Buffy season nine discussion thread

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Turtletrekker, Mar 9, 2011.

  1. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    So no one read Buffy Season Nine #4? I thought it was the best issue so far as I indicated above.
     
  2. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I did, a few days ago, just was really busy till yesterday so I forgot to comment.
    I think that two people teased in the last season finale were here, since Severin seems to be the guy with the glasses from #40.

    I'm not sure what to think about Dawn and Xander. They have this tired, almost indifferent attitude of the "Oh god, Buffy's gotten herself into trouble again, must be Tuesday" type with more annoyance than concern. (Though at least Dawn called Willow... while Xander's first thought was that he would have to pay the bail. They didn't seem to realize what kind of trouble Buffy was in, but that was before Spike texted everyone about the Siphon.)

    On the other hand, Willow and Buffy finally had a nice friendly conversation when Willow came to comfort her and drive her home. Buffy promised Willow "we'll figure it out", which seemed like a promise that they'll find a way to bring the magic back.

    A lot of the issue was about action, but there were a few heartwarming character moments, like the above mention Buffy/Willow stuff; and the most emotional panels in the issue were the ones when Spike and Buffy were both being drained and looking at each other and Buffy was saying "Spike... Don't..." I predicted something like that would happen - and it was foreshadowed in #2 when Buffy wondered what a world without the supernatural would be like, and Spike said Buffy would be less fun (i.e. would be an ordinary girl) and he would be dead. I just didn't think Severin would turn bad that quickly - or rather, that he was already a bad guy. I thought it would be more like Faith in season 3, first a partner in slaying, then he turns to the dark side.

    At least Buffy realized now that she doesn't really want to lose her powers. At the end of #2, she seemed happy with the idea that Severin might put her out of her "job".

    Lucky for Spike and Koh and her - especially for Spike, since he was going to lose his life, not just his powers - that Dowling had enough sense to not listen to Spike and Koh and didn't stay away. They should realize that superpowers don't always work, and that a gun really is the best weapon in some cases. But in their defense, they didn't know that Severin was human and probably thought that he was some magical being who can't be killed with bullets - but still, too many assumptions. I love the fact that a non-superpowered human saved them with a weapon that humans use. (It's kind of like the flip side of Seeing Red, where we saw how much damage an ordinary human with a gun can do in Buffy's world.) I'm glad that Spike didn't get to save Buffy, because I think that bodes much better for the ship; having Buffy hook up with a guy who's saved her would be too gender-stereotypical for BtVS.

    Spike's little conversation with Koh seems aimed at revealing a bit of his feelings and establishing where he stands regarding Buffy, before the comics gets into some more serious interaction between them. So Spike thinks Buffy needs someone "normal". Shouldn't Buffy be the one to say what she needs or wants? I suppose he could have misinterpreted her dissatisfaction with her life as a Slayer and her musings on what it would be like to be a normal girl who doesn't have to slay vampires every night. Buffy's definition of normal life doesn't necessarily mean "having a human boyfriend" and never did. As in season 2 What's My Line when she was telling Angel she would like to be a normal girl, but didn't see a problem with him being a vampire ("I wish we could be normal kids").

    But how is she going to tell him anything if he runs away before they could even talk, as he does in this issue? I hope we get to see a bit more about what Buffy is feeling, even if Spike doesn't;
    the next issue is about Buffy's nightmares,so that would be the right time to show something about how she feels about everyone and everything.

    BTW this is the second time that Spike has almost gotten himself killed by trying to help Buffy against a super-powerful opponent (#39 and now #4). And they haven't still had a proper conversation about the elephant in the room, his death in the Hellmouth (and his resurrection and why he didn't call her and how she found out and why neither of them contacted the other).

    Koh seems to be becoming the Worf/D'Argo of BtVS, very much the "noble alien warrior" type (with a bumpy forehead).

