I’m with you on this one PAD. No freaking way I would let my younger sister (if I had one) tell me to get out of my own house! I actually didn’t see that one coming though. I thought someone would tell her that now SHE had to fall in line.
Still, how come no one has suggested that both Faith and Buffy attack Caleb together?
I truly don’t understand this. That’s two situations where Buffy was offereed or has the power she needs to defeat the big Bad, and she’s either turned it down or refuses to work with a partner.
Well, on the other hand, I actually was thinking during this ep “Hmm, I think this one may mark Joss paying full attention to Buffy again”. ‘Cause I think this was build-up to the final act, which was also the payoff for all the “Oh geez, not *another* motivational speech from Buffy” comments we’ve been making.
Now, admittedly there’s been some very questionable writing and characterization across the board this season. But based on what’s happened, especially that for the first time the Scoobies took significant losses while in active following Buffy mode, and that there’s a viable alternative in Faith (and remember the comments made here about how Faith seemed to have more presence than Buffy these days), the mutiny pretty much had to happen.
Now, as to Buffy letting Dawn order her out, I do think Buffy would let her do this. The reason is that Dawn wasn’t the only nail in the coffin, just the final one, with the realization sinking into Buffy that *no one*, not Willow, Xander, Giles, or even Dawn, was in agreement with her…and for not invalid reasons. She’d lost leadership…and at that moment, she knew it. Thus, her comments to Faith on the porch.
Side note. Notice the twist on the
Joyce’s image’s warning to Dawn. When it came down to it now, Dawn didn’t choose Buffy, rather than the other way around as the Joyce image told her.
Question; had to tape the ep, and due to switching channels to tape Smallville I didn’t get the credits. Was that Nerf Herder in the Bronze, as I’m assuming by the “sign of the apocalypse” comment about ’em?
And one plot thread I wish they’d address. Let’s see, Buffy’s up against a much stronger than her opponent in Caleb, backed by the power of a god or more in the First. Could we at least address why either the uberBuffyScooby combination spell used against Adam is out of the question, or the various strategies used against Glory in the endgame there?
O.K So I live in Toronto Canada (city of the bûllšhìŧŧëd SARS warning) And we get BtVS reruns every night on the Space channel at 8. Long story a bit shorter…
The S4 ep where Buffy and the infused-Buffy ScoobGang finally put the kibosh on all their differences and everything that was separating them for that entire season and work together like old times to kick some evil ášš in the form of the cumbersome Adam, was on. Watching that ep with tonight’s ep it was slightly disappointing/ eerie to see the rehash of plot/story.
I mean Buffy picks up the same exact picture of the great 3some (Buffy/Willow/Xander)taken from back in S2or3 and gets all weepy [although that could be a continuity aspect, but but a pic with Giles and mabey even Dawn it would be an even nicer touch].
BigBad is so big and evil it is not fathomable to stop it (Adam and his nuked up power source; FirstEvil being, well the first evil)[I do realize that that is the case with all seasons – or else teh season would be pointless and boring)
BigBad fig’s out the best way to beat the slayer is to separate her from her peeps [i only recall 2 BigBads utelizing that technique – 3 if you count Angelus, but he didn’t REALLY try to kill the Scoob’s, i think more than one wouoolld be dead if he did].
Now i am just waiting for eveyone to work together as a team again – possibly combine all their essences/attributes or whatever and kick some unstoppable ášš.
But I guess that is what the show is about – the telling of a life/lives and how they interact over the course of 7 years (well really 6.5 – but hey everyone’s counting right?)
With only 3 ep’s left, this one seemed to be a case of mass amnesia and lets blame Buffy for not being perfect and making mistakes – and hey, lets do it in front of a whole of bunch of little brats who think they’re superior from their strongest warior and leader, before we talk it out on our own or even acknowledge that it’s a problem.
It is also a transitional piece of sorts for what will happen in the next two ep’s (I’m a spoiler whørë, but not for the finale)
However, as far as the series ending on a high note of sorts…the past s7 of BtVS has still far out weighed the unwatchable trechery of the last 2 yrs of the X-Files.
Here’s to enjoying the last 3 ep’s of brilliant tv – remembering: even a sub-par Buffy ep is still LEAPS and BOUNDS over the other crap that is forced fed to us on TV ;)Cheers
I’m sorry, this was a lame episode. You just get the feeling that this season is exactly like last season–the people running the show aren’t Joss and they don’t know what to do. So, the show meanders, situations come up that go nowhere, and things that should take one episode to figure out take five. Then, in the last episode of the season (or series), Joss comes swinging in and basically saves they season with a brilliant episode. But lately, the characterization and plodding plot have been so far off, I’m not sure it can be saved. And did anyone notice the parallels between the Angel crew stumbling upon the creature in the sewer (who had the secrets to all of Jasmine’s weaknesses in his crystal ball) and Spike stumbling upon the Calebproof Monk (who had the secrets to all of Caleb’s weaknesses on the wall inscription)?
