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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7

(So far, I never tagged for the ship that was just mentioned in a section, but I admit, this turned into a whole Spuffy love fest, so it gets the pairing tag!)

1. Favorite character of this season?

Bit of a tie. Buffy, for one. In general, Buffy is such a freaking amazing character and she is honestly outstanding every season – she is such a complex and well-rounded character. She gets to be goofy, sweet, gentle, kind, strong, tough, broken, weak, helpless, hopeless, wrong.

She really carries this season. Even when she lashes out, the narrative never portrays her as “that bitch” - as so many female characters who lash out often end up as. No. She has a point. She's sharing her home with like twenty other people, most who do let her carry them. The end of the world is near, again, and it's up to her to stop it, again.

The other half is Spike. Spike is... the backbone of this season. He supports Buffy, he is there when needed, I mean he literally saves the world in the end. He has so much growth, as he adjusts to his soul. He is so... soft and supportive this season? He's exactly what Buffy needs this season.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Kennedy, I really like Kennedy. I like that she's not Tara, she's not just... Willow replacing Tara, not just a rebound, but it's also clear that what they have isn't some all-defying love. Kennedy is rough and brash, but funny.

3. Favorite character dynamic?

Faith and Buffy. Honestly, I really don't like Faith's character. Season 7's Faith is one I truly enjoy – she has had her redemption, or is in the middle of getting it, she's genuinely trying. And the dynamic between the two shifts. It's more equal. Most of the time, it was the Golden Girl and the Bad Girl. Now, they're just... both the Slayers. It's great.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

SPUFFY. I can't express how much I love this season's Spuffy. Spike, back with the soul. Spike, vulnerable, messed with, getting kidnapped and tortured by the bad guy – and Buffy comes to save him. Even when she can't find any plausible reason for why they need to prioritize saving Spike, when she's struggling to find words for it, she still does. Also, a lot of tied-up Spike, which is a genuinely good visual, but that's just me.

The way Buffy is so protective of Spike just completely murders me. Not just how she comes after him to save him, she... really prioritizes him a lot this season. When she gets his chip removed and tells Giles that she believes he can be a good man, that she firmly believes that... My heart.

And throughout this season, Spike really is the only one who constantly 100% has Buffy's back. Everyone else fails her at some point, some deliberately, others don't (I can't blame Willow for being afraid of her powers, but it still stands that the apocalypse is upon them and she is too afraid to use her powers nearly all the time). Robin and Giles just flat-out conspire against her at one point, with the explicit goal of killing Spike. Everyone leaves her hanging one way or another.

Only Spike's constantly there for her. Has her back, in the fight, in training the newbies, in everything. Even when absolutely everyone else, including her own sister, turn against her, kick her out of her own home? He's the only one on her side.

Spike is there when Buffy needs him the most. Spike is there when no one else is.

Their heart-to-heart just before the grand finale. The grand finale itself – I swear, the fact that they bring Spike back to life is literally the only thing justifying Angel the Series' existence. Still, seeing Spike sacrifice himself breaks my heart every single time.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

There isn't really romance going on beyond Spuffy and Willow/Kennedy and I like them both. Heck, I really dig Robin/Faith and that barely counts as a ship considering it's only a one-night-stand. So, I kind of don't have a least favorite this season.

Maybe the Xander/Anya? That they're trying to awkwardly rekindle... just to kill off Anya.

6. Favorite episode?

7x20 Touched. Spike giving them a speech about being traitors after they betrayed Buffy? So incredibly satisfying. Him standing up for her? And even before that, them all struggling with this nonsense because Buffy's right, a democracy doesn't work for this situation. Just everyone wasting time by talking over each other. Them being just as lost. Gee, now wonder what Buffy felt like.

Spike fighting Buffy and just... holding her, comforting her. That's... genuinely, this is my favorite Spuffy scene in this entire show, because it was when she needed it – him – the most.

And then there's the Robin/Faith, which honestly I really dig. Buffy gets her incredibly amazing special weapon, while the arrogant group that thought they know oh-so much better... gee, ran into a trap of their own. That was very satisfying after the last episode, honestly.

7. Least favorite episode?

7x19 Empty Places. I hate this episode so much.

Buffy makes one mistake that leads to injuries and suddenly everyone turns on her. Giles, Willow, Xander, Dawn, every single Potential. Everyone turns on her after one bad judgment call. She died twice to save the world, she has made all the bad decisions for the past seven years and she makes one mistake but suddenly they... vote her out of her own house? Dawn acting like this little girl has any authority and kicking Buffy out of her own home? Holy shit that's some bullshit.

And sure, her plan that got the girls hurt and Xander lose his eye, it was reckless. But it wasn't the most reckless thing she had ever done? It made sense. Attack the bad guys. To to overwhelm them.

One mistake and everyone turns their backs on her. Giles barking out about how Buffy doesn't trust them? What reason does she have? What? Only just two episodes ago, Giles had conspired with Robin to kill Spike, he deliberately distracted her and tricked her. Why should she trust him, right now? The children who are running scared, hiding behind her when there's danger? Willow, who is too afraid to use her own powers? Anya, whose only power right now is her snark? Who, who among them was she supposed to rely on? None of them were either capable or willing to have her back. And look where it got her! Everyone stabbed her hard in the back after one mistake.

After everything Faith has done in the past, the Scoobies are more willing to make her their leader than Buffy? And the thing that really gets me is... Faith is literally the most loyal here? She doesn't want to lead. But those little brats and the Scoobies decide she should be the leader now.

And even after, no one... apologizes. Buffy spends so much of 7x21 reassuring everyone that the trap Faith led them into wasn't Faith's fault and how that could have happened to anyone – reassured the Potentials and Faith herself. But that seems so incredibly hypocritical after they kick Buffy outta the club for... the exact same thing having happened to her before? Leading them into a trap without knowing it's a trap. But no one reassured her, no one stuck up for her, instead they decided to just... vote her out of her own home and the group for it. That one really shows just what an amazing and outstanding character Buffy is, she is the bigger woman.

