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thalia_seawoodRestless
So here's the second part of my impressions...
Giles' dream
Giles' dream is about the mind. So it's quite tricksy that it starts with the words You have to stop thinking..
The first symbol we see is a pocket watch. I can't help it, but to me it's a tiny hint to Giles' task: A watch for a watcher. Then again I might be taking this to far. :-)
Giles clearly sees himself in the role of Buffy's father. Love the scene where he takes enthusiastic Buffy kid to the fair. Here he plays the role of stern father: He tells Buffy what she does wrong and has high expectations, yet when she succeeds he doesn't praise her.
This could mean that Giles is unsure if he trained Buffy in the right way.
Not quite sure how to interpret this scene. As this is a dream, it's possible to say that Olivia doesn't stand for Olivia, but for a part of Giles' personality. Her crying next to an empty baby carriage can then be interpreted as Giles mourning the loss of Buffy as a student. The way he sees it, she no longer needs him.
GILES: Don't push me around. You know I have a great deal to do. (We see Olivia sitting on a coffin next to the baby carriage, which is
lying on its side. She's crying.)
Spike posing in the crypt is a fun scene.
SPIKE: I've hired myself out as an attraction. (Strikes a threatening pose. The people ooh and ahh, camera flashes going off.)
Interesting that during the dream sequences, whenever Spike appears he basically only interacts with Giles. As this is Giles' dream, this is probably what Giles thinks about Spike. In addition to this, Spike represents the part of Giles that challenges him. E.g. DreamSpike asks Giles what he's waiting for, why he hasn't figured things out yet, etc.
My favorite fun scene in the entire episode. Brilliant surreal. Made me laugh out loud.
SNYDER: I wear the cheese. It does not wear me. (He has cheese slices on his head and shoulders. He slides past Giles.)
The next scenes take place in the Bronze.
As Giles's dream stands for the mind, the way Anya tells her jokes is very fitting. She doesn't just tell them, she interprets them at the same time. Her entire approach to telling the jokes is scientific. Giles (and bit later on the other people in his dream) approve though:
ANYA: Quiet! You'll miss the humorous conclusion.
GILES: She's doing quite well.
The scene in the Bronze is very important. It seems as if the actual Willow and the actual Xander are part of Giles' dream. At least what happened to them in their own dreams is brought up and they try to find a solution together. Makes perfect sense that the search for the cause of the threat and a solution occurs in the dream sequence that stands for the mind. Interesting that things become clear not while Giles is talking, but while he's singing. I approve: The mind is not simply a logic-machine, also a source of creativity.
GILES: (sings) It's strange, it's not like anything we've faced before.
(He gets up. Suddenly there's a piano player and a guitarist onstage, accompanying Giles' song. People applaud as Giles walks toward the stage.)
GILES: (sings) It seems familiar somehow. Of course!
(Drums start up. Giles grabs the mike. We see there's both a guitar and abass player. People cheer enthusiastically.)
GILES: (sings) The spell we cast with Buffy Must have released
Some primal evil that's come back seeking (removes glasses)
I'm not sure what
Willow, look through the chronicles (Willow nods, reaches for another book)
For some reference
To a warrior beast
(He puts his glasses on, grabs the mike again. More excited cheering as the music swells.)
GILES: (sings) I've got to warn Buffy
There's every chance she might be next
Xander, help Willow
(Shot of Willow and Xander holding up cigarette lighters while reading the books.)
GILES: (sings) And try not to bleed on my couch I've just had it steam-cleaned.
Giles believes he has a chance against the First Slayer by using his mind, but fails. The Slayer starts cutting open his head.
GILES: And I can defeat you ... with my intellect. (We see the creature approaching from behind) I ... can cripple you with my thoughts.
Important final comment by Giles: You never had a Watcher.
So the First Slayer came first and then Watchers were introduced. The task of the Watcher is not only to observe, but also to help reign in the inner wildness of the Slayer.
Buffy's dream
Buffy's dream is about Manus, the hand, the ability to take action and to defend oneself.
It's noteworthy that Willow, Xander and Giles do not appear in Buffy's dream! One explanation is that the First Slayer did disable the three of them in the realm of dreams. Willow still appears in Xander's dream, and both Willow and Xander are part of Giles' dream, though. So maybe with the destruction of the mind, all three of them lose the power to connect to Buffy.
As the First Slayer says a bit later to Buffy: No ... friends! Just the kill. We ... are ... alone!
Instead of Buffy's scooby gang Anya, Tara, Joyce, Riley appear.