I became increasingly frustrated watching the latest BUFFY ep.
First off, I agree totally that for the first 2/3 nothing happened. It also aggravated me that Buffy continued walking around like the last ep never happened. I can understand Willow and Xander being sympathetic toward her, but when she smartmouthed Giles I was just dying for him to say “yeah, you said you learned it all and then you went and lead a total disaster of an ambush.”
I kind of liked the final scene though. It built on several of the things I had been wanting to see addressed. Finally, Buffy’s horrid leadership this season was called to task (by Faith and Wood no less…like Giles and Anya were in a coma all season). Faith finally got some slayer-respect (why does she always take the second fiddle role?). And finally there was some character development (almost a reverse of season 2, where Buffy lost her bf, friends and family…except this time they ditched her, not vice versa).
To those who didn’t care for Buffy getting thrown out of the house or being overthrown as “leader”–I can only say it makes sense in the sense that never have they faced such adversity as this. People react differently when faced with dire situations. Yeah, there was a big bad every season but each time, nobody lost an eye (or other body part), 5 young girls weren’t brutally slaughtered and you didn’t have Buffy running around like a know-everything tight-ášš. For the first time Buffy and her gang are facing something that is causing them some damage and its understandable they reacted by turning on her (Xander went from being Buffy Cheerleader #1 last ep to anti-Buffy, see what losing an eye does…sorry, bady pun)
Anyhoo, I think the key to the whole finale thing was in that inscription which I believe said something to the effect of “Its for her only to wield.” Given Caleb’s sexism and the earlier ep about how the slayers derived their power, I definately think that the slayer-demon-force has infected Caleb and/or figures into the resolution somehow (also, remember Conner asking Faith why slayers were only girls?).
Best,
Chris
Agree on many points…
Season 6 is a lot better in a solid dose. Thank you FX.
Buffy is still acting like her season 6 self. It ain’t helping. I miss the sense of fun the show had. These days, the only comedy comes through Andrew, an admitted MURDERER.
The First has, honestly, been a rather boring enemy. Caleb would have been a great Big Bad this season, but let’s face it, he’s just Buffy’s equivilant of Angel’s Beast. A flunky.
Xander losing an eye. Gratuitous and disgusting. I understand why they did it, but I still think it was a mistake.
Willow doing litle this season. This one is understandible, since her major spells have been messed with by the big bad.
Faith? She’s been great these last two episodes. All the fun Buffy used to be.
The slayers-in-training. If Caleb killed them all, I wouldn’t care. They’re irritating.
Buffy being ordered out… I think it was more the shock of finding out she was alone in her position than Dawn’s request.
I wish I’d taped this ep, so I could have the recipe for the onion flower.
Back to Caleb… Whatever happened to the troll hammer they used on Glory? I’d love to see them go whack-a-mole on the jerk.
Having heard rumours that (minor spoilers follow): Buffy is going to get that cool axe thing from the Fray comics I have to say the best thing about the episode for me was the quote Spike translated (“It is not for thee; It is for her alone to wield.”).
The problem with Buffy these days (less of a problem with Angel, not sure why) is that they don’t seem to do episodes anymore. In the first four seasons, each episode had its own unique identity, you could refer to “Friends” style: The One Where… That isn’t the case any more, they do seasons instead.
I’m going to repeat my earlier theory with a bit of a twist: This season is about SMG leaving the show, both thematically and what’s going on behind the scenes.
Watch the episode and think about that as you hear lines like, “For seven years I’ve lead us and now you’re acting like you can’t even trust me.” Listen to Anya saying it’s not like you earned this place, you’re just the luckiest one of us. The entire cast is standing around her and saying, You’ve let us all down and now we’re going away. Again, note that the First is now appearing almost exclusively as SMG , promising the worst of all fates, the end of all, the one thing the Scoobies can’t overcome: cancellation.
But I think what’s behind this even more is the practical aspects of television business. I think ME knew pretty early on that SMG was leaving (whether it was official or not) and now they had to face the question, “What’s next?” Well, the show must go on, so do you spend an entire season crafting episodes that are your love letter to a departing star (I don’t know any of these people and I don’t want to ascribe motives that I couldn’t possibly know for certain but I do hear that SMG didn’t even show up for the series finale wrap party so I think it would be fair to say that relations are probably at least strained.) or do you make your lead even more and more estranged from the other characters and the audience? Do you want the “I have Hal Jordan’s name tattooed on my ášš” types pre-rejecting the re-tooled season or would you like to have people saying, “The show is so much better now that Faith is the star”? I suspect this episode may have been written and filmed before Eliza Dushku had made a final decision about taking over the lead role. So we send Buffy off to make the final sacrifice and save the world and leave Faith in a position of having taken over the show’s symbolic lead spot.
