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Buffycation: the end is nigh
In fact, it's here for Buffy the Vampire Slayer; I finished watching the show last night. Loved the finale. Season 7 was up and down, but the end run was awfully exciting, and the final episode was one of the very best episodes of the entire show, and the best finale ep since "Graduation Day" back in third season. It was epic and exciting and touching and funny (we kept having to rewind because we were laughing hard enough to miss lines.) I really like how it ended, both plot-wise and with most of the characters. Returning to the school, destroying the Hellmouth, activating all the Potentials were perfect conclusions to the show's main conflicts.
For all my issues with Joss Whedon, the man can really write the hell out of a screenplay. So many great moments! D&D! The just-before-the-end Scoobie meeting in the school hall, with the kids talking about shopping and Giles going "We're doomed" - SO CUTE. Buffy herself was awesome and badass and she really is one of my favorite heroines; I love that girl. Principal Wood surviving (Without going evil, even!! Yays!! ...I think I was expecting the worse thanks to SPN) and his little "Surprise" to Faith - awwwww. Really like what they did with Faith this season - I liked her in Angel and I liked her a lot in the end of Buffy, made up for how they screwed up her storylines before.
The one thing I didn't like was Anya's death. It wasn't quite as pointless as other Whedon executions (*does not think of The Movie That Never Happened*); it had a certain dramatic point, with Andrew surviving when he (thought he) deserved to die, failing to step forward and find the courage to watch her back because he's just not strong enough; and Anya going out saving a human life...it was appropriate. And hey, big battle, someone main had to die...but Anya, why Anya, in all her fantasticness? Anya, who isn't this way because she was a demon, she's always been like this (HEE to her flashback ep). And she and Xander were working it out. Why couldn't it have been Dawn? Heck, I'd trade both Dawn and Xander for Anya. SIGH.
Spike, on the other hand, had a totally awesome hero's death, and it would have been a really satisfying way for his character to go out. That said, I'm not exactly resentful that he was resurrected, because hey, more Spike, not gonna pass that up! Especially Spike on Angel, because there is no way that cannot be awesome. ZOMG Spike & Angel in the finale - Angel's sulky " I started it, the whole having a soul thing" and Buffy's amazing, "OMG are you twelve?" and then Spike with the little Angel drawing on the punching bag - HAWWW.
(Buffy/Angel/Spike is officially the OT3 for me. They're perfect! Spike being around will make sure Angel never hits the dangerous perfect-happiness threshold; Angel being around will provide the masochism in the relationship that Spike needs; and two vampires should be nearly enough to satisfy Buffy's sex drive. Not to mention the competition between the guys will serve her well - imagine the gift-giving arms' race come Valentine's Day!
Buffy herself is totally on board with this plan, what with her plot to lock them both in a room and have them "wrassle" it out - "There could be oil of some kind involved!" BUFFY I <333 YOU FOREVER.)
Nathan Fillion was a fantastic bad guy - also genuinely scary; I'm kind of glad I saw Firefly before this because it would have taken a little getting used to Mal after Caleb. (and heh to Angel coming in on Buffy's fight with him, and then stepping back and just watching the show. Totally made for each other, those two. Even if she didn't chop off Caleb's head before getting with the kissing, come on, people, haven't you ever fought the supernatural before?! But yeah, the cookie conversation was happy-making.)
Some of the lead-up to the finale I wasn't as partial to - the ep where they voted Buffy off the island was one of those forced-characterizations-for-the-sake-of-plot that seem to always happen in the show in the last few eps. (As in, I could maybe imagine it happening, but not like that.) The Willow/Kennedy never quite hit the right note for me (I didn't dislike them, just didn't love them, either.). And some of the stuff with the potential Slayers could have been done differently. But I loved them being all activated, around the world (even if those Slayers not present didn't get a vote). Especially since I'd been wondering since 2nd season when Kendra turned up why they didn't just make more, if all it took was a moment of heart-stoppage...(Willow's strategy was more effective, though. And her little falling over after channeling white magic - hee! Love Willow 'til the end!)
So yeah - final round-up, I really enjoyed Buffy, am glad I watched it, both to get references in future fan discussions, and because for all its flaws it is a great, unique show.
Now I suppose I'll have to track down the Buffy s8 comics, as I'm curious where it goes from here.
And then there's Angel season 4... Of which I totally get why people have such extremely mixed feelings about. I'm not entirely sure how I feel myself. We finished it last week (only just started s5 last night, though, as we had to finish watching BtVS first) and I'm still not sure. There was stuff I loved and stuff I hated, and where the scale balanced, I can't say.
