Season 3, Ep 21
Added 2022-03-15 16:26:33 +0000 UTCahhh happy finale day part 1!! đȘđȘđł
Comments
I love Rupe's random outbursts of violence :D
Rhi
2022-04-12 18:59:13 +0000 UTCOfficially the longest patreon comment I've ever seen, haha
Carmen
2022-03-16 13:36:46 +0000 UTCSo much for keeping things briefâŠwell, in for a penny in for ÂŁ100, right? Live-blog, part 2 David does a good job of showing Angel being scared when he says âitâs poisonâ. I guess vampires figure they would only die in combat or through carelessness. Subtle attacks arenât something they stress about, usually. Okay, so Willow is entitled to âdo that thingâ by now, but Iâm not so sure she should have done it right after an argument that shows that she doesnât understand Ozâs emotions, doesnât feel he appreciates hers. Taken with the bit from âEarshotâ where she ânever knows what Oz is thinkingâ, thatâs a bit worrisome, IMO. But OTOH, heâll be gentle (perforce) and heâs experienced (whereas Angel probably hadnât for a while and Faith dgaf how Xander felt) and he does seem to love her. Plus, itâs a bit of payback for Xander wasting his âfirstâ on psycho-girl. (Although one hopes for Ozâs sake that Willow isnât consciously thinking about that; after he went to the trouble of turning her down in both âinnocenceâ and âAmendsâ because he didnât want to be used, it would hurt if she still had issues.) That said, I couldnât help notice that Willow was wearing the same red Adidas sneakers she had on while playing footsie with Xander in âBand Candyâ. And the reason I couldnât help notice is because Joss takes a slow pan across themâŠbetween that shot and the floor-level angle on Giles and Wesley fencing, Iâm starting to wonder if itâs not just Marti rubbing off on Joss, but James âFoot-Fetishâ Contner, too. One of them really should have taken the phone off of the hook, though. What if Giles had called earlier? I do love that Joss once again shows us why Xander is a Hero: âI might dieâ carries no weight for him when compared to âI got friends on the line.â Itâs not that Xander wants to die or that he doesnât fear death; itâs just that other things scare him more. Such as Willow getting hurt or his letting Buffy down. (Itâs understandable that Anya doesnât get that, though. She has a better reason for not having friends than even Angel did, back then.) Well, you made it past âIâm talking about watching my lover dieâ without cracking up. Iâm impressed :) I do think the whole âthink of it as graduationâ scene is a bit unearned. We havenât seen enough of the Council providing resources to make Buffyâs repudiation feel like any sense of sacrifice. Basically, all sheâs doing by telling of Wesley isâŠsnubbing *Wesley*, specifically. And I like Wes, but this is a classic straw man situation. âCome on, guys; the suspense is killing Angel.â At least Joss is giving Xander decent lines for a change. (For someone who allegedly identifies with Xander, Whedon hasnât written him well all year, IMO.). But, speaking of killing AngelâŠis there not even the slightest thought about Giles being left alone with him? I guess Giles being tortured and losing Jenny is all wiped off of the board, huh? Hanukkah Spirit and all that? Lucky Forehead, I supposeâŠsigh. And then Xander tells Buffy that he doesnât want her to kill Faith, in so many words. Because killing a human being to save Fang, thatâs not what Buffyâs supposed to be about. Yes, it was Faithâs actions that put her there, yes, it looks as if itâs either Faith or Angel and heâs the innocent party (never mind Buffyâs emotional connection), but Buffy has to know this is wrong. If ever a situation cried out for a âKobayashi Maruâ/third way solution, this is it. A bit disappointing that Buffy canât see that, IMO. But, of course, the whole point is to get us to our Kick-Ass Girl Fight. Itâs what Faithâs entire arc has been building towards, and Jeff Pruitt lets completely loose here. (Reputedly he asked Joss what he could break [since set decor costs $$$] and Joss said âBreak everythingâ. As he should. Well done.). The fight is thrilling and well-paced, the cuts to the Library and the Mayorâs office not breaking the momentum. (Remember that trivia game I used to play, which I wrote about back in âHomecomingâ? When I found it on the forum I used to visit, it had already been going for a few months [so I didnât see this for myself] and Iâm told, somebody once used this scene as a theme. Have a line that connects to every punch and kick and so on. Probably the cops cuffing Buffy and Faith in âBad Girlsâ was the connection for Buffy handcuffing Faith here, for example. I was never so good at visual themes like that [my biochemist friend was an ace at them, though], so I find it very impressive.) Thereâs only one tiny problem. To paraphrase the movie âMurder by Deathâ (when one of the great detectives offers his theory of the crime and another says thereâs only one problem): âIs stupid. Is most stupid [scene] I ever saw.