SMG is just great in this; she seems to take to "bad girl" roles like a duck to water.
Dialogue:
Spike: "You know why I really hate you, Summers?"
Faith-as-Buffy: "'Cause I'm a stuck-up tight-ass with no sense of fun?"
Buffy ep by ep; rewatch and reviews
- Thread starter saturn5
- Start date
Dialogue:
Spike: "You know why I really hate you, Summers?"
Faith-as-Buffy: "'Cause I'm a stuck-up tight-ass with no sense of fun?"
I think I saw this in a dream once....
If you notice, I think that happens at the same moment Willow is doing her astral plane thingy. So I think that Faith-in-Buffy is not asking that question of Riley, but rather of Willow, who is also inhabiting her body at that moment (oo-er missus). Not that Riley would realise that, of course.
I think I saw this in a dream once....
A dream, some DVDs I own, certain nightclubs I used to go to....
Interesting theory on Willow in the astral plane, must say that never occured to me.
SUPERSTAR
The Good;
How brilliant is Danny Strong? So glad we had him back in the 6&7 seasons. His final talk with Buffy is a winner
The Bad;
Monster looks a bit lame, aside from that, great ep
Best line;
Graham;(upon seeing the Initiative's 'tactical consultant' Jonothan) "About time we brought out the big guns"
Women good/men bad;
Actually in this case 'man' brilliant but it's hardly real
Jeez!;
Poor Tara, you so feel for her
Kinky dinky;
Anya moans Jonathan's name during sex and describes him as 'lickable' (as indeed does Buffy although she claims she was only joking). She also seems to find his trumpet playing a turn-on. Jonathan has a threesome with beautiful twins which appears to be an illicit yet universal male fantasy to judge by all the Buffy/Dawn/Joyce or Charmed sisters sexfic on the net? http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=17694
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=600031116
probably the most tasteful in a HIGHLY dubious genre if you're over 18.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Exactly why does Giles have a copy of the Jonathan swimsuit calender to hand? Was it a gift? Tara and Willow seem infatuated with Jonathan, one wonders if he suggested it they might come 'running back to boys-town', at least for the night? Xander also seems alarmingly devoted to Jonathan. Spike strokes Buffy's cheek, their attraction evident. Note the evidence of Jonathon's heroism, no wonder he comes good in season 6&7.
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy and Jonothan beat Spike up for info. The police seem quite content to just let Jonothan handle things without their help.
Scoobies to the ER;
Poor Tara gets pretty banged up
Where's Dawn?
Does she share in the Jonathan idolisation?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Scoobies knocked out: no but Jonathan knocked unconscious by the beast.
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 3 vamps for Buffy so 79 vamps, 26 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Jonathan; 2 vamps and 1 demon
Riley; 11 vamps + 6 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: no but for a moment you really think Tara might go the same way as Jenny Calender
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike, Riley
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
The first mention of the world without shrimp as far as I know? Of course it's actually Jonathon who works out Adam's weakness although surely if you cut his head off it would slow him down a great deal? Note Buffy know's how to make Jonathon's coffee. Less Adam in this ep and it's all the better for it. An ep much beloved of fanfic writers as whatever has gone on before Jonathon can always put it right. We also see Buffy show her strength, able to see beyond the illusion and show her latent power. Riley begins to see beyond the Initiative and is introduced to magic. How great is magic Jane's commentary? You wonder why Buffy is so mad at Riley, Faith fools Joyce and until Dawn shows up there's no one closer to her than her mum. Now of course this marks the halfway point of Buffy, 72 down, 72 to go.
Marks out of 10; 8/10 I think, bordering on the marvellous
Best lines from Superstar - Well, where do I start?
Here's a selection of my faves:
1.
Buffy (to Jonathan about Riley and Faith): "There's no way he could know. I mean you don't just look at someone and say 'Hey that's not your body, get out of that body with your hands up!'" [She gestures with her hands up.]
2.
Anya: "Blah I wish there weren't any shrimp you would say to yourself."
Buffy: "Stop! You're saying it wrong! I think that Jonathan may be doing something so that he's manipulating the world and we're all like his pawns."
Anya: "Or prawns."
Buffy: "Stop with the shrimp! I am trying to do something here!"
3.
Riley: "These spells... these really work? I mean, can you
really 'turn your enemies inside out'? Or... learn to 'excrete
gold coins'?"
Anya: "That one's not so much fun."
Willow: "They work Riley but they take concentration. Being attuned with the forces of the universe."
Xander: "Right. You can't just go 'librum incendere' and expect.."
The page of Xander's book bursts into flame. Xander is shocked
and Riley looks up. Xander slams the book closed,
extinguishing the fire.
Giles: "Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books."
I like the way that, as with Hush, life moves on even though this is a concept episode; Jonathan helps Buffy and Riley deal with Faithgate and provides vital information on Adam.
