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thalia_seawoodRestless
A summary can be found here.
As this episode is so fascinating there will be two posts dedicated to it. :-)
Overall impressions
I *heart* this episode! It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!!
It manages the difficult task of convincingly bringing the world of dreams to TV.
We've had small dream sequences before on Buffy and I thought most of them were done *really* well. The episodes Nightmares and Fear, Itself also dealt with the subconscious, but Restless goes a step further. Hey, it's an entire episode dedicated to dreams which is novel and intriguing and wonderful. Especially since all scenes are shot in an outstanding way, IMO.
The episode also serves as a link between what happened in Primeval and Buffy vs. Dracula - and most likely future episodes that are to come.
In the past episode, it was also mentioned that the spell they perform is dangerous. Of course, this didn't impress us, because things usually turn out fine and Buffy can handle herself. Well, seems the spell really has some dangerous after effects that can not be so easily ignored.
While watching the episode, I scribbled like mad in my notebook. (I always take little notes now when watching Buffy or Angel so I don't forget my first impressions. It's a fun exercise; makes me pay close attention and look out for tiny things that I might otherwise not have noticed.) Things came together with the reappearance of the Manus card in Buffy's dream, so here's what I make of things.
The four dreams and how they are connected
The sequence of the dreams equals the sequence of the cards laid out in the spell to invoke the power of the Slayer.
Here are the words of the spell for reference:
Willow: (chanting) "The power of the Slayer and all who yield it.
Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal
strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us mind and heart
and spirit join. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will."
Willow represents the spirit, Xander represents the heart, Giles represents the mind. They are united in Manus, the hand, who is represented by Buffy.
The dreams are not only in the same order, they also stand for spirit, mind, heart and hand.
All four dreams share the element of something pursuing the dreamer. It turns out this being is the First Slayer.)
Each dreamer is attacked in a way that corresponds to the role they play in Buffy's life and in the spell:
* Willow = Spirit: The First Slayer goes for Willow's throat. - In many cultures, drawing breath equals the life force, the spiritus. (E.g. the Hebrew word "ha nephesch" means "breath, life, soul".)
* Xander = Heart: The First Slayer rips his heart out.
* Giles = Mind: The First Slayer starts cutting into his head.
* Buffy = Hand: As the Hand, she is able to defend herself and to stand up against the First Slayer.
Willow's dream
Her dream deals with the spirit.
Themes are finding the right name, writing, performing. drama, books.
TARA: I think it's strange. I mean, I think I should worry that we haven't found her name.
WILLOW: Who, Miss Kitty?
(Shot of their kitten, playing with a ball of red yarn in slow-motion.)
TARA: You'd think she'd let us know her name by now.
WILLOW: She will. (Looking down at Tara) She's not all grown yet.
TARA: You're not worried?
WILLOW: I never worry here. (Smile) I'm safe here.
TARA: You don't know everything about me.
WILLOW: Have you told me your real name?
(Tara smiles.)
TARA: Oh, you know that.
Names are, of course, extremely powerful as can be seen in myths and fairytales. It's a theme in the bible, in "Rumpelstilzchen", in the "Neverending Story" - and there are thousands of other examples.
It's a safe guess that Tara doesn't talk about Miss Kitty. She might talk about the First Slayer. And of course, there's now also the question if there's not much more to Tara than meets the eye. E.g. Buffy can still hear Tara's voice when the dream sequences have ended.
The love between Tara and Willow is not shown in a sexual way. The focus seems to be on a spiritual love.
When the scene came up where Willow paints on Tara's back, I couldn't help myself. My inner geek was awakened. I pressed "Pause" and then freeze framed my way through the scene. I really, really wanted to figure out the inscription on Tara's back. Because: Greek! And the name "Aphrodite"! Most intriguing.
So I didn't continue watching until I had deciphered the beginning which reads "poikilothron'athanat' Aphrodita", then checked google and discovered they picked Sappho's "Hymn to Aphrodite" which is a very interesting choice. The "Hymn to Aphrodite" deals after all with a woman asking Aphrodite to help her win back her female lover.
At the end of this LJ entry, I've included a translation of the poem and a link to various other translations. I selected a translation that's fairly close to the original text as far as I can see.
I'm aware that I'm not the first one to figure out the origin of the poem Willow paints on Tara, but it was fun doing the research by myself anyway. *g*
Willow states that she can be late and that she doesn't want to leave Tara.
We get the first glimpse of something wild (the desert outside, something moves out there, the kitten stalking towards the camera).