Anya plays Willow's part (she lies in Willow's bed) and tries to warn Buffy. Buffy ignores her, however.
The next scene play's in Buffy's home. A fascinating scene:
BUFFY: Faith and I just made that bed. (Shot of the bed, still rumpled but now without Buffy in it.)
TARA: (offscreen) For who? (Buffy frowns, looks to her left.)
BUFFY: I thought you were here to tell me.(Shot of Tara with her hair up, facing Buffy.)
BUFFY: (looking back at bed) The guys aren't here, are they? We were gonna hang out (looks at Tara) and, watch movies t-
TARA: You lost them.
BUFFY: No. (Looks confused) No. I think they need me to find them. (Shot of the digital alarm clock next to the bed, showing 7:30 AM.)
BUFFY: (upset) It's so late.
TARA: Oh ... that clock's completely wrong. Here. (Shot of Tara's hands holding out the Tarot card "Manus" (the hands). It
has a picture of two hands crossed, one open, the other balled into a fist.)
BUFFY: I'm never gonna use those. (Buffy's face in profile. Tara's face out of focus in background.)
TARA: You think you know ... what's to come ... what you are. You haven't even begun.
(Shot of the bed, now neatly made.)(Buffy frowns.)
BUFFY: I think I need to go find the others. (She leaves.)
TARA (softly) Be back before dawn.
First of all, we see the bedroom we've already seen twice in dream sequences. In addition, Buffy gets the advice to be back before dawn.
Well, as I know that Buffy will have a surprise sister in season 5 who is named Dawn, these are definite hints pointing to Dawn's arrival.
I'm very sure the clock symbol also ties into this. Giles's watch also show the time 7:30, doesn't it? And this is, of course the number Faith has mentioned in the vision she shared with Buffy. ("Oh yeah. - Miles to go - Little Ms. Muffet counting down from 7-3-0.")
And isn't it neat that they dropped hints over a year ago!! *deeply impressed*
Apart from this, the scene deals with Buffy losing her friends and Tara telling Buffy that there's so much she doesn't know yet.
It also brings up the question what Tara really is. She seems to tie into the dream on a different level than the other characters. Like an outside observer who is part of the dreamscape by her own free will.
In the next scene, Buffy is on Sunnydale High. She meets her mother - who is living behind the wall.
This could mean that Buffy is growing up and doesn't need the constant presence of her mother any longer. Joyce misses Buffy at times, but she's Buffy being at the college is also something she seems to enjoy at times, e.g. she no longer has to constantly watch over Buffy.
Buffy then meets Riley. This scene brings up all the fears Buffy has subconsciously regarding Riley:
RILEY: Hey there, killer.
E.g. does Riley understand what it means to be a Slayer? Or does he really see her as a vicious killer?
Can she trust Riley? Or is there some part of him that still sympathises with the government and is interested in world domination?
Buffy looks for her weapons, but instead finds mud in her bag. Smeering mud over her face no doubt stands for her connecting to the primal power of the First Slayer.
I think this scene makes it clear that Tara is speaking out for the First Slayer. She is an outsider that was drawn into the dream:
TARA VOICEOVER: Of course not. That's the reason you came. (Tara fades out and reappears closer, then this repeats. She stops walking.)
(Shot of Buffy and Tara standing about thirty feet apart, facing each other with miles of desert stretching out behind them.)
BUFFY VOICEOVER: You're not in my dream.
TARA VOICEOVER: I was borrowed. (Shot of Tara standing with big rocks behind her. She wears a gold necklace.)
TARA: Someone has to speak for her.
IMO, this is another very important moment. Buffy takes a stand. She defines herself as different from the First Slayer. She sees herself as part of the world and insists on having her friends back. (Like Anakin Skywalker, she doesn't approve of any rules that don't allow attachments.)
TARA: The Slayer does not walk in this world.
BUFFY: I walk. I talk. I shop, I sneeze. I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back.
(Shot of the First Slayer lifting her chin in anger.)
BUFFY: (offscreen) There's trees in the desert since you moved out.
(The First Slayer shakes her head) And I don't sleep on a bed of bones.
(Shot of Buffy's face.)
BUFFY: (firmly) Now give me back my friends.
Buffy and the First Slayer fight which leads to more interesting moments:
For one the First Slayer seems to be unable to hurt Buffy directly, she stabs the floor next to Buffy, not Buffy herself. It seems they are connected: If the First Slayer hurt Buffy, she would most likely hurt herself.
