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Buffy Month(s).

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myopics		#321	[-]
Posts: 913 (01/02/10 12:12 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I know it sounds like I'm in denial, but I'm not. Remove this ad Anyway, about Crush; I don't like it at all. There was something in its tone that was off. It was almost like they were breaking the forth wall when they wrote Drusilla as the huge character she was that fans recognised instead of who her character was really supposed to be on the show. You nailed it about Drusilla, it was one of the weakest guest appearances on the show. BTVS usually has a great way of dealing with high profile guest appearances with real tact. A good example would be the episode we just discussed, Pangs. Angel's return was first and foremost about how his absence affected the people involved and also about establishing what his revised role on the series would be. It wasn't about "Next time on Buffy: Angel returns! Don't miss this very special episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, with special guest star David Boreanaz." This terrible technique of drawing in viewers is something I see a lot of other shows resorting to, and it totally cheapens the character involved! In Crush, I actually thought Drusilla's role was dangerous close to that territory. Next to nothing was done to establish exactly why she was so important and what she meant to Spike, she just appeared and the viewers were expected to squeal with delight. I know the Spike/Drusilla relationship had already been explored a bit before, but I thought the script could have at least made some reference to his genuine feelings for her. Most of what I saw was "This is Drusilla!!!! Do you know how significant she is?! It's DRUSILLA!" The episode felt a bit self-indulgent in that way, like they knew fan-fave Drusilla would return and got arrogant. The idea was a terrific one though! I thought that, in concept, Spike rejecting Drusilla for Buffy was a great way to establish his feelings for her. Much of why the execution didn't work was because the "Spike loves Buffy" story wasn't very strong to begin with. Other than that... what was up with Dawn's random crush on Spike? It totally came out of nowhere and was never mentioned again after this episode. What a totally contrived plot device! This didn't really occur to me when watching the episode, but I know someone mentioned before that this episode was actually the first and only time Buffy and Drusilla directly squared off. It was also really weak in that aspect. Buffy, in chains, kicks Dru away as if she is some vampire-of-the-week (wtf) while Spike is busy fighting Harmony (again, wtf).
thehalford		#322	[-]
Posts: 15 (01/02/10 04:12 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	myopics wrote: ^^^^^^ Heya! Welcome. What do ya think of season 5 so far? Have you completed seasons 6 and 7? Thanks for the welcome myopics, good to be on board :) I actually started watching when season 6 was originally filming so my viewing experience has been all over the shop, watching the last two seasons first before season 3, then 2 and 4... no rhyme or reason whatsoever lol. But with regards to season 5 I kinda liked Riley getting pushed further and further by Buffy before taking that goodbye step. Something which I feel it has a bit of a problem with is that the establishment of Glory as the big bad has been a bit laboured - introduced in the 5th episode but only sort of half there until Checkpoint. I suppose Joyce's cancer and Riley's skedaddling would sort of take away from that though. And it, again, fits into the pattern of hinting at an evil (Spike/Dru ending up with Angelus, Mayor Wilkins, Initaitive/Adam [I LOVED Adam, incdentally. Don't know why]) before setting up the epic last 10 episodes of the season, so I don't know what my point was. And Olaf is awesome.
myopics		#323	[-]
Posts: 914 (01/02/10 05:17 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Just finished watching Triangle did we? Haha, Olaf was very awesome both times he appeared on the series! Or have you watched all of season 5 already? I noticed the use of "skedaddle" which is a season 5 finale word. Lol. 6, 7, 3, 2, 4 then 5 is such a weird way to do it. Spike goes from Buffy's destructive lover to her boyfriend to Dru's puppy to medium-bad to minor annoyance and finally ending up as Buffy's puppy. Hmm... this thing about hinting at evil early in the seasons is interesting. I'll have to think that point over. At first impressions, I think you're right. Spike/Dru, Mr. Trick and Maggie Walsh all stepped aside to even bigger villains by the end of their seasons.