Superstar's an outright classic, I think. In my opinion it mines its premise much more thoroughly than Hush. 9/10.
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WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
The Good;
Nice that with Buffy and Riley ahem, preoccupied the other Scoobs have a chance to shine for a change.
The Bad;
Vines look a little lame but apart from that all good.
Best line;
Giles "Do you really think they're keeping it up? Oh for a different phrasing"
Women good/men bad;
In this case a female villain, the religious zealot 'carer'
Jeez!;
The drowning scenes are horrible, a very primal human fear.
Kinky dinky;
Basically one big marathon sex session between Buffy and Riley (at least they use protection) plus the house sending sexual energy surging through it's inhabitants. Plus Anya and Xander in the ice-cream van. Anya comments that Xander and she both like his penis. Apparently there's only been 2 nights where Xander and Anya haven't had sex, to paraphrase Buffy 'Xander is quite the machine' Xander gets to kiss the lovely Julie. Xander refers to a big bursting poltergasm.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Anya, Tara and Willow seem remarkably keen on Giles playing his guitar (Willow always had a thing for guitarists) again suggesting bi-Willow and even bi-Tara. Her revelation about her crush must have had Gillow fans going into overtime. Tara has a moment of homophobia due to the house's influence. Spike and Anya bond over their past evil. Spike seems to want to be heroic when Xander asks for volunteers to rescue Buffy? Willow seems scared of horses although she seems to have gotten over that by the end of season 5. Tara tells Willow she can come 'Riding with me sometime' Ohhhhh matron! Willow asks Buffy if she still loves her despite having spilt 'something purple' on her peasant blouse (the answer is yes). Spike says that love is a terrible thing just as he does in 'Lover's Walk'. 'Dingoes ate my baby' poster visible for the last time.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Anya and Xander are pretty cut up by the end but their injuries seem to heal pretty fast, perhaps because they're mystical?
Where's Dawn?
Home with Joyce
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 1 demon for Buffy so 79 vamps, 27 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 1 vamp for Riley so 12 vamps + 6 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 7
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total number of scoobies: 6 actually going to reduce this as Spike not officially a Scooby by a long way
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Riley,
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 1;Oz
Questions and observations;
What the heck does Xander mean when he refers to people going 'all Felicity with their hair'? Anya's humanity is still a work in process despite her having a soul. Once more, Buffy goes christian bashing.
Marks out of 10; 7/10 good ep without being brilliant
The Good;
Nice that with Buffy and Riley ahem, preoccupied the other Scoobs have a chance to shine for a change.
The Bad;
Vines look a little lame but apart from that all good.
Best line;
Giles "Do you really think they're keeping it up? Oh for a different phrasing"
Women good/men bad;
In this case a female villain, the religious zealot 'carer'
Jeez!;
The drowning scenes are horrible, a very primal human fear.
Kinky dinky;
Basically one big marathon sex session between Buffy and Riley (at least they use protection) plus the house sending sexual energy surging through it's inhabitants. Plus Anya and Xander in the ice-cream van. Anya comments that Xander and she both like his penis. Apparently there's only been 2 nights where Xander and Anya haven't had sex, to paraphrase Buffy 'Xander is quite the machine' Xander gets to kiss the lovely Julie. Xander refers to a big bursting poltergasm.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Anya, Tara and Willow seem remarkably keen on Giles playing his guitar (Willow always had a thing for guitarists) again suggesting bi-Willow and even bi-Tara. Her revelation about her crush must have had Gillow fans going into overtime. Tara has a moment of homophobia due to the house's influence. Spike and Anya bond over their past evil. Spike seems to want to be heroic when Xander asks for volunteers to rescue Buffy? Willow seems scared of horses although she seems to have gotten over that by the end of season 5. Tara tells Willow she can come 'Riding with me sometime' Ohhhhh matron! Willow asks Buffy if she still loves her despite having spilt 'something purple' on her peasant blouse (the answer is yes). Spike says that love is a terrible thing just as he does in 'Lover's Walk'. 'Dingoes ate my baby' poster visible for the last time.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Anya and Xander are pretty cut up by the end but their injuries seem to heal pretty fast, perhaps because they're mystical?
Where's Dawn?
Home with Joyce
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 1 demon for Buffy so 79 vamps, 27 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 1 vamp for Riley so 12 vamps + 6 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 7
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total number of scoobies: 6 actually going to reduce this as Spike not officially a Scooby by a long way
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Riley,
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 1;Oz
Questions and observations;
What the heck does Xander mean when he refers to people going 'all Felicity with their hair'? Anya's humanity is still a work in process despite her having a soul. Once more, Buffy goes christian bashing.
Marks out of 10; 7/10 good ep without being brilliant
There are Gillow fans!? Yeesh!
I'm learning whole new (sometimes unsettling) things from your fanfic perspectives!
