Dakara Discusses BTVS 4x22
Added 2022-09-20 11:25:01 +0000 UTCPlease use one of the links at the bottom of this post to watch this video
Hello All!
Something a little different from me so let me know if you'd like to see more videos like this one. I did enjoy making it, there are things I would do differently if I was to do another but I have made notes on that & will action them if the time comes.
Look forward to reading your comments as always, have a lovely week everyone! Thank you for the constant love & support!
Much love
Dakara x
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Comments
"Oz?... and Xander in a shirt": I laughed for several minutes.
Todd Bolton
2025-09-04 04:24:02 +0000 UTCIt’s always worth it to share your thoughts! Never too late. I read every comment that comes through. Thanks so much for watching and I truly appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment as well. This episode was very special and a great one to dive deeper for sure. Cheers for the kind words and hope you enjoy the future content
DakaraJayne
2024-02-08 18:24:50 +0000 UTCDamn. I think you are the first person I see reacting to this episode who took the time to rewatch it and dig deeper into it. I really appreciated that. I love 'Restless' very much, hence the name. For this being a first attempt at making sense of all the dreams, it was quite impressive. Props to you! I'd add in more thoughts, but since you reacted ages ago, it probably isn't worth it. I'll just add that I have discovered you recently and that I have enjoyed your reactions quite a bit. You seem to genuinely love these characters and the show and that's always refreshing to see. You also do a great job for the discussion sections of your videos. I know how difficult it is to keep those interesting when you're a solo reactor and you're A+. You got a new supporter!
Restless Tome
2024-02-08 18:05:32 +0000 UTCThe pocket-watch Giles tries to hypnotize Buffy with, and then finds at the end of his dream represents his calling as a Watcher.
Eric Hunter
2023-12-03 03:24:02 +0000 UTCHoly crap, okay, one more, for real this time. Spike being in black and white and being an almost cartoonish vampire in Giles' dream. Spike "hiring myself out as a sideshow attraction" represents, as I see it, Giles' thinking, on some level, that Spike is no longer a threat. Because he has a chip and can't bite anyone anymore, he's not a "real" vampire. He's reduced to a fictional one, to being as threatening as a fictional character. I also think that the choice to put Spike in black and white might be a Dracula joke, as well as foreshadowing his coming, considering that Drac shows up in the next episode. Old versions of Dracula are in black and white, and some of the original incarnations of him take poses like the one Spike took in this episode, such as the one with his arms over his face, looking sort of batlike. In a lot of those early films, Drac is also a little cartoonish, and not very threatening. He's a charicature, which is how Giles sees Spike.
Raven Dark
2023-06-10 17:43:46 +0000 UTCOk, so hopefully this is the last thought I have for this reaction. LOL Sorry. The part with Giles and Spike on the swings. I wonder if when Spike says Giles is going to teach him to be a watcher, that represents how useless Xander feels, and that, on some level, he fears he could be replaced or expendable. He's so useless that Giles would rather turn Spike into his Watcher successor than him, and that he sees Xander so little like a son that he's closer to their mutual enemy than he is to Xander.
Raven Dark
2023-06-10 17:17:03 +0000 UTCJust started this one, and I had another thought. In the scene where Willow is in the production and Harmony shows up, you mentioned that Harmony is very affectionate with Willow. I wonder if that symbolizes something specific, related to this whole aspect of Willow where she thinks of her present self as a disguise. She's has imposter syndrome. Now that you're well into season 6, you've seen how Willow talked about herself from her old school days with self loathing. To me, that suggests that part of Willow always wished she could be "the cool girl," and gain the approval of such people. Harmony, like Cordy back then, represented a "cool girl." I wonder if Harmony hugging and being nice with her was meant to symbolize Willow's wish that she could be part of the cool kids. I mean she is part of the Scoobies, and they are as cool as you get, but as others have said, she thinks that's not really her, so part of her perhaps feels as if she wouldn't be if they knew she was just impersonating someone cool.
