8.22 Swell

[Lola m]

Have you heard about that new dance craze, the Swell? It's a killer!

[Lola m]

Ha! Vampy cat. I mean, evil, yes. But adorable! Well, until there were a whole hell of a lot of them, yelling things like “eat their #%&@in ovaries”, or crouching low, holding in their stuffing telling the “slayer scum” that nothing can stop the swell. Or, you know, smooshing into a giant plushie with ginormous teeth who plans to cleanse the slayer blight in a sea of blood. Because that? Disturbing and eeeeeeeeeee!

But also, the first one was bait. Bait that is working for the big bad and doesn’t bite you to make you a vamp (or a vampy cat), but bait that turns you into a Stepford slayer-and-woman-hating brain-washee in order to get the location of Buffy and the slayers in Scotland. I was glad to see that killing the stuffed animal ended the possession of Satsu.

It was good to see that the Harmony ep wasn’t completely a one-off, but had something to add to the arc. They’re doing a return to the idea from “Lie to Me”, slapping down the idea that vampires are cuddly nice “lonely ones”, but also making it part of the larger evil plan to defeat the slayers. Plus, it’s a nice little sly snark about the currently popularity of romantic/nice/hero vamps. Plus plus, I liked how it also makes us think about the evil puppets from Smile Time.

I actually like that they used Kennedy to verbally smack Katsu upside the head. Again, it is very Kennedy – harsh and aggressive and saying the stuff that other people won’t say. Or at least won’t say as meanly straightforwardly (pun not indended).

I almost felt a little sorry for the monster who lost his fourth hand. Just cannon fodder for his evil bosses, he was.

Best line? “Anything small and fluffy moves, kill it.”
Second best? “Your evals so getting a smiley face.”

Best action moment? “It’s not the sparks he should be afraid if . . . it’s the fire.” HA! Torpedoes for the plan B win!

If the enemy is using the media to smear you, what is the best way to fight back? Use the media yourself to promote a squeaky clean (and therefore kinda as false as what they are doing) image? Use the media to present the truth (which is always so complex and therefore not easily presented and made palatable in a mass communication way)? Just keep a low profile (and hope that the short attention span is your friend)? Another really rather excellent commentary on modern life.