"Revelations" [3x07] Review by Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro Posted by MikeJer on November 24, 2005 Writer: Douglas PetrieDirector: James A. Contner Quick Links Spoiler Warning! This is a retrospective review and may contain spoilers from anywhere in the series. Read at your own peril. Review This is the best episode of the season so far! My only complaints, which I'll get out of the way right away, are that the pace is a tad too slow until the end and that, even though she puts a lot of effort into gaining everyone's trust, Gwen Post's true motives still don't come as much of a surprise. Giles should have contacted the Watcher's Council for confirmation. Aside from these relatively small complaints, though, this is top-notch entertainment. We get a ton of character development, interesting dialog, and great special effects. Putting aside Giles' lack of insight in calling the Watcher's Council, I like Gwen Post's character and her influence on everyone, especially Giles and Faith. Giles feels a bit threatened by her, mainly because she's implying he's gotten too close to his Slayer. This is something that will come up again in "Helpless" (3x12). Faith says you can't trust guys, which echos her feelings in "Beauty and the Beasts" (3x04). In large part due to Gwen's betrayal of her later in the episode, Faith decides that now she can't trust anyone. This turns out to be incredibly important to her development. Gwen is the first piece that begins to put Faith on the dark path. She doesn't trust anyone fully anymore saying "I'm on my side, and that's enough." Buffy correctly responds, "not always," but Faith doesn't give in. The other big event happening here involves Xander and his reaction to seeing Angel back and kissing Buffy again. This is obviously very surprising to him and his reaction is suitably worried. This leads to the fantastic 'intervention' scene with Buffy and the gang which is very well acted. I was excited to see Buffy bringing up Xander's jealousy problem as a motivating factor for his behavior. Xander is harsh, but not completely wrong, when he reminds Buffy that she didn't stop Angel from murdering Jenny Calendar in time. The 'intervention' scene directly spills into the powerful scene where Giles explains to Buffy that she has no respect for the job he performs because she didn't come to him about Angel immediately. Giles is completely correct here, and Buffy genuinely learns from her mistake. In the future we see Buffy telling Giles her secrets a whole lot sooner and trusting that he will help her through her difficulties instead of judging her. Gwen Post spends a ton of time in getting not only the Scoobies, but especially Faith, to trust her. This leads to Faith jumping to conclusions when Xander spills the beans on Angel's return. Faith wants to kill Angel and it makes complete sense that Xander wants in on the opportunity. This is even more evidence that Xander lied to Buffy in "Becoming Pt. 2" (2x22) because he didn't want Angel resouled. To Xander's credit, though, he knew Angel didn't hurt Giles and 'attempted' to talk Faith out of rushing out blindly based on wrong assumptions to kill Angel. I really appreciated the dialog between Buffy and Willow on secrets. Buffy admits that keeping her secret was extremely uncomfortable and didn't make what her and Angel were doing any sexier. She also reveals that she feels much better now that it's out in the open. The special effects for the glove were fantastic. I don't love this show because of the action and effects, but when I see something that was really well done, I feel the need to point it out. The ending fight and Gwen's death scene were also incredibly exciting to watch. So all in all, this is a near perfect episode which manages to put the characters' motivations for the rest of the season in motion. Minor Pros/Cons (+/-)
Foreshadowing
Quotes BUFFY:Synchronized slaying.FAITH:New Olympic category? WILLOW:Okay. This will make me feel better, right? You know, I always consider myself a good person. Floss, do my homework, never cheat. But lately, and please don't judge me on this, but I want you to be the first to know that, that... there's a demon behind you. :(Buffy fights the demon and wins) BUFFY:Sorry about that. So, what were you saying? XANDER:Well, as long as she and Angel don't get pelvic, we'll be okay, I guess. BUFFY:What are you guys talking about? OZ:Oddly enough, your boyfriend. Again.
