If I were Joss and Joss were me, he'd be six and I'd...

..no, wait. That's not what I meant to say.

If I were Joss, I imagine I would get upset about entire (and extremely critical) discussions about a plot point that was read, not viewed in context, not "bought" as it was (intended to be) sold.

I think I'd feel that my what was more important than my how. And given that I'd consider myself an artist, a creator who made stories, in a particular way, intended to be viewed as a whole, who gave thought to the design and the staging and the direction and the music and the dialogue, I think I'd be pissed, too. A bit.

The beauty of Chosen for me was its place as episode one hundred and forty four. And a big big part of that was the continuity nods and the fandom shout outs and the weight of seven seasons of buffy-xander-willow-gilesness being brought to bear. Not so much that Buffy took a big axe and made Caleb bisectual. And that apparently she'd doughy. And there may (or may not) have been sacred-pre-school-bus-sex. And then Buffy sliced and diced a party pack of u-vamps.

She saved the day, again.

It's the again in that sentence that gives it its strength. And that comes from a hella lotta in context viewing.

Because on its own, that's what I'd expect from the title character of the show. And then, how is it different to Batman and Robin? Or even, Hart to Hart?

If it was all just about who did what to whom in the conservatory with the candlestick, we'd follow the show by reading the TV guide's paragraph each week, or watching the television commercials. There's not a lot of glory to be had that way, I think. (Well not unless you're "The Bold and The Beautiful" and let's not go to that discussion place :)

That a person spoils to avoid the suspense, the shock, the down moments (and me? I'm not so sure where they get their highs, either) is one thing. But the critical fandom backlash that accompanied every major plot or casting decision would be/is/was exhausting. No matter how right an action for that character at that point of the story it is, someone, somewhere thinks it's the wrong choice. Even before they've seen it played out. It's impossible for someone (anyone, me, Joss, Bueller) to write for that person. So, I guess, Joss just chose to not do so.

damned it's its and nits

24 hours later, and it's still at the front of my mind.

Tonight at the ice rink there was a girl, about 12 years old, working on beginner half-rotation jumps. She was barely even getting off the ice. But every time she landed one cleanly, she just got the most joyous smile on her face and pumped her fist. She looked just like Michelle Kwan looks when she's landed her final triple of a perfect program and is about to pull the crowd out of their seats with the brilliance of her final footwork pass. And whenever I saw her smile like that, I thought of the softball slayer and got all sniffly.

And I feel like I always do whenever I see or read a really good story with a Final Epic Battle--just a teensy bit disappointed I don't live in a world where you can hand me a sword and point me toward the evil, but at the same time kinda reinspired for what I believe to be my own calling, such as it is. Like I want to tell the best stories I can, and love my husband with my whole heart, and be the best friend I know how to be, and make my voice heard on issues that matter to me, because that's my fight to make the world a better place, and to be who I was meant to be. My power may be small, but it's still a better world if I use it, than if I let it waste because it's not big enough to fix everything I see broken.

God, I'm such a sap.

God, I'm such a sap.

And God how the world needs more such. :)

I honestly didn't mean to open a whole can of spoiler conflict worms!

The thing with me personally is, I never spoiled before this year. And I did because I wasn't really all that thrilled with the way the story was going. I thought there were too many irrelevant storylines and I wanted to know what was important and what wasn't. Which brought me to the buffistas spoilers. So essentially, my spoiling got me the buffistas, I chock that in the plus column. But other than that, it just made me aware of what I should pay attention to and what was really kind of just, there. That and, I really just felt like I really didn't care enough about this arc I couldn't comprehend where things were going. I cared more once I was spoiled, and again, found the buffistas. So in my case, I had more yay than nay and I still got my highs and lows and all the in-betweens.

Season list? 3, 4, 2, 1, 5, 6, 7.

BTW, I not only am not disempowered, I've never been disempowered. I've been an arrogant asskicker from about aged 10 (when I shot the male relative who'd tried to molest me through the bicep with my bow and arrow). And I envied Betsy having her daughter on her lap for that "choices" speech.

Whoever it was who said women in America are whitefonted today, it's nauseating and true and the more we can kick out the fucking jams, the better I'm going to like it.