Three things:
1) This was a poorly written episode. Probably the weakest of the season. Every season has had them; it’s just unfortunate that this one comes so close to the climax.
2) They said that the show was going ‘back to the beginning,’ but no one ever said that it was going to stay there. It seems that as this season goes along they are recapitulating the previous seasons. Not exactly, but take a look: at the beginning of the season, Willow isn’t using magic, but now she’s back to casually using Jedi mind tricks; a vamprie with a soul goes bad–temporarily; they return to the Initiative in the middle of the season (but this time Spike’s chip is removed rather than implanted); last episode was a symbolic death for Buffy (she didn’t die, but some of her proxies did) and now she’s all mopey like season 6 Buffy was.
3) taking care of Caleb: two words: rocket launcher.
Not much to say on the episode in general, as I’m majorly conflicted on how much of the problems I have are due to the off and on showing schedule and how much are due to the episode itself. But I had a random thought while reading — the troll hammer’s probably still sitting where it fell in the fight, unless someone’s seen it after the Glory fight.
Aside from Buffy, the strongest person there at the time was Spike, and we saw in a comedy beat that he could only maybe drag it, himself. Perhaps Willow could have teleported it back to somewhere safe… but it seems like they had bigger things to think about with Buffy’s death. In my mind, the chances are that whoever first saw it after the battle tried to lift it, slapped themselves in the forehead as they recalled the problem there, and left it to sit. So it’s probably still laying there where it was dropped, unless there was development on that lot and someone came in with heavy vehicles.
Besides, for that matter, it wouldn’t work too well on Caleb himself. That was a fairly slow weapon — it worked against Glory because aside from a couple of moves in that fight, Glory showed well that she’d never needed to actually study fighting.
It pains me that the two characters I care the most about, Giles and Xander, are the two being treated with the least care. After saving the world last season, they could at least show us what that has done to Xander’s growth as a character. But no. And don’t even get me started about Giles, who just stands around looking sad and makes me want to cry.
It’s the Buffy and Spike Show, and I don’t care even in the slightest what happens to Buffy at this point. I hope the resolution of this season pays off in some way.
I have to agree with everyone that it was a weak episode.
However, the part about Buffy leaving and looking like she wanted to cry was totally in character for her. When things have not gone her way in seasons past, she’s either run away, alienated her friends, become “bìŧçh of the year,” or wallowed in misery for several episodes. Her leaving at the end, while a pretty stupid thing to do, was totally in character.
Too bad no one else was acting in character last night.
Bobby
Bobby Nash
Writer @ Large
The question I keep asking myself while watching the last few episodes is: Why doesn’t Giles step up and act like Buffy’s Watcher? I understood why everyone was questioning Buffy’s judgement, based on last ep.’s debacle. Instead of letting Buffy get thrown out, Giles, in private, should have been an adult and put Buffy in her place. Instead, he’s been wimpy and close mouthed, and letting Buffy push him around with an “I don’t love you anymore” attitude.
Way back, when Buffy hadn’t told anyone that Angel had returned, Giles really laid into her and let her know she screwed up. It was harsh, but it was the right thing to do. The same thing needed to happen this week. Buffy messed up last week because she’s always right. Now she wants to take them back to the scene of their defeat, which it seems is exactly what Caleb and The First want her to do.
I thought that Buffy being “voted off the island” made no sense at all. She needed Giles to play “Dad” and help her straighten herself out. Otherwise, what’s the point of Giles even being on the show?
Peter, I’m not sure if the episodes are going to get better. What ARE we looking forward to in the next episode? Buffy’s Red Shoe Diaries? Faith draining Wood’s lizard? The teen soap opera element has completely taken over the show. It started way back in the 4th season – Buffy falling for Riley? Backstreet Boy G.I.’s? Ugh.
And Eliza Dushku is seriously being wasted here. Her 3 Angel episodes rocked. Here on Buffy we get five episodes of her sitting on tables and countertops, flirting with Wood (who looks dámņ stupid with that goofy grin he gave) and making a few obvious comments about what’s happening.
When EVERYONE starts listening to the negative Black Girl potential (who’s has remained a wet blanket throughout the season), you know something about the writing is WAYYY off. Why didn’t they throw HER out of the house.
Regarding the band at the Bronze: I don’t know anything about Nerf Herder, but I thought two of the guys were Matt Stone and Trey Parker of South Park fame. Are they Nerf Herder?
Regarding the episode: I too have been wondering why the slayers don’t get a lot of weapons and just go after the bad guys? Is there a new rule that says only one slayer at a time, and they can only use bare fists?
I missed the episode 2 weeks ago, and it seems that I managed to miss THE interesting episode this season.
I watched “Becoming” the other day on FX. It struck me that in the final swordfight, Angel is mocking her with the same situation she’s in now: no friends, no support. “Take all that away, and what’s left?” In season 2, she says “Me,” and proceeds to kick butt. Now I think she’s invested herself so deeply in the persona of the Slayer that she wouldn’t have an answer for that question.