Screencaps
Comments (41) All Comments | Link2 | AustinAug 23, 2007 Grr, What was Faith going to say at the end?!?! I think it's interesting to note that when Gwen (intentionally) told Faith that she wasn't part of the intervention, This is when Faith first realizes that she can't trust her new friends or at least that they don't trust her. this might be why she chooses not to tell Buffy what ever it was she was thinking of at the end. I think this is the first tiny step down the dark path she follows in this season, and it is only exacerbated by Gwen's betrayal, the only person that hadn't let her down yet. All Comments | Link3 | SophOct 14, 2007 i really like this episode but i do feel a bit sorry for buffy after xander was really out of order sharing his concerns the way he did and it is still really obvious he is jealous of buffy and angels relationship. All Comments | Link4 | buffyholicOct 23, 2007 I´m not a big fan of this episode, mainly because of Gwendoyln Post and Xander. I really don´t like her, she bugs me a lot and well, I want to hit Xander on this one. I know he has a point in being worried but he took it a little too far and Buffy is also right in pointing out that he´s jealous. The intervention scene is very well acted but hard for me to watch because of Xander. I still love the interactions between Buffy and Faith and love the ending fight scene. All Comments | Link5 | HarfangSep 9, 2008 I like the episode. It may not be the best ever, but it has a lot of good scenes and the character interaction is very well handled and coherent. And even though I hate Xander every time he hurts Buffy and/or Angel, it also is very consistent: he's always hated the guy. And Xander is the most human of the Scoobies, the one with the most flaws: this is also what makes him so heroic when he manages to overcome them. Which he does, even though his attempt at exculpating Angel is a lost cause. Besides, you have to admit he's got guts, to antagonize a 200-year old vampire who just recently spread chaos across the city! And Angel WILL get his revenge by punching him for no reason in Enemies (yes, Mr Billowy Coat King of Pain can be petty too, thank you very much.) As for Giles failing to check Gwen Post's credits, I guess at this stage he simply trusts that anything having to do with the Council can only be good. Post's betrayal, followed by the Council's lame defence, may be one of the first things that shakes his confidence in them -just a thought. All Comments | Link6 | RekidkNov 17, 2008 In the scene following the intervention, I feel like Giles is trying to be purposely hard on Buffy in order to distance himself and be a 'better' Watcher - an attitude sparked by Gwen Post's arrival. I think that he actually does understand what Buffy was going through, but he doesn't want to admit it to himself because it would mean that he was being more of a friend (and less of a mentor) to his Slayer. In other words - I don't think Giles would have been as harsh on Buffy if Post hadn't ever showed up. (Just my opinion - thought this was a very interesting episode in terms of the motivations of the characters. Extremely strong characterization with surprisingly complex motivations.) All Comments | Link7 | EmilyMar 17, 2009 Honestly, Mike, I don't think you can say "To Xander's credit, he "attempted" to talk Faith out of..." Xander doesn't get any credit for that because he should've tried harder. And he didn't. He never does when it comes to Angel, and there's no way anyone could give him "credit." Also, I don't think he was actually ever "worried." I'm assuming that after Buffy told Giles and Willow that Angel had gotten his soul back, Willow told Xander (I highly doubt Buffy would've told him, because I highly doubt that Xander and Buffy ever had deep conversations about Angel). So he knew that Angel had his soul back. He was just jealous, like he always was, and always will be. He's ruled by his emotions, and he hates Angel so much that there's no way he was "worried." Rekidk, I totally agree with you. Giles definitely understood what was going on with Buffy, and he knows that you have to keep secrets. He never told her about his past until "The Dark Age." Post is a b****. All Comments | Link8 | MichaelMay 17, 2009 5 by 5 is a term taken from the military. In the military it is a description of the quality of a radio broadcast. It measures two scales: signal strength and signal clarity on a 5 point scale. So, if you asked someone how they copied your broadcast and they replied, "You're five by five.", it would mean that you are LOUD and CLEAR. It has beena adpated into modern slang to mean perfect, a-ok, etc. So, when Faith responds, I'm five by five, that's what she means. Not so ambiguous. All Comments | Link10 | NixJun 4, 2009 The question to ask is, was 'five by five' adapted into modern slang before or after BtVS used it? _Buffy_ has been extremely influential as TV programmes go, language-wise: so much so that