She is not flawless. She did make bad decisions this season. I'm not saying she didn't fuck up by leading them into the first trap, but it definitely didn't deserve her to be treated with so much disrespect after everything she did do for them all...?

I swear, that whole episode was one huge pile of character assassinations. Seven years. Fuck y'all.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

We don't really have one-off villains this season, I mean I can count them on one hand and have fingers left to wiggle, really. If it counts, I'd say Anya in 7x05 Selfless, because her returning to vengeance was... logical. But her not finding her footing there either also fit. The fact that she did this horrible thing and came to regret it, the way they blew off. It was good.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

The Gnarl from 7x03 Same Time, Same Place – this was one monster of the week I never forgot, because it's terrifyingly gross. The visual of it cutting up Willow's belly and eating her skin while she is conscious and alive? Absolutely disgusting. Hate it.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

I mean, it does a lot of taunting. Doesn't do much itself, really. But I do love the way it shapeshifts – it is such a good opportunity of bringing back faces from the past in the final season. I love when a show manages to tie that in without just going “here's a Best Of highlight-rail”. Also, there really isn't a more befitting final Big Bad than the literal First Evil. So it's pretty perfect.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

I am incomprehensibly mad at 7x19. This season's Dawn was my favorite, she had so much growth and then that moment of just... kicking Buffy out of their home? And... just, no reconciliation. Between any of them, Buffy just accepts them all back without anyone apologizing.

Other than that, I genuinely love this season so freaking much? Throughout such high individual episode rankings, aside from this one episode, so many 4s. This is such an incredible ending for an incredible show. That final show-down – and I don't mean just the literal final show-down, but this entire choice of what's to come and how it unfolds. It's the perfect ending. The choice to make every Potential an actual Slayer. Game-changing finale.

#Spuffy #Spike #Buffy Summers #Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Season 7 #Buffy Review #Phoe Watching Buffy

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kimmycup · 3 years

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FrostIron Prompt inspired by @peaceheather

So like, I’ve seen the whole immortality thing done through golden apples or soulbonds so often, but the general rule seems to always be that to fix the whole “Tony is mortal” thing the problem is approached from the outside, or rather, so to say, from the perspective that Tony is mortal like all Midgardians are.

But what if that’s not the case. What if Tony has innate magic ability, and that’s actually how he survives so many overly dangerous situations? What if actually the arc reactor should have never worked in miniature according to the laws of physics, and only Tony’s seidr allowed it to happen?

And Loki doesn’t have to make Tony immortal because Tony’s magic has that potential, Loki just needs to tutor Tony in magic (and that’s not gonna take much convincing).

I was also thinking this could have a fun twist on their penthouse confrontation that I do not think I’ve read before (if any of you did, totally link me) - namely, the moment Loki touches the arc reactor with the scepter, instead of nothing happening, he’s essentially blown off because the magic of the reactor and the infinity stone clash. And that’s how The Other’s hold over Loki’s mind gets broken.

#im going to post this on discord too #i dont think i have enough plot and definitely not enough time to write it #but i also wanted to put it here where i can give credit #i am reading the tyrsson series now so this is inspired by mimir #also i never realized before but like peaceheather was my favourite merlin author and now my favourite marvel author #so that was those two common fandoms #but i never realized that actually also sherlock and now ouat XD #its kind of funny how sometimes your fandoms end up overlapping unintentionally #like i followed authors to new fandoms before but this was totally accidental #guess now i have to watch buffy too #which was already on my list thanks to phoe #frostiron #prompt #fic idea

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 4

1. Favorite character of this season?

Spike. I loved him as the villain in seasons prior, but this is the start of slowly turning good Spike and especially this whacky in-between phase is such a delight. He's clearly not good, but he still involuntarily helps some. Also, lots of tied up Spike, which is a nice visual (sue me).

I love his dynamic with Willow, it's weird. I loooved when he was living with Giles, I adore the snark that goes on between those two, the banter is delightful. Him living with Xander was so much fun. I just really enjoy his journey and season 4 in particular is such a wild ride there.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

HARMONY KENDALL. I love Harmony. I think Harm is an underrated character. Honestly, I mean I am going beyond season 4 here but – she stays herself? She is a vampire, but she is still Harmony. If anything, becoming a vampire actually improved her. Everyone loses their soul and turns into careless killers, she learns self-help books, gets out of an abusive relationship and learns her own worth. Especially under this universe's premise of what vampires are supposed to be and what the bite is supposed to do to a human, I find her character development absolutely fascinating!

3. Favorite character dynamic?

It really is Spike and Giles. What they have is so peculiar, it is peak snarky banter, it is so much fun to watch. In a season I overall didn't like much because of the military nonsense, this was an utter delight and one of the things that still made me love it in a way.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

TARA/WILLOW. MY FIRST CANON LESBIANS.

And look, I will not be that easily baited with canon gays generally, but... these two? They were the first lesbians I got to see on screen as a child. The first. They shaped me fundamentally, they mean so much to me on a much deeper level for that because they really were the first time I saw that a girl can like a girl, that a girl doesn't have to like a guy.

Willow's storyline means so much to me, because you can taste the heteronormativity in her early upbringing, everything about her – including Xander and Oz – makes perfect sense to me, as a lesbian who grew up in a heteronormative world. And the gentle, curious manner in which she came out and how she fell in love with Tara, the way those two just... came together, it means so much to me because it meant so much to me growing up.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

Honestly, Riley and Buffy. I just... I care a negative amount about this and considering the fandom discussion is always Buffy/Angel vs Buffy/Spike, I gather the majority of fandom doesn't quite care either. It's just... so boring and plain most of the time? And actively not my cup of tea the rest of the time – when he goes full Good Military Soldier Boi.

6. Favorite episode?

The favorite episode this season was 04x09 Something Blue – it is just... whacky and fun and it gave me my first Spuffy aesthetic. But in a fun way. I really love this episode, there is no evil to fight, just a spell gone wrong with hilarious outcomes.