Raven Dark
2023-06-10 16:35:46 +0000 UTCDon't know if anyone else suggested it, but I would highly recommend Passion of the Nerd's spoiler-free analysis of Restless over on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pvu4ZIokVk
PaulC
2022-10-01 19:40:03 +0000 UTCI have the feeling that everybodies dream is kind of seeping into others dreams, because of the spell in last episode. It make sense since it is what allows the presence of the first Slayer in their dreams. So, some of the dream sequences in Xander's mind might be Giles stuff, and some sequences in Giles' dream could be Buffy's struggle, not his own. They each are aware of some aspects of the others lives and struggles. Even Xander. (Some times, I think he cannot sorts his own life because he's too much aware of some part of Willow's of Buffy's life. You cannot see the beam in your own eye but you focus on the straw in your best friend's eye kind of thing.)
Josee (Griffe)
2022-09-24 13:56:02 +0000 UTCI was going to read through all the comments and see if anyone had already covered this, but I've had two glasses of wine and I just want to talk Buffy! Loved this format so much, so great for an episode like this and I think there are a couple of others coming up where you could do something like this! I love this episode so much. The balance between what we know would be their dreams (Will stressing about being a nerd, being found out, being on stage, Xander being an over sexed doofus and terrified of his father) and the actions of the anagonist, is great. (forgive the massive paragraph I'm new to Patreon and can't figure out how to make a new paragraph without posting) Willow: the thing she's writing on Tara's back is a poem by Saphos (she of the isle of lesbos) in ancient Greek. The outfit that Willow is in when she's revealed is the costume from Episode 1! Xander: Oh poor Xander, my heart just breaks for him in this one. He feels so trapped, so left behind, desperate for Giles' approval but unable to understand (hence the change to French). And so afraid at home :( I love the scene in the car with the old film style green screen, lack of car sounds and absolutely no looking at the road. Less keen on the overt sexualisation of the ladies, but you know, he's a teenage boy so I guess accurate?! Giles: I love Giles' furniture being in the Bronze, very dream like. And his song. And Spike. All so good! Sineya (the first slayer was named in Ep 21 but never again) I know people have called this racist for making the black girl primitive, but I see it as, she was so far in prehistory that the only humans were in Africa. The actor that plays Sineya is so good with her movement. Buffy's comment on her dreads though, yeah... not great. I loved your theory on the Cheese Guy, best I've heard! Personally I think it feels a bit forced "kooky" and not as good as the rest of the ep. My god. I could talk about this episode for hours. Especially after 2 glasses of wine! (I'm in New Zealand btw before you judge me, it's Friday night here!) Loved it
Jude D'Westmacott
2022-09-23 08:43:51 +0000 UTCThis goes without saying, I really appreciated your analysis, what a surprise, I asked for it 🙂. I always like the discussion part after the reaction, mainly because it gives me the occasion to see something that I know through new eyes. You can talk about the story, the characters, the dialogues, the production, the soundtrack, the cinematography, or any other thing, I may agree with you or not, it doesn't really matter, The really interesting thing is how a different person can watch the exact same thing you watched and seeing it in a complete different way. Who knows, maybe listening to your comments about a scene, an episode, or a dialogue can change the way I see it, or it will let me better understand why I like or dislike it, or even you may notice something that I never noticed before. For sure I would like more expanded commentary, but clearly you have to do what works better for you, besides, I'm the first to admit that not all the shows, and for sure not all the episodes, require any kind of deep analysis. Anyway, if in the future you'll be inspired to try this format again, you won't ear any complain from me. Now, back to the episode in question, as far as Willow, Xander, and Giles are concerned, their dreams are a journey into their characters, their fears, quirks, and the way in which each of them perceives the others. This, I think, is quite clear. I have watched and rewatched this episode multiple times, I have read and listened the comments of the show creators, and I could dissect it scene by scene, giving you the “official” interpretation of each one, or my personal interpretation, but, as I said, it would be quite pointless. The interesting thing is to hear your take, shaped by your personal and unique perception of the characters, their history, and their relationships. Way more compelling than the “right” interpretation. 