Oaf		#324	[-]
Posts: 232 (01/02/10 11:01 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	myopics and the halford, a very interesting observation about the big bad's replacement in nearing the end of each season - that's true, I think, for every season except 1, 5 and 7. It makes sense to keep your winning card a surprise, but it also somewhat ruins the momentum, I guess. Clue for the next episode: And old sin, some torn skin, - I guess the slate is not that clean.
myopics		#325	[-]
Posts: 915 (01/02/10 10:24 PM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Same Time, Same Place?
thehalford		#326	[-]
Posts: 18 (01/02/10 10:28 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	myopics wrote: Just finished watching Triangle did we? Haha, Olaf was very awesome both times he appeared on the series! Or have you watched all of season 5 already? I noticed the use of "skedaddle" which is a season 5 finale word. Lol. 6, 7, 3, 2, 4 then 5 is such a weird way to do it. Spike goes from Buffy's destructive lover to her boyfriend to Dru's puppy to medium-bad to minor annoyance and finally ending up as Buffy's puppy. Hmm... this thing about hinting at evil early in the seasons is interesting. I'll have to think that point over. At first impressions, I think you're right. Spike/Dru, Mr. Trick and Maggie Walsh all stepped aside to even bigger villains by the end of their seasons. Haha, no I haven't finished season 5, my skedaddle appreciation is just because it's a cool word. My friends and I have decided that 2010 is the year of "shpedoinkle", however. I know, it's all over the place, I need to watch everything from start to stop in order some time or another. :P
Paparazzi		#327	[-]
Posts: 29 (01/03/10 01:34 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I also didn't really like Crush. Everything about is should have been good, but in the end it wasn't really. I think my biggest problem is that the whole episode is about Spike confessing his love/obsession for Buffy and she's all LOLWUT NUWAI and then next season they hook up. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I didn't like that they blatantly said Buffy did not and never will think of Spike that way, and then the next two seasons are about her weird messed up love for him.
Oaf		#328	[-]
Posts: 233 (01/03/10 02:59 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	My 45th favorite Buffy episode of all time: Season 7, episode 3. Written by Jane Espenson. In short: WILLOW: Well, I'm back in Sunnydale, I hope everyone's okay with me formerly killing people and stuff. XANDER & BUFFY: Willow's supposed to be back, we hope she knows we're okay with all the killing. WILLOW: where are they? I wonder where they are and at the same time am experiencing guilt over my dark period. XANDER & BUFFY: where is Willow? Meanwhile, here's a skinless body, most odds are it's Willow's doing. We feel conflicted. GNARL: I am whimsical and like to eat flesh. ANYA: Oh! I can see the whole picture. Please be quiet while I explain. BUFFY: I have slain the demon by squeezing his eyeballs. Oh, there you are, Willow! Now that you are visible and definitely not a killer it's time for the healing to begin. This episode started out a little stale for my taste. I mean, it featured the same closed quarters over and over again, each time showing only half of the people that are actually there. It moved slowly, to say the least. But then the rest of the episode happened, and I realized that the slow start was needed to establish the steadily-growing pace of the episode, and to get the loneliness and the anxiousness the characters were feeling across. The moment Willow meant Anya was when things started to get rolling again, and the entire second half of the episode