moscow_watcher | Buffy issue 7 summary and analysis

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Buffy issue 7 summary and analysis

The issue starts with a flashback of Buffy\Faith's fight in Graduation Day 1. This time we see it from Faith's POV: according to her, she wanted to be Buffy's friend but Buffy refused to accept her friendship and tried to kill her. Obviouly the flashback is done to refreshen reader's memory and make the parallel with current situation even more striking.

Faith arrives to the party at Gigi's mansion. She throws off the earphone that connects her to Giles. "I've got enough voices in my head already". She is searched with a radio-metal locator but the guards doesn't notice a small knife in her hairdo, disguised as a pin. When Faith is asked to show an invitation she throws a Paris Hilton fit and is allowed to enter the mansion without an invitation. "You're one of them, all right" says the butler.

Staying in the line of the visitors who present Gigi their cards, Faith gives herself a pep-talk: she doesn't want to kill a slayer, but she has to believe Giles that the girl is dangerous. Gigi's tantrum interferes with Faith's plans and she goes to the balcony to smoke and to calm the nerves. Gigi joins her there and they bond instantly over Amy Winehouse songs. For three panels they discover how much in common they have, then Faith is finally ready to kill Gigi.

She reaches for a knife in her hairdo... and is immediately attacked by Roden's gargoyles who sweep her in the air. She sticks her knife in one of them, and somehow destroys the other (obviously he falls to pieces when she hits him). Then she falls unconscious. Probably it's Roden who sent her to sleep, since he's already staying by Gigi who's shattered. Probably it's just a plot necessity, because in the next scene...

Faith regains consciousness in Gigi's bedroom. "I'm begging you snuff her out now" says Roden to Gigi before Faith opens her eyes. Curiously, he can't do it himself. Either he's bound by some weird spell (like Drogin who couldn't lie) or he's afraid to contradict Gigi who has already found her best friend in Faith.

Faith opens her eyes and Gigi tells her that she's "like her and other girls who have tapped into an ancient force". Gigi plans to become their leader after the coronation "to take our rightful place at the head of this wretched society. Right after I destroy the woman holding us back and take her mantle as queen". She's talking about Buffy. She's clearly obsessed with her the way Faith was obsessed in season 3. Gigi's "locker room" is covered with Buffy's photos. Some of them fresh. Some of them may be made inside Buffy's castle. Buffy with her team. Buffy with her zap gun. Buffy with Twilight sign painted over her face.

Analysis.

Slayership as the metaphor of aristocracy could provide a basis of compelling story a century ago. But today the influence of aristocratic society on politics, economics and culture is next-to-nonexistent, so the metaphor works only as a requisite element of storytelling ("hey, Jossverse is about metaphors so we have to provide you with our metaphor-du-jour!")

Back to storytelling, I noticed that after the first issue of No Future For You many people presumed that Faith wasn't going to kill Gigi and that she agreed to work for Giles only to prevent the murder of a fellow slayer. So her actual behavior in the issue was a shock. I always saw her acceptance to do a "wet-work" for Giles as an honest agreement. Because otherwise she automatically becomes a traitor and a double agent. Not Faith-like. Vaughan provided Faith with enough lines to indicate that she's tortured about her mission. But in real life, when war is raging, people rarely choose between good and evil. People usually choose between bigger and lesser evil.

Obviously Vaughan is planning to make Faith's mission as hard as possible and I like it. I suppose the bonding between two slayers will be continued and Faith will find it more and more hard to see Gigi as an enemy. Right now the resolution is unclear. Either Faith eventually kills Gigi or she converts her to Buffy's side and Gigi becomes the next extra in Buffy's army. Or we'll get another unresolved storyark, like escaped Amy and Warren - an arc to be addressed in a year or two.

Interestingly, Gigi calls Roden "fascist tutor". It's one more mention of fascist ideology in season 8. In issue 5 Joss introduced debates on fascism in a girls' banter right before Fake!Buffy gets activated by Willow's spell. Interesting coincidence. Or maybe not a coincidence.

