[Review] My thoughts on Buffy 9#07
SPOILERS if you don’t have read it yet. There are also some references to future events (what’s been told to us in interviews).
At first, I didn't really know what to think about it, and there's still some aspects of this issue which I don't have a definite opinion about.
I didn't see coming that she was a robot. There were some implications that a robot would be involved in the story, but I didn't expect to see it emerging that way. Like some people, I tend to think that Buffy's spirit, her "conscious", is incorporate into a robotic version of herself. The sollicitations for the next issues are pretty clear about the fact that Buffy is acting, even if she's not in her body. About the moment of the exchange... I guess it happened after 9#03, because we see Andrew working on a robotic arm in this issue (which could also be another robot, but still). I would say it happened between 9#04 and 9#05 because when Severin was draining Buffy's power, she was physically affected by what he was doing.
I know that it's maybe a weak argument, since we are in a fantastic universe and we don't know if it was specified in the script, maybe Jeanty just drew it this way without any specific indication. But if she was a robot by this time, it never would have affected her that way in my opinion (circle, pallor... that's the kind of things which happen if you have blood in your veins, a robot couldn't spontaneously and physically reacts this way under that kind of influence). Those are physical reactions to the pressure of Severin's power. A robot can be programmed for peeing and maybe even for having a positive pregnancy test, but it seems more doubtful that it can be programmed for reacting to an unexpected event like Severin draining her power. But it's maybe just an insignificant detail...
And we don't know what happened between the two issues. 9#05 starts with Buffy's dreams about the First Slayer, who's saying to her that she's not the Slayer... Plus the robot in the fore of her tee-shirt and the angel wings in the back (which could evoked a separation between her body -which happens to be a robot- and her soul/spirit ; I don't remember who suggested it, but that seems to be a plausible interpretation).
All of this leads me to think that she's not pregnant (and actually never was).
As a whole, I think this short storyline (if I'm not wrong about the no-pregnancy thing) was supposed to be a springboard for the thematic of the season : figuring out who she is. Like Whedon said while talking about pregnancy/abortion, "it’s not about what happens, it’s about that moment of decision". It provoked strong reactions for Buffy, and operated like an electroshock. It incited her to think about her present and future and most of all, it incited her to think about her life and what she needs to make evolve.
It would also explain why there is absolutely no reference to her supposedly pregnancy in the #10 cover. Every part of her life was mentionned except this... If the pregnancy was still involved in the story (or ever happened), I guess we would have some reference to it ("you would do a terrible mother" or something in the same ilk than the other sentences). Based on Allie's interview, we'll learn more about the supposed pregnancy in 9#08, so will Buffy probably. If she was pregnant or had really be pregnant at one point, I think the #10 cover would have reflect this at some level.
I think it was Chambliss who said that in one of the upcoming arcs, we gonna see Buffy trying to be a bodyguard. It consolidates me in my opinion, because a pregnancy storyline would have been more "invasive" and I'm not certain that she could immediately consider that kind of job if she was pregnant. Unless she actually had an abortion, but with the recents devlopements in the story, I doubt it will go in that direction.
I'm maybe totally wrong of course. And it still doesn't explain why a robot can get a positive pregnancy test... but hey, if this robot comes from Andrew's brain, I think we can expect anything.
Anyway, if that's where the story goes, I'm a little bit disappointed, since I really loved the idea of a pregnancy/abortion storyline. On the other hand, I also understand why they wouldn't follow this storyline right now. That would be interesting if they come back to a pregnancy later (maybe even at the end of this season - I'm still surprised that we hadn't see any consequence on Spike from what Severin did to him, so... just maybe... *shrugs*).
All remains to be seen concerning the robot-thing. I don't dislike it, but I don't know if I like it either. I just wait to see where the story will go from here, and why Andrew made something like that. All the storyline concerning Simone and the fact that Buffy's body seems to be taken by another soul/spirit sounds really interesting.
Besides the end, this issue was obviously very focused on Buffy & Spike. There are things I loved, things I liked, and things which left me more... meh. The thing is : I absolutely love their ideas and the way they see it. I'm just not always a fan of the execution/set-up of those ideas (not all of them of course, the domestic!Spuffy stuff -for example- was just perfect !). There are some lines which are perfect and spot-on, and other lines which are letting me more... dubitative.
