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kassia-ortiz · 4 years

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“Let me be clear -- I'm no politician. Like most of you, I come from nothing. And I know what it means to be powerless,” the sound of my father’s voice on the television caught my attention, forcing me to look up from my laptop. There he was; in the middle of some interview for one of the more popular San Juan news outlets, dripping in machismo and dressed in overpriced Brioni...lying his fucking ass off.

“My campaign for governor is about restoring the power to you, the people of Puerto Rico, and taking it out of the hands of the thugs that are destroying the very fabric of our society..” he droned on as I continued to watch his first on-air interview since announcing his intent to run. I glanced behind where I sat on the couch to throw Mateo, the man in charge of my protection while in the city, the deepest eye roll I could muster. “Can you believe him?” I questioned incredulously, though I knew there would be no response. He wasn’t allowed to speak to me unnecessarily. I continued to watch in silence, trying to ignore my internal anger at his blatant arrogance and quell it by keeping my retorts to myself. “...and robbing our children’s future. We all know who I’m talking about - the cartels.” You mean you. “If elected, my promise to you is this: I will track down every drug dealer, every gang banger, every smuggler. I will find every stash house and burn it to the ground." There's no way people are going to buy this shit.

"That's quite a promise," the interviewer cut in with a disbelieving tone, causing me to look up again, ready to see if he had it in him to call my father on his crap. "And I must admit your story is one for the books. Born the son of a farmer, starting his own local produce company and turning it into a thriving international export business." Here I couldn't stop the second eye roll. "In regards to your past though, I'm sure you're aware of the allegations of your direct involvement in the drug trade." There you go. Let's see him dance his way around that.

"Nothing could be farther from the truth," my father replied without missing a beat, "My opponents have spread lies about me in an attempt to make me look just like them - dirty. Hiding behind the masks of politicians. But the voters know that these are just lies." You mean you pay them to believe the lies. "They are looking for a man of the people, to put an end to these corrupt politicians who for too long have turned a blind eye, in favor of these cartels. They want a man who doesn't just make promises, but a man of his word. Ortiz is a--" The sound of his voice cut out as soon as I shut down the television. I couldn't listen to anymore of the hypocrisy.

But almost as though he could read my mind all the way from San Juan, my phone began to ring with my father’s face filling the screen. As much shit as I was just talking about him in my head, I still answered before the third ring - a rule of his for me since I got my first cellphone. And if there's one thing my father is especially skilled at, it's demanding obedience. "Yes, I saw the interview," I immediately said as my way of a greeting, "And yes, I remember the meeting tonight. You don't need to call and remind me before every one."

"If I don’t call to remind you that your entire college tuition and fancy New York apartment can be easily stripped away," his tone dripped with condescension, knowing full well that I was on the other end, seething, "You won't perform your job to the best of your abilities. Don't fuck this up, Kassia. Our shipments have been coming in light and I fully expect you to deliver those responsible to me by tomorrow. Me entiendes?"

"Si, Papa, I understand," I agreed, wanting to get him off the phone, tired of biting my tongue, "Mateo is already fetching the car. I'll call with an update after." I hung up before he could say anything else. By that point, Mateo was looking at me with confusion but I still got up to get dressed. Forever obedient. We were out the door half an hour later, my face fully made up and my outfit carefully chosen to make me seem more like I knew what I was doing. As if the right blazer was going to make me feel more like the daughter of a cartel jefé or instill in me the hunger for violence these meetings seemed to require.

"The rest of the men are on standby at the warehouse," came Mateo's strong baritone once we were in the quiet, blacked out SUV. I gave him a nod of acknowledgement in the rearview mirror as he reached back to hand me my handgun of choice - a sleek SIG Sauer pistol given to me by my father when I was fifteen. You know, a normal gift for a girl of that age. I slipped it into the holster I wore under my jacket and sat back as the vehicle pulled into the road. "Don't forget we need to pick up my quality control," I directed him offhandedly, already sending the warning text. My eyes watched the people on the sidewalks as we drove through the city, envying the mundane lives they all led as I prepared myself mentally to play the role of the woman I was destined to be. The one controlling the entire east coast distribution of my father’s cocaina empire.

A destiny I never asked for.

#[kass bio/narrative]

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marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer · 7 years

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MTVS Epic Rewatch #179

BTVS 7x01 Lessons

Raise your hand if you never thought I’d make it to season 7!

Shame on you, Wallace, I thought you’d always have my back!

Stray thoughts

1) Except for Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest, I’m of the opinion that this show always delivered lackluster season openers. It’s not that they’re bad per se – most of them are pretty solid episodes. It’s just that they don’t hold a lot of promise for things to come, you know? And while they do tend to set the tone for the rest of the season, they are usually far from stellar. “Lessons” is no exception. It’s a good episode, with some very nice moments and a very promising ending (oh, the promise of what The First could be was definitely captivating!) But a good ending does not make for a great episode, you know? And now I get to another point I wanted to make. “Lessons” is probably one of the weakest episodes in an otherwise pretty balanced, quality-wise, season. Yes, I said it. Season 7 is not bad. In fact, it’s rather good? (cue gasps!)

Season 7 is flawed alright, but so are all the other seasons. I think that what probably bugs most of us is the fact that this season’s flaws are more noticeable, kind of always there, and, in most cases, extremely grating (The First, the focus on the potentials, the wedge between the Scoobies…) But – and I hope I don’t change my mind as I proceed to rewatch it – season 7 is an overall good season, with its hits and misses. I’ve found that I’ve grown to like it more and more with each rewatch.

2) The first scene in the cold open is an interesting change of pace from the usual way most seasons start. First of all, there are no Scoobies in sight and we are nowhere near Sunnydale. Then there’s the fact that the chase scene is very suspenseful. We don’t know who this girl is, but you can’t help to root for her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t make it. But it’s clear whatever went down will have some relevance. And it’s all made clearer when the scene cuts right to…

It’s hard to miss the connection when you get such a tension-filled scene leading to our main character delivering the very first line in the season, a line that will basically embody the backbone of the whole season.

4) I love the fact that Buffy has kept her promise to show Dawn the world.

BUFFY Never forget it. Doesn't matter how well prepped you are or how well armed you are. You're a little girl. DAWN Woman.

BUFFY Little woman.

DAWN I'm taller than you.

6) Why would this recently born vamp be afraid of the Slayer, though? How would he know what a Slayer is? (remember how Spike didn’t know about her for a while after being turned?)

7) I love the fact that Dawn missed the heart just like Buffy did her first time. Like mother, like daughter.

8) Where this super-sized scissors store, though?

Oh, yeah, also, Sunnydale High is back, btw. Get it? Because this season is about going back to the beginning… *rolls eyes*

9) Giles needs to stop getting cooler and cooler.

This was also a very gratuitous shot just so that Anthony could show off his horse-riding skills. And I’m very grateful.

10)

GILES Then why aren't you in your lesson?

WILLOW Sorry.

GILES It's alright. She was just—

WILLOW —afraid. Yeah, they all are. The coven is—they're the most amazing women I've ever met. But there's this look that they get. Like I'm gonna turn them all into bangers and mash, or something. Which I'm not even really sure what that is.

Can you really blame them, though? She literally almost ended the world. You can’t hold it against others if they don’t exactly feel like hanging.

11)

GILES This isn't a hobby or an addiction. It's inside you now, this magic. You're responsible for it. (I guess we’ll just cross out all of season 6, then...)

WILLOW Will they always be afraid of me?

GILES Maybe. Can you handle it?

WILLOW I deserve a lot worse. I killed people, Giles. (like, I get that you’re a main character, but you should be in jail, like Faith is...)

GILES I've not forgotten.

WILLOW When you brought me here, I thought it was to kill me or to lock me in some mystical dungeon for all eternity or—with the torture. Instead, you go all Dumbledore on me. I'm learning about magic. All about energy and Gaia and root systems.

I repeat, Giles: too little, too late. THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY! Please tell me ONE good reason why he couldn’t have done this BEFORE Willow got the Extreme Makeover from Hell and went on a killing spree.

12) “I want to be Willow.” Even though it’s a bit hard – at least for me – to sympathize with Willow at this point, my heart literally melts at Alyson’s delivery of this line and the heartbreaking expression on her face. Alyson is such a great crier.

13)

XANDER I ate. I'm good. How are you?

BUFFY My sister's about to go to the same high school that tried to kill me for three years. I can't change districts, I can't afford private school, and I can't begin to prepare for what could possibly come out of there. So, peachy with a side of keen, that would be me.

14) I do enjoy how domestic Buffy and Xander are with Dawn. Like, yeah, Dawn has a bunch of parents and she deserves it.

15) You gotta love all the callbacks to early seasons, though.

BUFFY Now, remember, if you see anything strange... or, you know...dead.

DAWN I got it

BUFFY And stay away from hyena people, or any lizard-type athletes, you know, or if you see anyone that's invisible.

16)

Now, isn’t this something that would’ve been cool for the show to explore? Like, isn’t this something that should haunt Buffy? All the lives she couldn’t save? All the people she failed?

17) Dawn’s intro is so early 2000s it hurts…

DAWN I love to dance. I like music. I'm very into Britney Spears' early work, before she sold out. So mostly her, um, finger painting and macaroni art. Very underrated.

And… do you think Joss was taking a jab at Britney because they couldn’t arrange for her to be on the show in season 5? In which case, how dare you judged Britney?

18) So… Anya is not that into vengeance anymore. I guess spending a few years as a human and fighting the good fight really did put things into perspective. And apparently, this was their attempt at giving Anya her own arc? Unfortunately, it won’t last long.

19) So why do you think the spirits or demons were targeting Dawn and Buffy specifically? I mean, other than because of Contrived Plot Device. I get Buffy: she’d touched the talisman thingy or whatnot. But what about Dawn…?

20) I do love how Buffy’s conversation with Wood is intercut with Dawn meeting Kit and them getting sucked into the basement by the manifestations. There’s something off about Robin, and we can just sense it as much as Buffy does. I didn’t think he’d be evil, though, it would’ve been too on the nose if he had been. But we immediately get the feeling he’s hiding something. There’s just something about his word choice and his fixation on Buffy that raises a lot of red flags. And of course, the fact that he’s questioning Buffy while her sister and her friends are under attack kind of paints him as supect número uno.

21) And the great reveal… Dawn’s gift/weapon…

That was a bit underwhelming, especially considering it was 2002 and cellphones were already a household item. I get that the show was kind of making fun of itself and its lack of technology awareness. But I find the joke counterproductive. Instead of making me go “Oh hahaha, they have cell phones now!”, it reminds me how little sense it makes for these teens – now young adults – to have NEVER EVER used any type of electronic devices or technology other than the computer. It feels, again, as a Contrived Plot Device. Technology, in some cases, would’ve made the Scoobies lives much easier. They definitely would’ve have avoided some misunderstandings and miscommunications.

22) And then…

23)

BUFFY What did you do?

SPIKE I tried... I... tried to cut it out.

Hm. I wonder what this “it” might be... huh.

24) We can safely say that Joss’s primary focus when writing this scene was Spike, right? Did he even remember the last time Buffy had been in a room with Spike he’d tried to rape her? Why wasn’t her reaction to seeing her would-be-rapist again explored? Why wasn’t that the focus of their reunion? Why have her acting so nonchalantly, as if she wants to pick up things where they left them off (that is, prior to Seeing Red, of course…)? She literally asks him if he’ll come help her...

25) Now, why didn’t we get to see more of these two – the punk/bohemian, and, I’m assuming, bisexual, girl and the troubled yet sweet latino boy – instead of introducing like a dozen new characters – most of which were pretty forgettable - almost halfway through the season when the focus should’ve been placed somewhere else?

26) At least Buffy got a new job out of it. But let’s be real, the only reason she got the job is that she is a fictional character in a fictional world. Like, Joss tries to play it off as “oh, she only got it because it is a crappy position with very low pay.” But even crappy positions at schools require some kind of qualifications. Working at the Doublemeat Palace? Yeah, that’s not gonna cut it.

27) And then the scene that nearly makes the episode…

WARREN Of course she won't understand, Sparky. I'm beyond her understanding. She's a girl. Sugar and spice and everything...useless unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh...

GLORY ...more than blood. I'm... you know, I honestly don't think there's a human word fabulous enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyone's lips, assuming their lips haven't been torn off. But not just yet. That's alright, though..

ADAM ...I can be patient. Everything is well within parameters. She's exactly where I want her to be. And so are you, Number 17. You're right where you belong.

THE MAYOR So what'd you think? You'd get your soul back and everything'd be Jim Dandy? Soul's slipperier than a greased weasel. Why do you think I sold mine? (laughs) Well, you probably thought that you'd be your own man, and I respect that, but...

DRUSILLA ...you never will. You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me, singing our little songs. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them, right from the beginning. And that's where we're going...

THE MASTER ...right back to the beginning. Not the Bang... not the Word... the true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride. And I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you. Trying to do what's right, just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong...

There was so much promise in this scene, and it’s beautifully written and masterfully crafted. I think it’s probably one of the most memorable scenes in the show, just because of its jaw-dropping wow factor, the questions it raised, its potential for epic greatness, and the impact of seeing such an iconic group of characters blending together in what promised to be the Biggest Motherfucking Bid Bad Ever. And the biggest question of all…if this thing, whatever it is, is turning into all the Big Bads... then why did he turn into Buffy?

The answer to this question will be, as most things The First related were bound to be, extremely underwhelming. But imagine... imagine if Buffy had been the Big Bad...

28) Oh, just for funsies, I’ll try and keep count of how many times The First did touch something or someone:

29) You gotta love the book ends in this episode, though…

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #BTVS #Buffy Summers #Sarah Michelle Gellar #Spike #Willow Rosenberg #Dawn Summers #Lessons #recap #mine #MTVSepicrewatch #BTVSrewatch2015 #btvsrecap

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