Buffy - Season 5 impressions (episode 18)
Jan. 16th, 2006 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodIntervention
A summary can be found here.
A summary byspikeylover filled with wonderful screencaps can be found in two parts here and here.
- I *really* like this episode.
All the different subplots are handled very well: Buffy's quest, the introduction of the Buffybot and the Glory versus Spike plot.
- As always the interaction between Buffy and Giles is great:
That's a bit of an understatement, Buffy...
Giles: How's she doing? (Buffy gives him a look) And you?
Buffy: I'm okay. Well, some minutes are harder than others.
And this dialogue is fascinating. What I like about the Jossverse is that special powers aren't for free. It's not just that with great power comes great responsibility a la Spiderman, it's also that using these powers is bound to change you.
This is something we can observe when looking at both Buffy and Willow. The difference between them is that Buffy is aware her Slayer strenght is changing her whereas Willow tries to pretend she hasn't changed much.
I'm just ... starting to feel ... uneasy about stuff.
Giles: Stuff?
Buffy: Training. Slaying. All of it. It's just ... I mean ... I can beat up the demons until the cows come home. And then I can beat up the cows ... but I'm not sure I like what it's doing to me.
Giles: But you've mastered so much. I mean, your strength and resilience alone-
Buffy: Yeah. Strength, resilience ... those are all words for hardness. (pause) I'm starting to feel like ... being the Slayer is turning me into stone.
[...]
Buffy: I don't know. To slay, to kill ... i-it means being hard on the inside. Maybe being the perfect Slayer means being too hard to love at all. I already feel like I can hardly say the words.
Buffy telling both Giles and Dawn that she loves them, is another shiny moment. Right now, these two are her family. Giles she sees as her mentor and ersatz-father, Dawn she has fully accepted as her sister.
- Ahhh, the Buffybot. Sarah Michelle Gellar must have had fun with this part. I'm pretty sure it was a welcome contrast since the storyline for Buffy had become so dark.
(In Buffy, a lot of characters get the chance to slip into a doubleganger part. We meet VampireWillow, see InsecureXander and SuccessfulXander, but IMO Buffy gets the best doubleganger roles. She gets to play Faith in Buffy's body - all super tough and reckless - and now the Buffybot - all cutsey and naive.)
SMG rocks in this scene. Her blissful "Oh, Spike!" had me laugh out loud.
Buffybot: Oh, Spike!
She hurries over to Spike, puts her hands on his shoulders and kisses him on the mouth. She pulls back, still with a big smile.
Spike: She'll do.
From this scene I get the impression that Spike has never outgrown his tendency towards bad poetry. The dialogue quite simply screams bodice ripper! *g*
Buffybot: I, I wanna hurt you, but I can't resist the sinister attraction of your cold and muscular body.
Spike: Maybe I should repay you for your gentleness. Maybe I should let you go.
Buffybot: No! No, Spike. Never let me go.
[...]
Buffybot: Darn your sinister attraction.
[...]
Spike: (quietly) You know I can't lie to you.
Buffybot: I think you can. I think you can if I let you, and I want to let you. I want you to bite me and devour me until there's no more.
The cool thing about Spike and the Buffybot is that while it's played for laughs, it's also quite sad that Spike wants Buffy so much he is willing to make do with a robot.
If he can't get the real thing, he doesn't let go, but rather creates a dream world for himself. (No programs. Don't use that word. Just be Buffy.) I think that's a character trait of Spike that's often ignored in fandom.
Of course, you can come at this from a third angle and just find Spike's actions extremely intrusive; after all he has turned Buffy into a plaything. He has also exchanged love against sex.
I'm also wondering if despite the awfully phony lines, the dialogue between Spike and the Buffybot foreshadows what will happen between Spike and Buffy in season 6 and 7.
- In the meantime, Buffy is going on a quest in the desert. She revisits the place from the dream in Restless and once again encounters the First Slayer. Love how the vision sequence is filmed. Love that the prophecy can be interpreted in many ways.