7. Least favorite episode?

So I have this rating system, where I rate every individual episode something from 1 – really forgettable or really cringey – to 5 – outstandingly favorite episode. Season 1 had one episode in it that was a 1 for me, season 2 had three such episodes, season 3 had four, but season 4 actually has ten of them so that's a bit too much to list them all. There just are too many episodes I didn't enjoy in this season and it greatly links to the fact that I hate the overarching villain of this season – usually the 1 rated episodes end up being dumb filler episodes.

So... I guess the worst offender is the one where they make Oz, of all characters, cheat and then have the morally offended Willow, who had cheated first. I mean, her cheating on Oz does certainly not justify that he cheats on her, but the hypocrisy of it was still very over the top. I really hate that this is how they ended that relationship and that this is how they write Oz out of the show, by making him cheat on her because the animalistic draw is too strong. What a load of crap that was.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

The Gentlemen were delightfully creepy and weird one-off villains who gave their episode such a different flare, it is one of my favorites definitely and they are some of my favorite Buffy villains.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

I do think another weakness of this season is it's lack of good Monsters Of The Week.

I mean, seriously, this is the season where a bitch demon roommate is trying to steal Buffy's soul? A Poltergeist triggered by Riley/Buffy fucking too much, I mean seriously? A barkeeper who turns people into Neanderthals with beer... And that's not mentioning the awkward Thanksgiving episode where they have a moral dilemma over whether or not the vengeful native American warrior spirit ought to be killed or not because he kinda has a point you know. There aren't many one-off monsters in this season and the majority of them are... not impressive, really.

But I guess if I'd have to pick one, it'd be the “Buffy's sexuality is bad!” episode then. Aka, Buffy and Riley fuck so much that they awaken a Poltergeist, indirectly shaming Buffy once again for her sexuality. Which. Not a good look, you know. Also, just really weird concept there.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

Sucks. Seriously. Every villain is somehow engaging or has something about them that makes them interesting, but the Initiative? It's just the military with its blind, obedient soldier boys who don't question jackshit, which really does account for 50% of the trouble in this season. Walsh could have been a great villain but she was offed barely after being revealed to be a bad guy and then her version of Frankenstein's monster becomes to actual endgame villain and literally nothing about Adam is interesting or appealing or engaging. He ponders philosophical questions, but not in a manner that has you trying to hash them out alongside him, it is awkward and tedious to watch.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

It's just an overall relatively awkward... adjustment phase. I understand that. Seasons 1 to 3 were the high school phase with set roles for everyone. Seasons 5 to 7 are the adult phases. And season 4 is that figuring yourself out season – Giles is without a job, not sure if he is still a watcher, Willow comes to terms with being a lesbian, Oz leaves to figure out the wolf inside of him, Xander goes from job to job not knowing where he fits in, Buffy struggles with where she wants to land in life, Spike is somewhere in the middle between helpful and villain. But if everyone including the overarching plot are 'somewhere in the middle', the entire thing becomes... muddled and awkward.

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Buffy Review #Phoe Watching Buffy #Phoe's Random Show Rants #TV Show Review

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6

1. Favorite character of this season?

I absolutely love how they dedicated this season to Buffy's issues. She died. And was ripped out of heaven. She lost her mom and was suddenly forced into being the adult in the house. It's so much and she gets to break about it. Yes, she hurts the people around her, but honestly... it kind of figures? How is one supposed to adjust to what she is trying to adjust to? But over the season, the wake-up calls she gets – the asylum episode, Dawn's stealing, Willow's addiction and then the grand finale that makes her realize she wants to be in this world – it's so great, because it goes... slowly.

My biggest issue with most modern TV is that it's basically torture porn. The main character is put through impossibly traumatizing ordeals but is never even given the chance to cope, to try and deal with it. The issues are never addressed, only glossed over because actually dealing with them would require care and good writing and take time away from all the other drama going on! So characters are only traumatized for shock-value and then are immediately over it, even though it's unrealistic.

This season is a season of trauma. A season of bad coping mechanism, of pushing people away but still seeking someone where she can feel safe – Spike. She slowly has to relearn to open up and let them in, she has to learn to want to live again. And it's hard. And the show doesn't shy away from it, it doesn't shy away from her making the wrong choices, because... there is no one right choice that is obvious when dealing with the trauma she has faced.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Negative. Jonathan. I just... I really truly hate that Jonathan is in the trio. Of all people, Jonathan. The one who gave Buffy her class-protector award with that heart-warming speech. Buffy was the one person who saved him, personally, when he wanted to commit suicide. Even after the Jonathan Superstar episode, Buffy was gentle and understanding with him. It just... for him, to turn supervillain like that was incredibly disappointing for me.

3. Favorite character dynamic?

I genuinely love the Tara-Dawn dynamic. Tara and Willow raised her for months while Buffy was dead. But the Giles-Anya dynamic is also so great – I'm very soft for the way Anya points out her hair is blonde in the finale like “Buffy is getting hugs for short hair. I too would like a hug”.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

Buffy and Spike... in the first half of the season. The way she found him to open up to, he was the only one she voluntarily told about having been in heaven. She finds a connection to him. The way he loves her – that he stayed, for months, even though she was dead, because he had promised her to take care of Dawn and he didn't just do that, he helped the Scoobies protect Sunnydale. He had no reason to and it still... it bothers me so much that everyone continuously belittles Spike's love for Buffy like it's not there. If he was only lusting after her, he would have ditched town after her death, he wouldn't have helped defend Sunnydale and take care of Dawn.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

I'm having flashbacks here but it's a tie and it's because of shit decisions Xander and Willow made.

It's strange, I want to love Willow and – as a friend – she is a great character, but she's just... a shitty partner? She cheated on Oz for weeks or months with Xander and now she used magic to play with Tara's mind. That is so... violating and disturbing and that, after Tara found out and confronted her about it and pointed out how incredibly wrong that was, even more so with Tara's past, Willow just went and immediately did it again. And this isn't something you can blame the addiction for; this was just “I don't want my girlfriend mad at me so I'll erase her memories”. It's... just so bad.

The other being Xander and Anya, even though I love Xander and Anya together, but... the entire season was a steady build-up to “Xander REALLY doesn't wanna get married”, literally from the first episode on. He tried to hide the engagement as long as possible. Then he just... makes these disturbed faces every time someone brings up the married life. They had a whole sing and dance number about their doubts. It's just so very evidently clear that he doesn't want to get married, but he takes until the wedding itself to realize and just... leaves Anya at the altar and then thinks he can get her back? Genuinely thinks they could just go back to being in a relationship? But after leaving her at the altar acting like she owes him something – when he watches her and Spike have sex?

Sometimes, it feels like Xander and Willow really live to sabotage their own happiness.

6. Favorite episode?

Once More With Feeling – it's just one of the most outstanding episodes, really! The songs are so brilliant, the emotional arcs this episode for everyone – from the Spuffy to the per-marital issues between Anya and Xander to Tara and Giles' doubts. It's really brilliant. Many shows after have tried to make a musical episode happen and, with luck, they're fun or comic-relief, but... none have lived up to the standard set by this one.

7. Least favorite episode?

Oh, that's an easy one. 6x19 Seeing Red, where they made... Spike, at this point honestly, completely OoC by having him try to rape Buffy. That will never come off as anything but OoC, not after all that has happened between them. Yes, they are violent with each other – but that's a mutual thing, they hurt each other. This was... terrifying to watch as a teen and it hasn't stopped being upsetting and disturbing. And then they top the episode off with Tara being fridged.

I know fridging is technically the act of killing a female character for the sake of a male character's suffering, but... it's gay fridging? It's not even entirely a Bury Your Gay; Tara dies specifically for the pain and suffering of her lover. After everything Tara's been through in life and after everything Willow has put her through this season, they barely just rekindled... and she gets killed off.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

Aesthetically and what he brought to the show? Sweet from Once More, With Feeling.

But I think that Stewart from Hell's Bells also really stood out. The fact that Anya's past came back to haunt her – because she was a demon for a century and she tortured people for a living. She doesn't even remember this guy whose life she ruined and he comes in to ruin her wedding. And in the end... he wasn't even the one to ruin it, the viewer gets one last moment of hope when it's revealed this was a fake-out, that he was not “Xander from the future” but a vengeful demon... but even without Stewart, the wedding didn't happen.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

Not too many monsters of the week going on, really. Probably Wig Lady from 6x12 Doublemeat Palace, because all the implications of cannibalism in that episode were really very disturbing.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

Brilliant. 10/10. Holds up so well.

Seriously, there is this... frustrating part where Xander's character just does not hold up at all because of the casual sexism and gross over-sexualization of his female friends. Which figures, because that's how a Nice Nerdy Guy was defined in the 90s (and, if you look at modern TV aimed at nerdy guys like The Big Bang Theory, still is). It's just a trope from TV and movies that for some reason really worked back then but nowadays when we look at sexism and the behavior of men toward women with different eyes, it is really appalling and upsetting.

In the case of the nerd trio, this worked out really well for the show, because it only makes them even more effective villains. They are ridiculous losers, total nerds who think they are owed womens' attention. Their schemes are literally straight out of comics but for the dumbest purposes – they make an invisibility ray so they can go into a women's only spa to spy on naked ladies. They create mind-control devices but for the purpose of enslaving women into their sex-puppets.

It is so gross, so ridiculous and inexplicably still somehow funny, because it's straight out of comics. Freeze-rays? Invisibility-rays? Self-destructing lairs? Jet-packs? It is not out of this world, this isn't how Buffy the Vampire Slayer operates, this is a show about monsters and demons and they're turning it into a whacky scifi show and it works.

Then there's the fact that they're just... three dumb losers? I mean, last season, Buffy literally slayed a god. Shows like to escalate. The Big Bads become bigger and badder each season, but... where do you go after you killed a god? Instead of trying to immediately one-up the villain factor, they did something incredibly brilliant. They took all the steps back.

The villains aren't the focus of this season. The focus of this season is what I answered in the first part of this post. Buffy's mental health and readjustment. You can't only focus on that though, you do need a villain and for that, an overarching villain of some loser nerd bois who fail the majority of time are perfect. They're nuisances that make Buffy's life marginally harder at times, but they're not an overall, serious, actual threat that may end the world.

And still they... got Tara killed. In such a... human manner. An angry man-child who hates women comes in with a gun and shoots her. And there's nothing the demon-slaying good guys can do about it. The bullet hits – not the target it was intended for – and takes an innocent life. Just like that, Warren manages what the hellish bad guys from previous seasons hadn't managed; he kills a Scoobie. Angelus killed Jenny, Drusilla killed Kendra, those were the only major deaths at the hands of villains that we had on this show so far and both were minor characters.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

Dawn was so draining this season; she got better in the last quarter of the season but the majority of it... The stealing, the behavior, the blaming Buffy for absolutely everything – Willow got addicted to magic, it's Buffy's fault, they have no money and Buffy has to go and work to earn money and it's Buffy's fault that she's not home, Buffy died to save Dawn and somehow it's Buffy's fault too because she left Dawn. Just... how can you possibly be this self-centered...? It's so exhausting, even more so in the season that has Buffy suffering the most and instead of being a supportive, helpful sister, Dawn acts like she's the victim of everything...

And I understand, Dawn has been through a lot too – losing her mother, losing Buffy, learning she isn't human but just a mass of energy – but there is a difference between suffering yourself and placing all the blame on other people and pretending that the world is against you, instead of tackling your own issues and problems yourself? And stealing from your friends, at that.

And no, being fifteen isn't an excuse for not seeing beyond yourself. Fifteen year olds are sure old enough to be self-aware... This “fifteen year olds only see themselves and only care about their own suffering and everybody else is to be blamed for how shit their life is” is just... another cringey Teen Girl Trope. Seriously, why did they just cram every single bad trope into this character...

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Buffy Review #Phoe Watching Buffy #Season 6

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5

1. Favorite character of this season?

Anya, I love her arc this season. She's just kind of been... there, in season 4, running along. No one really acknowledged the demon thing, there was no real bonding between Anya and everyone, she was just there. This season, finding her place in the world? Working at the Magic Box, then her in The Body – I mean seriously, her confronting mortality like that, I love it. I love her growth.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Dawn. Sure, technically you could argue she's a “main character”, however... she's barely even a character, she's a plot-device so that really qualifies her as a minor character for me.

I always disliked Dawn, even when I was a teen myself. With some things, perspective shifts when you grow older, but Dawn just... always sucked. As a teen, I found her to be a cringey parody of the teen girl experience and now as an adult I still think that this is the peak of what a middle-aged man thinks the teen girl experience is. She's a cheap, one-dimensional caricature of a teenager.

She is a whiny brat, she constantly acts like “no one sees the real me”, she becomes a kleptomaniac to try and gain attention, she acts like no one loves her even though everyone constantly fawn over her every chance they got, she is a spoiled little brat that is completely unappreciative of all the things she gets. It's like they crammed every single shallow teen stereotype into this one character, making her a very one-dimensional character. Which is a bafflement considering Willow, Xander and Buffy started out as teenagers but they were always fully fleshed out characters with actual personalities. Heck, Cordelia was the most stereotypical character in the teenage years but even she got more depth and individuality.

Though I'd like to point out that while, as a character, Dawn is incredibly obnoxious, I do like her as what she is – a plot device. The way she creates new dynamics among the Scoobies, how other characters play off her and grow on her existence, the villain-plot she triggers.

3. Favorite character dynamic?

Too many, honestly. I adore the way Tara-Buffy grow in this season. Generally the friction between Spike and the Scoobies. Spike and Dawn in particular. The Buffy-Dawn dynamic too – Dawn being such a blank slate of Teen AngstTM allows for the other characters to shine in comparison. They get a new dynamic here, through the New Kiddo that puts them in perspective. Caring, gentle. The sisters-angle is a new one for Buffy and I do love her as a big sister, even if I wished her retconned sister had like... an actual personality.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

Spike/Buffy. Sue me, I'm Spuffy trash. Always been. The way he cares for her, the things he's willing to do. The little things. The self-sacrificial side, how he drops everything to help her whenever she needs him. And, I know, I give other ships flag for things equal or less in comparison to some of the shit that's happened/happening between Spike/Buffy, but see that's where taste comes into play. Liking and disliking things is just... all about that taste and tastes differ. For me, Spike/Buffy hits all the right spots. I love them so much.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

Riley/Buffy. Once again. Seriously, this is just such a bad relationship. From the get-go she constantly put herself down to lift him up. Holding back her powers – which, of course, because otherwise she'd snap him in half during sparring – but pretending that's the max. She is always going out of her way to make him feel special and useful.

And he goes and gets fed on by a vampire and has the audacity to blame it on Buffy, because Buffy doesn't make him feel wanted enough. Even though she continuously tries making him feel important. It's ridiculous. Complaining that she didn't think about calling him when her mom went to the hospital, like she didn't have something else in her mind there? Setting her an ultimatum that she has to give him a reason to stay. After he essentially cheats on her, by sneaking around with vampires and letting them feed on him for the rush.

Now to go and leave with his little military buddies once more. After everything the military has done to him...? Their relationship was so bad for Buffy.

6. Favorite episode?

The Body. This is the singularly best episode... ever. In all television I've ever seen. This episode is overwhelmingly good. Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting is overwhelming in this episode. The choice to exclude music entirely, not even sad ones. How silence is allowed to longer, how unnerving the background noises become due to this silence.

The writing too, of course. Anya's words about death and mortality are so intense, they'll always stick with me. And not just her. Xander, Willow, Dawn, how they all handle this in a different way.

The choice alone that Joyce dies from something so fundamentally human, something no one could have prevented, something Buffy couldn't have fought. And – yes, that reaches ahead some – but the fact that the next episode also serves to have this unfold. It's not just “death and move on”. It's being dealt with, it's being digested, it's being taken seriously.

Too many writers feel the need to fun things up when it's getting serious, because they are afraid to lose their audience if there isn't a joke every five minutes. There is not a single joke in that entire episode. This show is funny as hell, but they know when not to joke. There is nothing to be made light here, this is serious, they are truly suffering. They know how important that is.

I've seen this episode surely a dozen times now. I cry so much every single time. Not just once. There are so many well-written, well-acted and well-executed moments in this episode. It's brilliant TV-making. It encapsulates what's so brilliant about this show overall; the human element, suffering, pain, dealing with pain, the balance between seriousness and humor and knowing when not to use humor.

7. Least favorite episode?

Episode two Real Me. It's the Dawn introduction episode and I've made clear what I dislike about Dawn; this episode introduces it all in the most teen angst cliche possible – writing a diary entry about how no one sees you for who you are and like no one could ever actually understand you.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

...Dracula. I still... I consider that episode a fever-dream. It's one of the ones I opt to forget about whenever enough time has passed since my last rewatch because it just... doesn't fit into this show at all, it feels like a whacky filler arc in an anime, or a one-shot comic spin-off. But it's fun.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

This season doesn't actually have much of those. There's 4 or 5, depending on how you'd count, out of those 22, because this season is very streamlined about the Big Bad, more so than previous seasons were, and it is also very focused on the human issue – on Joyce's sickness and then her death. Out of those few, I guess the “let's split Xander in half” demon from episode 3 was my least favorite. It was... boring and due to this season's streamlining the fact that this was the most fillery filler episode felt a bit out of place, really.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

SO FREAKING GOOD.

Glory is a truly glorious villain. She's a god. But she is so – so frantic, so manic. She is fun to watch as a villain. The sheer size of the threat too. Which, it figures. There's always an escalation of threat.

(We will get back to that in the season 6 review though.)

Glory may just be my favorite Big Bad on this show, which only adds to how much I love this season. It's one of my favorites. Granted, I have a lot of favorite seasons.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

I love this season so very, very much. The human element, the growth, the villain-plot, the relationship developments. It's an incredible season. I'll get back to this when I finish my rewatch and actually do my ranking of seasons, but I am rating each episode – 1 to 5 – and getting the point-average, to have a more factual look at how much I loved a season. This one is through the roof, it scored an entire 1,5 more in average than season 4 did. There's only one episode in this that I gave a 1 to, but there are so many 4s.

That ending, to truly kill off your main character like that. So many gut-punches – but deserved gut-punches, not the ones that come out of nowhere and only serve shock-value.

I greatly enjoy and love seasons 1 to 3, but this season – this season reminds me why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best damn TV show ever created.

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Season 5 #Phoe's Random Show Rants #Buffy Review #Phoe Watching Buffy

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy: Season 2

I took a slight break from my BtVS rewatch because some new seasons to shows dropped that I didn’t want to put off until after I finish the rewatch. But now I’m back on it and I just finished season 2!

1. Favorite character of this season?

Cordelia! She has come so far already since the airheaded, self-centered cheerleader, to see her integrate into the Scoobies, her relationship with Xander but also the way her dynamic with Buffy and Willow changes is amazing.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Oz. Considering he is in less than half the episodes this season, I would count him as a minor character at this point. And I just love Oz so much, he is such a sweet, gentle weirdo. Him becoming a werewolf, getting put in the know, his relationship with Willow. He's so adorable and fun.

3. Favorite character dynamic?

The Angelus-Spike-Drusilla dynamic is amazing. For one, I love Spike/Drusilla so much but I also truly love the way their dynamic flips this season. Season 1 was all about Spike taking care of Drusilla during her time of need, season 2 is all about Drusilla taking care of Spike.

Only that this season also adds Angelus into the mix and it is so fascinating to watch. I love the bickering between Angelus and Spike, I love the love-triangle they have going on. Seeing Angelus as just this pure raw bad guy and the contrast to Angel, as well as getting to experience this dynamic of ¾ of the Fang Gang is so great.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

Tough choice this season, because there are both Xander/Cordelia as well as Oz/Willow, which are both two of my favorite ships. Xander and Cordy are one of the very few straight couples where the bantering and bitching actually works for me, I love the growth they shared together.

And yes, as a lesbian, I am loving lesbian!Willow very, very much, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the Oz/Will in the time-period it happens, not to mention... I can really make that work, even with lesbian!Willow, because Oz is literally the safest guy to fall for, honestly. First he is the most cliche guy to fall for because guitarist in a band, but then we get to know him and he is just so kind and accepting and soft and sweet. If you're a lesbian in deep denial about your own sexuality yet, that's the kind of guy you can easily pick to look straight.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

Mh... tough one this time. I love Spike/Drusilla, Oz/Willow and Xander/Cordelia and I don't dislike the Giles/Jenny either, it works while it works. If I'd have to go least favorite, which doesn't mean dislike, it'd then be Giles/Jenny. Mainly because of the lying. Everything could have been avoided if Jenny had been upfront about this after learning who Giles and Buffy really were. Because then the rules would have been clear too – no sex for Angel – and thus... this entire season could have been avoided. Instead, she kept her heritage and reason for being there to herself, no one made the rules clear so they could be broken and chaos could ensue, breaking Giles' heart in the process. Also... not a fan of the fridging, though unsure if it'd really count as fridging because while her death was used for the sake of Giles' man-pain, that wasn't the reason for her death – she did die for valid reasons. Like, the bad guy killing the one person who gets close to stopping their plans? Makes sense.

6. Favorite episode?

It's a tie between two two-parters, actually. If that is too much cheating, I would take the conclusions of each two-parter and say those tie. But it remains a tie.

The two-parter episodes 09 and 10 “What's My Line?”. Kendra! Seeing those two slayers team up. The personal contemplation Buffy has to consider about her possible future, or lack thereof. Also really loving Drusilla/Spike as villains.

And the finale, episodes 21 and 22, “Becoming”. It was such a good conclusion of everything this season had been working toward. Yes, I am still very salty about Kendra's death and I hate that she only returned just to be killed off, but the rest of it and the conclusion where Angel's soul had been restored but Buffy still needed to sacrifice him and it just breaks your heart.

7. Least favorite episode?

Harder, because there were three duds in this season for me. Episode 5 “Reptile Boy”, because just... college boys preying on high school girls to sacrifice them to a reptile demon...? Really?

Episode 12 “Bad Eggs” was just... bland. There's always a bland one, one so boring that I kind of forget about it. Season one's was “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” and this season it's this.

And the third in the set was episode 20 “Go Fish” which is just so weird and also cringey in a way, because the coach sacrificing Buffy to become the fish monsters' sex-toy was... yikes? And the body-horror of skin splitting open and fish-people emerging from them? Just, everything about this episode aside from the Xander/Cordelia was real bad.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

Harder, because this season didn't have a lot of those, actually. Most episodes came with obstacles that the vamp trio put into their ways. I guess Ethan Rayne? I loved how he brought another layer to Giles' story and character, I also generally love the Halloween episode.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

When “sudden child-death” was turned into a German monster in episode 18 “Killed by Death” and Buffy literally got to fight Death in a hospital? That was just... strange. Like, even with the episodes I disliked, the villains were kinda “meh” or at least reasonable, but this one was off.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

Amazing. Honestly, I truly love Angelus and the contrast this paints considering we have seen kind, loving, good Angel in season 1. Also, major props to David for his acting. Angel and Angelus are so distinctively different yet still share enough characteristics because they are the same character. I also love the moral dilemma this puts Buffy in, to go up against her former lover.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

It was already annoying last season that they just... don't tell Joyce the truth, but this season, it becomes simply ridiculous. If Buffy's secret was something she would be guarding close to her heart, yes, okay – but between Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz and Jenny, she honestly just tells it to everyone who is even remotely close to her.

And last season, Darla already went into the house and seriously injured Joyce, could have easily killed her. A thing that would have been avoidable if they had looped Joyce in and she'd know not to invite strangers she never saw before into her house. For me, that episode will forever be the one where they should have told Joyce. But now we're one more season and many more dangers in.

And there really isn't any valid reason not to tell Joyce, because we tell literally everyone else.

Sure, she then learns the truth in the finale, but not because she is being told, rather because she witnesses the dusting and Buffy's hand is forced, which just sucks.

Aside from the Joyce-thing, I really did enjoy this season, there were a lot of episodes I really liked, even beyond the four that tied for my favorites – honorable mentions go to Oz becoming a werewolf in “Phases”, naturally “Halloween”, Giles-centric content in “The Dark Age”.