Oh, Gillow is the least of it, I've read;
Chillow-Willow and the Cheeseman from Restless
Quffy-Buffy and the Quellar demon from Listening to Fear
WiTaDa-Willow and Tara turn Dawn into their willing lesbian plaything between seasons 5 and 6.
Taffy-normally between 'Older and Farther Away' and the preceeding ep
Rillow-which actually she confesses to in season 6. Jaith also popular
And of course JoBuDa, people loved putting the Summers girls together so much that the first rule of The Joyce Summers Fanfic Archive was 'No incest'.
NEW MOON RISING
The Good;
Oz is back and not before time, it's all wonderful. No matter how big a Tara fan you are you've got to adore the Willow/Oz goodbye scene
The Bad;
The werewolf makeup still stupid, thankfully the last time we'll see it.
Best line;
Riley; "No sir, I'm an anarchist"
Women good/men bad;
Oz's jealousy of Willow/Tara brings out his more animal nature.
Jeez!;
The Initiative experimenting on Oz
Kinky dinky;
Riley has now acquired a double bed and Buffy now sleeps in one of his shirts. Buffy imagines that Willow and werewolf Oz have had sex?
Calling Captain Subtext;
Buffy's reaction to the news of Will and Tara is a little freaked, interesting that she'll later vent on Riley due to his anti-demon stance (hasn't told him about Angel yet). Compensating through guilt? Buffy remarks about the uncontrollable nature of love, pressaging her relationship with Spike. Spike notes that Buffy is a 'whiny little thing' but always wins. So what exactly do Willow and Tara get up to when the candle goes out? Only fanfic can tell! That said Willow never says to Oz 'We can't be together any more because I'm gay', in fact she seems to hold out the offer that they could possibly get back together if circumstances changed so more bi than gay. Xander obviously glad to see Oz back.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley finally rebels against the Initiative
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
What's Dawn's attitude to Oz? I suspect she was a fan although she also loves Tara.
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage: Oz tied up by the Initiative
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 2
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Scoobies knocked out: Oz againx2
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 5
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 27 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 6 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 7
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Sunnydale Death toll; I figure must be around 60?
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Riley and Tara attending her first Scooby meeting
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot: Riley is about to shoot Oz although unless it's loaded with silver bullets you wonder would his pistol affect him? The Initiative guys surround Riley and Oz, surely if they opened fire they'd kill each other too?
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost: I think we should add Tara to the list for Willow especially as Oz notes Willow's scent is 'all over' Tara.
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
The entrance of Connor Farrell, a great actor from Sex and the City, From the Earth to the Moon and especially an obscure old series I used to enjoy called Dark Skies (anyone else remember it? they used to show it very late on C4, basically history from a UFO conspiracists POV). It's a role he later recreates to good effect on The Unit. In case anyone doesn't know William Boroughs wrote surrealist novel The Naked Lunch and accidentally shot his wife through the head. Adam was a Boy Scout. So, a werewolf CAN control it's impulses? Maybe Buffy and co should tell Nina that on Angel? (wouldn't you love Oz to turn up in Angel S6/Buffy S8?) Now according to Keith Toppings book the events of 5x5 occur AFTER this ep. Willow and Tara discuss Miss Kitty. Last mention of Devon. Anya displays her computer skills for the first time. McNamara is the name of Kennedy's defence secretary who is widely blamed for the failure of the Vietnam War and who died just this week.
On my 2009 Buffy calender there's a great picture of Tara and Oz with Willow in the middle. Tara's holding Willow's arm and Will's looking at Oz who looks as if he's about to form an expression as if to say "Sorry babe, I'm with her". I don't think it's a scene from the show but it's a peach of pic.
Marks out of 10; 8/10
I remember it. Jeri Ryan was in it, too, I seem to recall. I didn't watch it, I was all UFO'd out with X Files at that point, I think.
Yep, she played the Russian hit chick in the last few eps. terrific series, would love a TV movie to round it all up
THE YOKO FACTOR
The Good;
Love the fact that when the argument starts Tara and Anya head to the bathroom, they have a few scenes like this together through the series, the newcomers to the Scooby gang bonding. Miss Kitty is the cutest ever. Lovely to see Angel and Buffy make up.
The Bad;
Spike can't even hold a fake gun without getting pain, so how come he's able to get his shotgun out in season 5?
Best line;
Buffy; "Xander? Oh he's the deadest man in deadonia!"
Women good/men bad;
Buffy refer to Riley and Angel suffering from 'testosterone poisoning'.
Jeez!;
Poor Forrest gets skewered.
