It was the Xanderest thing ever (except for maybe the Love Spell combined with the refusing to take advantage of it in BB&B).

I think that the Xanderest thing ever is "Calvary's here! Calvary is scared guy with a rock, but he's here!" *sob*

misses Xander sooooo much

::doesn't miss Xander at all::

::has never forgiven Xander for big lie, never will::

::pats Buffy and sets her back on the shelf, refuses to see the similarity between self and Drusilla::

::pats Buffy and sets her back on the shelf, refuses to see the similarity between self and Drusilla::

Heh. Considering my usual reaction to pretty people is "Oooh! I want to keep them and put them in a pretty birdcage and play dress-up with them!", I try not to think too hard about any similarities between me and Drusilla. At least I haven't started talking about burning baby fishes around people's heads. Yet.

At least I have started talking about burning baby fishes around people's heads. Yet.

Your slip is showing, Dr. Freud...

I really can't wait for the W&P to get to S7 -- rewatching it all in a gulp last month without the stupid aeon-long hiatuses in between every episode, it came across as much more Xanderly than on the first viewing. Even the middle and later episodes full of speeches and Potentials and trying to cram massive amounts of plot into the little time remaining had lots of small Xander grace notes.

Actually, S7 in general went way, way up in my estimation on an all-at-once rewatch. So much more balanced. There wasn't anywhere near as much Potential plot-hogging or tedious speechifying as I remembered; the season-long character arcs, especially for Xander but really for everyone, felt much clearer; it didn't feel so much All About Spike; the two or three light fluffy standalones were much more enjoyable when they weren't coming on the heels of a month of no episodes at all and immediately followed by another month of nothing. IMO, the craxy airing schedule did a massive disservice to S7; I'm all bouncy and eager to see what everyone else thinks.

Your slip is showing, Dr. Freud...

Hush! Nothing to see here, move along ...

Actually, S7 in general went way, way up in my estimation on an all-at-once rewatch. So much more balanced. There wasn't anywhere near as much Potential plot-hogging or tedious speechifying as I remembered; the season-long character arcs, especially for Xander but really for everyone, felt much clearer; it didn't feel so much All About Spike; the two or three light fluffy standalones were much more enjoyable when they weren't coming on the heels of a month of no episodes at all and immediately followed by another month of nothing. IMO, the craxy airing schedule did a massive disservice to S7; I'm all bouncy and eager to see what everyone else thinks.

Ooh. This is the first thing that, selected eps aside, has made me really want to get around to watching my season 7 DVDs. I suspected the above might be the case, but had too much other stuff on my plate to make the time to find out. Does the pod!Giles stuff seem less pod-y?

Also, have you watched season 6 in one big go? I'm curious if that plays better as well, as I recall the scheduling was similar.

Does the eventual eye loss make her feel better?

Not really, because it wasn't a consequence of either The Lie or his bouts of self-righteousness.

I think that the Xanderest thing ever is "Calvary's here! Calvary is scared guy with a rock, but he's here!" *sob*

Oh, yeah. Well, that's probably the Xanderst line (more specific than 'thing'), okay, maybe it's tied with his first line to Buffy: "Can I have you?"

Actually, his entire set of lines in his whole first scene with Buffy is a study in meet-cute.

Oh, another Xandery line is, "I'm going to go home, lie down, and listen to country music--the music of pain."

has never forgiven Xander for big lie, never will

Buffy has. She knows what happened. I mean, it's not precisely canon that she knows, but it's totally in character for her to know, and the conversation with Willow and Xander in S7's Selfless, gave her enough information to piece it together.

Before that episode, I used to like to think that she figured out the lie, really early, maybe right after she sent Angel to Hell, and that knowing about it contributed to her running off to L.A.

I honestly think he was totally wrong, and yet it was probably the right thing to do, at the same time. I think it's possible Buffy might have gotten herself killed, trying not to kill Angelus--just biding time, waiting for the spell to kick in.

Also, have you watched season 6 in one big go? I'm curious if that plays better as well, as I recall the scheduling was similar.

Last summer, Scott and I watched the first six seasons in one gulp. Season 6 played much better, but we never did get more than halfway through season 7. I love what happened in season 7 (the narrative, I guess), but I hate the execution of it.