I just dii a search for “Nerf Herder,” and found their website. It seems they were on Buffy last night (at least they say they “should be” in their news section). It also seems that the South Park guys are NOT in the band, so I was obviously hallucinating.
I do agree that the best part of this episode was the ending but I still believe the writers won’t let us down. I was truly appalled at the way everyone attacked Buffy. I agree with the tough love intervention comment and yes Buffy has been showing bad judgement as of late but can you blame the poor girl? The issues from season 6 have NEVER been dealt with – the one time Buffy actually has a chance to make a decision about her own life (dying to save the world, having peace) that is taken away from her by the people she trusted the most: her friends. Why, because they can’t live without her or a slayer? No wonder Buffy has a superiority complex. Now everyone, including the fans, wants her to come back like the old Buffy. She can’t – she’ll never be the same. She came back to hëll and has to face yet another apocalypse, train and protect these potential brats while having a smile on her face??? It’s too much. She’s emotionally detached and no one can blame her but instead of her friends talking to her in private about her irrational behave they question her in front of everyone. The First doesn’t need to do anything, just leave all of them to destroy themselves with their own fear. Makes sense – they are more powerful together. Who knows, maybe that was what Caleb meant. That’s how you attack, from within.
Another thought – maybe the balance was shifted when Spike got his soul for Buffy. I have noticed the mention of free will in this season a lot, the choices we make. Angel’s soul was forced upon him but the minute it’s gone he’s evil again but Spike, of his own free will, got his soul back. I think this threw the balance off b/c even though Spike had the chip in his head he was still evil – trying to rape Buffy and even trying to feed on a woman when he thought the chip wasn’t working. That’s why it was said that Buffy threw off the balance, her coming back caused her to have a relationship with Spike, then ended it b/c he was evil and his need to have her made him get the soul. I don’t know…food for thought….
Everyone just remember what Buffy has been through and her behavior makes sense. Yes some of the episodes this season haven’t been as good as Angel but I still believe that the writers won’t let us down.
Buffy showed *great* leadership just a few episodes ago when she took the wannabes to see her dispatch the Ubervamp. Now she suddenly is *not* a leader? Bull.
Have you ever seen such wooden acting on Buffy as the opening with Clem? Why didn’t they just have him read it from a newspaper? Or just stand there and read it from an obvious script? Horrid.
My current theory is that Mutant Enemy is trying to make the audience hate Buffy as much as they hate Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Clem, Clem, come back, Clem!! Do you have any room in your car???!!
Done now. Want out of Sunnydale–not because it’s undergoing its umpteenth apocalypse, but because this one is so terribly, terribly boring.
Putting aside the usual plot holes big enough to drive Mayor Wilkins through (why aren’t any of the Scoobies or Slayerettes going Hellmouthy? just why haven’t some ‘Bingers been dispatched to blow up the House o Slayers? Why has there been no mention of bringing Angel & Co. in? Where the flark is the god-whomping troll’s hammer? Why not bust out the Uber-Slayer spell,since it seems everything’s on the line? Just what are the First’s abilities, again, and why do I care? If the Slayerettes don’t have any superstrength, then just how have they been doing any of the things we’ve seen them do for weeks? From the perspective of the average Sunnydale resident, just what’s happened this time around to make them flee town?), the writers’ utter failure to grasp the basics of narrative dramatic structure continue to make me feel like I’m Oz locked up in the cage, waiting for the show to start.
To wit: our big, dramatic moment this ep, the Mutiny, is utterly eviscerated becuase a few scenes prior, we’re shown the Bad Guys hoping that Buffy will lead all the Slayerettes into battle again. When the gang decides that’s a lousy plan, we know they’re right, and much of the potential drama of the scene goes out the window. That’s storytelling 101, folks, and it’s embarassing– or should be– that what used to be one of the best shows of its genre on TV is getting such basic things so deeply wrong.
Two things worth watching this week:
1) Scene between Willow and Xander in the hospital. (Remember when they used to let the actors on this show act instead of declaim? )
2) Faith dancing. Always a good idea. Most interesting moment of the episode, and not just for the obvious salacious reasons.
Can’t be over soon enough, as far as I’m concerned. Bring on the night.
This episode was just a carbon copy of most of the episodes this season, lots of talking and complaining and no action or decision-making. I’m tired of these components and still hope for the ending to knock my socks off and put the entire season into perspective, make me go “Ohhhh, so that was the whole point …” but as the season comes to a close and it’s still the same old thing my hope is dwindling.
