Commenter Lookup *Caution* Unless you see an ADMIN tag, the comments below may not all belong to the same person! "Doomed" | View Comments2 | RosieSep 8, 2011 I would have given this episode a "B-". The plot regarding the demons' attempt to end the world struck me as rather lame. But the biggest strength about "Doomed" was the character developments for Buffy, Riley, Willow and Spike. And I have a deep suspicion that the demonic plot was nothing more than a catalyst for the characters' development. So, I'm giving this episode a "B-". "Becoming Pt. 2" | View Comments3 | RosieAug 17, 2011 Why on earth didn't Xander tell the cops that Buffy was not responsible for the deaths in the school library? Why didn't he? And because he didn't, Buffy spent the remainder of the episode needlessly evading the police. This episode reminds me a lot of Season 2. It was very promising, but some of the writing just got in the way and prevented it from being the masterpiece it could have been. "Dead Man's Party" | View Comments4 | RosieMar 17, 2011 ["First of all, while I can buy that the group has issues with how Buffy took off, they seem to be overdoing the anger and not at all understanding what she went through. This seems a tad out of character, especially Willow being so avoidy."] ["But the Xander/Willow reation seems to me highly exaggerated. That they bear Buffy a grudge, granted, but that this TOTAL lack of understanding and empathy? I wouldn't buy it, but here it is, and that makes the episode very annoying to me."] I was not that surprised by the Scoobies' lack of understanding. They have never really understood Buffy. Not really. Regardless of their affection or love for her, they tend to view her as "THE SLAYER". To them, she is this ideal being of goodness and not an individual with both flaws and virtues. They have always expected Buffy to understand their needs and their flaws, yet they have always had trouble understanding hers. This attitude remained solid right up to the last season. And this is why I have always questioned her friendship with them. "Chosen" | View Comments5 | RosieNov 17, 2009 The thing is it is always about context. Fans who say Buffy 'raped' these girls like the Shadowmen did are treading water on the surface. The power was only ever a burden to Buffy because she was forced to use it, or felt an obligation to use it because she was the only one who had it. Not only do Buffy and Willow reject the Shadowmen's ideology in Chosen, they reject this power being innately evil. It can be a blessing for these girls because they needn't feel obliged to use their power. It can be seen like the right to vote. Some women vote, and some don't, but at least they still have the right to it, and the power to use their voices. Technically, I believe it was a rape . . . but on the part of the three shamans, not on Buffy's part. It became a rape from the moment they were born as Potentials. This is my main problem with the Slayer line. This is not a power that any of the Slayers - past and present - and the Potentials were naturally born with or asked for. It was forced upon them by an act of magic by three men. "Get it Done" | View Comments6 | RosieNov 11, 2009 "Buffy's biggest flaw here, and this is honestly attributed to sheer lack of experience, is that she really solidifies her dictatorship over everyone. Now, there's something to be said for good structure in an army, but Buffy's in a very unique situation here. Buffy has never been successful in the past by just ordering everyone around. Buffy is at her best when she's working with her allies the best she can. Sure, Buffy should be the leader, but she isn't at her best in the role of a bossy general." Actually, this should not be much of a surprise. Buffy had no experience in being a leader. No one had ever taught her to be one. I was surprised that so many fans had expected her to automatically become a good leader in the first place. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments7 | RosieSep 21, 2009 But the fact of the matter is that I completely sympathize with Giles on this one; I feel that Buffy was far too nonchalant about the danger Spike posed. She was a hypocrite par excellence given that she said that Giles had a right to kill Angelus in "Passions" -- and this was once the man she deeply loved and would come to love again! -- and yet when the tables turn and Spike is the threat, he must be protected. The situations are similar; Buffy was eventually willing to kill Angelus despite the fact that it would also condemn Angel to death, too. And she knew full well that Angel was not responsible for his actions. Spike is in a situation where he is being controlled by the First, much like how Angel was controlled by his demon. Where is the distinction? Then