8.6 Buffy Season 8, No Future For You - Part 1

[Karen]

Faith!
Giles!

[Anne, Old S'cubie Cat]

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

[Onjel]

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

I agree with you. On all counts. I wonder why Joss did that? I mean, I didnt' get the impression from the show that Wood though Faith was a hardened killer. Something went terribly wrong between them. I wonder if we'll get the backstory.

I'm already hating Lady whatshername.

[beccaelizabeth]

snipped:

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Really? That isn't the impression I got at all.

I mean what were Wood's options right then?
He knows there's a bunch of children who are most likely vampires now. He knows he's responsible for a bunch of slayers. And he knows those newbies can't handle the mini-vamps. Neither can he, on account of not being a Slayer and having a responsibility to stay with his slayers. If he tried he'd get himself killed and leave his charges without knowledgeable backup.
So he calls someone who can get it done.

"I swear I would never have bothered you if I thought any of these girls could take care of them"
and
"Thank you. Sincerely."
is not 'without a second thought'
and he tries with "How've you been" to find out about her, but she hangs up on him.

As to 'I bet he knew they'd been turned' - I thought they both understood that possibility, otherwise why send a slayer and not social services?

Faith was upset about it, but she wasn't letting Wood in enough to know that, so it's not like he could help her when she wouldn't let him.

Really, I can't see any thoughtless in what Wood did, just a Watcher doing what needed done.

[beccaelizabeth]

Bits I liked from Giles:

"Were this a garden-variety assassination, I would have used a rifle and done the deed myself."

His tattoo is showing again. (It was probably missing in one scene where he's telling off Willow. I wrote fic about him getting it removed. Apparently not.)

"You and I aren't so unalike"
because he doesn't say "we're much the same" he says "you and I" so they're still seperate and not a we and "unalike" so you've got the idea of unalike and then an extra negative so you've layered up the negatives and the divisions.
... erm, to do a lot of poetry level close reading on a single line.

and then moving right on to the salad fork bit. heh.

And that last "Five by five" - she's learning his words, he's learning hers.
Though he's said he takes his glasses off so he doesn't have to see, but we get a double panel with the eyes in the same direction so it's like he's staring, but he doesn't want to.

I like her dress.
And with gloves and choker/collar. Can analyse symbolism on that - gloves are for not touching the world and not leaving evidence, and collar is being bound to something, restrained, kinda owned. Neat imagery.



yes, it's quite possible I think too much
but I'm trying to get my brain back in gear for college, so *shrugs*

[Anne, Old S'cubie Cat]

beccaelizabeth said:

Bits I liked from Giles:

"Were this a garden-variety assassination, I would have used a rifle and done the deed myself."

His tattoo is showing again. (It was probably missing in one scene where he's telling off Willow. I wrote fic about him getting it removed. Apparently not.)

"You and I aren't so unalike"
because he doesn't say "we're much the same" he says "you and I" so they're still seperate and not a we and "unalike" so you've got the idea of unalike and then an extra negative so you've layered up the negatives and the divisions.
... erm, to do a lot of poetry level close reading on a single line.

and then moving right on to the salad fork bit. heh.

And that last "Five by five" - she's learning his words, he's learning hers.
Though he's said he takes his glasses off so he doesn't have to see, but we get a double panel with the eyes in the same direction so it's like he's staring, but he doesn't want to.

I like her dress.
And with gloves and choker/collar. Can analyse symbolism on that - gloves are for not touching the world and not leaving evidence, and collar is being bound to something, restrained, kinda owned. Neat imagery.



yes, it's quite possible I think too much
but I'm trying to get my brain back in gear for college, so *shrugs*

I just realized, they're doing Pygmalion/My Fair Lady with Giles and Faith.

Giles always takes his glasses off when he's agitated, and that's quite an outfit Faith is wearing. How about that Yellow Submarine sweater, hee.

Nice imagery analysis. It's the Jossverse, so anything is likely to be significant.

[Anne, Old S'cubie Cat]

onjel said:

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

I agree with you. On all counts. I wonder why Joss did that? I mean, I didnt' get the impression from the show that Wood though Faith was a hardened killer. Something went terribly wrong between them. I wonder if we'll get the backstory.