First slayer: You think you're losing your ability to love.
Buffy: I-I didn't say that. (sighs) Yeah.
First slayer: You're afraid that being the Slayer means losing your humanity.
Buffy: Does it?
First slayer: You are full of love. You love with all of your soul. It's brighter than the fire ... blinding. That's why you pull away from it.
Buffy: (surprised) I'm full of love? I'm not losing it?
First slayer: Only if you reject it. Love is pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain. Love ... give ... forgive. Risk the pain. It is your nature. Love will bring you to your gift.
Buffy: (pause) What?
[...]
Buffy: I'm getting a gift? Or, or do you mean that, that I have a gift to give to someone else?
First slayer: Death is your gift.
As I already knew the ending of Season 5, the meaning of the prophecy made perfect sense. But it's an interpretation that Buffy couldn't have seen at the time. I think she would have been shocked if she had been able to see the true meaning of the prophecy rightaway. In The Gift, she's ready for understanding it, beforehand she isn't.
- When Anya and Xander encounter the Buffybot, they get nicely confused. Especially when they see "Buffy" having sex with Spike... *g*
Spike trying to cover up the situation is also fun to watch.
I heart this scene:
Buffybot: (smiling) Isn't it a beautiful night for killing evil things?
Xander: I guess.
Anya: You're back very early.
Xander: Yeah, how was the whole vision-quest experience?
Buffybot: I don't understand that question. But thank you for asking.
Xander looks confused.
Buffybot: You're my friend, and a carpenter.
Xander: Are you all right? You're all...
Spike: (OS) Hey! Wait up!
Spike comes running up.
Buffybot: (happily) Spike! (to Xander and Anya) It's Spike. And he's wearing a coat.
Spike: (panting) Yes. Uh ... hello all.
- This is the first time that Tara does not express herself in a diplomatic way. What can I say: It's a refreshing change.
Anya: Buffy's boinking Spike.
Xander nods. Willow and Tara look surprised.
Willow: (pause) Oh ... well, Ta-Tara's right. Grief can be powerful, and we shouldn't judge-
Tara: What are you, kidding? She's nuts!
- This scene had me in stitches. Especially the Buffybot's comments regarding Angel. Seems Spike is a mite resentful towards Angel. *g*
Buffybot: I had sex with Spike. (Willow winces again) I'm sorry if it bothers you. You're my best friend.
Willow: I-I am. And I, I always will be, no matter what you do. I, I'm just trying to figure out why this happened, and I, I think with ... your mom and everything ... everyone was being all sympathetic, and, and making you feel weak. A-and Spike wasn't like that. So, just this one time, you just ... did something kinda ... crazy.
Buffybot: (shakes head) It wasn't one time. It was lots of times. And lots of different ways. I could make sketches.
Willow: (disgusted) No! Buffy, there is something seriously wrong here! I ... (the bot looks confused) Okay, yeah, you've been with a vampire before, but Angel had a soul.
Buffybot: Angel's lame. His hair grows straight up, and he's bloody stupid.
- This time around I was amazed that none of Buffy's friend figures out that they weren't talking to the real Buffy. After all, they all know since the bodyswitch with Faith that when Buffy acts really weird things may be wrong. Okay, they think the grief makes Buffy act funny, but wouldn't Tara notice that Buffy's aura is different - or in case of the Buffybot non-existent? Wait, I just realised that Tara doesn't actually *meet* the Buffybot, so this loophole is covered.
- I know I'm quoting way too much, but the dialogue is so shiny:
Anya: Which is kind of thrown by the you having sex with Spike.
Buffy: The ... who whating how with huh?
Anya: Okay, that's denial. That usually comes before anger.
Buffy: (angrily) I am not having sex with Spike!
Anya: Anger.
