Buffy Fridays! Season 5 Episode 11 First Time Reaction!
Added 2024-07-12 18:13:41 +0000 UTChttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1HQCg_8gJWagxUTOeCQu1BDWVpAWdCzIv/view?usp=sharing
####### EPISODE SPOILER REVIEW BELOW! APPARENTLY SOME OF YOU ARE WATCHING FOR THE FIRST TIME ALONG SIDE ME, SO PLEASE DON'T READ BEYOND THIS POINT UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE EPISODE YOURSELF! ######
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Haha, this was amazing! This was a greatly needed completely crazy Solid Side Quest! When I say at the end, it may be my fav so far this season, I think that could have just been in the moment (I think I forgot a few absolute crackers)!
Olaf is MY kind of villain! XD Loved him!
Buffy was AWESOME in this one! It really felt like she was back to being herself after such a long time. Loved it!
That ending... it will be interesting to find out what it is that Dawn 'thinks' they were talking about. Hopefully they don't need to give her the full story just yet!
Hope you guys are having a great weekend!
As always, if you click the video just after this post, you may need to download it first. This should be fixed in a couple of hours!
Comments
Thank you for your kind words for Graham, the real unsung hero of this show. It's only a half joke because I really love Graham. He has proven to be brave but also a good friend. He doesn't judge and always tries to do the right thing and give credit to others when credit is due. He also is a quite good-looking man so it may have influence my appreciation of his character (yes I am biased that way, shame on me...) Otherwise, I love this episode, one of the funniest of the show in my opinion.
Aurelius 19
2024-08-17 22:58:37 +0000 UTCThis episode was great and watching it along with your reaction just made it better/ more hilarious😅!
Diego Zenhäusern
2024-07-22 19:42:25 +0000 UTCWell, in that case I'd like to throw in her putting retractable stakes into the heels of her boots as the ultimate solution🙃😅
Diego Zenhäusern
2024-07-22 19:36:48 +0000 UTCThanks, I totally appreciate your perspective on it!! I never realised quite how early bisexual was part of the lexicon until you said. I mean especially LA! And you are probably right about Doppelgangland, I think I’m misremembering how much Willow knew about Vampire Willow and Xander’s relationship.
Giorgia M
2024-07-18 06:27:30 +0000 UTCI do get what you’re saying and I definitely agree that the general populace didn’t understand the word bisexual (from my experience). I hadn’t considered that Willow saying “and I think I’m kind of gay.” challenges the legitimacy of my claim that Willow knows the difference. I would say though that it’s reasonable that Willow did think her vampire counterpart was only attracted to girls because she hadn’t seen her with Xander’s vampire counterpart. I also agree with your sentiment that if Willow says she is gay, then that is what the audience should refer to her as.
Lime Pie
2024-07-18 05:31:06 +0000 UTCYeah, I understand what you are saying but I’d argue that thinking so negatively about bisexuality, viewing it as greedy or hyper-sexual or whatever it is viewed as, is not really understanding it. I just always remember the 1995 Time magazine article headline that was like “Bisexuality: A New Sexual Identity Emerges” which makes it seem like it was coming into the culture/vocabulary of the common person at that time. And these things take their time to trickle down to everyday speech/thoughts in a culture (unlike in the internet world). In Dopplegangland, Vampire Willow tries to kiss Regular Willow, despite being in a relationship with Xander and Willow says “I think I’m kinda gay”. Wouldn’t she have said, “I think I’m kinda Bisexual”, if it was a known word and commonly accepted to say at that time? Because at that time, she identified as straight and was in a relationship with a man (and also Vamp Willow was with Xander? It just kinda seems like it indicates they weren’t using that word because they didn’t know it or maybe didn’t want to say it because of social constraints at that time. Because of that, I feel if it was written today, without ignorance or constraints, she would be bisexual. Especially with Willow getting in a relationship with a woman and immediately being gay, no exceptions, no discussion, no issues, no comp het reflection. Just “gay” after having sex and being in love with a man very recently and never being interested in them again. It just feels unrealistic and a forced writing choice. Orientations obviously change but so quickly and without any acknowledgement of the real feelings behind it, it just feels so odd in a way that makes alarm bells go off like “Weird writer interference happening!” But as you say, it may have just been through pressure from executives. At the end of the day, it’s an identity and Willow chooses it for herself. Not me. If she says she is gay/lesbian, that’s what I’ll call her. Sometimes, I just think the way it’s written kinda effects the legitimacy of all that came before it after so much writing focused on the love, pain and drama of the relationship with Oz to be like oh actually it wasn’t really love, Willow isn’t attracted to men and let’s never discuss it again. It just feels off. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? This may just be a long list of mumbo jumbo lol. I really tried to gather my messy thoughts!!