Willow leaves and goes to drama class - where she realises she's late and is the only one who doesn't know what's going on.
I think this could symbolize the intangibility of the spirit. Mind, heart and hand cooperate every day - but what exactly is our spirit? How does it connect to the other parts of our being?
Neat little moment:
Even in Willow's dream, Xander plays the role of the heart. He's the one who makes lewd little jokes about Willow and Tara.
Sometimes I think about two women doing a spell ... and then I do a spell by myself.
Buffy, Riley and Harmony have parts in the play - not sure if there parts mean anything. Riley is still the solid, wholesome American guy. Harmony is surprisingly harmless and only mock-bites. Buffy seems to be dressed as Roxie Heart from the play Chicago. Hm... Roxie is definitely a girl on the wild side.
And Giles as director addressing the ensemble before the show begins - very nice! It also introduces him as the mind who has some control over what's going on.
I'd really like to see this version of Death of a Salesman. :-) In particular loved this scene:
(Cut to stage. Riley in the foreground facing the audience. Buffy in the middle ground facing Riley. Harmony in the background, sitting on the sofa, crying.)
BUFFY: (with contempt) But what else could I expect from a bunch of low-rent, no-account hoodlums like you? Hoodlums, yes, I mean you and your friends, your whole sex, throw 'em in the sea for all I care, throw 'em in and wait for the bubbles, men with your groping and spitting all groin no brain three billion of you passing around the same worn-out urge. Men! With
your ... sales!
(She says all this in one breath without pause or inflection. Harmony sobs throughout and Riley stands expressionless.)
Death of a Salesman:
Don't know enough about this play to know if it's meaningful. As far as I remember it does deal with illusions and false expectations so it does fit somehow.
Everybody claims that Willow is already in character. When Buffy later on rips Willow's "costume" off, season 2 Willow emerges.
I think the drama theme could stand for the roles we have to assume in our life. Willow appears to be overwhelmed by this; deep down inside she still feels insecure and very young. She also isn't entirely sure of the assistance of her friends. In the final sequence of her dream, Buffy, Xander, Tara, Oz and Anya all in some way mock her or turn against her.
Xander's dream
His dream deals with the heart. Xander defines himself as a "conquistador" and a "comfortador", both strong and caring. Snyder in his dream however tells him: You're neither. You're a whipping boy. Raised by mongrels and set on a sacrificial stone.
I found his dream sequence the most threating one: The moments in his basement with something rattling at his door trying to enter are disquieting.
Themes are:
Observing and being observed.
There are several slightly erotic scenes in his dream starting with Joyce and then moving on to Tara and Willow. :-)
Moving forwards.
Not being able to understand what's going on.
Being a soldier.
Being threatened not only by the First Slayer, but also by his father.
I enjoyed the following scene in particular. Giles and Spike on the swings and Buffy in the sandbox are incredibly surreal. Also love that Xander watches the scenes from different perspectives. It's actually something that happens quite often in dreams.
Buffy is fairly confident in her abilities and believes she can handle whatever will come her way.
Not sure about the connection between Giles and Spike, though. It could mean that they become friends or allies at one time - however, this interpretation doesn't feel right to me.
(Cut to a playground, daylight. Giles and Spike are swinging on swings, both dressed in Giles-type tweeds. Buffy playing in the sandbox.)
(Xander walks up.)
XANDER: Hey, there you are.
BUFFY: (putting sand in pail with plastic shovel) Are you sure it's us you were looking for?
(Giles smiles at her.)
SPIKE: Giles here is gonna teach me to be a Watcher. Says I got the stuff.
GILES: Spike's like a son to me. (They both smile and continue swinging)
XANDER: That's good. I was into that for a while, but... (nods toward the street) I got other stuff goin' on.
(Long shot of the ice-cream truck surrounded by kids.)
(Closer shot of Xander in the truck, wearing his striped shirt and hat, serving ice cream to kids.)
[...]
XANDER: Buffy, are you sure you wanna play there?
(Buffy gives him a pouty look like a little kid told not to do something.)
XANDER: It's a pretty big sandbox.
BUFFY: I'm okay. (Suddenly we see her against the backdrop of the desert from Willow's dream. Rocks, sand, scraggly trees) It's not coming for me yet.
XANDER: I just mean ... you can't protect yourself from ... some stuff. (Buffy looks directly at him. The playground backdrop is back.)
BUFFY: I'm way ahead of you, big brother.
XANDER: Brother?
