GET IT DONE
The Good;
Buffy's trip to see the Shadowmen finally answers a lot of the questions we've had concerning the Slayer over the years. Plus bad boy Spike is finally back! The Shadowcasting scene is suprisingly creepy.
The Bad;
How convenient that in the ep where Buffy is going to be 'knocked up' by the Shadowmen's pet demon she just happens to wear a skirt for the first time in ages?
Best line;
Buffy; "Always the staff!"
Women good/men bad;
So, the first Slayer wasn't a volunteer after all? How ironic that the Slayer, the symbol of female empowerment is actually based on the subjugation of women, the Shadowmen chaining a young girl to the earth and forcing their will upon her for their higher purposes. If it was anyone but Joss you'd think this was misogynistic but here Buffy once more shows that the modern Slayer has overcome the need for patriarchal domination, she chooses to be the Slayer and will only work with them to save humanity, not under their control. Her breaking the staff could be construed as a phallic symbol? One thought that has been suggested to me before is that vamps are undead and are therefore a travesty of life. Women are the lifegivers so the Slayer's vamp sense is based upon that, that they are almost allergic to something that is against nature? Also possible that a female was selected to be the Slayer as their uterus makes them capable of accepting the demon just as they would a child.
Jeez!;
Chloe's death is beyond horrible
Kinky dinky;
How long have you got? Buffy refers to her being 'knocked up' and 'violated' which is normally CC's job. We discover why Buffy and Faith (and it's hinted a couple of the Potentials) have this dark and kinky sexual side to them, that the Slayer was created in a whirlwind of rape, bondage, impregnation, dark magic and female enslavement, now the same thing happens to Buffy. We now know why Buffy and Faith have a thing for older men (the Shadowmen/Watchers) with (as Spike comments) 'a little demon in them' like Angel, Spike, the Mayor, Dracula, Wood (son of a Slayer), the Immortal. You wonder if Dawn will develop the same tastes, she share's Buffy's blood and she's already had a crush on Spike and Justin? I never bothered to count but I think this is the last time Buffy gets sexually assaulted in the series, off the top of my head that makes seven (Xander in The Pack, twice by Larry in Halloween, by Cam and then the entire mutated swimteam in Go Fish, by Spike in Seeing Red) If we don't count The Master and presuming her and Drac was consensual. Borders on Got-fic.
http://galaxy-of-terror.com/ if that's your thing (and you're over 18)
Plenty of demonic pregnancies for all the Buffyverse girls in fanfic/fanart
http://taboo.eroticillusions.com/free/ (again 18+ only) But as we see with Doyle, Buffy and Faith and all the other Slayers with their demonic essence, Cordy from season 3 of Angel and plenty of other examples it's not always a bad thing, the kids aren't necessarily evil, sometimes nurture over nature. The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world. And mother is the name for god upon the lips of all her children even if they're hor...ahem, even if they have horns.
Anya still seems to have the hots for Spike but he's not interested.
Spike; "You're like a dog with a bone"
Anya; "Well a girl get's hungry!"
Spike; "It's MY bone!"
of course you could just suspect that she might be trying to make Xander jealous after his date with Lissa in last week's ep. Wood describes HIMSELF as cool and sexy and Buffy agrees adding he's a snappy dresser. Spike thinks the tension between him and Wood is jealousy over Buffy but he's mistaken.
Captain Subtext;
You could interpret that fact that Buffy is actually made stronger by the Shadowmen forcing themselves upon her as a metaphor for the power of female sexuality? Buffy mentions to Wood that Willow has been 'experimenting' a remark she seems to take exception to. When Spike tells Buffy about saving Anya from the demon he says he 'Beat him off' before thinking of a better phrasing.
Note the gentle, intimate gesture of the third Shadowman stroking his hand down Buffy's cheek even after their violent conquest of her that preceded it. What's more Buffy actually let's him do it, it's almost a fatherly moment of affection between them. (Her Slayer side born of the Shadowmen, her Buffy side born of Hank and Joyce?). Kennedy's rejection of Willow having seen her darkside is reminiscent of how CC rejects Angel in season 4 having seen the things he did as Angelus when she was a higher power. Interestingly having been rejected by her girlfriend Willow makes her way to Buffy's bed and suggests that Buffy use 'kisses' (and Twinkies) to motivate her and the others.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Shadowmen are supremely ruthless, the Watcher's Council haven't changed much in all that time. Buffy's almost callous treatment of Chloe shows her going the same way. How the Shadowmen then treat her wakes her up to how she's been behaving and makes her much more human from now on. She comments to the Shadowmen that by giving her more power they're making her 'less human'. All along The First has been saying it's not about right and wrong it's about power. But Buffy rejects the power for what is right, as Wood remarks she's 'redefining the role'.