was pure fun, especially after the "empty" feeling from last episode, in which Buffy, Xander and Dawn sit alone in the sitting room and ask themselves: "this is it?" The episode "clicked" for me when everybody started to bring their A game: Anya was her unintentional funniness; Spike with his controlled insanity; Buffy, Willow and Xander with their true affection for one another that was put on hold until a certain point; Gnarl with his adorable freakiness; and of course, the true star of the episode, Dawn with her hilarious paralysis. Also, the idea of your own fear standing in your way is something I could really identify with and wa a strong basis for the episode. And, Spike mumbling incoherently in the basement was retrospectively incredible. And, the flesh strips Gnarl eats are just something you don't see on TV everyday, in a weirdly good way. Best part: The poseable Dawn! I'll post the dialogue in its entirety right now: BUFFY: OK, watch the head. XANDER: Gotcha. DAWN: (without moving mouth) Watch my head. Watch my head! XANDER: Sofa. DAWN: (without moving mouth) Face up! Face up! XANDER: (rolling her over) She's right, face up is better. BUFFY: OK, I'm gonna check the computer. Find that page. See if there's an antidote. XANDER: It'll be all right. We'll get you fixed up. You'll be doing limbo in no time. DAWN: Yeah, as a pole. XANDER: No, not as a pole. I promise. BUFFY: Oh, got it. It says the paralysis is permanent. (Dawn squeaks) No, oh, wait, my bad. (reading) Permanent until the creature dies. (looks over) Sorry. Guess we have to go back. XANDER: We can't just leave her here like this. What if she vomits? DAWN: Ew. I won't vomit. BUFFY: Do you think she'll vomit? DAWN: Stop talking about vomit. BUFFY: I'll call Anya. She can watch her. XANDER: Right, she'll love being called for vomit watch. DAWN: Stop talking about vomit! (...) ANYA: I bet she's dying. BUFFY: She's not dying. She's just paralyzed. ANYA: Oh. Paralyzed how? XANDER: Paralyzed how? In the not moving way. ANYA: Well, there's lots of different ways. Did you try this? BUFFY: (protesting) Hey! DAWN: Hey! XANDER: Oh! You're poseable. BUFFY: (intrigued) She's poseable? ANYA: It's a common variety. Watch this. Huh. Neat as you please. Hardly a need to undo her. BUFFY: (mouthful of nuts) Where'd you get the nuts? ANYA: Brazil. No need to thank me, by the way, for sitting with her. I'm feeling very benevolent today. Helping Willow. Helping you. You might even call it even for that whole worm thing last week. BUFFY: Yeah, I don't think we could call? Wait, you saw Willow? ANYA: Um-hmm. Oh, she's looking for you, by the way. Decided you might be out in some cave. Sounded pretty tenuous. DAWN: Cave? BUFFY: Anya, listen. This is really important. Did Willow go to that cave? ANYA: Mm-hmm. Last time I saw her, that's where she was headed. Shall I make her salute? That'd be very cute. BUFFY: Xander, she could be there right now. Willow could be trapped with the Gnarl. ANYA: Uh, it's not "The Gnarl", just "Gnarl". Oh, wouldn't it be tragic if you were here being kinda silly with your comically paralyzed sister while Willow was dying? BUFFY: Anya, you know about this creature? ANYA: Uh-huh, sure. BUFFY: You're coming with us. (they head off, leaving Dawn posed with one hand up. Then Buffy runs back and sticks a remote control in her hand. ) Worst part: the time it took for the plot to actual move along. Quality Quote: WILLOW: That sounds great. So, um, where do you think they'd be? ANYA: Oh, at the new high school, probably. Everyone's all about the high school. Buffy's got some kind of job there helping junior deviants, Spike's insane in the basement, Xander's there doing construction on the new gym? WILLOW: Wait, Spike's what in the whatment? ANYA: Insane. Base. Xander does construction. He likes to start early, so he's probably there by now. A sad announcement: I'll have to put this list on hold for a while, because of personal reasons It's unfortunate, becaue I've really enjoyed exploring my feelings on those episodes in this steady pace. I promise to get back to it though, like I did last time. In the meantime, a contest: try and arrange the remaining 88 episodes in the order you think they would come up on the list - there are 44 favorite ones and 44 least favorite ones left. The person who would be the closest to the correct answer will be revealed when the list is over with and will get 10 additional points (!), which has the potential to completely overthrow the power structure up until that point. The remaining 88 episodes, in order, are: 103 The Witch 104 Teacher's Pet 106 The Pack 107 Angel 108 I Robot… You Jane 111 Out of Mind, Out of Sight 112 Prophecy Girl 201 When She Was Bad 202 Some Assembly Required 204 Inca Mummy Girl 205 Reptile Boy 206 Halloween 207 Lie To Me 208 The Dark Age 211 Ted 212 Bad Eggs 213 Surprise 214 Innocence 216 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered 217 Passion 219 I Only Have Eyes for You 220 Go Fish 221-222 Becoming 301 Anne 302 Dead Man's Party 305 Homecoming 306 Band Candy 308 Lover's Walk 309 The Wish 310 Amends 311 Gingerbread 312 Helpless 313 The Zeppo 316 Dopplegangland 318 Earshot 320 The Prom 321-322 Graduation 402 Living Conditions 405 Bear Bad 407 The Initiative 409 Something Blue 410 Hush 411 Doomed 412 A New Man 414 Goodbye Iowa 415 This Year's Girl 416 Who Are You? 418 Where the Wild Things are 419 New Moon Rising 422 Restless 502 Real Me 504 Out of My Mind 505 No Place like Home 506 Family 507 Fool for Love 508 Shadow 509 Listening to Fear 511 Triangle 512 Checkpoint 516 The Body 522 The Gift 604 Flooded 605 Life Serial 606 All the Way 607 Once More, With Feeling 608 Tabula Rasa 609 Smashed 611 Gone 612 Doublemeat Palace 613 Dead Things 616 Hell's Bells 617 Normal Again 618 Entropy 622 Grave 701 Lessons 702 Beneath You 705 Selfless 706 Him 707 Conversations With Dead People 708 Sleeper 709 Never Leave Me 710 Bring On the Night 713 The Killer in Me 714 First Date 716 Storyteller 719 Empty Places 721 End of Days 722 Chosen
myopics		#329	[-]
Posts: 916 (01/04/10 05:53 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Hey Oafie, hope everything's all right with you. Great list so far. I, as well as I'm sure many others, have really enjoyed this list too. I don't think you can find such detailed Buffy appreciation and discussions in many other places, especially with the show being over for years now. Anyway, Same Time, Same Place was kinda average for me. It didn't really stand out either way. Willow subconsciously sabotaging her own return to Sunnydale was a good idea. The episode also dealt with the issues in an ok way. I think it was clear that Buffy and Xan were already going to be nothing but supportive from the opening scene. All in all, Same Time, Same Place had the makings of a great launching pad for more to come. Unfortunately, that was it. Willow's arc is never again mentioned except in passing (thank God for Selfless!). Dawn <3! So much undeserved hate so such an above average character. I loved the paralysis scenes too! It was one of the few times I've seen Dawn being effectively humourous.
myopics		#330	[-]
Posts: 917 (01/04/10 06:37 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I know it sounds like I'm in denial, but I'm not. Remove this ad Man, this list is hard! Since I am deeply troubled and all, I've actually been attempting to arrange all 88 episodes in order. So far, I've narrowed it down to 25 bad episodes, 40 good episodes and 23 undecided.