Those Cordelia fans who quit the show after season 4, oh man, I feel your pain. What the hell happened there? She was so severely shafted - that we didn't get pretty much any real Cordelia for the entire season, ouch. Whyyyy? I wasn't as heartbroken as I might have been because the Angel/Cordelia stuff so annoyed me that I was cooling on her character already by the end of s3...but that hurt anyway, because I loved her so, so much in the first couple seasons. Argh. (That pretty much all of Cordelia's part in that can be explained away by the demon in her, that helped, but not enough...)
Speaking of the demon in her, so pissed off that Skip was responsible. It makes sense plot-wise, but I loved loved loved that the side of the angels included this scary-looking but perfectly friendly demon, so that he turned out to be evil after all...SIGH. That ruined one of my favorite bits in the show for me, no lie.
I didn't like how Cordelia was pulled into/inserted herself into the Connor-Angel dynamic - but I loved the Connor-Angel stuff. Such the most dysfunctional father-son dynamic...Angel's about a good a father as he is a Champion; about 55% fantastic and 45% absolutely horrible, so he comes out ahead but just barely. Poor Connor. Such a screwed-up life...the reverse-Dawn really might have been the only solution for him. But ow, what a sacrifice. (I do want to know more about the details of that spell - everyone forgetting Connor, was that one of the conditions of the spell, and Angel was the exception? Or did Angel specifically request everyone's memories be wiped? Because that is the kind of unilateral decision Angel is prone to making for other people for their own good, which tendency Buffy is going to have to beat out of him, eventually...)
The end of the season was a lot of fun, with Team Angel running around together, taking on the rest of the city (actually the bits with them brainwashed were also pretty awesome. Poor Fred, though, when she was all on her own! Don't be mean to Fred!!) and felt more like the older show, no real romance, but adventure and effort. And then, Wolfram & Hart offering them the LA office, as a reward for ending world peace - HEEEEE. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" - give the good guys power and count on it to corrupt them, such an awesome tactic. Loved how they all turned up for the limo - and I totally knew Lorne was going to be inside. Oh, Lorne! <333 Shame that Lilah won't be coming back to be their go-between (she's not in s5, as far as I could tell...sigh, I'm going to miss her. Wesley trying to free her from her contract, though, awww...)
So, yeah, I liked a lot of it...but I can't really trust the show with my fannish heart. Not after what it did to Cordelia...in some ways, AtS reminds me of Torchwood, in that it's not quite the show I want to be watching. It's not even the show's fault, it just gives some false impressions. It comes across like a team show, the adventures of a family of misfits, and it does that stuff marvelously - I love that kind of show, and AtS's execution of it is exceptionally appealing. But really that's not what the show is about; it's really about Angel, the friends and families he makes and loses and all the joy and pain he experiences for those relationships; same as Torchwood is in the end all about the trials and tribulations of Jack Harkness. And the thing is, I absolutely love Angel (more than TW!Jack, really) and it's not like the show pretends it's anything else (it's called Angel, after all!) but I love the team-family show even more, and miss it when it's lost.
...That being said, the little moment near the end of s4 when Angel returns to the hotel and the gang's all there and he says, "You're alive," completely blankly, because he's way too beaten by then to feel relief, but you can still see him getting snapped back into the world, knowing he's still got them after all - awww! Yeah, the problem with the show is that I can't help myself; when it's out to push buttons it hits mine hard. Even if I should know better...
And now I've got season 5 to watch! Have seen the first two eps and the prospect of Spike & Spike/Angel is very promising...they are so ridiculously snarky and petty (zomg Angel not mentioning to anyone that Spike a) saved the world and b) has a soul - oh, Angel, you colossal jerk!) and yet they work together flawlessly on incredibly risky plots to take down evildoers - hee! (Though I'm curious how Angel seemed to know the details of Spike saving the world, even if he hadn't said anything about them to anyone - had he talked to Buffy or what?)
Can't believe I'm almost done all of it - but it's quite a ride!
For all my issues with Joss Whedon, the man can really write the hell out of a screenplay. So many great moments! D&D! The just-before-the-end Scoobie meeting in the school hall, with the kids talking about shopping and Giles going "We're doomed" - SO CUTE. Buffy herself was awesome and badass and she really is one of my favorite heroines; I love that girl. Principal Wood surviving (Without going evil, even!! Yays!! ...I think I was expecting the worse thanks to SPN) and his little "Surprise" to Faith - awwwww. Really like what they did with Faith this season - I liked her in Angel and I liked her a lot in the end of Buffy, made up for how they screwed up her storylines before.