I honestly didn't mean to open a whole can of spoiler conflict worms!

I don't see a wormy can o' conflict.

I see a bunch of people sharing their experiences and opinions :)

I never did the spoiler thing. Even when I had my buffyverse nadir, I just stopped watching for a while and then literally swallowed a bunch of episodes whole so that I couldn't focus on the details. And I'm glad I did that (off and on, in season sux and early seven) because it allowed me to approach the last dozen episodes with a "que sera sera"nity, that was hard to disappoint.

That was my way. Spoilers was yours. We both took the journey. We just didn't necessarily do it as poster candidates for Joss' peanut gallery. But that's okay with me. Television is a subjective entertainment. I got my jollies, you got yours, Joss gets his. We just don't get them from the same sales counter. Isn't that what makes the world go 'round?

God, I'm such a sap.

awww Susan, I was actually just thinking of you (I'm writing a Chosen "why it had to be a baseball metaphor" post for another board) and I opended the grrrr arrgh thread and there you were, flinging your sap around and affecting people's allergies.

Sap's good stuff, it is. I think it helps make the world go 'round too.

I'm writing a Chosen "why it had to be a baseball metaphor" post for another board

I'd love to see this if it'd be appropriate to post here.

Final thought before bed-elsewhere online I've seen complaints that the mood was too light considering the loss of Anya and Spike (and Amanda etc.). I can't agree. They are warriors who have been through many a war, and suffered many a loss. They have won a battle many of them expected to lose, and survived. There will be tears for all their losses. (Xander's underlying feelings for example were revealed in the way his voice caught for an instant talking to Andrew.) But it felt right to me that just then they would hold off their grief, and celebrate being alive, being victorious, having a future.

Like I want to tell the best stories I can, and love my husband with my whole heart, and be the best friend I know how to be, and make my voice heard on issues that matter to me, because that's my fight to make the world a better place, and to be who I was meant to be. My power may be small, but it's still a better world if I use it, than if I let it waste because it's not big enough to fix everything I see broken.

I heart Susan so much.

Ooh.. I can agree with ted, so I'm gonna...

elsewhere online I've seen complaints that the mood was too light considering the loss of Anya and Spike (and Amanda etc.). I can't agree.

I've seen the same. I've seen how can they talk about going to the mall after that? I've also seen it in the context of, it was forced and stilted and phoned in.

um.. no. For me, sure, it was forced. It was unnatural. But it was what you do. They'll lick their wounds, and they'll count their costs. And, sure, they'll "celebrate being alive, being victorious, having a future".

But right then, at that moment, they were coping by doing what they do. Isn't that what they've always done? And hasn't it always gotten them through before?

I was probably a little hard on Xander when I talked about it seeming to be a "perfunctory" Anya search. Others have written about that as his "moving and desparate cries for his lost girl". I think that no matter what happened, in the luxury of our viewing twenty twenty hindsight, we'd think it deserved more. Or it got too much!

That's the difference between this and The Gift. Imagine if we'd had to see Willow and Xander and Giles (literally) pick Buffy up, and carry her off and go about their business on the streets of Sunnydale. Nothing would have seemed apt. Nothing would have hit the right note. Their grief was jarring a whole summer later.

I don't doubt for a moment that they'll mourn those that fell, in the battle '03 or all the other battles that came before it. I could hear it in the quips about landmark preservation and sleeping for a week. The way it was only then beginning to (lower case) dawn on them just exactly what they had done. What that would mean. What they had chosen.

In seven years the one thing that's always rung true with this show is that life goes on. You can fight the good fight, you can cut and run, you can win or lose or draw. But you still have to get up tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow. Until you don't.

I'd love to see this if it'd be appropriate to post here.

I don't see why it wouldn't be appropriate. It was just in response to someone that said they couldn't get that image out of their mind. Much as you did now, and Steph (et and al) have done earlier. I'm the same. I find it odd (or you know, strangely moving :) that of all the things we saw over all those hours of television, my current image of the vampire slayer is an eleven year old girl, in a blue shirt, facing down the next delivery.

Which is all to say, I'll see how much it turns out to be an UnAm teaching Americans to suck eggs. And post accordingly :)

Edited because.. some spellings can't be blamed on excessive "u"s and creative zeds.