On season 4 of Buffy...should I be watching Angel?

[Grendelsbayne]

^I don't get it. Why does that episode remind you of the Jaffa?

And that's "Jaffa, kree!" They weren't French.

The guys in chainmail have the tattoos on their foreheads. In the first scene they appear they are robed like the Jaffa, and they're on an outdoor set that looks a lot like all the SG1 outdoor sets. They even kind of talk like Jaffa and have a similar attitude.

@Robohojen

That'd be tough even for a powerful vampire. Or at least, you'd have to coax the cop into putting a part of himself out of direct sunlight.

Spike's been seen to run through direct sunlight in the past. As long as he's back in the shade fast enough, nothing happens but some minor smoking. And, at any rate, in this particular case it would be Buffy opening the door and leaving the cops unconscious on the side of the road...

 

[Romo Lampkin]

I never really liked Angel, quite boring and the character is a douche. He's the archetypal "bad boy" that Buffy falls for only to get burned, which is an allegory for real life variants of that kind of relationship, which you could relate to her background. Imo I found the character to be a conceited, arrogant asshole with a cardboard box type personality. So as a result I found that a show based around him was tedious at the best of times. Spike was a much more interesting character compared to Angel.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I have a feeling Spike is going to be more interesting in seasons 6 and 7 now that the group trusts him more but this stalker thing from this season was annoying, when Spike's attraction to Buffy was the writer's only pretext for having him appear in every episode.

This season ending arc in Angel season 2 managed to out-bizarre Buffy. It's like they're trying to do a comedy episode and a seriously heavy episode in the same space and made it a quartology. I'm sad they killed the host. It seems like the ideas in this episode might have worked better as a midseason Buffy comic relief episode.

 

[Christopher]

^The word you want is "tetralogy," by the way.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Season 2's finale arc is the high-point of Angel, IMO.

Spoiler: Fred

For one thing, it's the last time until Season 5 Acker doesn't feel like wasted potential.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

JirinPanthosa, buckle up for season 6. It's going to be quite the ride!

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Now, given my knowledge that two more seasons exist, I know that Buffy comes back somehow. But this means there will now be a 3rd slayer, right?

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Now, given my knowledge that two more seasons exist, I know that Buffy comes back somehow. But this means there will now be a 3rd slayer, right?

One new calling per slayer dying, that is the rule. Technically Faith is the active one who needs to die for a new slayer.

 

[gblews]

Now, given my knowledge that two more seasons exist, I know that Buffy comes back somehow. But this means there will now be a 3rd slayer, right?

One new calling per slayer dying, that is the rule. Technically Faith is the active one who needs to die for a new slayer.

Yes, but I have never seen or heard an explanation of why Kendra's death activates Faith while Buffy is still active.

 

[theenglish]

Now, given my knowledge that two more seasons exist, I know that Buffy comes back somehow. But this means there will now be a 3rd slayer, right?

One new calling per slayer dying, that is the rule. Technically Faith is the active one who needs to die for a new slayer.

Yes, but I have never seen or heard an explanation of why Kendra's death activates Faith while Buffy is still active.

The Slayer line no longer passes through Buffy at that point. Faith is basically the "true" Slayer.

 

[DonIago]

Yeah. Buffy->Kendra->Faith

Buffy coming back to life the first time around was a loophole.

Though...aside from the obvious risks, that they never considered exploiting this loophole again almost seems like an oversight.

 

[RoJoHen]

Now, given my knowledge that two more seasons exist, I know that Buffy comes back somehow. But this means there will now be a 3rd slayer, right?

One new calling per slayer dying, that is the rule. Technically Faith is the active one who needs to die for a new slayer.

Yes, but I have never seen or heard an explanation of why Kendra's death activates Faith while Buffy is still active.

Because Buffy had already died. By all rights, she wasn't the "real" Slayer anymore.

 

[Christopher]

Well, the real answer is that the writers wanted to bring in Faith as a third Slayer, but later on had no interest in introducing a fourth (at least until the Potentials in the final season). So the "rules" were whatever gave them the results they wanted.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

@DonIago

I dunno, I chuckle at the idea that every time a slayer is born they immediately kill and revive that slayer to get another slayer and then have an army of slayers, but that's the same sort of question as 'Why haven't transporters replaced all weapons'.

This whole Buffybot thing is good for comic value but I wonder what crimes they are committing. At least identity fraud. Technically, they are abducting a minor by taking custody of Dawn after her legal guardian has been killed.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

It's better that Willow and Tara look after Dawn, with using the Buffybot for appearances sake. Otherwise she would probably be put into foster care. I highly doubt Hank Summers would take on the responsibility of raising her. Too busy screwing his secretary.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Of course it's better for Dawn, but if it was ever discovered, it would legally be kidnapping.

It's interesting that Willow casts a resurrection spell after they made such a big deal out of not being able to do it for Joyce. Also cute that they did it with a one of a kind object that gets destroyed to strategically remove the option.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

Willow mentions that because Buffy's death was magic-related, that they have a better chance at bringing her back to life. Whereas Joyce died a natural death.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Overdue observation: Why is Anya in the main credits and not Tara? They are both equal in duration of existence, frequency of appearance, and centrality to the main cast. Sure, Anya was the replacement for Oz's comic relief role. But it's weird Tara still is not considered a main character.

Also it's interesting the attitude toward homosexuality in the 90s. We accept that a heterosexual female falls in love with a woman, but if it were Xander, would people have accepted it?

Kind of makes her friends seem like dicks, ripping her out of heaven.

I'm wondering if Riley ever makes more appearances. Or if he does, if it's not just to be mad about the obviously setup Spike relationship.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I think the difference of Caulfield's and Benson's credits status was simply a matter of union rules.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

To be fair, they didn't know. Willow thought she might have been in Hell like Angel.

Fun little tidbit: Joss originally wanted Xander to discover he was gay but then decided on Willow. Probably because yes, society is far more accepting of two women being together than two men. It's stupid.

Buffy and Riley are over. Way over. But you may or may not see him, if you even care about seeing him, that is.