- Nice contrast: The Buffybot wants to get to Glory to save Spike. Buffy herself wants to get to Glory to kill Spike.
- Spike is captured by Glory's minions as I think he's either the Key or knows about the Key.
When Glory starts interrogating Spike, we finally see him from his best side. Despite knowing the identity of the Key, he refuses to give this information to Glory. That's very impressive considering that he usually looks out for himself first.
He also displays a side we've seen before: Even when it would be a smart move to be silent, Spike doesn't shut up. Words are his form of resistance, even when he is otherwise beaten. E.g. we see that he talks back at Angelus even when Angelus is close to staking him. He insults Riley, even when Riley can shove him out into the sunlight or has already staked him. And he follows this pattern, even when Glory is torturing him. As always he's pretty quick to pick up the weaknesses of others and use them for his own purposes. Love how he uses Glory's vanity to get out of his chains.
Glory: I am a god.
Spike: The god of what, bad home perms?
Glory: Shut up! (takes a few steps toward him, pats her hair) I command you, shut up!
Spike: Yeah, okay, sorry, but I just had no idea that gods were such prancing lightweights. (Glory scoffs in disbelief) Mark my words, the Slayer ... is going to kick your skanky, lopsided ass (Glory checks out her ass in dismay) back to whatever place would take a (sizing her up) cheap, whorish, fashion victim ex-god like you.
- And this is officially the first time that Xander feels sympathy for Spike:
Xander: God, I feel ... kind of bad for the guy. Gets all whupped and his best toy gets taken away.
Buffy: Xander. Please don't be suggesting what I'd have to kill you for suggesting.
Xander: No, no, travesty, completely on board, it's just ... the guy was so thrashed.
- Love the final scene between Buffy and Spike.
It's a good plan of Buffy to show up at Spike's place pretending to be the Buffybot in order to find out how much Spike told Glory.
I noticed that Spike makes it clear that he kept silent for *Buffy*. Spike seems to be fond of Dawn, but I'm not sure he would have kept silent for her alone. Right now, everything he does is ultimately for *Buffy*'s benefit. Even when he assists Dawn with the ressurection spell, he's partly doing it to make Buffy's life a little easier.
Spike: (quietly) 'Cause Buffy ... the other, not so pleasant Buffy ... anything happened to Dawn, it'd destroy her. I couldn't live, her bein' in that much pain.
The kiss scene is very nice.spikeylover has pointed out that it's very meaningful that Buffy chooses to kiss Spike. Yes, it's "only" a kiss of gratitude, but Buffy doesn't usually dish out kisses of gratitude. And it's not the wisest move ever considering that Spike is the vampire who has such a crush on her that he tried to destroy her relationship with Riley, put her in danger when confronting her with Drusilla and had a sex robot built that looks like her. So you would think she wouldn't want to give him any encouragement whatsoever. So after the kiss, I'm convinced that Buffy has started to have feelings for Spike that go beyond a "sinister attraction".
A summary can be found here.
A summary by
spikeylover filled with wonderful screencaps can be found in two parts here and here.- I *really* like this episode.
All the different subplots are handled very well: Buffy's quest, the introduction of the Buffybot and the Glory versus Spike plot.
- As always the interaction between Buffy and Giles is great:
That's a bit of an understatement, Buffy...
Giles: How's she doing? (Buffy gives him a look) And you?
Buffy: I'm okay. Well, some minutes are harder than others.
And this dialogue is fascinating. What I like about the Jossverse is that special powers aren't for free. It's not just that with great power comes great responsibility a la Spiderman, it's also that using these powers is bound to change you.
This is something we can observe when looking at both Buffy and Willow. The difference between them is that Buffy is aware her Slayer strenght is changing her whereas Willow tries to pretend she hasn't changed much.
I'm just ... starting to feel ... uneasy about stuff.
Giles: Stuff?
Buffy: Training. Slaying. All of it. It's just ... I mean ... I can beat up the demons until the cows come home. And then I can beat up the cows ... but I'm not sure I like what it's doing to me.
