Buffy - Season 4 impressions (episode 10)
Nov. 20th, 2005 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodHush
Summary can be found here.
This is the first Buffy episodeselenak showed me. Interesting to see it again after I've come to know and care for all the characters.
- This could quite easily just be a filler episode along the way of 'let's do an ep where noone can talk'. Instead it's a lot more, because it really deals with communication: When do we need words? When do they get in the way?
Some examples are:
- Buffy and Riley only get together when they cannot talk:
Buffy: "I get nervous and I start babbling and he starts babbling and it's a babblefest. Plus, everytime we talk I have to lie.
- At the end of the show, Buffy and Riley need to talk about what they discovered about one another - and have a hard time finding the right words.
- Tara and Willow can build a strong connection without words, because Tara is so shy and words would have got in the way.
- Giles wants things to be quiet in his appartement.
- Both Giles and Olivia don't have a need for words - at least not right after her arrival. :-)
- Xander would be really glad if Spike just shut up.
- Anya and Xander understand how much they mean to one another when they can no longer fight their verbal battles.
From my list of examples it seems that relationships in the beginning work much better without words, but at some point you will need them after all. :-)
- The dream sequence in the beginning is very well done.
- So Spike is no longer chained to the bathtub, but hangs out at Giles' place - slowly driving him crazy by eating all his weetabix. Blood and weetabix - yummy. :-)
Interesting contrast: Angel enjoys eating only when he's human; it seems vampires can't really taste food all that well. Spike obviously enjoys eating anyway. It's not just weetabix, he also has crackers and peanut butter.
- Wonderful scene:
Giles appartment. As Anya walks through the door.
Anya: "Well, I think we should talk about it now."
Giles: "Thank you for knocking."
Xander: "If you don't know how I feel about..."
Anya: "I don't. This isn't a relationship, you don't need me, all you care about is lots of orgasms."
Spike sits up to look back with a weetabix in his mouth.
Giles takes off his glasses.
Xander: "Ok... remember how we talked about private conversations and how they're less private when they're in front of my friends?"
Spike: "Oh, we're not your friends. Go on."
Giles: "Please don't."
Anya: "This is important."
Giles: "But why is it here?"
- Love this comment on the iniative's secret agent routine:
Forrest: "This is the burden we bear, brother. We have a gig that would inevitably cause any girl living to think we are cool upon cool. Yet we must Clark Kent our way through the dating scene never to use our unfair advantage."
- Without any doubt this is the scene that brought Xander/Spike slash into existence:
Spike: "I don't see why I have to be tied up."
Xander: "It's just while I'm sleeping."
Spike: " Like I'd bite you anyway."
Xander: "Oh, you would."
Spike: "Not bloody likely."
Xander: "I happen to be very biteable pal. I'm moist and delicious."
Spike: "Alright, yeah fine, you're a nummy treat."
Xander: "And don't you forget it."
Spike adopts a high pitched almost falsetto voice - like Anya.
Spike: "Xander, don't you care about me."
Xander: "Shut up!"
Spike: "We never talk."
Xander holds up a warning finger.
Xander: "Shut up!"
Spike: " Xaaannnder."
Xander: "Shut up!"
Add to this the fact that the scene starts with Xander's butt pointing towards the camera and Spike - and Spike not looking away in the least - and thousands of girls burst into shouts of "slash them, slash them".
Noone can tell me Joss Whedon didn't know what he was doing with this scene.
- It's a lot of fun to compare the meeting of the iniative held by Walsh to the meeting of the scoobies held by Giles.
The initiative's meeting is antiseptic, e.g. Walsh's pep talk is read by a computer voice. Also she makes the decisions and the members of the iniative are not asked for contributions.
The meeting of the scoobies is more chaotic (everybody has an idea and expresses it in some way) and way more creative (Giles presents his research in the form of funny-macabre drawings).
- IMO, this episode is a turning point for Willow. She seems to really feel her power for the first time when she moves the soda machine together with Tara - and she likes it.
Summary can be found here.
