Buffy - Season 4 impressions (episode 17)
Nov. 26th, 2005 11:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodSuperstar
For a summary click here.
- It's safe to say they had a lot of fun writing this episode!
I love the idea of a Gary Stu (= the male counterpart of a Mary Sue) simply being tossed into the Buffyverse without any explanation being given to us. They even adjusted the intro to the show: Instead of lots of Buffy shots Jonathan is everywhere.
- Yup, Jonathan is the master of all Gary Stus:
* He's as cool as James Bond and Clark Kent together.
* He's the best fighter, and of course, way better than the Slayer.
* He's a technical advisor extraordinaire.
* He received the Class Protector Award instead of Buffy.
* He sings.
* He plays an instrument perfectly.
* He writes - and his book has been turned into a movie.
* He invented the internet.
* He coaches the women football team.
* His picture is everywhere. (My favorite were Willow and Tara making a Jonathan collage, Riley having a hot Jonathan sport poster on his door and Giles having a Jonathan calendar.)
* He knows everything best.
* Everyone loves him even though he's unbearably perfect.
* He's got blonde twins as lovers. Which is probably something most men have dreamed about.
* Everyone drools over him, no matter what their sexual orientation is (e.g. Tara or Xander). No, here we have one exception: Spike. He's not entranced by Jonathan; his entire attention is still focused on Buffy. Spike/Buffy fans everywhere must have squealed over the scene when he's coming on to her.
- It's noteworthy that Jonathan reunites the Scooby Gang. Buffy has been mostly fighting alone or along the Iniative in season 4. But they are all together again: Giles, Xander, Willow. There's even room for their friends Anya, Tara and Riley. We can see that this effect lasts for the entire episode, i.e. even the spell has been revoked.
- Loved this scene:
Spike: "I live here. I wasn't exactly pining for a noisy visit from 'wonder Jonathan and his fluffy battle kittens'."
Buffy: "Yeah? You think that one up with all the time you spend not being able to bite people?"
Jonathan: "Careful, he's still pretty dangerous."
Spike: "Yeah, back off 'Betty.'"
Buffy: "It's Buffy, you big bleached..." [music ends] "stupid guy."
Jonathan: "Spike you're the worst type of scum. The second you're back to your old tricks well, let's just say before you
even sniff out your first victim you'll be pretty indistinguishable from, oh what should we say... instant soup mix."
* Jonathan is one of the few people in the Buffyverse (and in the fandom) who still knows that Spike is, in fact, dangerous.
* Spike calling Buffy "Betty" twice just makes me giggle. It's neat how little it takes sometimes to annoy someone. (selenak, you told me "Buffy" is a version of "Elizabeth". Taking this into account, "Betty" is a perfectly acceptable alternative. :-))
* Oh, and Buffy has lost her ability for sassy comeback lines due to Jonathan's spell.
* But hey, Jonathan's idea for a witty comeback line is not exactly perfect either. Only nobody notices it.
* And I want an icon with the header "Fluffy Battle Kittens". :-)
- I also want an icon with the header "Don't speak Latin in front of the books." I admit it: This line cracked me up - along with Xander's expression when he closes the burning book.
- We get great insight from Adam, Mr "I know every molecule of myself and everything around me.":
"None of this is real. The world has been changed. It's intriguing but it's wrong."
I want an icon with the header "It's intriguing but it's wrong."
I fear I've been infected by an icons bug. - Shoosh. Go away, bug.
- Anya has some great moments in this episode. She's such a great host. :-)
Anya: "You're not going away. Why aren't you going away?"
Buffy: "Oh I was kind of hoping to look at some of Xander's stuff."
Anya: "Oh." [Smiles] "Sure. Come on in." [Waves Buffy in.] "Make yourself at home. And so on."
Anya sits on the couch and starts reading Jonathan's book.
[...]
Anya: "Oh you're still here." [smiles faintly] "That's nice."
- I heart Riley.
Riley in response to Buffy's plan: "Sounds like nonsense." [Buffy looks discouraged.] "But I'm starting to know this girl pretty well [he stands, walks and stops beside Buffy] and I think she sees things that the rest of us don't. I think, for once, we should follow her lead."
