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Post by William the Bloody on Aug 18, 2003 2:29:20 GMT -5
Written by Joss Whedon
Directed by John T. Kretchmer
Air date: 3/10/97
A stranger named angel tells Buffy that if she does not stop The Harvest, the Hellmouth will open and The Master will roam free.
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on Jun 29, 2004 16:36:34 GMT -5
The Harvest; a Long Way to Go Looking Back Part II ”Who do you kill around here for fun?" Continuing my review of this, the first episodes series in reverse perspective. The beginning—as seen from the end. When we last saw our heroine she was trapped in a crypt, inside a sarcophagus, fetchingly, helplessly about to be bitten by the most overly-verbose vamp in the entire history of the show. Thus opens “The Harvest” or alternatively, “Welcome to the Hellmouth, Part II.” Buffy’s position as the show opens is that of nearly every heroine in every horror movie ever made, and we fear for her as we might for any other heroine even though we’ve seen who she is, even if neither we nor she do not as yet know what it really is going to mean. One of the things I came to love about Buffy over the years was that, not counting minions, the stuffy vampires were the first to dust. Perhaps this is the first lesson we are to learn with Luke the Boring. Fun vampires (Spike, Harmony, Drusilla) come to last a good long while. Luke is in love with his own voice and with the ritual of The Harvest, the event that will release his almost-equally-verbose Master. Ritual plays a large role in his existance as a whole and plays no small part in his destruction. Meantime, Buffy is accidentally freed from Luke’s clutches when he is burned by the cross given her by Angel, who as we have not yet learned, is another vampire. In later seasons Buffy would have freed herself by kicking Luke all the way to Hoboken. Child-Buffy, the Slayer Baby, has more than she can handle. How, we wonder, will she ever deal with the Master? Once free, she drives off the vampires threatening Willow and Xander, but Jesse? Where’s Jesse? Jesse, alas, has been dragged to the feet of the Master. We will be given to believe that he is bait for the Slayer. He’s also lunch. Following the opening credits we are introduced to one of the first of many, many exposition scenes where Giles teaches us the Watcher’s Council party line about vampires and other monsters. How many times we will look back on this scene and marvel how the centuries-old Watcher’s Council that purportedly guides the Slayer and keeps detailed records of her activities can be so completely wrong about so many things. But that, too, lies in the future. Right now we, along with Willow and Xander, listen breathlessly to Giles as he explains the enemy our young friends face. However, here is also where we learn how well Buffy has chosen her new friends. Willow, so shy and sweet and helpless appearing. Now for the first time we learn is how invaluable Willow will become in computer and book research. A scene in the computer lab gives us foreshadowing of the confidence she will gain from her association with Buffy and even the first hint of the darkness that lurks deep beneath the Peter Pan collars and corduroy jumpers. And Xander? Xander whose vanity is wounded when Buffy tells him she must search for Jesse alone, Xander whose loyalty and courage are revealed when he ignores her instructions and follows her to the vampire’s lair to help rescue his friend. Although they find Jesse, they are too late. He has been turned. Heartbroken at the loss of his friend, Xander’s seemingly flip comments do little to hide his terrible grief. Now he transfers that unwavering loyalty to Buffy. We will have reason time and again to celebrate that Buffy chooses her friends so well. The Master’s plan is to free himself from his underground prison through the use of Luke as a proxy-feeding vessel. Once again ritual and ceremony rear their tedious heads and we begin to see the vampires less as monsters and more as some bizarre religious cult with bumpy foreheads. It is not difficult for the heroes to reason that the vampires will choose The Bronze as the place to hold the ritual. However, Buffy has one more foe to vanquish before she can prevent the slaughter. Joyce has chosen this moment to become Discipline Mom. Catching Buffy in the act of preparing for battle Joyce grounds her. The irony bites us as poor Buffy has to listen to Joyce tell her "It's not the end of the world," when it almost is. Five more seasons will pass before we learn why she doesn't just explain her calling to Joyce. Perhaps the most unforgettable image of this episode is that of the vamps converging on the club with Darla skipping ahead like a little girl out for a treat. This is ugly death come to play! Now, for the first time we see what the change has done to Jesse. He selects Cordelia as his first victim. Although she scorned him in WTTHM, Cordelia is taken by Jesse’s new cool, although she doesn’t know why. Buffy interrupts Luke’s feeding frenzy before he has taken blood enough to free his Master. Leaps from great heights and to great heights will become a signature Slayer move. This time the move is a graceful cartwheel over the railing and a neat drop the surface of the pool table. Now, too, we see her resourcefulness come into play. In later seasons our heroine will rely on her wits as much as her strength and fighting skill. Now, still a child, she tricks