Re: [OT:Way to Go Mad!]

[JDMeans@xxxxxxx]

Well, since everyone's giving their two dinars worth on the subject of shock 
value and killing off characters, allow me to give my perspective on the 
subject.

I have had a fondness for British television ever since I first discovered 
Doctor Who on my local PBS affiliate. A lot of British programs cover 
stories and subjects that American TV doesn't even want to touch. A few 
years ago, I was big on a show called Ballykissangel. The principal 
storyline involved a young British priest who was assigned to a parish in a 
tiny Irish hamlet called Ballykissangel, or Bally-K by the locals. Anyway, 
Father Peter Clifford, on his first day in town, meets the local bartender, 
Assumpta Fitzgerald. Fiercely independent, agnostic, auburn haired and 
absolutely beautiful.

Anyway, over the first two seasons, Peter and Assumpta enjoyed a friendly 
sparring-partner relationship, arguing over theological matters, and earning 
each others respect. There was also the undercurrent of a romantic 
attraction, but Peter, being a priest, never approached the subject.

Then came the series' third season. Steven Thompkinson and Dervla Kirwan, 
the actors who played Peter and Assumpta, both wanted off the show, and the 
writers had to think fast. Over the season, the romantic sparks were brought 
to the surface. Peter questioned his place in the priesthood. Assumpta 
tried marrying an old boyfriend to deal with her feelings for Peter, but the 
marriage didn't last. Finally, close to the season finale, Peter admitted to 
Assumpta that he loved her and began to prepare to leave the priesthood.

Ten minutes later, the writers chose to have Assumpta, who up until that 
moment had been depticted as a reasonably intelligent woman who wasn't prone 
to taking risks with her life, attempt to fix a fuse box. In the rain. In a 
leaky basement.

The next episode, following an impromptu wake for Assumpta, Peter just 
skipped town, without an explaination. The following season, they got a new 
priest, more soap plotlines invaded, and I stopped watching the show.

Basically, the writers for Ballykissangel fumbled the ball by killing 
Assumpta, instead of dealing with the relationship head-on. They did it for 
shock value, for an easy out, and because they were about to lose their 
actress. 

I think the same thing happened on BtVS this season. I suspect that Joss and 
crew had a specific trajectory that they planned to follow, but events(budjet 
constraints, time constraints, Amber's departure from the show, whatever) 
conspired to prevent them from doing what they really wanted to do with the 
story. They got in the basics they had planned(Buffy's angst and her jumping 
into bed with Spike, Willow's rampage, Xander and Anya's breakup), but the 
road to those stories was changed. 

Was Tara's death manipulative? Yes. Could it have been handled better? 
Hell, yes. Was it motivated by homophobia? If Joss were homophobic, Tara 
would never have been a character in the show to begin with. Heck, if Joss 
were homophobic, the villain in Dopplegangland would have been Vamp Xander! 
GAG!

And for those who see a Buffy/Spike pairing as the result of Spike having a 
soul, I doubt that the writers are gonna make it that easy for Spike. My 
speculation is that Spike's soul has a major catch, one that will bite the 
Scoobs on their collective asses by the halfway point of next season. Maybe 
he loses his soul in a year unless he gives up someone else's soul in 
exchange. Maybe he simply can't accept the crushing guilt of the deaths he's 
caused over the years, and goes mad. I always took his bravado as covering 
up a deep insecurity on his part(as we saw in 'Fool For Love' he had plenty 
to be insecure about!). 

Like I said, the one thing we can count on for next season is that it ain't 
gonna be easy for anyone on the show. It never is.

Kirayoshi

"Warrior, take heed.
When you battle with demons,
Aim not at their hearts."
--Andrew Vacchs