- Why does Spike hold the back of his head even though he hasn't attacked anyone? Is it now enough if he thinks about attacking?
- Great scene:
Jonathan: "Hey. Hey Buffy. You remember I gave you some advice?"
Buffy [less than amused]: "Watch out for southpaws?"
Jonathan: "Uh, no about you and Riley. I mean things are starting to blur but this cool thing I said, um, that I don't really remember... I think it's right. I think it's kind of the same thing you just said to me. (Pause.) About things taking work."
Buffy [thoughtful]: "Yeah, I remember."
Jonathan: "Good because it's true. What you have is really complicated but it's worth it. I think that's what I said."
What he said to Buffy *was* good advice - even though it was phrased in an unbearably tacky way. I hope we see Jonathan again, because he's got some hidden depths. He's a kind person.
- Nice final scene with Buffy and Riley. It makes me very happy that they do *not* talk about the Faith interlude. Talking can be quite overrated, IMO. (I'm making this statement after hearing so often how my friends have these *big* talks with their boyfriends about how they feel and what went wrong and why it went wrong and what they can do about it and if they still love one another and if it will all work out and .... Gah. Sometimes it's way more healthy not to talk things to death.)
For a summary click here.
- It's safe to say they had a lot of fun writing this episode!
I love the idea of a Gary Stu (= the male counterpart of a Mary Sue) simply being tossed into the Buffyverse without any explanation being given to us. They even adjusted the intro to the show: Instead of lots of Buffy shots Jonathan is everywhere.
- Yup, Jonathan is the master of all Gary Stus:
* He's as cool as James Bond and Clark Kent together.
* He's the best fighter, and of course, way better than the Slayer.
* He's a technical advisor extraordinaire.
* He received the Class Protector Award instead of Buffy.
* He sings.
* He plays an instrument perfectly.
* He writes - and his book has been turned into a movie.
* He invented the internet.
* He coaches the women football team.
* His picture is everywhere. (My favorite were Willow and Tara making a Jonathan collage, Riley having a hot Jonathan sport poster on his door and Giles having a Jonathan calendar.)
* He knows everything best.
* Everyone loves him even though he's unbearably perfect.
* He's got blonde twins as lovers. Which is probably something most men have dreamed about.
* Everyone drools over him, no matter what their sexual orientation is (e.g. Tara or Xander). No, here we have one exception: Spike. He's not entranced by Jonathan; his entire attention is still focused on Buffy. Spike/Buffy fans everywhere must have squealed over the scene when he's coming on to her.
- It's noteworthy that Jonathan reunites the Scooby Gang. Buffy has been mostly fighting alone or along the Iniative in season 4. But they are all together again: Giles, Xander, Willow. There's even room for their friends Anya, Tara and Riley. We can see that this effect lasts for the entire episode, i.e. even the spell has been revoked.
- Loved this scene:
Spike: "I live here. I wasn't exactly pining for a noisy visit from 'wonder Jonathan and his fluffy battle kittens'."
Buffy: "Yeah? You think that one up with all the time you spend not being able to bite people?"
Jonathan: "Careful, he's still pretty dangerous."
Spike: "Yeah, back off 'Betty.'"
Buffy: "It's Buffy, you big bleached..." [music ends] "stupid guy."
Jonathan: "Spike you're the worst type of scum. The second you're back to your old tricks well, let's just say before you
even sniff out your first victim you'll be pretty indistinguishable from, oh what should we say... instant soup mix."
* Jonathan is one of the few people in the Buffyverse (and in the fandom) who still knows that Spike is, in fact, dangerous.
* Spike calling Buffy "Betty" twice just makes me giggle. It's neat how little it takes sometimes to annoy someone. (
selenak, you told me "Buffy" is a version of "Elizabeth". Taking this into account, "Betty" is a perfectly acceptable alternative. :-))* Oh, and Buffy has lost her ability for sassy comeback lines due to Jonathan's spell.
* But hey, Jonathan's idea for a witty comeback line is not exactly perfect either. Only nobody notices it.
* And I want an icon with the header "Fluffy Battle Kittens". :-)
- I also want an icon with the header "Don't speak Latin in front of the books." I admit it: This line cracked me up - along with Xander's expression when he closes the burning book.