(Buffy looks at him expressionless. Soft music: a woman vocalizing without words.)
(Spike and Giles swinging higher and higher.)
GILES: Go on, put your back into it! A Watcher scoffs at gravity. (They continue swinging. Woman continues humming.)
(Shot of Buffy still expressionless.)
(Shot of Xander squinting at her.)
(Shot of the other Xander in the truck, watching them.)
(Shot of the four of them from the truck-Xander's perspective.)
Very sure this is meaningful:
ANYA: I've been thinking about getting back into vengeance.
(We see her playing with a lollipop in its wrapper.)
(Xander takes his striped hat off, puts it on the dashboard.)
XANDER: Is that right?
ANYA: Well, you know how I miss it. I'm so at loose ends since I quit. I think this is going to be a very big year for vengeance.
Noone can help Xander when he's attacked: Beforehand, he is unable to understand Giles and Anya and despite their attempt to help he's left alone.
The attack by the First Slayer is preceeded by his father's words You haven't got the heart.. In fact, his father transforms into the First Slayer. I guess it's safe to say that Xander's family has not been kind to him.
Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite
Translation, notes and metrical explanation copyright 1997 Elizabeth Vandiver; all rights reserved.
Iridescent-throned Aphrodite, deathless
Child of Zeus, wile-weaver, I now implore you,
Don't--I beg you, Lady--with pains and torments
Crush down my spirit,
But before if ever you've heard my pleadings
Then return, as once when you left your father's
Golden house; you yoked to your shining car your
Wing-whirring sparrows;
Skimming down the paths of the sky's bright ether
On they brought you over the earth's black bosom,
Swiftly--then you stood with a sudden brilliance,
Goddess, before me;
Deathless face alight with your smile, you asked me
What I suffered, who was my cause of anguish,
What would ease the pain of my frantic mind, and
Why had I called you
To my side: "And whom should Persuasion summon
Here, to soothe the sting of your passion this time?
Who is now abusing you, Sappho? Who is
Treating you cruelly?
Now she runs away, but she'll soon pursue you;
Gifts she now rejects--soon enough she'll give them;
Now she doesn't love you, but soon her heart will
Burn, though unwilling."
Come to me once more, and abate my torment;
Take the bitter care from my mind, and give me
All I long for; Lady, in all my battles
Fight as my comrade.
A link to alternative translations can be found here.
A summary can be found here.
As this episode is so fascinating there will be two posts dedicated to it. :-)
Overall impressions
I *heart* this episode! It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!!
It manages the difficult task of convincingly bringing the world of dreams to TV.
We've had small dream sequences before on Buffy and I thought most of them were done *really* well. The episodes Nightmares and Fear, Itself also dealt with the subconscious, but Restless goes a step further. Hey, it's an entire episode dedicated to dreams which is novel and intriguing and wonderful. Especially since all scenes are shot in an outstanding way, IMO.
The episode also serves as a link between what happened in Primeval and Buffy vs. Dracula - and most likely future episodes that are to come.
In the past episode, it was also mentioned that the spell they perform is dangerous. Of course, this didn't impress us, because things usually turn out fine and Buffy can handle herself. Well, seems the spell really has some dangerous after effects that can not be so easily ignored.
While watching the episode, I scribbled like mad in my notebook. (I always take little notes now when watching Buffy or Angel so I don't forget my first impressions. It's a fun exercise; makes me pay close attention and look out for tiny things that I might otherwise not have noticed.) Things came together with the reappearance of the Manus card in Buffy's dream, so here's what I make of things.
The four dreams and how they are connected
The sequence of the dreams equals the sequence of the cards laid out in the spell to invoke the power of the Slayer.
Here are the words of the spell for reference:
Willow: (chanting) "The power of the Slayer and all who yield it.
Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal
strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us mind and heart
and spirit join. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will."
Willow represents the spirit, Xander represents the heart, Giles represents the mind. They are united in Manus, the hand, who is represented by Buffy.
The dreams are not only in the same order, they also stand for spirit, mind, heart and hand.
All four dreams share the element of something pursuing the dreamer. It turns out this being is the First Slayer.)
Each dreamer is attacked in a way that corresponds to the role they play in Buffy's life and in the spell:
* Willow = Spirit: The First Slayer goes for Willow's throat. - In many cultures, drawing breath equals the life force, the spiritus. (E.g. the Hebrew word "ha nephesch" means "breath, life, soul".)
* Xander = Heart: The First Slayer rips his heart out.