Giles failed to take into account that as dangerous as Spike was, he was staying at a house with an experienced vampire slayer, a powerful witch and God knows how many Potentials. Giles was wrong. He may have had a right to be wary about Spike, but he never took into account Wood's own reasons for wanting Spike dead. And how can Giles scream about Spike being dangerous, when there was a powerful witch who had recently threatened to destroy the world also in the house. Willow still had not got her act together, as her reaction to conducting that spell in "Get It Done" proved. No one in that house was safe. Not even Spike. And just about everyone was dangerous in his or her own way. Giles never considered this, because he was driven by his own fears following the Watcher Council's destruction and his dislike of Spike. "After Life" | View Comments8 | RosieSep 18, 2009 I thought that this was a first-rate review. But I had trouble with the following: "This is very disturbing behavior and continues to illuminate the imminent disturbance in Willow's thought process. All the black magic she's been using has really blended itself in with her." It sounds as if you're trying to externalize Willow's problems with magic. You seem to be blaming the magic for her troubles and decisions . . . instead of Willow. Also, I don't believe in the term "black magic". I don't accept modern Western society's view that anything black is negative or evil. And to me, magic is neutral. It's neither good or evil. It simply is. What made the magic that Willow negative was her. Her emotions, her desires and intent, etc., had tainted the magic. The magic did not taint her. "After Life" | View Comments9 | RosieSep 17, 2009 "I think Willow's point was that since Buffy was killed supernaturally in connection with a portal to all sorts of hell dimensions opening, she fears that Buffy (well, her soul or essence or something) might be trapped in one of those. So not actual Hell as a punishment for something, but, well, no big difference." Did Willow ever tried to find out what happened to Buffy's soul? "Dead Things" | View Comments10 | RosieSep 17, 2009 First is that she's truly right: he can't understand her inner conflict because he's without a soul and essentially couldn't care less about anyone not related to his wants. This does not jibe with Spike's efforts to hide Dawn's identity from Glory in S5's "Intervention". Nor does it jibe with his treatment of Buffy, following her return from the dead in "Afterlife". Which makes me view Joss Whedon's take on what is a souled being and what is not rather questionable. "Empty Places" | View Comments11 | RosieSep 11, 2009 I have a problem with your review. I get the feeling that your emotions are getting in the way of understanding what really happened or the breakdown of relationships between Buffy and the others. I especially had a problem with the following: "Although Buffy has due cause to be a little peeved at Giles' actions a couple episodes ago and to be cautious surrounding his decisions regarding Spike, her comment about Spike being the only one watching her back is truly uncalled for. I know she's tired, I know she's frustrated, but to slap all her allies in the face with a comment like that isn't fair. Note that I'm not saying she was out of character, but rather just that she behaved poorly." You act as if you had expected Buffy to forgive Giles for his actions in "Lies My Parents Told Me". The series has gone beyond the period immediately after "Helpless". Not only did Giles betray Buffy, he has failed to show any remorse. Of course her resentment and anger toward his is going to continue. "Real Me" | View Comments12 | RosieJul 31, 2009 "The last bit to mention is how Buffy beats up Spike for information on Harmony's whereabouts. I love how she punches him in the nose again just for the fun of it." Why would you love a scene featuring Buffy acting like a bully? "Get it Done" | View Comments13 | RosieJul 8, 2009 " Buffy must lead without any substantive leadership skills or guide, and being everyone's best friend isn't necessarily going to help them win this fight either." I think that Buffy had the potential to be a good leader. But her inexperience, I believe, is rooted in the fact that Giles never really taught her to be one. He, like the rest of the Watcher's Council and the shamans - saw the Slayer as a weapon . . . and nothing more. Yet, earlier in S7, Giles dumps the Potentials on Buffy's doorstep and orders her to be their leader. Hmmmm . . . not very wise. "Get it Done" | View Comments14 | RosieJul 8, 2009 By the way, this is one of my favorite episodes from Season 7. Which is like my second or third favorite season, overall. "The Pack" | View Comments15 | RosieJul 2, 2009 In "Consequences", Faith tried