I still can't define the type of logic that should be applied to the story analysis. For example, is Gigi really "special"? I mean - why Roden chose Gigi, an aristocratic girl with influent parents who can raise a lot of fuss about the slayer business? Could he choose a less prominent figure - say, an orphan? Has he chosen Gigi because she has something other girls hasn't or because Joss decided to use slayership-going-wrong as a metaphor of aristocracy?

stormwreath has a very interesting theory about it but I not sure such complex plot twist could be resolved in two remaining issues. It's stuff thick historical romance novels are made of. Then again, such twist could deepen the slayership\aristocracy and leadership\heirship parallels. And in this case weird "filthy whore!" flashback in previous issue could be even relevant to the plot.

Another example of moot logic is Faith's cover not being exposed. She has killed the first gargoyle with her knife and nobody mentions it. Should we draw a conclusion that Roden knows it and is now playing Faith in hope she'll lead him to her boss? Or we should just suspend our disbelief and accept that nobody has checked the knife?

So far, I like the story without caring much about characters. Trying to figure out the puzzle is part of the fun. Hopefully there is something to figure out. But Joss' "true love kiss" explanation made me wonder. If the twist of the first arc is the absence of it and the actual solution is *that* simple, could other twists also be as elementary as this one?

Overall impression: Story-wise, it's solid, professionally done entertainment. Some visuals are cringe-worthy, but that's understandable: no drawing can give dazzling Eliza Dushku her due.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So far, I like the story without caring much about characters.
Same here! And, since I never had a problem with 'these things happen when you're on a Hellmouth' kinda plots, as long as the characters were interesting and compelling, it's like they turned the show upside down when transferred to comics. It's not that I don't like story-driven shows, but I don't obsess about them.

Sometimes I wonder if Joss has switched from character-driven to story-driven type of storytelling on purpose, because he realised that it's impossible to make fans care about drawed characters as much as we cared about them when they were played by actors. Sometimes I'm afraid that I won't be able to enjoy "Angel" comics because of it. Hopefully it won't happen.

Well Lynch cares about the characters, so I'm trusting that he'll look after them. *crosses fingers*

ETA: Actually, it's perfectly possible to have great characters in a comic and make people care about them deeply - and also juggle a large cast! (I can't tell you how much I adore 'Elfquest'!)

My fingers are crossed too. If I could cross my toes, I'd do it. :)

A question unrelated to comics: you can edit your posts?! If it's really possible, is this function available only to people with paid accounts?

A question unrelated to comics: you can edit your posts?!
Nah. Just re-did the comment and deleted the first one, then took liberties with the English language. ;)

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?

At the beginning I wondered if Joss planned to insert flashbacks to fill the blanks. He often talks about his passion about Battlestar Galactica - a show that has jumped two years forward between 2 and 3th season and has creatively used these two years in season 3 flashbacks.
But, so far, instead of tying loose ends writers create more loose ends. Maybe it's too soon. If it was a TV show we'd be at the end of a season by now. But in this media we're still in the middle of the second episode.

Wouldn't The Chain be the second episode? Or a plus DVD special ~_^ it wouldn've been cool if we had them in the current DVDs.

We could classify it as an MTV special. :)
It's a long music clip. Short cuts, several narrative levels intercutting, about 10 min of actual screentime...

Have you seen the letters page of this issue? Because Scott addresses this very subject. Somebody asked about why we don't find out what happened between 'Chosen' and 'TLWH' - why Dawn's a giant, why the Slayers have a castle in Scotland, etc. And this was his reply:

A lot of what you were asking for in issue #1 was exposition. Answers will continue to spill out, but only as they serve the story. Story and exposition are two different things. We'll probably be halfway through Season Eight before you understand what happened to Dawn!

In other words (and confirming what I suggested in my recent meta on Dawn :-) ) dropping us into the middle of things without long explanations was a deliberate stylistic device to get the story arc moving quickly.

Thanks for directing me to Allie's reply!

In other words (and confirming what I suggested in my recent meta on Dawn :-) ) dropping us into the middle of things without long explanations was a deliberate stylistic device to get the story arc moving quickly.