Kinky dinky;
Anya declares Xander a 'Viking in the sack'. As she is from medieval Sweden that's quite a compliment and once again suggests she enjoys rough/exotic sex (as we'll see later with Spike). Xander used to work at a telephone sex line.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Xander used to work at a telephone sex line. You know I've never seen one advertised for straight women, was this a gay sex line? Willow refers to Tara as her girlfriend for the first time. Spike twigs Will/Tara long before Xander/Giles do. Wicca is once more used as a term for lesbianism. Buffy asks Forrest if the Initiative is a 'boys club'. Spike seems to have a high opinion of Buffy. Willow talks of doing 'drama' which foreshadows Restless. Willow refers to the umbilical chord between Xander and Anya, jealousy rising.
Guantanamo Bay;
The demons are starting to rip one another apart and the Colonel really doesn't care.
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Whedon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander 1
Scoobies knocked out: Buffy trips and falls like a horror heroine
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 5
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 27 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 6 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed:
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Riley, Tara
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot: Riley threatens Angel with his pistol saying it's 'all he's got left'. Forrest zaps Adam but it only makes him stronger.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
Lovely to see Angel back, lovely to see his reconcilliation with Buffy. Sorry Spuffers BuffyandAngel4ever. Angel can defeat Riley in single combat, even with all Riley's hi-tech gear. Xander's famous big mouth makes another appearance. In later seasons this role will be taken over by Dawn. Adam likes 'Helter Skelter' which is the Beatles song Charles Manson cited for the motivation for his infamous massacre. Riley refers to Angel as 'Mr Billowy-Coat King of Pain' and thinks girls like that. More than Gary Cooper in camoflauge actually. Spike is 100% right of course, what makes Buffy different and more successful than all the other Slayers is that she has her friends and family around her.
Marks out of 10; 6/10
The Good;
Love the fact that when the argument starts Tara and Anya head to the bathroom, they have a few scenes like this together through the series, the newcomers to the Scooby gang bonding. Miss Kitty is the cutest ever. Lovely to see Angel and Buffy make up.
The Bad;
Spike can't even hold a fake gun without getting pain, so how come he's able to get his shotgun out in season 5?
Best line;
Buffy; "Xander? Oh he's the deadest man in deadonia!"
Women good/men bad;
Buffy refer to Riley and Angel suffering from 'testosterone poisoning'.
Jeez!;
Poor Forrest gets skewered.
Kinky dinky;
Anya declares Xander a 'Viking in the sack'. As she is from medieval Sweden that's quite a compliment and once again suggests she enjoys rough/exotic sex (as we'll see later with Spike). Xander used to work at a telephone sex line.
Calling Captain Subtext;
Xander used to work at a telephone sex line. You know I've never seen one advertised for straight women, was this a gay sex line? Willow refers to Tara as her girlfriend for the first time. Spike twigs Will/Tara long before Xander/Giles do. Wicca is once more used as a term for lesbianism. Buffy asks Forrest if the Initiative is a 'boys club'. Spike seems to have a high opinion of Buffy. Willow talks of doing 'drama' which foreshadows Restless. Willow refers to the umbilical chord between Xander and Anya, jealousy rising.
Guantanamo Bay;
The demons are starting to rip one another apart and the Colonel really doesn't care.
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Whedon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander 1
Scoobies knocked out: Buffy trips and falls like a horror heroine
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 5
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 27 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 6 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed:
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Riley, Tara
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot: Riley threatens Angel with his pistol saying it's 'all he's got left'. Forrest zaps Adam but it only makes him stronger.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
Lovely to see Angel back, lovely to see his reconcilliation with Buffy. Sorry Spuffers BuffyandAngel4ever. Angel can defeat Riley in single combat, even with all Riley's hi-tech gear. Xander's famous big mouth makes another appearance. In later seasons this role will be taken over by Dawn. Adam likes 'Helter Skelter' which is the Beatles song Charles Manson cited for the motivation for his infamous massacre. Riley refers to Angel as 'Mr Billowy-Coat King of Pain' and thinks girls like that. More than Gary Cooper in camoflauge actually. Spike is 100% right of course, what makes Buffy different and more successful than all the other Slayers is that she has her friends and family around her.
Marks out of 10; 6/10
A note on the Wicca thing: It is and always has been an inaccurate term to describe what Willow is. It's annoying that the writers use it interchangeably with witch, because it's not.
Wicca is a specific set of rules and philosophies involved in the use of magic. It's what Willow derides as "Gaia-moon-blah-blah-menstrual-life-force-thingy" in Hush. It's what Tara and Willow argue about later on in Tough Love and Tabula Rasa. Tara does believe in those philosophies, while Willow clearly does not - she is only interested in the power that magic can provide her, not in respecting the connection to existence that it provides or the people that it affects.
Even when Willow's entire storyline heads in this direction over the course of three seasons, the writers still make the mistake of calling her a Wicca. She's not - she's just a witch.