Though I admit seeing that Buffy is slowly unraveling and losing her ability to lead strongly and convincingly, I do not think that because of these things she deserves to be disrespected and abandoned. Anya says she didn’t do anything to deserve her role, she didn’t work for it, she’s just the lucky one … what the f**k! Perhaps she did nothing to deserve COMING TO BE the slayer but while BEING the slayer I certainly think she’s worked for and deserves trust, leadership, friendship, respect, all of the things Anya was implying she didn’t deserve just because she’s got a nifty title. I’ve said before and I’ll say it until it’s over, this girl has fought hard and long, sacrificed everything, lost so much, and continues on to fight and be the hero and she deserves a dámņëd metal of honor or something because despite her faults and shortcomings she IS superior to every one of those people. That’s not to say that the Scooby gang’s endless dedication to her is unremarkable, it’s down right amazing and impressive and they are all supreme individuals that have also been through hëll and back, but the slayer doesn’t deserve what she’s getting. And Faith certainly doesn’t deserve to be placed on a pedestal like she is, just because she’s “fun” and doesn’t appear emotionally drained.
I just really hope the next three episodes curl my toes because it would be a shame if BTVS went out with a whimper instead of a howl.
I do have to give you credit for your presience: during your commentary on “Salvage” you mentioned that Faith needed to be put in charge of the potentials since she was more mature and focused that Buffy has been all season. Well, here she is, in charged. But it’s still Buffy’s show, so no doubt TPTB will have her messing up to demonstrate Buffy’s being the “superior slayer” once again.
Have I mentioned how disappointed I am we’re not getting the Faith spinoff?
To me, what’s happening this season makes sense (which is not to say I like it) if you look at it from a meta-perspective.
The season started off strong (if tenuously so), while Joss Whedon was happily sitting back running three shows. As the season wears on, though, things start getting more…iffy, somewhere around episode 8 (the one that kicked off the four episode, dragging like a trawl, nearly unwatchable Ubervamp storyline). Looking at this from a production perspective, these episodes would’ve been produced right around the same time as two external things were happening: Joss was focusing all his attention on saving Firefly, and Marti Noxon returned to full-time show running after being on maternity leave. What this means is, Joss was probably leaving the show almost exclusively in Marti’s hands, and from all accounts I’ve read, she’s not from the “kill your darlings” school of writing (to put it nicely).
So while Joss is off fighting for Firefly, the show’s pacing gets thrown to hëll. And when he finally returns to giving the show the attention it deserves, we’re well around episode 15. Now here’s the quandry: They’re in the unenviable position of dealing with the consequences of the story presented so far (Buffy’s speech-ifying, etc.), bringing in desperately needed story points (such as, I don’t know, establishing the First as a legitimate threat), all the while still advancing the story at the same time, and they have seven episodes to do it! (You’ll notice that, starting around ep. 15, they start actually saying, “Well, yeah, what about that thing we saw ten episodes ago?” And that’s when Buffy starts making self-deprecating remarks about her speeches, too.)
Is this the way I’d have liked the season to run? Definitely not. But I’m watching these episodes thinking, “At last they’re dealing with the consequences of the first two-thirds of the season,” (which is almost entirely what this episode was), and I’m pleased to believe that we haven’t completely been abandoned.
Gian Said:”This season’s Buffy is mostly made watchable by the good grace of the first three excellent seasons. Sigh.”
My wife who watches the show avidly has lost all interest in the show. Even when I remind her that it’s a new episode tonight she just doesn’t care.
In fact I was buying her the DVD’s season by season as they came out, and after I got the third season for her, she said not to bother getting the rest of them.
I thought that said a lot about the show.
SPB
Funny, I thought this was the episode where the season finally slipped into gear.
Last night’s episode had more amusing moments than either suspenseful or dramatic. Yes, the whole f-ing thing felt like filler, from the conversation with Clem on the street, the fight with Caleb in the school and the ‘let’s blow off steam by going clubbing’ schlock.
Even Eliza Kushdu, whose return to ANGEL conveyed real depth (great scenes with Wesley), just seems to be going through the paces here. It’s almost like the cast see this thing going nowhere fast and can’t get jazzed up about the blah blah blah’ing. Again, with the inevitable comparison to ANGEL, note how that show maintains forward momentum with plot-driven elements that characters need to react to, where BUFFY now gives us (weak) character-driven moments in lieu of tight plotting.
Even ’24’ feels like it’s maintaining a breakneck pace, though there are really few new developments each week.
Here’s hoping the next 3 weeks we’re given reason to feel like the show went out on a high note.
“Giles, no one’s using the ‘I’ statements!”
I think this set of reactions highlights why any show (or comic) with ongoing continuity runs into trouble after a while: you start piling up things you’ve established in previous seasons. The responses are to selectively ignore continuity (the “Simpsons” and “TNG” approach), reinvent the show from time to time (the “Dr. Who” and “Law & Order” approach), or hit the point where you can’t move without running into something you’ve done earlier. (Doubtless if they did use the “Form Slayer Voltron” spell and had a souped-up Buffy charging in with troll hammer and rocket launcher, people would be complaining how ME couldn’t do anything new…)
Firstly-
“3) taking care of Caleb: two words: rocket launcher. Posted by Dave @ 04/30/2003 07:53 AM ET” led to the absolute best line in Buffy (amid a million)… “what does that thing do?” by the Judge.