(The First Slayer lands atop Buffy and starts stabbing repeatedly at the floor with her stake. Shot of Buffy lying underneath the First Slayer, rolling her eyes.)
Buffy comes up with the brilliant plan "I will just ignore the First Slayer and all will go back to normal. No further consequences." Of course, things are rarely that simple - and Joss is good with dishing out consequences. :-)
BUFFY: It's over, okay? I'm going to ignore you, and you're going to go away.
The final step is that Buffy denies the First Slayer as source of her own power. Methinks, she's wrong about that.
BUFFY: (over her shoulder) You're *not* the source of me.
Buffy gets snippy and the dream sequence ends. I guess even a First Slayer can't handle Snippy!Buffy.
Nice ending with the scoobies reflecting on what happens, Joyce not being shocked by anything any longer, Xander trying to come to terms with the fact that some part of his subconscious is drawn to Joyce - and Buffy still hearing the voice of Tara telling her that she doesn't know what is yet to come.
So here's the second part of my impressions...
Giles' dream
Giles' dream is about the mind. So it's quite tricksy that it starts with the words You have to stop thinking..
The first symbol we see is a pocket watch. I can't help it, but to me it's a tiny hint to Giles' task: A watch for a watcher. Then again I might be taking this to far. :-)
Giles clearly sees himself in the role of Buffy's father. Love the scene where he takes enthusiastic Buffy kid to the fair. Here he plays the role of stern father: He tells Buffy what she does wrong and has high expectations, yet when she succeeds he doesn't praise her.
This could mean that Giles is unsure if he trained Buffy in the right way.
Not quite sure how to interpret this scene. As this is a dream, it's possible to say that Olivia doesn't stand for Olivia, but for a part of Giles' personality. Her crying next to an empty baby carriage can then be interpreted as Giles mourning the loss of Buffy as a student. The way he sees it, she no longer needs him.
GILES: Don't push me around. You know I have a great deal to do. (We see Olivia sitting on a coffin next to the baby carriage, which is
lying on its side. She's crying.)
Spike posing in the crypt is a fun scene.
SPIKE: I've hired myself out as an attraction. (Strikes a threatening pose. The people ooh and ahh, camera flashes going off.)
Interesting that during the dream sequences, whenever Spike appears he basically only interacts with Giles. As this is Giles' dream, this is probably what Giles thinks about Spike. In addition to this, Spike represents the part of Giles that challenges him. E.g. DreamSpike asks Giles what he's waiting for, why he hasn't figured things out yet, etc.
My favorite fun scene in the entire episode. Brilliant surreal. Made me laugh out loud.
SNYDER: I wear the cheese. It does not wear me. (He has cheese slices on his head and shoulders. He slides past Giles.)
The next scenes take place in the Bronze.
As Giles's dream stands for the mind, the way Anya tells her jokes is very fitting. She doesn't just tell them, she interprets them at the same time. Her entire approach to telling the jokes is scientific. Giles (and bit later on the other people in his dream) approve though:
ANYA: Quiet! You'll miss the humorous conclusion.
GILES: She's doing quite well.
The scene in the Bronze is very important. It seems as if the actual Willow and the actual Xander are part of Giles' dream. At least what happened to them in their own dreams is brought up and they try to find a solution together. Makes perfect sense that the search for the cause of the threat and a solution occurs in the dream sequence that stands for the mind. Interesting that things become clear not while Giles is talking, but while he's singing. I approve: The mind is not simply a logic-machine, also a source of creativity.
GILES: (sings) It's strange, it's not like anything we've faced before.
(He gets up. Suddenly there's a piano player and a guitarist onstage, accompanying Giles' song. People applaud as Giles walks toward the stage.)
GILES: (sings) It seems familiar somehow. Of course!
(Drums start up. Giles grabs the mike. We see there's both a guitar and abass player. People cheer enthusiastically.)
GILES: (sings) The spell we cast with Buffy Must have released
Some primal evil that's come back seeking (removes glasses)
I'm not sure what
Willow, look through the chronicles (Willow nods, reaches for another book)
For some reference
To a warrior beast
(He puts his glasses on, grabs the mike again. More excited cheering as the music swells.)
GILES: (sings) I've got to warn Buffy
There's every chance she might be next
Xander, help Willow
(Shot of Willow and Xander holding up cigarette lighters while reading the books.)
GILES: (sings) And try not to bleed on my couch I've just had it steam-cleaned.
Giles believes he has a chance against the First Slayer by using his mind, but fails. The Slayer starts cutting open his head.
GILES: And I can defeat you ... with my intellect. (We see the creature approaching from behind) I ... can cripple you with my thoughts.
Important final comment by Giles: You never had a Watcher.
So the First Slayer came first and then Watchers were introduced. The task of the Watcher is not only to observe, but also to help reign in the inner wildness of the Slayer.
Buffy's dream
Buffy's dream is about Manus, the hand, the ability to take action and to defend oneself.
It's noteworthy that Willow, Xander and Giles do not appear in Buffy's dream! One explanation is that the First Slayer did disable the three of them in the realm of dreams. Willow still appears in Xander's dream, and both Willow and Xander are part of Giles' dream, though. So maybe with the destruction of the mind, all three of them lose the power to connect to Buffy.
As the First Slayer says a bit later to Buffy: No ... friends! Just the kill. We ... are ... alone!
Instead of Buffy's scooby gang Anya, Tara, Joyce, Riley appear.
Anya plays Willow's part (she lies in Willow's bed) and tries to warn Buffy. Buffy ignores her, however.
The next scene play's in Buffy's home. A fascinating scene:
BUFFY: Faith and I just made that bed. (Shot of the bed, still rumpled but now without Buffy in it.)
TARA: (offscreen) For who? (Buffy frowns, looks to her left.)
BUFFY: I thought you were here to tell me.(Shot of Tara with her hair up, facing Buffy.)
BUFFY: (looking back at bed) The guys aren't here, are they? We were gonna hang out (looks at Tara) and, watch movies t-
TARA: You lost them.
BUFFY: No. (Looks confused) No. I think they need me to find them. (Shot of the digital alarm clock next to the bed, showing 7:30 AM.)
BUFFY: (upset) It's so late.
TARA: Oh ... that clock's completely wrong. Here. (Shot of Tara's hands holding out the Tarot card "Manus" (the hands). It
has a picture of two hands crossed, one open, the other balled into a fist.)
BUFFY: I'm never gonna use those. (Buffy's face in profile. Tara's face out of focus in background.)
TARA: You think you know ... what's to come ... what you are. You haven't even begun.
(Shot of the bed, now neatly made.)(Buffy frowns.)
BUFFY: I think I need to go find the others. (She leaves.)
TARA (softly) Be back before dawn.
First of all, we see the bedroom we've already seen twice in dream sequences. In addition, Buffy gets the advice to be back before dawn.
Well, as I know that Buffy will have a surprise sister in season 5 who is named Dawn, these are definite hints pointing to Dawn's arrival.
I'm very sure the clock symbol also ties into this. Giles's watch also show the time 7:30, doesn't it? And this is, of course the number Faith has mentioned in the vision she shared with Buffy. ("Oh yeah. - Miles to go - Little Ms. Muffet counting down from 7-3-0.")
And isn't it neat that they dropped hints over a year ago!! *deeply impressed*
Apart from this, the scene deals with Buffy losing her friends and Tara telling Buffy that there's so much she doesn't know yet.
It also brings up the question what Tara really is. She seems to tie into the dream on a different level than the other characters. Like an outside observer who is part of the dreamscape by her own free will.
In the next scene, Buffy is on Sunnydale High. She meets her mother - who is living behind the wall.
This could mean that Buffy is growing up and doesn't need the constant presence of her mother any longer. Joyce misses Buffy at times, but she's Buffy being at the college is also something she seems to enjoy at times, e.g. she no longer has to constantly watch over Buffy.
Buffy then meets Riley. This scene brings up all the fears Buffy has subconsciously regarding Riley:
RILEY: Hey there, killer.
E.g. does Riley understand what it means to be a Slayer? Or does he really see her as a vicious killer?
Can she trust Riley? Or is there some part of him that still sympathises with the government and is interested in world domination?
Buffy looks for her weapons, but instead finds mud in her bag. Smeering mud over her face no doubt stands for her connecting to the primal power of the First Slayer.
I think this scene makes it clear that Tara is speaking out for the First Slayer. She is an outsider that was drawn into the dream:
TARA VOICEOVER: Of course not. That's the reason you came. (Tara fades out and reappears closer, then this repeats. She stops walking.)
(Shot of Buffy and Tara standing about thirty feet apart, facing each other with miles of desert stretching out behind them.)
BUFFY VOICEOVER: You're not in my dream.
TARA VOICEOVER: I was borrowed. (Shot of Tara standing with big rocks behind her. She wears a gold necklace.)