multiple linguistics textbooks have been published on Buffy alone. Equally it could come from somewhere else. Wikipedia, that fount of halfbaked knowledge and useless facts, informs me that it's also a term of art in basketball. All Comments | Link11 | RosieJun 24, 2009 "The other big event happening here involves Xander and his reaction to seeing Angel back and kissing Buffy again. This is obviously very surprising to him and his reaction is suitably worried. This leads to the fantastic 'intervention' scene with Buffy and the gang which is very well acted. I was excited to see Buffy bringing up Xander's jealousy problem as a motivating factor for his behavior. Xander is harsh, but not completely wrong, when he reminds Buffy that she didn't stop Angel from murdering Jenny Calendar in time." I can understand Xander and the others being angry at Buffy for lying about Angel's return. But this scene also underlined a problem I have always had with Buffy's relationship with the Scoobies. I've always had this gut feeling that the Scoobies - Willow, Giles and especially Xander - have a tendency to put Buffy on a pedestal due to her being "The Slayer". It seemed as if they demanded that she live to their ideal of what she was, instead of allowing her to be who she was. It almost seemed as if she was some kind of tool or symbol that they could not let go . . . or free. There are times when I wish Buffy's relationship with them had remained slightly distant after Season 7. There are times when I believe that her relationship with the Scoobies was unhealthy for Buffy, because they did not allow her to be herself. All Comments | Link12 | SeleneAug 23, 2009 Had some issues with this episode. I could kinda see where Xander was coming from; after all, Buffy's feelings for Angel kept her from killing him and preventing Jenny and Theresa's and who knows how many other's murders at Angelus' hand. So he really was right when he said he didn't need an excuse, lots of dead people actually constitutes a reason. So you can't fault Xander for being ruled by his emotions unless you're willing to fault Buffy for being ruled by hers. Another thing that definitely didn't ring true and seemed very OOC to me was Willow whining about doing the research for Giles. I mean, this is the girl who was like "Oh, goody. Research party!" just a few months ago. She's always been willing to stick it out as long as necessary to get the research done. So why this once is it a problem? All Comments | Link13 | SunburnSep 30, 2009 @ 3:23pm "So he really was right when he said he didn't need an excuse, lots of dead people actually constitutes a reason. So you can't fault Xander for being ruled by his emotions unless you're willing to fault Buffy for being ruled by hers. " Hmmm. My problem with Xander is not that he's wrong, it's that he's so viciously no-holds-barred in his criticisms. In Dead Man's Party, as in this episode, he has absolutely no compunction about ripping into Buffy in the most public and hurtful ways he can think of - regardless of the fact, for instance, that Giles is right there when he reminds Buffy about Jenny Calendar's death. Having said that, I tried to think of why this was worse than Buffy being ruled by her emotions, and failed. :-) I suppose at least Buffy makes her mistakes out of positive emotions (love, loyalty, etc) while his are borne of jealousy, but then again her risk-taking endangers people's lives, so I think I have to concede this point to you, Selene. Also, Harfang pointed out something that I'd never registered - that Xander IS the most human of the Scoobies, so of course he looks bad compared to the saintly, super-cute, super-intelligent Willow and the noble, super-cute, super-strong Buffy. Makes perfect sense, and I shall try and stop disliking Xander quite as much during his self-righteous outbursts. All Comments | Link14 | VictoriaNov 7, 2009 @ 9:26pm I always took the Faith's 5 by 5 statement to mean that she's "square" or "even and okay" because a square would technically be even on all sides and there fore 5x5. Does that make sense? All Comments | Link15 | MaxMar 23, 2010 @ 12:08pm 5 by 5 as Michael pointed out a military term for "loud and clear" with reference to radio transmissions. Means a-ok. It's slang in parts of the UK with rich military history. I would assume the same applies in USA. All Comments | Link16 | DaniApr 13, 2010 @ 8:42am I side with Xander in this ep...but that's probably just because I'm not a fan of the Buffy/Angel coupling...not liking that this is happening again in the Season 8 comics either! All Comments | Link17 | NixMay 13, 2010 @ 11:03am Foreshadowing and a half from Faith: "No offence, lady, I just have this problem with authority figures; they end up kinda dead." Every single authority figure she's associated with and doesn't rebel against is dead by the end of the season (that would be Gwen Post, the target of the statement here, and the Mayor). I haven't seen Angel so don't