Luke into thinking the sun’s come up. The distraction is all she needs and at last we are spared yet another of his endless ramblings. We are granted a foreshadowing of how a more experienced Buffy will deal, powerless, with an overwhelming adversary in “Helpless.” In closing, some attention should be paid to the importance of ritual to the Master. Although he is less irritating than Luke in his speechifying, he rigidly adheres to ritual, ceremony and formula. As the seasons progress, it becomes clear to us that while these tools may work for humans, they seems run counter to the nature of vampires and demons. Very few of the rituals we will see ever do more than doom their authors. “From now on, we're gonna have a little less ritual...and a little more fun around here.” And we do. |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 16:55:45 GMT -5
Harvest kicks off saved by the cross is wierd to think that Angel being a vampire was originally a surprise vamps wear black-white-red Willow's little black and white dress under brown jumper that looks almost red, not a good choice then New day, new color scheme. Green now, on Xander and I think Giles. Still orangey-brown and blue on Willow. Black on Buffy. Xander's chain has a little round medallion bit, so until I see otherwise I'm going to figure it a St Christopher's, cause it seems to me those are the most common little round bits. Buffy's chain is well displayed. And her hair is all bouncy and curly. ring is blue now. And matches the pad she is holding to her arm. Is that meant to be ice for bruises? I think her eyeshadow is blue too. So, between the vampires the night before and this scene, everyone goes home and gets changed. Maybe even gets some sleep, since it seems to be daylight now. Buffy doesnt go running back to Giles to report yet. "Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return." Its more classic horror story creepy back then, isnt it? With Giles doing the classic lines and the others not using the same language at all. The Master uses those extra long fingernails real well. All the gestures emphasise the pointy. He stands in a way that looks all unnatural. "Does anybody mind if I pass out" Willow is just so *polite* about it...  Buffy sits right close to Willow while Xander and Giles do the restless roaming thing, but only a couple of feet to either side. More of a restless swaying on their feet really. Buffy leans down close to Willow to say how useless the police are. Instead of being all high and talking down to her, closeness. Giles goes from hand on hips to hands in pockets. He moves around a lot. He also fiddles with the filing cards, carries books around, stuff like that. Keeping up with detailed Giles summaries is going to be quite the task. The Master gets all the big dramatic swoosh shots (erm, theres a more technical name for those, you know, when it moves in to look up at him all looming?). All the Jesse groping and the later, er, dodgy Luke/Master shot... I'm not saying anything. Saying a whole lack of thing here. "I think you're being a bit hard on yourself." Giles version of emotional support already. Buffy's voice is striking me as more squeaky and annoyingly American. Um, not trying to insult an entire nation here. I just mean, her voice changed later on. But I lack the vocabulary to say how exactly. Deeper a bit I guess. Giles eating something, probably a mint (little round white thing in a paper tube?) And Giles talking like he doesnt realise Willow hacked the city plans. Heh. Poor innocent guy.  They're all close up in a group. Buffy and Xander lean in close to Willow, Giles just stands behind her, actually as far back as he can get without going up the stairs. Which he could do, and look over the railing, but he stays on their level. The camera stays in close to them, so we the viewers are close to all this, part of it. Then Buffy stalks off to do the 'useless' speech, so then she is seperated. Reckon that happens a whole lot. Xander steps over to her for 'saddle up' "I'm inadequate. Thats fine. I'm less than a man." Xander's perennial worry? I keep on getting distracted by that shirt. Thats a truly ghastly shirt. I mean, green mushrooms. Is it mushrooms? Fungi- keep them in the dark and throw shit on them. But Xander's not in the dark. He really shouldnt wear that shirt. Ever. "I do wanna help. I need to." "Then help me." Giles leans in over Willows shoulder. Sets up the roles again. Willow the assisstant research person. "Rivers of blood. Hell on Earth. Quite charmless." Giles is funny. In a really dry and you only hope he means to be kind of way. "It may be that you can wrest some information from that dread machine." Beat, reaction shot of Buffy, back to Willow looking huh? "That was a bit, erm, British, wasn't it?" *giggles* ;D I love that bit. "Welcome to the New World." full of vampires and scary creepy things, very welcome. "Do I have to tell you to be careful?" see, concern. And eye contact. sweet. Buffy's outfit is black and blue. Slightly bruised today. The sunglasses are... interesting. But maybe she's just more used to the dark. "Nobody leaves campus while school's in session." Except later seniors having lunch. And this is where bloody PowerDVD refuses to give me any more playback. So for now, this is all I've got. |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 17:43:11 GMT -5
aha, enlightenment. Player lets you start again. I'll think of it as a commercial break and keep going.