â âą For starters, if Angel specifically needs ALL of Faithâs blood, then wtf is Buffy doing even bringing the Chekhovâs Gun, I mean Faithâs knife, to the fight? Suppose Buffy guts Faith, drags her corpse halfway across town (did Buffy even bring a car for transportation? Joyce just took their Jeep out of town, remember) and then Angel canât be cured because most of Faithâs lovely blood is in her carpet and on the sidewalks of Sunnydale. Sheesh. Obviously, knocking Faith over the head or strangling her or chloroforming her makes a lot more sense, from the âsave the bloodâ standpoint. But then we wouldnât get to use the knife, so⊠⹠Why is Buffy going to Faithâs by herself? What, she doesnât need backup? What if Faith tosses Buffy to the floor and then decides to make a break for it? (Buffy herself realizes that Faith might run; thatâs why she broke the handcuffs.) This is where Xander could slow her down by briefly scuffling with herâŠand getting thrown into the wall, but Xander understands that such delaying tactics are worth it, no matter how painful. Going all the way back to when he saved Buffy in âWitchâ by getting magically choked by Catherine-in-Amy, which bought Giles enough time to complete the spell. Or if Faith pulled out a gun or whatever when Buffy wasnât looking, Willow could be the extra pair of eyes to yell âBuffy! Look out!â But noooo. Itâs just SO important to completely exclude Those Puny Humans from the action nowadays. Gone is the whole idea of the group working as a unit, as in S1 and S2. Grrr. And, to quote âInnocenceâ, âOz has a vanâ. That would solve Buffyâs transportation issues. Sigh. âą Why doesnât Buffy take the tranquilizer gun? It stops werewolves and vampires, it would drop Faith in a second. No muss, no fuss. But of course we wouldnât get our Kick-Ass Girl Fightâą then, and apparently Whedon decided that logic is no match for spectacle⊠⹠WTF is Buffy doing, turning off the music and having a chat before fighting? Faithâs back is turned, she didnât hear you come in, sheâs defenselessâŠjust jump on her from behind and snap her neck. (Or whatever.) But, of course, that way we couldnât get our Kick-Ass Girl Fightâą. Good gravy. What, Buffy thinks of this as a duel of honor, she has to give Faith a fighting chance or something? Hello, your âloverâ is DYING. Right now. Never mind that Faith might win or escape, even the few minutes you take to subdue her might be too much for Angel. But Whedon already has Part II plotted and he doesnât gaf about story logic and pesky things such as that. Buffy read the script, donât you know? All Joss wants is the fight. âą Faithâs knife made for a lovely Chekhovâs Gun, and you caught the subtle hint given by her use of a different blade in killing Lester Worth. (Plus the knife was featured in the âPreviouslyâ segment, IIRC.). But Faithâs story about jumping into the quarry is the clunkiest âgunâ Anton Chekhov never saw. It comes out of nowhere and it doesnât even fit what happens; the story is about how Faith wasnât afraid to jump, but here Faith is DYING. It really doesnât matter if she sticks the landing or not. The only thing Faith wants to do is land on the truck so her corpse can get away. (Assuming the driver somehow doesnât notice that a body just fell into his truck bed from five stories up and stop the truck to check, thus ruining Faithâs âclever planâ.) Which makes the quarry story completely irrelevant, given that (last I checked) stone quarries donât actually move. Sigh. Some good stuff, but overall deeply annoying. âSurpriseâ was a better part 1. 7/10, and IMO thatâs generous. Will Whedon redeem himself with Part 2? Tune in tomorrow. (The Mayor pretty much told you to, after all.) **************** On a side note, one of the classic blunders of the wide-screen version is in this episode. When Buffy and Faith are fighting on the balcony, the wide-screen shot shows the camera crew off to the side, filming the scene. Of course, FOX could have digitally painted them out (or even just superimposed a static image of the building), but that would have involved effort and time and money andâŠcaring, and the makers of the âHD remasterâ were sadly lacking in all four. Grr argh, indeed.
Jessica Roth
2022-03-16 03:58:19 +0000 UTC
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