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thalia_seawoodAfter working 11 hours on Friday and completing all of my projects successfully, I can now look forward to two weeks of holiday. Yay!!!
Yesterday and today I did mostly house-cleaning and met friends & family, but I also found some time to watch 4 more episode of Buffy . Before I continue watchin more episodes tonight, I feel like writing down some of my thoughts, so I don't lose track of my first impressions.
Inca Mummy Girl
In my opinion, one of the weaker episodes in season 2 so far, but still it has its merits. (That's a pattern I've noticed with Buffy so far: Even the avarage episode have something shiny in them.)
I really like that increasingly it gets harder to decide if the baddies are all bad. Ampata fits that pattern, since the viewer can understand that she wants to live and be a normal girl. Interestingly enough, she mirrors Buffy in that regard. Both are chosen ones in a way, only Ampata already had to die for what she believed in, apparently realizing afterwards that her sacrifice was futile.
Also nice to see that past events aren't forgotten when Xander asks Ampata if she's a praying mantis.
My favorite bit, however, is Oz noticing Willow:
Oz: That girl. Who is she?
Devon thinks he means Ampata.
Devon: She's an exchange student. I think she's from South America.
Oz: No, not her. The Eskimo!
Am very curious to see if Oz will meet his dream-girl for real. One thing is certain: This guy has taste. :-)
On the downside: This episode has atrocious plot-holes. The part of me that always wanted to be an archeologist was whining: How comes noone at the museum is concerned? How comes noone has secured the seal and restored it? Why is there no police investigating the theft of a mummy? And how comes they think Ampata should be able to read an ancient script? It's not as if South Americans all grow up with a deep understanding of ancient Inca scripts; the average person there speaks Spanish or Portuguese. Ah well, it's just a TV show. :-)
Reptile Boy
Minus points for a ridiculous monster.
Plus points for showing once again that it's not so simply to recognize a villain. Of course, the pattern so far is: Every person who's dating Xander, Willow or Buffy is EVIL. Angel is the only exception to the rule at the moment. So, yes, I did have a bad feeling about Tom from early on.
Loved the Buffy - Giles interaction, e.g.
(Buffy pouts) And, and don't think sitting there pouting is
gonna get to me, because it won't.
She gives him her best pouty look.
Giles: (looks away) It's not getting to me.
Cordelia practicing her fake laugh is a thing of great joy.
Also the way she behaves after she's rescued: Thanking Buffy profoundly, but then hugging Angel instead because he manly, gorgeous and standing conveniently next to her. And this all ends with her yelling at them and then bitching at Tom.
I love Cordelia. And noone can scream like she can.
Angel and Buffy: Buffy is still very immature. In my opinion, she's used to playing the dating game and now tries to apply the same rules to her relationship with Angel. Only that he never quite reacts the way she wants him to.
Halloween
Quite an interesting episode.
It's fun to see everyone getting their wish. In the end, everybody is unhappy with what their costume decision did to them; only Willow is actually liberated in some way by her experience. We see that she removes her costume and is then confident enough to walk home in her more adventurous attire. Where Oz sees her and once again is left to wonder: "Who *is* that girl?" :-)
Dialogue like this made me crack up:
Xander: It was way creepy. It's like I was there, but I couldn't get out.
Cordelia: Yeah, I know the feeling. This outfit's totally skintight.
Very interesting revelation regarding Giles: So there's more to him than meets the eye. Nice! Am looking forward to finding out more.
Ethan: Who you are? The Watcher, sniveling, tweed-clad guardian of the Slayer and her kin? I think not. I know who you are, Rupert, and I know what you're capable of. (considers) But they don't, do they? They have no idea where you come from.
I also noticed that Ethan and Giles have quite some chemistry together. It made me think for a moment that these two had a thing for one another in the past.
Lie to Me
Definitely my favorite so far in season 2.
The first scene of this episode was the creepiest scene so far, IMO. Drusilla talking to the little boy on the playground gave me the shivers:
Drusilla: (touches the gym) My mummy used to sing me to sleep at night. (slowly walks around the gym as she sings) Run and catch / The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch... She had the sweetest voice. What will your mummy sing when they find your body?
