Snape killed Dumbledore 2010 Edition
Fangirl on the loose!
Angel killed Giles. Oh snap… literally.
I’ve only really read the first two volumes of Season 8 (though I have been following the summaries for the rest of the volumes) so I’ll admit that my knowledge of the comic series is off to a certain degree. However, with each new issue my mind is filled with a chorus of “Wait, what? What?! WHAT?! Seriously?!”
As a horror/fantasy genre show, Buffy always required some suspension of disbelief, but the fantastic elements always had some relevance within the context of the story. Now it seems like things are happening just because they can. Warren is alive, Buffy is Superman, the Master is back, Buffy and Angel having sex creates an alternate dimension of evil, Dawn is a giant (then a centaur, then a doll.) While we are provided with explanations for each of these events, they just seem so over the top. It’s as if the writers are writing the story to fit the special effects instead of using the special effects to enhance a story that is based on real human experience.
Then there is the recycling of past plotlines.
Willow goes bad and Buffy has to kill her. Why does that sound so familiar? Oh wait, no! It’s completely different because this time it takes place in the future and the Fray characters are involved!
Angel is the Big Bad and he and Buffy commence with the knock-down-drag-out. Gee, haven’t seen that happen before. Not to mention the nature of Angel’s Big Badness is eerily similar to Cordelia/Jasmine situation.
Faith becomes an assassin. Because the idea of a slayer killing a human has never been explored and neither has the idea of Faith being a killer. So what was she in jail for again?
Once again Buffy is using someone who loves her for sex, even though she has no feelings for them in return. After admitting that it was wrong to use Spike for sex due to his feelings for her, it’s surprising that she would do it again to someone else.
Also, she comes across as being kind of a slut; she has an H&D with Satsu, then she realizes she loves Xander and wants to get all up on him, has a crazy flying sex romp with Angel, followed by a make out session with Spike (which in all fairness may have been a dream, I’m not to clear on that one yet.) Buffy seems to have become so sexually needy that she will sleep with anyone regardless of gender or species. The feelings of her partner(s) don’t seem to factor in much. This isn’t Buffy enjoying her sexuality; it’s Buffy selfishly getting what she wants at the expense of others.
In addition to the WTF elements listed above, the pacing of the story is very choppy. We jump from the Scoobies in Scotland, to a decoy Buffy in the underground land of fairies, to Faith and Giles in America trying to knock off a slayer who has gone to the dark side, to the future, to an animated flashback to season 1, before finally getting to the main storyline of the season. There’s just too much crammed in that the side stories really aren’t getting the time and attention they deserve (ie: the Faith and Evil Willow stories could have each been a season on their own.)
But on the upside the cover art is gorgeous. I particularly love Xander working his eye patch, The Master, Faith updating the BtVS logo, and Buffy getting staked by Angel (lol at thinly veiled subtext.)
Angel killed Giles. Oh snap… literally.
I’ve only really read the first two volumes of Season 8 (though I have been following the summaries for the rest of the volumes) so I’ll admit that my knowledge of the comic series is off to a certain degree. However, with each new issue my mind is filled with a chorus of “Wait, what? What?! WHAT?! Seriously?!”
As a horror/fantasy genre show, Buffy always required some suspension of disbelief, but the fantastic elements always had some relevance within the context of the story. Now it seems like things are happening just because they can. Warren is alive, Buffy is Superman, the Master is back, Buffy and Angel having sex creates an alternate dimension of evil, Dawn is a giant (then a centaur, then a doll.) While we are provided with explanations for each of these events, they just seem so over the top. It’s as if the writers are writing the story to fit the special effects instead of using the special effects to enhance a story that is based on real human experience.
Then there is the recycling of past plotlines.
Willow goes bad and Buffy has to kill her. Why does that sound so familiar? Oh wait, no! It’s completely different because this time it takes place in the future and the Fray characters are involved!
Angel is the Big Bad and he and Buffy commence with the knock-down-drag-out. Gee, haven’t seen that happen before. Not to mention the nature of Angel’s Big Badness is eerily similar to Cordelia/Jasmine situation.
Faith becomes an assassin. Because the idea of a slayer killing a human has never been explored and neither has the idea of Faith being a killer. So what was she in jail for again?
Once again Buffy is using someone who loves her for sex, even though she has no feelings for them in return. After admitting that it was wrong to use Spike for sex due to his feelings for her, it’s surprising that she would do it again to someone else.
Also, she comes across as being kind of a slut; she has an H&D with Satsu, then she realizes she loves Xander and wants to get all up on him, has a crazy flying sex romp with Angel, followed by a make out session with Spike (which in all fairness may have been a dream, I’m not to clear on that one yet.) Buffy seems to have become so sexually needy that she will sleep with anyone regardless of gender or species. The feelings of her partner(s) don’t seem to factor in much. This isn’t Buffy enjoying her sexuality; it’s Buffy selfishly getting what she wants at the expense of others.
In addition to the WTF elements listed above, the pacing of the story is very choppy. We jump from the Scoobies in Scotland, to a decoy Buffy in the underground land of fairies, to Faith and Giles in America trying to knock off a slayer who has gone to the dark side, to the future, to an animated flashback to season 1, before finally getting to the main storyline of the season. There’s just too much crammed in that the side stories really aren’t getting the time and attention they deserve (ie: the Faith and Evil Willow stories could have each been a season on their own.)
But on the upside the cover art is gorgeous. I particularly love Xander working his eye patch, The Master, Faith updating the BtVS logo, and Buffy getting staked by Angel (lol at thinly veiled subtext.)
