Re: Re: Kind of an OT post and sort of a ramble

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

E,

Well, you apparently liked "Chosen" a lot better than I did.  But then,
considering that I consider it the worst episode of the series (worse
than "Flooded"! Worse than "Dead Things"! Worse than "Grave"! Worse than
"Lies Joss Whedon Told Me"!), I suppose that's no surprise.  

Although I won't do my long-overdue review now, let me briefly reiterate
that I fundamentally hate for spitting on what I consider two of the
cornerstones of the series:  Buffy's calling as a Slayer (Slaying is a
metaphor for who she is, for finding her own identity, not some Horrible
Burden she must Lay Down [by foisting on others, which is hardly
heroic]) 

(Remember, although most "S8" fics show Buffy actively fighting evil,
post-"Chosen", Angel S5 canon does not.  She's hanging out in Rome while
Giles/Andrew/etc do the work, contributing nothing more than an
occasional teleconference.)

and her mission (Buffy fights and sacrifices and periodically dies so
that normal people can be safe in the night and have happy livesuntil
Joss drops their homes, their possessions and their memories in a
sinkhole for the sake of a special effect).  Beyond that, I think the ep
is a disaster from start to finish (I hate the "Power-up" on about four
or five other levels, besides what I just mentioned) and I find the
cheap regurgitation of dialogue from "The Harvest" forced and facile and
in no way making up for the battering the Scooby friendships had taken
place for the length of the entire UPN run.  (Basically my worst
nightmare, that they'd **never** fix things, and try and paper them over
with an unearned "moment" in the finale.)

Heck, I can think of three or four other things that I feel are very
damaging to the B/W relationship in the finale alone, never mind their
utter failure to make up for "Get it Done" and "Empty Places" and all
the season's other "Spike's the only one who's been watching my back!"
treatments of the Scoobs as inconsequential/burdens/traitors to our Poor
Solitary Suffering Slayer.  But I really don't want to rant, because
once I start, I'd never stop.

So I'm glad you liked it, but I would disagree *very* strongly with your
theory that the only problem with S7 as far as writing a B/W S8 is the
need to get rid of Kennedy.

Personally, I think Ken-girl is about #100 on the list of the problems
left over.  Yeah, it's a fling.  No one said "love", no one implied
"love", no one talked about it being longterm.  On the "Willow has a
girlfriend" side of things, I'd say Tara was 10 times the obstacle
Kennedy is, even now when she's dead and buried and dropped into a
sinkhole so Willow can never pay her respects again.

"Buffy, this is different.  Kennedy was just for fun, we both knew that.
Like what you might have had with Spike, or maybe Parker if he'd been
honest and not such a big creep.  But I can't have that with youI
don't want you to be my Riley, the person who loves me in a way I can't
love them.

"With you it'd have to be forever&and I don't know if I can do that so
soon after Tara.  I'm sorry, Buffy."

Ken's a nice girl and I like her, but she's no problem.  Heck, if I were
told to keep three things from S7 and we'd get rid of the rest, she
might be one of them.  My issues with the season, and my difficulty with
using it as a basis for serious longterm fics, are entirely different. 

I do see your point that it would be nice to end the series with Buffy
going on to face new challenges, but IMO that would have to come after a
year spent rebuilding her life and growing emotionally, not totally
alienated and unable to deal.  Why give her new challenges when she
doesn't seem to be able to deal with the ones she's had the last two
years?  And again, I'd much rather have her leave Sunnydale with a
"mission accomplished" rather than "well, so much for that town.  What
can we blow up next?"  (Again, I have much more to say here, but I'm
trying to limit it.)

JMO, as is certainly plain, I'd think.

Dan

(On a very minor side point, yes, I can see Buffy mourning Spike,
comrade-in-arms and uncertainly defined ex-.  But that's necessarily
different from the "mourning Spike, the love of her life" that might
creep into some of the S8s being written.) 



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Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                     'Choices'

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