myopics		#331	[-]
Posts: 918 (01/04/10 09:08 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Holy fuck, I actually did it! I know its mainly for fun, but just out of curiousity, how are we scored? Do we have to get specific placements correct or is it more of a general pattern thing? The latter is very subjective and hard to judge, while the former would technically award points to someone who happened to get a small handful of episodes in the exact right spots, allowing them to make huge mistakes like placing the topmost episode dead last without penalty. Haha, oh well... its gonna be fun seeing people guess any-who (I can't be the only one lame enough to do it right?). Well, in making my list, I tried to find a compromise between my own opinion and what I think your preferences are. The general pattern is in line with my opinion; but I had to carry some episodes I didn't really connect with much higher than I would have placed them because I know they strongly appeal to some people, I similarly bumped down some episodes I absolutely adore a few spots because I know that a large part of my liking them is due to my own particular taste. Here's the list: 44 Least Favourites (from least bad to worst ever) 44) 719 Empty Places 43) 502 Real Me 42) 107 Angel 41) 211 Ted 40) 721 End of Days 39) 504 Out of My Mind 38) 412 A New Man 37) 618 Entropy 36) 201 When She Was Bad 35) 302 Dead Man's Party 34) 320 The Prom 33) 609 Smashed 32) 702 Beneath You 31) 708 Sleeper 30) 411 Doomed 29) 306 Band Candy 28) 511 Triangle 27) 409 Something Blue 26) 710 Bring On the Night 25) 402 Living Conditions 24) 111 Out of Mind, Out of Sight 23) 509 Listening to Fear 22) 606 All the Way 21) 208 The Dark Age 20) 407 The Initiative 19) 212 Bad Eggs 18) 706 Him 17) 512 Checkpoint 16) 709 Never Leave Me 15) 108 I Robot… You Jane 14) 104 Teacher's Pet 13) 414 Goodbye Iowa 12) 604 Flooded 11) 612 Doublemeat Palace The Top 10 of Suck 10) 418 Where the Wild Things Are 09) 611 Gone 08) 508 Shadow 07) 106 The Pack 06) 714 First Date 05) 202 Some Assembly Required 04) 220 Go Fish 03) 205 Reptile Boy 02) 204 Inca Mummy Girl 01) 405 Beer Bad Notes: - The Prom (34^th worst), Something Blue (28^th worst) and Checkpoint (17^th worst) were three episodes I know most fans loved, loved and liked respectively. I personally am not particularly fond of any of them. I just couldn't bring myself to bump other episodes off the top 44 list or higher spots in the bottom list to make room for them. - Stuff like Doublemeat Palace (11^th worst), I personally didn't mind that much. I ranked it that low because I knew it had absolutely no shot on anyone else's list. Still higher than all the obvious stinkers though. 44 Favourites (From least good to best ever) 44) 713 The Killer in Me 43) 318 Earshot 42) 505 No Place like Home 41) 716 Storyteller 40) 701 Lessons 39) 605 Life Serial 38) 312 Helpless 37) 103 The Witch 36) 419 New Moon Rising 35) 216 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered 34) 207 Lie To Me 33) 506 Family 32) 311 Gingerbread 31) 305 Homecoming 30) 707 Conversations With Dead People 29) 206 Halloween 28) 308 Lover's Walk 27) 310 Amends 26) 415 This Year's Girl 25) 301 Anne 24) 616 Hell's Bells 23) 213 Surprise 22) 608 Tabula Rasa 21) 622 Grave 20) 316 Dopplegangland 19) 410 Hush 18) 313 The Zeppo 17) 613 Dead Things 16) 321-322 Graduation Day 15) 217 Passion 14) 416 Who Are You? 13) 214 Innocence 12) 219 I Only Have Eyes for You 11) 221-222 Becoming The Top 10 of Win 10) 617 Normal Again 09) 309 The Wish 08) 722 Chosen 07) 112 Prophecy Girl 06) 507 Fool for Love 05) 705 Selfless 04) 422 Restless 03) 522 The Gift 02) 516 The Body 01) 607 Once More, With Feeling Notes: - Remember I mentioned that I first narrowed the episodes down to 25 bottom, 40 top and 23 undecided? Well, Lessons, Life Serial, Helpless and The Witch (ranked 37^th to 40^th) were the only 4 from my 23 undecided to make it to the top bunch. Once they were there, I realised that I actually thought they were strongly than some of the episodes I had already marked 'top' so they moved up a few spots. - Conversations With Dead People (ranked 30^th), Lover's Walk (ranked 28^th) and Hush (ranked 19^th) were all episodes I thought were good to great but fans often overrated as much more. I bumped them as far down as I thought I could without it becoming a total sacrilege to the BTVS fanbase. - Dead Things (ranked 17^th), Normal Again (ranked 10^th) and Selfless (ranked 5^th) are all episodes that don't get much hype. I bumped them up as far as I could, once again till the limits of outraging the fanbase, because I personally enjoyed them immensely. - The top 10 is something I fully agree with. Though I wish there were a way for The Zeppo (ranked 18^th) and I Only Have Eyes For You (ranked 12^th) to squeeze in somehow without displacing any of the episodes that are already there. - The Gift (ranked 3^rd) is actually by far my favourite episode! I ranked it 3^rd because I just didn't think anyone else would have enjoyed it more than the two titans I placed above it.