* Giles = Mind: The First Slayer starts cutting into his head.
* Buffy = Hand: As the Hand, she is able to defend herself and to stand up against the First Slayer.
Willow's dream
Her dream deals with the spirit.
Themes are finding the right name, writing, performing. drama, books.
TARA: I think it's strange. I mean, I think I should worry that we haven't found her name.
WILLOW: Who, Miss Kitty?
(Shot of their kitten, playing with a ball of red yarn in slow-motion.)
TARA: You'd think she'd let us know her name by now.
WILLOW: She will. (Looking down at Tara) She's not all grown yet.
TARA: You're not worried?
WILLOW: I never worry here. (Smile) I'm safe here.
TARA: You don't know everything about me.
WILLOW: Have you told me your real name?
(Tara smiles.)
TARA: Oh, you know that.
Names are, of course, extremely powerful as can be seen in myths and fairytales. It's a theme in the bible, in "Rumpelstilzchen", in the "Neverending Story" - and there are thousands of other examples.
It's a safe guess that Tara doesn't talk about Miss Kitty. She might talk about the First Slayer. And of course, there's now also the question if there's not much more to Tara than meets the eye. E.g. Buffy can still hear Tara's voice when the dream sequences have ended.
The love between Tara and Willow is not shown in a sexual way. The focus seems to be on a spiritual love.
When the scene came up where Willow paints on Tara's back, I couldn't help myself. My inner geek was awakened. I pressed "Pause" and then freeze framed my way through the scene. I really, really wanted to figure out the inscription on Tara's back. Because: Greek! And the name "Aphrodite"! Most intriguing.
So I didn't continue watching until I had deciphered the beginning which reads "poikilothron'athanat' Aphrodita", then checked google and discovered they picked Sappho's "Hymn to Aphrodite" which is a very interesting choice. The "Hymn to Aphrodite" deals after all with a woman asking Aphrodite to help her win back her female lover.
At the end of this LJ entry, I've included a translation of the poem and a link to various other translations. I selected a translation that's fairly close to the original text as far as I can see.
I'm aware that I'm not the first one to figure out the origin of the poem Willow paints on Tara, but it was fun doing the research by myself anyway. *g*
Willow states that she can be late and that she doesn't want to leave Tara.
We get the first glimpse of something wild (the desert outside, something moves out there, the kitten stalking towards the camera).
Willow leaves and goes to drama class - where she realises she's late and is the only one who doesn't know what's going on.
I think this could symbolize the intangibility of the spirit. Mind, heart and hand cooperate every day - but what exactly is our spirit? How does it connect to the other parts of our being?
Neat little moment:
Even in Willow's dream, Xander plays the role of the heart. He's the one who makes lewd little jokes about Willow and Tara.
Sometimes I think about two women doing a spell ... and then I do a spell by myself.
Buffy, Riley and Harmony have parts in the play - not sure if there parts mean anything. Riley is still the solid, wholesome American guy. Harmony is surprisingly harmless and only mock-bites. Buffy seems to be dressed as Roxie Heart from the play Chicago. Hm... Roxie is definitely a girl on the wild side.
And Giles as director addressing the ensemble before the show begins - very nice! It also introduces him as the mind who has some control over what's going on.
I'd really like to see this version of Death of a Salesman. :-) In particular loved this scene:
(Cut to stage. Riley in the foreground facing the audience. Buffy in the middle ground facing Riley. Harmony in the background, sitting on the sofa, crying.)
BUFFY: (with contempt) But what else could I expect from a bunch of low-rent, no-account hoodlums like you? Hoodlums, yes, I mean you and your friends, your whole sex, throw 'em in the sea for all I care, throw 'em in and wait for the bubbles, men with your groping and spitting all groin no brain three billion of you passing around the same worn-out urge. Men! With
your ... sales!
(She says all this in one breath without pause or inflection. Harmony sobs throughout and Riley stands expressionless.)
Death of a Salesman:
Don't know enough about this play to know if it's meaningful. As far as I remember it does deal with illusions and false expectations so it does fit somehow.
Everybody claims that Willow is already in character. When Buffy later on rips Willow's "costume" off, season 2 Willow emerges.
I think the drama theme could stand for the roles we have to assume in our life. Willow appears to be overwhelmed by this; deep down inside she still feels insecure and very young. She also isn't entirely sure of the assistance of her friends. In the final sequence of her dream, Buffy, Xander, Tara, Oz and Anya all in some way mock her or turn against her.