Wicca is a specific set of rules and philosophies involved in the use of magic. It's what Willow derides as "Gaia-moon-blah-blah-menstrual-life-force-thingy" in Hush. It's what Tara and Willow argue about later on in Tough Love and Tabula Rasa. Tara does believe in those philosophies, while Willow clearly does not - she is only interested in the power that magic can provide her, not in respecting the connection to existence that it provides or the people that it affects.
Even when Willow's entire storyline heads in this direction over the course of three seasons, the writers still make the mistake of calling her a Wicca. She's not - she's just a witch.
Aside from that:
"Xander: It's nothing but a huge joke to them. Xander got fired from Starbucks. Xander got fired from that phone-sex line.
Anya: They look down on you
Xander: And they hate you.
Anya: But they don't look down on me."
PRIMEVAL
The Good;
The Scoobies get back together and have a stonking great battle. What's not to love?
The Bad;
Adam's mingun arm looks pretty stupid.
Best line;
Adam; 'You can't last much longer'
Possessed Buffy 'We can. We are FOREVER'
Women good/men bad;
The female power of the Slayer overcomes the male power of Adam.
Jeez!;
Spike stubbing his cigarette in Forrest's eye. Riley cuts the chip out of his own chest.
Kinky dinky;
Xander sleeps naked, Anya doesn't think that the unemployment office will accept him nude (really depends what job he's going for? the fabulous ladies nightclub?)
Calling Captain Subtext;
Buffy and Willow have great big girly hug and tell one another they love them, awww! The writer/director also comment on the Willow/Xander/Buffy sandwich. Oddly Xander wants Giles to join in.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Initiative ends (at least in it's familar form and the cover-up begins).
Scoobies to the ER;
Riley seems to recover from his wounds fast although he does have Walsh's drugs in him.
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Is this really an apocalypse? A couple of hundred Adams running around would be a bad thing but not the end of the world?
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills: Buffy kills Adam and Riley kills demon-Forrest
Buffy: 79 vamps, 28 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons
The end of Adam (thanks Christ!) but he crops up again in the comics
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies: Buffy as the uber-Slayer
Buffy: 7
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 10-bye-bye Colonel McNamara and Forrest
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total killed;
I figure about 80 dead in the series so far?
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot: Adam has a Predator style minigun but it's no match for Buffy's magic. The Colonel orders his men to get to the armoury which seems sensible. Xander zaps at least one demon with his taser.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
The end of the Initiative and it's a great battle, rather reminds me of The Spy Who Love Me. I don't think the season 4 storyline was all that good, the show still finding it's feet outside High School and having lost CC and Angel but still the best thing on TV.
Marks out of 10; 7/10, good enough ep but glad this wasn't the season finale
The Good;
The Scoobies get back together and have a stonking great battle. What's not to love?
The Bad;
Adam's mingun arm looks pretty stupid.
Best line;
Adam; 'You can't last much longer'
Possessed Buffy 'We can. We are FOREVER'
Women good/men bad;
The female power of the Slayer overcomes the male power of Adam.
Jeez!;
Spike stubbing his cigarette in Forrest's eye. Riley cuts the chip out of his own chest.
Kinky dinky;
Xander sleeps naked, Anya doesn't think that the unemployment office will accept him nude (really depends what job he's going for? the fabulous ladies nightclub?)
Calling Captain Subtext;
Buffy and Willow have great big girly hug and tell one another they love them, awww! The writer/director also comment on the Willow/Xander/Buffy sandwich. Oddly Xander wants Giles to join in.
Guantanamo Bay;
The Initiative ends (at least in it's familar form and the cover-up begins).
Scoobies to the ER;
Riley seems to recover from his wounds fast although he does have Walsh's drugs in him.
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Is this really an apocalypse? A couple of hundred Adams running around would be a bad thing but not the end of the world?
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage:
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills: Buffy kills Adam and Riley kills demon-Forrest
Buffy: 79 vamps, 28 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons
The end of Adam (thanks Christ!) but he crops up again in the comics
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies: Buffy as the uber-Slayer
Buffy: 7
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 10-bye-bye Colonel McNamara and Forrest
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh
Total killed;
I figure about 80 dead in the series so far?
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot: Adam has a Predator style minigun but it's no match for Buffy's magic. The Colonel orders his men to get to the armoury which seems sensible. Xander zaps at least one demon with his taser.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
The end of the Initiative and it's a great battle, rather reminds me of The Spy Who Love Me. I don't think the season 4 storyline was all that good, the show still finding it's feet outside High School and having lost CC and Angel but still the best thing on TV.
Marks out of 10; 7/10, good enough ep but glad this wasn't the season finale
RESTLESS
The Good;
All of it, pretty damn wonderful. I especially like ASH's impersonation of a panicking theatre director, based on personal experience?
The Bad;
?