The one thing I didn't like was Anya's death. It wasn't quite as pointless as other Whedon executions (*does not think of The Movie That Never Happened*); it had a certain dramatic point, with Andrew surviving when he (thought he) deserved to die, failing to step forward and find the courage to watch her back because he's just not strong enough; and Anya going out saving a human life...it was appropriate. And hey, big battle, someone main had to die...but Anya, why Anya, in all her fantasticness? Anya, who isn't this way because she was a demon, she's always been like this (HEE to her flashback ep). And she and Xander were working it out. Why couldn't it have been Dawn? Heck, I'd trade both Dawn and Xander for Anya. SIGH.
Spike, on the other hand, had a totally awesome hero's death, and it would have been a really satisfying way for his character to go out. That said, I'm not exactly resentful that he was resurrected, because hey, more Spike, not gonna pass that up! Especially Spike on Angel, because there is no way that cannot be awesome. ZOMG Spike & Angel in the finale - Angel's sulky " I started it, the whole having a soul thing" and Buffy's amazing, "OMG are you twelve?" and then Spike with the little Angel drawing on the punching bag - HAWWW.
(Buffy/Angel/Spike is officially the OT3 for me. They're perfect! Spike being around will make sure Angel never hits the dangerous perfect-happiness threshold; Angel being around will provide the masochism in the relationship that Spike needs; and two vampires should be nearly enough to satisfy Buffy's sex drive. Not to mention the competition between the guys will serve her well - imagine the gift-giving arms' race come Valentine's Day!
Buffy herself is totally on board with this plan, what with her plot to lock them both in a room and have them "wrassle" it out - "There could be oil of some kind involved!" BUFFY I <333 YOU FOREVER.)
Nathan Fillion was a fantastic bad guy - also genuinely scary; I'm kind of glad I saw Firefly before this because it would have taken a little getting used to Mal after Caleb. (and heh to Angel coming in on Buffy's fight with him, and then stepping back and just watching the show. Totally made for each other, those two. Even if she didn't chop off Caleb's head before getting with the kissing, come on, people, haven't you ever fought the supernatural before?! But yeah, the cookie conversation was happy-making.)
Some of the lead-up to the finale I wasn't as partial to - the ep where they voted Buffy off the island was one of those forced-characterizations-for-the-sake-of-plot that seem to always happen in the show in the last few eps. (As in, I could maybe imagine it happening, but not like that.) The Willow/Kennedy never quite hit the right note for me (I didn't dislike them, just didn't love them, either.). And some of the stuff with the potential Slayers could have been done differently. But I loved them being all activated, around the world (even if those Slayers not present didn't get a vote). Especially since I'd been wondering since 2nd season when Kendra turned up why they didn't just make more, if all it took was a moment of heart-stoppage...(Willow's strategy was more effective, though. And her little falling over after channeling white magic - hee! Love Willow 'til the end!)
So yeah - final round-up, I really enjoyed Buffy, am glad I watched it, both to get references in future fan discussions, and because for all its flaws it is a great, unique show.
Now I suppose I'll have to track down the Buffy s8 comics, as I'm curious where it goes from here.
And then there's Angel season 4... Of which I totally get why people have such extremely mixed feelings about. I'm not entirely sure how I feel myself. We finished it last week (only just started s5 last night, though, as we had to finish watching BtVS first) and I'm still not sure. There was stuff I loved and stuff I hated, and where the scale balanced, I can't say.
Those Cordelia fans who quit the show after season 4, oh man, I feel your pain. What the hell happened there? She was so severely shafted - that we didn't get pretty much any real Cordelia for the entire season, ouch. Whyyyy? I wasn't as heartbroken as I might have been because the Angel/Cordelia stuff so annoyed me that I was cooling on her character already by the end of s3...but that hurt anyway, because I loved her so, so much in the first couple seasons. Argh. (That pretty much all of Cordelia's part in that can be explained away by the demon in her, that helped, but not enough...)
Speaking of the demon in her, so pissed off that Skip was responsible. It makes sense plot-wise, but I loved loved loved that the side of the angels included this scary-looking but perfectly friendly demon, so that he turned out to be evil after all...SIGH. That ruined one of my favorite bits in the show for me, no lie.