Xander's dream
His dream deals with the heart. Xander defines himself as a "conquistador" and a "comfortador", both strong and caring. Snyder in his dream however tells him: You're neither. You're a whipping boy. Raised by mongrels and set on a sacrificial stone.
I found his dream sequence the most threating one: The moments in his basement with something rattling at his door trying to enter are disquieting.
Themes are:
Observing and being observed.
There are several slightly erotic scenes in his dream starting with Joyce and then moving on to Tara and Willow. :-)
Moving forwards.
Not being able to understand what's going on.
Being a soldier.
Being threatened not only by the First Slayer, but also by his father.
I enjoyed the following scene in particular. Giles and Spike on the swings and Buffy in the sandbox are incredibly surreal. Also love that Xander watches the scenes from different perspectives. It's actually something that happens quite often in dreams.
Buffy is fairly confident in her abilities and believes she can handle whatever will come her way.
Not sure about the connection between Giles and Spike, though. It could mean that they become friends or allies at one time - however, this interpretation doesn't feel right to me.
(Cut to a playground, daylight. Giles and Spike are swinging on swings, both dressed in Giles-type tweeds. Buffy playing in the sandbox.)
(Xander walks up.)
XANDER: Hey, there you are.
BUFFY: (putting sand in pail with plastic shovel) Are you sure it's us you were looking for?
(Giles smiles at her.)
SPIKE: Giles here is gonna teach me to be a Watcher. Says I got the stuff.
GILES: Spike's like a son to me. (They both smile and continue swinging)
XANDER: That's good. I was into that for a while, but... (nods toward the street) I got other stuff goin' on.
(Long shot of the ice-cream truck surrounded by kids.)
(Closer shot of Xander in the truck, wearing his striped shirt and hat, serving ice cream to kids.)
[...]
XANDER: Buffy, are you sure you wanna play there?
(Buffy gives him a pouty look like a little kid told not to do something.)
XANDER: It's a pretty big sandbox.
BUFFY: I'm okay. (Suddenly we see her against the backdrop of the desert from Willow's dream. Rocks, sand, scraggly trees) It's not coming for me yet.
XANDER: I just mean ... you can't protect yourself from ... some stuff. (Buffy looks directly at him. The playground backdrop is back.)
BUFFY: I'm way ahead of you, big brother.
XANDER: Brother?
(Buffy looks at him expressionless. Soft music: a woman vocalizing without words.)
(Spike and Giles swinging higher and higher.)
GILES: Go on, put your back into it! A Watcher scoffs at gravity. (They continue swinging. Woman continues humming.)
(Shot of Buffy still expressionless.)
(Shot of Xander squinting at her.)
(Shot of the other Xander in the truck, watching them.)
(Shot of the four of them from the truck-Xander's perspective.)
Very sure this is meaningful:
ANYA: I've been thinking about getting back into vengeance.
(We see her playing with a lollipop in its wrapper.)
(Xander takes his striped hat off, puts it on the dashboard.)
XANDER: Is that right?
ANYA: Well, you know how I miss it. I'm so at loose ends since I quit. I think this is going to be a very big year for vengeance.
Noone can help Xander when he's attacked: Beforehand, he is unable to understand Giles and Anya and despite their attempt to help he's left alone.
The attack by the First Slayer is preceeded by his father's words You haven't got the heart.. In fact, his father transforms into the First Slayer. I guess it's safe to say that Xander's family has not been kind to him.
Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite
Translation, notes and metrical explanation copyright 1997 Elizabeth Vandiver; all rights reserved.
Iridescent-throned Aphrodite, deathless
Child of Zeus, wile-weaver, I now implore you,
Don't--I beg you, Lady--with pains and torments
Crush down my spirit,
But before if ever you've heard my pleadings
Then return, as once when you left your father's
Golden house; you yoked to your shining car your
Wing-whirring sparrows;
Skimming down the paths of the sky's bright ether
On they brought you over the earth's black bosom,
Swiftly--then you stood with a sudden brilliance,
Goddess, before me;
Deathless face alight with your smile, you asked me
What I suffered, who was my cause of anguish,
What would ease the pain of my frantic mind, and
Why had I called you
To my side: "And whom should Persuasion summon
Here, to soothe the sting of your passion this time?
Who is now abusing you, Sappho? Who is
Treating you cruelly?
Now she runs away, but she'll soon pursue you;
Gifts she now rejects--soon enough she'll give them;
Now she doesn't love you, but soon her heart will
Burn, though unwilling."