Best line;
Cheeseman; "I wear the cheese, it does not wear me"
Women good/men bad;
Dark haired Buffy's rant against Cowboy guy Riley
Jeez!;
The First Slayer scalping Giles
Kinky dinky;
Willow and Tara hooker up! How gorgeous is Joyce in her nightie? What a MILF! I never appreciated it until just this moment. About the weirdest fanfic I ever read concerned Willow having S&M sex with the cheese guy, him melting cheese over her nude body. Joss says that when Buffy rubs the mud over her face the idea was that she was being overwhelmed by her primal Slayer instincts but actually looks like she was having a facial. I'd say it looks more like she's a stripper/porn star (which she plays in Southland Tales) doing her 'tigress in heat' leer? Harmony in her milkmaid outfit is also very cute. The sign at the funfair vamp actually says 'I crack for a buck' but that's not what I thought it said first time I saw it.
Calling Captain Subtext;
ALL OF IT! Especially Willow and Tara in the sexiest scene you never saw but fervently imagined. What's the poem in Greek letters Willow is writing on Tara's back? By Sappho perhaps? (very Xena). And how lovely is Amber, such an unothordox beauty. Xander refers to Willow and Tara 'doing spells'. Hmmmm? Tara also tells Willow she doesn't know everything about her, her supposed demon side.
Check out dark-haired Buffy berating gun toting Riley over the death of Xander and the evil of men. Substitute Warren for Riley, DarkWillow for Buffy and Tara for Xander and you have the end of season 6. Riley has often been compared to Gary Cooper and here he's a cowboy. Of course the irony is that Gary Cooper despite his wholesome image was a notorious womaniser and Riley will go to his vampwhores in season 5. The scene with Adam and Riley and the gun between them also refers to Warren and Tara. Adam challenges Buffy that she has demon essence in her which we'll find in out in 'Get it done'. Riley leaves, Joss already thinking about him going.
Spike's sideshow freak appearance is indicative of his role in later seasons, vampire in love with the Slayer and then vamp with soul, sacrificial lamb in the end. The scenes with Spike and Giles on the swings seem to suggest that Spike will fufill the role of Giles to Buffy once Giles leaves again for the UK, her 'daddy' figure. You wonder what might have happened if Giles had hung around in season 6? Guffy? Their conversation also portends to the Loan Shark from Tabula Rusa (and Angel Season 6) The clock reads 730 which is the same as in Graduation Day pt2, counting down to Dawn and Dawn is the kitten (as she was the cat in Faith and Buffy's dream in GDpt2).
Buffy refers to Xander as big brother, wonderful and loving but not sexual. In fact Buffy is the one girl Xander never thinks about sexually in his dream. He says 'it get's better' and indeed it does for him, he's not left behind by his friends as he fears. Although Xuffers still hold out for something to happen in season 8 (and given Buffy's fantasy in issue 2 maybe they still have a point?). Anya talks about getting back into vengence which she will in seasons 6/7. Xander's dad is not the same actor we meet in season 6, he rather reminds me of an angry version of Willy the snitch.
Buffy refers to being a fireman which portends to 'Once more with feeling'. We see Willow having a fit on a sofa and Buffy saying 'I can fight this thing' portending to Joyce dying on the couch and Buffy's inability to fight a disease despite all her Slayer powers. We later see Joyce entombed in the wall with Buffy leaving her behind to go on with her friends. And her little sis.
Giles tells Buffy 'it's been like this between men and women since the beginning' but she rejects that, she won't play the Shadowmen's/Councils game as we see from her rejection of the First Slayer's values, that the First Slayer is not 'the source of me'. Note the vamp at the funfair is 'Drac'. In Spike's tomb Buffy is gone with Olivia weeping over an empty pram, portending Giles' leaving a Buffy who no longer needs his guidance.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley and Adam plotting world domination because "We're the goverment baby, it's what we do".
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage: Xander tied in his confrontation with Snyder (amazingly unless someone can correct me his first time?).
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 28 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 10, no but wonderful to see Snyder back again, Armin Shimmerman giving a terrific performance as a much thinner Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
How lovely to see season 1 Willow again, she's just so cute. In case you didn't know the Bay of Pigs was the ill-fated CIA backed invasion of Castro's Cuba by anti-communist exiles. Will also refers to her experience of stagefright in 'Nightmares'. Once again great to see Oz back, the last appearance of him in the show and for Olivia too. Once again Buffy triumphs because she is the unconventional Slayer, she's more than just the Slayer, she lives in the world too. No matter how many times I watch this I can never tell, is it Tara or Anya in bed telling Buffy she has to wake up?
Asian Joe sitting behind Oz in class, great to see him again. The clip they watch of Apocalypse Now isn't much like the film, sounds more like Hamburger Hill. After hearing Joss commentary I duly looked up Twin Peaks on IMDB and Wiki and it was a supernatural detective show Kyle Machaclan made before Desperate Housewives but I'm still none the wiser as to what the significance of the red curtains is?