But from a general point of view, it was well done. Their reactions were typical of them.
=> Few things I loved :
♦ Domestic!Spuffy. "Is this all the closet space you have ?", "Fits all my clothes", "You have like one jacket", "What makes you think I don't have doubles ?". LOL. STOP BEING PERFECT ! ♥
♦ "But Spike, if I were trying to have a normal life.... you'd be exactly what I would running away from". Ouch. I loved it, but... ouch for Spike's way of understanding it. Buffy was clearly seeing it as a positive thing, and like some people said before me, her attitude towards him (which is more tender/positive) clearly confirmed this, but she really worded it badly. Still, she didn't meant it in a bad way. And to her credit, Buffy doesn't know all the big deal he made about 'normalcy'. She didn't realized that Spike was going to interpret/see it differently than the way she does. Loved her reaction when she realizes that she hurted him.
Side note : From Buffy's POV, it reminded me the scene on the rooftop in 9#02, where she was saying that she'd "probably miss" him, just after talking about the seed and the fact that it didn't took vampires away.
Finding themselves seems to be a huge deal and thematic for them this season, and I'm really curious to see how they will deal with it. From my perspective, Spike is misleading himself about what they could have. I don't think that the common vision of normalcy has to be what they have to reach for, I don't think it would fit with their expectations and who they are. And... what's normalcy anyway ? They should be what they want to be, and not defining themselves regarding some standart. They want to kill some zompires every night ? Feel free. They want to be at home doing some couple stuff ? That would be fine too. They want to live on a spaceship ? Why not. I mean, they don't have to define their lives around some standart conceptions. And I think Buffy starts to realize that she may never have a 'standart' life, which is okay. I think that's just important for her to realize it, in order to really find who she is and what she wants to be, regarding her own expectations and her own needs. Same goes for her relationship with Spike, and for Spike.
♦ Spike's attitudes when it comes to Buffy's pregnancy. He's really respectful of her choice (-and I really, really love that), but at the same time, this issue shows that he would have loved this child. I think it also add an interesting perspective to the development of his character and his expectations.
♦ Buffy's reaction when Dowling tell her that Spike is still in love with her. Serious, determined, she instructs him to go on the ship, and she goes directly to Spike. And that's the first thing she asks. Loved this panel, she seems vulnerable/affected when she asks him if it's true.
I liked the fact that Buffy didn't realized that Spike was still in love with her. From a reader point of view, it sounds almost stupid since the story insisted (a little bit too much) on this (Dowling, Koh), but Buffy isn't supposed to know that. It's in the continuity of season 8 and the way she was seeing Spike (like in Always Darkest, she was dreaming of Spike kissing Angel, chosing to be with him instead of her). And it's also in the continuity of the scene in 8#40, where she burst into tears, while Spike remains very focused on 'business'. He has been emotionaly distant with her.
♦ The panel where Buffy says that Spike isn't her boyfriend (it happened several times in the show since season 4, it HAD to happen in the comics :P ). On the one hand, she states the truth. But on the other hand, I think it can also be interpreted like an intrigued reaction to the fact that Spike would have said something like that, considering where they stand at this moment.
♦ I want a Sebastian mini-series ! :P
***
=> What left me more dubitative :
♦ "I want normal, too. And I want it with you." Really cute, but a little bit cheesy. I would have loved more subtility and a different way of introducing it. But the panel itself is really beautiful. They were clearly about to kiss. But I have to be honest, it goes too fast for my taste *pout*
♦ Dowling... Like it has been pointed out by some people, his partner just died, and commenting the Buffy/Spike relationship is the first thing he's thinking about ? Could he talk about something else, please ?
♦ I'm a little bit divided concerning Spike's revelations to Buffy about his feelings. He makes things clear once and for all, and he shows that he really evolved since Chosen, which is a great thing for his character. But concerning his relationship with Buffy... I'm more ambivalent. I think it comes more from the fact that I had other expectations for the development of their relationship this season (I was hoping for more subtility/ambiguity, which always tend to give us some comical situations), but I also understand that they have to make them evolve from that kind of dynamic. I'm curious to see where the story is bringing them.
Overview, this issue was good, but it left us with more questions than answers. Most of the Spuffy moments were really great, but some parts of the execution don't sit totally well with me.
