Re: OT--Tonight's episode, "As You Were"; an invitation for discussion

["debvii" <debvii@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- In buffywantswillow@y..., danspector@w... wrote:
> I'd like to invite everyone on the lists to share their opinions on
> tonight's new episode.

Well, hot diggity dog! I'm in!


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> Did you enjoy it, or not?

eh, kinda.

> What did you like? 

Got some good, old-style humour in there. here and there. some. 
Actually, i really did laugh heartily at some bits. The teaser, for 
example. Oddly enough, and in contrast to most other eps, I didn't 
find Xanya all that funny. I kept drifting during their bits.

No Tara. although I guess there are only so many mouthpiece characters 
one can stuff into an episode. snark!

The oh-please-god-let-it-be-so end of Spuffy. If I see Buffy making 
mopey faces for Spike in subsequent eps I'm gonna turn her over my 
knee... right after I shake Willow really hard and tell her to get over 
her own boring, face-scrunching gf.

The end of Spuffy should herald the return of the rest of the cast and 
lots of interaction among the gang. I hope.

> What didn't you like?

Capt Spudboy and his lovely wife Mary Sam. Was that woman even an 
ACTOR? :shudder: I get what Petrie was trying to do with Riley, I 
really do, but it just came across soooo forced and hackneyed. And, ya 
know, I've officially had it with the "wise words from a guest star" 
motif. In the absence of Giles, ME has had to resort to revolving-door 
wisdom, and it's not working for moi.

If I have to see ONE MORE SCENE of Willow the Puppy, I just might die.

> What did you think of Buffy and Willow's interaction (or lack thereof)?

Mixed. The whole "I'll hate her for you" bit brought misty tears of 
nostalgia to my eyes, but it wasn't enough, dagnabbit! Something is 
really off, and now I can't decide if it's SMG/AH or the writing or 
direction or some combo of the above. For example, that kitchen scene, 
SMG's lines were played almost entirely to Dawn. Now, is Buffy mad at 
Willow? Was it simply unfortunate editing? What's going on? Yes, I 
do realise part of it is Spuffy drawing Buffy away, but even the scenes 
where B&W are together aren't...clicking. or sumpin.

I mean, that whole Will-Dawn scene at the Bronze was just WRONG-O, 
WRONG-O because: 1) something about the convo or Willow's behaviour 
didn't fit for a W-D scene, and 2) I was constantly distracted by the 
fact that, under normal (i.e., GOOD BtVS) circumstances, that would 
have been a B/W scene. Look at me, in S5 I constantly wanted more mix-
and-match interactions. S6 has totally killed that desire.

> Was there anything that might be considered subtexty?

HA! Yes, the probably unintentional comparison of B/W and R/S in the 
living room. "See Riley and his beautiful wife. Cut to the 
incomparably lovely Slayer and her Hacker-Witch." (I refuse to stop 
referring to Willow as a witch. Burn me at the stake if you must.)

The reason I laughed is because that cut INSTANTLY brought to mind all 
the times ME would follow a B/R scene with a W/T scene (or sandwich W/T 
between B/R & X/A being all cuddly and coupley).

Oh, and let me just say this: Willow would NOT let the house go like 
that. In their efforts to show how haaaaaaard Buffy's life is now that 
she's been snatched out of heaaaav-en, they're distorting other 
characters. Xander's got an excuse because, hey, nuptuals! And Willow 
did have an excuse when she was still magick sick, but now the whole, 
"I'm running this whole household all by myself" schtick is wearing 
thin. It just doesn't fit with my conception of Willow and of B&W's 
friendship. And, c'mon, Buffy can't catch a semi-slow-moving garbage 
truck?!

(btw, there was a continuity glitch with the kitchen. Buffy et al chat 
in the kitchen and it's pretty much all clean; Will & Dawn goto the 
Bronze; the next morning Buffy wakes up on the couch, goes to the 
kitchen...yadda...the place is a big mess, more than Dawn could have 
possibly done making breakfast. [hmm, maybe slipped in a little spell 
when Dawn wasn't looking and, thus, had the munchies afterward. ooh, i 
just made a lame joke based on the even lamer magick=drugs storyline. 
i deserve to be beaten.])

I think Dawn and/or Willow know about Spike. In a way, I kind of hope 
that's not true -- that Will wouldn't let that go on with comment -- 
but the looks W&D exchanged in the kitchen were too knowing to be 
meaningless, I think.

Say, before Smashed, did we know that Willow is a pool player?

Anyway, overall, not bad, but not exactly inspiring, either.

> Did it give you any ideas for fics?

Willow and Buffy always give me ideas....

DEM