Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 7x12 Full Reaction
Added 2025-08-01 13:53:37 +0000 UTC"Potential"
Comments
The spell didn't resonate with Dawn. Amanda was standing on the other side of the door. The spell passed through Dawn and "resonated" on Amanda (which no one saw because the door was closed and they were focused Dawn. Your take on Xander is...superficial. As a writer I can confidently say that Xander's is one of the more complicated and human characters in the show. A person can be both tone-def in moments while being simultaneously introspective, self-aware and highly empathetic.
Brandon Scott
2025-08-11 15:12:03 +0000 UTCFirst thing : Giles went to China -- he is picking up a girl named Chao-Ahn, another potential. Dawn and Buffy share the same blood, so the spell may have "resonated" in Dawn at the door. Also Dawn is a special case. She is a person not born of woman, but transmogrified into a human. This means all kinds of mystical possibilities. We have already seen she is hyper emotional, and that she can do strong magical spell casting. Xander umm doesn't have it going on in my book. He is in the Andrew category, just there to lend a hand. His writing of his character has been all over the place, mostly just as a counterpoint reactor to other characters. Most of what he says is going to end up being wrong, because it makes Buffy and Willow and Anya seem right. The problem is he has no "Big brother energy" only grumble and get screwed over energy. But he is a survivor, and occasionally the writers let him have a point, or say something to move the plot on. Mostly he seems openly hostile to everyone. His momentary pep talk to Dawn at the end seemed like something Tara would say, not actually Xander. Most people say that Xander is Joss' self-insert character, a way to make him participate in the story, but I never thought so. Xander is often there as the guy that says "WTF?" to bring back the idea that none of this is normal, remind the audience of the danger. They could have written him out, they might just kill him off before its over for high stakes. Buffy might be entering her "Patton" phase, where she is willing to lose soldiers to win the war. She seems like she is psyched up to throw some of them to the wolves if it comes to that. Her prophecy girl dreams are probably wearing her down, seeing potentials getting slaughtered. When Amanda was dusting the vamp, there was a motivational poster that said "LIFE is about making MISTAKES and LEARNING from them." When she thrust the flag pole into the vamp the poster and dusted him you could see behind him it reads "LIFE is about STAKES." There were a couple other posters in the stairwell there one had the word "Courage" on it, and the other said "Hit The Skins" -- ???
spikeysnack
2025-08-09 09:35:47 +0000 UTCIt's always great to see Clem. One of the best occasional side characters in the show.
Rod B
2025-08-09 02:29:34 +0000 UTCJust now getting this joke at 40. *sigh*
Kiss the Librarian
2025-08-02 17:13:20 +0000 UTCYou missed the point, but if you are already biased…nothing can be done. That scene was one of the best scenes. He wasn’t complaining. He realizes, now, what he is and explained it to Dawn, saying he sees the same in her and it’s extraordinary
Andrea Frank
2025-08-02 01:23:40 +0000 UTC"Come at me, full speed" I saw what you did there. Hahahahahaha.
Dave Cruickshank
2025-08-02 01:01:35 +0000 UTCI think the glow was supposed to be a residual effect of it passing through her but I can understand the complaint of the misdirect. The ending is very touching. It hits me every time.
Jonathan Hall
2025-08-02 00:12:29 +0000 UTCFelicia is so awesome. Anyone that's ever played a MMORPG should definitely check out "The Guild." It's an indie show she created but is genuinely hilarious and brilliant!
Jonathan Hall
2025-08-02 00:10:32 +0000 UTCIt was amazing to see you so moved by the scene with Xander at the end.... ...but for me it's another miss for his character. Because at any time over the past seven years Xander could have decided to train or study or improve himself in so many ways, and to see him moan about how he hasn't gotten the power/recognition/respect he wants without having DONE anything seems like the classic whining that he's done several times over the course of the series. Giles started the series already knowledgeable, but he wasn't magically granted the esoteric demon knowledge. He studied and researched all on his own, even after spending his youth as a hard-partying layabout. Willow wasn't born with magical powers, we saw her start studying witchcraft in season two and grow in power over the years. Over on "Angel", Cordelia devoted her entire life to fighting demons and was only granted the Visions and then became part demon after CHOOSING that path. Even Buffy, who literally was granted magical powers when she was Chosen, trains CONSTANTLY. For Dawn herself, we've seen her growing more into the research role and taking on that responsibility this season. We also saw her getting combat training in the first episode of this season. But Xander has never done any of this. He's never done combat training with Buffy, or taken self-defense classes on his own, or even asked for tips from whatever combat character is with the group that season. He's never done his own research on demons outside of looking up the details on the specific threat they are facing. He's never practiced any witchcraft or learned even the basic rudimentary spells that could be helpful in a thousand situations. He's tagged along for seven years, and I'm not denying that he has helped along the way, but he never tried to ever be more than just the sidekick. And that's fine! He's got his own life, and a career now! He doesn't need to make fighting evil his personal mission! But when he chooses not to do that, I don't feel bad for him when everybody else Levels Up and he doesn't. ....this rant got a LOT longer than I intended. And I still enjoy this episode. But Xander just really bugs me.
JBK405
2025-08-02 00:06:01 +0000 UTCI can’t 😭😭😭
Jonny
2025-08-01 23:51:17 +0000 UTCBuffy's counseling session with Amanda is another one of those scenes where the subtext rapidly becomes text ("We're mean to each other, and we like each other"). Nope, Buffy doesn't know anything about that, no, not a thing. 😊 That closing scene may be Xander's finest 3 minutes. And Michelle Trachtenberg in close-up is so beautiful it breaks my heart. 😢 And also: Clem!!! Good ol' Clem, good to know he's ok. I think the monster face he does for the potentials is a salute to the original Beetlejuice.
DanielOrme
2025-08-01 23:37:15 +0000 UTCThe Willow like Vi is played by Felicia Day who also appears in Whedon’s Dr. Horrible Sing A Long Blog and is pretty much the original Nerd influencer, helping to create a board game network and other Geek adjacent stuff.
Joshua Taylor
2025-08-01 20:43:34 +0000 UTCNot to be overly emotional but gosh rewatching this episode post losing Michelle it hits SO MUCH HARDER. This episode used to just be "alright" to me but I was over here weeping along with you lol
Cameron Ferguson
2025-08-01 17:40:12 +0000 UTCHits different now.🕊️
Chris Carman
2025-08-01 17:35:55 +0000 UTCAmanda first appeared in episode 7x4 “HELP” she was one of the students who went to see Buffy , she was being bullied
Michael Matthews
2025-08-01 16:15:51 +0000 UTCGirl you're making me tear up 🥹 Love your reaction.
MaggieStormborn
2025-08-01 16:15:34 +0000 UTCThe potentials most likely vary in ages. Kennedy has mentioned that she thinks she might be too old to be called as the Slayer, so she seems to be on the older side. I would guess Rona, the one who said they were all 15 year old girls, is actually 15 years old and is probably on the younger side of the potentials. I suppose the glow coming from Amanda outside the house could be seen through objects and so it only appeared that Dawn was glowing. It is a magical light after all.
Lime Pie
2025-08-01 15:28:14 +0000 UTC