to assault Xander and eventually tried to kill him. Angel came to his rescue. And yes, I was referring to "Gone". "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments16 | RosieJul 2, 2009 "I guess, Rosie, we'll have to agree to disagree. To understand Giles, we need to look at his past. Why did he become that guy in S1? See how much he'd changed and developed over the years. Anyway, I find the Buffy/Giles relationship to be special, and I feel so sad that instead of reconnecting them, they seemed to walk their separate ways, it makes watching the early seasons so painful." I understand Giles. And I understand his fears. But I think that Buffy was right to break their relationship . . . especially after he had betrayed her for the second time. As for the eventual separation of their relationship . . . it happens sometimes. Not all protegee/mentor relationships end on a "happily ever after" note. I'm surprised that Giles managed to survive, considering that many protegee/mentor relationships tend to end with the mentor's death in fiction, to represent the protagonist's growth into real adulthood. Whedon decided to take another route and end the protegee/mentor relationship in his story in another way. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments17 | RosieJul 2, 2009 "It is only when Wood kicks the shit out of him that Spike finally comes to terms with his mommy issues and his own nature as a vampire. He alleviates his guilt by abandoning it entirely, denying any responsibility for killing Wood's mother. Although it's a little crude to call the whole slayer-vampire dynamic a "game," there's a valid rational observation here. As a soulless vampire, Spike was compelled to violence via the demon within." Spike never denied any responsibility for killing Nikki Woods. He admitted it. He just didn't wallow in grief over it. And frankly, I don't blame him. Nikki Woods was a vampire slayer who believed it was her duty to kill him and many like him, with extreme prejudice. And she damn near came close to achieving her goal on that subway. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments18 | RosieJun 25, 2009 "I understand Buffy's anger and resentment toward Giles at this point, but, Rosie, you seem to be saying that Buffy is better off without Giles, is that so? I have to disagree with you here. And perhaps Giles made a few mistakes now and then, but I believe his good deeds and the help he'd given Buffy over the years outnumber his mistakes." Well, this is one topic in which we can disagree. I was never that enamoured of Giles as a mentor to begin with. The fact that he was a Watcher and participated in what I felt was an exploitive situation that left Watchers in control of vampire slayers, has not warmed me to his character. And as a fan named Shadowkat managed to point out (I'll post her article on authority figures later), Giles was not always an effective mentor. I can only hope that the vampire slayers that now follow Buffy in post-Season 7 had agreed to engage in that lifestyle via choice . . . and were not coerced, ordered or bullied into accepting the duties of a Slayer. Worst of all, he has betrayed her more than once. That is one too many times for me to feel comfortable about Buffy continuing her relationship with him. Perhaps it wasn't for you, but it was for me. "Revelations" | View Comments19 | 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. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments20 | RosieJun 22, 2009 "It was well written and well executed. Both Faith and Giles were completely believable, and in a lot of ways Faith is a bit more of a match for Giles than Buffy. Buffy is more the Slayer for his idealistic side, while Faith is more in tune with his "get it done" side." How long will it be before Faith realizes that she no longer needs Giles? What will he do? React the same way he did when Buffy finally rejected his authority? "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments21 | RosieJun 22, 2009 I haven't said that Giles going behind Buffy's back and betraying her was OOC. I think it's perfectly in character and a bad thing to do on his part. What I disliked was the show ending with Buffy and Giles losing the closeness and connection they had in the past. It wasn't about Giles' characterization in this episode, it was perfectly in character, and I don't think he was ever Pod!Giles in S7 -losing the council probably affected him negatively. I really would not have expected Buffy to retain her closeness with Giles after this. Not after this. I can understand her forgiving Giles after he had betrayed her the first time in Season 3. But he did it again . . . for the second time. And then he went on to betray her for the third time in "Empty Spaces". I think it was simply one too many times for Buffy. I'm beginning to wonder if fans had expected Season 7 to return to what it used to be in the early years . . . and when it didn't, became very disappointed. Why is it so important that Buffy and Giles maintain their protegee/mentor relationship for as long as the stories continued? Even after she became an adult? What would have been the point of Buffy's development as a character or her development from an adolescent to an adult, if she continued to maintain the same relationship with Giles? It does not make any sense to me. There are times when I wonder if fans would have preferred if Buffy had remained the 16-18 year-old through the series' seven seasons run. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments22 | RosieJun 11, 2009 My argument was why ruin one of the greatest relationships in the very last season –if we're not including S8- and not mend it appropriately? Because sometimes it happens. Everything DOES NOT ALWAYS stay the same. And by the way, Giles and Buffy never really got over their estrangement with each other, despite the truce shown in the finale. Giles never forgave Buffy for rejecting him as her authority figure. And Buffy never forgave him for backstabbing her in this episode. Especially since he NEVER SAID OR DID anything to show his remorse. And personally, I don't think that their relationship was one of the greatest on the show. When I saw Giles' dream in "Restless", I suspected that sooner or later, they would clash once Buffy started to grow up. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments23 | RosieJun 11, 2009 I think the whole point of Empty Places and Touched were to show that it's not enough for Buffy to just be a general. She needs to learn how to lead and control her troops without being dictatorial. Which is what she had learned from the Watchers' Council, by the way. Some claim that Giles was never dictatorial with Buffy. Yes, he has been . . . occasionally. I certainly recall him being just that in a Season 2 episode, in which he tried to forbade her from attending a party so that she would adhere to her Slayer duties. Frankly, that pissed me off. Giles was not her father. Technically, he had no real authority over Buffy. And although Buffy ended up attending the wrong party -some demonic frat bash - the only person who really had the right to forbade her from attending a party was Joyce. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments24 | RosieJun 10, 2009 The problem isn't the fact that the writers are trying to make Buffy more independent of Giles and make her grow up, but do they have to do it by making Giles the bad guy? Is this the first time Giles has done something behind Buffy's back or committed some questionable act, because he thought it was either for her own good, or for the "greater good"? Because this is what he had done in S7. Buffy quickly forgave Giles (a little too quickly, in my opinion) for what he had done to her in "Helpless" (S3). She even hinted to Spike that he should kill anyone who threatened Dawn's life in "The Gift". And considering her knowledge of Giles' insistence that Dawn should be sacrificed, it makes me wonder if she wanted Giles dead, if he threatened to kill Dawn. Buffy never found out that Giles had killed Ben, despite her refusal to do so. His actions in "Lies My Parents Told Me" were simply another example of Giles either going behind her back or being willing to kill someone she cared about. This is the first time, Buffy saw Giles' imperfections with "ADULT" eyes. She can no longer pretend that he is all-wise or all-dependable. Granted, Giles had expressed remorse for his actions in "Helpless". She never found out that he had killed Ben, and she had sacrificed herself in "The Gift", before Giles could attempt to sacrifice Dawn. But he failed to do express remorse in this episode. In fact, he never did apologize. In Buffy's eyes, Giles had went too far. Sometimes, relationships (like everything else in life) change . . . and you just have to deal with it. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments25 | RosieJun 9, 2009 "I'm not sure why you think Buffy was lying, since she has absolutely no reason to do so. First, if she's willing to slam the door in Giles' face regarding Spike, then she's obviously not that concerned with what he thinks. Second, her speech to Wood about "the mission" suggests she's certainly not playing around here. Third, the general theme of the episode suggests that Buffy has become this tough leader, and it goes further in saying that the slayer inevitably assumes this role. Finally, her argument makes perfect sense. Letting Dawn die, if it's necessary to save the world, is the only logical choice." I believe that Buffy was pretending to be the kind of leader that Giles wanted her to be. He wants her to be like him - willing to sacrifice anyone or her own values for "the greater good". If Buffy was willing to sacrifice Dawn, she would have been willing to kill Spike, as Giles wanted. Buffy IS NOT Giles. And I thank my lucky stars that she is not. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments26 | RosieJun 9, 2009 Sure, Buffy and Giles had betrayed each other a few times -no one is perfect and in most of those times, their reasons were understandable- but what about the times they were there for each other? Those outnumber the very few mistakes they'd made. I find it amazing that for a show that was supposed to be about female empowerment and the development of a certain female character - namely Buffy, many fans seemed to want Buffy to remain in the same relationship she had with Giles when she was a teenager. It was time for Buffy to grow up. She cannot always depend upon him. And quite frankly, Giles cannot always be depended upon. Even the show's early seasons have proven this. I still recall Giles' dream from "Restless". He seemed to want the kind of relationship in which she ALWAYS depended upon him - some kind paternalistic relationship on his part. Keeping Buffy in that same relationship would have stunted her growth, in the end . . . and go against what this show was supposed to be about. Everyone wants things to stay the same. Very few people seem incapable of accepting change. Buffy had to learn this lesson, the hard way, in Seasons 4-6. I'm beginning to suspect that many fans have yet to learn this lesson, as well. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments27 | RosieJun 9, 2009 Buffy doesn't kill vampires because they're vampires. She kills them because their inability to differentiate right from wrong (since vampires don't have souls) endangers human lives. Vampires kill not because of any inability to differentiate right from wrong. If that was the case, Spike would have never felt remorse for his actions in "Seeing Red" - before he got his soul. Vampires kill for the same reasons as humans with souls - food or emotional reasons. Humans and vampires are not really that different from an emotional and moral point of view. At least I don't think so. "Becoming Pt. 1" | View Comments28 | RosieJun 8, 2009 "Buffyholic, I totally agree with you!!! I never understood how Xander was always so forgiving of Anya, but he was never able to apply that with Angel." Because Xander, like many human beings, was a hypocrite. "The I in Team" | View Comments29 | RosieJun 8, 2009 The difference here is that this episode does not "change everything" in a good or exciting way. Professor Walsh gets killed off, which I feel was a dire mistake. What is the point in calling this a mistake, when Whedon had no choice? Lindsay Crouse was leaving the show for another acting committment. "The I in Team" | View Comments30 | RosieJun 8, 2009 "I definitely agree about the problems with this episode (and the season). Just wanted to add that I find it interesting that Giles gives Spike a speech about him using the chip to do good when later on we see Giles being very vocally against Spike when he actually DOES try to help. Either Giles changed his mind about Spike's ability to change or Spike's dismissal of him in this episode leaves a permanent strike against him." Or perhaps Giles later harbored a resentment against Spike for rejecting his help around this time. I've suspected that for years. "The Yoko Factor" | View Comments31 | RosieJun 8, 2009 RILEY: Sometimes things happen between exes and when I saw that he was bad- BUFFY: He's not bad. RILEY: Seriously? That's a good day? Well, there you go. Even when he's good he's all Mister...Billowy Coat, King of Pain. Riley certainly got Angel's number. If this had been Spike, he would have called Angel a "Drama Queen". "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments32 | RosieJun 8, 2009 "Wood knows it's the First that's prodding him toward killing Spike, and he no doubt realizes on some level that it must have a good reason for this which can't ultimately bode well for his side, but he's so fixed on avenging his mother's death that he doesn't care. Talk about questionable judgment. I wonder how Giles would have reacted if he had come to know of this." I doubt that Giles would have cared. He strikes me as the type would do "anything necessary" to achieve the greater good - which in his opinion was getting rid of a controlled Spike, whether through getting rid of the First Evil's influence or killing the vampire. By the way, despite Buffy's claim that should would sacrifice Dawn, if necessary . . . she was either lying or trying to prove that she can be the ruthless decision maker that Giles wanted her to be. "Lies