I'm already hating Lady whatshername.

Yes, I think there's bad feeling between Wood and Faith. I hope we get some backstory on what happened.

[Spaced Out Looney]

rubberbandwmn said:

beccaelizabeth said:

Bits I liked from Giles:

"Were this a garden-variety assassination, I would have used a rifle and done the deed myself."

His tattoo is showing again. (It was probably missing in one scene where he's telling off Willow. I wrote fic about him getting it removed. Apparently not.)

"You and I aren't so unalike"
because he doesn't say "we're much the same" he says "you and I" so they're still seperate and not a we and "unalike" so you've got the idea of unalike and then an extra negative so you've layered up the negatives and the divisions.
... erm, to do a lot of poetry level close reading on a single line.

and then moving right on to the salad fork bit. heh.

And that last "Five by five" - she's learning his words, he's learning hers.
Though he's said he takes his glasses off so he doesn't have to see, but we get a double panel with the eyes in the same direction so it's like he's staring, but he doesn't want to.

I like her dress.
And with gloves and choker/collar. Can analyse symbolism on that - gloves are for not touching the world and not leaving evidence, and collar is being bound to something, restrained, kinda owned. Neat imagery.



yes, it's quite possible I think too much
but I'm trying to get my brain back in gear for college, so *shrugs*

I just realized, they're doing Pygmalion/My Fair Lady with Giles and Faith.

Giles always takes his glasses off when he's agitated, and that's quite an outfit Faith is wearing. How about that Yellow Submarine sweater, hee.

Nice imagery analysis. It's the Jossverse, so anything is likely to be significant.

I thought of Pretty Woman, particularly with the whole "learn the table setting" thing. Of course, it's all the same story archtype.

[Karen]

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

Hee! The Yellow Submarine sweater. Giles must be a bit disillusioned with the whole slayer business, because I think The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" has a very, 'Row, Row, Row You Boat' feel to it. These lines both have the same number of beats:

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.

We all live in a Yellow Submarine.

They even rhyme. So, Life is But a dream, in a yellow submarine, eh?


Also, both Robin and Giles are 'using' Faith. I hope she gets her freedom.

[Karen]

beccaelizabeth said:

Bits I liked from Giles:

"Were this a garden-variety assassination, I would have used a rifle and done the deed myself."

His tattoo is showing again. (It was probably missing in one scene where he's telling off Willow. I wrote fic about him getting it removed. Apparently not.)

"You and I aren't so unalike"
because he doesn't say "we're much the same" he says "you and I" so they're still seperate and not a we and "unalike" so you've got the idea of unalike and then an extra negative so you've layered up the negatives and the divisions.
... erm, to do a lot of poetry level close reading on a single line.

and then moving right on to the salad fork bit. heh.

And that last "Five by five" - she's learning his words, he's learning hers.
Though he's said he takes his glasses off so he doesn't have to see, but we get a double panel with the eyes in the same direction so it's like he's staring, but he doesn't want to.

I like her dress.
And with gloves and choker/collar. Can analyse symbolism on that - gloves are for not touching the world and not leaving evidence, and collar is being bound to something, restrained, kinda owned. Neat imagery.



yes, it's quite possible I think too much
but I'm trying to get my brain back in gear for college, so *shrugs*

Heh. All I could think of when Faith stabbed Giles with the fork was that she 'forked' him.

Yeah, I'm 12.

Nice catch on the imagery of Faith's dress, with the choker - being restrained. Kind of sad.

[Karen]

onjel said:

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

I agree with you. On all counts. I wonder why Joss did that? I mean, I didnt' get the impression from the show that Wood though Faith was a hardened killer. Something went terribly wrong between them. I wonder if we'll get the backstory.

I'm already hating Lady whatshername.

That 'Lady' scares me. She has no moral compass.

And I agree that Faith and Wood had some nasty falling out. Could be that he went mainstream, and she had to stay undercover because of being wanted and all was too much for their relationship to withstand.

[Lola m]

Just realised, when reading the part II of this comic, that I'd never come here and posted my thoughts, etc. So, here they are, as they occur to me while going thru the issue:

Nice cover!!

