If I hadn't seen Lynch's Spike comics, I'd agree with you that the medium might have forced the switch from character-driven plot to action-driven plot. But in the Spike comics, we have lots of fun plot, but it's still really about the characters. We immediately recognize Spike as the guy who was dealing with the issues he was dealing with in AtS 5. And we see him grow and change a bit. Presumably we'd have seen even more of that if the Spike comics were a part of the official development of canon. Anyway, it can be done.
Thing is, I don't think Joss means this to be a switch to action-driven plot. The Faith story line is all about the emotions. Whether we agree with how she's being portrayed or not -- it's clear that Vaughn/Whedon mean for us to be thinking about her issues with respect to Buffy, her own dark past, and so on. We'll find out later what Roden is up to, but that's not the main focus here.
The big question is why there's such a difference between this arc and the opening arc. And if I put on my optimistic hat, I'd say it's because we are being set up for big reveals on what's been going on since we last checked in with the gang. The question marks that look like gaps aren't because Joss doesn't care about continuity in character development -- it's because he wants to prime us to wonder. We're supposed to ask the following questions: How did Dawn and Buffy's relationship go to hell again? What has Willow been up to, and (importantly) is she really as in control of her power and her darkness as she appears? Why wasn't Spike in Buffy's dreamspace in any real way? How did Xander get so confident in his role with the slayers? How does Buffy really feel about the fact that her life is only about being a slayer? That's what my optimistic self says. If that's not what's going on, then we have other questions. The big one being: Why did the guy who created the Buffy 'verse decide to trash his own reputation by putting out such lame material?
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Date: 2007-10-06 09:29 pm (UTC)Thing is, I don't think Joss means this to be a switch to action-driven plot. The Faith story line is all about the emotions. Whether we agree with how she's being portrayed or not -- it's clear that Vaughn/Whedon mean for us to be thinking about her issues with respect to Buffy, her own dark past, and so on. We'll find out later what Roden is up to, but that's not the main focus here.
The big question is why there's such a difference between this arc and the opening arc. And if I put on my optimistic hat, I'd say it's because we are being set up for big reveals on what's been going on since we last checked in with the gang. The question marks that look like gaps aren't because Joss doesn't care about continuity in character development -- it's because he wants to prime us to wonder. We're supposed to ask the following questions: How did Dawn and Buffy's relationship go to hell again? What has Willow been up to, and (importantly) is she really as in control of her power and her darkness as she appears? Why wasn't Spike in Buffy's dreamspace in any real way? How did Xander get so confident in his role with the slayers? How does Buffy really feel about the fact that her life is only about being a slayer? That's what my optimistic self says. If that's not what's going on, then we have other questions. The big one being: Why did the guy who created the Buffy 'verse decide to trash his own reputation by putting out such lame material?