😜 As for Buffy's dream instead … well, that's a totally different story, way more complicated and tricky. It's complicated because she's the slayer and, at this point, we know the peculiar relation between slayers and dreams. They can move and act in dreams in a way not dissimilar from what they do in the wake world, apparently they can also understand the cryptic and symbolic language of the dreams without problems, but, more important, in dreams they can see things that were and things that have yet to happen. Time has little meaning in dreams, so they can experience past, present, and future, in the same way. This is indeed a cool concept but it also makes discussing Buffy's dreams quite tricky because you can easily slip in spoiler territory. I would like to try anyway to dissect a couple of scenes that I feel enough spoilers safe. First, the moment in Buffy's room when she remembers having already done the bed with Faith. A couple of things about this moment. 1-It confirms that the dream with Buffy and Faith was indeed a shared dream. 2-Believe it or not, I guessed that you forgot most of that scene. So I sneakily add a suggestion to rewatch past scenes when I proposed the format for this episode. Anyway, you picked the connection and remembered the scene, at least visually, so now I only want to strongly suggest you to rewatch that scene (right at the beginning of episode 15, it's just a couple of minutes) and listen also the dialogues to have a more complete picture. The other scene I would like to discuss is the one with Riley. Let's start focusing on Riley's dialogue wording, “They made me surgeon general”, “We're drawing a plan for world domination, the key element, coffee machines that think”, “Giving things names”, all the dialogue is clearly dumb and childish, then, when the alarm goes off, Riley's and Adam's reaction is: “We'd better make a fort”, “I'll get some pillows”, they're actually talking about building an actual pillow fort, again really childish. This gives us a clear idea of the perception that Buffy has of organizations, institutes, and the government in general, just a bunch of children who like to play pretend. Does she also see Riley himself in such way? This is up to you to decide. Despite the childish dialogue, at the same time, we have this beautiful camera panning that ends with a zoom of the gun on the table, right in the centre of the frame. This conveys a clear sensation of threat, telling us that, even if they are just children, Buffy is well aware that they are also dangerous. Than we have the short exchange between Adam and Buffy: “We are not demons”, “Is that a fact?”. I find really fascinating this little part. It shows us a side of Buffy rarely explored, something that probably is constantly in the back of her mind, a though, or maybe a fear. What is she and what will she eventually become? Not accidentally she has this exchange with Adam, both of them were humans once, and even if Buffy is not Adam, she is still human only by a stretch of the definition. Clearly the slayer is not all she is but it's a big part of her anyway, and battle after battle, year after year, while her power grows so probably does her fear that the slayer will take over eventually, what will she be at that point? Buffy is a really good person, no discussion, she care about the others and want to help and protect people, but that is her human side, maybe her slayer side doesn't share her same values and priorities. The first slayer herself will tell her later on: “the slayer doesn't walk in this world, I'm destruction, absolute”. There are like two different side inside Buffy in an unsteady balance, and one of the two can actually be really dark, so her concerns are not unjustified. Now, the last point, when the alarm goes of and she whispers “I have weapons”. I have notice that all this sequence confuses many viewer the first time, so let me dissect it for you in an easy way, as far as I can. The mud, or clay, or most probably something for face masks, inside the bag, represents the primeval wild power of the slayers in which she sinks her hands to draw the strength, and which she than “wears” spreading it on her face. In fact, we can see that at this point they apply the same solarization filter that we saw during Giles's dream in which, looking at Buffy with the same filter on, for a brief moment, it seems he recognizes in her the nature of the force that is chasing them. Also we can notice that the first slayer is also shown wearing a thick face