Re: A Second Look: BTVS S7D6

On May 21, 9:13 pm, Fallen <fal...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
> > On May 21, 9:26 am, Fallen <fal...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> >>Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
>
> >>>On May 20, 1:53 am, Fallen <fal...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> >>>>Stephen Tempest wrote:
>
> >>>>>mmik...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 writes:
>
> >>>>>>The "power sharing" spell
> >>>>>>seems to have required the combination of a VERY powerful witch, a
> >>>>>>powerful magical implement tied to the Slayer line, and perhaps
also
> >>>>>>the proximity of the Seal and a bunch of Potentials.
>
> >>>>>Not only that, I'd say. As critics of 'Chosen' love to point out,
> >>>>>Buffy opens the Seal and leads the Potentials into Hell before
Willow
> >>>>>has finished casting the spell. Which either means she's an idiot -
> >>>>>something the previous 7 years don't really bear out
>
> >>>>Uhm, I think one of the strongest threads through all 7 seasons is
that
> >>>>Buffy is an utter moron who couldn't plan her way out of a paper
bag.
>
> >>>She's smarter than she looks.  Beating the mayor-s**** was all her.
>
> >>Results don't count in fiction, as they are fixed. Her 'Beat the
mayor'
> >>plan was as stupid as all of her other plans, which also worked.
>
> > Sure they do.  Everything's fixed in fiction, including the plans
> > themselves.  However, if someone's general approach to problems is
> > regularly shown as successful within the fictional universe, that
> > character is engaging in an intelligent strategy according to the
> > rules of that story.
>
> > Buffy consistently figuring out how to beat almost everyone she can't
> > just overpower does not suggest  "Buffy is an utter moron" as a
> > consistent theme of the show.
>
> > -AOQ
>
> Right, just so I can grasp the logic of your argument. If Buffy had
> consistently used the plan 'sit at home, eat marshmallows and the bad
> guys will explode by themselves' and they actually did explode by
> themselves regardless of how unlikely that is then she's a mastermind
> because all her plans worked?

If it works every time, why should she change her strategy?

> Her plans were almost universally 'stupid', they either worked or didn't
> work because of simple plot fiat.

Within the logic the show, they're not meant to be stupid, and they
almost always work.  In other words, if Buffy comes across as a moron,
it is (to the viewer who feels that way) a failing of the series
rather than of the character.  It's obvious the show is attempting to
depict a quick-witted character who can adapt to challenging
situations, albeit not one who's particularly invested in complex
planning.

> It's perfectly possible to judge a
> plan outside of the results. If I decide the best way to get from point
> A, which is the start of a bridge over a busy motorway, to point B,
> which is the other side of the busy motorway, is to close my eyes and
> walk slowly across the road and I somehow manage to make it to the other
>   side without killing myself that doesn't suddenly make my plan a work
> of genius.

In our world, if that happens once, it's dumb luck.  In a fictional
setting in which pedestrians become invisible and impervious to
traffic when their eyes are closed, it might be just what's called
for.

-AOQ