Some people say that this is Buffy at her nastiest but I sympathise with her, when you see the scene with her walking around at the start guarding over the sleeping potentials she just looks so concerned and loving. She's mad at Chloe for leaving them in the lurch, she shouts at everyone else because they've got to bring their game up and indeed Spike, Willow and Anya do as a result of her harraunging. I'm actually mad with Dawn, Xander etc for letting poor Buffy have to bury Chloe alone. Kennedy is much more to blame than Buffy calling Chloe 'maggot' but she doesn't seem to give a damn. And she even shouts at Amanda when she gives her cute little wave to Woods.
More anti-French xenaphobia which was popular in the US at the time. Buffy of course is right, not all the girls will make it, tragic but true.
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 7,
Whedon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage: Buffy in chains as she's ravished by the demon.
Buffy: 9
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 3
Dawn; 4
Spike; 3
Scoobies knocked out: Buffy by the Shadowmen, Will and Spike by the demon, Dawn and Kennedy by Willow
Buffy: 21
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 16
Will: 10
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;7
Dawn; 5
Tara; 1
Spike; 2
Kennedy; 1
Kills: one demon for Spike, the big bad is back!
Buffy: 121 vamps, 62 demons, 6 monsters, 10 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demons, 2 humans/1 god.
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn+1 human.
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon, 2 humans
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 9 vamps and 7 demons+1 human
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp + 1 demon
Kennedy; 1 human+1 vampire
Amanda; 1 vampire
Woods; 5 vamps and 2 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 4
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1
Buffy; 1
Spike; 1
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 6
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1
Anya; 2
Recurring characters killed: 14, poor Chloe
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina, Tara, Quentin Travers, Chloe.
Sunnydale deaths; poor Chloe
104
Total number of scoobies: 30- goodbye Chloe but there now seems to be about 16 potentials in total. Noticeably no Molly though.
Xander, Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Anya, Spike, Giles, Kennedy, Molly, Vi, Rhona, Amanda, Chao-Anh, Woods
Xander demon magnet: 6(7?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya, Lissa (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1
Buffy; 1
Tara; 1
Notches on Scooby bedpost: do we count Buffy and the Shadowmen's pet demon as sex? It's definitely metaphorical rape but is it actual? There's certainly plenty of penetration of her mouth and under both the front AND the back of her skirt. All the bases covered? Is this Buffy being ..ahem...gang-banged? (you know I tried to think of a nicer way to put it but I really couldn't, any suggestions?) She graphically shudders, writhes, groans, gasps, bucks and moans like an enthusiastic porn star faking it, screaming in pleasure/pain and all the time straining against her chains (as Anya puts it 'the pleasure moment/Shiver me timbers'?). Watching her almost feels voyeuristic, if this wasn't Joss you'd scream "Exploitation!". However this is Joss and the power this gives her allows her to break her chains, the First Slayer saying the Slayer derives power from pain, the whole 'women experience pain differently' concept coming to the fore again. Recently rewatched Alien 4 also written by Joss and is it just me or is it strongly implied that Ripley has sex with the Alien drone that carries her off to the Alien Queen's hive?
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes? Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 3 possible, Dracula+RJ+Shadowman's demon(?)
Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?)
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Riley; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vampwhore
Spike; 2 Buffy and Anya
Anya; 2 Spike and Xander
Dawn in peril; 14
Dawn the bashful virgin; 9
What the fanficcers thought;
A LOT of fic has Buffy being treated nastily by the Shadowmen etc as her comeuppance for treating her friends and family so nastily but as always, forgiveness is big in the Buffyverse and it all ends happily.