    So what does Simone want? She could just shoot Buffy with a gun, like she did with the general. I guess maybe she wants her to suffer, to lose her powers and, as she said, the annoying idea she's doing good (but how would she make her feel that way?). She seems to be the dominant one in their partnership.

    Severin said he needed her to charge him up, and she said she needs her powers intact now so she could face Buffy - this should mean he has drawn some of the power from her before? But if that's the case, why did he feel that Buffy's power felt different to what he was used to?

    So Buffy's out of trouble with the police, but it's still not clear what the police's policy on killing vampires is. Strictly speaking, before trying to drain Buffy, Severin wasn't doing anything she wasn't doing - except that he was leaving a trail of dead bodies behind, while she just stakes them and they go poof. Surely it can't be a crime only if there's a dead body, because in this case, that's stupid and would mean that Buffy isn't in trouble only for the lack of evidence. Or if killing vampires isn't considered a crime... what exactly are they going to charge Severin with?

    More trouble awaits Buffy at home, since Anaheed and Tumble now know that she's a Slayer... as does everyone who's watched the news report and didn't forget about it.
     
    Last edited: Dec 22, 2011
  3. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I think as we touched on earlier that Xander is bored out of his mind and Dawn has asked him that they stay out of "the life" for a while. Now she's bored as well but won't admit it or something. There is literally nothing for him to do since the Slayers are now out in the world and Buffy herself doesn't need her "General".
     
  4. ReadyAndWilling

    ReadyAndWilling Fleet Captain

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  5. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm not really sure why you're posting your question in this thread because Adam doesn't appear in either season eight or nine. The article states the comics you linked take place during season six.
     
  6. ReadyAndWilling

    ReadyAndWilling Fleet Captain

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    i was going to create a thread, but this seemed like the best place because there are so many buffy comic book readers here.
     
  7. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "Notes from the Underground" takes place a few weeks after season 6, it was released in 2002 and it's one of the old Dark Horse comics that aren't canon (though they tried not to contradict canon). Although the chronology is very fuzzy since Angel and Cordelia appear in it, which means it should happen before AtS season 3 finale, since he's not at the bottom of the sea and she's not on the Higher Plane. Faith is in it as well (released from jail for a day) and she goes with Angel to Sunnydale to help. They managed to somehow get most of the characters from both shows in there in some form or another, even if it's a flashback or a vision or a mention, probably because the 4th part was some kind of anniversary issue. Even some people you really wouldn't expect were in it, like
    Pike (from the movie/"The Origin" comic. The First Slayer is also in it, and the Scourge (from AtS "Hero") are the main villains besides Adam.

    It's a nice little comic (especially for character interaction), except that it's a bit too expositiony (it's like they wrote if for someone who doesn't know the shows well so they introduced every character and retold a bunch of stuff) and the colorist didn't get the job done well - Dawn's hair looks red and Buffy's eyes are blue.
     
  8. timothy

    timothy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    okay finally read issue #4 it was great read, but I was wondering if the guy sucked all the vampire out spike who still has a soul would that have turned him human?
     
  9. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I don't know why so many people have been speculating about that. If he had sucked the supernatural/demonic out of him, he would be dead, just like any other vampire Severin got his hands on. (Like the cop said: "we'd be shipping your vampire friend across the pond in a body bag". I doubt they'd actually be sending him to UK, but never mind.) They all turn human, it's just that they turn into human corpses. They are technically dead humans whose bodies are animated through supernatural means; without it, they're just dead humans.

    The soul makes no difference - soul isn't what's keeping him alive, any more than it keeps a human alive. When a human body stops functioning, you die. A vampire's body doesn't function without the supernatural.
     
  10. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    @ReadyandWilling...like I said this a thread discussing Season Nine, not a general Buffy Comic thread.
     
  11. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    Both issue 4s, Buffy and Angel and Faith, were great. I am really enjoying season nine so far.