painting, but maybe they did it just because it looked cool visually. All of this makes sense after all if you think about, Buffy says to have weapons and she is right, in the sense that she herself is the weapon in the end. The most interesting thing happens immediately after anyway, when Riley looks at her with the mask on and leaves. I see this as the revelation of Buffy's fear that Riley may not be able to accept, or even stand, her slayer side and, because of that. he will eventually leave her. After this scene I wasn't able to rewatch episode 11 and see it in the same way. During the discussion between Buffy and Riley in that episode, it now seems to me that Buffy was trying to explain to him what it means to be the slayer and try to be in a relationship, and he doesn't seem to want to listen, or probably he was simply unable to understand at that point. At the end she agreed to try but, deep down, she is still afraid that the moment he really understands what she was trying to tell him that day, he will run away. Let me end here, the few things I wanted to say come out way longer than I thought, plus saying more could bring me in spoilers territory. This is the one thing that bothers me about these dream sequences with Buffy (and/or Faith), they are packed with cryptic dialogues, eerie sentences, and mysterious riddles, that the slayers are supposed to understand but not us, or better we simply can not understand because we lack all the key informations to do it. The problem is that, when, later in the series, they give us these informations, they spell it out everything so we don't feel the need at that point to look back at these dream sequences. It looks like they wanted to play with us, probably just to see how many viewers were saying “Ah ah! Here's what that thing meant in that dream” when they finally gave them the informations needed. Not particularly exciting as a game. Anyway I though we could have a little bit of fun from such basic idea given our peculiar situation. I would like to propose to Dakara a little challenge. Let's see how many of these “Ah ah!” moments you'll find during the next season. At the end we will count them and, if you will be able to catch them all, you will win … well ... nothing, maybe just a big 👍, or even a double 👍👍, why not. 😉
G.Un.
2022-09-22 21:35:55 +0000 UTCYou offered the best analysis of the Cheese Man that I've ever heard. I like the idea that the slices represent the Scoobies collectively. I'm on board with that.
John
2022-09-21 23:37:51 +0000 UTCTranslation from French (Approximate): Giles: The house where we're all asleep, your friends are there...the creature cannot hurt you. There's no time for games. Anya: Let's go, they're waiting for you. Giles: That's what I said. Anya: It doesn't matter, I'll take you. Giles: Let's go.
Ed Green
2022-09-21 07:45:28 +0000 UTCExcept that the first three instances were in the dreams of the other three. So it's more likely that the space made is the space there is for Willow to develop her own separate identity, the lack of protection is Xander fearing that his friendships won't stop him being vulnerable, and the wearing is Giles wanting to make his own choices as Watcher and not have the calling dictate his life choices, such as whether or not to have children.
Ed Green
2022-09-21 07:39:33 +0000 UTCMy take on Willow's dream, subtlety different to your analysis, and I think more heartbreaking: I don't see "people finding out" having anything to do with her sexuality, but about other deeper insecurities about her core identity. We see that Willow has grown over 4 seasons, but (at least in part) she feels that the way she is now is just an act. She is "really" just the loser we met in season 1. The play represents that her whole life now is just a performance, with everyone she has ever met watching. When her "costume" is removed and her friends (including Tara and Oz) see the "real" her at the end, they mock and laugh and don't care to help when she is attacked. To receive the care and love of her friends, Willow must therefore maintain her performance. Also, I think yours might be the best interpretation of the cheese man I have ever heard. I may adopt this for myself.
rattusprat
2022-09-21 07:37:21 +0000 UTCIt could be argued that seeing Willow with Tara in a stereotypical-for-the-time relationship symbolises that he envies Willow for being in a relationship with a deep emotional connection whereas there's still a lot about Anya he doesn't connect to emotionally. This could also be where her comment about getting back into vengeance comes from, and how he's shown being concerned about that. It fits in with the wider theme of his dream that he lacks progress that his friends have.