Marks out of 10; 10/10, no trouble.
Rumours about season 5;
I heard a load of rumours about plotlines in season 5, more than any other year of the show. In no particular order;
1) Xander would turn out to be Glory or one of the other Hellgods from her dimension, Willow would turn evil and be the one to bleed Dawn
2) Dawn would touch Joyce's corpse at the end of The Body and bring her back to life with her Key powers
3) Faith would be released from jail and end up sacrificing herself to save Buffy in the final battle with Glory
4) Drusilla/Dracula would seduce Buffy who'd then allow herself to be sired. VampBuffy would then be the big bad for the season with Faith leading the Scoobies against her and her undead anti-Scoobies. In the season finale VampBuffy would taste Dawn's blood and be restored to normal by The Key's power.
5) Spike falling in love with Buffy and then siring her because he thinks that's the only way to make her love him. In the end he realises he doesn't love unsouled Buffy so uses magic to turn her back to normal.
6) Buffy and Xander get zapped by some demon and he gets her powers. She has to adapt to being ordinary whilst he revels in being a superhero but starts to lose control which is why the Slayer is always a girl.
7) Xander and Buffy would end up in Caritas singing karoke to get some guidance ('Wind beneath my wings'?)
8) Angel Investigations would show up for the final battle with Glory in Sunnydale along with Riley and Oz.
Now you can see how some of these ideas worked out. Ben rather than Xander is Glory whilst Willow will go evil and threaten Dawn in season 6. Rather than bring Joyce back to life Dawn gives Buffy the will to live in season 6. Faith will be released from jail to hunt Angelus on Angel season 4, Buffy will be the one who sacrifices herself. The Dru-sires-Buffy scenario sounds like a dark- slasher's fantasy but has elements of Buffy-vs-Dracula and Riley and his vampwhores. Dru actually sires Darla instead, Dawn's blood will play a major role in the season 5 finale and Buffy will turn temporarily against her friends in Normal Again. Faith will defeat Angelus by getting him to taste her blood in season 4 of Angel. Spike will fall in love with Buffy but get's his own soul back rather than take her's away. The Xander gets Buffy's powers idea becomes The Replacement, we find out in season 7 why the Slayer is female whilst Riley will return in season 6.
The Good;
All of it, pretty damn wonderful. I especially like ASH's impersonation of a panicking theatre director, based on personal experience?
The Bad;
?
Best line;
Cheeseman; "I wear the cheese, it does not wear me"
Women good/men bad;
Dark haired Buffy's rant against Cowboy guy Riley
Jeez!;
The First Slayer scalping Giles
Kinky dinky;
Willow and Tara hooker up! How gorgeous is Joyce in her nightie? What a MILF! I never appreciated it until just this moment. About the weirdest fanfic I ever read concerned Willow having S&M sex with the cheese guy, him melting cheese over her nude body. Joss says that when Buffy rubs the mud over her face the idea was that she was being overwhelmed by her primal Slayer instincts but actually looks like she was having a facial. I'd say it looks more like she's a stripper/porn star (which she plays in Southland Tales) doing her 'tigress in heat' leer? Harmony in her milkmaid outfit is also very cute. The sign at the funfair vamp actually says 'I crack for a buck' but that's not what I thought it said first time I saw it.
Calling Captain Subtext;
ALL OF IT! Especially Willow and Tara in the sexiest scene you never saw but fervently imagined. What's the poem in Greek letters Willow is writing on Tara's back? By Sappho perhaps? (very Xena). And how lovely is Amber, such an unothordox beauty. Xander refers to Willow and Tara 'doing spells'. Hmmmm? Tara also tells Willow she doesn't know everything about her, her supposed demon side.
Check out dark-haired Buffy berating gun toting Riley over the death of Xander and the evil of men. Substitute Warren for Riley, DarkWillow for Buffy and Tara for Xander and you have the end of season 6. Riley has often been compared to Gary Cooper and here he's a cowboy. Of course the irony is that Gary Cooper despite his wholesome image was a notorious womaniser and Riley will go to his vampwhores in season 5. The scene with Adam and Riley and the gun between them also refers to Warren and Tara. Adam challenges Buffy that she has demon essence in her which we'll find in out in 'Get it done'. Riley leaves, Joss already thinking about him going.
Spike's sideshow freak appearance is indicative of his role in later seasons, vampire in love with the Slayer and then vamp with soul, sacrificial lamb in the end. The scenes with Spike and Giles on the swings seem to suggest that Spike will fufill the role of Giles to Buffy once Giles leaves again for the UK, her 'daddy' figure. You wonder what might have happened if Giles had hung around in season 6? Guffy? Their conversation also portends to the Loan Shark from Tabula Rusa (and Angel Season 6) The clock reads 730 which is the same as in Graduation Day pt2, counting down to Dawn and Dawn is the kitten (as she was the cat in Faith and Buffy's dream in GDpt2).