- We get great insight from Adam, Mr "I know every molecule of myself and everything around me.":
"None of this is real. The world has been changed. It's intriguing but it's wrong."
I want an icon with the header "It's intriguing but it's wrong."
I fear I've been infected by an icons bug. - Shoosh. Go away, bug.
- Anya has some great moments in this episode. She's such a great host. :-)
Anya: "You're not going away. Why aren't you going away?"
Buffy: "Oh I was kind of hoping to look at some of Xander's stuff."
Anya: "Oh." [Smiles] "Sure. Come on in." [Waves Buffy in.] "Make yourself at home. And so on."
Anya sits on the couch and starts reading Jonathan's book.
[...]
Anya: "Oh you're still here." [smiles faintly] "That's nice."
- I heart Riley.
Riley in response to Buffy's plan: "Sounds like nonsense." [Buffy looks discouraged.] "But I'm starting to know this girl pretty well [he stands, walks and stops beside Buffy] and I think she sees things that the rest of us don't. I think, for once, we should follow her lead."
- Why does Spike hold the back of his head even though he hasn't attacked anyone? Is it now enough if he thinks about attacking?
- Great scene:
Jonathan: "Hey. Hey Buffy. You remember I gave you some advice?"
Buffy [less than amused]: "Watch out for southpaws?"
Jonathan: "Uh, no about you and Riley. I mean things are starting to blur but this cool thing I said, um, that I don't really remember... I think it's right. I think it's kind of the same thing you just said to me. (Pause.) About things taking work."
Buffy [thoughtful]: "Yeah, I remember."
Jonathan: "Good because it's true. What you have is really complicated but it's worth it. I think that's what I said."
What he said to Buffy *was* good advice - even though it was phrased in an unbearably tacky way. I hope we see Jonathan again, because he's got some hidden depths. He's a kind person.
- Nice final scene with Buffy and Riley. It makes me very happy that they do *not* talk about the Faith interlude. Talking can be quite overrated, IMO. (I'm making this statement after hearing so often how my friends have these *big* talks with their boyfriends about how they feel and what went wrong and why it went wrong and what they can do about it and if they still love one another and if it will all work out and .... Gah. Sometimes it's way more healthy not to talk things to death.)
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-27 04:58 am (UTC)Jonathan is one of those background characters, lke Hamrony, that the writers always searched for ways to reuse. I think Jane Espenson, who wrote this ep, had a special soft spot for Jonathan, and for Danny Strong who plays him. So the ep is, at once, a mocking of GaryStu conventions, and a loveletter to those background characters who gave so much dimension to the Buffyverse. If you've got access to the version with Jane Espenson's commentary, be sure to listen to it, as it's one of my favorites.
Needless to say, I love this ep -- it's one of the first I saw, and I was really impressed by the way that they just dived into the weirdness of the AU and counted on the audience to follow (this parallels some much more serious developments in later seasons). Also, I love that the continuing story arcs (Buffy/Riley) were advanced.
Anya's line about the "shrimp world" is also one of my faves, and resurfaces again and again.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-28 07:12 am (UTC)Thanks for the tipp!
I liked Jonathan from the moment on he gives Cordelia a sympathetic glance when her "friends" set her up in The Wish. (The scene where Harmony says I've got the perfect new boyfriend for you - and it turns out to be Jonathan who is, of course, unacceptable for Cordy.)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-27 07:37 am (UTC)We'll see Jonathan again, and plenty, though not for a while. (In season 6, to be precise.)
I think the Jonathan swim suit calendar actually got sold at some convention as memorabilia. Anyway, Danny Strong must have had a great time posing.*g*
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 10:16 pm (UTC)Very good. I like him.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 12:15 am (UTC)I like that it's not that Jonathan sees Spike as dangerous, but as Jane Espenson said, that it's Jonathan being nice to Spike by treating him as if he is still a threat and dangerous. In ergo, allowing him to keep his cool guy image.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-11 11:49 pm (UTC)Never mind. I enjoy comments whenever I get them. *smile*
Nice bit of information! If I've watched all the episodes I will definitely watch some of them with the audio commentary.