Life's not a song... or is it?
Well, today is the big day for Buffy Summers. The last issue of s8 comic novel, not to mention the birthday. Is it really today? She was born in January 1981, so today or some time soon she is 30. We hardly can call her a girl by now.
One girl in all the world...
by the end of season 9 she will be forty, and finishing season 10 we shall celebrate the half-century old Vampire Slayer.
I have decided to finally sum up my feelings about “season eight”. I like that people are enjoying it. I like that it keeps fandom alive (or - if it was brought back from dead - is it resurrected or undead?). I read many interesting posts and saw many inventive icons, even though I haven't actually read the comics. None, save for several random panels.
They have never been mine thing. I am not much of a comics person, having only ever read so few - Sandman, Hellboy, a couple of others. Oh, I read Fray, too, and was underwhelmed. But it's neither here not there. I liked the series. I loved Chosen as the ending. I loved the glimpses in Buffy's life we had during AtS season 5. I was content - talking about endless possibilities Buffy has, reading numerous fanfics that explored them in many interesting ways. I felt that Buffy's story was told, even though in wasn't over. Stories should have endings, not necessarily “they all died, so there is nobody to tell about”, not even “and they all lived happily forever”.
So I was lukewarm about continuation, but I couldn't quite shrug it off as I wanted to - because it was announced that the comic story is ONE TRUE CANON. And that didn't sit well with me, because for me the change of format was the ultimate deal breaker. I felt like a bad, grumpy fan even before the first issue. Didn't I mock those who refuse to watch any season past third? Yes I did. And yet, I immediately felt that it was a completely different story, the one that has every right to exist, but not the only one, not the one that cancel out all others. I decided to hold my judgement until the end. I couldn't imagine I'd have to wait four years for that - not a comic person- but I was busy enough in my real life not to think much about it. Meanwhile, a lot of my friends stopped reading season 8 one by one. And when I peeked into spoilers, I saw why. And I agreed that the story that was being told didn't seem to hold any connection to the characters I know and love. It wasn't even Buffy. It was Warren, not quite killed by Willow. It just felt too wrong to me to accept it as the new canon. When my Willow kills people, she kills them dead.
I still felt a bad fan, one knows all too well not to rely on spoilers in Jossverse, and yet after reading much of what happened after Twilight reveal with morbid fascination I can feel no connection to the story and the characters as I remember them in the series. I can see the themes and the questions that writers tried to poke, but no real continuation. And by now I have no real interest in looking for it.
Life's not a song, life's not a story, sometimes stories should end when life shouldn't.
But now we are looking toward season 9. Another four years for Buffy to screw up everything painfully and never get better. And in season 10 her supernatural arthritis will kick in.
But I don't want to be a cranky fan. Maybe I'll read them and love them, who knows? If only the creators admitted that it's not one true canon, but whatever.
And now - silly poll!
Poll Silly poll of the bad fan
One girl in all the world...
by the end of season 9 she will be forty, and finishing season 10 we shall celebrate the half-century old Vampire Slayer.
I have decided to finally sum up my feelings about “season eight”. I like that people are enjoying it. I like that it keeps fandom alive (or - if it was brought back from dead - is it resurrected or undead?). I read many interesting posts and saw many inventive icons, even though I haven't actually read the comics. None, save for several random panels.
They have never been mine thing. I am not much of a comics person, having only ever read so few - Sandman, Hellboy, a couple of others. Oh, I read Fray, too, and was underwhelmed. But it's neither here not there. I liked the series. I loved Chosen as the ending. I loved the glimpses in Buffy's life we had during AtS season 5. I was content - talking about endless possibilities Buffy has, reading numerous fanfics that explored them in many interesting ways. I felt that Buffy's story was told, even though in wasn't over. Stories should have endings, not necessarily “they all died, so there is nobody to tell about”, not even “and they all lived happily forever”.
So I was lukewarm about continuation, but I couldn't quite shrug it off as I wanted to - because it was announced that the comic story is ONE TRUE CANON. And that didn't sit well with me, because for me the change of format was the ultimate deal breaker. I felt like a bad, grumpy fan even before the first issue. Didn't I mock those who refuse to watch any season past third? Yes I did. And yet, I immediately felt that it was a completely different story, the one that has every right to exist, but not the only one, not the one that cancel out all others. I decided to hold my judgement until the end. I couldn't imagine I'd have to wait four years for that - not a comic person- but I was busy enough in my real life not to think much about it. Meanwhile, a lot of my friends stopped reading season 8 one by one. And when I peeked into spoilers, I saw why. And I agreed that the story that was being told didn't seem to hold any connection to the characters I know and love. It wasn't even Buffy. It was Warren, not quite killed by Willow. It just felt too wrong to me to accept it as the new canon. When my Willow kills people, she kills them dead.
I still felt a bad fan, one knows all too well not to rely on spoilers in Jossverse, and yet after reading much of what happened after Twilight reveal with morbid fascination I can feel no connection to the story and the characters as I remember them in the series. I can see the themes and the questions that writers tried to poke, but no real continuation. And by now I have no real interest in looking for it.
Life's not a song, life's not a story, sometimes stories should end when life shouldn't.
But now we are looking toward season 9. Another four years for Buffy to screw up everything painfully and never get better. And in season 10 her supernatural arthritis will kick in.
But I don't want to be a cranky fan. Maybe I'll read them and love them, who knows? If only the creators admitted that it's not one true canon, but whatever.
And now - silly poll!
Poll Silly poll of the bad fan