Ed Green
2022-09-21 07:35:40 +0000 UTCTo me the mud mask represented to me her connection to the first Slayer, as she also was wearing a mask
Bud Haven
2022-09-21 01:00:22 +0000 UTCGreat break down loved all your thoughts on this episode. My few thoughts. Oz saying "Oh I've been here forever" during Willows dream showing how he's been on her mind for so long. Xander making immature jokes about witches and spells showing how Willow sees him. Xanders dream. I think Buffy saying "Big Brother" shows how their relationship has changed and he now isn't chasing her and feels more protective of her like a brother. The green screen was intentional to make things seem more dream like. I also love how they went from set to set sometimes without cuts so it was one long scene. I find it heart breaking how when Xander's Dad comes through the door Xander's instinct is to look down afraid of him whenever he speaks. A clear sign of what he has had to go through growing up. Not much to say about Giles dream you covered most of it. Olivia was crying next to an up turned empty baby stroller and I think that shows what Giles has given up. He has given up a family of his own to be Buffys watcher and father figure. As for the set in Giles song it's the Bronze but they have Giles furniture in the middle. Buffy's dream. I could be wrong as it's been a long time since I read up about this episode but I think the mud is a link to the primal Slayer power. The first slayer has face paint so Buffy putting on the mud is her link to the power of the Slayer. Also to point out the spell they did in the previous episode was how the first attacked them. Willow was The Spirit and had her spirit sucked out. Xander was The Heart and had his heart ripped out. Giles was the mind and the First Slayer took his mind. There's also quite a few riddles about future episodes that I obviously won't mention here. Really enjoyed this break down and can't wait for season five as it's my favourite.
Collinson
2022-09-21 00:37:29 +0000 UTCI was going to make a number of comments about this episode but when writing most of them I realised 'oh, that's a spoiler!' I'll just reiterate the point that Slayer dreams are prophetic - you could either watch it again with that foremost in your mind or just watch future episodes and go 'that's what that was about' at irregular intervals. 🙂 The obvious interpretation here is that the First Slayer is the first "girl in all the world" to have become a Slayer. The narration also states that the Slayer is born - together implying the Slayer is human. Also, there's a Slayer in every generation (i.e. not just the latter ones historically), and Giles pointed out in The Harvest that humans have not been around for ever. However, neither Buffy, Kendra nor Faith were shown as having the power to harm people in their dreams (and Giles has never mentioned it), suggesting the First Slayer is different from every human Slayer. Xander going on about "Buffy's mom" at the end is probably a reference to Stiffler's mom in the American Pie movie which came out the year before this episode. The Willow/Tara 'spell' metaphor makes a reappearance in Willow's dream and the specific connection with sex is spelled out by Xander.
denmaroca 2
2022-09-20 23:04:45 +0000 UTCI like to think the cheese man uses cheese to represent Buffy's Slayer persona and what it means for her. First having to make room in her life for it. "I've made a little room for the cheese slices." Then the Slayer persona not protecting her from the trauma of life "These will not protect you." "I wear the cheese it does not wear me." Third, that she wears being Slayer but it doesn't change her basic nature. Alternatively it could mean that while Buffy is the Slayer, the Slayer is not Buffy. The Slayer will still be fighting demons long after she is gone. And finally pushing in her way as she tries to confront the first Slayer. The man shaking it in front of her. Also during her dream Buffy does wear the cheese, her Slayer persona, on her feet. Anyway this is the result of my search for meaning in a world pf chaos. lol
Bud Haven
2022-09-20 22:56:45 +0000 UTCLove love loved this vid for this ep. Always into your thoughts on character, and your eye for the humor!
Audra Foxgrove
2022-09-20 22:33:13 +0000 UTCI thought that was a pretty spot on anyalysis, but one of the joys of this episode is that there's so much to unpack, you can go back and re-watch it any number of times and it never gets old. I was going to recommend the Joss Whedon commentary, but he mentions a few things from seasons 5 and 6, so maybe another time? (I think you'd be okay watching it after 6x08, someone correct me if I'm wrong.) Willow's dream is mostly about the insecurities she has regarding her identity. We've seen her come a long way over four seasons, but she still feels like the same person she was back in the first episode, and is afraid that other people will see through her "disguise". As you said in your commentary, this ties in with previous episodes where she got upset at being called a nerd. Xander feels like his friends have all moved on and left him behind. His dream keeps bringing him back to the basement because he fears that whatever choices he makes he won't amount to anything, he'll always be a Harris like his parents, and he can't break free of this cycle and become his own man. There's also a nice utilisation of the real-world layout of the different sets as he moves from one to the other. The "dodgy green screen" in the driving scene is deliberate and recalls the rear projection techniques used in old films. Giles has been at a bit of a crossroads all season. He's torn between his paternal love for Buffy and calling as a watcher on the one hand, and on the other his desire to settle down and have a normal family life. Buffy's dream contains some subtle foreshadowing, which links back to previous dream sequences with Faith and leads us gently into the next season. She loves Riley but is less certain about his ties to the military and government. They both live in different worlds and she doesn't know if they can coexist. The cheese man is just a bit of random nonsense and doesn't really mean anything, although that doesn't stop people coming up with their own theories! Honestly, you could talk about this episode all day long.