Katy Carney		#332	[-]
Posts: 9900 (01/04/10 01:42 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	On the plus side of Crush, Buffy's hair looked amazing.
AbsurdSchism		#333	[-]
Posts: 1 (01/04/10 06:54 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Crush was really a turning point for me as a buffy fan. I knew Spike was obsessed but I thought he was going to remain a villian. I hated when he disregarded Drusilla so easily for Buffy, a woman he had been with for a century vs. a girl he wanted to kill a few years earlier. Come on, are we really supposed to believe that Spike would dump Dru for Buffy at this point? Buffy belonged with Angel and Spike belonged with Dru, simple as that. I don't hate Spuffy but I could never take them seriously. I think Spike getting his soul back ruined season 7, well that and the awful potentials storyline. I think Joss should have had Spike get his chip removed instead of his soul restored after the demon trials. Bring back Dru for season 7 and make them the secondary big bad to Caleb. Perhaps Caleb kills Dru for some reason and this infuriates Spike, who decides to help Buffy a la season 2. One of my favorite episodes was season 3 Lovers Walk, with the hilarious threesome of Angel, Buffy and villian Spike fighting the antagonists while spike incessantly whined over Dru. Imagine that group fighting Caleb and the hellmouth in the series finale. Even without his soul Spike proved he can be a good vampire at times, like when he tried to save Dawn in The Gift (my personal favorite episode of all time) and again when he was the leader of the Scoobies with robot Buffy. Though instead of him closing the hellmouth it would have been hilarious if he high tailed it out of there and left Angel and Buffy to deal with the chaos. Have Willow close the hellmouth to atone for murdering Warren. Spike also would have been better as a villian on the Angel series. Spike and Illyria would have been a great evil pairing.
ANDand19		#334	[-]
Posts: 9991 (01/04/10 07:01 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I don't think Buffy "belonged" with either of them. Buffy's relationship with Angel got annoying and intense. IMO, the difference between the relationships was that Spike was able to love Buffy without a soul. The conclusion I made is that the slayer isn't supposed to be tied down by friends and boyfriends, and that's why Buffy couldn't hold on to any of her love interests, and that's what makes her relationship with Xander and Willow so special.
AbsurdSchism		#335	[-]
Posts: 4 (01/04/10 08:14 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Agree her relationship with Xander and Willow was the best part of the show. I only meant she belonged with angel more than spike, but neither is the better choice
myopics		#336	[-]
Posts: 919 (01/05/10 07:43 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I third that viewpoint. Buffy/Angel wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. It fit really naturally into the first few seasons and was a good strategy considering the show's target audience though. I'm just glad the show went on to explore so many other kinds of relationships.
AbsurdSchism		#337	[-]
Posts: 17 (01/05/10 05:23 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Myopics I was reading your earlier post about Crush and agree that the Dawn crush on Spike came out of left field, no foreshadowing whatsoever. If the writers had kept Spike in kill Buffy mode (as they should have) it would have been a great angle for him to play, gradually seduce Dawn and use her to get to Buffy. With Spike as a bona fide good guy the show lost a lot of momentum in S6 due to a lack of true villians. Of course Buffy's depression (though understandable) dragged the show down as well. The "Trio" as the season long big bad just didn't cut it for me. Not a fan of Evil Willow as the season finale big bad either. Season 6 was the worst season of Buffy for me, very forgettable. A few great episodes mixed in but the storyline was all about Buffy's depression and there was too much focus on her relationship with Spike. Almost no interaction between Buffy and her friends and then the one episode where everyone seems happy (Xander's wedding) everything turns to misery. That was just a depressing season, topped off with the death of Tara and Warren getting skinned alive.