So, her and Robin split up, eh? Well, somehow I didn't see her being ready to be all settled down and so on. But, it seems like they still work together and Faith is treated as the experienced top gun. Someone to bring in when the job may be too difficult for the newbie slayers to tackle.

And she'll do the job, but it's sure not helping her isolation and hurt/anger issues. Damn, dammit indeed. Having to stake a bunch of little vamp kids? Very unfun.

But the, Giles!!! OMG, Giles, looking and talking and acting oh so very Giles-y!! (Leaning on the counter with a cuppa in a yellow submarine sweater and praising her selection of chamomiles? Genious!)

And the reward for the icky job is a good one, but I gotta admit, my first thought was, why hadn't they already fixed her paperwork and helped her out and stuff? I mean, slayer-related stuff is why she busted out of jail and is on the lam in the first place, so don't they owe her?

Plus, it's got to hurt, knowing that they were looking for someone who'd be willing to kill a human and she was the one to come to mind.

Then we meet the proposed kill-ee and I can see why they've suggested the plan. Although, to be fair, shouldn't they try to take out her teacher guy? I mean, he's the one finding people for her to hunt and giving her killing advice and talking her out of any remorseful feelings and taking care of the bodies, so . . . Are we totally sure that she couldn't be salvaged with a different influence around her? On the other hand, since her estate is mystically defended, maybe the Watchers don't know about this guy and his book linking him to the big bad of this season.

Giles being all professor Higgins for Eliza!Faith? Too fun! The conversation about his tattoo? Excellent!

Shirtless Xander. Working out and doing classic Xander-babble. (Fear my awesome power!) With the eye patch and the low-slung sweats and the hair and . . . Oh, momma like this issue, she does, oh yes. "Alone with my sweaty shirtless shame." Back off, Renee, others want to have at that lovely Xander-flesh!

Also, to be more serious, I liked how they used the scene with Buffy and Xander to highlight the connectness of the events we've just seen to the stuff that happened before (Buffy drawing the symbol on the window and so on).

And finally? Fab dress, Faith! Damn!

[Lola m]

karen said:

Faith!
Giles!

Heee! Most succinct! Because, yes, much of my babbling could be reduced to just this.

Well, with a "shirtless sweaty Xander!" added in. ;D

[Lola m]

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

Huh. I took it more as a "you're the one with experience who can handle this" kind of thing. Not fun in any way, of course, but they kind of thing they each tend to turn to each other for. Because they have more experience with the nastier end of the nasty work slayers do.

I was thinking they each knew/were anticipating pretty much what she encountered. That this was why he said the thing about her having kids.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

But I do think you are right about Giles knowing her better and relating to her better. I think Wood, for all his experience, is a bit more sheltered. Or, perhaps, a bit less likely to acknowledge his own less than noble actions / motives. (Um. I may have "you tried to kill Spike" issues there, so . . . ;D )

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

The sweater was comic gold, wasn't it? ;D

[Lola m]

onjel said:

rubberbandwmn said:

Yes! Yes!

But I really wanted to Wood. What an evil thing to do to poor Faith.

And it occurs to me that it shows that Wood doesn't understand Faith half as well as Giles does - Wood sends her off to deal with the vampire kids (and I'll bet he knew that they'd been turned) without a second thought.

Giles lays out what he wants Faith to do, tells her why it's to her advantage as a way of talking her into it, but he also listens to her, and opens up to her about his own youthful mistakes.

Giles is trying to connect with Faith in the same way he connects with Buffy, while Wood is just using her, and I don't think he cares if she survives or not.

Also, Giles' sweater?

I agree with you. On all counts. I wonder why Joss did that? I mean, I didnt' get the impression from the show that Wood though Faith was a hardened killer. Something went terribly wrong between them. I wonder if we'll get the backstory.

I want to get the backstory too, but I wonder if we'll get time. Comics are so compressed, aren't they? On the other hand, they could explore backstory through Faith memories or flashbacks, couldn't they? Sort of how this story starts with her remembering about her mom reading Dr Seuss.

I'm already hating Lady whatshername.

She is rather horrible, isn't she?