On May 15, 7:04 pm, "One Bit Shy" <O...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
messagenews:f6dce363-=
bd58-4ec1-87c2-e67834452266@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > and what does BTVS do better? Although I
> > do have some room for admiration at the way Buffy comes up with a way
> > to beat Caleb that=92s so obvious that it never would=92ve occurred to
m=
e
> > =96 return to form for the Buffster =96 or the way it lets Buffy and
Fai=
th
> > both have been part right and part wrong in their tactical
> > disagreements.
>
> How is Faith part right because of this?
Badly phrased, since her strategy turns out being all wrong. What I
was trying to say is that those opposed to Buffy's plan were part
right in that she needed to take a step back. If she'd charged into
the winery with a group of kids like she'd originally wanted to, it
would've been another slaughter.
> > The second half of =93Touched=94 is essentially a montage
> > of reaching out for comfort and contact before things go right or
> > wrong.
>
> I may have mentioned this before, but I've always wished that Anya and
> Xander had suffered their way through the sounds of *** without
indulging
> themselves. For one thing, I liked the idea of their prior ***
encounter
> really being the end of their relation****p. It had the virtue of Anya
for=
> the first time handling rejection OK.
Now, I almost feel like it's right to leave them there, in their co-
dependency, not getting left out. Part of it is that I don't enjoy
"Storyteller" as the end of their relation****p as much as some people
apparently do.
> And it would also make it a little
> more fun for her to be turned on by Andrew taking her to rob the
hospital.=
> (She was a little turned on I think, but it loses the edge what with her
> still hanging onto Xander so much.)
Okay, raise your hand if "ew."
> What I
> mostly notice about that scene is the implication that The First has
been
> listening in and knows what Faith is planning. I think that's Faith's
> biggest failing in her plan. Either that or the biggest hole in the
> episode's plot.
Or the biggest hole in S7, in a way. The First has total access to
their planning sessions, except for when it and everyone else forgets,
which is often.
> That's another really good scene, but the odd thing about it for me is
tha=
t
> it's the furthest away of those Buffy/Xander scenes from overtly
patching =
up
> anything. The rough patch isn't mentioned or even a hint given that
> anything had been wrong that needed fixing. Not that the effect of
fixing=
> things up hasn't been achieved - it most certainly has. But boy, talk
> about unspoken... If you didn't know that Buffy had been kicked out of
th=
e
> house a couple days
> before, is there anything in the scene to suggest that something was
being=
> patched up?
[snip]
> My problem was the way that it handled the reconciliation to the Empty
> Places schism by pretty much skipping it entirely and just making
everythi=
ng
> good between everybody. Oh, there's no lack of good reasons for people
> getting back on good terms with each other and working together again
like=
> they do here. Even working better than ever. It's just that there's no
> process. It suddenly is.
The whole story is really quickly swept away. I've never been totally
happy with that either, but in this particular context, I guess I'd
rather jump past it than get too ponderous.
> Giles: Could it possibly get uglier? I used to be a highly respected
> watcher, and now I'm a wounded dwarf with the mystical strength of a
doily=
..
>
> Considering our earlier conversation about Giles, I think that's
appropria=
te
> self commentary.
Heh. Actually, I was planning to use that as the final punchline to
my thoughts on Giles in the other thread, but I forgot.
> That's a funny scene, albeit rather filler like. And that's the odd
thing=
> about Chosen. What with your later (accurate) commentary about things
not=
> quite getting done and SMG famously saying this should have been a two
> parter and Joss whining about working himself to exhaustion over it,
you'd=
> think this episode was packed to the gills. But it's not. There's tons
o=
f
> filler and a surprisingly brief final battle. (Which, incidentally, I
don=
't
> think needs to be longer. Just tuned a little differently to give a
> stronger impression of the Chosen army turning the tide.) So, for
example=
,
> another scene that I find quite entertaining is the Faith/Wood scene
where=
> we learn that Robin is much prettier than Faith. But it's not like the
> series closer is really crying out for more quality time between Faith
and=
> Wood.
I think I commented on that originally. I enjoy watching it. I also
don't see Faith's issues with men being a critical loose end that
desperately needs to be open-endedly resolved either.
> Round two of killing Caleb is also probably not necessary, though I
don't
> mind it as much as you since it at least provides some early episode
actio=
n
> before a long wait to the closing spurt of action. It's the following
sce=
ne
> with Angel that I find tedious and dragged out. I suppose it's
essential
> that Angel appear. I just wish it was a better scene.
Oh, c'mon. "You know, I started it. The whole having a soul. Before
it was all the cool new thing."
> > For instance, contrary to what the special features may suggest, I
> > feel no inclination to cry during the power-sharing scene,
>
> You mean when the Potentials around the world are awakened? That
doesn't
> evoke any tears in me either.
Well, according to the featurettes, if you don't cry, there's
something wrong with you.
> A little sappy for my tastes. But it still
> works. I like how it feels as if it's directed out to the audience for
a
> moment. This means you.
Unless, of course, you're one of the millions who weren't lucky enough
to be born with Slayer potential.
> You can all make the same choice. Maybe some
> people are "chosen" to have more power than others, but only you can
choos=
e
> to use the power you have. BtVS is a metaphor for everybody. You all
can=
Oh, it's a METTER-for. Rambling and vague connections that don't
quite match up (for me) are so unlike this series...
-AOQ
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