8.23 Predators and Prey

[Lola m]

Who's eating who?

[Lola m]

“We’re family.” “Andrew, if you slam that door one more time, I will make you eat it.” HA!

Which is cute and adorable, and then, of course, we find out about a rouge group of slayers doing a lot of the bad things that the big bad is using the media to smear all the slayers with and turn the public against them before they even know what they really are. Grey areas and ambiguity, here we come! Yay!

The trip with Andrew was perfect and delicious and I think my very favorite part of his babble was “Hellen Killer, get it?”. Because you know that would totally make so much money it isn’t even funny. We’re talking best seller, best ratings, whatever. And I loved that instead of going the classic “Buffy wants to kill him” route, they have them bond over, well, Bond.

I wonder, is Andrew’s bully theory the full explanation? Or is the big bad also manipulating Simone and Nisha and company?

Bad Andrew! Breeding giant extinct demon-monster spiders! Ohhhhhh! Simone was one of Andrew’s slayers and he feels all guilty about her turning out all mean and whatnot. And he’s never been accepted or felt like part of the group and didn’t want them to take that away. Awwwww. But still, when you create demon spiders, Andrew, you tell someone about it! **shakes finger at Andrew**

Simone uses all the classic arguments that militant revolutionaries have used. My violence is OK, because I’m using it against our oppressors (oppressors defined by me, of course). Hurting/killing/using innocent people is OK, because “no one is innocent” (innocence defined, or rather, denied, by me, of course). We’re hated and feared already, so why not give them something to hate and fear (because, of course, that is really how I want to act and so I’m really happy to find a way to justify it). This is all just a grander version of Faith’s “we do a lot of good, so we’re entitled to anything else we want, and if we kill a few along the way, that’s balanced out by all the people we saved” shtick.

Oh! Oh! And here’s why it started with the quote about family! And why it had to be Andrew in danger – because many people would have agreed to sacrifice him. He is annoying, etc. But of course that’s not right. And if there’s one thing Buffy knows, usually, at least in her heart, it’s what is right. “Simone? Keep the demon, don’t keep the demon. I don’t care. I’ll find a way to stop you. But Andrew comes with me. I don’t walk away from my people. Because that’s who I am.”

Once again, it’s not just Buffy alone (or anyone alone) that saves the day. It’s the group. Theme, people! I’m telling you, it’s a theme! I mean, have we seen a single individual win in this season? Hmmmm?

Best line(s)?
“Mr. Wells comes with us.”
“Um. I’m actually here, too.”
“. . . And Buffy also comes with us.”

Also? You wanted the Ragna? You got her.

Also also? “Everything in our lives has changed. It isn’t fair.” THEME, people!! Theme!!