    Karl Moline talks about Fray, his work on seaon 8, and his upcoming work in season 9, here.
     
  12. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Angel and Faith #5 was something surprising. I thought we were in for a dud with Harmony returning but this was a fun issue. The art was surprisingly fun as well. Angel continues to be on a singular path which I predict is not going to end well. Faith's concern and hesitation continues to be ever present. Clem was awesome in this issue, always nice to see old characters from the past return. There were some funny lines as well. Both books are going in the right direction now.
     
  13. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    What do you think about the explanation about Angel's intentions as Twilight? It retcons #35, and fans on BF and Whedonesque have been split over whether it's an attempt at whitewashing his actions. I think it's just an attempt to make more sense of his motivations and characterization during season 8, but I don't think it whitewashes him at all. So he wasn't willing to let everyone in the world die while he lived with Buffy in a paradise for two (which answers the "what about Connor?" question), but instead he wanted to play God and decide who gets to live in 'paradise' and who gets to perish? That's really not any better.
     
  14. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I honestly took it to be a throwaway line from Harmony...never put too much thought into actually. If it was an attempt to retcon...well I dunno. We really don't know what he truly intended "Twilight" to be or who was going to be allowed in. Given the source of who said it I kind of didn't think it important to dwell on since Harmony says a bunch of stuff.
     
  15. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Harmony was just suggesting what he might try to claim he wanted to do, but Angel started saying "But that is what I was going to..."

    It does fit as what he probably originally intended with the Twilight plan (since he thought he was "saving the world") and it would be in character for him (he has taken upon himself to decide who's worth saving and who isn't before - think of the lawyers in "Reunion" and Lindsey in NFA) and would explain why he didn't seem concerned about Connor - he thought Connor would be safe. But it doesn't fit with his behavior in #35 unless he considered Willow, Giles, Xander, Dawn, Faith and the rest of the Slayers unworthy of being saved - he didn't seem concerned with helping them at all until Buffy refused to stay in the Twilight dimension.
     
  16. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Angel not being concerned about some people close to him isn't really a big deal to me since really he was focused on just Buffy at the time the two of them created Twilight. You hit it on the nail when you said he didn't seem concerned with anyone else until Buffy refused to stay in Twilight. He was thinking only about her at that time, which makes sense. My point is he was kind of self-absorbed at the time. Angel most likely believed that Buffy would go along with his plan. Kind of the point of the whole "Twilight" thing. He was thinking of only himself.
     
  17. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Now would be the right time to quote an answer from Scott Allie in his latest Q&A:

    4. Sosa Lola: Hi, Scott, loved the Harmony issue, so funny! In the issue, Harmony wants to start a campaign to fix Angel's image, twisting the truth by saying that Angel was going to take the good humans to Twilight and leave the bad ones to burn. Angel says later, "But that IS what I was going to..." Was he talking about "creating a new universe and leaving the current one to burn" or "taking the good people to the new universe he created and leaving the bad ones."?

    Scott: He meant both. I want to do an issue of Angel drawn by Bob Sikoryak in the style of Charles Schulz in which Angel keeps trying to explain what he was thinking in Season 8, but Faith repeatedly pulls the football out from in front of him, and no one else will listen to him, and every page ends with him saying, "Good grief!" Twenty-two pages of that, at the end of which, still no one knows what the hell he was thinking.
    Angel was manipulated into taking point on a very bad plan that he never fully understood because he never bothered to understand it, too wrapped up in the idea of doing an ultimate good deed.
     
  18. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    An interesting response, and I'd love to read that issue he's talking about...so I was kind of along the right track. It does seem like Angel was manipulated and had a deluded sense of sense during his whole Twilight plan thingy. He was obsessed with the ultimate result and not really in the absolute consequence of what his actions would result to those he cared about.
     
  19. DevilEyes

    DevilEyes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  20. timothy

    timothy Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Okay awesome, I think I see my nook color wallpaper.