My Parents Told Me" | View Comments33 | RosieJun 8, 2009 I also don't like that we'll never see Buffy and Giles making up. Thanks for ruining one of the best relationships between a man and a woman in the show, writers. It wasn't that great, considering that this was the second or third time that Giles had betrayed Buffy. But that is not surprising, considering someone of his Watcher mentality. And Buffy needed to outgrow him. "Lover's Walk" | View Comments34 | RosieJun 4, 2009 It's interesting. This is the one episode that features Buffy, Spike and Angel as a fighting team . . . and they work well together. All three of them. "The Pack" | View Comments35 | RosieApr 16, 2009 No, I think that Xander's attempted rape of Buffy was all about his feelings for Buffy. It seemed as if being possessed had released his inhibitions . . . like souless Spike's rape attempt in S6. I wonder if Xander thought of his actions when he told Dawn what Spike had done. Then again, Willow had not possessed or was souless when she committed psychic rape against Tara. I can say the same about Buffy's sexual assault of Spike or Faith's attempted rape of Xander. "Gone" | View Comments36 | RosieApr 16, 2009 This will soon spill over into having fun sex with Spike... and not beating herself up over it for a change. You do realize that this moment of fun sex started with an invisible Buffy trying to rape Spike? Right? She pushed him against a wall and started ripping off his clothes. And Spike looked genuinely frightened. It was only when she giggled and started talking when Spike realized that Buffy was in his crypt and they had consented sex. "What's My Line? Pt. 2" | View Comments37 | RosieApr 13, 2009 It's interesting that Kendra was taught that having family and friends detract from the Slayer calling. Those are the very same qualities that keep Buffy alive for so long, which Spike points out to her in "Fool for Love" (5x07). They are also the people that bring her back to life in "Bargaining Pt. 1" (6x01). It's Buffy family and friends that make her such a strong Slayer. I DISAGREE. What made Buffy a strong Slayer was that she did things her way. What made Kendra a strong Slayer was that she did things her way - namely going by the book. When Kendra tried to do things the Buffy way at the end of Season 2, she got killed. "What's My Line? Pt. 2" | View Comments38 | RosieApr 13, 2009 Mike, maybe I'm missing something, but I don't understand why Kendra wasn't able to replace Buffy in the end. Obviously, to keep the show going, but I don't think the writers even mentioned it at all when Buffy was seeing Kendra off. Kendra DID replace Buffy. She became the Slayer. The Slayer line passed through her between Season 1's "Prophecy Girl" and "Becoming". Buffy has never been THE SLAYER since "Prophecy Girl". For some reason, fans find this hard to accept. "Becoming Pt. 2" | View Comments39 | RosieApr 13, 2009 Xander never said anything to the cops about Buffy being innocent . . . even after she ran off. She returned to the hospital to see Willow. Both she and Xander (who was conscious by then) could have told the cops at the hospital that Buffy was innocent. They would have eventually exonerate her. But the writers didn't go that way. Why? It's so stupid. And why would Angelus want to destroy the world? A grand gesture of suicide? Angelus? "Season 2 Review" | View Comments40 | RosieApr 13, 2009 I don't agree with you. Season 2 has some very interesting storylines, but it had its flaws. One of them was Angelus. I found him a bore. But then I usually find sadists to be a bore. I got tired of him thinking of ways to refrain from killing Buffy. Two, I found the season's storyline rather disjoined. The presence of Spike and Drusilla barely kept it together. They weren't even the real cause of Angel losing his soul. It was Buffy. And the whole "Innocence"/"Surprise" two-parter was badly written . . . especially the few scenes that featured Angel's loss of his soul. It struck me as anti-climatic. Three, I could have been impressed by the Season finale - "Becoming" - if it were not for one or two plotlines that I found rather flawed, namely those that centered around Buffy's flight from the police and Angel's decision to end the world. Season Two is not terrible. It has some very good episodes and featured a great emotional trauma for Buffy. But . . . I think it is overrated. "Entropy" | View Comments41 | RosieFeb 8, 2009 "Spike asks Buffy why she won't sleep with him anymore. Her response, "because I don't love you," says a couple things. First is that Buffy really doesn't love Spike right now, which I believe is true." I don't. I suspect that Buffy has harbored feelings for Spike for a very long time. Longer than she has ever been willing to admit. But because of her