James: (looks at her nervously) I'm not supposed to talk to people.
Drusilla: Oh. Well, I'm not a person, see, so that's just...
The meeting between Angel and Drusilla is fascinating. It's very clear these two have known one another for a long, long time.
What I absolutely love about this episode is the focus on lies and truth:
I think every character tells a lie in the course of the story.
- Buffy pretends she's fine when she's clearly not. She also lies to Ford at first about her vampire slaying adventure,
- Willow is forced to lie to Buffy, but is delightfully bad when it comes to lying.
- Xander and Angel also keep secrets from Buffy while they try to find out more about Ford.
And of course, Ford lies to Buffy several times.
- Even Giles is lying to Miss Calendar when he pretends he enjoyed the Monster Truck show; it's very obvious he's lying, but he is doing it. Giles's lie is of the social variety kind. ( Giles: Uh, honestly, I, I've always, I've always been interested in, in, uh, monster trucks.)
In fact, the only character not lying is Spike. He has no need for social niceties and so tells Ford right away that he can't stand him. He tells Drusilla that, yes!, her bird is dead. He never pretends that he will not feed on all the teenies in the club. And the most surprising thing: He keeps his bargain with Ford. I was totally expecting him to kill Ford for his failure, but in the end we learn that he actually kept his promise.
This makes Spike a very intriguing character: On the one hand, he despise rules, on the other hand, he appears to be the most honest character so far.
In the course of the episode, Buffy demands the truth several times. She always gets it, but ever times she has to realise that it's painful. So the ending makes a lot of sense:
Buffy: Does it ever get easy?
Ford suddenly rises from his grave, a vampire just like he wanted, and attacks Buffy. She plunges a stake into his heart with no more effort than swatting a fly. He steps back and looks at the stake protruding
from his chest. He looks back up and bursts into ashes.
Giles: You mean life?
Buffy: Yeah. Does it get easy?
Giles: What do you want me to say?
Buffy: (looks up at him) Lie to me.
Giles: (considers a moment) Yes, it's terribly simple.
They start walking out of the cemetery.
Giles: The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we
always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.
Buffy: Liar.
Other things I noticed:
Joss has an amazing talent when it comes to putting characters/actors together that have chemistry.
Usually, I more fond of slash than of het, but I believe that's simply because the male characters usually leave a stronger impression and capture my interest. E.g. in the Harry Potter fandom neither Hermione nor Ginny appeal to me so much that I want to read fanfiction about them. Or take Due South: Fraser and Kowalski are all sorts of shiny together; all the female characters really just disappear when seen next to them.
Jossverse is different: I can see both het and slash pairing and will happily read both. In fact, I can even see myself reading stories that just focus on one or two of the characters.
Interesting pairings as of now:
Spike/Drusilla: More siblings than lovers, but with strong incestuous vibes. These two are very, very dangerous, but it's clear they love one another.
Angel/Buffy: Nice to see that I actually love the offical het pairing in a TV show. :-)
Xander/Willow: I cannot see it happen. Willow is pining for Xander, but if they got together it would be boring.
Xander/Cordelia: I can see that happening. It would be fun to see this relationship, because I don't believe she would want to go out with him in public.
Angel/Cordelia: A possibility.
Angel/Drusilla: Interesting. Feels more like father and daughter from his side, though.
Angel/Spike: Possible. I have to see them in more scenes together. So far they feel more like father and son.
Angel/Spike/Drusilla: Shiny. :-)
Angel/Xander: He. Would be amusing to see. Xander is so utterly disrespectful of Angel...
Giles/Miss Calendar: Makes me smile in a good way, even though I get the feeling their relationship is doomed.
Giles/Angel: Not that this will ever happen, and I don't think fiction for this exists, but it could be interesting.
I'm looking for some nice Buffy icons. I'd especially like to have one of Drusilla. Can anyone point me to some really good Buffy icons? I've spent an hour looking for icons today and found many, but none that I really really liked. Usually the Buffy icons feel slightly overdone to me, i.e. too much text and brushes. What I'm looking for is icons with a clean, simplistic look. (E.g. like the icon I'm using for this post.)