Big conversation with Buffy behind bars. School cage. Subtle.
Xander wearing a random chain on his belt. Chains I have noted before as interesting.
Rain of toads. Funny.
Willow's hair isnt really really red yet. Just kinda red.
Xander staring off into the distance. he's really present for that conversation. not.
The crypt is a nice bit of creepy, with the sun coming in and the stone columns and such. Lots of atmospheric shadows. Lucky for Angel.
Buffy one side, Angel t'other, both behind bars, seperated so far.
Angel adjusting his cuffs. Obviously wants to look his best. (and he so does. I'm having a wow moment again. Its been so long its an actual surprise.)
Everyone's kinda slow. Not the snappy back and forth from later when they get the hang of it. Longer pauses between sentences. Which works for people who have just met.
Angel wrist chain. Chains everywhere!
"Cause I'm afraid."
Angel was really different back then. Guess he lost his macho eating rats.
Angel's little lost face on 'do you know what its like to have a friend.' Awww.
(And Buffy's eyes are so not blue.)
She wears quite a lot of earrings. I think that stays true most of the time. Lots of little hoops and dangly bits.
"Good luck." Little whisper and the scared little boy face... awww again...
you know he irritates me in a whole different way than he does later. Actually I was going to say a lot less, but while he does the useless fraidy mystery man thing its still pretty annoying.
Rats and spooky tunnels. We get a Buffy's eye view of proceedings. Does that ever happen again? It feels odd. But it gets us right in there with the Slayer action.
Though I do wish they'd learn that 'nothing to look at cause its so dark' does not actually equal 'scary'.
Xander followed her. He must have been much quicker than her, to catch up after conversations. Also, Angel let him past without showing himself. Or, of course, is gone already, but it is daylight out. Must have taken a different direction in the same tunnels if he has left.
Black jacket. Black clothes in black tunnels, helpful.
"Besides, its this or chem class." ;D
"Well the part of my brain that would tell me to bring that stuff is too busy telling me not to come down here." ;D
Also, Xander much less of an idiot that when he was trying to be suave. Says funny or useful things now. Instead of funny because laugh at.
Xander's either really far behind or really hunched over, because he and Buffy look about the same height here. Cause he's not the big man in this context.
"and all I had was this little little exacto knife" fun
one of those pretty cuts where the new picture sweeps across. I think they didnt use many of them. They're so obviously a film trick I think they distance you from the action.
I love the little file card cabinet with all the rings. Library's are the coolest places. I can almost smell the good book smell.
Giles has his glasses off to read. Hmmm. Well, ASH says he tries to pretend they are bifocals. If they are pretend glasses, he not yet used to how to use them? Or do some prescriptions read better without?
Also, Giles pretty.
Also also, Giles hair pretty dark back then.
Willow in computer lab, being sneakily bitchy. Coolness.
Harm looking so young. Well, actress was apparently the actual age of character. Which is younger than everyone else. Way younger than CC.
Cordy nods a lot as she talks, like she's confirming everything she says.
Continuity- first time we see Harmony, what is she wearing on her shirt? UNICORN! And really pink shirt. Harm really, really doesnt change.
Establishing Willow's outsider status, and Cordy the bitch with Cordettes.
Jesse, presumably just risen... ah, actually he shouldnt be risen until dark. Well, maybe The Master turned him and that makes a difference. Jesse isnt wearing vamp face, and doesnt just bite Xander when he gets so close.
Xander and Jesse are close enough friends to hug. Xander isnt big with the hugging of guys, later. Close then.
"I am not okay on an epic scale." Totally telling the truth there.
"Its cool, Buffy's a superhero."
Scary shiny eyes in the dark... vamps wearing glasses.
And leading her into the armoured room makes sense in the way thats not. But he's new, maybe not so bright.