Giorgia M
2024-07-18 01:00:29 +0000 UTCI’m more Parklife, (the album in general more than the song) leaning, maybe that means I’m basic, but whatever. Yes, odd hearing that track in 2001 on a major tv show a decade after it was released.
Paul Maki
2024-07-15 16:06:08 +0000 UTCNot the best of this season. Glad you enjoyed it.
Vicky N
2024-07-14 04:52:50 +0000 UTCOh, I thought you were talking about Marti Noxon sorry, as she wrote into the woods, rather than the whole story arc! Silly me, sorry! 🫣
Jake M
2024-07-13 18:03:34 +0000 UTCI was talking about the accusations Joss Whedon’s ex wife has made. There’s really no way to know how valid those accusations are, which is why I said ‘possibly’. I know there are multiple writers and directors throughout, but his name is on the episode and I feel like he had the most creative control in general, so I tend to blame him for things like this 🤣
Ashley Evers
2024-07-13 18:00:23 +0000 UTCHi Ashley, on the 'uncanny prediction' about the writer- are you talking about the bit in Seeing Red that was her idea? Or is there something more egregious?
Jake M
2024-07-13 17:46:57 +0000 UTCTo be fair to Anya, Buffy did say early on (In I Robot, You Jane I think?) that she was doomed to have failed relationships! Maybe she jinxed herself? Better luck next time, Buffy... Don't despair about Terror, Veggie - it just means, at this point, the actor (Amber Benson - genuinely just typed Tara Benson, oops! XD) didn't want to commit to a full contract, because it offered far less flexibility than guest starring- you had to be available for filming every episode , even if you weren't in it. It's why Oz left the main cast- he wanted to pursue other projects which his time as a regular on Buffy wouldn't allow. She's still important!
Jake M
2024-07-13 17:06:54 +0000 UTCOk but the joke at the start about Graham/Riley was AMAZING XD
x_Rhi_x
2024-07-13 12:26:51 +0000 UTCThis was a much needed comedic episode which explores the Willow/Anya relationship which got of on the wrong foot in Doppelgangland, when Anya enlisted Willow to do a spell to get her necklace back. It started cordially enough but ended with Anya trying to kill Willow and Willow hitting Anya (and both Willow's 'pffting' Anya). Since then relations have been strained and Anya becoming Xander's girlfriend didn't make things any better, they both love Xander but secretly wish the other one wasn't around. Despite the bickering at the start, by the end of the episode there does seem to be a cease in hostilities and perhaps even friendship.
Dyrla
2024-07-13 10:16:45 +0000 UTCI really enjoy all the uncommon pairings we get this episode. The Buffy/Tara and Spike/Xander scenes are hilarious, but I'm glad the episode focused on the relationship between Willow and Anya because they have both silently hated each other for many episodes now. Anya is right that Willow has a history of kissing Xander while he was with Cordelia and Willow is right that Anya has a history of punishing men for satisfaction (and we learned this episode that she was human for some of it too).
Lime Pie
2024-07-13 07:25:22 +0000 UTCI think the word bisexual was understood by most at the time (I remember it being used in the 1998 film "There's Something About Mary" for example), but it had an even more negative connotation than the word gay did for whatever reason. Even though Willow did have intense feelings for Oz, her orientation could have changed some time after Oz left. Given how knowledgeable Willow is, she probably knows the difference between a homosexual and a bisexual. So, if Willow defines herself as gay now, then Willow is gay now imo (even if the writers only had her say that to appease the network).