And now I need to do the laundry and prepare some food. And then: More episodes!
Yesterday and today I did mostly house-cleaning and met friends & family, but I also found some time to watch 4 more episode of Buffy . Before I continue watchin more episodes tonight, I feel like writing down some of my thoughts, so I don't lose track of my first impressions.
Inca Mummy Girl
In my opinion, one of the weaker episodes in season 2 so far, but still it has its merits. (That's a pattern I've noticed with Buffy so far: Even the avarage episode have something shiny in them.)
I really like that increasingly it gets harder to decide if the baddies are all bad. Ampata fits that pattern, since the viewer can understand that she wants to live and be a normal girl. Interestingly enough, she mirrors Buffy in that regard. Both are chosen ones in a way, only Ampata already had to die for what she believed in, apparently realizing afterwards that her sacrifice was futile.
Also nice to see that past events aren't forgotten when Xander asks Ampata if she's a praying mantis.
My favorite bit, however, is Oz noticing Willow:
Oz: That girl. Who is she?
Devon thinks he means Ampata.
Devon: She's an exchange student. I think she's from South America.
Oz: No, not her. The Eskimo!
Am very curious to see if Oz will meet his dream-girl for real. One thing is certain: This guy has taste. :-)
On the downside: This episode has atrocious plot-holes. The part of me that always wanted to be an archeologist was whining: How comes noone at the museum is concerned? How comes noone has secured the seal and restored it? Why is there no police investigating the theft of a mummy? And how comes they think Ampata should be able to read an ancient script? It's not as if South Americans all grow up with a deep understanding of ancient Inca scripts; the average person there speaks Spanish or Portuguese. Ah well, it's just a TV show. :-)
Reptile Boy
Minus points for a ridiculous monster.
Plus points for showing once again that it's not so simply to recognize a villain. Of course, the pattern so far is: Every person who's dating Xander, Willow or Buffy is EVIL. Angel is the only exception to the rule at the moment. So, yes, I did have a bad feeling about Tom from early on.
Loved the Buffy - Giles interaction, e.g.
(Buffy pouts) And, and don't think sitting there pouting is
gonna get to me, because it won't.
She gives him her best pouty look.
Giles: (looks away) It's not getting to me.
Cordelia practicing her fake laugh is a thing of great joy.
Also the way she behaves after she's rescued: Thanking Buffy profoundly, but then hugging Angel instead because he manly, gorgeous and standing conveniently next to her. And this all ends with her yelling at them and then bitching at Tom.
I love Cordelia. And noone can scream like she can.
Angel and Buffy: Buffy is still very immature. In my opinion, she's used to playing the dating game and now tries to apply the same rules to her relationship with Angel. Only that he never quite reacts the way she wants him to.
Halloween
Quite an interesting episode.
It's fun to see everyone getting their wish. In the end, everybody is unhappy with what their costume decision did to them; only Willow is actually liberated in some way by her experience. We see that she removes her costume and is then confident enough to walk home in her more adventurous attire. Where Oz sees her and once again is left to wonder: "Who *is* that girl?" :-)
Dialogue like this made me crack up:
Xander: It was way creepy. It's like I was there, but I couldn't get out.
Cordelia: Yeah, I know the feeling. This outfit's totally skintight.
Very interesting revelation regarding Giles: So there's more to him than meets the eye. Nice! Am looking forward to finding out more.
Ethan: Who you are? The Watcher, sniveling, tweed-clad guardian of the Slayer and her kin? I think not. I know who you are, Rupert, and I know what you're capable of. (considers) But they don't, do they? They have no idea where you come from.
I also noticed that Ethan and Giles have quite some chemistry together. It made me think for a moment that these two had a thing for one another in the past.
Lie to Me
Definitely my favorite so far in season 2.
The first scene of this episode was the creepiest scene so far, IMO. Drusilla talking to the little boy on the playground gave me the shivers:
Drusilla: (touches the gym) My mummy used to sing me to sleep at night. (slowly walks around the gym as she sings) Run and catch / The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch... She had the sweetest voice. What will your mummy sing when they find your body?