Funny lisping vamp teeth.
"I'm connected, to everything." not to evil.
"You're like a shadow to me now."
But some people keep their attatchments even after undeath.
gah, they get the door closed and PowerDVD stops again. And I'm sure it only gave me 29 minutes.
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 18:17:30 GMT -5
so, Xander's torch is useful, for shining at the grating that shows up because light is shining through it... okay, so Xander feels more useful that way. Those vamps are bending that door around like its rubber. Which would be more impressive if it didnt look so much like a mistake. But vamps, strong. Power tunnels, power plant, theres a whole power thing going on there. The manhole cover looks like it has a big M on it. For Master or Mayor? "Hold on, you've got something in your eye." erk. He's so playful and so... gah, ick. Zoom in on Giles, pen in mouth, books everywhere. Glasses off then on again. Always fiddling he is. "Great." pause "I mean not great in a good way" stuttery stumble. Is funny. Looks like plants in the library, over his shoulder under the window (little half circle window, pretty shapes). What survives in there? Lack of light muchly. yeah, and plants over Willow's shoulder too. So green is still library colored? "Its all coming together. I rather wish it werent." Lots of candles in the Master's place. Seems less than prudent. Luke sucking on the Master. I'm not commenting even a teensy tiny bit... "My blood is your blood. My soul is your soul." er, oops? Vamp soul lacking supposed to be. "My body is your instrument." "On this most hallowed night we are as one." See the whole magic=sex thing got introduced way later on. Obviously. "Every soul he takes will feed me." Master talks about souls a lot. Doesnt add up to much though. Xander jacket vaguely green in this light. Giles in a cardigan. So, Giles is wearing a jacket, a cardigan, and a long sleeved shirt, with tie. Does he have no body heat or something? Is his body temperature adapted for the desert? Or does the library have air conditioning and its turned up too high? "How about the end of the world?" Not prone to doomsaying at all our Giles... So while Giles is talking we go to see Xander staring and being sullen. Why? Just to keep everyone involved? Giles little gestures, finger point for 'tricky business', illustrative little hand thingy for 'cork in a bottle'. you know I dont think is going to add up to brilliant insights this week so I should maybe not comment on every single move. Left handed Giles, watch on left wrist. Buffy gets changed again. So her quick stop before stopping the end of the world lasts long enough to get new top, new trousers, and fix her hair up? I can understand the hair. She is all white and black now. Still with the cross and the same earrings tho. Her mom is white to match. Leather jacket, very worn round the edges, kinda brownish. Not fashionable, practical. Big blue trunk. I have one like that, maybe a bit bigger, with my name painted on the top. Used to take it to school. Layer of innocuous treasures included a trophy for something, a pink... book? box? Diary maybe? An alarm clock with bells on and a cartoony thing on it I dont recognise, a little tiger, a big seashell and some goggles, and some more boxes to fill the corner we mostly wont see behind Buffy. So, beach stuff, kid things, trophy. Harmless surface Buffy. Underneath, Slayer supplies. Including garlic. We never see anyone use garlic. And a tub full of communion wafers? Never see them used as offensive weapons either. *thinks* I have this gun as fires foam discs, I'm sure it could be modified... Stake up her sleeve. Out the window. Vampires break in the window in the first ep, Buffy goes out the window now, then breaks out a window later. theme? Windows are for looking through without getting involved. Well, no such inaction here- break the glass, climb through, bad things and good. No barriers tolerated, no place to hide. Cordy in black. Which we know is a bad idea. Vamp color. Cordy has legs. Long, lots of legs. And a little skirt. And something white underneath it showing just when she starts to walk down the stairs. Uh, methinks my whole clothing preoccupation has lost the veneer of academic interest I've so painstakingly constructed... heh... oops... Using close ups to watch people dance just looks kinda silly. But you can see Jesse lurking in the background with the growly broody face. All black, no white stripes today. And a ring. EVeryone has shiny things in these eps! too many shiny things to be meaning things. "Shut up." is a way to get Queen C to dance?! Eesh. Well, I guess this thing is a learning experience for her. dvd gone again. |
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Post by Lola m on Jun 29, 2004 18:44:12 GMT -5
