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Post by Queen E on Jan 13, 2005 23:26:34 GMT -5
I *heart* your thoughts. Really.
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Post by Lola m on Jan 17, 2005 12:26:40 GMT -5
Erin!! Yay, another analysis!
How appropriate that you highlight Angel's very important statement to Faith: "Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to." I think this is so key to the different direction Faith finally takes at the end of this episode. It is one thing to realize you have been wrong, done wrong. To make the decision, make a new choice in life, etc. But we've seen Faith supposedly realize things and mean to change before. It didn't stick. Why does it this time? Because she realizes the world needs to be ready for her change. She needs to accomodate the world. And thus she turns herself in to the police.
Wow, wow, wow. All the meanings and layers and metaphors with words. Downstairs and down and sanctuary. The reminder of Faith being the shadow side of Buffy. Sanctuary as refuge; sanctuary as protection from being hunted; the analogy of a wild animal. All just such excellent ideas and I really like how you wove them all together.
I also like how you pointed out her time in prison being a chance for her to rest and heal. Not what many might have had as their first thought about prison. But I think you are very correct. Yes, prison still contains possible violence, but it is a totally human violence. By resting from the "slayer" aspect of herself, Faith is able to take the time she needs to think and move forward.
And then it comes back to basics again - power.
"Who has the power and the responsibilities of said power", could, as you said, be an essay all its own (and probably has been so many times). But you boiled it down very neatly when you said:
Finally, I really liked your summary paragraph, because of the way it linked a central idea of the ep (sorry is not enough and words versus actions) to a larger web between episodes and 'verses (the future arcs of AtS, "The Yoko Factor" on BtVS).
Kudos and brava and yay!
Lola
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Post by Barb on Jan 17, 2005 13:12:35 GMT -5
"Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to." I agree with Lola (and you) that this is such an important statement, not just about Faith and Angel, but about Spike later. Clearly, Angel was ready to accept Faith's change at that time. He had a lot of trouble accepting Spike's change later. But they were both mirrors of himself in a way. He had to believe in Faith so he could continue to believe in himself. But he falters, and shows Faith how he's faltered, even souled. Choice between what's right and what's easy. (Yes, I shamelessly stole that from the Harry Potter fandom, but it seems apt.) Interesting that in Season 5 that at first, he simply COULD NOT conceive that Spike could change for the better. Don't know how much of that is about their shared history and Buffy, though, so Angel's thoughts about Spike are biased in the extreme. But it seems that Angel has virtually given up on himself, and believes that if HE can't make it (shanshu), then he doesn't want to believe Spike can either. YMMV Oh! And fabulous review, Erin!  {{Erin}}  |
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Jan 17, 2005 16:22:35 GMT -5
Great review Erin. I especially liked your pointing out that the Faith-like qualities and symbolism of the second assassin and what you said about "Power Level." I had always just thought that the bit about the microwave was just a classic Jossverse way of subverting the Angel's melodramatic spiel about redemption, but Power Level does fit in to the rest of the episode.
What really interests me is Buffy in this episode: it's a turning point for her because, as Angel quite rightly says, she came for vengeance. Her inability to understand why people like Faith don't always do the right thing and recognize a cry for help (although she's not that different from everyone else in this episode in this respect), her shock that Angel is no longer All-About-Buffy, her inability to forgive Faith but her lack of hesistation to help her evade the Watchers Council's goons. Not a very flattering episode for her character and sort of shows how much further Buffy has to grow.
Barb's comment above about Angel not being able to accept in season 5 that Spike had changed is intriguing. I've always thought that once Wolfram and Hart targeted him, being the type of person he was (ref. his rant about them in Blind Date), he couldn't help being obsessed with them and his focus on saving souls was much diminished. I wonder even if Angel would have been able to help Faith after this point.