TARA: Someone has to speak for her.
IMO, this is another very important moment. Buffy takes a stand. She defines herself as different from the First Slayer. She sees herself as part of the world and insists on having her friends back. (Like Anakin Skywalker, she doesn't approve of any rules that don't allow attachments.)
TARA: The Slayer does not walk in this world.
BUFFY: I walk. I talk. I shop, I sneeze. I'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back.
(Shot of the First Slayer lifting her chin in anger.)
BUFFY: (offscreen) There's trees in the desert since you moved out.
(The First Slayer shakes her head) And I don't sleep on a bed of bones.
(Shot of Buffy's face.)
BUFFY: (firmly) Now give me back my friends.
Buffy and the First Slayer fight which leads to more interesting moments:
For one the First Slayer seems to be unable to hurt Buffy directly, she stabs the floor next to Buffy, not Buffy herself. It seems they are connected: If the First Slayer hurt Buffy, she would most likely hurt herself.
(The First Slayer lands atop Buffy and starts stabbing repeatedly at the floor with her stake. Shot of Buffy lying underneath the First Slayer, rolling her eyes.)
Buffy comes up with the brilliant plan "I will just ignore the First Slayer and all will go back to normal. No further consequences." Of course, things are rarely that simple - and Joss is good with dishing out consequences. :-)
BUFFY: It's over, okay? I'm going to ignore you, and you're going to go away.
The final step is that Buffy denies the First Slayer as source of her own power. Methinks, she's wrong about that.
BUFFY: (over her shoulder) You're *not* the source of me.
Buffy gets snippy and the dream sequence ends. I guess even a First Slayer can't handle Snippy!Buffy.
Nice ending with the scoobies reflecting on what happens, Joyce not being shocked by anything any longer, Xander trying to come to terms with the fact that some part of his subconscious is drawn to Joyce - and Buffy still hearing the voice of Tara telling her that she doesn't know what is yet to come.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 07:43 am (UTC)Utterly plausible. My own take, however, is that Olivia and the empty baby carriage are the life Giles might have had if he hadn't been a Watcher and devoted his existence to the Slayer. Remember, Olivia apparantly broke up with him after "Hush", i.e. after she experienced the supernatural world. Who is distracting Giles in the dream from Olivia in the form of Spike, the vampire.
It's noteworthy that Willow, Xander and Giles do not appear in Buffy's dream!
Not completely so. Xander shows up. He's going up the stairs and Buffy follows him (but can't reach him) in Sunnydale High, after finding her mother behind the wall.
The bedroom vision and "be back before dawn/Dawn": I so love this detail, too. (Also something which dubbing just can't render.)
Buffy then meets Riley. This scene brings up all the fears Buffy has subconsciously regarding Riley.
It does indeed, and I really don't think that she's aware of them in season 4, but she clearly has them, and they will come out to play later. Also, note that Adam (I wouldn't blame you if you haven't recognized him, but it is indeed Adam, sans Frankenstein makeup, looking entirely human) and Riley are mirror images in this part of the sequence. And Adam's dialogue with Buffy always strikes me:
ADAM: She's uncomfortable with certain concepts. It's understandable. Aggression is a natural human tendency. (Looks at Buffy) Though you and me come by it another way.
BUFFY: We're not demons.
ADAM: Is that a fact?
As Adam asks this, the First Slayer appears behind Buffy.
The "I talk, I walk..." dialogue with the First Slayer has a weird poetry to it, don't you think?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-11 09:44 pm (UTC)Oh yes, beautiful and unreal!
I love all the lines in this episode. Nearly everything seems to have layers of meaning and is filled with a surreal poetry. And it's so hard to get dream speech right!
About Adam: I really didn't register him as Adam, at least not on a conscious level. I had scribbled his name in my notebook while watching the episode, but afterwards just thought I had imagined him being there... :-) I think I recognized the voice.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 03:17 am (UTC)the scene with Riley in the military-looking room has a lot of resonance for me, the way it sets up a divide b/t the magical-mystical world, and the world of the military -- the masculine and the feminine, in simplest terms (although it's more complicated than that, there's certainly an element of gender, with the implication that Riley and Buffy can't REALLY talk to and understand each other)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 10:41 pm (UTC)(Part of me thinks it would be totally cool if Whedon directed some classical plays. He would give a new and interesting spin to the classics.)
with the implication that Riley and Buffy can't REALLY talk to and understand each other)
I'll have to look at this scene again. I don't remember all the details any longer.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 10:44 pm (UTC)