Buffy - More Season 3 impressions (episode 8)

[thalia_seawood]

I'm a bit behind with writing up my impressions, but will probably catch up again on the weekend. Here are my impressions for Lover's Walk.


Lovers Walk
Another favorite of mine! The theme of the show is, of course, love. Or to be precise, relationships that don't work out the way you want them to: Buffy-Angel, Drusilla-Spike, Cordelia-Xander, Willow-Oz, Willow-Xander. Even Joyce brings up her failed relationship with Buffy's dad. It's not a coincidence that Giles is mostly absent from this episode.

Seeing Spike again is a lot of fun. It's nice that he gets to interact with some other characters. He certainly has some interesting chemistry with both Angel and Buffy.

Spike's entrance scene is wonderful: Such a contrast to his entrance scene in School Hard when he and Drusilla arrive in glamour. Now he's back alone and doing a great job of wallowing in misery. Seems that everything Spike does, he has to take to extremes. (In this regard, he reminds me of Anakin Skywalker. :-))

One of my favorite scenes with him is the one where he sits in Joyce's kitchen. I'm including quotes from this scene, because the whole interaction is so much fun. Joyce is in full-mothering mode and Spike clearly enjoys the attention:

The kitchen at the Summers house. Joyce picks up the teakettle from the stove and takes it over to the island, where she pours some into a cup for Spike to make hot chocolate.

Spike: So I'm strolling through the park, looking for a meal, and I happen to walk by, and she's making out with the chaos demon! And so I
said, 'You know, I don't have to put up with this.' And she said, 'Fine!' So I said, 'Fine, do whatever you like!' I mean, I thought we
were going to make up, you know.
Joyce: (sits across from him) Well, she sounds very unreasonable.
Spike: She is. She's out of her mind. (sniffs) That's what I miss most about her. (smiles)
Joyce: Well, Spike, sometimes even when two people seem right for each other, their lives just take different paths. When Buffy's father and I...
Spike: (interrupts) No, this is different. Our love was eternal. Literally. (calms down) You got any of those little marshmallows?

And then Angel shows up. Of course, Spike gets a kick out of annoying him by doing impressions about biting Joyce behind her back.

I can totally understand that Joyce finds the situation confusing: Evil Angel is all good again and nice Spike is once again the villain.

Another interesting scene is Spike watching Angel (still thinking he's Angelus) and telling him that he's not afraid of him. Except he clearly is. Another moment that intrigued me was Angel stepping protectively in front of Spike when Buffy takes out her stake. He tells her that they still need him to find Willow and Xander, but the way Angel acted seemed more like instinct than something he thought about first.

Spike's the character that can see quite easily that Buffy and Angel are still in love. His comment I may be love's bitch, but at least *I'm* man enough to admit it. is great. (selenak, I guess that's the quote you hinted at earlier. :-))


In Lover's Walk it becomes even more clear that Cordelia and Oz are totally in love with their partners.
Cordelia has pictures of Xander in her locker. She gives in to Xander when he insists on going bowling. And she's extremely worried when he's kidnapped.
Oz gives Willow a cute gift that shows he knows her very well. Like Cordelia he's very worried about her safety.

I haven't been happy about Willow and Xander flirting and mostly tried to ignore it. Yes, their secret flirt scenes are in some way funny to watch, but I've always felt bad for Cordelia and Oz. Also what happened between Willow and Xander didn't feel like real attraction, but more as if they were experimenting. I.e. Willow has been in love with Xander for so long, but couldn't have him as he never saw her. She then settled for Oz, but might never have been with Oz, if Xander would have been interested in her first. So when Xander all of a sudden does notice her and finds her attractive, she's just very much intrigued. She's living in the "what-might-have-been-world".
Xander, on the other hand, seems to have the tendency to be attracted to what's out of reach.

In the end, the truth about Willow and Xander comes out and things are not good...

Comments

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood, blood screamin' inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

:-) Yes, that quote is a keeper.

[reposoir.livejournal.com]

*squees for you liking Lover's Walk*

Something Blue in S4 and Fool for Love in S5 are also personal favs of mine, along with a bunch of others from S1 and 2. :D

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

This is the first episode I watched a second time. There are, of course, other wonderful episodes like "Passion" or "Becoming", but they are so tragic you have to be careful not to overdose.

