Re: Fic; Grace (1/1)

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

Jim,

Marvelous work. You came up with a solution (demonic possession) that
gave Willow a certain degree of responsibility and consequent angst, but
still didn't taint her essential character. I've been saying that even
if she were to get redeemed at the end of an "Evil Willow" arc, it would
still pervert her character (unlike Angel, for whom Angelus was always
an implicit dangerand he had the excuse of losing his soul), but this
seems a nice way around that without descending into hokum.

And we get the nice character insight about how ALL of Buffy's men have
left her, which I hadn't realized before. Sometimes the new person in
her life gets revenge on the old (Faith humiliates Scott, Riley punches
Parker) but it still adds up to Buffy always getting dumped. I guess I
could even support an ep or two of Buffy/Spike smooches, if it ends with
her being empowered enough to be the dumper for once, and telling him to
go get a suntan.

Also loved the humor on the "reverb" in the demon's voice. Flashed on a
LOT of "Star Trek" voice effects (to say nothing of Ovu Mobani in "Dead
Man's Party").

As a non-Christian, however, was a bit wiggy about your going all
Catholic with my fave agnostic/Jewish-Wiccan couple. But I guess Father
O'Rourke was inclusive enough at the end. Actually, I wonder how you
would classify Buffy religiously these days, since her trip to "heaven"
would seem to rule out pure agnosticism, but in "After Life" she still
disclaims all knowledge of or interest in theology and makes no mention
of God. So she's not even a Jeffersonian "Deist", but she does believe
there's something more than this.

I guess the only problem is that you still haven't cured Buffy of her
"Lamenting Heaven" syndrome. Yes, she knows suicide is evil and she
loves Willow and realizes that the revivification was the First Evil's
plot to get Buffy to damn herself, but she still seems to have no reason
to prefer this life to the afterlife she was torn from. But, still,
quality ficmanship.

Dan