Buffy - Season 5 impressions (episode 13)
Jan. 7th, 2006 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodBlood Ties
For a summary click here.
- I liked this episode *a lot*.
- Buffy finally tells her friends about Dawn's identity. I can totally understand her decision to share this secret with her friends, they need to have more information. The problem is that a secret that is shared by so many people cannot stay secret for much longer, especially when most of your friends are so open/honest/direct that they just can't hide what they feel and think. And let's face it: This description fits Xander, Willow, Anya and Tara. The only one who can keep a poker face is Giles. The way everybody looks at Dawn immediately after the big revelation and especially during Buffy's birthday party makes that quite clear.
Dawn: (gets up) Here. Open mine. (Gives gift to Buffy)
Buffy: It's not gonna explode, is it?
She opens it and removes a photo of herself and Dawn, in a frame covered with seashells.
Dawn: It's when we visited Dad that summer in San Diego. (Buffy staring at it) Um, I put the shells on it myself. We picked them off the beach.
Buffy: (softly) I remember.
Joyce smiles. Everyone else looks thoughtful. Dawn looks uncomfortable.
Dawn: Well, geez, don't get all movie-of-the-week. I was just too cheap to buy a real present.
Buffy: Thank you.
- Very funny. Both Buffy being so into her presents and Anya being rather jealous.
Buffy: You are very, very wise. Now gimme, gimme, gimme! (Tara hands her a gift. Buffy begins ripping off the paper.)
Anya: This is extremely suspenseful! I want the presents.
- We finally get some real interaction between Dawn and Spike. And it's lovely! Especially the teletubby comment had me in stitches. I like how this scene ends with Spike telling Dawn that it's dangerous for her to walk alone to the Magic Shop after nightfall, but without actually offering to accompany her. Their final agreement is all indirect: Dawn asks him if he wants to come along to steal things - not to protect her - and he can agree to that. Very well written.
The scene also shows that Dawn views Spike in a rather flattering light when she claims she's "badder" than he is. She definitely hasn't seen his dark side in action yet and everything she has most likely been told about William the Bloody are just scary adventure stories to her.
And Spike actually wants to bring Buffy the box of chocolate that most probably got kicked around since Triangle. *g*
Dawn: Geez! Lurk much?
Spike: I wasn't lurking. I was standing about. It's a whole different vibe.
Dawn: What is- (looks at the thing under his arm. Folds her arms and smirks) Are you giving Buffy a birthday present? (Spike looks at the box) Oh my god. Weird. And chocolates? Lame. And the box is all bent, and, well, you know she'd never touch anything from you anyway.
Spike: (leans closer to her, speaks menacingly) Shouldn't you be tucked away in your beddy-bye? All warm and safe where nothing can eat you?
Dawn: (giggles) Is that supposed to scare me?
Spike: (sighs, leans back) Little tremble wouldn't hurt.
Dawn: Sorry, it's just ... come on. *I'm* badder than you.
Spike: (insulted) Are not!
Dawn: Am too. You're standing in the bushes hugging a bent box of chocolates, and I'm-
Spike: What? Sneaking out to braid hair and watch Teletubbies with your mates?
[...]
Dawn: (uncertain) I can take care of myself.
Spike just looks at her. She looks around, anxious.
Dawn: You wanna come steal some stuff?
Spike: Yeah, all right.
- Poor Dawn. Realising that she's the key and that everything she has taken for granted in her life isn't true, is totally traumatising. Small wonder that she has a breakdown.
Michelle Trachtenberg is really convincing as Dawn. I watched the scene twice and both time I was close to tears.
Dawn: This is blood, isn't it? It can't be me. I'm not a key. (Buffy looks shocked) I'm not a thing.
Joyce: Oh, sweetie, no. Wha-what is this all about?
Dawn: (grimly) What am I? (getting teary) Am I real? Am I anything?
The follow up scenes with Dawn pushing Buffy and Joyce away and finally burning her diaries are also well written and well performed.
- Ben telling Jinx that Glory can't hurt him is an interesting bit of information.
- This little scene with Xander made me smile:
Xander: You know, uh ... she kinda has a crush on me.
Giles: Your point being?
Xander: (stops walking) Well nothing, no, uh ... just saying, powerful being ... big energy gal digging the Xan-man. (Grins. Giles frowns at him) Some guys are just cooler, you know?
- I think Buffy and Spike searching together for Dawn is the first peaceful scene between them without any bitchy, hurtful remarks or any exchange of kicks and blows.
