Re: Listmum still loves Joss--Spoilers for aired eps (and Faith news)

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

Well,

I 

hardly

want 

to 

get 

in 

a 

big 

"hoo" over this, and I'm glad that Kimber still enjoys the show. I also
enjoy the series, all 3 seasons and 56 eps worth of it <g>. But there
are a few small things I'd like to quibble with.

In the defense of Willow's current character, half of the comment is
about her and magick being a part of her and all of that. Personally,
I've come to the conclusion that I don't care a fig for Willow's
magic--I care about Willow, and I really hate to see her defined purely
in terms of her plot device. Imagine if she was still hacker girl and
every single line out of her mouth was "computer this" and "computer
that" and she carried her laptop everywhere and every bloody scene was
about her using computers responsibly and "It's who you are, Willow of
Nine" and so forth. Wouldn't that be just as dull? Add in the fact
that I use a computer every day, but magic is still in the realm of
fiction, and it distances this plot (and Willow, who's a helpless
prisoner of it) from me, just as Buffy's being in "heeeeaaaven"
distanced her from me, because that's an experience that I can't conjure
up anything remotely similar to in my mind.

I would beg Joss to make Willow's arc about who she is, not some special
effect, but since we've had two whole eps without her even saying Buffy,
Tara, Xander or Dawn's names, I'd apparently be wasting my breath.

I have big issues with the concept that Willow's Season Sux plot was in
any way in character. Her not wanting to be left behind in "Fear,
Itself" does not, IMO, equal her hating and resenting Buffy and wanting
to be the one in charge, despite what Petrie tried to sell us in "Two to
Go". Likewise, I continue to believe that "Wild at Heart" explicitly
makes the point that Willow, no matter how emotionally hurt, can't do
anything truly evil because of it--immediately after Willow can't go
through with it, Veruca (and thus Marti) emphasizes the point for us:
"Wow, for a second there, I was actually afraid you might play rough".
And then she does it again, right after the commercial break: "You
don't have the teeth". Willow doesn't. She doesn't do stuff like that.
To me, that's the point of the ep (well, aside from the fact that Oz is
a worm because he mistreats her about ten different ways during the
hour).

But the "Willow was always capable of evil" argument I have the hardest
time digesting is "well, look at VampWillow". Er, VampWillow was evil
**because she was a VAMPIRE**, no? The bisexuality and the playfulness,
yes, those came from Willow--but the vicious, murderous streak I
attribute to the demon that murdered Willow and stole her body.

As for Spike, I feel that (as far as what it says about Spike) rape is
rape, successful or not. Yes, Buffy's trauma was reduced because she
was able to stop him (although when he tries to touch her in "Lessons"
any semblence of normal human reaction would result in her getting as
far away as humanly possible), but that doesn't change his intent. And
I don't believe that it merits having "attempted" inserted in all caps
as if that is some formula that makes Spike's actions so much better.

(Of course, what truly revolts me is the tendency of some Spuffers to
simply refer to "the AR"--further sanitizing Spikey's acts with the
abbreviation.)

And I have to disagree with the idea that Spike isn't being redeemed.
When he's sobbing on a cross--a freaking cross!--and begging to
"rest", I think it's pretty certain we're supposed to be "oh, poor
Spikey."

Yes, Spike tries to rape Buffy and we're meant to feel that HE'S the one
who's suffering. Mmmm, female empowerment. No wonder Joss wins all
those awards.  

Anti-female subtext aside, what kind of show would almost rape its lead
character to *advance* someone else's arc? Buffy's the one we're
supposed to admire--yet they've turned her into a punching bag that
goes crawling back to her victimizer. Because they're treating Spike as
the hero, not Buffy. (Hence the likelihood of EvilBuffy--poor Spikey
has to slay the woman he "loves"! Oh, the heartbreak! The angst!)

I think the Buffy-as-Mom thing is pretty evident from the way Joss makes
sure to have characters mention it left and right. Even if they've
already read Buffy's file before they met her and therefore know she's
only 21 (Principal Wood) or if they were in a room and **heard** both
the zombies and DAWN HERSELF call Buffy her sister (Carlos). But Joss
wants his Buffy-as-Mommy concept, so he crams it in, story logic (and
common sense) be damned.

(Alternatively, maybe Joss wants us to think that non-whites are stupid.
I hope not, but at this point, who knows?)

Likewise, aside from the overall arcs, the story skills themselves are
badly off. (And sorry, Leigh Ann, but I beg to differ--the lack of
pace is an objective fact. You may enjoy "Entropy" despite its lack of
plot--hey, I love "Tough Love", which also takes a while to start--but
that's a subjective response which doesn't mean that there's any more
plot than there is. Compare and contrast the development of the main
plot of any S1-S3 ep with the sadness that was "Lessons" and ep 7.01
comes up short.)

Not to mention the continuing character assassination. Let's see, in
just two eps, Giles has:

? Failed to call Buffy and tell her that the Hellmouth is opening
(fairly important, no?)

? Failed to call the gang and allay Willow's fears by the strange
concept of having her talk to them.

? Sent a powerful and emotionally unstable witch back to the place
most likely to drive her over the edge, and not bothered to accompany
her or send **anyone** to give Willow the support she clearly needs.

? Not come back to Sunnydale himself, despite the fact that HE HIMSELF
admitted in "Grave" that his leaving was a very big mistake and he
should never have done it. So naturally he does the EXACT SAME THING
AGAIN, immediately.

And that's just the guy who isn't even on the show any more. (Don't get
me started on Buffy not caring about people getting killed on her watch,
or Xander barely blinking at Spike's return.)

I can't be thrilled about the First Evil. Joss hyped this plot in one
bad ep three and a half years ago and then promptly buried it. That's
not foreshadowing, that's sloppy work.  

Nor can I get excited about Faith's return. There's a reason it's for
the last five episodes--they're going to kill her and Buffy and make
Dawn the Slayer. That's why all the Slayer candidates are getting it,
so that there's a reason the PTB give the Slayer Power to everyone's
(least-)favorite ball of energy. You can see the finale coming from a
mile away. The only question is "who has the power?" After Faith dies
nobly and redeemed at the hands of Evil Buffy, will Spikey have the
tearful "killing the woman he loves" scene? Or will Dawn get to reenact
"Return of the Jedi", with Buffy doing her Anakin Skywalker impression?
Guess it depends on which character gets to run the show next year.

Besides, having Faith in an ep is no guarantee of competence. Need I
remind anyone of how many sucky eps Willow's been in during the past
several years?

Wow, that wasn't just "a few small things". Guess I'm still all kinds
of bitter. But that's just me...I'm happy that you're happy, anyway.

Dan

"Dan? Oh, he's a bitter man! He's the bitterest man in
Bitteronia!"--freely adapted from Buffy's remarks (re: Xander) in "The
Yoko Factor"