Come to me once more, and abate my torment;
Take the bitter care from my mind, and give me
All I long for; Lady, in all my battles
Fight as my comrade.
A link to alternative translations can be found here.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 06:30 am (UTC)The love between Tara and Willow is not shown in a sexual way. The focus seems to be on a spiritual love.
I saw it slightly differently - the difference between the way Tara and Willow are presented in Willow's dream, and the way they are in Xander's dream, really points out the different ways of presenting sensuality. In Willow's dream, the image of her painting letters on Tara's nude back is sensual, but it is a shared sexuality, something between the two of them; in Xander's dream, they are porn lesbians, there to tiltilate the male viewer, Xander.
Buffy's costume in Willow's dream - more Velma than Roxie, but yes, Chicago. It also hints that Willow has some negative feelings about Buffy she can't express consciously and probably wouldn't believe she has. Buffy saves her, true, but then reveals her old self to the class (which btw isn't just season 2 Willow, it's actuall Willow from the pilot, Welcome to the Hellmouth). Buffy-as-vamp also is ambiguous.
Death of a Salesman:
Don't know enough about this play to know if it's meaningful. As far as I remember it does deal with illusions and false expectations so it does fit somehow.
Needless to say, no such scene ever appears in Death of a Salesman, but yes, it deals with illusions and false expectations. And the need for attention. You can even say it deals with what is usually called The American Dream and declares it to be poisonous and false.
Everyone turning against Willow - and Oz and Tara even flirting with each other - would, imo, be the expression of a core self-loathing in Willow. The fundamental fear that her true self is unlovable and to be discarded. Which of course feeds in her overcompensation by creating a new self, first Willow with a cool boyfriend who is in the band and then Willow the powerful witch.
Xander's Dream: I don't know whether you ever watched Apocalpse Now, the movie they're planning on watching at the beginning of the episode, but the entire Snyder sequence is a direct
rip-offhomage, with Snyder playing the part of Kurtz (Marlon Brando in the movie), down to the gestures and the tone of voice. Armin Shimmerman must have had a blast with that."Spike is like a son to me": there is a hilarious... but that would be spoiling. As for its meaning in Xander's dream: I'd say it's about Xander's feeling about Giles. "I was into that for a while, but I moved on". Giles isn't just Buffy's replacement father, clearly Xander would like him as a replacement father as well, but Giles never lets him get that close, and Xander feels that even Spike, a vampire, is closer to Giles than he is.
*shrugs*
My interpretation anyway.
"Brother?"
I'd say this is where Xander even in his subconscious accepts that this is how Buffy sees him.
Xander and Anya: consciously, he's massively repressing that he's doing what he was less than gracious to Buffy about, dating a (former) demon, and one who as opposed to Angel has not shown the slightest signs of being troubled about her past at all. Subconsciously, he's far more aware of Anya's demon identity, and worried by it. He even calls her "my demon", which awake Xander would never do.
I guess it's safe to say that Xander's family has not been kind to him.
Quite. *points to Amends and Xander rather sleeping outside again*
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 07:49 pm (UTC)Oh yes, absolutely. During the argument in The Yoko Factor, Willow asks Buffy repeatedly how she is needed exactly and you can see she feels underappreciated and that her insecurity about her self-worth is fuelled by this.
Re. Apocalpse Now:
No, I've never seen this movie.
I got the overall impression all the actors had a lot of fun with this episode. Lines like "Spike is like a son to me.", "I'm cowboy guy." or "I wear the cheese, it does not wear me." are just priceless.
As for its meaning in Xander's dream: I'd say it's about Xander's feeling about Giles. "I was into that for a while, but I moved on". Giles isn't just Buffy's replacement father, clearly Xander would like him as a replacement father as well, but Giles never lets him get that close, and Xander feels that even Spike, a vampire, is closer to Giles than he is.
Yes, your interpretation works for me.
Xander and Anya: consciously, he's massively repressing that he's doing what he was less than gracious to Buffy about, dating a (former) demon, and one who as opposed to Angel has not shown the slightest signs of being troubled about her past at all. Subconsciously, he's far more aware of Anya's demon identity, and worried by it. He even calls her "my demon", which awake Xander would never do.
I've also noticed now that there's not erotic tension between them in his dream. She's his companion and he trust her, e.g. he doesn't mind that she steers the car.
He's also afraid of not being as smart as everyone else as can be seen when everyone starts speaking in French and he can't understand them.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-12 09:30 am (UTC)