Lovely review, as always, Diane. The Harvest; a Long Way to Go Looking Back Part II ”Who do you kill around here for fun? Continuing my review of this, the first episodes series in reverse perspective. The beginning—as seen from the end. When we last saw our heroine she was trapped in a crypt, inside a sarcophagus, fetchingly, helplessly about to be bitten by the most overly-verbose vamp in the entire history of the show. Thus opens “The Harvest” or alternatively, “Welcome to the Hellmouth, Part II.” Buffy’s position as the show opens is that of nearly every heroine in every horror movie ever made, and we fear for her as we might for any other heroine even though we’ve seen who she is, even if neither we nor she do not as yet know what it really is going to mean. I really noticed in these first couple of eps how often we have the classic "spooky music while our heroine walks through deserted scary places" scenes. And it made me realize how much we don't see these later. It's like, only at the very beginning was "Buffy alone in a scary place" gonna hold any suspense or terror for us. After we see her really start to kick some ass, it's gonna have to be something beyond this for us to think that Buffy is seriously threatened. Of course, ultimately this will lead to all of us (including Buffy) getting a bit cocky and so we'll need to be slapped in the face with harsh reality in, oh, shall we say, season 5? Ooooh, ooooh! I thought that too. We see hacker Willow and also revenge Willow. Following up Cordy's very snotty "Who gave you permission to exist?" with that perfectly executed destruction of Cordy's program - and all with such an innocent looking face. "Deliver." LOL! That was just the perfect way to take all the sterotyped parental phrases and turn them on their ear. Joyce was just so sweet and sort of sad with her "No. The tapes all say I should get used to saying it." And "Everything is life or death when you're a 16 year old girl." 'Cuz, yep - it really is life or death. OMG, how I love that shot. I had totally forgotten it, and then when I saw it again, I understood why Darla the character had to continue. That scene alone makes her stand out from the crowd of other vamps in these first shows. It's that total pleasure she is taking in all this - she's just having So. Much. Fun! killing people. Knowing the humanity, the variety and the possibilities we're gonna see in several vamps in the future, I was really on the lookout for clues to vamp behavior in these first shows. And, so far, I've actually noticed much more of the personality of the person still there after vamping than I was expecting. Jesse is still fixated on, crushing on, Cordy. He still talks to Xander in a different, oddly jokey-friend, way than he does to others. And he is trying sooooo hard to deny his previous loser status, it's like - protesting too much, eh? Also, so far Giles' speeches about being turned are less ... definitive that I thought they were. About Jesse - he just says that Xander needs to see him as "dead" and "not your friend, the thing that killed your friend". Somehow I had remembered a much more ... nothing of the person is left at all, it's totally just the demon, etc. speech. And earlier, Giles even mentioned demon souls. Hmmmmm. Thanks again, Diane! Lola |
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Post by Lola m on Jun 29, 2004 19:01:30 GMT -5
so, Xander's torch is useful, for shining at the grating that shows up because light is shining through it... okay, so Xander feels more useful that way. <snipped for space> The manhole cover looks like it has a big M on it. For Master or Mayor? Oooh. Clever thought. Mayor Wilkins was working for years building the infrastructure of SunnyD to be ready for his ascension. So, now I imagine him creating the whole system of nice, wide, easy for creatures of the dark to navigate sewers. Could be a M for Mayor or a W for Wilkins, eh? Yep. More eyes. And more eyes going bye bye. We definitely have a Buffyverse theme. Oh, yeah. Joining in with the not commenting. Several opportunities to not comment here. ;D And more comparison with eyes, maybe? Heh, heh! I'm really really enjoying all your comments on colors and interactions and stuff, becca. Thanks muchly. Also, I am finding it very oddly satisfying to look at these early early eps in detail - really pay attention to them. 'Cuz I haven't done that in, gosh, years. Really, for these first season one eps in particular, I have tended to kind of ignore them in recent times. Lola |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 19:02:01 GMT -5
One of those trying to be cool scenes that actually totally works- Darla doing the happy skipping little schoolgirl impression, vamp faced, leading a pack of vampires to the feast. Black and red again on the vamps. I frequently envy their wardrobe. This surprises no one who ever met me. with 'Ballad for dead friends' in the background isnt it? Good music for the moment. The vamps know the territory. Goes straight for the lights. "Actually there is cause for alarm, it just wont do any good." pretty cool line with the lights coming up. Again with him trying to take it seriously, the classic horror stuff, all theatrical. So he gets faked out. Plays with the lights here, gets played with by them later. Fun really. Buffy whiny voice "I didnt know I was gonna get grounded." Thats such a