Buffy 7x19 Empty Places
Added 2025-04-18 20:00:12 +0000 UTCI can't remember being this cross since way back in the day that Faith saw Giles behind Buffy's back and lied to him. I still remember being so FURIOUS. Again, I am angry. But also pretty sad, too.
I have been working REALLY hard behind the scenes with these reactions in the last week or two and I'm really hoping we finish both Buffy AND Angel before the end of this month, so if all goes well keep an eye out for lots of extra, unscheduled videos 👀 Buffy and Angel Marathon until the end 🙌
Youtube edit: https://youtu.be/46vT8_U6d24
Comments
This episode makes me very uncomfortable*. It would maybe be more palatable if Faith wasn’t the default other leader (I mean, wasn’t Dawn also ostensibly there for everything Faith did to Buffy? And Dawn would go along with replacing Buffy with Faith after that? I’m not buying it. Also, not entirely buying that Dawn didn’t realize Buffy was quiet/introverted/short because of what happened to Xander - she has been so perceptive other times, such as in Entropy) and if Anya didn’t sorely piss me off (I ignore Rona and Kennedy here - they don’t really know the history, and the others I get even though I don’t like the dogpile feeling this scene gives me). This episode gets skipped on non-reactor watching because it’s so darn frustrating. I can’t write elegantly on this because my mind goes so many places - I need to watch the next episode stat for a brain clear! * Full disclosure: Buffy is my favorite character and I don’t like this after all she’s done for seven years so that colors my opinion a lot.
Mrs. Peacock
2025-05-11 07:54:57 +0000 UTCNow that I'm finished the reaction, I'll make one other point. Even Dawn's reaction in this episode makes sense. Twice, Buffy shut her down. The second time, she was trying to explain why they were fighting, that the cops got rough with them and they were trying to help Faith. Buffy shut her down and snapped at her to leave instead of listening to her. For Dawn, it must seem like she's always being dismissed, and usually, there isn't much she can do. So when everyone wanted Buffy gone, Dawn was like, hey, I'm gonna finally push back. Just to be clear, though, your reaction makes sense, Jules. You reacted to this exactly the way you were supposed to. I love this episode, but I also love how protective you are of Buffy.
Raven Dark
2025-04-21 03:25:02 +0000 UTCEveryone else here made good points as to why the reactions of the group make sense in this episode, but I would also like to add: When one of the young potentials, Cloe, killed herself because the First got in her head, Buffy's response was, "Cloe was an idiot." *Angry voice* Uh, if you want the respect of those over whom you are a leader, you do not watch a young, nearly helpless girl, hanging from a light fixture, having just committed suicide as a result of the most powerful villain in your entire world brainwashing her into it, then respond by telling the other girls in her position that she is stupid or weak. Okay, I'm using a bit of hyperbole here to make a point. I know, Buffy is not simply waving off a suicide because she's a bitch. I get it--the situation was so hopeless, and the potentials didn't seem to be doing anything but getting killed. Her reaction is understandable when taken in context. But I also think the potentials, and by association, Robin, Giles, and Faith, have a right to be mad at her. Her reaction to Cloe alone is enough to show us how distant she's become, and it's enough to justify them saying she shouldn't lead anymore. Add to that, she led them into a trap in which several of the girls were killed or hurt, and Xander lost his eye. Buffy's doing that makes sense. Caleb might have been holding one of the girls hostage. But after what happened, they're looking for someone to blame. That someone is going to be Buffy because she is their leader. And since Buffy didn't willingly step down, I can see how the solution would be to make her leave. The ending is unfortunate, and hard to watch, but it does make sense. For me, part of what makes it so heartbreaking is exactly that. It works.
Raven Dark
2025-04-21 02:24:58 +0000 UTC