Secondly-
This episode was BORING and uneventful (as PAD mentions).
No one on this thread has yet mentioned the possibility that this might be a ruse to confuse 1st/Caleb. Like the mindpower conversation between Buffy/Xander/Willow that led to the demonstration with the ubervamp. Perhaps they feel that there is/are folks that can’t be trusted in the team (because of Gile’s punk-like behaivior I think it might be him… but his character can’t be dead. Joss is supposedly working on a “Ripper” show for the UK audience).
*I think there is something to the posted observation that the first is only appearing as Buffy these days.
*I also liked the thought that Caleb has a double dose of Slayer power, nice thought, nice linkage.
*someone mentioned the inscription read “it is not for you, it is for her”… since when are inscriptions EVER written TO one person? Was some ancient monk/priest leaving a shopping list? Why would a message like that even be inscribed? (maybe if it was in a tomb/prison that HELD the individual that it was directed at… and it was made clear that Caleb came to the mission, not came FROM the mission).
Is Joss writing the last episodes? Are the names/credits released yet?
Is Angel confirmed to return for the finale?
I liked the episode overall. Caleb and the First want to get Buffy to bring the rest of the slayer potentials to them. Last ep when they attacked the first time when Buffy says “I hear you have something of mine” and Caleb looks back at the potentials before saying “I do now”. And the conversation between Caleb and the 1st sure points to themm wanting more of them to come. Buffy has never been that strong a leader. Hëll, even when she comments about how she HAS TO LEAD she acts like her brain hurts from thinking like that. She has made comments EVERY season about how easy it is to just RUN IN AND HIT SOMETHING or YOU GUYS GO OVER THERE I’M GONNA GO HIT SOMETHING. That’s her style. Not fore planning or anything. It’s the gang that helps her with that. Sometimes the writers let her figure something out and it works (rocket launcher, run like mad and let the bomb kill the mayor, MY blood will work like Dawn’s, etc). I am usually left thinking “Good thing that worked”… I mean who knew for sure the rocket launcher could take out the judge. They had NO back up plan we could see. Buffy at best makes one plan and goes with it. She said it last night “This is the plan”. Period. End of story. Her justification fit well iunto “Buffy thinking”…Caleb and the first ain’t gaurding the hellmouth so it ain’t important to them anymore. Well, dang Buff, the Master wanted it but he stuck elsewhere and your durn library was on top of it. AND Caleb WAS THERE. You don’t know what else he had done before he introduced himself. And per his conversation with the first, they want the pots to be brought to them. Maybe they DON’T need the seal anymore but it was a crapy leap in logic for her to assume it. She is alienating her friends …again. She is commanding instead of leading…again (Giles warned her of that before, too). She is coming close to blowing it… again. She is going to have another epiphany before the end that brings them all together. That or the writers just suck this season. Either way, i expect Caleb to have a connection to Glory.
Obsessively:
MY GUESS to the finale still involves some sort of:
1. Giving up the evil nature of slayer power (can’t defeat evil with evil) to defeat the First
2. Faith/Buffy might die at the end (it won’t end with both around… and any redemption play for Faith would take away from this being the end of Buffy’s series) or Buffy might give her powers to Faith to fight the slistack vampires or Caleb while she takes her goodness to fight the First. Faith dies closing the gate to the ubervamp world.
3. Angel is involved in the finale… my thought is that the things that ground Buffy (her loves and friends) will be important (what separates her from the other slayers). Her belief that Spike can be a good man… her belief in redemption will also play a strong part.
4. How she treats Spike (maybe he is evil again… or his death is needed) will also play some sort of important role. The first keeps referring to his role that he has yet to play…
MY BIG GUESS (NEW THOUGHT)- is that this will play out similar to the conclusion to the Amber Spyglass… the “original sin” and birth of good and evil themes will play heavily and it will all come down to a CHOICE that Buffy needs to make…. I’m thinking something to do with saving friends/world or killing Spike/saving the world. Buffy’s loss of innocence? Buffy choosing between eliminating evil (but no choices for those who live) or allowing this evil to be defeated but allowing some evil to survive (Spike?) so that people, not her, can choose how to live. This might come back around to her experience in heaven:
“You have to go on living
So one of us is living”
SECOND NEW THOUGHT- Maybe the series will end with Buffy absorbing or incorporating the essence of the first evil into herself… becoming the vessel that contains the evil. Maybe that is what happened with the first slayer… the Slayer powers shifted from slayer to slayer at death, there was always a vessel ready to contain the evil. However, when Buffy died (first) the transfer of the “essence of evil” broke down and possibly contributed to the corruption of Faith (the First did first appear after her first death (lots of firsts in that sentence)). Her second death further bollixed the works and allowed the first to spread his/her influence allowing the first to marshal the forces to destroy the watcher council and start killing the potentials. If all of the potentials are dead AND Buffy/Faith die, the vessel that contain evil is gone and the first can roam the world again unencumbered. (ÐÃMN, that might be it!).