This is the first Buffy episode
selenak showed me. Interesting to see it again after I've come to know and care for all the characters.- This could quite easily just be a filler episode along the way of 'let's do an ep where noone can talk'. Instead it's a lot more, because it really deals with communication: When do we need words? When do they get in the way?
Some examples are:
- Buffy and Riley only get together when they cannot talk:
Buffy: "I get nervous and I start babbling and he starts babbling and it's a babblefest. Plus, everytime we talk I have to lie.
- At the end of the show, Buffy and Riley need to talk about what they discovered about one another - and have a hard time finding the right words.
- Tara and Willow can build a strong connection without words, because Tara is so shy and words would have got in the way.
- Giles wants things to be quiet in his appartement.
- Both Giles and Olivia don't have a need for words - at least not right after her arrival. :-)
- Xander would be really glad if Spike just shut up.
- Anya and Xander understand how much they mean to one another when they can no longer fight their verbal battles.
From my list of examples it seems that relationships in the beginning work much better without words, but at some point you will need them after all. :-)
- The dream sequence in the beginning is very well done.
- So Spike is no longer chained to the bathtub, but hangs out at Giles' place - slowly driving him crazy by eating all his weetabix. Blood and weetabix - yummy. :-)
Interesting contrast: Angel enjoys eating only when he's human; it seems vampires can't really taste food all that well. Spike obviously enjoys eating anyway. It's not just weetabix, he also has crackers and peanut butter.
- Wonderful scene:
Giles appartment. As Anya walks through the door.
Anya: "Well, I think we should talk about it now."
Giles: "Thank you for knocking."
Xander: "If you don't know how I feel about..."
Anya: "I don't. This isn't a relationship, you don't need me, all you care about is lots of orgasms."
Spike sits up to look back with a weetabix in his mouth.
Giles takes off his glasses.
Xander: "Ok... remember how we talked about private conversations and how they're less private when they're in front of my friends?"
Spike: "Oh, we're not your friends. Go on."
Giles: "Please don't."
Anya: "This is important."
Giles: "But why is it here?"
- Love this comment on the iniative's secret agent routine:
Forrest: "This is the burden we bear, brother. We have a gig that would inevitably cause any girl living to think we are cool upon cool. Yet we must Clark Kent our way through the dating scene never to use our unfair advantage."
- Without any doubt this is the scene that brought Xander/Spike slash into existence:
Spike: "I don't see why I have to be tied up."
Xander: "It's just while I'm sleeping."
Spike: " Like I'd bite you anyway."
Xander: "Oh, you would."
Spike: "Not bloody likely."
Xander: "I happen to be very biteable pal. I'm moist and delicious."
Spike: "Alright, yeah fine, you're a nummy treat."
Xander: "And don't you forget it."
Spike adopts a high pitched almost falsetto voice - like Anya.
Spike: "Xander, don't you care about me."
Xander: "Shut up!"
Spike: "We never talk."
Xander holds up a warning finger.
Xander: "Shut up!"
Spike: " Xaaannnder."
Xander: "Shut up!"
Add to this the fact that the scene starts with Xander's butt pointing towards the camera and Spike - and Spike not looking away in the least - and thousands of girls burst into shouts of "slash them, slash them".
Noone can tell me Joss Whedon didn't know what he was doing with this scene.
- It's a lot of fun to compare the meeting of the iniative held by Walsh to the meeting of the scoobies held by Giles.
The initiative's meeting is antiseptic, e.g. Walsh's pep talk is read by a computer voice. Also she makes the decisions and the members of the iniative are not asked for contributions.
The meeting of the scoobies is more chaotic (everybody has an idea and expresses it in some way) and way more creative (Giles presents his research in the form of funny-macabre drawings).
- IMO, this episode is a turning point for Willow. She seems to really feel her power for the first time when she moves the soda machine together with Tara - and she likes it.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 12:20 pm (UTC)*is filled with "Hush" love*
Interesting contrast: Angel enjoys eating only when he's human; it seems vampires can't really taste food all that well. Spike obviously enjoys eating anyway. It's not just weetabix, he also has crackers and peanut butter.