I didn't like how Cordelia was pulled into/inserted herself into the Connor-Angel dynamic - but I loved the Connor-Angel stuff. Such the most dysfunctional father-son dynamic...Angel's about a good a father as he is a Champion; about 55% fantastic and 45% absolutely horrible, so he comes out ahead but just barely. Poor Connor. Such a screwed-up life...the reverse-Dawn really might have been the only solution for him. But ow, what a sacrifice. (I do want to know more about the details of that spell - everyone forgetting Connor, was that one of the conditions of the spell, and Angel was the exception? Or did Angel specifically request everyone's memories be wiped? Because that is the kind of unilateral decision Angel is prone to making for other people for their own good, which tendency Buffy is going to have to beat out of him, eventually...)
The end of the season was a lot of fun, with Team Angel running around together, taking on the rest of the city (actually the bits with them brainwashed were also pretty awesome. Poor Fred, though, when she was all on her own! Don't be mean to Fred!!) and felt more like the older show, no real romance, but adventure and effort. And then, Wolfram & Hart offering them the LA office, as a reward for ending world peace - HEEEEE. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" - give the good guys power and count on it to corrupt them, such an awesome tactic. Loved how they all turned up for the limo - and I totally knew Lorne was going to be inside. Oh, Lorne! <333 Shame that Lilah won't be coming back to be their go-between (she's not in s5, as far as I could tell...sigh, I'm going to miss her. Wesley trying to free her from her contract, though, awww...)
So, yeah, I liked a lot of it...but I can't really trust the show with my fannish heart. Not after what it did to Cordelia...in some ways, AtS reminds me of Torchwood, in that it's not quite the show I want to be watching. It's not even the show's fault, it just gives some false impressions. It comes across like a team show, the adventures of a family of misfits, and it does that stuff marvelously - I love that kind of show, and AtS's execution of it is exceptionally appealing. But really that's not what the show is about; it's really about Angel, the friends and families he makes and loses and all the joy and pain he experiences for those relationships; same as Torchwood is in the end all about the trials and tribulations of Jack Harkness. And the thing is, I absolutely love Angel (more than TW!Jack, really) and it's not like the show pretends it's anything else (it's called Angel, after all!) but I love the team-family show even more, and miss it when it's lost.
...That being said, the little moment near the end of s4 when Angel returns to the hotel and the gang's all there and he says, "You're alive," completely blankly, because he's way too beaten by then to feel relief, but you can still see him getting snapped back into the world, knowing he's still got them after all - awww! Yeah, the problem with the show is that I can't help myself; when it's out to push buttons it hits mine hard. Even if I should know better...
And now I've got season 5 to watch! Have seen the first two eps and the prospect of Spike & Spike/Angel is very promising...they are so ridiculously snarky and petty (zomg Angel not mentioning to anyone that Spike a) saved the world and b) has a soul - oh, Angel, you colossal jerk!) and yet they work together flawlessly on incredibly risky plots to take down evildoers - hee! (Though I'm curious how Angel seemed to know the details of Spike saving the world, even if he hadn't said anything about them to anyone - had he talked to Buffy or what?)
Can't believe I'm almost done all of it - but it's quite a ride!
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The Angel/Connor dynamic was the only reason why I stuck on with the show. Because I simply LOVED it. In all it's complete messed up-ness, it was one of the best things I'd seen on TV in so long.
At this point in my viewing years ago, I too was curious about the details of the spell that wiped everyone's memories (but Angel) and how this perfect family for Connor had been created. I'll just say that they don't leave this completely unattended in the last season.
In the final fight between Angel and Connor, I was basically waiting for Angel to kill his son out of some feelings of "death is at this point better" kind of mindset. So I was sort of "What is the where and the how now???" when they revealed what had happened. And then I was whispering, "Awesome..."
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And yeah...that was really the only future besides death that I could imagine for Connor. And that Angel gives him up for it, and joins W&R for it...it's tragic and loving and really rather beautiful...
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The last season of Angel is terrific, so don't worry. It's worth it to hang on through the bad episodes. :-)))
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Am halfway through AtS s5 (yeah, already ^^;) and enjoying it much so far, though Gnine warned me it goes pretty dark...
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Faith, yeah....earlier when I talked about Faith I couldn't say anything because I didn't want to spoil you, but my love for Faith is largely because of how her character turned out. Most of the episodes in Angel S4 I've seen are the Faith ones. I'll always wish Eliza hadn't turned down the chance to do a Faith spinoff (she chose the short-lived Tru Calling instead).