By the way, lovely icon. Is it from a book illustration? (Could be a scene from one of apocalyptic visions.)

[reposoir.livejournal.com]

Um, I can't remember. I think I found it randomly searching for medieval apocalypses or some such thing one afternoon on google images...:)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

He certainly has some interesting chemistry with both Angel and Buffy.

Yes, he does. *g*

Seems that everything Spike does, he has to take to extremes.

Indeed.

The Joyce 'n Spike scene, like all their scenes together, is priceless. And Spike so enjoys the motherly attention. I'm biting my tongue now as not to spoil for for some season 7 revelation.

Yes, that was the Spike quote. snarkel made an Anakin icon using it, btw.

Back then, I wasn't happy about Willow and Xander flirting, either, as I loved Cordelia and Oz and their respective relationships. I feel for Cordelia especially each time I see that episode.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

This is the episode that made me hate Spike. I really enjoyed him as a villain before this but I didn't forgive him hurting Xander for... well, quite a long time.

Even now, in memory, the intensity of that emotion remains. It's interesting. I was such the fanatical Xander fangirl. Anyone who hurt him, I couldn't forgive. There's still one character in the Jossverse that I don't utterly adore now and it's because it's someone who hurt Xander and never showed a hint of remorse for it (it's not Spike, btw).

Ah, and my Xander attraction theory. Xander is attracted to strength. There's Buffy (obviously). He was interested in Kendra at first, and then she was nervous and shy and he instantly lost interest. There's Cordelia (who he thought had too tough a skin for his words to ever actually hurt her). And he got interested in Willow after she got into the magic and showed real power. I think that Xander wants to be in a relationship with... well, someone he can't hurt.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

This is the episode that made me hate Spike. I really enjoyed him as a villain before this but I didn't forgive him hurting Xander for... well, quite a long time.

No, I really like Spike. Well, not "like" as in I would like to meet him, because yes, he's still a dangerous demon, but "like" as in I find his character totally captivating.

Spike hurting Xander: Well, he's a demon. So he does as demons usually do and hurts a human being. It's nothing personal. :-) -- Actually this raises the question if a demon is morally responsible for its actions. And if it is, if his moral code isn't totally the reverse, i.e. if an action a human considers good is something a demon should avoid at all costs. But, of course, a vampire is one part human and one part demon so it all gets more complex. But no, I'll not be getting into this right now or I will still be typing in an hour. :-)

And your Xander attraction theory is a very good one. It makes total sense. Thanks for sharing; I think I understand Xander a bit better now.

[madame-parker.livejournal.com]

I really am enjoying reading your thoughts as you work your way through the seasons, it kinda opens it up for me again, remembering what I thought as I watched it. I think it was around this time that I started to like Spike, I have a thing for bad boys but Spike is not just the bad juy, his got passion and his clever too, he and Buffy will have some great moments in the next few seasons and he and Joyce are always great together, so sweet and funny.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Yes, Spike seems to be pretty complex. He's definitely dangerous, but he's also the most human demon so far.
I have to admit that I started to love him in his first episode. He's just so full of life - despite being dead. :-)

[vanimy.livejournal.com]

Heh, Spike/Joyce was like, the best thing ever. There was so much chemistry and I loved Bad!Spike who was actually nice and so human in many ways. S3 is filled with great episodes anyway and Lover's walk is one of those. The ending is just so sad and I hated Xander and Willow for doing that because Oz and Cordelia were so cute you know, especially Cordelia who gave up some things for Xander. On a side note I remember freaking out the first time I saw the episode when they cut from the "Cordelia is hurt" scene to some funerals. I was like, "No, it can't be!" ;)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

especially Cordelia who gave up some things for Xander.

Oh yes, she stood up to her friends because she was in love with him. He really hurts her tremendously when she sees him kissing Willow.

On a side note I remember freaking out the first time I saw the episode when they cut from the "Cordelia is hurt" scene to some funerals. I was like, "No, it can't be!" ;)

This scene is purposefully misleading. I was shocked as well and thought she was dead for a moment. It helped that I knew she was on the show Angel later on. :-)