Buffy issue 9 summary, analysis and spoilery speculations

[moscow_watcher]

Summary:

Brian K Vaughan uses any opportunity to delve into Faith's past and into her head. This issue starts - again! - with a flashback, this time dedicated to Faith's relationship with Mayor. Obviously he wants to draw a parallel to Gigi's relationship with Roden who now orders her to kill Faith. But Gigi, who has already swung her axe, conveniently hits Faith with its helve. She is mad at Faith at lying to her about her name, her goals, but most of all, about her nationality: "You're not even English?"

Is it written as a joke? I'm at loss here.

Gigi's rage is so devastating that she conveniently plunges her axe into a stone statue. Um, mister Vaughan... have you ever had an axe in your hands? I'm a woman, but even I occasionally hack twigs and branches for campfires. And I know that a metallic blade can't go into a stone.

OK, I accept it as a "suspension of disbelief" moment. Statue looks prettier. And it beautifully constrasts with the dynamics of the fight.

Meanwhile, Willow, following Buffy's order, phones Giles who is still trying to penetrate the mystical barrier around Gigi's estate. Buffy, furious, tells Giles that Faith tried to kill her. Giles has no time to explain - he has to save Faith, so he cuts Buffy short and asks her to put Willow on the line. Buffy feels betrayed.

Meanwhile, Faith-Gigi fight goes on, Gigi conveniently flies through the air and runs herself on her own axe. And, before she dies, she conveniently absolves Faith when the latter says she never meant to kill her - "Yeah. But it's like the song goes..."

Roden immediately tries to recruit Faith to kill Buffy, but, naturally, she rejects his offer and hits him with a Twilight's guidebook he offers her. Furious, Roden tries to kill Faith with a stone fist he conjures up from the earth, but cavalry in the person of Giles arrives in time and saves her. The battle between Roden and Giles is short and ridiculous: while Roden is conveniently standing there and posturing, Faith throws Roden's Twilight's guidebook to Giles, he immediately finds the necessary spell, puts the "mystic field" inside his opponent and Roden's head bursts.

Cut to the next morning. Back in Giles' apartment, Faith declares that she has decided not to quit. She has got her Big Moral Lesson and she wants "to play social worker to the slayers. Maybe I could help walk a few bad girls back from the brink". They decide to work together.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the jungle, a military helicopter lands on a tiny stone plateau. A woman in a military uniform with a Twilight sign on her palm requests the audience. A creature whose boots we saw back in issue 1 descends from above.

According to the woman, whose name is Lt. Molter, "their man on the inside" has reported that Buffy Summers was still alive. Flying Boots, who looks like Terminator in an iron mask, tells her that actually, Gigi and Roden were his targets. He plans to manipulate his enemies "into waging this ugly war, a tactic crucial for bringing the age of magic to a close".

"Night falls soon enough", he promises.

Analysis:

The second arc, as well as the first one, works OK as long as the reader doesn't overthink and overanalyse it. Analysis is a tricky thing here: a reviewer may easily turn into a whiner who complains about the lack of Shakespearean depth in a Shreck movie.

Well...

Brian K Vaughan loves Faith and this story is clearly her show. She's the star and everything else exists to showcase her ability to fight, quip and demonstrate the generosity of her spirit. I read comments from people who disliked her on the show but started to like her after this comic, and it's understandable: Faith really shines here.

But, unfortunately, Faith's greatness comes at the expence of everything else. Other characters's dialogs are either bland or sound like badfic snippets, like "Buffy's narrow ass lives to fight another day".

Vaughan's attempts to spice up Buffy's dialogues end up in some weird choices - "Faith and her droogs", for example. Buffy doesn't strike me as a girl who reads Burgess or watches Kubrick. (Well, she could hear that word from Spike - after all, his chip was a Clockwork Orange rip-off) :)

OTOH, Faith's culturological references sound spot-on ("Conan the librarian" - hee!) while Giles' "maybe I could be the Steed to your Peel" works mainly as an opening to Faith's priceless reply "I hope it's not as gross as it sounds". Have I mentioned that Vaughan loves Faith? I hope Joss will give him the spinoff rights.

Jeanty demonstrates some improvement - his Mayor looks great and Giles has several good panels. Faith is drawn better than in the previous issues, but Jeanty's alternate cover is incredibly ugly! Still there are some inspiring visual decisions in the issue, like Faith-Gigi fight taking place at sunset, with the blood-red sky as a backdrop.