... "quickly" being the operative word here. :))))

Yes, I realise that Joss's narrative is similar to a Dickensian novel, with many characters and many plot twists. It's great when you read a finished novel. It's harder when you watch a show. Obviously, Joss realised the danger of audience' frustration over unresolved storylines in the TV show, because he used a brilliant format: one season = one story. So it took about 6-8 months to tell a particular story. It was more or less bearable.

Now, on season 8, seven months have passed since the first issue and we only have got the exposition.

I'm not familiar with comics type of storytelling and I wonder if it's a common thing - to read the exposition today and get the resolution three or five years later.

I agree that BSG handled the jump brilliantly. It worked well because even though we had jumped, we could connect the characters we were seeing to the characters we knew at the end of season 2. The flashbacks could then add depth to our understanding of the choices that ended up being made, but the choices themselves were at least on the horizon when we last saw the characters.

Joss isn't handling the jump nearly so well. He has established very little continuity. Plus, I think he's not factoring in the fact that he's coming back to the story several years after we thought it all ended. So in addition to the fact that there's too much unexplained jumping, he's ignoring the fact that a lot of fans had questions they wanted answered at the end of the series. Failing to even allude to those questions furthers the disconnect problems.

I still think it'll be all about the characters. The issue #10 preview seems to make that clear. And a lot of Joss's comments about the project suggest that he does care about where the characters are now in relationship to where they were. He's just not unfolding his story very well. And he seems to have lost at least a portion of his audience as a result.

Totally agree about BSG and looking forward to the 4th season.

I still think it'll be all about the characters. The issue #10 preview seems to make that clear. And a lot of Joss's comments about the project suggest that he does care about where the characters are now in relationship to where they were. He's just not unfolding his story very well. And he seems to have lost at least a portion of his audience as a result.

I may only conjecture, but I've got the impression that he's trying to attract his initial audience - the teenagers. By the end of the TV show characters were adult persons with adult problems and issues. In comics they are teenagers who live in a fairy tale. (A castle. Zombies, elves and gnomes. Witchcraft, levitation, dreamspace. And - evil global conspiracy. It's basically a teenager's worldview.)

Interestingly, there is a lot of young posters on Dark Horse forums: when somebody used Buffy quote "What are you, twelwe?" people were pissed off because they *are* in this age group. :)

I think the questions you raise are good ones.

I assume that Roden picked Gigi because her influence and money would be useful in setting up an oppositional force. Also, her spoiled rotten nature would prime her to believe Roden's story.

I tend to agree with stormwreath that Faith will try to convince Gigi not to go after Buffy, but then Faith will end up killing her. I don't think that would take more than two issues, given how quickly (and convincingly, IMO) the girls bonded this time. (I'm not sure that's what you were referring to, though).

Re: the plot: I don't think she killed the first gargoyle with the knife...just got him to stop biting her. She killed them both when she goaded them into crashing into each other ("Rock...meet hard place").

The fight devastated her; she passed out honestly.

I assume that Roden picked Gigi because her influence and money would be useful in setting up an oppositional force. Also, her spoiled rotten nature would prime her to believe Roden's story.

I suppose the money belong to her parents. As to being spoiled - that trait makes her hard to deal with. But I tend to agree that Gigi isn't different from other slayers and Roden picking her is due to the metaphor, not the story.

I tend to agree with stormwreath that Faith will try to convince Gigi not to go after Buffy, but then Faith will end up killing her. I don't think that would take more than two issues, given how quickly (and convincingly, IMO) the girls bonded this time. (I'm not sure that's what you were referring to, though).

No, I meant his idea that they could be half-sisters (there is a link to his post in the text). It sounds very soapy, but, in the end, BtVS is just a big epic soap-opera. :)

Re: the plot: I don't think she killed the first gargoyle with the knife...just got him to stop biting her. She killed them both when she goaded them into crashing into each other ("Rock...meet hard place").

Obviously, I'm still very unexperienced in reading comics. Because I stared at the panels for a long time but couldn't figure out what the hell is happening on them. :)

(there is a link to his post in the text)

Ooops. My fault. Didn't follow the link; thought you were referencing a different post, I guess.

That was my take on the gargoyle fight too - hence the "Yo, rock ....Meet hard place!" quote. I thought she passed out because of the "blast", as it were, from the collision - and maybe some flying debris?

