Notes on Buffy 2.22: Becoming, Part II

[2maggie2]

Buffy 2.22  Becoming, Part II, In Which Buffy Drives a Stake Through Her Own Heart

Comments

[norwie2010]

To do her duty, Buffy has to kill the one person who emotionally makes it possible for her to do her duty. How can a hero live as a human if her heroism requires her to give up everything that makes the world worth saving?

This gets revisited in season 5 big time. Buffy's "answer" to this dilemma then is to kill herself, rather than do it all over again. (Though what it means when she's ressurected and absolutely has to live on, despite the cost, is yet to be examined in greater depth. I don't think we'll be revisiting that particular line again, since season 7 seemed to give an answer - an answer we comci readers know is not definitive.)

[2maggie2]

Yup. I think the Gift is the culmination of what gets started in this episode. Buffy just gets stripped down until there's nothing left but to die to save a world that's not worth living in. Pretty grim.

[angearia]

Not worth living for her, I think.

"That's the price of being a Slayer."

Buffy's life, the loss of life, is both a price and a gift. Perhaps, a price when it's taken from her, a gift when it's willingly offered.

[2maggie2]

I never quite get Joyce's characterization. In the first few seasons she's a bit too hand's off (ignoring blood and so on), and is often presented as drinking a bit too much. Then sometimes she's insightful supportive Mom. I thinks he's a character who gets writter around to fit whatever the story needs at the moment.

[rebcake]

I love Joyce, but she's definitely an imbiber. She's toting around a glass of scotch through this whole exchange, Buffy even trying to blow her off with a sarcastic, "Have another drink, mom." She gets a snootful of schnapps 2 episodes later, which leads to still more bad parenting. Also, I might be the only one who loves this, but she's drinking Kahlua in Band Candy which is the perfect choice for a sophisticated 16-yr-old. (Like me, for instance. Heh.)

[tranquil_ity]

Great Discussion, as always. Love the idea of Willow and Spike in parallel stories - I'm looking forward to you guys exploring this more in coming discussions - It's not something i've ever really considered or even read anything about.

[2maggie2]

Thanks! The great thing about the show is how almost all the characters provide mirrors for one another in various ways.

[ceciliaj]

Seconding the interest in the paralleling of Willow and Spike, though I'm even more interested in the connections between Willow and Angel. I was struck, on this reading, by the reminder about Angel scrubbing his face of the memory of love at the end of IOHEFY, which was as you say an important step toward being ready to destroy the world. It definitely reminds me of the Dark Willow arc at the end of S6, where she's so pissed that she has to go through the absolute agony of having been in love and then lost due to senseless human action (with a gun!).

Also super interesting to see your take on the Willow and Xander stuff. I am so confused by their romance in S3, and I look forward to reading your thoughts about it :).

[ceciliaj]

Why does lj eat my comments????

Here is what I said:

1) I love the parallel between Spike and Willow, but I'm interested in the parallel between Willow and Angel, too. It's interesting that you flash back to the scene where Angel is scrubbing his face, so angry that he was conned into feeling love. It reminds me of the rage of Dark Willow, that she felt love and then lost it, which is the most painful experience in the world for her. Also, both of them lost it in the context of a low-grade human plot involving a gun, which ticks them off because it reveals the extent to which they both think of themselves as being superior to the daily drama of human life.

2) I'm excited to see more Willow and Xander thoughts, because their romance in S3 bugs the crap out of me, and I want to get beyond my squick.

[2maggie2]

Yeah -- lots of interesting parallels to be drawn. I'm still not sure what I think of W/X, though I'm going to have to figure it out soon since Homecoming is coming up quickly!!