little girl voice. I somehow lack sympathy. Buffy is snapping orders to Giles just like to the schoolkids with him, and he seems quite happy to take them. Watcher power dynamics in action. "You're not looking at your friend, you're looking at the thing that killed him." well, a little fuzzy on the facts, verging on incorrect even, but evocative. And he knows that if Xander goes in there expecting his friend, its going to get him killed. So he finds the words to stop him. And no stuttering. Using the pointing finger and the open hand alternately, making a strong point. The Master with that cool wiggly air effect. I wonder if that victim girl got any other work or if her CV is basically 'second victim in BtVS'? "Feel him rising." I'm giggling in a really immature way here. eh, is fun. Everyone just stands there all 'aaah!' while he makes his speech. Not a single have a go hero in the bunch of them. Well, he is making messy deaths up on stage. "What, no volunteers?" is funny. Cordy being screaming victim girl. And because of what happened to Jesse we dont know for sure she'll be saved. Feel the tension. They make heavy going of watching the stunts. Extra seconds watching Buffy do the cool stuff, rather than it working into the action smoothly. Because back then it was both cool and new, and important that we knew she could do this stuff, so they wouldnt have to spend money showing us later. I love the use of pool cue, and the way it just hangs there and falls out of shot, and she totally ignores it. Keeps her eye on the vessel and practically ignores the regular vamps. Already so confident she can handle run of the mill types. Then taking the coat off, stripping off for action. Her in white, him in black, like a formal match. But, um, isnt she giving up useful armour? Well, it looks cool. She gets so much better at the kicking stuff later. And the bit where she gets the stake out and just holds it in the air, its kinda clumsy. Actually this episode is striking me as really slow. Maybe because I'm in a grumpy already, but it seems like theres lots of half seconds that wouldnt be there later on, and not a whole lot of story for a whole episode. I usually watch WttH and Harvest back to back so the pacing feels different. huh, its Giles that breaks the door open. He has something shiny in his hands and theres thud noises, and Xander pulls the door open. The Exit sign is red. Are they usually green? The ones I've seen are green. Xander pauses to make sure Buffy is on her feet and okay before getting on with his bit of the mission. Already all Buffy focused.  Buffy stands there appreciating the funny after 'heads up' and therefore gets grabbed from behind. Amateur mistake she grows out of fast. But, it was pretty funny. Cordy gets knocked down and just stays down, no kicking or anything. She gets over that fast. And Xander to the rescue. Not because its Cordy, but even if C fuzzes it out in memory her subconscious starts to learn here what the real Xander is like. Ends up seeing him. Cordelia made *sooo* much progress from the early 'recurring victim' days. "I always wanted to kill a Slayer." and with the nuzzling. Eew. And also, stupid. You kill, then you gloat. Basic rule. Of course if the bad guys knew this the good guys wouldnt live as long. And Giles moving across just so he can have his back to Darla when she pounces. Kinda clumsy move there. Giles not got the situational awareness yet, focused on the far off, not quite in the there and then. Willow to the rescue with holy water! So the authority figure man gets saved by the little geek girl. Thats way more girl power than the blonde superhero. And Xander just standing there holding the stake. Even with Jesse in vamp face Xander still sees his friend in there. I think maybe he couldnt have done it, staked vampJesse. Not then. I mean he hadnt seen the people being killed, so it would not be as real to him as the guy standing right there. So, someone bumps into Jesse. Which is actually really funny. I lol every time. The little guh noise and the surprise face. But for Xander, not so good. Watched his friend's body die before he had it straight in his mind if that was a good thing. And then the little shock pause before straight back into danger. "Sunrise" and he's all 'aaaargh!' with the little hand movements, and its all out of pure habit. And stupidity, because how much of the club could he dodge into? So its the classic monster movie saved by the sun, only not. Good triumphs because evil is really dumb. And Luke and the Master all reaching out with the same gesture. Its a whole lot of work to put into one dusting. I love the Buffy look up. The lighting. It works so well. Classic the good way. Angel in the alley, standing in front of a 'Watch your step' sign, but it looks like 'Watch You' while he says "She did it." "I'll be damned." Well yes dear, you already are. "Its over." Says Giles, who should know better. "Did we win?" Willow always with the questions. "Well, we averted the apocalypse. Give us points for that." Buffy's job for the next 7 years. "One things for sure. Nothings