- The scene where Ben changes into Glory after Dawn has confided in him, totally took me by surprise. Very, very cool! I still haven't quite figured out how they are connected. From Glory's remarks it can be deduced that they are siblings. I don't know though why Glory is all powerful and Ben very human. I'm pretty sure though that Ben is Glory's weakness. If you take out Ben, this would also affect Glory. This would be rather unfair to Ben, but then he isn't all pure and innocent either. He has after invoked the Queller demon.
- The scene between Dawn and Glory is great. I love how Dawn uses her head and tries to find out what she can from Glory.
Dawn: (long pause, very quietly) Is it evil?
Glory: Totally!
Dawn gives a little gasp of dismay.
Glory: (laughs) Well, no, not really. I guess it depends on your point of view.
- I'm enjoying Glory's character more and more. She can be quite creepy, especially as you never know how far she will go. Her mood swings make it hard to predict her next move.
- Love how Buffy, the Scoobies and Spike all help together to win this fight against Glory. Buffy is willing to protect her sister by stopping Glory's spear with her own body.
Seems to me as if all of this foreshadows the final battle against Glory, i.e. who's present in the battle, the roles they take and Buffy's willingness to put her sister's life before her own.
- My favorite scene in this episode:
Buffy: Are you okay? Did she hurt you?
Dawn: Why do you care?
Buffy: Because I love you. You're my sister.
Dawn: No, I'm not.
Buffy: Yes, you are. (Lifts Dawn's arm, so we can see her arm and hand are still bloody) Look, it's blood. It's Summers blood.
Buffy presses her hand against the tire-iron wound on her shoulder, wincing a little. She clasps her bloody hand
in Dawn's bloody hand.
Buffy: It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or, or how you got here. You are my sister. (pause) There's no way you could annoy me so much if you weren't.
- Drat, Dawn has forgotten all about Ben morphing into Glory. Either everything was too much for her or humans usually cannot hold on to this knowledge when they witnessed the transformation.
For a summary click here.
- I liked this episode *a lot*.
- Buffy finally tells her friends about Dawn's identity. I can totally understand her decision to share this secret with her friends, they need to have more information. The problem is that a secret that is shared by so many people cannot stay secret for much longer, especially when most of your friends are so open/honest/direct that they just can't hide what they feel and think. And let's face it: This description fits Xander, Willow, Anya and Tara. The only one who can keep a poker face is Giles. The way everybody looks at Dawn immediately after the big revelation and especially during Buffy's birthday party makes that quite clear.
Dawn: (gets up) Here. Open mine. (Gives gift to Buffy)
Buffy: It's not gonna explode, is it?
She opens it and removes a photo of herself and Dawn, in a frame covered with seashells.
Dawn: It's when we visited Dad that summer in San Diego. (Buffy staring at it) Um, I put the shells on it myself. We picked them off the beach.
Buffy: (softly) I remember.
Joyce smiles. Everyone else looks thoughtful. Dawn looks uncomfortable.
Dawn: Well, geez, don't get all movie-of-the-week. I was just too cheap to buy a real present.
Buffy: Thank you.
- Very funny. Both Buffy being so into her presents and Anya being rather jealous.
Buffy: You are very, very wise. Now gimme, gimme, gimme! (Tara hands her a gift. Buffy begins ripping off the paper.)
Anya: This is extremely suspenseful! I want the presents.
- We finally get some real interaction between Dawn and Spike. And it's lovely! Especially the teletubby comment had me in stitches. I like how this scene ends with Spike telling Dawn that it's dangerous for her to walk alone to the Magic Shop after nightfall, but without actually offering to accompany her. Their final agreement is all indirect: Dawn asks him if he wants to come along to steal things - not to protect her - and he can agree to that. Very well written.
The scene also shows that Dawn views Spike in a rather flattering light when she claims she's "badder" than he is. She definitely hasn't seen his dark side in action yet and everything she has most likely been told about William the Bloody are just scary adventure stories to her.
And Spike actually wants to bring Buffy the box of chocolate that most probably got kicked around since Triangle. *g*
Dawn: Geez! Lurk much?
Spike: I wasn't lurking. I was standing about. It's a whole different vibe.
Dawn: What is- (looks at the thing under his arm. Folds her arms and smirks) Are you giving Buffy a birthday present? (Spike looks at the box) Oh my god. Weird. And chocolates? Lame. And the box is all bent, and, well, you know she'd never touch anything from you anyway.
Spike: (leans closer to her, speaks menacingly) Shouldn't you be tucked away in your beddy-bye? All warm and safe where nothing can eat you?
Dawn: (giggles) Is that supposed to scare me?
Spike: (sighs, leans back) Little tremble wouldn't hurt.
Dawn: Sorry, it's just ... come on. *I'm* badder than you.
Spike: (insulted) Are not!