Giles: But you've mastered so much. I mean, your strength and resilience alone-
Buffy: Yeah. Strength, resilience ... those are all words for hardness. (pause) I'm starting to feel like ... being the Slayer is turning me into stone.
[...]
Buffy: I don't know. To slay, to kill ... i-it means being hard on the inside. Maybe being the perfect Slayer means being too hard to love at all. I already feel like I can hardly say the words.
Buffy telling both Giles and Dawn that she loves them, is another shiny moment. Right now, these two are her family. Giles she sees as her mentor and ersatz-father, Dawn she has fully accepted as her sister.
- Ahhh, the Buffybot. Sarah Michelle Gellar must have had fun with this part. I'm pretty sure it was a welcome contrast since the storyline for Buffy had become so dark.
(In Buffy, a lot of characters get the chance to slip into a doubleganger part. We meet VampireWillow, see InsecureXander and SuccessfulXander, but IMO Buffy gets the best doubleganger roles. She gets to play Faith in Buffy's body - all super tough and reckless - and now the Buffybot - all cutsey and naive.)
SMG rocks in this scene. Her blissful "Oh, Spike!" had me laugh out loud.
Buffybot: Oh, Spike!
She hurries over to Spike, puts her hands on his shoulders and kisses him on the mouth. She pulls back, still with a big smile.
Spike: She'll do.
From this scene I get the impression that Spike has never outgrown his tendency towards bad poetry. The dialogue quite simply screams bodice ripper! *g*
Buffybot: I, I wanna hurt you, but I can't resist the sinister attraction of your cold and muscular body.
Spike: Maybe I should repay you for your gentleness. Maybe I should let you go.
Buffybot: No! No, Spike. Never let me go.
[...]
Buffybot: Darn your sinister attraction.
[...]
Spike: (quietly) You know I can't lie to you.
Buffybot: I think you can. I think you can if I let you, and I want to let you. I want you to bite me and devour me until there's no more.
The cool thing about Spike and the Buffybot is that while it's played for laughs, it's also quite sad that Spike wants Buffy so much he is willing to make do with a robot.
If he can't get the real thing, he doesn't let go, but rather creates a dream world for himself. (No programs. Don't use that word. Just be Buffy.) I think that's a character trait of Spike that's often ignored in fandom.
Of course, you can come at this from a third angle and just find Spike's actions extremely intrusive; after all he has turned Buffy into a plaything. He has also exchanged love against sex.
I'm also wondering if despite the awfully phony lines, the dialogue between Spike and the Buffybot foreshadows what will happen between Spike and Buffy in season 6 and 7.
- In the meantime, Buffy is going on a quest in the desert. She revisits the place from the dream in Restless and once again encounters the First Slayer. Love how the vision sequence is filmed. Love that the prophecy can be interpreted in many ways.
First slayer: You think you're losing your ability to love.
Buffy: I-I didn't say that. (sighs) Yeah.
First slayer: You're afraid that being the Slayer means losing your humanity.
Buffy: Does it?
First slayer: You are full of love. You love with all of your soul. It's brighter than the fire ... blinding. That's why you pull away from it.
Buffy: (surprised) I'm full of love? I'm not losing it?
First slayer: Only if you reject it. Love is pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain. Love ... give ... forgive. Risk the pain. It is your nature. Love will bring you to your gift.
Buffy: (pause) What?
[...]
Buffy: I'm getting a gift? Or, or do you mean that, that I have a gift to give to someone else?
First slayer: Death is your gift.
As I already knew the ending of Season 5, the meaning of the prophecy made perfect sense. But it's an interpretation that Buffy couldn't have seen at the time. I think she would have been shocked if she had been able to see the true meaning of the prophecy rightaway. In The Gift, she's ready for understanding it, beforehand she isn't.