Great review as usual :)

One of the reasons I didn't like S7 was because it was plot driven rather than character driven, and it's also one of the reasons I didn't enjoy the first arc of S8. I think the Faith arc is more character driven than plot driven, it actually made me care about Faith more than the actual show did. She's not really a favorite character of mine due to lack of interest, so making me more interested about her now is a big plus.

Great review as usual

Thanks! :)

One of the reasons I didn't like S7 was because it was plot driven rather than character driven, and it's also one of the reasons I didn't enjoy the first arc of S8.

I don't think that season 7 is 100% story-driven; I think all characters have great moments interwoven into the plot. As to first season 8 arc, I found Willow\Amy "my spell is better than your spell" standoff boring.

I think the Faith arc is more character driven than plot driven, it actually made me care about Faith more than the actual show did.

Oh, really? I cared about her on the show, a lot. But, for some reason, in the comics she's different person to me - Hope Lyonne, brunette version of La femme Nikita. Liking her - yes. Obsessing, no.

Well, maybe it's for the better. Obsessing bad, liking pretty. :)

I don't think that season 7 is 100% story-driven; I think all characters have great moments interwoven into the plot.

Can't say the same about poor Giles. :) At least now we get a chance to see lovable Giles back. Hopefully. The first arc of S8 also had some good moments, especially between Xander and Buffy, but over all it was too plot-driven for me. I agree that I didn't enjoy Willow in S8 so far... same goes with S7 and S6 Willow. I miss Hacker!Willow.

Liking her - yes. Obsessing, no.

I don't think I'll ever be interested in Faith. Bad girls and bad boys rarely interest me, all they have is their stupid way of talking and smoking and suddenly they're cool. Meh. I've always thought Buffy was more interesting, even in my Hate-Buffy days. :)

I thought we got a good glimpse to Faith's loneliness in #6, loved when she started to blame the wall (that would have been a heartbreaking moment on TV) also loved her thoughts on being rash when she got rid of her only way to contact Giles. And there were much more favorite Faith moments in both issues, I certainly loved her thoughts on her fight with Buffy in S3.

Can't say the same about poor Giles. :)

Agree, Giles' story was underwhelming in later seasons. But I think it's partly due to him not being there full-time.

I miss Hacker!Willow

Same here. I was fascinated by the idea of combining fantasy elements with modern technologies in season 1 and 4, but I think that in later seasons writers weren't interested in further exploration of that option. Season 8 is heavy on fantasy (elves, gnomes, levitation, witchcraft) but obviously Joss isn't interested in incorporating technological tricks into the mix. (The trick with the mirror doesn't count, I suppose. It's as old as storytelling itself). :)

we got a good glimpse to Faith's loneliness in #6, loved when she started to blame the wall (that would have been a heartbreaking moment on TV)

Agree. Dented wall... that was a powerful moment.

Interesting review!

She sticks her knife in one of them, and somehow destroys the other (obviously he falls to pieces when she hits him). Then she falls unconscious.

She sticks her knife in one. Then she wriggles free while it's writhing in agony, and jumps (in mid-air) onto the other one's back. She covers its eyes, and since it can't see anything, it crashes into the ground.

She hits the one that just crashed, but only hurts her hand. But then she spots the one she stabbed in the eye has recovered, and is swooping down on her at full speed. She says her witty banter (she's obviously learned more than she'd admit from Buffy) and does a standing jump five metres into the air. The two gargoyles collide with each other in the place she was standing a moment earlier, and both crumble into gravel. Then she lands, says 'ow', and collapses unconscious. She's already covered in blood and bruises, I don't think there's anything supernatural involved with that part.

Curiously, he can't do it himself.

Supposedly, Gigi is the leader and he's just her faithful minion. While we know and he knows who's really in charge, he doesn't want to break her illusions just yet, so he defers to her.