PaulC
2022-09-20 20:36:51 +0000 UTCI enjoyed this. I think this was the perfect episode to play around with this kind of analysis. I'm sure it's a lot of work, so just want to say that I appreciate you taking the time to do it. I'm not sure I have many thoughts about this episode - I think you got a lot of the symbolism down pretty well. It clearly goes into each character's hopes and insecurities, and into the way they see the people around them. But of course, it's all a dream, and so it follows "dream logic", where not everything is (or ought to be) straightforward. It's very cool you noticed that the bed in Buffy's dream tied back to the dream scene with Faith where they were making the bed together. I won't drop spoilers, but there's some serious foreshadowing in those two scenes.
Neil Silverman
2022-09-20 19:33:17 +0000 UTCThere are aspects of that poem that might be considered spoilerish for an upcoming season, so I would highly recommend that Dakara not read it.
Claire Eyles
2022-09-20 19:07:28 +0000 UTCThe writing on Tara's back is the beginning of a poem by Sappho: It's the first stanza of the first poem here. https://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/sappho.html
Scott Kenney
2022-09-20 17:45:28 +0000 UTCWe've had some good analysis of Xander's dream, but here's my take. Xander isn't ignoring Giles's thought at the beginning. It's Xander's subconscious so Giles is really only verbalizing Xander's idea. So he doesn't need to listen, he already knows. He sexualizes Joyce partly because he's a hormonal young male, but mostly because his subconscious has clearly not forgotten Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. While he knows Joyce was under the I influence of the spell, his subconscious doesn't care and has been reliving it ever since. The swings: Xander was obviously trying to forge some type of father-son bond with Giles this season and has realized that will never happen. So, he's over it now. As for Buffy calling him big brother, I think that's more Xander acknowledging how his view of Buffy has changed more than anything else. Yes, he sexualizes Willow and Tara. But, given his only previous exposure to lesbians has been through the media (most likely p*rn) this is the only way his subconscious mind knows how to show them. Now to the most important scenes. The Apocalypse Now scene gives us such insight into how Xander feels about himself and his family. Snyder is saying exactly what Xander feels. "You're a whipping boy" tells us how he sees himself. As the whipping boy of his family (evidenced by living in a dank basement not fit for a living space AND paying for the privilege). Whipping boy of the Scoobies. I mean, how often does Xander get a thank you? A pat in the back and a hearty "atta boy "? Pretty much never. And saddest of all, whipping boy of this fandom. They have whole tik toks of "Xander slander" just roasting a character they have willfully chosen not to understand. "Raised by mongrels." Should be self explanatory. It tells us all we need to know about how he feels about his parents. "And set on a sacrificial stone." This one is deep. Ever notice how often Xander charges directly toward the danger? As though doesn't value his own life? That only in sacrificing his life to save the life of one he sees as worthy, only then will his life have worth. (But Xander's not that deep, right?) And finally, the last basement scene. We see his dad at the top of the stairs and what does Xander do first? He ducks his head. Like he's trying to make himself small, unseen. What I would expect an abused child to do at the sight of their abuser. So, if Xander has been verbally, emotionally, and psychologically abused all his life some inconsistencies in his character make scary sense. He believes he's stupid because his dad told him he was. He thinks he's a coward because dad told him etc. But, evidence shows us he's neither stupid nor a coward. Xander is just as layered and complex as every other character in this universe, but often goes unnoticed and unexplored. Xander is just as broken as many of us are and we should give him a break. Instead of judging, maybe try understanding.