- When Anya and Xander encounter the Buffybot, they get nicely confused. Especially when they see "Buffy" having sex with Spike... *g*
Spike trying to cover up the situation is also fun to watch.
I heart this scene:
Buffybot: (smiling) Isn't it a beautiful night for killing evil things?
Xander: I guess.
Anya: You're back very early.
Xander: Yeah, how was the whole vision-quest experience?
Buffybot: I don't understand that question. But thank you for asking.
Xander looks confused.
Buffybot: You're my friend, and a carpenter.
Xander: Are you all right? You're all...
Spike: (OS) Hey! Wait up!
Spike comes running up.
Buffybot: (happily) Spike! (to Xander and Anya) It's Spike. And he's wearing a coat.
Spike: (panting) Yes. Uh ... hello all.
- This is the first time that Tara does not express herself in a diplomatic way. What can I say: It's a refreshing change.
Anya: Buffy's boinking Spike.
Xander nods. Willow and Tara look surprised.
Willow: (pause) Oh ... well, Ta-Tara's right. Grief can be powerful, and we shouldn't judge-
Tara: What are you, kidding? She's nuts!
- This scene had me in stitches. Especially the Buffybot's comments regarding Angel. Seems Spike is a mite resentful towards Angel. *g*
Buffybot: I had sex with Spike. (Willow winces again) I'm sorry if it bothers you. You're my best friend.
Willow: I-I am. And I, I always will be, no matter what you do. I, I'm just trying to figure out why this happened, and I, I think with ... your mom and everything ... everyone was being all sympathetic, and, and making you feel weak. A-and Spike wasn't like that. So, just this one time, you just ... did something kinda ... crazy.
Buffybot: (shakes head) It wasn't one time. It was lots of times. And lots of different ways. I could make sketches.
Willow: (disgusted) No! Buffy, there is something seriously wrong here! I ... (the bot looks confused) Okay, yeah, you've been with a vampire before, but Angel had a soul.
Buffybot: Angel's lame. His hair grows straight up, and he's bloody stupid.
- This time around I was amazed that none of Buffy's friend figures out that they weren't talking to the real Buffy. After all, they all know since the bodyswitch with Faith that when Buffy acts really weird things may be wrong. Okay, they think the grief makes Buffy act funny, but wouldn't Tara notice that Buffy's aura is different - or in case of the Buffybot non-existent? Wait, I just realised that Tara doesn't actually *meet* the Buffybot, so this loophole is covered.
- I know I'm quoting way too much, but the dialogue is so shiny:
Anya: Which is kind of thrown by the you having sex with Spike.
Buffy: The ... who whating how with huh?
Anya: Okay, that's denial. That usually comes before anger.
Buffy: (angrily) I am not having sex with Spike!
Anya: Anger.
- Nice contrast: The Buffybot wants to get to Glory to save Spike. Buffy herself wants to get to Glory to kill Spike.
- Spike is captured by Glory's minions as I think he's either the Key or knows about the Key.
When Glory starts interrogating Spike, we finally see him from his best side. Despite knowing the identity of the Key, he refuses to give this information to Glory. That's very impressive considering that he usually looks out for himself first.
He also displays a side we've seen before: Even when it would be a smart move to be silent, Spike doesn't shut up. Words are his form of resistance, even when he is otherwise beaten. E.g. we see that he talks back at Angelus even when Angelus is close to staking him. He insults Riley, even when Riley can shove him out into the sunlight or has already staked him. And he follows this pattern, even when Glory is torturing him. As always he's pretty quick to pick up the weaknesses of others and use them for his own purposes. Love how he uses Glory's vanity to get out of his chains.
Glory: I am a god.
Spike: The god of what, bad home perms?
Glory: Shut up! (takes a few steps toward him, pats her hair) I command you, shut up!
Spike: Yeah, okay, sorry, but I just had no idea that gods were such prancing lightweights. (Glory scoffs in disbelief) Mark my words, the Slayer ... is going to kick your skanky, lopsided ass (Glory checks out her ass in dismay) back to whatever place would take a (sizing her up) cheap, whorish, fashion victim ex-god like you.
- And this is officially the first time that Xander feels sympathy for Spike:
Xander: God, I feel ... kind of bad for the guy. Gets all whupped and his best toy gets taken away.
Buffy: Xander. Please don't be suggesting what I'd have to kill you for suggesting.
Xander: No, no, travesty, completely on board, it's just ... the guy was so thrashed.
- Love the final scene between Buffy and Spike.
It's a good plan of Buffy to show up at Spike's place pretending to be the Buffybot in order to find out how much Spike told Glory.
I noticed that Spike makes it clear that he kept silent for *Buffy*. Spike seems to be fond of Dawn, but I'm not sure he would have kept silent for her alone. Right now, everything he does is ultimately for *Buffy*'s benefit. Even when he assists Dawn with the ressurection spell, he's partly doing it to make Buffy's life a little easier.
Spike: (quietly) 'Cause Buffy ... the other, not so pleasant Buffy ... anything happened to Dawn, it'd destroy her. I couldn't live, her bein' in that much pain.
The kiss scene is very nice.
spikeylover has pointed out that it's very meaningful that Buffy chooses to kiss Spike. Yes, it's "only" a kiss of gratitude, but Buffy doesn't usually dish out kisses of gratitude. And it's not the wisest move ever considering that Spike is the vampire who has such a crush on her that he tried to destroy her relationship with Riley, put her in danger when confronting her with Drusilla and had a sex robot built that looks like her. So you would think she wouldn't want to give him any encouragement whatsoever. So after the kiss, I'm convinced that Buffy has started to have feelings for Spike that go beyond a "sinister attraction".
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 08:21 pm (UTC)I will say it again... When watching the series, the scene that made me fall head over heels for Spike was the one when he is limping his way towards the elevator and tries to open that door. You can hear the desperation in his voice when he says "Oh God"..
Interesting also is his relief when he sees Buffy show up. (who claimed she would "kill" him) Apparently, he didn't think so.
Also, love how you brought up the fact that Spike could be living in a dream world and how the dialogue for Buffybot is similar to a bad bodice ripper fan fic writer or "poet"..
no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 08:50 pm (UTC)I first want to catch up with Angel, season 2 and write some more reviews. I used to be about 12 reviews behind and it feels odd writing them when I've seen so much more. Also proceeding slowly, allows me to prolong the viewing experience. (Right now, I can't imagine life without new episodes.)
You can hear the desperation in his voice when he says "Oh God"..
Oh yes, very true! What I love about Spike is that there are so many layers under the facade. At times, there are moments when we catch a bit more of him, e.g. when he sits down next to Buffy and pats her on the back or when he says "Oh God" here. We see that he's not just Mr Tough and Snarky who can't be hurt by anything.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 09:07 pm (UTC)How far are you in watching S6? Because there's a great fic set somewhere in mid S6 (can't remember where exactly, I'll have to look it up) where Spike is remembering the Buffybot.
This time around I was amazed that none of Buffy's friend figures out that they weren't talking to the real Buffy.
That's a recurring theme with Buffy, the people who should know her best not recognizing her (not being able to tell her apart from Faith or a robot) and not really knowing her, especially during S6 when Spike - who is supposed to be her sworn enemy - seems to be the only one who understands her.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 08:32 pm (UTC)I'm still on hold after watching episode 3 of season 6.
I don't want to go through the show too fast. Telling myself to catch up with writing reviews first is an excellent way to slow down.