Buffy refers to Xander as big brother, wonderful and loving but not sexual. In fact Buffy is the one girl Xander never thinks about sexually in his dream. He says 'it get's better' and indeed it does for him, he's not left behind by his friends as he fears. Although Xuffers still hold out for something to happen in season 8 (and given Buffy's fantasy in issue 2 maybe they still have a point?). Anya talks about getting back into vengence which she will in seasons 6/7. Xander's dad is not the same actor we meet in season 6, he rather reminds me of an angry version of Willy the snitch.
Buffy refers to being a fireman which portends to 'Once more with feeling'. We see Willow having a fit on a sofa and Buffy saying 'I can fight this thing' portending to Joyce dying on the couch and Buffy's inability to fight a disease despite all her Slayer powers. We later see Joyce entombed in the wall with Buffy leaving her behind to go on with her friends. And her little sis.
Giles tells Buffy 'it's been like this between men and women since the beginning' but she rejects that, she won't play the Shadowmen's/Councils game as we see from her rejection of the First Slayer's values, that the First Slayer is not 'the source of me'. Note the vamp at the funfair is 'Drac'. In Spike's tomb Buffy is gone with Olivia weeping over an empty pram, portending Giles' leaving a Buffy who no longer needs his guidance.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley and Adam plotting world domination because "We're the goverment baby, it's what we do".
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)
Scoobies in bondage: Xander tied in his confrontation with Snyder (amazingly unless someone can correct me his first time?).
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 28 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons
Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2
Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 10, no but wonderful to see Snyder back again, Armin Shimmerman giving a terrific performance as a much thinner Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara
Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley
Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)
Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
How lovely to see season 1 Willow again, she's just so cute. In case you didn't know the Bay of Pigs was the ill-fated CIA backed invasion of Castro's Cuba by anti-communist exiles. Will also refers to her experience of stagefright in 'Nightmares'. Once again great to see Oz back, the last appearance of him in the show and for Olivia too. Once again Buffy triumphs because she is the unconventional Slayer, she's more than just the Slayer, she lives in the world too. No matter how many times I watch this I can never tell, is it Tara or Anya in bed telling Buffy she has to wake up?
Asian Joe sitting behind Oz in class, great to see him again. The clip they watch of Apocalypse Now isn't much like the film, sounds more like Hamburger Hill. After hearing Joss commentary I duly looked up Twin Peaks on IMDB and Wiki and it was a supernatural detective show Kyle Machaclan made before Desperate Housewives but I'm still none the wiser as to what the significance of the red curtains is?
Marks out of 10; 10/10, no trouble.
Rumours about season 5;
I heard a load of rumours about plotlines in season 5, more than any other year of the show. In no particular order;
1) Xander would turn out to be Glory or one of the other Hellgods from her dimension, Willow would turn evil and be the one to bleed Dawn
2) Dawn would touch Joyce's corpse at the end of The Body and bring her back to life with her Key powers
3) Faith would be released from jail and end up sacrificing herself to save Buffy in the final battle with Glory
4) Drusilla/Dracula would seduce Buffy who'd then allow herself to be sired. VampBuffy would then be the big bad for the season with Faith leading the Scoobies against her and her undead anti-Scoobies. In the season finale VampBuffy would taste Dawn's blood and be restored to normal by The Key's power.
5) Spike falling in love with Buffy and then siring her because he thinks that's the only way to make her love him. In the end he realises he doesn't love unsouled Buffy so uses magic to turn her back to normal.
6) Buffy and Xander get zapped by some demon and he gets her powers. She has to adapt to being ordinary whilst he revels in being a superhero but starts to lose control which is why the Slayer is always a girl.
7) Xander and Buffy would end up in Caritas singing karoke to get some guidance ('Wind beneath my wings'?)
8) Angel Investigations would show up for the final battle with Glory in Sunnydale along with Riley and Oz.
Now you can see how some of these ideas worked out. Ben rather than Xander is Glory whilst Willow will go evil and threaten Dawn in season 6. Rather than bring Joyce back to life Dawn gives Buffy the will to live in season 6. Faith will be released from jail to hunt Angelus on Angel season 4, Buffy will be the one who sacrifices herself. The Dru-sires-Buffy scenario sounds like a dark- slasher's fantasy but has elements of Buffy-vs-Dracula and Riley and his vampwhores. Dru actually sires Darla instead, Dawn's blood will play a major role in the season 5 finale and Buffy will turn temporarily against her friends in Normal Again. Faith will defeat Angelus by getting him to taste her blood in season 4 of Angel. Spike will fall in love with Buffy but get's his own soul back rather than take her's away. The Xander gets Buffy's powers idea becomes The Replacement, we find out in season 7 why the Slayer is female whilst Riley will return in season 6.
Willow's dream from Restless.
Xander's dream, part one:
