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beccaelizabethNot very much to say about Dawn's issues and the demony reaction to them. It's a good example of the turn your problems into demons thing that BtVS does, just, you know, not making me feel meta.
Except for the stuff with Willow and magic. As I may have mentioned. That I have a few things to say about in the next couple episodes: the substance abuse metaphor has totally undercut the internal logic of the show. Right up until Wrecked the problem with Willow's magic was that she kept using it to mess with other people who did not need to be messed with, and to make herself feel good. It's like Buffy's violence, it turns into abuse when she's beating crap out of someone just to feel better. But nobody says Buffy should quit violence cold turkey (though that's actually a valid suggestion with a whole give peace a chance riff). Willow? Now that they've introduced teh magic-as-drug idea? She quits and stays quit even though people are dying.
That's exactly like Buffy not picking up a sword because she realises she's been doing bad hitting with Spike. Doesn't work. Just leaves people in danger.
If you've been abusing your power then the answer isn't to give up power and let other people carry it, it's to learn how to use it responsibly.
Sam's little sanctimonious speech about how strong Willow is because the dark magic used up the shamans? I think that manages to be racist on the bounce, but it's also just... wrong. Willow's problem wasn't what the magic was doing to her, it was what she was doing with the magic. Deciding the problem is the inherent darkness of magic is just abandoning the concept of personal responsibility. It's bollocks.
As You Were bugs me. The Riley stuff is basically inoffensive. He never answers for his issues, but he has a wife who gets a better version of him. Buffy feels all blergh about her life in comparison and pretty much swallows that she screwed up. I do not.
The thing with Spike being the Doctor? All I can say is if the writers intended that they should have told Marsters. Spike is a bad liar. It's consistent. He's kind of hilarious. He gets caught and he gets all awkward and babbly and daft. When Riley walks in calling him Doctor, Spike just looks to Buffy and waits for an explanation. It's only when Riley mentions the eggs that Spike starts lying, by previously established signals.
Spike needing money is consistent too, partly because he needs a steady blood supply and needs to pay for it, partly because kittens, but mostly because Buffy needs money and he already said he'd get it for her. But Spike having the kind of contacts to go international? That would be new and different, as Buffy pointed out.
Further, like hell would Spike pick that pseud. Did no writer remember that Doc was why Buffy died? Or did they remember, and set Riley up cause he just never know? Because there's already a dark magics guy called Doc in Sunnydale, he fell but had already shown enough resilience he probably didn't die, he has ample reason to set Spike up, and he has plenty of connections willing to lie to get Spike in trouble with the Agent Finn they also know.
Spike isn't the Doctor, Spike didn't just screw up, someone was screwing over Spike, he actually was holding the eggs for a 'friend', who just didn't tell him about the down side and probably wanted him dead.
If the writers didn't intend that then they needed to pick a different name and tell JM.
Buffy walking in and being all 'tell me you love me' is very human right then and very believable. And her speech dumping Spike, calling him William, admitting she wants him but saying she can't love him and it's 'killing' her to use him? Pretty good speech.
If all they'd been doing was having a sexual relationship where only one of them had feelings, I'd even be happy with it, and the out into the light bit at the end.
Problem is, she's been beating crap out of him, not just for self defence when it's necessary to stop him, but recreationally when she feels bad. She hits him for punishment, for information when he's not cooperating with Riley, to get him out of her way, and in the alley a ways back. And that? That wasn't in the speech, wasn't looked at straight on, wasn't addressed.
Buffy and Spike were a tangle of sex and violence where the way Buffy misuses violence just... stayed in the subtext, while the writing called Spike evil over and over. He's walking around with a black eye at her birthday party, that was some serious crunching she did to him, but the text doesn't go there. It's not okay.
Buffy was right to leave Spike because she was abusing him, not just using, and the fact that he happily let her was an additional problem of his.
They needed to end this twisted version of a relationship. The good version of Buffy/Spike builds on 'you treat me like a man', where they can be their best selves together. This was not that, and walking away was correct on many levels.
But Spike's still the only one that gets called evil. Yeah, he was twisted and cruel and told her nobody else would accept her and got in knock down fights with her, but she's physically much stronger (see troll hammer), often started shit, and hit him when he wasn't fighting. She doesn't get called much about that. And she only ever mentions the sex.
It's wrong and deals with a problem sideways to the one they've presented us with.
Again.
Though just to be clear I will say again, Spike is a creep at this point. A creep doing his best, but still a creep. Joking about eating the new guy? All the bad words and hitting? Creep.
A very pretty creep on a trajectory to something much, much better though, which makes the story interesting.
Season six is difficult to watch. Hang on, season 5 was difficult to watch too. Hmmm, whenever they've successfully tapped in to some real feelings and big huge things, it's difficult to watch. Mortality, depression, addiction, violence, real big stuff.
It's good stories, but also kind of not fun, because of the caring. Much feels, very ow.
It's reminding me why I wanted to do fanfic at the same time I remember how everything I'd have put in fanfic is kind of thoroughly chewed as fic topics by now. It just has so much stuff that needs another angle and a bit more work. Powerful stuff, but, not correct or complete, to my mind.