Nica Marie
2022-09-20 17:12:36 +0000 UTCRegarding the scene between Xander and Snyder - it’s basically a recreation of this scene in Apocalypse Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U72oCSSbYcM
Markus E.
2022-09-20 15:57:03 +0000 UTCI also love that scene, but interpret it a little differently -- which is why I love this episode so much, because I don't think there even has to be one "answer" to what everything means! I see that sandbox/swingset triad of Buffy, Giles, and Spike, also as a kind of "club" that Xander can't gain access to. Buffy is the Slayer, Giles the Watcher, and Spike is the Vampire -- and no matter what Xander does, he's just a guy standing on the sidelines. In that scene Buffy even refers to the three of them as an "us" and "we" in opposition to Xander's presence, and there is this kind of primordial/mystical place in the world that those three belong to that Xander will never be able to access.
boleynns
2022-09-20 15:32:55 +0000 UTCI'm usually a lurker but this is one of my top favourite tv episodes so I couldn't help but comment. I really love the format one of your viewers suggested for this one. And I'd suggest you rewatch it after you've seen the entire show. There are certain elements and callbacks that are foreshadowing and won't make sense yet. You weren't sure about the Giles and Spike on the swings and since it's my favourite part of Xanders dream, let me add my interpretation of it. His entire dream is revolving around the theme of inadequacy and feeling stuck. I think the dialogue that Giles has with Spike reflects that as well. Xander seem to admire Giles. Not only he represents a father figure that Xander wishes to have but at the same time clearly thinks he's not good enough for. Just like his actual father, Giles has expressed his annoyance with some of Xanders actions before (as early as S2 iirc). As an adult, a watcher and a man of intellect he was always going to be superior. It's only this season that Xander and Giles are suddenly on the same level, both lost and unable to figure out how to move on past "high school". You'd think that would be a comfort to Xander but his self esteem is so low he introduces Spike as being favoured by Giles. "Spike is like a son to me". He's going to be trained as a watcher. Xander used to be into that but not anymore as he says. So he wished to have that respect and trust from Giles before but subconsciously thinks he's unworthy of it. He also says it out loud but isn't even part of Giles and Spike interaction. He's outside physically and symbolically while Giles enables his new protégé to fly even higher, both way up above Xander on those metaphorical swings. They're ahead of him. Just like Willow (She says something exactly like that in the ice cream truck). Just like Buffy who's already comfortable playing in the big sandbox. Their big brother left behind in his parents basement. BTW I'm pretty sure the green screen around the ice cream truck is on purpose a bit wonky, just to add a disjointed unreal feel that you get with dreams
DB
2022-09-20 14:44:03 +0000 UTCMan this episode really messed with your head. So much symbolism thrown at you through dialogue and visuals that it is hard to get everything on first watch. My favorite gag is the xander toilet visual. It is unexpected joke but I think it also represents how men are judged so harshly by society if they aren't "Man enough". his discussion with Joyce was basically him trying to be a what he thinks represents being a man. A real man cares about sex. Sleeps with many women. A conquistador but she says no he just wants comfort. Meaning he just wants to be loved. The only women he does not sexualize is Buffy and Anya. Two women that he loved romantically. The ones "society" tells him to go after(Willow and Tara and Buffy mom) just lead him back to the basement.
Christopher simeon
2022-09-20 14:00:15 +0000 UTCThe dreams in this episode are more prophetic than you perhaps realized. Which given you haven't seen future episodes is hard to do. Given slayers are known to have prophetic dreams, I'm a little surprised some more credence wasn't given to this. However, the running commentary style was fun to watch, even though at times it seems you were a little rushed. Looking forward to the next one.
Shaun Houghton
2022-09-20 13:58:31 +0000 UTC
