Re: "Intervention" and Resurrection

["kbrezovnik" <kbrezovnik@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi! While you have some very valid points there, I, as an avid B/F 'shipper=
, cheer for Buffy and Faith. After all, Faith was the only one who has ever=
made Buffy a victim. And let's not forget the Prom, the Christmas and Buffy=
skipping class to go partying with Faith in Bad Girls. I mean, who could und=
erstand a Slayer better than another Slayer and there was definitely some se=
rious chemistry between them and Faith was definitely interested, what with=
her constant innuendoes. And let's not forget, Buffy was just about the only=
one who wanted to help Faith after she killed Finch. I admit, it didn't wor=
k well, but Buffy did have other problems on her mind, namely Angel. And Fai=
th did go to jail to please Buffy. Not to mention that it would just plain s=
uck if Joss broke up Willow and Tara. I mean, Xander and Anya seem to be jus=
t about the only happy couple.

Okay, this sounds pretty disjointed, but I'm having a writers' block and I'=
m in a bad mood. So.

Kristjan


--- In buffywantswillow@y..., danspector@w... wrote:
> Hey all, 
> 
> I wrote this in response to a posting on anti_buffyspike, where someone
> was getting a headache from having been on a general discussion board
> and seeing B/S 'shippers say that those lines from "Intervention" ("Love
> is Pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain") explained why Spike
> could hit her in "Smashed". (The silly B/S theory was she loved him and
> therefore her pain didn't qualify as him hurting her, hence no chip
> attack.)
> 
> In calming down my fellow anti-B/Ser, I delved into my current
> interpretation of the "Intervention" speech by the Guide on love, and,
> not unnaturally, discussed what's in there that I think points to an
> eventual B/W union. Then I thought I'd put it here. I could have
> edited it, because I also consider other possibilities (B/A,
> B/R)--after all, that's not a B/W list per se, just anti-B/S--but I
> thought I'd leave it in, since a general consideration includes all
> possibilities. And besides, I already told you that I reached the
> inevitable B/W conclusion.
> 
> Thanks to James and Kirayoshi for their contributions on this subject
> back when we discussed here in October/November. Here's my letter to
> the other list:
> 
> "Hey, tvjunkie, don't have an aneurysm.
> 
> The B/S crowd have all their little theories, that's why we have our
> places to counter-vent. But the idea that, in "Intevention", the Guide
> (not the first Slayer, the Guide just used her form, like it used the
> form of the mountain lion earlier in the ep) meant by saying "love is
> pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain" that Buffy is a
> masochist (and therefore Spike can whomp her with impunity if she loves
> him) is just cockeyed. Just before that, the Guide told Buffy "you love
> with all of your soul"--you know, that thing Spike doesn't have. This
> is one of two times where love is defined as being a function of a soul,
> by a higher power whose purpose it is to reveal truths. It's a very
> anti-B/S quote.
> 
> Spike and Dru may think they can love without a soul (they told Buffy
> that in "Crush"), but in "Surprise", The Judge, whose sole immortal
> purpose is detect traces of humanity and destroy them, said they shared
> "affection and jealousy". Close. but no love, kids. The S/Dr
> relationship was less offensive to The Judge than Dalton's enjoyment of
> reading. 
> 
> The most interesting part of the Guide's speech is the end: "Risk the
> pain. Love, give, forgive. Love will lead you to your gift. Death is
> your gift." So Buffy is being urged to take a risky course for love,
> and finding love will apparently involve forgiving and have something to
> do with her death (and resurrection). Well, Spike's out, because Buffy
> doesn't have to forgive him, since he never was in her life and thus
> could never have trespassed against her. You can't forgive someone
> unless they've hurt you, and every murderous demonic thing Spike has
> ever done is nothing less that just what she's expected of him. He may
> need her acceptance (if he's really become a good guy), but not her
> forgiveness. And while he's certainly taken advantage of her
> post-resurrection blues, he really wasn't involved with the death or the
> resurrection itself. And Buffy "love[s] with all of [her] soul", so
> he's out.
> 
> Who is the Guide speaking of? Angel? Well, she does love him, she may
> feel she has to forgive him, and he blamed himself for her death (in
> "Heartthrob") because he wasn't there. And he has a soul. So he's a
> good candidate, but the network-enforced separation may have led Joss to
> think in other directions. And there's that whole thing of Angel having
> a "greater purpose" than just being Buffy's boyfriend.
> 
> Riley? While she never told him she loved him (although she threw it in
> Angel's face in "Sanctuary"), that could mean that she was unable to
> "risk the pain" and that's why she treated him like "rebound guy" when
> "he's the one that comes along once in a lifetime". She may need to
> forgive him for leaving her like he did. And her loss of him was the
> start of the downward spiral, of things getting "stripped away", that
> led to her death. But, despite rumors of Riley's return, I don't think
> Blucas is going to sign up full-time again.
> 
> No, helpless prisoner of my 'ship that I am, I think the Guide means
> Willow. She's the one whom Buffy has to forgive for something
> specifically to do with her death--the resurrection, which has been
> defined (in "After Life") as all Willow's work, and which she says (in
> "Tabula Rasa") she did because she was selfish. Meaning because she
> loves Buffy, which Aly Hannigan's been playing all year (just look at
> "Bargaining"). Buffy needs to risk the pain, to stop hiding behind the
> safe little idea that her frequently-declared love for Willow is just a
> "best friend" thing, to face the fact that "it's brighter than the fire;
> that's why you pull away." Only then will she be able to love (with all
> her soul), give (Willow the love she needs to beat the magic addiction),
> forgive (Willow for the resurrection), and forge strength (a new-found
> sense of identity and purpose) from pain (the past several years).
> 
> And besides, when Buffy asked the Guide about her ability to love, she
> said "not just boyfriend love". Plus this is the one possibility that
> wouldn't run into actor-availability problems, and it would break new
> dramatic ground.
> 
> So that's my personal favorite possibility, but I admit Angel and Riley
> may also qualify. But as for Spike, well, Buffy's right about him.
> He's just "convenient". All she's doing is scratching an itch,
> satisfying her basest urges because she's afraid to "risk the pain" of
> the deeper emotions that are "brighter than the fire". It'll be over
> soon, I bet. At least before the end of the season.
> 
> Cheer up,
> 
> Dan"
> 
> Please let me know what you think.