Buffy 4: Grr. Arrgh.
This is where we talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No spoilers though?if you post one by accident, an admin will delete it. This thread is NO LONGER NAFDA. Please don't discuss current Angel events here.
I got everything I needed in (checkpoint?) when Buffy told the Watcher's Council to fuck off, that the power was hers, made her demands, and stood her ground.
"Checkpoint" is correct.
Interesting conversation going on. Now that the series is over, I tend to take the approach as "this is what happened" and not get too worked up over the mistakes and miscues that happened in the last season. My take on the season is similar to many others -- strong start, boring middle, some wasted opportunities, and a decent end. Details differ as to what I found as wasted or boring, but not much from what most people have said. (I thought momentum picked back up with "Get It Done", but YMMV). I do know that "Sleeper" was better when I watched it after the season was over, but I haven't re-watched any of the other episodes since, so I don't know if they improve much upon re-watching (although I rather doubt it).
What fascinates me is how seeing the "whole" of the series influences how I see past episodes. On FX, the wheel has turned again and they have started back up from the beginning. Watching "Welcome to the Hellmouth" for the umpteenth time still brought something new to me -- for the first time, I noticed how unprepared Giles was at having a Slayer who didn't want to follow her "calling". The look on his face after Buffy rattles off
"Prepares me for what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them? Go ahead! Prepare me."
makes you realize he really had no clue about what to do, and that he was dealing with a real person rather than a "tool" of the Council.
And I totally agree with you Am-Chau. That's part of my problem.
Am, I think this should be your tagline.
justkim, would you mind if I tagged?
You may, but lord I didn't mean it that way I swear!
Thanks. I know you didn't mean it that way-- it's just funny that it sounds like that.
Edit: I can take your name off it if you like. ;)
Justkim, I knew what you meant too, but it was really funny!
I'm wondering if I should change my own tagline:
"justkim, who really doesn't believe agreeing with Am-Chau is a bad thing."
But then I'd sound all defensive and paranoid, and I get the giggles just thinking about it, so I'll quietly chew on my foot in the corner.
I'm always surprised at the lack of love for Season 5. To me, it's the best season. So many emotional eps and such changes for the characters (Dawn enters, Joyce dies, Willow ramps up the magic use, Buffy's sacrifice). I thought Forever was a great ep. I bawl at the final Buffy/Dawn scene every time. I think some people forget how great MT was in Season 5 due to her whiny Season 6 and pretty much nonexistent Season 7. I was blown away by her in her first season. The character got totally shortchanged.
As for Season 7, it blew. It was so damned frustrating and man I hated Buffy (the character), which sucks. Anyway, I've probably already posted this same message a million times in the last couple of years, so I'll shut it now.
For me season 5 is where things started
to go really downhill for me. (Season 4
had its problems, and wasn't as good as Seasons 1-3, but I still like it better
than what came afterwards.)
For me it was the beginning of "let's heap lots of shit of Buffy and call it
character development", resulting in the
shell of a character we ended up with.
I guess it was also the beginning of the
"growing up is hard, nasty and it never gets better" message I got from the last
few years.
But then, I'm a bit bitter.(Not to mention a heretic.
t g
)
Season 4 had amazing standalones - some of the best ever, IMO.
I'll agree post season 5 that Dawn had no point, but I feel that that's a case where a cool plot development ended up swamping actual character development. I like MT a lot - I think she did a great job with whatever was handed to her - it's just some of it was incredibly pointless or tediously annoying. My big problem with season 5 is one that haunted 6 and 7, but never to the degree of annoyance I had with 5. The arcs took over. And I get that after so many years, that's what ended up interesting the writers - working out the arcs. I just felt that the villain in 5 was so over the top yet so lame that I couldn't justify it. That's not just Clare Kramer/Charlie Weber as actors, but the fact that when you take on a god (I think this trumps the FE in terms of bigness in a villain), it shouldn't be that frelling prosaic.