James: (looks at her nervously) I'm not supposed to talk to people.
Drusilla: Oh. Well, I'm not a person, see, so that's just...
The meeting between Angel and Drusilla is fascinating. It's very clear these two have known one another for a long, long time.
What I absolutely love about this episode is the focus on lies and truth:
I think every character tells a lie in the course of the story.
- Buffy pretends she's fine when she's clearly not. She also lies to Ford at first about her vampire slaying adventure,
- Willow is forced to lie to Buffy, but is delightfully bad when it comes to lying.
- Xander and Angel also keep secrets from Buffy while they try to find out more about Ford.
And of course, Ford lies to Buffy several times.
- Even Giles is lying to Miss Calendar when he pretends he enjoyed the Monster Truck show; it's very obvious he's lying, but he is doing it. Giles's lie is of the social variety kind. ( Giles: Uh, honestly, I, I've always, I've always been interested in, in, uh, monster trucks.)
In fact, the only character not lying is Spike. He has no need for social niceties and so tells Ford right away that he can't stand him. He tells Drusilla that, yes!, her bird is dead. He never pretends that he will not feed on all the teenies in the club. And the most surprising thing: He keeps his bargain with Ford. I was totally expecting him to kill Ford for his failure, but in the end we learn that he actually kept his promise.
This makes Spike a very intriguing character: On the one hand, he despise rules, on the other hand, he appears to be the most honest character so far.
In the course of the episode, Buffy demands the truth several times. She always gets it, but ever times she has to realise that it's painful. So the ending makes a lot of sense:
Buffy: Does it ever get easy?
Ford suddenly rises from his grave, a vampire just like he wanted, and attacks Buffy. She plunges a stake into his heart with no more effort than swatting a fly. He steps back and looks at the stake protruding
from his chest. He looks back up and bursts into ashes.
Giles: You mean life?
Buffy: Yeah. Does it get easy?
Giles: What do you want me to say?
Buffy: (looks up at him) Lie to me.
Giles: (considers a moment) Yes, it's terribly simple.
They start walking out of the cemetery.
Giles: The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we
always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.
Buffy: Liar.
Other things I noticed:
Joss has an amazing talent when it comes to putting characters/actors together that have chemistry.
Usually, I more fond of slash than of het, but I believe that's simply because the male characters usually leave a stronger impression and capture my interest. E.g. in the Harry Potter fandom neither Hermione nor Ginny appeal to me so much that I want to read fanfiction about them. Or take Due South: Fraser and Kowalski are all sorts of shiny together; all the female characters really just disappear when seen next to them.
Jossverse is different: I can see both het and slash pairing and will happily read both. In fact, I can even see myself reading stories that just focus on one or two of the characters.
Interesting pairings as of now:
Spike/Drusilla: More siblings than lovers, but with strong incestuous vibes. These two are very, very dangerous, but it's clear they love one another.
Angel/Buffy: Nice to see that I actually love the offical het pairing in a TV show. :-)
Xander/Willow: I cannot see it happen. Willow is pining for Xander, but if they got together it would be boring.
Xander/Cordelia: I can see that happening. It would be fun to see this relationship, because I don't believe she would want to go out with him in public.
Angel/Cordelia: A possibility.
Angel/Drusilla: Interesting. Feels more like father and daughter from his side, though.
Angel/Spike: Possible. I have to see them in more scenes together. So far they feel more like father and son.
Angel/Spike/Drusilla: Shiny. :-)
Angel/Xander: He. Would be amusing to see. Xander is so utterly disrespectful of Angel...
Giles/Miss Calendar: Makes me smile in a good way, even though I get the feeling their relationship is doomed.
Giles/Angel: Not that this will ever happen, and I don't think fiction for this exists, but it could be interesting.
I'm looking for some nice Buffy icons. I'd especially like to have one of Drusilla. Can anyone point me to some really good Buffy icons? I've spent an hour looking for icons today and found many, but none that I really really liked. Usually the Buffy icons feel slightly overdone to me, i.e. too much text and brushes. What I'm looking for is icons with a clean, simplistic look. (E.g. like the icon I'm using for this post.)