I'd be happy about the rec, though. I'll just bookmark it and read it later.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 10:42 pm (UTC)it makes me sad that Giles doesn't tell Buffy he loves her.
and just a great spike episode in that we see him at just about his worst and at his very best, and that Buffy recognizes that.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 11:51 pm (UTC)Oh god, I'd completely forgotten about that. I remember the first time I watched the episode, I had to rewind back to make sure I wasn't imagining things. I mean, Spike having sex with a robot and pretending it's Buffy is one thing, but giving the robot oral sex just takes it on a whole new level of perverse :)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 12:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 08:29 pm (UTC)As Spike says to the Buffybot he doesn't want to be reminded that she's just going through a programme. He wants to pretend this is the real Buffy - and so this is exactly the way in which he behaves.
(And no, playing make-believe on this level is not healthy, but it's nevertheless a fascinating trait for a fictional character.)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 08:36 pm (UTC)Yes. I'm sure he regrets that later on as well.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-16 10:49 pm (UTC)May I recommend a fic - an outrageously funny post-Intervention piece called The Naked Truth (by Spring Summers)
http://www.soulfulspike.com/TheNakedTruth.htm
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 07:42 pm (UTC)Thanks for the rec! Reading this story made me laugh out loud several times.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 08:20 am (UTC)Yes. Buffy in Welcome at the Hellmouth just isn't the same person as Buffy in Intervention, and it's an ongoing process. This makes her such an emotionally "real" heroine to me. She can't be that girl anymore.
This is something we can observe when looking at both Buffy and Willow. The difference between them is that Buffy is aware her Slayer strenght is changing her whereas Willow tries to pretend she hasn't changed much.
Restless, Willow: "I am very seldom naughty." And Buffy strips off her costume.
In Buffy, a lot of characters get the chance to slip into a doubleganger part. We meet VampireWillow, see InsecureXander and SuccessfulXander, but IMO Buffy gets the best doubleganger roles. She gets to play Faith in Buffy's body - all super tough and reckless - and now the Buffybot - all cutsey and naive.
I agree, and you can add Wishverse Buffy and Prehistoric Buffy to the bunch.*g* (Also, that flashback in Becoming offers us Buffy just before her calling, as a version of Cordelia, basically - reigning High School Queen.) With one exception, all the actors on both shows excel when they're offered these alter ego chances. (And I think it's safe to say David Boreanaz really went to another level through his Angelus experience - not that he was outright bad before, but if you saw him just in episodes pre-Surprise you'd never have guessed he was qualified as the lead for a spin-off.) I'll get to the exception once you get there with the watching.
From this scene I get the impression that Spike has never outgrown his tendency towards bad poetry. The dialogue quite simply screams bodice ripper! *g*
Oh yeah. Spike is such a bad Victorian writer there.*g* (Also, you can see Jane Espenson, who also wrote Superstar, is having fun with certain fanfic clichés.) The Buffybot's dialogue as written by Spike is hysterical.
This being said, if I were Buffy I'd have been mad about hearing this as well. Spike definitely chose the right episode to impress her with his self-sacrifice willingness; not sure she wouldn't have staked him for that stunt otherwise.
The kiss: was great, and unexpected, and definitely can be interpreted in several ways. I don't thinks she thought about it much, beyond a sign of gratitude and forgiveness (not just for the sexbot stunt but for the chaining up with Dru and pretty much everything he did to her in the past when they were enemies), and I don't see it as sexual, but yes, it's not a gesture she made towards anyone else. (Xander, for example, back when he had a crush on her got hugs in similar situations, not a kiss.)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-17 06:46 pm (UTC)Oh, excellent observation! It really fits!
David Boreanaz really went to another level through his Angelus experience
Yes, by now he's given Angel so many layers. For example, when he's relaxed, he quite often reminds me of his human self.
With one exception, all the actors on both shows excel when they're offered these alter ego chances.
Of course, now I'm going through all the options in my head to figure out who it may be. I love guessing games. :-)
(Xander, for example, back when he had a crush on her got hugs in similar situations, not a kiss.)
Yes, exactly. Now I don't think Buffy is consciously in love with Spike, but I think her subconscious is pushing her in this direction.