No more Buffy for my TV

[holdouttrout]

I just finished season seven. My goodness. I have so many thoughts. Mostly ones that are somewhere on the ajksldkfjsdgaster side of the spectrum. It was some ride. I literally his behind my pillow at some points in those last three episodes.



1. Nathan Fillion as Caleb is one of the creepiest things ever.
2. Apparently I am supposed to have some kind of strong opinion about Kennedy. I like that she's very antagonistic as a character, and I'm more or less ambivalent about her relationship with Willow. (I liked that better when it was UST, I think, but wev.)
3. I kinda love that the answer to this season was in Buffy letting go of her solo burden.
4. I guess I'm sort of a Spike/Buffy shipper, except that I don't think I actually want them to get together? I loved Spike's arc, but that doesn't mean he gets the girl he attempted to rape.
5. How did people bear to watch this only once a week?
6. I didn't mind the Potentials, but I would have liked more of the Scoobies. I'm glad there was some of that in the last episode, because otherwise I would have been sad.
7. Spike's bad poetry. Hah hah hah!
8. That scythe looked totally modern and not ancient at all. This is petty, but I have issues with it.
9. I sort of love Buffy. I didn't really expect to, honestly. I mean, I always identified more with the geeky and awkward Willow. I mean, I love Willow, but Buffy.
10. I am SO glad that Giles wasn't dead.
11. I squealed when Angel showed up. And when Buffy kicked him out.
12. There are some serious problems with this show and the last couple of seasons. I wasn't sure I'd make it through season six, due to all the rape stuff. I mean, yeah. It was called out, but it was still hard to watch. That and people pretty much get free passes at redemption. I know that is sort of the point, but sometimes that was also a little troublesome.
13. Felicia Day!
14. Dawn!
15. The whole town becoming one big crater... And then the sign falling in behind. Perfect. (prior to that, loved that everyone left, because it made it just that much more like a true finale. Very dramatic.)

Comments

[annienau08.livejournal.com]

1. OMG yes. I actually didn't watch Firefly at first because I couldn't picture him being a good guy. He was just too creepy good as Caleb. (Side note - I watched a couple of episodes of Castle the other night. It is cute and I can see why people are fannish about it.)

2. I honestly didn't particularly care one way or the other about the whole arc. I'm not sure I completely bought them as a couple, but I was glad to see Willow happy.

4, 11. I was pretty much a Buffy/Angel shipper from start to finish, but I liked that in the end she didn't choose either of them.

6. I quite liked some of the Potentials, but others were pretty annoying. I, too, missed the Scoobies that season.

8. I don't remember it, but I can see how it would irk you. Things like that bug me, too. I don't really think it's that hard to make a prop look era-appropriate.

9. I had issues with Buffy the last couple of seasons, but then I had issues with them all. I still loved them, though. Weirdly enough, Xander became my favorite by the end. Not what I would have expected when I started watching the show.

10. If they had killed Giles, I would have been so very unhappy. Like, find the studio and throw pointy things at the producers unhappy. As it was, I'm still pissed they killed Anya but let Andrew live.

12. Yes. This will require more discussion. Perhaps in person discussion. (SQUEE!!!)

13. Right?! I adore her.

15. Yes, that last scene worked well for me.

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

Wait, they killed Anya?! Clearly I blocked that out of my head. Maybe she's on a supersekrit mission with Jacob Carter.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Yes! That would be really, really amusing, actually.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

1. I think the important part of this comment is the side note, because yay! :-) And yes, I can understand why someone might not watch NF in a non-creepy role after that.

4, 11. I'm always happy when a ship doesn't totally define a female character! I talked shipping stuff over with another RL friend, and we agreed that it's really for the best that Buffy doesn't chose either, too.

6. More scoobies would have made my heart happy.

8. It was just so... augh. Best word I have is shiny, but I think it should have been shiny, so... hard to explain.

9. I love Xander if only for his talk with Dawn about not having cool powers.

10. I ALMOST THREW THINGS AT THE TV. I'm unhappy Anya died while Andrew didn't, but I think that's sort of the point. It did make me realize that one of the issues I have with Joss killing female characters is that he makes me feel like it was absolutely necessary for the story. Ugh.