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Post by Queen E on Jan 17, 2005 21:24:38 GMT -5
Erin!! Yay, another analysis! How appropriate that you highlight Angel's very important statement to Faith: "Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to." I think this is so key to the different direction Faith finally takes at the end of this episode. It is one thing to realize you have been wrong, done wrong. To make the decision, make a new choice in life, etc. But we've seen Faith supposedly realize things and mean to change before. It didn't stick. Why does it this time? Because she realizes the world needs to be ready for her change. She needs to accomodate the world. And thus she turns herself in to the police. Absolutely. And more than that, Faith needs to understand that some people will never be ready for her change. One of the things that undermined her before was wanting support from people she had no right to expect support from, and making excuses for the choices she made (blaming them on Buffy, for instance). Thank you so much! I almost went crazy with all the words in this episode. So many people saying the same words with different levels of meaning; more importantly, how many words does it take to make a difference in action. It makes me think of the Talking Heads' song "Psycho Killer": "You’re talkin’ a lot, but you’re not sayin’ anything." Like Lilah and Lindsey being so politically correct with the second assassin is a good example: "Sorry, that was speciest of me." And Buffy threatening to beat Faith to death if she said sorry, thereby cutting off her words. The empty promises of the Watchers. But for all Angel's concern he didn't have enough time with her, the few words they managed to say to each other inspired her to do the right thing. As to the resting and healing, I think both Buffy and Faith never had an initial chance to process what their power really means. Buffy was lucky that she had a safer space in which to come to terms with what it meant to be a slayer; Faith didn't have that safety zone until she went to prison. It is funny that it did end up preparing her to handle all the events in Season 4 of Angel and Season 7 of Buffy. Thank you again! I've never watched Alias, which I hear is extremely arc heavy, but Buffy and Angel have ended up being the most arc heavy series I've ever seen. And I love it! I love that Season 1 episodes of Angel have such an influence over the arcs of both shows. Kudos for your awesome shiny thoughts! |
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Post by Queen E on Jan 17, 2005 21:33:02 GMT -5
"Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to." I agree with Lola (and you) that this is such an important statement, not just about Faith and Angel, but about Spike later. Clearly, Angel was ready to accept Faith's change at that time. He had a lot of trouble accepting Spike's change later. But they were both mirrors of himself in a way. He had to believe in Faith so he could continue to believe in himself. But he falters, and shows Faith how he's faltered, even souled. Choice between what's right and what's easy. (Yes, I shamelessly stole that from the Harry Potter fandom, but it seems apt.) Interesting that in Season 5 that at first, he simply COULD NOT conceive that Spike could change for the better. Don't know how much of that is about their shared history and Buffy, though, so Angel's thoughts about Spike are biased in the extreme. But it seems that Angel has virtually given up on himself, and believes that if HE can't make it (shanshu), then he doesn't want to believe Spike can either. YMMV Oh! And fabulous review, Erin! {{Erin}} Thank you! Your points seems spot on to me about the differences in treatment of Spike and Faith, as well as his ability to show Faith the good and the ugly about himself, both souled and unsouled (something he would not have been able to do with Buffy). One other point about Spike, to add to the excellent insights you gave, is that Angel is really in no way responsible for Faith going bad. He can understand her and she mirrors his journey, but he didn't make her that way. Spike, on the other hand, his fingerprints are all over Spike (wow, slashy!). Even if he didn't turn him, he created Drusilla, who created Spike, and acted as his "yoda." |
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Post by Queen E on Jan 17, 2005 21:42:49 GMT -5
Great review Erin. I especially liked your pointing out that the Faith-like qualities and symbolism of the second assassin and what you said about "Power Level." I had always just thought that the bit about the microwave was just a classic Jossverse way of subverting the Angel's melodramatic spiel about redemption, but Power Level does fit in to the rest of the episode. Thank you! And you're right; it was classic Joss undermining...I could have been reading too much into it, but it seemed significant. Just as the best undermining example, in "Helpless" still has a deeper meaning for Buffy and Angel...Angel wants to warm Buffy's heart with his own. Even though he has no warmth and his heart doesn't beat. Absolutely. Faith isn't wrong that Buffy can't understand what it means to be out of control. Buffy won't understand until Season 6, and it scares the crap out of her. I think it's great that they take the risk of make the title character unlikeable, since it really is essential for her development. I wonder that too. It's really the flip side of Angelus; they're both so tunnel-visioned and obsessive. First he can't think of anything but Buffy ("it's still all about you, Buffy," Willow says in "Passion"). In LA, he can't think of anything but Wolfram and Hart. He may not have had enough left to give to Faith. Thank you for your thoughts...it makes me excited to do more of these analyses! |