Spike - yes, much love for Spike. The scene where he comes and finds her after the Scooby gang kicks her out is one of my favorites.
Willow/Kennedy - yeah, that's one of the very few canon romances on the show I never could really buy into, mostly because I wasn't crazy about Kennedy herself, and it seemed a little too soon after Tara I guess. Tara was actually supposed to return for S7, but Kennedy was created after that didn't work out with Amber Benson.
AtS reminds me of Torchwood, in that it's not quite the show I want to be watching. It's not even the show's fault, it just gives some false impressions. It comes across like a team show, the adventures of a family of misfits, and it does that stuff marvelously - I love that kind of show, and AtS's execution of it is exceptionally appealing. But really that's not what the show is about; it's really about Angel, the friends and families he makes and loses and all the joy and pain he experiences for those relationships; same as Torchwood is in the end all about the trials and tribulations of Jack Harkness.
Yeah I think you've summed it up here. I tried a few times to get into Torchwood, but I just couldn't get into it, though I loved DW - I just simply don't care enough about Jack himself. And I love BtVS, but AtS - while like you I loved the teaminess and the characters, I felt like it was ultimately going to break my heart and I just didn't want to go there. I think if I was more invested in Angel by himself it might be different, but while I enjoy Angel with his team, he's not my favorite on the show (Cordy and Wes were probably my favorites, though I never really got a chance to know Fred).
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Yeah, Willow/Kennedy didn't work for me, and a lot of it was that Kennedy didn't ever really gel as a character for me. And that maybe they rushed the romance a bit. Sad to hear that Tara was supposed to come back and didn't; I missed her...
AtS I like more than Torchwood, because it gives me more of what I want, and so far at least has not been as thorough at breaking my heart. ...Will have to see how it ends, though. Eheh. It frustrates me because when AtS is doing what I like, I love it more than BtVS(just because it's more my kind of show) - but that means it can hurt me more. It does help that I am invested in Angel himself (I still don't know why, I love him for no good reason...!) but yeah...frustrating.
Fred I think you'd like, she is crazy adorable. When she's not adorably crazy ^^
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See I never really watched Angel faithfully until season four, and I hated the Cordy I found there, and only later went back and realized she had been AWESOME. So now I feel like I've got to watch AtVS season one through three and just enjoy them.
Overall I liked Dawn more than Conner, finding Dawn's issues more believable and interesting, and Conner mostly annoying, though Dawn totally had her moments. I figure it would really suck to be the younger sister of a slayer, but that she needs to grow up hard core. I'd read a few decent Conner/Dawn fic's way back when AtVS Season four was airing, and some helped the characters help themselves. Now I've got to go looking and see if anything good was published in the meantime.
Buffy/Spike/Angel I have never read done well. There is some great B/S out there, but most of it suffers from bad Buffy or bad Spike writing. I'm always on the look out for some really good plotty B/S (or hey, even B/S/A). Let me know if you find any good stuff!
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Dawn I resented in a large part because she was stuffed into the show so late but we were expected to care about her as much as the others (...or not; her char did have some strange 4th wall commentary aspects); and also because I'm not a big fan of teen angst, and she was introduced just when the other chars were outgrowing their own teen angst, so to have another new teen, with new angst, was frustrating. She also suffered from incredibly inconsistent writing - some of the writers tended to a write her more like 9-10 than 15.
If you missed some of s3 AtS then you missed a large chunk of Connor's story; I found some of what they did with him irritating, but like the char himself. He's not my favorite in the show, but his and Angel's relationship is so fantastically dysfunctional that I can't help but like it. (...then, too, I really do love Angel; I don't even know why. I totally get why people don't like him, he's kind of a tool...but I can't help myself!)
So far I haven't really found much fic of what I'd really like - I admit I've been trying mostly B/A and B/S/A, but everything I've found seems to be either ridiculous gooey romance (mostly OOC and not very well written) or horribly depressing, torturous AAAAANGST, where in the chars do one another more harm than good, and half the time someone's dead by the end (not nearly as OOC because Whedeon chars lend themselves to angst, but not what I want in my entertainment!) I crave something in between, angsty with a mostly happy, maybe slightly dysfunctional end. (I'm getting the feeling that might be easier to find with B/S or A/S, but...I like B/A, dangit. And it seems that both A/S and B/S fic often gets into dissing that pairing bad ^^;)
But there's a LOT of fic out there, so I have hopes of finding something that scratches this itch...