But today the influence of aristocratic society on politics, economics and culture is next-to-nonexistent, so the metaphor works only as a requisite element of storytelling

That could be the point. People like Gigi are an anachronistic relic of older times when we still believed that certain people were born into an elite and deserved to hold power over the rest of us. Now, most of us only hold contempt for such people. But if Slayers=the aristocracy, should we feel the same contempt for Buffy and co? Are they also a relic of the past?

many people presumed that Faith wasn't going to kill Gigi and that she agreed to work for Giles only to prevent the murder of a fellow slayer.

Really? I always assumed that she took the mission willingly - but without thinking through the implications carefully enough - and strongly suspected she'd have second thoughts when she actually came face-to-face with Gigi. It's not worked out exactly how I imagined, but it's somewhere along those lines...

She has killed the first gargoyle with her knife and nobody mentions it. Should we draw a conclusion that Roden knows it and is now playing Faith in hope she'll lead him to her boss?

Could be. I assume that Gigi, if she noticed the knife at all (maybe it was buried under the rubble of the dead gargoyles?) would just assume that Faith's a Slayer so always goes armed. She certainly doesn't think that Faith planned to use the weapon on *her*. Roden might not be so easily fooled, but he's not going to openly go against Gigi's wishes just yet.

Interesting review!

Thanks! And even bigger thanks for describing the fight - in your description it looks much more clearly than on the panels. (Or maybe I got used to written word).

Supposedly, Gigi is the leader and he's just her faithful minion. While we know and he knows who's really in charge, he doesn't want to break her illusions just yet, so he defers to her.

During the party he "read" Faith's aura as very dangerous. But, interestingly, he doesn't mention it to Gigi. Hidden clue or plot hole? :)

People like Gigi are an anachronistic relic of older times when we still believed that certain people were born into an elite and deserved to hold power over the rest of us. Now, most of us only hold contempt for such people. But if Slayers=the aristocracy, should we feel the same contempt for Buffy and co? Are they also a relic of the past?

Oh, the metaphor is a bit backhanded. :))))

Really? I always assumed that she took the mission willingly - but without thinking through the implications carefully enough - and strongly suspected she'd have second thoughts when she actually came face-to-face with Gigi. It's not worked out exactly how I imagined, but it's somewhere along those lines...

I also assumed that she doesn't plan anything behind Giles' back. But I read posts that insisted that Vaughan's Faith is devolved back to season 4 when she was a killer. Well, it's hard to please all fans! :)

I assume that Gigi, if she noticed the knife at all (maybe it was buried under the rubble of the dead gargoyles?) would just assume that Faith's a Slayer so always goes armed. She certainly doesn't think that Faith planned to use the weapon on *her*. Roden might not be so easily fooled, but he's not going to openly go against Gigi's wishes just yet.

You know, I rewatched the scene after your explanation and noticed an interesting detail: she had two pin-like knives. Gargoyles attack her when she starts to draw the first knife out of her hair with her left hand. When we see her on the next panel, her left hand is empty and there is only one knife in her hair. Obviously she has dropped the first knife and it landed somewhere near Gigi.

Now, Rogen has read Faith's dangerous aura. He has confessed that he organized the party to identify the potential assassin. Should we presume that he hasn't noticed the first knife and for some weird reason has decided that a girl who can easily kill two gargoyles, can't be the assassin in question?

Again I'm not sure if we should dismiss his behavior as a plot hole or question his motives. But - could Roden use Gigi as a bait to frame slayer organization for murder? In this case it's easy to explain why he chose a daughter of wealthy and influential people - because her murder will make the first pages.

But, again, I'm not sure if we should apply RL logic to this fairy-tale world...

Thanks for sharing your review. I really enjoy reading your thoughts about the issue!

You're welcome!

Interesting review and some points there which I haven't thought about. For example the metaphore of slayers as aristocracy - hmm...

What I'm mostly seeing there is watchers at puppeteers pulling slayers' strings - both Roden and Giles. Roden is into a sunset cult, obviously, and I think his goal is to set Slayers against Slayers to eventually get rid of all of them. Giles motives also get more complicated here with the last page as it might not be about preventing apocalypse after all but preventing assasination of Buffy and playing against Sunset. In both cases slayers are not given the full truth and are being played. The endga,e might be for all of them - Buffy, Faith, and Gigi - to break free of those puppet strings and get to heart of the matter.