Lime Pie
2024-07-13 07:00:06 +0000 UTCThere’s big contention over whether Willow is gay or Bisexual because the word Bisexual wasn’t something that was known or understood at the time so it’s undetermined whether the concept wasn’t common at the time or whether Willow was just compulsory heterosexual but realised she was gay once she found the right person and broke out of that societal mould. Personally, because of her intense feelings for Oz, I would define her as Bisexual but the character of Willow does define herself as gay in this episode. However, maybe if Bisexual or Pansexual was a known thing as this time she would define herself differently.
Giorgia M
2024-07-13 06:31:29 +0000 UTCSo, this is the only episode in season 5 that I don't normally care for. But seeing you enjoy it as much as you did, Veggie, made it absolutely great. I usually skip this one on rewatches, and have never wanted to immediately watch it again until today. Seeing how much you laughed was pure joy. I loved this reaction.
Raven Dark
2024-07-13 01:23:26 +0000 UTCHaha, this is a great point! I guess it is just every time she kicks to the chest, I am like "that could have been it", without thinking of the practicality! XD
VEGGIE GAMER
2024-07-12 23:06:19 +0000 UTCThis episode is a much-needed bit of levity after the last few episodes have been so very heavy. I do want to say that every time you comment on your idea of "stake stilettos" I want to scream about how hard it is to WALK in stilettos, much less run and fight. Those chunky heeled boots Buffy wears are much better for balance while still looking very cute. She'd be better off tucking thin stakes in her hair when she has it in a bun or pony tail - she's done it before in the show, I'm surprised she didn't do it more often.
Denni Caid
2024-07-12 23:02:48 +0000 UTCThis episode get some flack from viewers, but I personally find it fun and enjoyable. I think part of the reason is the unusual pairings. We have Anya with Willow, Buffy with Tara, and Xander with Spike. That had to have been a conscious effort on the writers' part, to get the characters to interact in a differenting pairing than we would normally see. Also, I can't help but note the similarity between Anya driving Giles' car and the Restless episode where she took over driving the ice cream truck by steering with hand gestures. I believe that is one of Restless' foreshadowing moments, Anya driving a vehicle for the first time.
RavenLord
2024-07-12 22:09:54 +0000 UTCGraham is awesome. I wouldn't have minded him hanging around a bit longer. Kudos to the actor for pulling off an act of sheer charisma and personality in brief, occasional scenes.
RavenLord
2024-07-12 21:24:22 +0000 UTCI can see your point that Xander calmed Buffy down and got her off the anger ledge. But he did it by convincing her that she was a lot more to blame for Riley’s behavior (and insecurities) than I think she was. Clearly the writers wanted us to think Xander was right, and they are good writers, so he is definitely convincing in the moment. But the more I sit with it, the more frustrating that is to me. The whole scene in this where Buffy clearly is blaming herself for not noticing things were bad with Riley, it’s very understandable, but she was dealing with the stuff with her Mom. I would rather see her angry than blaming herself for being human (Also, your feeling about what this whole story line says about the writer is quite possibly another one of your uncanny predictions 😬) Buffy only spared that one vampire in the first place because she was the one who had been with Riley. Normally she would have just killed her without emotion. And yes, a wimple is the head covering that nuns wear. This was the 90’s, so media was just barely starting to acknowledge that gay people exist. They really weren’t ready to admit that bi people exist. I imagine the creators also wanted to make more of a statement, she isn’t just going through a phase or something, this is who the character is now. But I do kind of hate it, cause she so clearly was really in love with Oz. I’m pretty sure who gets their name in the intro is a contract thing, so Riley leaving wouldn’t necessarily change the other actors' status on the series.
Ashley Evers
2024-07-12 20:51:56 +0000 UTCI haven't watched the reaction itself yet, but I HAD to comment on the first 2 minutes where you were going on and on about the character we've known since season 4, how he's helped the scoobies, the emotional ending, saying how much you're gonna miss him... then said goodbye to GRAHAM (not Riley) 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 By the way, I love Graham too, so I can relate.
SkySpirit
2024-07-12 18:25:09 +0000 UTC