Read a WAY out there fic once where the Shadowmen not only have Buffy knocked up by their pet demon but decide to keep her as their slave girl afterwards. However in the follow up story they all fall in love with her and decide they have to send her back to her own time. But we also discover that Buffy's actually been faking, having long since broken her chains and is just enjoying a short S&M themed holiday from the strain of leadership and punishing herself about Chloe before heading back to her responsibilities in Sunnydale.
http://www.t-s-s-a.com/stories/show-story.php?story=Buffy-GottaGetItDone.txt if over 18 and VERY open minded .
If you like your porn a bit more historical another interesting one is that the Shadowmen return Buffy to Sunnydale by sending her travelling forwards through time Quantum Leap style. She gains power by taking on the form of all the previous Slayers throughout history and enjoying their greatest sexual experience (Roman slave, medieval Princess, lesbian nun orgies, pirate galley wench, 30s film noir femme-fatale, Mad Men style 50s housewife/secretary etc), teaming up with Faith along the way who's doing the same thing. My favourite thouhgh is probably her as the wild west saloon girl which may have been inspired by this picture; [FONT=Arial]
[FONT=Arial]http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tomshw.it/forum/attachments/crazy-topic/1133d1107041851-le-donne-dei-nostri-sogni-sarah-michelle-gellar-red-lingerie-black-stockings.jpg&imgrefurl=http://boards.ign.com/teh_vestibule/b5296/190986371/r190986893/&h=641&w=799&sz=75&tbnid=mD1rz1b7fI_YhM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsarah%2Bmichelle%2Bgellar%252Bred%2Bcorset%2Bpictures&zoom=1&q=sarah+michelle+gellar%2Bred+corset+pictures&usg=___FzfnCNiF0taUu7JukgpkEsZlNs=&sa=X&ei=5iiGTPK9IcOOjAf8r-G2BQ&ved=0CBkQ9QEwAA
[/FONT][/FONT](Boy is that the longest link ever or what?)
Questions and observations;
Why doesn't D'Hoffryn come to kill Anya himself? Buffy comments on the Hellmouth's propensity for coming to a climax around May, when the series finale is due. Spike says he's more or less unique as a vamp with a soul (except for Angel). Buffy and Dawn refer to Grandma, the first ever reference to the Summer's grandparents who are presumably deceased. Dawn more and more starting to take on the role of junior Watcher and helps organise the Scoobs with Buffy gone. Buffy asks Anya what she actually does, she later shows us when she helps Willow figure out the spell to bring Buffy back. The return of Black-Eyed Willow and Kickass Spike. When Buffy says she wants the old Spike back is she voicing the opinion of many fans? Here we finally understand what Dracula meant when he referred to the darkness within Buffy and what Adam was referring to in Restless when Buffy says "I'm not a demon" and he replies "Is that a fact?"
Note that the bag which Woods' gives her is the same one she get's the mud from in 'Restless' after which she gives her 'primitive' (or stripper?)leer after giving herself an impromptu facial. According to the Shadowmen Buffy is the Hellmouth's last guardian which indeed she is although in a different way to which we initially understand it. Will mentions 'Bring it on' a movie featuring both Eliza Dushku and Clare Kramer.
Now in the comics Buffy has been infused with demon power and can now fly. Maybe should have just laid back and thought of Sunnydale?
Isn't it an awfully big demon they recieve in return for tiny little Buffy? (I remember the idea of a mass substitute from the old Transformers comics). Willow's "My latin sucks" line may be because AH apparently hates all the latin she had to learn for all the magic on the show. Note when Spike is talking to the demon before fighting in the alleyway there's 'Beware of the dog' sign behind him. Willow says that she sucked power from the most powerful person nearby which was Kennedy. Note that Dawn takes a lot longer to recover consciousness than Kennedy, maybe Slayer healing?
So if the bag belonging to Wood's mum wasn't passed down does that explain why the Slayers of the 80s and 90s started to grow beyond the Watcher's control, they weren't subjugated by the Shadowmen's power? And is this why Buffy was never found to be trained until she was 15? Or was that Jasmine/ PTBs?
Marks out of 10; 8/10 certainly LOTS to write about.
He's been an unsung hero of the show for a long time.
I think the film's ok but the series makes you forget all about it, lovely as Kirsty is and you can see the beginnings of the Sunnydale characters everywhere. And as I've said, the only reason CWDP doesn't get 10/10 is the lack of Xander and Tara 