ever going to be the same." And Xander with the dumb comment. Well, not so dumb, but immediately looks dumb. Back at school, back in the sun. The green is gone (because they arent all new any more) and the brown white purple blue is back. Xander has a camouflage thing going on and Willow is fuzzy. Buffy is sucking on a lollipop and all covered in I think cherries. Back to little girl mode now the danger is past. "People have a tendency to rationalise what they can and forget what they cant." handy explanation. "I'd say the fun is just beginning." I *love* Giles' geeky enthusiasm here. This monster stuff is to him as Buffy quoteage is to us, his personal happy place. You can see the geek joy on his face. "The Earth is doomed." confidence Giles I love that little tag scene. The schoolkids together and Giles clutching his bag like a shield. Walking with them but heading off his own way before the end. Fits so very well. |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 19:05:56 GMT -5
said a whole bunch of things I'm going to nod and agree with and now I go to get lunch (at 3am) and rest my fingers cause they're all achy from the typing. |
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Post by Karen on Jun 29, 2004 19:09:22 GMT -5
The Harvest; a Long Way to Go Looking Back Part II ”Who do you kill around here for fun? “From now on, we're gonna have a little less ritual...and a little more fun around here.” And we do. Love the last quote, Diane. And then Spike's "Let's see what's on TV." that follows. So funny. Spike's idea of fun. I love when we get a Joss myth explanation. Of course, this is from the "books", so we never are quite sure how "true" it all is. Clever Joss, to put in the flexibility. Xander - with Buffy until the end. And still true to character. It always bothered me that he didn't seem real broken up about Anya's death. But after watching "Chosen" the other day - I saw the pain in his eyes, and the covering up of that pain with a quip. Rewatching is so bittersweet. Thanks for a great review, Diane.  |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 19:12:01 GMT -5
Giles says soul, The Master says soul, so logically based on this ep demons, at least vampires, have souls that can be passed on by mixing blood. Which is a whole different use of the word than we get later once Angel is the story.
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Post by Lola m on Jun 29, 2004 19:21:45 GMT -5
said a whole bunch of things I'm going to nod and agree with and now I go to get lunch (at 3am) and rest my fingers cause they're all achy from the typing.  And take care of yourself, now, becca! Lola |
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 19:29:13 GMT -5
Xander
fungi
fun guy
a pun so painful my brain did the repress/deny thing
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Post by beccaelizabeth on Jun 29, 2004 19:44:49 GMT -5
trying to find some theme in all my notes-
Research brings Giles and Willow closer (where they stand, how they relate)
Getting seperated from the gang leads to badness (move to step away, get eated)
that isnt exactly deep
I think my brain is fried for now
I'll go read something unrelated and see if anything percolates.
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Post by Rachael on Jun 29, 2004 21:59:00 GMT -5
Not sure what I might have seen that be hasn't got to yet, but let's see if I found anything:
Lots and lots of puppy analogies (and behaviors) in this episode. The Master is "your faithful dog", Jesse follows Cordelia around "like a puppy dog", and Darla (still massively out of character by comparison with later) really is like the Master's puppy-dog.
Willow's first instinct: call the police. Hee. So very Willow, in the beginning. That would be the logical and correct thing to do, no?
Xander: "There's an electrical tunnel that runs under the whole town." So, Xander is already showing more depth of knowledge than his "class clown" image would imply. And, you know, it might be construction-work valuable knowledge, for later.
Ahem. Willow is already making with the violations of rules she doesn't see any point to, just to see if she can - hence the hacking of the city plans.
Sunnydale High had a gate that locked for exactly one episode.
This episode features the first ever eye poking-out on BtVS - just for contribution to our earlier discussion of the theme of seeing and not seeing.
Giles: "Opening dimensional portals is a tricky business." Yeah? Well, I know at least one woman who's pretty good at it. 'Course, she used science, not so much magic, but if Willow's to be believed, they're one and the same.
Xander saves Cordy's life for the first time.
"It's in about 9 hours, moron." Still one of my most favorite Buffy one-liners, ever.
"Maybe you could blow something up." Well, in a couple of years, sure.
"The earth is doomed." Hee. Love that first-to-last continuity.
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Buffy stands there appreciating the funny after 'heads up' and therefore gets grabbed from behind. Amateur mistake she grows out of fast.
