On Feb 21, 12:36 am, "One Bit Shy" <O...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
messagenews:c57549c3-ffab-44ce-95c8-2c9dfc0f3b7d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Among the things I love about this episode is the fa****on in which they
> mirror Willow's behavior in Tough Love. Partly to show how true to
Willow
> it is. But more to show how much worse, how much more dangerous it is
this
> time. Especially in the Magic Box where soaking up the dark magicks is
so
> much more intense then breaking the lock on the book was then. That's
so
> disquieting now in good part because the old version had been the
standard
> for a Willow explosion.
I love the repetitious elements in this particular case; both episodes
benefit.
> > Season Six, Episode 20: "Two To Go"
> > What was that about crackling dialogue? William called TTG "an
> > absolute wonderland of quotability, perhaps second only to
> > Doppelgangland in that respect" last time around.
>
> Yeah, but it bogs down in the endless confrontation at Rack's moving
onto
> the Buffy/Willow fight back at the Magic Box. Not that I object to the
> sentiments. Willow's ridicule of Dawn is priceless. And there
definitely
> is a thrill in seeing Willow and Buffy face off. But the volume of
words
> really get in the way of this section and make for my most disappointing
> scene in this trilogy - the Buffy/Willow fight. It ought to be a
classic -
> one of the highpoints of the series. The construct of power against
power
> with deep emotional connections brings to mind the Buffy/Angel
confrontation
> in Becoming and the Buffy/Faith fight in Graduation Day. And it feels
that
> way for a moment.
>
> Doesn't live up to it though. The fight choreography teases at
excellence
> for a bit, but never gets there. Quickly enough it peters out with a
> pathetic conclusion of a slight shove by Willow somehow knocking Buffy
out
> briefly as Willow discovers Anya. Meanwhile the talking is interminable
-
> coming on the heels of a talkfest at Racks. I know that the fight/talk
> combination is a staple of these shows, but this one kind of thuds for
me.
I'm with you with the part where the confrontation feels like a high
point, and not with you in feeling like it ultimately doesn't live up
to that. I think the thing for me is that just I'm so much more
invested in the standoff than in anything else.
WILLOW: So. Here we are.
BUFFY: Are we really gonna do this?
WILLOW: Come on, this is a huge deal for me! Six years as a side man,
and now I get to be the Slayer.
BUFFY: A killer isn't a Slayer. Being a Slayer means something you
can't conceive of.
WILLOW: Oh, Buffy. You really need to have every square inch of your
ass kicked.
BUFFY: Then show me what you got. And I'll show you what a Slayer
really is.
There's very little anyone can say to convince me that this isn't one
of the best moments of the series, and possibly in TV history. (By
the way, Buffy's part in all this provides plenty of substance for me
- this is more than just a crazy action episode, although that's
certainly a major part of its appeal.) This is a strong enough
reaction that I'm pretty much bathed in euphoric glow and unable to
process the existence of any shortcomings. I don't care much about
the fight coreography because that's rarely one of the show's biggest
strengths anyway. The rest of the episode could consist of a Nu and a
Croaker dancing around [silly reference, don't worry about it] and my
biggest memory would be the thrill of the standoff. Nothing could top
that climax... or so one thinks, until Giles blasts his way back into
the series.
> I don't know how much was intended to show Anya's heart as opposed to
> fitting her into the episode with the usual comic relief. But there it
is
> whatever the intent, and it's Anya on her own showing caring, compassion
and
> love for a friend in distress. (Also receiving by proxy her last great
> lesson on humanity from Xander.) It seems to me to be a big peak at the
> underlying heart that will bedevil her demon ways.
Peak or peek? But okay, that's another thing. The episode definitely
spends a lot of time on Anya's reactions, beyond her usual
wisecracking role. Whether she's just an audience surrogate or
whether we're supposed to get something im****tant out of watching her
reactions to and *****sments of Giles and Xander... well, I really
don't know. I struggle to see it as a noteworthy part of anyone's
story, and I feel like maybe it's supposed to be.
> > even on re-watch. And Buffy summing up the season is also sappy and
> > heavy-handed, the difference being that it's not such great TV.
>
> Yep. That's this episode's relatively weak part. Starting with the
fall
> into the hole. I don't really mind the sentiment of Buffy finally
seeing
> how she's preventing Dawn from growing, but as the final installment of
> Buffy's season long climb from her metaphorical grave, it just doesn't
stack
> up to all that preceded it. Which makes gazing at the wonder of living
> somehow less poignant than it ought to be.
That's also why I don't feel the ending montage the way you do, even
with the X/W stuff, because as an ending to the episode and the
season, it feels more like part of Buffy's story than anything else.
A story which ends tepidly, despite being built out of serviceable
ideas.
> This trio of episodes as a whole, however, earn a very strong Excellent.
> This run (which I usually watch along with Seeing Red) is likely the
most
> entertaining sequence of the series for me. I won't say the best - none
of
> these episodes are top ten for the series. Just the ones I like to get
out
> the popcorn for and watch in thrilling series.
The momentum of the run can go back further. From "Normal Again"
through the end of the season I'm pretty well hooked, despite not
loving every step of every episode. It all fits together to the point
where it feels like not only an extended story, but a tight one, with
every piece necessary and irreplaceable and stuff (although each hour
very much has its own character for me, more so than with other
serialized programs). The closing trilogy doesn't make sense without
being spurred by the kick of "Seeing Red," and so much of SR is a
direct extension from the ending of "Entropy," and the series wouldn't
be ready to move to that point yet if Buffy were still in her pre-NA
headspace... It's like it's channeling some of ATS's sense of epic
storytelling and spiking it with BTVS's expertise with group dynamics
and ability to do fantasy stories that capture the real-world human
experience.
> > (Is there a non-Buffy major character that
> > doesn't go evil or at least highly ambiguous at some point?)
>
> Tara.
And even she was an actor's choice away from being manifested by the
First.
> > For your
> > reference, I'm still going to try to vaguely approximate airdate order
> > during S7/S4, so the _Buffy_ threads will be posted first through disc
> > 4 or 5, then we'll switch it up.
>
> Someone posted a link once that had air dates including network re-runs.
Do
> you have that - or a list - by any chance? I'm only interested in S6.
I just get 'em from Buffyworld (can't help you with the reruns). I
once made an all-on-one-page list of BTVS/ATS in airdate order, to
pass on to people, but I lost it.
-AOQ
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