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Post by Lola m on Jan 18, 2005 15:22:02 GMT -5
"Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to." I agree with Lola (and you) that this is such an important statement, not just about Faith and Angel, but about Spike later. Clearly, Angel was ready to accept Faith's change at that time. He had a lot of trouble accepting Spike's change later. But they were both mirrors of himself in a way. He had to believe in Faith so he could continue to believe in himself. But he falters, and shows Faith how he's faltered, even souled. Choice between what's right and what's easy. (Yes, I shamelessly stole that from the Harry Potter fandom, but it seems apt.) Interesting that in Season 5 that at first, he simply COULD NOT conceive that Spike could change for the better. Don't know how much of that is about their shared history and Buffy, though, so Angel's thoughts about Spike are biased in the extreme. But it seems that Angel has virtually given up on himself, and believes that if HE can't make it (shanshu), then he doesn't want to believe Spike can either. YMMV Oh! And fabulous review, Erin! {{Erin}} Very good points about Spike, from you and Erin and Spaced Out Looney. IMHO, all of the things you guys mentioned are a factor in Angel's inability to see any good possibilities for Spike in season 5. I had contemplated most of them before - their shared issues with Buffy, their own muddy history, the guilt that Angel feels about Spike's "creation". But I hadn't really thought about Angel's own sense of giving up, his downward sink into obsession with W&H, as contributing to it. Thanks for the new thoughts, guys. Lola |
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Post by Queen E on Jan 18, 2005 18:01:06 GMT -5
Very good points about Spike, from you and Erin and Spaced Out Looney. IMHO, all of the things you guys mentioned are a factor in Angel's inability to see any good possibilities for Spike in season 5. I had contemplated most of them before - their shared issues with Buffy, their own muddy history, the guilt that Angel feels about Spike's "creation". But I hadn't really thought about Angel's own sense of giving up, his downward sink into obsession with W&H, as contributing to it. Thanks for the new thoughts, guys. Lola Thank you for your new thoughts, too! I learn so much on this thread, that I want to go back and rewrite my analyses. |
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Post by Riff on Jan 20, 2005 16:31:48 GMT -5
I enjoyed this review enormously, Erin. The driving image and theme of Faith is shown to link so well with other themes and subplots. Faith's vulnerability has been suggested before, but in this ep we see her surprisingly fragile. For much of it ED gives an excellent performance of someone emotionally drained, able to succumb to nervous exhaustion. The theme of shelter that you so rightly foreground as fundamental is at the root of this. Something that occurred to me while watching the ep again is that Angel functions rather like Faith’s Watcher, a role he tried before but was stopped by, ironically, Faith’s actual watcher at the time, Wes. You’re right that Angel’s home is a poor sanctuary, and yet, despite some of the psychological tortures Faith goes through, the fact that she allows herself to be so tired indicates to me that she at least partially has some sense of safety there. Perhaps that is one of the things she tries to run from. As usual, redemption is the theme of AtS (though I personally feel that crucial theme became lost at the end of Season 5). I find your observation that Faith ultimately takes control of her own redemption correct and fascinating. As you also point out she has felt little control for most of her life. Is her confession a moment when her inner confusion quietens, I wonder? As for Buffy… I understand her anger and her behaviour, but when Faith’s actual character is open to the viewer, it’s hard not to see Buffy as a destructive force in the ep. Perhaps she has become Faith. Hmmm. *shakes his head in admiration* I love that. Obviously I agree wholeheartedly that this ep shows more evolution by Wes. Most importantly, it is a termination of his links to the Council and everything it represents. It’s interesting to speculate just how much his eventual actions are loyalty to Angel, and how much they are an acknowledgment that Faith can indeed be redeemed. I think Wes is generally capable of having that kind of flexibility. Although, if Faith had dusted Angel or more seriously injured Cordy before her epiphany, I imagine Wes would have been less forgiving. Considerably.  |
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Post by Queen E on Jan 21, 2005 0:24:40 GMT -5