unwillingness to embrace adulthood, Buffy has deliberately blinded herself regarding her feelings for Spike. "Grave" | View Comments42 | RosieFeb 8, 2009 I must admit that I was a little ticked off by Xander's revelation to Dawn about what happened between Buffy and Spike. "The Harsh Light of Day" | View Comments43 | RosieJan 30, 2009 "Buffy's personal woes are wonderfully integrated into the search for Spike, which has become a higher priority. While Buffy is searching she is constantly checking her messages, anxiously awaiting Parker's promised call. The call, of course, never comes and Buffy collapses on her bed in pain. She's able to eventually track Parker down and finds him using his sympathy speech on another girl. This is when she fully realises that she just got used and manipulated. Parker says he "had fun," and Buffy replies, "You had fun? Was that all it was?" In Buffy's mind, having sex is a sign of a serious relationship, and a sentiment I certainly agree with. Parker says, "I'm starting to feel like you felt what? Some kind of commitment? Are you sure that's what you want right now?" The truth is, yes, that is what she wants right now. She wants a boyfriend, a lover, and a companion. It pains me tremendously to see Buffy think that Parker's cold reaction is her fault and even apologize to him. I really feel for her and am right there with her in her confusion of the entire situation." As much as I want to sympathize with Buffy, I realized that if she and Parker had become serious, she would have ended up using him to get over Angel. In fact, that is exactly what she did when she had sex with him. Just as she will use Riley for the rest of the season and in early Season Five. "The Harsh Light of Day" | View Comments44 | RosieJan 28, 2009 Buffy gave the Gem of Amara to Angel? Was she out of her damn mind? I don't care if he had a soul. It was a soul given to him against his will. Okay. I realize that she was eighteen years old and still infatuated with him. But . . . was she out of her damn mind? "The Harsh Light of Day" | View Comments45 | RosieJan 28, 2009 "Two seasons later, he'll be pulling her into a violent, self-destructive sexual relationship!" Actually, it was the other way around. "Season 6 Review" | View Comments46 | RosieJan 28, 2009 The Willow "magic as drugs" slip-up really brings down what otherwise would have been an extremely stellar season character-wise. Throughout the entire series, Willow's biggest character flaw had always been her hunger for power and knowledge. Here in the middle of S6, though, we're told it's something entirely different. This hurts so much because the one aspect of this series I treasure the most -- and is most important to me, by far -- is the consistent and intimate evolution of a wonderful group of characters. When the writers' slip in this area, I really feel it. I'll get into the specifics of this large mistake when I talk about Willow down below. In short: it single-handedly costed the season an A-range grade. I don't think many fans truly understood what addiction was really about. Also, I feel that your judgement of Willow's character and Season 6 character arc was really off the mark. I get the feeling that you had adopted the Scoobies' assessment of Willow's addiction of magic. They had assumed - quite wrongly - that Willow's use of magic was some kind of addiction that had sprung up from no where. They felt that as long as Willow stopped using magic, everything would be hunky dory. As Whedon proved at the end of S6 and later S7, Willow's magic addiction was a product of her own personal insecurities. This has been obvious since S1, when she latched herself onto helping Buffy fight supernatural bad guys. Willow was always using something or someone to hid from her insecurities - whether it was her role as a Scooby, her computer skills, her romances with Oz and Tara, and Xander's views of her. If there is one thing she used more to hide from her insecurities - and upon which she became addicted to - it was her role as a witch and use of magic. This was especially apparent since S3 and it finally blew up in her face in S6. I'm only surprised that you had never noticed this. "Living Conditions" | View Comments47 | RosieJan 19, 2009 I found Kathy's encounter with her father rather amusing. It wasn't that original, but I liked it anyway. "Gone" | View Comments48 | RosieJan 12, 2009 "That's really the episode's problem in a nutshell. They don't tackle Buffy's problems satisfactorily, they turn them into a joke. A bad joke. At the same time, they make a mockery of a very serious issue, and make out Buffy's disgusting actions to be a laugh." I have to agree. One of the prime examples of the writer turning Buffy's transgressions into a joke, was her attempt to sexually assault