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Phoe Watching Buffy #Phoe's Random Show Rants

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy: Season 1

I’m finally getting around to that Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch. And I considered posting about it, but then I decided a seasonal summary would be more fun, especially since the seasons - the individual episodes - tend to blend together because I always watch all of it. So, I’ve decided to make round-up posts after every season!

1. Favorite character of this season?

Buffy. The first season so perfectly sets her up as a complex character – so often, female leads get shoehorned into one box, one archetype. They also either get to be a Tough Girl, or a Girly Girl. But Buffy is so... perfectly both. She is a total badass but she is also a giggly girl talking about boys and hoping about school dances and cheerleading. Yet at the same time, she also has these... very, very human vulnerabilities. Her fear of abandonment when it comes to her father, her fear in the finale about her death. Yet she remains standing strong and true to her ideals and her duties.

She is an amazing character all on her own, but especially groundbreaking as a female lead character – and she will always be that, because even right now, twenty something years later, Hollywood is still struggling with writing fully fleshed out female leads without just shoehorning them into The Lover, The Badass or The Mother role like they can't have more complexity.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Jesse. Look, yes, he is only in the first two episodes but I am still not over this. Him, Willow and Xan were friends, were a trio, prior to Buffy coming to this school. They must have been friends for years and just... for these normal 16 year olds who never really encountered Hellmouth-ish things before to lose one of their best and longest friends? There is an impact there that sadly doesn't stick. Like, he's just dead, no one talks about him or mourns him again even though this would have been a cutting event for Xander and Willow. And then there is the potential of an alternate reality where he would have absolutely become a Scooby had he survived. I don't know, I think about this a lot.

3. Favorite character dynamic?

Willow and Buffy. I love the way their friendship stands out, even among the Scoobies – though naturally I love the whole Scooby dynamic. But just, from the first episode on when Buffy had the chance to join the Popular Mean Girls and saw the way Cordelia treated Willow, she chose to instead spend time with Willow and from thereon out, their dynamic just grew closer and cooler.

The shy nerd and the cool cheerleader (well, only for one episode but you know what I mean – the pretty blonde who had the potential to be a Cool Girl). It's especially outstanding because in her interactions with Willow, Buffy truly gets to be the teenage girl. The girly kind of teenage girl who giggles and talks about boys and gets to be carefree, even just for a few moments.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

Angel and Buffy. David and Sarah have such great chemistry, the way they play off each other, how they put the longing into their performance, just how tragic this set-up is for them, the weird mystery to it all. Best Romeo and Juliet, really.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

Angel and Buffy.

Look, I know that tumblr only deals in black and white, in “pure, healthy ship that can be loved” and “unhealthy, problematic ship that needs to be condemned”, but personally I like nuances and I like applying some critical thinking even to the things I love.

So I can absolutely love the way this is played out, the actors' chemistry, the tragic of it all and still also acknowledge just how creepy and frankly uncomfortable it is that this 240 year old dude has the hots for a sixteen year old kid.

6. Favorite episode?

The finale, “Prophecy Girl”. It is such a good pay-off of the season and it is also so... painful. When Buffy realizes she's going to die, when she decides to go despite knowing her fate. Giles' act of defiance, his first time clearly stepping out of his role as the Watcher as he decides to go and face the Master himself to avoid Buffy's death. How Angel and Xander, of all people, team up to go and help Buffy out. It also marks Cordelia's first proper participation with the Scoobies, as unwilling as it may be (I can't quite count the whole 'invisible girl trying to kill Cordy' as Cordelia actually joining them). A lot of good stuff and good pain.

But also shout-out to episode 9 “The Puppet Show” - I like the creep-factor of this episode, the set up for the twist, the certain low-key pain linked with Syd. Also I am very afraid of creepy dolls so the whole thing is even more of a creepy episode for me.

7. Least favorite episode?

I don't like episode 4 “Teacher's Pet” because it's really gross overall – I mean, it's a giant insect posing as a teacher to perv on students so they'll fertilize her eggs. So many levels of eeew.

But episode 5 “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” is incredibly bland and forgettable, like... really forgettable, as much as I appreciate the 'Buffy attempts to Regular Date' angle. So kind of a tie.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

Fear, from episode 10 “Nightmares”, if that counts. Because it's not a demon, or vampire, or monster. It's... well, fear itself. It also presented such a fascinating insight into Buffy as a character, to show her fears, but to also show Giles' fear of failing her, of having her die on him. I love how with all the monsters and things she has to face, her biggest fear is that her dad doesn't love her. It's so surprisingly deep – surprising in the sense that we get to see that Buffy is a complex character, not just the girly cheerleader-type girl, not just The Chosen One, but rather that she is very much also just... a girl, with family issues, with very real and human fears.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

Mh, it depends, because for the most part I don't find the Monsters of the Week overly memorable this season. “The Puppet Show” has a very weak and forgettable actual villain, however he only takes a backseat because the other plot stands more in the forefront and the focus is deliberately elsewhere and that is what makes me like the episode so much.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

The Master always seemed to me like a... not very fleshed out villain. Vaguely archetypical ancient evil demonic overlord. But that's kind of just... it. Why is he so important? What really makes him so special? And he very much is the Thanos of the Buffyverse – just sitting on his throne, waiting, occasionally standing up. He's a good enough opening act for the show, I'll give you that – because he checks the boxes. And, admittedly, the main focus is on establishing the Scoobies and their dynamics and their individual personalities, so it checks out.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

As above mentioned, I find the whole centuries old being lusting after a sixteen year old really questionable and this season went hard for it – because it's not just the main romantic plotline of the season, it's episode 4 “Teacher's Pet” with the praying mantis who poses as a teacher and seduces her students, it's episode 8 “I Robot, You Jane” with the ancient demon catfishing Willow, it's episode 9 “The Puppet Show” with the adult-turned-puppet who is perving on Buffy and any other girl he can lay his eyes on.