Now to your questions. Why Roden choose Gigi? Maybe because she was a spoiled brat the most successible to his propaganda? Also she had resources - a castle, a protection system - similar to Buffy's. And she could maintain them without raising suspicisons.
What about the knife? I thnk both knives were broken and lost in the rubble left by Gargoyles. And they probably just scraped off the whole thing with a bulldoser afterwards. :)
Also were Faith going to strike Gigi before Gargoyles took her? It's an open question - she drew the knife in the same way before when standing in line, and couldn't go through with it, put it back. Similar thing might've happened here again - she wouldn't have the nerve - but we'll never know now.
Why Roden didn't kill Faith? I got the impression that Gigi was watching over Faith at her bedside. I don't think Roden would do sonething like that in front of her and without her consent.

I'm also puzzled why characters haven't grabbed you here and only story twists seem interesting. IMHO it's a first really character driven story we got in Buffy-8 and BKV is superb in that. It's all really about Faith inner turmoil, and Giles as complex and coflicted as it comes - and yet sympathetic and understandable for the 1st time since him killing Ben, and now we are going to get Buffy into the mix and up the ante even more. I'm very jazzed up about all of it, hope the story will become more enjoyable for you as well. :)

Why Roden choose Gigi? Maybe because she was a spoiled brat the most successible to his propaganda?

OTOH, she's very difficult to manipulate. Wild, unpredictable, capricious. А troublemaker. That's why I think Roden wants to use her and get rid of her. That is, if we look at the story from RL standpoint.

What about the knife? I thnk both knives were broken and lost in the rubble left by Gargoyles. And they probably just scraped off the whole thing with a bulldoser afterwards. :)

But Roden organized the soiree to detect the potential assassin. And he detected a girl who could kill two gargoyles. Does he believe in coinsidences *that* much? :)))

Why Roden didn't kill Faith? I got the impression that Gigi was watching over Faith at her bedside.

Or he wants to use Faith too...

I'm also puzzled why characters haven't grabbed you here and only story twists seem interesting

I don't know. I like the story, but it's too fairy-tale to be taken seriously. The only issue that grabbed me for real was The Chain.

Or he wants to use Faith too...
Good point! He might be playing with the idea of recruting Faith for real. And not, I don't think he considers Faith "a coincidence", I'm sure he knows why she's here. That's why a few pieces of broken knives won't change a thing - Roden already suspects Faith and already plots what to do with her.

Oh, and I absolutely agree that Roden wants to use Gigi and get rid of her - and him being of Sunset cult confirms that. As their ultimate goal is to get rid of the slayers (and demons).
And I agree with the discussion below that there's no single truth here - like "Slayers good, Sunset bad". I'm sure we'll see both perspectives and the whole thing might end with a compromise - with Buffy helping to rid the world of both slayers (maybe by recalling their power?) and demons, and thus setting up "Fray".
But if there's a truth which Joss believes in is that Buffy and Slayers should have a say in this matter and should make their decisions based on the whole picture. Not accepting being played by their Watchers and Sunset.

My inner cynic doesn't see Fray in sight. Joss won't end Buffy's story with something irreversible as long as he needs to earn his living. He has no new new movie and TV projects and comics with 100000 circulation provide him with good royalties. Buffy is a popular brand and he'll be milking her as long as there is interest in her.

comics with 100000 circulation provide him with good royalties.
Nope they don't. :) Comics writing is one of the least profitable avenues for writers.
I bet he gets much better royalties out of DVD sales from his shows and movies, and that one-episode directing/writing stunts like he did for "Office" or "VM" would pay as much as a year worth of those comics...
I don't know if he'd ever lets go of his Buffy universe but it won't be because of comic royalties because they are pretty low even for such good-selling comics.

This is the rates I found by Googling "rate of writer's royalties, comics"

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-28942.html

By my estimate Joss earns between 50 and 100 grands a month from the comics - and it's a steady income, unlike Hollywood's fickleness.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not critisizing him. I only say that he might be reluctant to cut this source of income.

