Comments | infinitewhale: AtS S5 and overview thoughts

infinitewhale

AtS S5 and overview thoughts

Aug 08, 2016 13:34

I finished watching AtS awhile ago. I was going to make a post about it, then RL got in the way and then some ennui.

Despite enjoying it much more than I remembered, I found I didn't have a whole lot to say about it. Still, I feel a compulsion to say something.

( So, some random comments in bullet point form. )

Comments 12

kikimay August 8 2016, 19:19:14 UTC

Agree on basically everything. I like S5 the most, it's funny enough and consistent. It's rewatchable. I don't agree only on Illyria which is a fave of mine, while Fred never did anything for me. I'm absolutely on team!Illyria, pity that her arc was just at the end!

infinitewhale August 8 2016, 20:03:41 UTC

I wouldn't so I am pro-Fred, really. Mostly she seemed like a fanfic Willow if she stayed in STEM instead of magic.

My beef with Illyria is not so much on the character itself so much as the way it was created (aaaaaaaangst) and the mythology burp that goes along with it. Now the old ones, instead of being banished to other dimensions, are eternal and on Earth. O...kay. And of course it's overpowered, so they have to weaken it.

That's why I think Angel and Buffy are in the same universe, but of different canons for the most part. Like the MCU and Sony/Fox Marvel stuff. Same universe, so to speak, but largely inconsistent with each other. Hence, crossoveritis!

lynnenne August 8 2016, 23:01:12 UTC

BTVS was a about a girl who is typically fodder and creating a name/persona/narrative for herself. It's a constructive arc built on the blonde girl in a dark alley trope. Angel was about the deconstruction of the mythic male hero trope. He signs away his specialness and fights with his friends in that very same dark alley.

So much this.

shapinglight August 9 2016, 08:45:28 UTC

I love your comment about Angel signing away his specialness. I wrote Buffyverse meta once, sort of along the same lines (him rejecting both the PTBs and the Senior Partners and setting himself free from destiny).

Agree 100% with you about the Fred/Illyria thing. I loathe AHitW. It makes me sick, and the way Joss went out of his way to emphasise that Fred wouldn't be back (her soul was destroyed etc) makes me even more sick. Saw his talk to the Humanist Society of America, where he expressed his surprise that people were upset about this. I don't think he gets it to this day.

-TGIQ will never not be funny and is canon, la, la, la.

Absolutely. The hatred some people have for this episode bewilders me. They seem to think it's about Buffy, but it's not at all, so I can't see how it possibly 'demeans' her.

infinitewhale August 9 2016, 11:02:18 UTC

I think the whole point of S4 and S5 is Angel creating his own destiny.

I don't think he gets it to this day.

After his comments regarding Dr. Who over SDCC, I can only believe he lives in his own little world.

so I can't see how it possibly 'demeans' her.

I don't know. From what I remember back when it aired, they saw it as somehow betraying ideals the girl never had. Mostly I think it's just covering. It's easier to pretend to be offended on behalf of the character rather than just say their ship got smooshed. Same thing happened at the end of S8, if you remember. A whole summer of complaining and railing at Joss about it, but as soon as DH leaked those Spuffy fantasy panels, they were right back on board.

The whole thing was perfectly in character for Buffy, especially after the breakthrough at the end of S7 that not all relationships have to be "the one".

shapinglight August 9 2016, 18:43:01 UTC

After his comments regarding Dr. Who over SDCC, I can only believe he lives in his own little world.

I missed this. What did he say?

It's easier to pretend to be offended on behalf of the character rather than just say their ship got smooshed. Same thing happened at the end of S8, if you remember. A whole summer of complaining and railing at Joss about it, but as soon as DH leaked those Spuffy fantasy panels, they were right back on board.

Yep. I'd agree with all this, though even now I have to roll my eyes at anyone taking those fantasy panels as proof that Buffy loved Spike all along, and I'm pretty sure I did see someone say that.

The whole thing was perfectly in character for Buffy, especially after the breakthrough at the end of S7 that not all relationships have to be "the one".

Agreed again. Why shouldn't she be allowed just to have fun for once? It's not like she hasn't earned it.

infinitewhale August 9 2016, 19:18:30 UTC

I missed this. What did he say?

He was asked if he'd ever consider writing for DW and he sort of scoffed and said to call him when the Doctor was a woman or POC. As one would assume given his stunning track record in diverse casting. How he thinks he has any room to throw barbs is baffling. Not out of character for him, though.

Agreed again. Why shouldn't she be allowed just to have fun for once? It's not like she hasn't earned it.

Yeah, I remember people accepted that because she had a BF and was out dancing, obviously she'd retired and let the others do all the work. 'Cause you know, she never went dancing in S1-S5. Fans paint her as this sort of prudish character, which she never was. While one night stands weren't her thing, but as she suggested in Gone, she wasn't against the idea of a fling-type relationship.

Thread 7

rbfvid August 10 2016, 10:25:36 UTC

TGIQ will never not be funny and is canon, la, la, la.
Agreed. The only thing - it would belong much better at the beginning of the S5, not at the end.

infinitewhale August 10 2016, 15:54:26 UTC

I can see the objection to its placement. It doesn't really fit where it was shown, but at the same time I think an offbeat episode was needed after/before the angst and direness Illyria and the ending. I can also appreciate not liking how on the nose it was at mocking fans, but since it mocked both groups equally, it made it agreeable with me. Pity it didn't work.