Dawn: Am too. You're standing in the bushes hugging a bent box of chocolates, and I'm-
Spike: What? Sneaking out to braid hair and watch Teletubbies with your mates?
[...]
Dawn: (uncertain) I can take care of myself.
Spike just looks at her. She looks around, anxious.
Dawn: You wanna come steal some stuff?
Spike: Yeah, all right.
- Poor Dawn. Realising that she's the key and that everything she has taken for granted in her life isn't true, is totally traumatising. Small wonder that she has a breakdown.
Michelle Trachtenberg is really convincing as Dawn. I watched the scene twice and both time I was close to tears.
Dawn: This is blood, isn't it? It can't be me. I'm not a key. (Buffy looks shocked) I'm not a thing.
Joyce: Oh, sweetie, no. Wha-what is this all about?
Dawn: (grimly) What am I? (getting teary) Am I real? Am I anything?
The follow up scenes with Dawn pushing Buffy and Joyce away and finally burning her diaries are also well written and well performed.
- Ben telling Jinx that Glory can't hurt him is an interesting bit of information.
- This little scene with Xander made me smile:
Xander: You know, uh ... she kinda has a crush on me.
Giles: Your point being?
Xander: (stops walking) Well nothing, no, uh ... just saying, powerful being ... big energy gal digging the Xan-man. (Grins. Giles frowns at him) Some guys are just cooler, you know?
- I think Buffy and Spike searching together for Dawn is the first peaceful scene between them without any bitchy, hurtful remarks or any exchange of kicks and blows.
- The scene where Ben changes into Glory after Dawn has confided in him, totally took me by surprise. Very, very cool! I still haven't quite figured out how they are connected. From Glory's remarks it can be deduced that they are siblings. I don't know though why Glory is all powerful and Ben very human. I'm pretty sure though that Ben is Glory's weakness. If you take out Ben, this would also affect Glory. This would be rather unfair to Ben, but then he isn't all pure and innocent either. He has after invoked the Queller demon.
- The scene between Dawn and Glory is great. I love how Dawn uses her head and tries to find out what she can from Glory.
Dawn: (long pause, very quietly) Is it evil?
Glory: Totally!
Dawn gives a little gasp of dismay.
Glory: (laughs) Well, no, not really. I guess it depends on your point of view.
- I'm enjoying Glory's character more and more. She can be quite creepy, especially as you never know how far she will go. Her mood swings make it hard to predict her next move.
- Love how Buffy, the Scoobies and Spike all help together to win this fight against Glory. Buffy is willing to protect her sister by stopping Glory's spear with her own body.
Seems to me as if all of this foreshadows the final battle against Glory, i.e. who's present in the battle, the roles they take and Buffy's willingness to put her sister's life before her own.
- My favorite scene in this episode:
Buffy: Are you okay? Did she hurt you?
Dawn: Why do you care?
Buffy: Because I love you. You're my sister.
Dawn: No, I'm not.
Buffy: Yes, you are. (Lifts Dawn's arm, so we can see her arm and hand are still bloody) Look, it's blood. It's Summers blood.
Buffy presses her hand against the tire-iron wound on her shoulder, wincing a little. She clasps her bloody hand
in Dawn's bloody hand.
Buffy: It's just like mine. It doesn't matter where you came from, or, or how you got here. You are my sister. (pause) There's no way you could annoy me so much if you weren't.
- Drat, Dawn has forgotten all about Ben morphing into Glory. Either everything was too much for her or humans usually cannot hold on to this knowledge when they witnessed the transformation.
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 09:45 pm (UTC)sorry, what were you saying?
This is a great ep -- the Glory story finally starts going somewhere, Spike & Buffy's relationship begins to shift, and this is also the ep that launched a thousand Spike/Dawn fics.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:11 pm (UTC)I'm sure there are good S/D friendship fics out there, but most of the ones I've seen are 'shippy, and I quickly scroll past.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 03:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 08:03 am (UTC)Dawn and Spike have a whole different character dynamic. I've watched up to episode 15 and so far I get a brother-sister vibe from them, never a lovers vibe.
Spike actually acts younger around her, e.g. when they argue "Are so. - Are not." Angel and Buffy together both acted like 16-17 years old, Spike and Dawn together act like 12 years old - which makes me want to speculate about Spike's childhood.
Now they could become more than friends when she is older, but so far I'd get the impression that Dawn would then act as a substitute for Buffy which is just not something I'd like to read.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 01:47 pm (UTC)Instead of doing that, Spike purposely relates to her on her own level. With or without him, at this point in her life, she's going to go and get into trouble, but he'll be there looking after her..
(I love this whole arc, but from now on, it's a rollercoaster ride)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 08:29 pm (UTC)Could well be. By now I've seen he also can be more mature around her.