12. IN PERSON FANNISHNESS TO COME!!!

13. She's just so cute in this, too!

15. So, so fitting.

[l-jade.livejournal.com]

Yes.. Caleb is the creepiest.. I really don't like Kennedy.. & I wish they didn't kill Anya.., but all in all I was OK with the series finale.. unlike Angel's finale which really begged for season 6 :(

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I sort of remember hearing about the Angel finale... yeah, it definitely needed another season.

[sjhw-tolerance.livejournal.com]

I think my very favorite bit is when they talk about where they should go next and Giles suggests Cincinnati (or maybe it was Cleveland, can't remember), thus tieing everything into that alternate Buffy!verse from several seasons earlier (so Joss) but they decide to go to the mall. Absolutely love it.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yes! I love that whole bit when they're deciding what to do. Fabulous.

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

What did you do, mainline it over the weekend?!

1. Yes!!!! UBER-CREEPY (couldn't say that, it was spoilery, heh) Only role I don't like him in. But he was young'un wasn't he?

2. ...I vaguely remember Kennedy. It is probably more the "you're replacing a beloved character" issues--see Jonas Quinn, Cam Mitchell, Jennifer (crap what was her last name on SGA) etc.

3. D'awww.

4. Yes. I got to like Spike, especially this season, but no Buffy or cookie for you vampire.

5. Hee.

6. Scoobies forever!!!!

8. Hee. Just remember, fire bad. Tree pretty.

9. That is exactly how I felt about it (except evil-Willow got a bit too evilly).

13. Wait, what did Felicia Day play? This was before I knew/realized her levels of awesomeness.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

What did you do, mainline it over the weekend?!

*crickets chirp*

1. It's okay, someone else said he was uber-creepy, so if you had let anything slip, I wouldn't have had a different experience. (Besides, he's uber-creepy within a couple of minutes, so...)

2. Well, she WAS pretty annoying. And I have issues with her, too, the more I think about it. *grins*

4. HAH! I also read this first as "No Buffy Cookie for you, vampire." :-)

9. Well, yes, part of the reason I don't love Willow quite as much is her descent into darkness and terror. There is that.

13. One of the Potentials. A cute, nondescript redhead one. *grins* She didn't have a lot of lines or a lot to do, but she did manage to survive to the end. I'm pretty sure.

[jafacakes.livejournal.com]

Damn, makes me want to rewatch it again :-)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Me, too, kinda, except I also need to actually get stuff done around the house now. *g*

[spikesjojo.livejournal.com]

I'm new enough to the Buffyverse to have missed all the fireworks that old fen tell me about. But while I, for personal reasons, find Spike's attempt to rape Buffy horrible, I also think it was the filming decisions that give it the impact it has.

When Angel has no soul he kills a couple of Buffy's friends and tortures Giles - but he's excused because he has no soul. In fact, Buffy continues regarding him as her one true love.

Willow gets high and crashes a car, hurting Dawn. Then when Willow loses Tara she kills Warren - first torturing him with that slow motion bullet and then flaying him. She gets taken off to England for therapy and training with the coven.

I'm not a Spuffy fan - but I have to wonder why it is that unsouled Spike is held to such a higher standard than other characters. This isn't to minimize what he tried to do, (no I do not support rape or torture, murder etc.)just to question exactly why that scene seems to have so much more impact than the others I mentioned.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think you're right. I mean, Xander calls a demon who kills several innocent people, and it's played off for laughs. So, yeah, the writing isn't terribly good at drawing clear lines.

[spikesjojo.livejournal.com]

Xander also attempted to rape Buffy - yeah, he was a hyena at the time but, really, how many hyena/human rapes have you ever read about?

I think in part it's the way the rape attempt was staged - bright white, very realistic, no music - so it seemed more grim. Contrast that with the murder of Jenny - Angel in demon face in front of a large window, dim light and music - more theatrical and less real.

But it's also part of the schism between those who liked Spike and those who felt he was ruining the show, from what I hear.