Also- I read an interview with the actor that plays Caleb (the priest disciple of the First) and in his careful words about the finale he referred to the First twice (off hand) as “her.” Could possibly support that the First is also the Slayer?… Maybe that is why the First’s initial target was Angel and didn’t show up again until after Willow went bad (she shared in the first Slayer’s power at the end of season 4). The First is inexorably tied to Buffy.
Remember the Buffy from Wish/Doppelgangland? Very similar to what the first Slayer wants Buffy to be…
It appears that a pivotal BTVS episode is the season finale from season 4. This is the one where Willow, B, Giles, and Xander are bedeviled in their dreams by the primordial essence of the first slayer (episode after they defeat Adam). The concept of the essence of the slayer being “death” and “alone” are here. Seems that the presence of Faith, Buffy’s other death, and the slayers allies (particularly when they came together in the uberslayer) have tainted the slayerness maybe giving the First an advantage. This episode also talks about the names of things…
Here is a link to the script:
http://studiesinwords.de/shooting/restless1.html
Here are some poignant quotes:
*
(Willow’s dream)
TARA
I think it’s strange… I mean I
think I should worry, that we haven’t
found her name.
[Tara is the “voice” of the first slayer in this episode]
Another scene (from Buffy’s dream):
ADAM (without cybernetics, just a person)
She’s uncomfortable with certain
concepts. It’s understandable.
(to Buffy)
Aggression is a natural human
tendency. Though you and me come by
it another way.
BUFFY
We’re not demons.
ADAM
Is that a fact?
RILEY
Buffy, we’ve got important work here.
A lot of filing, and giving things names
BUFFY
(to Adam)
What was yours?
ADAM
Before Adam? Not a man among us can remember.
Quote Referring to the first slayer:
BUFFY
(calm anger)
Make her speak.
TARA
I have no speech. No name. I live
in the action of death. The blood-
cry, the penetrating wound. I am
destruction. Absolute. Alone
Also:
BUFFY
You just have to get over the whole
primal power thing. You’re not the
source of me.
BUFFY
I’m not alone.
The Primitive growls, snaps her teeth at Buffy.
TARA
The slayer doesn’t walk in the world.
BUFFY
I walk. I talk. I shop, I sneeze,
I’m gonna be a fireman when the
floods roll back. There’s trees in
the desert since you moved out, and
I don’t sleep on a bed of bones. Now
give me back my friends.
PRIMITIVE
No… friends… just the kill… we
are… alone.
She isn’t asking for her friends back now, is she?
BUFFY
I walk. I talk. I shop, I sneeze,
I’m gonna be a fireman when the
floods roll back. There’s trees in
the desert since you moved out, and
I don’t sleep on a bed of bones. Now
give me back my friends.
PRIMITIVE
No… friends… just the kill… we
are… alone.
**
Angel/Buffy- “NAMES”
as both series are ending both have name/identity themes that are coming to a head (can’t be a coincidence) with Jasmine’s name being important and the First/Buffy identity having significance. My brother made this observation:
“Deep reference section: “true name” Remember the Wizard of Earthsea series U.K. LeGuin? Knowing a thing’s “true name” was to know its essence and to have power over it. That puts jasmine early in the god-pantheon because saying the words was all about the power and creation. [for example…. Gen C1V3 verse: And God said, Let there be light and there was light. OR John C1V1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.]
Can you picture the climatic scene: Angel beaten down by her power (or minions), clinging to life (so to speak), on his last breath (again so to speak) uttering the “true name” of jasmine to bring her to defeat….. perhaps a TV writer that has read a decent science fiction book”
Lots and lots of stuff already said about the rebellion, so I’ll skip that and limit my comments to two things.
1: As lame as the rebellion stuff was, there was one excellent point made that I’ve been waiting for for a bit: Why exactly is Buffy in charge, again? She’s the Slayer, sure, but Faith’s presence brings that authority into question as well. (It could also be seriously argued, and will probably be important in the end, that Faith is THE Slayer, and Buffy is sort of a hanger-on due to not one but two unnatural returns from the grave.) And as PAD has pointed out, Buffy’s approach when stressed is always to hit something; it always works because she’s the biggest gun. Having Faith around calls everything that people Just Assume about Buffy’s role into question, and it’s good that she finally recognizes that.
2. During the long-winded Caleb speech to Buffy, was anyone else thinking “Dammit, if Two-Gun Wesley was here, this whole mess would be sorted by now?” BANG-BANG-BANG — ‘Excuse me, but did I interrupt your tirade?’
