Re:

[Nathan Campbell <NathanCampbell@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Dan,
I've gotta say I respectfully and *completely* disagree on a few
points there - maybe it's just my natural optimism, but Sarah's
"hesitations and confused squintings" seemed to me to be because she
was being forced to a realization of the facts of the situation even
as she spoke them. The way I see it, Spike had her convinced that
there was something wrong with her, and something in her pysche
(probably having to do with the feelings about her father and her
parents' divorce established in Nightmares) convinced her that it was
her fault, and her friends would abandon her, and only Spike - since
she *knew* something was wrong with him - would be able to accept her.
That's why we had the scene with Tara previously, why it was such a
big deal. Now, Buffy's mind has had time to sift through the
realization that, no, nothing's wrong with her, and yes, Spike was
just being evil, and yes, he is innately evil, and no, she doesn't
have to be with that evil because - right - nothing's wrong with her!
So she says he's evil, tells him she can never love him because he's
evil, does it in a way he will respect and recognize as a forthright
statement ("William"), and walks out, all with a quiet surety and
dignity that's been missing from her this season. Now, there is, IMHO,
the slight possibility that, yeah, Spike may go on a "reform" kick and
try to stop being evil. But I think a big point of this episode was to
get it through the heads of the mindless B/S'ers (I'm not saying all
B/S'ers are mindless, I'm just referring to those who are, no offense
intended to any smart B/S'ers, I respect multishippers, I am one
myself, and hey, by the way, I'm known for my digressions...) that
Spike will *NEVER* stop being evil, because evil is an innate part of
his persona, and therefore it is impossible for Buffy to *EVER* love
him. Anyways, as I said, just MHO, I could be wrong, it could just be
my stupid optimism. But that's the way I see it. Thanks for listening!

Nathan Campbell
NathanCampbell@xxxxxxxxxxxx

When sun sprays the earth
with straight-falling flames,
a cricket rubs his wings,
scraping up thin sweet song.
-Sappho


danspector@xxxxxxxxx wrote:



(Catching up on some ep discussion that I missed because my inbox
overflowed)

--- In buffywantswillow@y..., "buffythebushkangaroo"
<buffythebushkangaroo@y...> wrote:

Warning: Spoilers & Expletives ahead.

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> Ok, that should be enough :)
> 

>I watched the episode last night, and I'll put my cards on the table
right now. It was the worst episode. Ever.

Well, for me, nothing will ever top (bottom?) "Flooded", but each
according to their taste.

>The whole episode felt like something from the A-Team production crew,
right down to the fake smiles all round, and the He-man belly-
laugh bit when Riley + Bint fly off into the night hanging from a rope
attached to the back of a helicopter. 

Isn't that a steal from something else?  Xander's cries of "Bye, Riley!"
as our hero (for the ep) choppers off into the night seemed very
derivative.

>Even the ending - which would normally have me spinning in circles on
my office chair bouncing off cupboards and pot-plants and waving my arms
madly - was feebly done.

>Buffy: I'm breaking up with you, Evil Spike.
>Spike: Oh. Bugger. I'll guess I'll just go and get my coat then.

Well, in my review, I got quite worried that it was so low-key to leave
the door open for a reconciliation, but the stage directions in the
shooting script ("It's final.  It's over.") seem to be much more
emphatic.  Plus the line "it's over" which sounded like possibly being
another case of Denial Girl making A Speech, was supposed to be a much
more matter-of-fact "Yeah.  It's over."  And Sarah's hesitations and
confused squintings on "I'm using you.  It's weak and it's selfish",
which made me worry she was trying to talk herself into this and was
searching for words to convince herself that it wasn't really
loveÿÿnone of that's in the script, and her earlier pauses in the
scene are.

So I don't know if the way it was played means that a) SMG knows
something about more B/S down the line and is foreshadowing (my initial
fear), or 

b) she just underplayed it, either to make a brutal affair have a tender
ending or to show that Buffy only blames herself, not Spike (which would
be in keeping with Miss "It's All My Fault" 's history), or

c)  Doug Petrie, director, just really botched the scene, and managed to
confuse the intent of Doug Petrie, writer.  He certainly blew the
symbolic last shot, staying in too close on Buffy and not getting a
proper sense of Buffy either being outside or stepping into the light. 

Oh, and we were supposed to get a final reaction shot of Spike after
that, which may be why Marsters was relatively low-key, too.

> Mindless, puerile, unmitigating crap.

Well, scar-faced superhero Riley is a tough sell, since despite the
commando stuff, the character was always grounded in his Joe Iowa
average-ness.  When you try and make someone represent simplicity and
normalcy and at the same time be an invincible James Bond (with a wife
who's perfectÿÿexcept for her complete inablity to act), it's really
not going to work.  At least we got one decent surprise, and the arc did
move (and hopefully in my preferred direction).

>Anne-Lise,
>Hating Doug Petrie.

We're done with him for the year.  Let's see how you feel about Rebecca
Rand Kirshner.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Dan 






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