know if the pattern holds true there too. All Comments | Link18 | fray-adjacentMay 24, 2010 @ 9:27am I agree with Harfang and Selene's takes on Xander. He is cruel to Buffy, but I completely agree with the content of his argument, and being a little harsh on your friend is better than lots of people dying! At this point Xander and the rest of the Scoobies have little reason to believe that Angel is trustworthy. Rekidk's comment on why Giles was hard on Buffy for not telling him about Angel being back is interesting: perhaps he was trying to distance himself and act more the "professional" Watcher. At the same time, his reaction seemed right on: Angelus DID kill his girlfriend and torture him for hours. Even if Angel is not the same person, that's not something you should just be expected to get over in a few months' time. Even so, we see Giles showing that, intellectually, he understands that Angel is on their side; he tells Gwendolyn that "Buffy's friend" is keeping the glove safe. I think that Gwendolyn so thoroughly undermines Giles's confidence at the beginning of the episode that he doesn't even think to question her and check with the Watcher's Council; that may have even been part of her intent when she ridiculed him. All Comments | Link19 | fray-adjacentMay 24, 2010 @ 9:27am I agree with Harfang and Selene's takes on Xander. He is cruel to Buffy, but I completely agree with the content of his argument, and being a little harsh on your friend is better than lots of people dying! At this point Xander and the rest of the Scoobies have little reason to believe that Angel is trustworthy. Rekidk's comment on why Giles was hard on Buffy for not telling him about Angel being back is interesting: perhaps he was trying to distance himself and act more the "professional" Watcher. At the same time, his reaction seemed right on: Angelus DID kill his girlfriend and torture him for hours. Even if Angel is not the same person, that's not something you should just be expected to get over in a few months' time. Even so, we see Giles showing that, intellectually, he understands that Angel is on their side; he tells Gwendolyn that "Buffy's friend" is keeping the glove safe. I think that Gwendolyn so thoroughly undermines Giles's confidence at the beginning of the episode that he doesn't even think to question her and check with the Watcher's Council; that may have even been part of her intent when she ridiculed him. All Comments | Link20 | nathan.taurusAug 19, 2010 @ 11:40pm fray-adjacent: good point about Gwendolyn to Giles. The Good: The "best of Buffy's bestest buds" at the Bronze. Buffy's arrival and Faith and her together. Synchronised slaying. Giles' dumbfounded look at Gwen when she introduces herself. Buffy mocking Giles in front of Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn condescending Giles at his place about the pretty pictures. The fantastic Buffy intervention scene. Again, Xander and Cordelia are the only smart ones to stand up. Giles' speech to Buffy about her not respecting him. Willow's look as Buffy kicks the demon in the crotch. Giles knocked unconcious yet again. The Bad: Gwendolyn somehow broke a thick shovel over her thigh. She doesn't need the glove. All Comments | Link21 | ElizabethMay 26, 2011 @ 1:10am Xander may be right, but he's still an ASSHOLE!! I never stopped hating him after this and DMP. He is seriously the most immature and petty character on the show. I want to put Angel punching his lights out in Enemies on replay. All Comments | Link22 | nkJul 24, 2011 @ 6:14pm @Selene I think the reason Willow is uncharacteristically reluctant to do the research is because Giles, angered by Post's criticisms, has sucked all the fun out of it by acting like a bossy jerk and working them much harder than usual. @Rosie I've seen you write similar comments on other episodes about the Scoobies having unfair and unrealistic expectations of Buffy, and to some extent I agree with you. Something that always bothers me, especially in Season 3 where there are a lot of episodes featuring conflicts with authority and Buffy isn't quite yet old enough to start asserting herself more, is that we can see people like Giles and Joyce are as flawed and emotionally driven at times as Buffy is, yet they still think they're entitled to claim the moral high ground over her. All Comments | Link23 | PippaHallJul 28, 2011 @ 11:12am I felt sorry for Faith, it's like events always seem to conspire against her. One thing that bugs me though - is that Buffy killed Gwen Post who was HUMAN - [all right the lightning blast finished her off after Buffy threw the glass that took her arm off but wouldn't she have bled out from that anyway?] so there goes the no killing humans rule. Was it allowed because it was in combat [ie hot blood not cold blood? All Comments | Link24 | Gemma Dec 15, 2011 @ 7:33am Whenever i watch this episode and the credits roll i'm always left with a feeling of remorse for Faith, she has truly been