Spike does it just because, if you ask me. (I.e. I don't think he has a sense of taste the other vampires don't have, but he knows it drives everyone crazy.)
Without any doubt this is the scene that brought Xander/Spike slash into existence:
Oh, absolutely, and also why most Xander/Spike slash appears to be set in season 4, because at that point they're around each other on occasion and Xander doesn't have more than a general anti-vampire dislike, not a personal one, against Spike. This changes in later seasons.
I also agree it was intentional, but the pairing still doesn't work for me. *shrugs*
The initiative's meeting is antiseptic, e.g. Walsh's pep talk is read by a computer voice. Also she makes the decisions and the members of the iniative are not asked for contributions.
The meeting of the scoobies is more chaotic (everybody has an idea and expresses it in some way) and way more creative (Giles presents his research in the form of funny-macabre drawings).
Again, I'm impressed how well you pick up details that are all going to be important in the long run. Kudos.
Turning point for Willow: yes.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 01:58 pm (UTC)In the 4th season there's quite a bit of subtext between them, e.g. when Spike is nearly knocked out in episode 11, Xander helps him up immediately.
I much prefer Angel/Spike, though.
The sad thing is that I have found not a single Angel/Spike story I liked so far. Of course, I mostly stayed away from reading stories with spoilers, but still I had the impression that most authors don't get this pairing. Either Angel or Spike becomes a big fluffy puppy. E.g. Angel is totally dominant and Spike submissive and cuddly. *shudders*
I guess this pairing is very complex and therefore hard to write. The usual slash recipes simply don't work. But still: Someone must have written a story where they are in character.
Spike/Xander gets some nice stories, on the other hand. And all the authors I know & like from other fandoms seem to write for them. Duh. I mean some stories for them are sweet, but the pairing isn't all that interesting. I'd much rather read Spike/VampireWillow.
Again, I'm impressed how well you pick up details that are all going to be important in the long run. Kudos.
Oh, I *love* picking up details! Good to know I'm not just imaging things.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 05:10 pm (UTC)Spike/Angel stories with both in character: I'd rec you some, but sadly they really have a later season setting and require later canon knowledge you just don't have yet. The best author for any kind of Angel pairing, het or slash, is Kita. While she has a preference for Angel/Spike, she also writes stunning and unfluffy Angel/Buffy, Angel/Darla, Angel/Lindsey, Angel/Wesley and just no pairing at all, plain examination.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-21 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-07 06:24 pm (UTC)I think part of what lead to the Spander shippiness is that Joss has said he was considering having Xander realize that he was gay, so there were definite slashy moments sprinkled throughout S4 and early S5 before he decided against it.
I love this episode. Joss is always challenging himself. He had gotten a lot of good press for his witty dialogue, so he turns around and writes an episode that has no dialogue at all for 75% of it. He tends to do that, which makes for electrifying television, IMO.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-07 08:03 pm (UTC)I haven't got to season 5 of Angel yet, but have saved your story and will read it later. I started reading the beginning of it and like the dialogue a lot!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-07 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-07 08:05 pm (UTC)In a parallel universe, Willow is still heterosexual and Xander is together with Spike. *g* After all, he went for the female counterpart in as far as Anya also was a vicious demon.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-07 10:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-12 09:52 am (UTC)I wish I could see the episodes from that parallel universe Buffy show. (This universe also has season 6 & 7 of Angel. :-))
no subject
Date: 2006-03-15 08:30 pm (UTC)Yes, definitely! Me, too! But, I guess that's why we have fanfic. *g*
Oh, and I did write gay!Xander for a ficathon - it's a Human AU, where all the characters are human, but I tried to stick as close to their individual personalities as possible. I went with the AU because I just couldn't manage to hook up Xander and Angel whilst still having Angel be a vampire and having all the baggage they carried from their encounters on the show. *eg*
It's AU, so shouldn't be spoilery. If you're interested, it's here.