Do you perhaps have a link to some nice Spike & Dawn icons?
no subject
Date: 2006-01-10 03:18 pm (UTC)http://www.spikeylover.com/StoryofaFirstCrush.htm
no subject
Date: 2006-01-10 09:24 pm (UTC)Just watched the vid. Yep, it's syrupy sweet, but lovely! :-) I like the scenes you selected!
From what episode is this first picture, i.e. Spike in a suit?
Dawn gives all these heart-breaker smiles to Spike in beginning of the vid. And I didn't even notice these when watching the episodes! I guess the first smile is from an episode I haven't seen yet...
My favorite moment - so it's hard to pick one - is when Spike nearly strokes Dawn's hair. It's the first time in a long, long time since he tries to be tender to anyone.
Interesting that you end the vid with a scene where Spike isn't able to save Dawn. To me it suggests that their relationship isn't one where things go smoothly, but that there are moments where Spike will fail.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-11 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-12 11:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:06 pm (UTC)Uh, it's an eensy more complicated than that. Family always is, isn't it?
But I don't know yet how their connection works.
And I'm very sorry if reading my post has spoiled you in any way!
no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:13 pm (UTC)she's kidding :). I don't want to say more, but you'll understand when you've seen the whole season.
Also, didn't mean to bash above -- I'm sure Spike/Dawn can be well-done as a 'ship, it's just not one I have a desire to explore!
no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:15 pm (UTC)Nah, it was more me that was trying to be funny. I have seen the both shows
no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:29 pm (UTC)I hope you remember your moment of "What the heck!" from way back. I loved being surprised.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-07 10:08 pm (UTC)One of the best Spike/Dawn that I do remember, is Along came a spider Spoilers: Through Season Five of BtVS.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 07:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 10:12 am (UTC)The problem is that a secret that is shared by so many people cannot stay secret for much longer, especially when most of your friends are so open/honest/direct that they just can't hide what they feel and think. And let's face it: This description fits Xander, Willow, Anya and Tara.
Very true, and probably one of the many reasons why the next time Buffy has an important secret, she doesn't tell any of them, but then again, one of the problems they had in season 4 was the non-communication, so...
Spike and Dawn: their friendship is one of my favourite aspects about season 5. Very endearing.
She definitely hasn't seen his dark side in action yet and everything she has most likely been told about William the Bloody are just scary adventure stories to her.
Yes, and this highlights Dawn's youth and naiveté. She doesn't know any of his victims, which always changes one's pov. *gags self before spoiling*
Poor Dawn. Realising that she's the key and that everything she has taken for granted in her life isn't true, is totally traumatising. Small wonder that she has a breakdown.
On one level, it's a metaphor for a child finding out she's adopted, but on another, it's so much more. Questions about identity based on fake memories are something which will recurr on both shows. Anyway, yes, I had liked Dawn before, but this episode sealed my Dawn love.
Ben and Glory: hard to say anything without spoiling. Let's just remark that you're a clever girl. Except...
Either everything was too much for her or humans usually cannot hold on to this knowledge when they witnessed the transformation.
The later. It's a protective mechanism.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 11:31 am (UTC)In this regard, she represents the viewers of Buffy.
I guess some Spike fans just find him cute, because we don't often see him do something totally cruel. We have seen him threaten people and fight Buffy, but I don't think we actually saw him kill someone. Even in In the Dark, he doesn't torture Angel himself, but sets up the torture instead. Small difference, but I think the writers did this on purpose so Spike wouldn't become too unsympathetic.
Just remembered: In School Hard he kills someone, but it's a character we've never seen before. Which means the "Dawn mechanism" kicks in, i.e. a nameless victim doesn't feel quite real.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-08 06:44 pm (UTC)I don't think I become completely overcome with fandom love for Spike until INTERVENTION (although FOOL FOR LOVE intrigued me with William and the episodes afterwards, always thought he was hilarious and Drusilla/Spike were great together) I can say personally, I really start to root for him and so you want him to overcome the "Chipped serial killer" thing and be redeemed. I'm not going any further, because I don't want to spoil Thalia, but the stuff you refer to just broke my fandom heart. But It's not only Spike in season six, it's all of them..
That said, my hell, do I love season six, in retrospect. It gets such a bad wrap because it's so freaking dark, but as TIME Magazine says, the latter seasons are the better ones, and I agree completely, because I love the deep, dark and controversial.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 07:47 pm (UTC)because I love the deep, dark and controversial
Yep, same here. I'll probably need to get lots of tissues before watching season 6 and season 7, but I'm pretty sure I will be able to appreciate these seasons.