And now I need to do the laundry and prepare some food. And then: More episodes!
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-16 07:29 pm (UTC)"Inca Mummy Girl" is one of the weaker episodes - but, as you said, there are still plenty of shiny moments. Not the least of which is Oz. I love Oz. <3 And yes, you'll see plenty more of him.
The Buffy/Giles scene at the end's definitely my favorite part of "Lie To Me" - of the early season 2 episodes, it's among my favorites too, because it addresses so well the gray area Buffy constantly has to walk.
You're right on S/D being borderline incestuous - that seems to be the case with vampires in general, especially if it's a vamp/sire relationship. Angel/Darla, Angel/Dru/Spike... Natural or not, there is a blood connection, one being responsible for creating the other.
I can't comment any on the pairings without MASSIVE spoilage, alas. But suffice it to say there's fic for every pairing you can think of out there. ;) Joss has made it very clear that the Buffyverse is BYO Subtext, and deliberately encourages it.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-17 05:55 pm (UTC)Yes, I had been to that site, but I tried again and found some icons I liked, all made by
Oh, more Oz! That's great! - Amazing. He hasn't said more than 10 sentences by now and already I like him. :-) - One reason why I admire Joss; he really has a feeling for characters.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-16 11:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 01:02 pm (UTC)Usually, I more fond of slash than of het, but I believe that's simply because the male characters usually leave a stronger impression and capture my interest.
I agree, and I have the same experience. Also often when there's one interesting and strong female character in a story, she just doesn't interact with anyone in such a way I would be interested in pairing her.
Jossverse is different: I can see both het and slash pairing and will happily read both.
Yes. Buffy is the only fandom where I read f/f, m/m, and m/f wit equal interest and probably in equal amounts.
About some of the pairings you find intersting now:
Spike/Drusilla: Intense, intersting characters, an appealing pair through all the seasons.
Angel/Buffy: For some reason I never liked them together. I guess Buffy was too childish, and I didn't care of the whole first true love -scenario.
Angel/Cordelia: I always thought they would be right together.
Angel/Spike: I always see this. I have been disappointed with most of the A/S slash fics I have read. While I like power games between them, I see them more as equals and rivals than Spike as a rebellious sub to Angel's sadistic dom.
Angel/Spike/Drusilla: Ooh, the possibilities.
Giles: At some point I realized I liked to read Giles/(adult)anyone fics. Really. I don't care if the pairing is believable or not, I just liked to read Giles interacting with a lover. I also read Spike/anyone, so I am always interested in Giles/Spike.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 02:25 pm (UTC)Angel/Buffy: For some reason I never liked them together. I guess Buffy was too childish, and I didn't care of the whole first true love -scenario.
I understand what you mean. They are cute together, but Buffy is still so very, very childish. All the silly little jealousy games she plays with him irritated me on one level. On the other hand, it's *good* that she's immature at first, because otherwise there would be no story to tell. I want to see her grow and for that to happen she has to be very 16-ish first.
Angel/Spike: I always see this. I have been disappointed with most of the A/S slash fics I have read. While I like power games between them, I see them more as equals and rivals than Spike as a rebellious sub to Angel's sadistic dom.
Dito. I couldn't agree more. (I'm also so not into unequal relationships - neither in real life nor in fiction. I want there to be a balance that can shift and shift back, but is essentially a balance.)
Can you recommend any stories where they are portrayed in a more equal way. If you have any favorites, please let me know. There are *tons* of fanfiction, but when I checked some out there were none that I liked. :-(
Giles: At some point I realized I liked to read Giles/(adult)anyone fics. Really. I don't care if the pairing is believable or not, I just liked to read Giles interacting with a lover. I also read Spike/anyone, so I am always interested in Giles/Spike.
Yes, I think Giles is someone for who I want to read fiction. He needs someone to stir his life up and seeing him together with a vampire would be *interesting*. Any recs?
no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-25 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-25 10:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-28 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-02 07:10 am (UTC)I *love* fic recs. *big smile*