Except for the stuff with Willow and magic. As I may have mentioned. That I have a few things to say about in the next couple episodes: the substance abuse metaphor has totally undercut the internal logic of the show. Right up until Wrecked the problem with Willow's magic was that she kept using it to mess with other people who did not need to be messed with, and to make herself feel good. It's like Buffy's violence, it turns into abuse when she's beating crap out of someone just to feel better. But nobody says Buffy should quit violence cold turkey (though that's actually a valid suggestion with a whole give peace a chance riff). Willow? Now that they've introduced teh magic-as-drug idea? She quits and stays quit even though people are dying.
That's exactly like Buffy not picking up a sword because she realises she's been doing bad hitting with Spike. Doesn't work. Just leaves people in danger.
If you've been abusing your power then the answer isn't to give up power and let other people carry it, it's to learn how to use it responsibly.
Sam's little sanctimonious speech about how strong Willow is because the dark magic used up the shamans? I think that manages to be racist on the bounce, but it's also just... wrong. Willow's problem wasn't what the magic was doing to her, it was what she was doing with the magic. Deciding the problem is the inherent darkness of magic is just abandoning the concept of personal responsibility. It's bollocks.
As You Were bugs me. The Riley stuff is basically inoffensive. He never answers for his issues, but he has a wife who gets a better version of him. Buffy feels all blergh about her life in comparison and pretty much swallows that she screwed up. I do not.
The thing with Spike being the Doctor? All I can say is if the writers intended that they should have told Marsters. Spike is a bad liar. It's consistent. He's kind of hilarious. He gets caught and he gets all awkward and babbly and daft. When Riley walks in calling him Doctor, Spike just looks to Buffy and waits for an explanation. It's only when Riley mentions the eggs that Spike starts lying, by previously established signals.
Spike needing money is consistent too, partly because he needs a steady blood supply and needs to pay for it, partly because kittens, but mostly because Buffy needs money and he already said he'd get it for her. But Spike having the kind of contacts to go international? That would be new and different, as Buffy pointed out.
Further, like hell would Spike pick that pseud. Did no writer remember that Doc was why Buffy died? Or did they remember, and set Riley up cause he just never know? Because there's already a dark magics guy called Doc in Sunnydale, he fell but had already shown enough resilience he probably didn't die, he has ample reason to set Spike up, and he has plenty of connections willing to lie to get Spike in trouble with the Agent Finn they also know.
Spike isn't the Doctor, Spike didn't just screw up, someone was screwing over Spike, he actually was holding the eggs for a 'friend', who just didn't tell him about the down side and probably wanted him dead.
If the writers didn't intend that then they needed to pick a different name and tell JM.
Buffy walking in and being all 'tell me you love me' is very human right then and very believable. And her speech dumping Spike, calling him William, admitting she wants him but saying she can't love him and it's 'killing' her to use him? Pretty good speech.
If all they'd been doing was having a sexual relationship where only one of them had feelings, I'd even be happy with it, and the out into the light bit at the end.
Problem is, she's been beating crap out of him, not just for self defence when it's necessary to stop him, but recreationally when she feels bad. She hits him for punishment, for information when he's not cooperating with Riley, to get him out of her way, and in the alley a ways back. And that? That wasn't in the speech, wasn't looked at straight on, wasn't addressed.
Buffy and Spike were a tangle of sex and violence where the way Buffy misuses violence just... stayed in the subtext, while the writing called Spike evil over and over. He's walking around with a black eye at her birthday party, that was some serious crunching she did to him, but the text doesn't go there. It's not okay.
Buffy was right to leave Spike because she was abusing him, not just using, and the fact that he happily let her was an additional problem of his.
They needed to end this twisted version of a relationship. The good version of Buffy/Spike builds on 'you treat me like a man', where they can be their best selves together. This was not that, and walking away was correct on many levels.
But Spike's still the only one that gets called evil. Yeah, he was twisted and cruel and told her nobody else would accept her and got in knock down fights with her, but she's physically much stronger (see troll hammer), often started shit, and hit him when he wasn't fighting. She doesn't get called much about that. And she only ever mentions the sex.
It's wrong and deals with a problem sideways to the one they've presented us with.
Again.
Though just to be clear I will say again, Spike is a creep at this point. A creep doing his best, but still a creep. Joking about eating the new guy? All the bad words and hitting? Creep.
A very pretty creep on a trajectory to something much, much better though, which makes the story interesting.
Season six is difficult to watch. Hang on, season 5 was difficult to watch too. Hmmm, whenever they've successfully tapped in to some real feelings and big huge things, it's difficult to watch. Mortality, depression, addiction, violence, real big stuff.
It's good stories, but also kind of not fun, because of the caring. Much feels, very ow.
It's reminding me why I wanted to do fanfic at the same time I remember how everything I'd have put in fanfic is kind of thoroughly chewed as fic topics by now. It just has so much stuff that needs another angle and a bit more work. Powerful stuff, but, not correct or complete, to my mind.