The drawings were really great, Jeanty did a good job, and Noto's cover is beautiful.
At first, I didn't really know what to think about it, and there's still some aspects of this issue which I don't have a definite opinion about.
I didn't see coming that she was a robot. There were some implications that a robot would be involved in the story, but I didn't expect to see it emerging that way. Like some people, I tend to think that Buffy's spirit, her "conscious", is incorporate into a robotic version of herself. The sollicitations for the next issues are pretty clear about the fact that Buffy is acting, even if she's not in her body. About the moment of the exchange... I guess it happened after 9#03, because we see Andrew working on a robotic arm in this issue (which could also be another robot, but still). I would say it happened between 9#04 and 9#05 because when Severin was draining Buffy's power, she was physically affected by what he was doing.
I know that it's maybe a weak argument, since we are in a fantastic universe and we don't know if it was specified in the script, maybe Jeanty just drew it this way without any specific indication. But if she was a robot by this time, it never would have affected her that way in my opinion (circle, pallor... that's the kind of things which happen if you have blood in your veins, a robot couldn't spontaneously and physically reacts this way under that kind of influence). Those are physical reactions to the pressure of Severin's power. A robot can be programmed for peeing and maybe even for having a positive pregnancy test, but it seems more doubtful that it can be programmed for reacting to an unexpected event like Severin draining her power. But it's maybe just an insignificant detail...
And we don't know what happened between the two issues. 9#05 starts with Buffy's dreams about the First Slayer, who's saying to her that she's not the Slayer... Plus the robot in the fore of her tee-shirt and the angel wings in the back (which could evoked a separation between her body -which happens to be a robot- and her soul/spirit ; I don't remember who suggested it, but that seems to be a plausible interpretation).
All of this leads me to think that she's not pregnant (and actually never was).
As a whole, I think this short storyline (if I'm not wrong about the no-pregnancy thing) was supposed to be a springboard for the thematic of the season : figuring out who she is. Like Whedon said while talking about pregnancy/abortion, "it’s not about what happens, it’s about that moment of decision". It provoked strong reactions for Buffy, and operated like an electroshock. It incited her to think about her present and future and most of all, it incited her to think about her life and what she needs to make evolve.
It would also explain why there is absolutely no reference to her supposedly pregnancy in the #10 cover. Every part of her life was mentionned except this... If the pregnancy was still involved in the story (or ever happened), I guess we would have some reference to it ("you would do a terrible mother" or something in the same ilk than the other sentences). Based on Allie's interview, we'll learn more about the supposed pregnancy in 9#08, so will Buffy probably. If she was pregnant or had really be pregnant at one point, I think the #10 cover would have reflect this at some level.
I think it was Chambliss who said that in one of the upcoming arcs, we gonna see Buffy trying to be a bodyguard. It consolidates me in my opinion, because a pregnancy storyline would have been more "invasive" and I'm not certain that she could immediately consider that kind of job if she was pregnant. Unless she actually had an abortion, but with the recents devlopements in the story, I doubt it will go in that direction.
I'm maybe totally wrong of course. And it still doesn't explain why a robot can get a positive pregnancy test... but hey, if this robot comes from Andrew's brain, I think we can expect anything.
Anyway, if that's where the story goes, I'm a little bit disappointed, since I really loved the idea of a pregnancy/abortion storyline. On the other hand, I also understand why they wouldn't follow this storyline right now. That would be interesting if they come back to a pregnancy later (maybe even at the end of this season - I'm still surprised that we hadn't see any consequence on Spike from what Severin did to him, so... just maybe... *shrugs*).
All remains to be seen concerning the robot-thing. I don't dislike it, but I don't know if I like it either. I just wait to see where the story will go from here, and why Andrew made something like that. All the storyline concerning Simone and the fact that Buffy's body seems to be taken by another soul/spirit sounds really interesting.
Besides the end, this issue was obviously very focused on Buffy & Spike. There are things I loved, things I liked, and things which left me more... meh. The thing is : I absolutely love their ideas and the way they see it. I'm just not always a fan of the execution/set-up of those ideas (not all of them of course, the domestic!Spuffy stuff -for example- was just perfect !). There are some lines which are perfect and spot-on, and other lines which are letting me more... dubitative.
But from a general point of view, it was well done. Their reactions were typical of them.