Oaf		#338	[-]
Posts: 234 (01/09/10 05:40 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	Paparazzi wrote: I also didn't really like Crush. Everything about is should have been good, but in the end it wasn't really. I think my biggest problem is that the whole episode is about Spike confessing his love/obsession for Buffy and she's all LOLWUT NUWAI and then next season they hook up. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I didn't like that they blatantly said Buffy did not and never will think of Spike that way, and then the next two seasons are about her weird messed up love for him. I think they hooked up next season not because Spike was suddenly everything Buffy wanted in a man, but because of her self-destructive phase. You could argue that there was a big leap between "Crush" and "Intervention", in which Spike is acknowledged by Buffy for his nobility, but they did have their trust-related ups and downs later in the series, with the attempted rape in "Seeing Red" as the prime example. Only in season 7, when Spike has his soul back and everyone's wary of him, that Buffy takes a stand and announces that she trusts him completely. myopics wrote: Anyway, Same Time, Same Place was kinda average for me. It didn't really stand out either way. Willow subconsciously sabotaging her own return to Sunnydale was a good idea. The episode also dealt with the issues in an ok way. I think it was clear that Buffy and Xan were already going to be nothing but supportive from the opening scene. All in all, Same Time, Same Place had the makings of a great launching pad for more to come. Unfortunately, that was it. Willow's arc is never again mentioned except in passing (thank God for Selfless!). I agree that it's kinda average in quailty, but for some reason, I still liked it more that most other episodes. I think it was a combination of everyone coming together for a positive outcome, for once, and the awesomeness of the big bad, which was creepy, disgusting, funny and cute at the same time (, Same Place). I agree that at the beginning, it was obvious that Buffy and Xander would be supportive of Willow in her struggle, but as time went on, it also became apparent that they had their doubts, no matter how hidden and uncomfortable they were. In that sense, it reminded me of "Dead Man's Party" and the buried issues all of the main characters were keeping inside. Only this time, it ended up not mattering, because the loyalty they whared for each other "won over". I forgot to mention that I hated the yellow crayon spoof at the beginning. Initially, it was one of the most genuinely nice moments on the show, and they totally threw it in the trash for a gag, and not a particularly good one at that.
ncassaro		#339	[-]
Posts: 1796 (01/09/10 09:06 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts	- Dead Things (ranked 17^th), Normal Again (ranked 10^th) and Selfless (ranked 5^th) are all episodes that don't get much hype. I bumped them up as far as I could, once again till the limits of outraging the fanbase, because I personally enjoyed them immensely. Normal Again ranks very high for me as well. Very very fascinating concept for an episode, and such a mindfuck. And I love the way the ending leaves things open for the viewer to interpret. I actually read a really interesting article a couple of years ago, I think it was on alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer where I used to troll back in high school lol. The guy made a good point about how Tara, the outsider in Buffy's life, is the one who unties everyone and this was possibly "proof" that Buffy was in fact insane. I never notice things like that lol. Selfless ranks high for me as well, but I wouldn't put it in the top 10. Emma Caulfield is really really underused in season 7. It's kind of ridiculous that she got star billing that season when she was barely in it. But she really shines in Selfless. Plus Selfless just kinda had a retro feel to it that made it seem like an episode from the early seasons IMO which was very welcome in season 7.
myopics		#340	[-]
Posts: 920 (01/09/10 09:51 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts	I know it sounds like I'm in denial, but I'm not. Remove this ad 340 posts of BTVS-love!

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