I enjoyed this review enormously, Erin. The driving image and theme of Faith is shown to link so well with other themes and subplots. Faith's vulnerability has been suggested before, but in this ep we see her surprisingly fragile. For much of it ED gives an excellent performance of someone emotionally drained, able to succumb to nervous exhaustion. The theme of shelter that you so rightly foreground as fundamental is at the root of this. Yes; and I was most impressed to, and this sounds very shallow, that she physically looked like she was at the end of her rope: tense body language, dark circles under her eyes...so often television isn't that great about not "prettifying" even moments like this. She looked like she was detoxing off drugs, which, metaphorically, she was. Absolutely he does! And what you say is underscores the Council's real inability to detail with anything outside of their experience, any independent movement on the part of "their" slayer. Because they move immediately to "terminate the target" when they can't be guaranteed passage to England in "Who Are You." No other options, like stateside intervention, are ever discussed. Of course, because not only does she feel she doesn't deserve it, but to be "still" means time to think, and relive all of the things that led her to this point. She can find some degree of rest, though, because she knows Angel is the one person who won't hurt her. Indeed, and I think that was intentional for Season 5. They "lost the mission" big time. Which is perfect for the arc, actually, because not only did they lose Cordy, Connor, and their memories, but believed everything they'd worked for was a grand manipulation. They were flailing and falling; they were the "helpless" in Season 5. As for Faith, I think yes, the confession is a moment when she can be at rest. That shot at the end really tells me that's what she's found. By the time we see her in action in Season 4, she has a much better sense of herself and a focused sense of purpose and limits. I wish we could have seen more of her arc, and hope that now that Tru Calling is gone, that they'll be a Faith spin-off. Oh, I have so many thoughts about that. The biggie is that the body switch, which awakened in Faith the desire to do good and gave her the opportunity to feel what it was to be loved and admired, did the opposite for Buffy. This is just my theory, but I can't imagine there wasn't a bit of psychic residue from that experience on Buffy's part. She really changed significantly after that; slowly, but...not only in Season 6, when she really applied the "want, take, have" philosophy to her relationship with Spike, but she almost directly quotes Faith's words in "Bad Girls": You know in your gut we don't need the law. We *are* the law." in "Selfless": "Human rules don't apply. There's only me. I am the law." Ah, now I'm blushing. That struck me because the stereotypical thing to say would be, "Bullseye." But he chose a very specific number on the dart board that also represents an angle, and rotation...etc, etc. It seemed significant. And I'm very impressed with Wes in this episode; he's got every right to say what he does at the start, but I like the way he makes a firm decision and stays with it. No attempts to really suck up, or wash coffee beans, or jump at the chance to return to the familiar, the known. But you're right; had she inflicted more damage to those he cared about, I doubt his flexibility would stretch that far. And it's amazing how in a year he has gotten that flexible; it's a testament to his inner strength. Thank you so much for commenting! Many good thoughts that made me think more about the episode! |
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Post by Sara on Jan 25, 2005 9:56:54 GMT -5
Awesome job, babe. I lost track of all the new ways of looking at this episode that you provided for me, but most notable was the observation that Faith physically spends most of the episode in the same place she is emotionally--at rock bottom. And that it's only after she takes her first steps up from that place that Faith is able to begin truly atoning for her past. The other observation which really struck me was that this is where Wesley begins his transformation as well--it's a great point, and I think you're right on the money. As always, a terrific review. |
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Post by Queen E on Jan 26, 2005 17:59:09 GMT -5
Awesome job, babe. I lost track of all the new ways of looking at this episode that you provided for me, but most notable was the observation that Faith physically spends most of the episode in the same place she is emotionally--at rock bottom. And that it's only after she takes her first steps up from that place that Faith is able to begin truly atoning for her past. The other observation which really struck me was that this is where Wesley begins his transformation as well--it's a great point, and I think you're right on the money. As always, a terrific review. Thank you! It really is a major turning point for Faith and Wes; note how he echoes her "Five by five" in "Salvage." After this pair of episodes, you really see Wes leave behind the "I'll wash these coffee beans individually" stage of his life. It wasn't just the torture; it was more the empowerment that comes with having a choice. He can now put what happened in Sunnydale in proper perspective, and recognize that arm of the Council not as the good guys with their black and white views, but as "three gun-toting maniacs." |
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{{Erin}} 