One postscript:
“why aren’t any of the Scoobies or Slayerettes going Hellmouthy?”
It suddenly occurs to me — and this could explain a lot — that this might be exactly what we’re seeing right now.
Alan M. pretty much pegged it. The main problem with this season hasn’t been the plot, it’s been the pacing. Earlier in the season, it wasn’t so bad. At the end of the show, I’d say, “That episode was a little bit slow.” But now the problem’s become so pronounced that I’m actually watching the episodes and saying, “This scene could have been cut. This one, too.”
Last night’s show had about thirty minutes of plot stretched over an hour. The most painful scene to watch was Faith’s pointless meeting with Principal Wood. Arguably, they needed the scene to set up next week’s episode, but they could have done it without making the characters look so…stupid. The guy who thought he could defeat Spike single-handed doesn’t get to claim that he’s good at reading people. If they’d had Wood and Faith Meet Cute while fighting a demon, it would have improved the episode enormously.
The only real problem I had with the plot came in the last scene. Not Dawn throwing Buffy out. I can accept that as a logical climax of the whole “We don’t like you. Go away” extravaganza. Most likely, Buffy will end up back in the house within a few weeks, but sulking in her room by herself. No, the problem I had was with Buffy’s plan.
The conversation should have gone something like this:
BUFFY: Caleb’s guarding something powerful over at the vineyard. Let’s all go over there and find out what it is.
GILES: Well, you’re probably right about the vineyard, but we don’t want to risk getting everyone killed. Let’s have one person sneak in and look around. How about you? Or Spike? He’s already dead, anyway.
BUFFY: Okay. I guess.
But because the writers wanted to create Maximum Conflict, they had the characters ignore logic and yell at each other instead. Unfortunately, it struck me as a plot contrivance. And, as usual, the scene Went on Too Long.
On a more positive note, I have a question to ask. Which was the best season of Buffy? I’d always thought that most fans liked season two the best, in spite of its occasional flaws, because of the Spike-Drusilla-Angelus storyline. Lately, though, a lot of people have been saying season three was the best. Maybe it’s because the DVD just came out. (Personally, I have a certain fondness for season five.) Anyway, what’s your pick?
–Daniel M.
Secondly-
This episode was BORING and uneventful (as PAD mentions).
hmm were you watching the same episode as everyone else? The Scoobies turning their back on Buffy was uneventful? Buffy had treated everyone like total crap for the past few episodes, such as: closing the door in Giles face, accusing him of sending Spike out to die again, accusing Faith of attacking the cops (there are more instances I know) and everyone finally has enough of it, turns on her and gives her the speech that she is so good at giving in every episode. That is…uneventful?
Gee, I liked the episode. Thought everything was spot-on, and that ending was perfect.
I took out of it that the realization that even DAWN was against her made Buffy finally realize she was wrong.
And it’s impossible for me not to be thrilled that Nerf Herder finally got into an episode, having written and recorded the theme song for the show some seven years ago. And playing two of my favorite songs off their latest album, to boot.
I wasn’t a fan of this episode, mostly for reasons already stated.
(Dawn tells her to get out? DAWN?! guh.)
However, I just wanted to mention that Nick Brendon’s performance (Xander) was a standout. And the scene with Willow in the hospital was tear-jerking.
I think Joss said that season seven was going to be more like the First season. Get it?
I agree that the fall of bufy was when it started to be a novel not a tv show. each episode lacks identity. Also the show really started to drop in enjoyment factoe when Buffy stopped geing perky and peppy. When ME stopped writing peppy Buffy they should have fired their writers and gotten some that could write a peppy Buffy.
As soon as Clark starts to care about using his powers for good and less about his friends and family I’ll drop Smallville. I’ve learned my lesson with B:tVS.
I just thought some of you who dislike the writing on Buffy, but like it on Angel might get a kick out of that quote.
I also opted out of this episode. I knew nothing would happen and we’d get another episode with no beginning, middle, and end.
I thought the season would be about Buffy realizing that you can’t “slay” evil. I was intrigued by the idea of her facing a villain she couldn’t beat with her fists.
Instead, that seems to be what we’re getting. It’s a matter of Buffy finding the right weapon. Yawn.
“The addition of someone like him (Spike) coming over would be fantastic,” Boreanaz says. “He’s been stuck in a small town for too long. He needs to get out in a big city and see where the big dogs play.”
“It’s not just ‘Buffy’ characters,” Minear adds, “but we hear that possibly some ‘Buffy’ writers would be available to us.”
I just thought some of you who dislike the writing on Buffy, but like it on Angel might get a kick out of that quote.
Well, both shows already have a lot of the same writers. They’re just working in a slightly different style. On Buffy, the style is Wander Around and Complain.
–Daniel M.