dealt a bad hand. Her first watcher was killed in front of her and Gwen Post manipulated her for own endeavours to gain power. Not only this but she is feeling isolated when it comes to Buffy and the gang. This is first notable when during a patrol Faith shares some of her perceptions regarding men and her relationship with a few of them. She doesn't get this in return from Buffy who remains tight lipped about her romance with Angel. These out of the loop feelings escalate when she isn't made aware of the intervention the gang try on Buffy. Trust is a big issue for Faith and by the end of this episode she doesn't seem to believe she can trust anyone but herself. The events set in motion by Mrs Post is the conducive catalyst that sets Faith on the path for self destruction. I guess its fair to assume that Faith has an inherent distrust of others from this episode and this is why confessing to the accident which occurs in Bad Girls is so hard for Faith. - well thats my conclusion anyway. Willow is having conflicting feelings this episode regarding her relationship with Oz and her feelings for Xander. These feelings are what leads her to be least angry at Buffy when it comes to light that Angel is alive. Xander on the other hand is on form in this episode, his disliking of Angel stems from past seasons and he is soon egging Faith on into action, which isn't difficult with her penchant for violence and slaying. Giles; where to start. I felt so sorry for him in this episode. How could Buffy not confide in him, after everything Angel did to him in Becoming pt 2! This was such a poignant and prominent moment if the episode. What he said to her highlighted the greyness of the situation. Nothing will be black and white when it comes to Buffy and Angel. This fact serves as a motivating factor for his leaving at the end of the season. This raises a number of points; Is Angel and Angelus so divergent? Will it be easy for Giles to separate them after past events? Buffy is more amenable to it, she sees Angel as a man, something more. She feels a difference, and she utilises these feelings to help her perceive Angel's true intentions but she is also a where that she can not give in to her emotions. All Comments | Link25 | OdonFeb 1, 2012 @ 2:47am PippaHallJul 28, 2011 (Thu) @ 11:12am One thing that bugs me though - is that Buffy killed Gwen Post who was HUMAN - [all right the lightning blast finished her off after Buffy threw the glass that took her arm off but wouldn't she have bled out from that anyway?] so there goes the no killing humans rule. Was it allowed because it was in combat [ie hot blood not cold blood? Buffy is allowed to kill humans in self defense (and in defense of another) just like any human being. All Comments | Link26 | SarahFeb 13, 2012 @ 7:36am I love this episode, but I was really Really annoyed at how quickly Buffy and Xander made up at the end, if you can call it making up. I much prefer the intervention seen where they were at least being honest with each other. The dialogue at the end of the episode should have been just as probing, but it seems like the writers just wanted to wrap it up quickly. Buffy simply asking, "Are we cool?" is hardly believable. I'm just not buying it. Though I do buy Xander faking his "ya". The rift between these two is clearly still growing, yet somehow Buffy seems to either not realize it or is just repressing the realization. All Comments | Link28 | Gemma Mar 26, 2012 @ 12:06pm I think the rift forming between Buffy and Xander doesn't really begin to heal until The WIsh. His anger towards her and the secrecy surrounding Angel's return is rooted in the secrets he himself is keeping regarding Willow and his betrayal towards Cordelia. Once the events of Lover's Walk his anger subsides, asking Buffy how she coped and dealt with her love life drama. He still has issues with Angel though which mellow in Amends. All Comments | Link29 | DaveMay 12, 2012 @ 2:51am So tired of the Buffy/Angel and Xander/Willow stuff by this point. They're clearly already doomed and feel very forced into the story. Would have liked more development for Mrs. Post. All Comments | Link30 | Gemma Aug 4, 2012 @ 8:53am I don't think we needed much more development of Gwen Post, she did what she was meant to and that was to strengthen Faiths failing belief in trusting people. This episode worked well in developing this character trait of Faith's; the first step was the gang shutting Faith out of the Angel intervention, then the events at the mansion with Mrs Post and during this Buffy arrives to save Angel who in Faith's mind is evil. All Comments | Link31 | Great WhazooAug 24, 2012 @ 7:36am Reply to Rekidk #6, I felt the same way about Gilles concerns, plus the worry that Post's first anoouncements included a report on Gilles performance. She re-inforced her point about Gilles famiiarity with his slayer wasn't by the Watcher's Code. Thus his "coolness" towards her after the Angel revelation. All Comments | Link32 | TheShanshuProphecyOct 22, 2012 @ 4:19am *in reply to PippaHall (#23) Buffy didn't kill Gwen Post - the glove had to be taken so the arm had to go - but Buffy didn't cause her deathAll Comments | Link33 | SummerDec 22, 2012 @ 10:45am Nice conversation about Xander. Being a fan even I didn't really like him during the intervention because he was "way harsh, Tai". But he's highly emotional, flawed, often frustrated because of his inadequacies, torn between allegiance and love for Buffy that can't quite be reciprocated and sometimes he feels like he's the only one who can see the danger right in front of their faces. They don't exactly know what would set Angel off again. That's gotta be scary. So you can kinda see why he'd go off on her but it isn't pretty. I appreciated when Buffy kinda reached out to him in the end. She seems to respect his ability to take her to task. Still, no, the scene isn't pretty. All Comments | Link34 | Gemma Jan 18, 2013 @ 12:46pm I have much respect for Xander's character. Yes there are flaws, his jealousy and as you say Summer his inadequacies, being the only human in the group. He is growing up with this fact. In the later seasons, especially 7 he and Dawn seem to be the same character but at differing ages. Xander knows what its like growing up with a Slayer, a Witch, a Watcher, a Vampire etc He has been gallant and found his ability and nature where as Dawn is just going through this now she is no longer the Key. In a way especially in Potential, Xander is telling Dawn (during their heart to heart at the end) you don't need to have supernatural abilities to have specialness. These early seasons are his development Anyone agree? All Comments | Link35 | WaverleyJan 19, 2013 @ 2:52pm *in reply to Gemma (#34) Absolutely, I agree. When I went back to watch the entire series from the beginning, after a fairly long hiatus from watching the show, I was quite taken aback by how jealous and immature Xander could be in the early seasons. Since he's one of my favourite characters I was surprised that I even found him annoying at some stages in the reviewing. That I was so surprised speaks a lot to the character development in the show, since by the time it came to a close Xander had really matured at that stage.Interesting point about Xander and Dawn. It got me thinking - I never found Xander's jealousy and immaturity annoying on the first viewing. This is probably since I was the same age as him at the ime, and therefore just as immature (OK, moreso). I imagine a lot of the audience were at the same age too so had a similar reaction. But by the time Dawn came a long we, the audience, had grown up a bit and so probabl had less tolerance for immaturity. I'm sure this point has been made before but that's probably a major reason why Dawn often provokes a negative reaction (personally though, I never sisliked her and I thought the character brought something the show needed). It's just a shame we never got to see Dawn developed out of that immature stage much in the same way we did with Xander. All Comments | Link36 | Gemma Jan 20, 2013 @ 10:36am Waverly, i too never openly disliked Dawn, there were moments during the shows season six that i thought hold up kid no need to be that whinny! On the other hand you couldn't blame her, she lost her Dad at a young age, her Mam and Buffy albeit temporary. Giles left and perhaps both Angel and Riley's leaving affected her? She was a difficult character to truly like in the same way i liked the other scooby's (Buffy being my favourite). You're right about Xander, the first time i watched the episodes i never concluded his immaturity or jealousy as annoying. Its on my constant and frequent re-watchs that they stand out most notably his dislike of Buffy's boyfriends (except perhaps Riley..guess he considered him a regular guy?) It would be nice to have seen more of Dawn establishing her mature character, Potential was a great episode for the beginning of this process though. Dawn's concept, her creation i think may have been to have Buffy has intense about someone as she was with Angel in Season 2, particularly Surprise when he was leaving with the severed arm. Nice that it wasn't a boyfriend this time. All Comments | Link37 | SeeleJan 30, 2013 @ 8:24am *in reply to Rekidk (#6) Wow, good point. Could that also be why he goes along with the tranquilizer more easily?All Comments | Link38 | ArachneaFeb 23, 2013 @ 8:14am Like I said in an earlier episode, Xander is a necessary character: for good drama, you must have conflicts, or at least a voice that doesn't go with the flow. Also, at this age, the girls are (usually) more mature than the guys, so it makes sense that he acts more childishly. He doesn't know how to act upon his emotions and it all comes very wrongly. In the precedent episode, Jammer said that Willow/Xander secret relation isn't in character. It is very true for Willow, but not for Xander who doesn't know what and who he wants: Willow, Buffy, Cordelia ? Well, I think he never really cared for Cordy, it was just nice for him to have a girl kiss him. But if Buffy, at any moment, had sincerely asked him out, he would have dumped Cordelia in a second. Xander represents the more real average teenager and I thank the writers for that (not everyone is perfect). Giles' reaction is top notch ! He can't excuse or forgive Buffy for hiding the truth, but he can understand it. His words of disappointment have more impact than any shouting could have. I very much liked the character development for Faith. At the end, we truly see the gap between her and Buffy, just by the clothing and the discussion in a shabby room. Buffy, before becoming the slayer, had an easy life, living in a comfortable house with no concern for money, paying school, clothes or entertainment. She also has friends. Faith is alone, poor, had to deal with street life and had to rely on herself most of the time. No wonder she doesn't want to count on anyone else but herself. Most of all, we see how easy it is to blame everyone but oneself: Buffy is self-righteous on more than one occasion, judging people on things she herself has done and giving them a small good speech. Xander is self-righteous when it comes to Angel, but isn't able to see his own shortcomings. Cordelia gives quick judgements and spits them out without tact and doesn't acknowledge her shallowness (but at least her feelings ring true and she's always honest). If nothing else, the adage: love is blind couldn't be more true here. Could you still love someone who has killed hundreds of people ? Could you love someone who tortured your father figure, killed his girlfriend, threatened your mother and friends ? Well, we cannot know for sure, because love is sure blind... And that's why Xander is the necessary hated character on the show. cqfd (I don't know what letters you use in english, that's what you put at the end of a theorem in french: Ce Qu'il Fallait Démontrer/What had to be demonstrated, proven). All Comments | Link39 | MikeJer | CREATOR/ADMINFeb 23, 2013 @ 8:52am *in reply to Arachnea (#38) Who's this "Jammer" you're referring to? Are you perhaps confusing me with the Star Trek reviews Jammer? If so, thanks, his reviews are really good! Anyway, good comment! I'd just like to add that love doesn't always have to be blind and that it can be dangerous if it's too blind. It is for many people, especially younger ones. Building a mature and stable relationship, though, usually takes a lot more than blind love to work. That's not applicable to the characters at this point in the show (although it is something Buffy is beginning to learn), but it will become more apparent as the seasons go on. All Comments | Link40 | ArachneaFeb 23, 2013 @ 9:54am I am so so sorry... Now that my kids are out of the nest, I just finished re-watching Trek and yes, I was a lot on Jammer's site. Please, accept my sincere apologies MikeJer, I won't do it again ! And I agree, I'd say love is almost always blind for the first months and then, you start to build something else and if you stay blinded, the foundations of the relation are twisted. But it is very true for our young characters at this point in the show. Thanks for your answer (and again, sorry sorry sorry). All Comments | Link41 | angryundeadApr 25, 2013 @ 7:26am "Five by Five" has pretty clear roots in radio signal procedure. (Military and Amateur.) I learned about it some time in 1995 when I was getting my HAM license. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_procedure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_by_five It was also used in the movie Aliens in 1986 and the same phrase was copied by StarCraft in 1998 so it's safe to say that it was not introduced by BtvS and Faith, who didn't utter the phrase until Season 3 also in 1998. Post a Comment
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Latest News  Delays... MikeJer - Feb 24, 2013 Hey all!I just wanted to let you all know that I'm looking forward to getting going on my Season 2 review updates. I recently started a new job, so life has been extra bu... View Full Post Latest Comments Ryan ONeil [Gingerbread] *in reply to Vishal (#60) The popular theory on the forums is that:Before Buffy showed up, ... View CommentMay 21, 2013 Ryan ONeil [Consequences] *in reply to James (#30) Probably public property View CommentMay 19, 2013 Waverley [Family] This episode makes me cry like a big girly man every time. That bit where Buffy says 'Take h... View CommentMay 18, 2013 Latest Forum Posts Brachen Man [Supernatural Rewatch] "Sin City" is criminally underrated. That was Jeremy Carver's first episode as wel... View PostMay 21, 2013 Ryan ONeil [Xander Harris] The problem with DMP isn't the argument. It's A] the party being over the top and out of cha... View PostMay 20, 2013 MikeJer [Critically Touched Reviews: Frea] w00t w00t! View PostMay 19, 2013 |
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