Having it only be the main romantic plotline would be one thing, but if you have that and additionally three out of thirteen episodes that have a focus on the theme, then it becomes... questionable, in my opinion.

In other news, I absolutely love Cordelia and I love that even season one already gave a tiny bit of insight into her being more than just the shallow bully she pretended to be.

I also love the unorthodox/modern interpretations of things – the demon who got scanned into the internet, the prophecy about Buffy's death that was then just kind of canceled out by the existence of CPR to revive her, the 'techno paganism', the white bus as stand-in for Death's pale horse.

It also establishes the Scoobies really well already, both as individual characters and in their dynamics among themselves. I will always love the Found Family trope of this show. Always.

So, yeah, overall slightly weak individually speaking, but a rather good overall start for the show!

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Phoe Watching Buffy

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3

Finally finished my rewatch of season 3. Among the high school arc, this one was my least liked, though I did enjoy this overall villain!

1. Favorite character of this season?

Buffy, as boring as saying the main character's name is. Her journey from episode 1, where she is so struggling with everything she's been through, to trying to settle back into Sunnydale, then Faith disrupting her life, the whole Angel drama, Joyce now knowing the truth. It's a lot emotionally for Buffy to handle this season and her emotional journey – and the fact that the things that hurt her actually hurt her and have an after-effect – is what I enjoy most about this show.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Anya! I absolutely love Anyanka. She is still rather awkwardly fit in here, post losing her powers, but I adore Anya

3. Favorite character dynamic?

Faith and Buffy. It is so complex. Best friends, two sides of the same coin, the good and the bad. Jealousy from Buffy's side shifting over to jealousy on Faith's side, with an explosive finale. Their is one of the, if not the, most complex dynamic in the entire show, at least in my opinion. Gotta admit, I am far more fond of it in the final season, but to see how it all started out and gradually shifted over the season is really fascinating.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

Not really a lot of positive romantic relationships going on. I love Oz/Willow, but hate that she cheated on him and that he essentially just took her back and it went back to normal without much actual... effect on the dynamic, they just went past the cheating. Xander/Cordy were just as ruined by the cheating and quite honestly, at this point in story, the Angel/Buffy has gotten too dramatic.

I would say Giles/Joyce. That is that one ship that got away, for me at least. I think they have great potential and the blushy avoidance after Band Candy was adorable, I always wished the show had fully gone there and given them a chance romantically.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

Xander/Willow. What utterly forced OoC nonsense was that, really? Willow, of all the kind sweet people, to cheat on her partner? And really, Xander, after having been best buds all your life, NOW is is that you notice Willow is an attractive girl? Now that you are in a relationship with an amazing woman and she is in a relationship with an amazing guy?

Seriously, the fact that Willow's a lesbian is genuinely the only explanation I have for this. Trying to actively sabotage her relationship with Oz, because he is such a good and sweet guy.

I hate cheating with a passion, cheating plotlines are bullshit. And to put two characters I love into that? And have both of them have other relationships at the time?

6. Favorite episode?

Got a couple 4s in there (I am rating each episode between 1 and 5, with 5 being reserved to my absolute favorite episodes). Not so much one that really stands out, but many I am fond of.

03x06 Band Candy, which was a lot of fun with the role reversal of mother and daughter.

03x08 Lovers Walk was a lot of fun, I just love emotionally vulnerable Spike, I also love the awkwardness of the Spike-Willow dynamic (as this is not the last instance of us seeing this) and Spike giving Angel and Buffy the cold hard facts about their relationship. It's a fun episode!

03x09 The Wish is amazing, I always love a “What If” episode with an alternate reality and vampire!Willow makes me really truly gay, honestly. Alyson's acting in this episode is amazing.

03x11 Gingerbread is one that I like a lot because the whole... witch-hunt of it is fascinating and seeing Buffy opposing her mother as the 'main' enemy for the most episode is interesting to watch.

03x12 Helpless is an intense, emotional episode, it really tests the Giles-Buffy dynamic.

7. Least favorite episode?

Only got one I didn't like this season, that's 03x04 Beauty and the Beasts. The whole girl being abused by Jekyll and Hyde dude was... just not my cup of tea.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

That Hänsel/Gretel monster from Gingerbread, I really found the whole idea really interesting. A demon that brings out the worth in people and makes them go after each other.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

Mh... Tucker Wells in 03x20 The Prom? He was just... bland. “I trained hell-hounds to attack the prom because a girl rejected me”. Gee. I mean, the whole point was to make the villain unimportant because this one really was about Buffy's emotions and the prom itself, but still.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

Mayor Wilkins was a fun villain! He was amusing to watch, he was quirky and weird. He was particularly outstanding due to his dynamic with Faith and the... fatherly fondness he developed for her. I do love when a villain is being humanized because simply fighting Pure Soulless Evil is rather boring, to be quite frank. Seeing the pure evil actually have human emotions makes them much more interesting to watch.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

My perspective on Faith has changed a lot over the years and that's fascinating.

I only used to look at her as the bad influence on Buffy (and she is), as a kid and teen who looked at them as much more mature than they are. Now, as an adult, I look at these children and I see Faith as the kid who's lacking a good influence on her.

I mean, seriously. Her OG watcher was killed, she came to Sunnydale on her own. The council never sent her her own new watcher though, Giles was kind of taking her under his wing. But really only “kind of”, because when she slacked off it was just shrugged off and commented as part of her bad character traits. No one would have let Buffy slack off, Giles would have made her train – and that was a big part of what shaped Buffy. The relentlessness of others.

And it's not even just the training. Faith is a kid, just like the Scoobies, but she isn't attending school. No one cares about her having a semblance of a normal life, even a bit. No one cares about her discipline. And she's living in a crappy, gross little motel.

Why is she not... living with Giles? Giles has a whole rather nicely sized house, surely there would be a room to spare for his second Slayer. But no one even seems to care that she is living in that crappy little motel.

What she needed was a watcher who cared about her as much as Giles cares about Buffy. Someone to guide her, to set her head straight, to show her she is cared for. Instead, she was treated as kind of the unwanted step-slayer, until push came to shove – and she found care with the villain.

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Phoe Watching Buffy

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