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Post by Spaced Out Looney on May 6, 2009 8:12:35 GMT -5
Great thinky thoughts, all. Hope to have this reviewed and posted before next Tues!
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on May 6, 2009 9:36:57 GMT -5
I'm with Lola; although the staging is a bit obvious, it does undercut itself nicely: the "evil thing" Spike? Doesn't really have a plan at all. Not even when he was evil evil.It's interesting, too, that Buffy has to be told what it is her friends expect, and shows how distant she is from them; even, I would argue, that she's angry. She can't admit that, yet, but... And I actually think that Tara was freaked out by Willow's wresting of power in that scene; it's unclear whether Willow is relying on her own power or if she's taken something, maybe even stolen a bit of Tara's power (I'm thinking of the scene in "Get It Done" where she takes something from Anya and Kennedy to open the portal). One final (shallow) thing: Sweet Jesus, that top that Willow is wearing in the final scene? More horrifying than any demon. It looks like she skinned Elmo to make it. No matter how many times I watch this episode that fuzzy red thing never gets any less ugly. *shudder* Yes, my favorite scene segue!! *bounce* *bounce* I love it for the undercutting, but also the plans Spike will have and the things he will do in the future are not exactly what Anya has in mind. I also love it because of the constant use of the phrase "evil thing" to refer to Spike throughout the season. The season also really calls into question the nature of evil more than any season that came before: Can "evil things" do good deeds? Can "good people" commit acts of evil? But mostly I love it because consistently throughout the series, Buffy in particular think that vampires and demons are nothing but evil every single moment of their existence, when we see that many of them are sentient, having thoughts, desires, and interests that can't exactly be classified as good or evil. There was also a scene segue in the fifth season where Buffy says something about how we all know that Spike is up to no good and we cut to him and Harmony playing 20 Questions, but I think this segue is the best example of that. Ooh, I never thought of that, but it makes a lot of sense.Oh God, yes. *shudder*
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Post by KMInfinity on May 9, 2009 13:39:16 GMT -5
I think this episode has the best Buffy/Spike interaction of the whole series, minus, perhaps, the grand crazy plan at the end of s2. The part with him dressing her hands, for one lovely bit of interplay (and, as be says, JW tells stories with his face and gestures) and the scene in the alley point to another way things could have gone, if Spike the Victorian Romantic had been steering things. Julia, instead, we get Buffy using him to work out her self-loathing. This episode is the one that makes me question the overt text of the Buffy self-loathing and the horribleness of Seeing Red. Yes Buffy is working all that out, and yes Spike is a demon and makes very very bad choices, but could there have been more balance in the relationship? Okay I need to not veer off into "what might have been" territory. So why does Buffy confide in Spike before any of her friends that she had been yanked out of heaven? Because he doesn't really count? Because he hadn't participated? Given that we the audience need to learn this info now, could it have been relayed some other way?
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Post by SpringSummers on May 16, 2009 14:00:33 GMT -5
S’cubies!! How long has it been since you’ve seen a new Spring Summers' Spikecentricity Analysis? Six hundred twenty one days yesterday. Six hundred twenty two days, today. 'Cept today doesn't count, does it?Because today, there is a new analysis! See the AfterLife analysis here, or by clicking on the episode pic, above. Enjoy! Comment if you are so inclined, on the Spikecentricity thread, here.ATTEN ARCHTECHNOPAGANS: I can't get the main menu page to change. It's still showing "Bargaining Part II." I got the review up, and I got it listed in the list of reviews . . . but can't get the main menu to change. It seems like the index page has moved? Help!!!
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Post by Lola m on May 25, 2009 20:46:18 GMT -5
I think this episode has the best Buffy/Spike interaction of the whole series, minus, perhaps, the grand crazy plan at the end of s2. The part with him dressing her hands, for one lovely bit of interplay (and, as be says, JW tells stories with his face and gestures) and the scene in the alley point to another way things could have gone, if Spike the Victorian Romantic had been steering things. Julia, instead, we get Buffy using him to work out her self-loathing. This episode is the one that makes me question the overt text of the Buffy self-loathing and the horribleness of Seeing Red. Yes Buffy is working all that out, and yes Spike is a demon and makes very very bad choices, but could there have been more balance in the relationship? Okay I need to not veer off into "what might have been" territory. So why does Buffy confide in Spike before any of her friends that she had been yanked out of heaven? Because he doesn't really count? Because he hadn't participated? Given that we the audience need to learn this info now, could it have been relayed some other way? I tend to think there is some very surface truth that Buffy tells Spike because she needs to tell someone and feels completely unable to talk to any of her other friends. Also, he is the one who is quietly sitting there, not pushing her to be happy and just offering an ear to listen. But, of course, I also think that there is an underlying truth that she wants to confide in him because of how she feels about him, even though she doesn't want to acknowledge that. ;D
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Post by luvmyfirefly on May 27, 2009 22:05:40 GMT -5
And now the admission Spike soooo hates to say, that he blames himself for her having to jump. Which is, like, insane, really. A bit of the crazy he shares with Buffy, accepting burdens that really aren't theirs alone. Just the shot of Spike's face when Buffy comes down those stairs with Dawn. He's brilliant. Even when he realizes and tries to recover because Dawn is watching, he can't quite get back control of his face - it's all slack with wonder and happiness.
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Post by luvmyfirefly on May 27, 2009 22:11:52 GMT -5
I think this episode has the best Buffy/Spike interaction of the whole series, minus, perhaps, the grand crazy plan at the end of s2. The part with him dressing her hands, for one lovely bit of interplay (and, as be says, JW tells stories with his face and gestures) and the scene in the alley point to another way things could have gone, if Spike the Victorian Romantic had been steering things. Julia, instead, we get Buffy using him to work out her self-loathing. This episode is the one that makes me question the overt text of the Buffy self-loathing and the horribleness of Seeing Red. Yes Buffy is working all that out, and yes Spike is a demon and makes very very bad choices, but could there have been more balance in the relationship? Okay I need to not veer off into "what might have been" territory. So why does Buffy confide in Spike before any of her friends that she had been yanked out of heaven? Because he doesn't really count? Because he hadn't participated? Given that we the audience need to learn this info now, could it have been relayed some other way? I myself spend way too much time on the "what might have beens". Way too much. SIGH. I think she told Spike for the same reason she was drawn to him for the whole of the season (no, not his tight little body ;D) - because he's the only one who doesn't expect anything from her. Who doesn't need her to be Super Buffy. The whole thing for him is what she needs, what he can do for her.
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Post by Lola m on May 31, 2009 18:37:53 GMT -5
And now the admission Spike soooo hates to say, that he blames himself for her having to jump. Which is, like, insane, really. A bit of the crazy he shares with Buffy, accepting burdens that really aren't theirs alone. **nods nods nods*8 OMG, yes. ;D
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