Spike. It seems interesting that if she had not giggled while assaulting him, Spike would have never recognized her voice . . . and eventually consent to having sex with her. Which makes me wonder . . . if Buffy had not given herself away, would she have have continued to assault Spike? "Into the Woods" | View Comments49 | RosieDec 23, 2008 Shular's description of the end of the Buffy/Riley relationship strikes me as being the only one that really makes sense. After all, it takes two to break up a relationship. Riley should have taken the time to make a life for himself outside of Buffy. Then again, perhaps the reason he had failed to do so was that the only life he really wanted was in the military. Personally, I see nothing wrong with that. As long as Riley went through life with his eyes opened and without the naivety that Maggie Walsh had exploited in the past . . . he could be on the right track. But Riley tried to make his life all about Buffy (just as Spike would attempt in the next two seasons) and it was a mistake on his part. Even worse, he failed to inform Buffy of his true feelings until it was too late. He had failed to communicate with Buffy. On the other hand, Buffy had been using Riley as rebound from Day One of their relationship. She was not only rebounding from Angel's departure, but also from the idea of a relationship with a supernatural being. And it was a mistake. There is a chance that some part of her had deep feelings for him, but I doubt that it was enough for a long term relationship. But the one thing that really annoyed me was Buffy's habit of treating Riley like fine china, following the operation to remove his physical enhancements in "Out of My Mind". She failed to remember that Riley was an experienced demon hunter, who could help her deal with vampires, demons, etc. a little more effectively than the other Scoobies. It almost seemed as if Buffy was treating Riley with a patriarchal air. And that was a major mistake for a masculine personality such as Riley. Perhaps that was the problem with the pair. Both, in their own way possessed a masculine persona. And instead of a balance between two people, it created conflict in the end. "Restless" | View Comments50 | RosieDec 22, 2008 "Poor Giles. I wonder how much easier it would have been for him to be surrogate father and authority figure to Buffy if he hadn’t had that deeply buried (and, of course, never expressed) crush on her." He does????? "Restless" | View Comments51 | RosieDec 22, 2008 "If the entity that stalked and “killed” Willow, Xander, and Giles, and tried to persuade Buffy to let them stay dead was the First Slayer or the spirit of the First Slayer herself, then her main motive seems to have been envy, mixed with a certain I-know-what’s-best quality that we may have noticed in Buffy herself from time to time. According to this interpretation, the combination spell rubbed the First Slayer’s nose in the fact that Buffy has all those things she didn’t have (friends, freedom, a life), and that’s what brought on the retribution." I don't think I agree with this. I think that the First Slayer knew what she was talking about when she said that "we" or all Slayers are alone. In fact, she might as well could have been speaking for all individuals. After all, no matter how many people you surround yourself with, you're always alone. I also feel that the First Slayer ended up being proven right in episodes like "The Gift" and "Empty Places". "Becoming Pt. 2" | View Comments52 | RosieDec 21, 2008 I have some problems with this episode. One, why didn't Xander tell the police that Buffy was not responsible for the attacks inside the library? Two, what was the purpose of Angelus unleashing Acathla? To unleash chaos and hell upon the Earth? The Earth is already swimming in a hellish chaos without demons - even in Buffyverse. "Entropy" | View Comments53 | RosieDec 21, 2008 First is that Buffy really doesn't love Spike right now, which I believe is true. I believe that she loved Spike, even as far back as this episode. Hence, her reaction to seeing him having sex with Anya. She won't admit it because she thinks it's morally wrong to have feelings for a "soulless" vampire. |
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 buffyholic [Supernatural Rewatch] I agree that Mark Pellegrino is amazing as Lucifer. But season five isnīt all that perfect... View PostMay 22, 2013 buffyholic [Dexter] The trailer for season 8 has been released. What do you think will happen? And how do you f... View PostMay 22, 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 |
["But sadly everyone adores this episode which is actually very weak in my opinion. Each of my points should be more than enough for *not* giving 100%."]
Not everyone adores this episode. I don't.