Interesting analysis but I would disagree on one point. I think that aristocracy itself is being used here as a metaphor for the elitism of powerful groups - like The Slayers (and notice the capitals - I'm referring to the whole collective mass of them rather than individuals) and Twilight.

Perhaps the metaphor is about being part of an powerful elite without having actually done anything to get entitle you to use the power - like the aristocracy, like Slayers where it is in both cases an accident of birth rather than any intelligence or ability in the individual. The quote from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" springs to mind here:

(from imdb (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/quotes))
King Arthur: I am your king.
Woman: Well I didn't vote for you.
King Arthur: You don't vote for kings.
Woman: Well how'd you become king then?
[Angelic music plays... ]
King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.
Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Good point. But in this case the metaphor works against the "Twilight bad, slayers pretty" idea.

I'm not entirely convinced that the equation is that simple - this is Joss remember and any time something looks clear-cut he'll twist it around. I suspect that there will be more and more problems with slayers like Gigi and others who will take advantage of all their abilities to become Olympic gold medalists or misuse their abilities to threaten and extort money from others, for example. As a result of a rising wave of this, Buffy will have to act.

My very very long-term view of this is that it will tie in with Fray and in Fray's time there are no slayers (and haven't been any for 200 years) until she is called. My theory was always that Buffy realises that calling all the slayers is a disaster and unmakes them all (including herself?) straight after she banishes the last demon.

I agree, the theme of the season is the consequences of Willow's spell and there will be good as well as bad ones. But I doubt that this current season will end with unmaking the slayer system. I read that Joss is already planning the next season, and I think he'll keep "the show" running for a long time.

Sorry, when I said long-term, I should have clarified that I meant the very end of the series (presumably the end of S9?), not S8.

I meant the very end of the series (presumably the end of S9?), not S8.

Agree, it's quite possible. Joss could even use a trick to mirror current situation: slayers destroy all demons and, as a side effect, lose their slayer powers. It would be a neat counter-balance.

How does "unmaking" happen? What power does Buffy have to "unmake" the Slayer line? Fray shows that Buffy does not unmake the line, because she (Fray) was the first to be called in centuries because the monsters returned. Using this information, we can amend the verb "unmake" to "postpone," and "assume" that Buffy et al. kill off all the vampires.

With the exception of Angel and Spike, of course;)

How does "unmaking" happen? What power does Buffy have to "unmake" the Slayer line?

Well, she "made" them through magic, so "unmaking" also could proceed through some spell and shiny mojo.

Fray shows that Buffy does not unmake the line, because she (Fray) was the first to be called in centuries because the monsters returned. Using this information, we can amend the verb "unmake" to "postpone," and "assume" that Buffy et al. kill off all the vampires.

Good point. There even may be some twist: for example, slayers lose their power as soon as the last vampire is dusted (soulless vampires, that is).

Kind of universal balance. :)

I love your reviews...!!!!

ok..
I think she wont kill gigli but rather leave with her to train/live/adventure together and sometime later on the "season" they will appear just when somebody needs them

tahst so Josss

I WANT To know about the symbol in buffy face!!!!!

Thanks for kind words.

I wonder if the sign symbolises something. Kinda pictogram or hieroglyph.

ALSO!!

"Boys are into you because of your legs, not those itty-bitty [boobs].’

What?!? Is Willow checking out Buffy’s sister?

Bwahaha! Small girltalk is quite... well... revealing. :))))

HAHA tell me about it!!!!!!!

still I wouldnt like Dawn to be a couple of willow..... I still want the idea of ehr and Xnder!

Hi, like your anlysis of the comics, and have seen you at various places. Wonder if I can friend you? You seem as interested in the comics as I am. And we seem to hold quite similar opinions on a few things.

That way I can comment on your posts. I do not know any Russian through, so if you post in that language, I will not be able to comment. Best Wishes!

Hi,

Of course you can friend me - everybody who loves BtVS and AtS is a friend of mine! I'm friending you back if you don't mind.

I think I'll go on writing in English. The majority of Russian fans have relocated to diary.ru while I prefer LJ. Hopefully people will forgive my clumsy English. :)

Oh I love it when I am friended back! And my English gets sloopy most of the time! :-)

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Buffy issue 7 summary and analysis

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