=> Few things I loved :
♦ Domestic!Spuffy. "Is this all the closet space you have ?", "Fits all my clothes", "You have like one jacket", "What makes you think I don't have doubles ?". LOL. STOP BEING PERFECT ! ♥
♦ "But Spike, if I were trying to have a normal life.... you'd be exactly what I would running away from". Ouch. I loved it, but... ouch for Spike's way of understanding it. Buffy was clearly seeing it as a positive thing, and like some people said before me, her attitude towards him (which is more tender/positive) clearly confirmed this, but she really worded it badly. Still, she didn't meant it in a bad way. And to her credit, Buffy doesn't know all the big deal he made about 'normalcy'. She didn't realized that Spike was going to interpret/see it differently than the way she does. Loved her reaction when she realizes that she hurted him.
Side note : From Buffy's POV, it reminded me the scene on the rooftop in 9#02, where she was saying that she'd "probably miss" him, just after talking about the seed and the fact that it didn't took vampires away.
Finding themselves seems to be a huge deal and thematic for them this season, and I'm really curious to see how they will deal with it. From my perspective, Spike is misleading himself about what they could have. I don't think that the common vision of normalcy has to be what they have to reach for, I don't think it would fit with their expectations and who they are. And... what's normalcy anyway ? They should be what they want to be, and not defining themselves regarding some standart. They want to kill some zompires every night ? Feel free. They want to be at home doing some couple stuff ? That would be fine too. They want to live on a spaceship ? Why not. I mean, they don't have to define their lives around some standart conceptions. And I think Buffy starts to realize that she may never have a 'standart' life, which is okay. I think that's just important for her to realize it, in order to really find who she is and what she wants to be, regarding her own expectations and her own needs. Same goes for her relationship with Spike, and for Spike.
♦ Spike's attitudes when it comes to Buffy's pregnancy. He's really respectful of her choice (-and I really, really love that), but at the same time, this issue shows that he would have loved this child. I think it also add an interesting perspective to the development of his character and his expectations.
♦ Buffy's reaction when Dowling tell her that Spike is still in love with her. Serious, determined, she instructs him to go on the ship, and she goes directly to Spike. And that's the first thing she asks. Loved this panel, she seems vulnerable/affected when she asks him if it's true.
I liked the fact that Buffy didn't realized that Spike was still in love with her. From a reader point of view, it sounds almost stupid since the story insisted (a little bit too much) on this (Dowling, Koh), but Buffy isn't supposed to know that. It's in the continuity of season 8 and the way she was seeing Spike (like in Always Darkest, she was dreaming of Spike kissing Angel, chosing to be with him instead of her). And it's also in the continuity of the scene in 8#40, where she burst into tears, while Spike remains very focused on 'business'. He has been emotionaly distant with her.
♦ The panel where Buffy says that Spike isn't her boyfriend (it happened several times in the show since season 4, it HAD to happen in the comics :P ). On the one hand, she states the truth. But on the other hand, I think it can also be interpreted like an intrigued reaction to the fact that Spike would have said something like that, considering where they stand at this moment.
♦ I want a Sebastian mini-series ! :P
***
=> What left me more dubitative :
♦ "I want normal, too. And I want it with you." Really cute, but a little bit cheesy. I would have loved more subtility and a different way of introducing it. But the panel itself is really beautiful. They were clearly about to kiss. But I have to be honest, it goes too fast for my taste *pout*
♦ Dowling... Like it has been pointed out by some people, his partner just died, and commenting the Buffy/Spike relationship is the first thing he's thinking about ? Could he talk about something else, please ?
♦ I'm a little bit divided concerning Spike's revelations to Buffy about his feelings. He makes things clear once and for all, and he shows that he really evolved since Chosen, which is a great thing for his character. But concerning his relationship with Buffy... I'm more ambivalent. I think it comes more from the fact that I had other expectations for the development of their relationship this season (I was hoping for more subtility/ambiguity, which always tend to give us some comical situations), but I also understand that they have to make them evolve from that kind of dynamic. I'm curious to see where the story is bringing them.
Overview, this issue was good, but it left us with more questions than answers. Most of the Spuffy moments were really great, but some parts of the execution don't sit totally well with me.
The drawings were really great, Jeanty did a good job, and Noto's cover is beautiful.