About the story. *le sigh*

The story works great as long as you don't search something deep and significant in it. It's good entertainment, well-paced and provided with a requisite Valuable Moral Lesson. But it's a story of convenient situations, easy choices and artificial conflicts.

I already pointed out at multiple convenient situations in the summary. The ultimale convenience is Vaughan's decision to make Gigi's death accidental. He saves Faith from a hard choice - either kill Gigi or let her go knowing that she may strike again. Obviously, writer is too attached to the character to put her in a no-win situation.

Maybe my problem is measuring up comics by TV show standards. Onscreen Faith (as well as all the other characters) had been constantly put in no-win situations and had to make hard and unpleasant choices. Compared to them this watered down resolution is a shameful cop-out that highlights the very nature of comic-vs-TVshow dichotomy.

There are two types of conflicts between characters in fiction - real and artificial. Real ones are based on characters' different worldviews. Artificial ones are based on misunderstandings. This is the latter kind of conflict, when good guys are angry at each other because of unlucky circumstances. Giles doesn't want to cooperate with Buffy or anybody else in the castle either because he suspects there is a mole there or because he's overprotective. So he chooses Faith. Buffy finds out about his undercover operation in the worst possible situation and snaps at him, demanding the explanation. He can't waste time on explanations when Faith's life is in danger, so he snaps at Buffy, etc.

The problem with artificial conflicts is that they produce artificial resolutions. In the person of Gigi Faith killed her own metaphorical dark side and obsession with Buffy. What has changed? Instead of killing baby vampires she will be mentoring girls who kill baby vampires? I'd rather see her actively fighting.

Spoilery speculations.

1. So, there is a spy in Buffy's inner circle. If I were trying to figure him out using logic and common sense, my prime candidate would be Giles, because during his battle with Roden he acted as a person who knows the Twilight guidebook by heart. But logic and common sense are hardly applicable to BtVS (using logic and common sense I can easily prove that the real Doctor in As You Were is Riley). I'm pretty sure that Core Four are immune. Dear Xander fans, don't sweat and relax - this is a story of convenient situations, easy choices and artificial conflicts. The spy is either inadvertent (for example, New!Initiative managed to hide a bug in Xander's eyepatch) or an extra nobody cares about. Or he hasn't been introduced yet. (Just like the kiss of true love from a character who wasn't there in the room?) :)

2. Is Flying Boots the Big Bad of the season? Joss says he is. Anyway, by now the hierarchy of seasonal villains is already quite complicated to add another one. First we saw Amy and Warren; then we discovered New!Initiative; then we met Roden; now it looks like they are just pawns in Flying Boots's game. His official goal - to get rid of the magic - sounds as a trick to lull military's vigilance. After all, he's able to levitate! Could he be somebody we know? Easily. Military subplot and the promise of Riley return make Adam the best candidate.

3. Curiously, the detail that tortures me the most is the red demon on Faith's t-shirt on the last panels. It looks like the last-minute addition because it's obvious that it wasn't drawed but was copy-pasted from somewhere. The picture of demon doesn't follow the folds of the fabric of the t-shirt. I wonder if it was added to make the panels more vivid or the red demon is a foreshadowing of something sinister happening to Faith?

Bottom line: Interesting albeit not completely successful attempt to bring a bit of Avengers cool to Charlie's Angels universe.

Comments

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"Jeanty demonstrates some improvement - his Mayor looks great and Giles has several good panels. Faith is drawn better than in the previous issues, but Jeanty's alternate cover is incredibly ugly! Still there are some inspiring visual decisions in the issue, like Faith-Gigi fight taking place at sunset, with the blood-red sky as a backdrop."

The artwork irritated me beyond belief I'm afraid. The way Faith was depicted as looking about 12 both with both the Mayor and Giles was frankly, well quite disturbing. And no, I don't think it's meant to represent how she say both these men as farther figures either. That argument may hold water if all the women in this damn comic series weren't also drawn like they're still at kindergarten.

It just looked 'wrong' on so many levels. How can this comic be about 'empowering women' when the artists appear to be too afraid to draw them as what they actually are. Grown up adults. *sigh*

Gigi was a hideous caraciture that I had no feeling for at all, and Giles gets barely anything to do except at the very end.

Compared to whats come before this last arc has been the strongest so far, But lord in my book thats not saying very much.

The only interest I still hold onto in all this is seeing where the whole 'Twilight' thing is heading.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

The only interest I still hold onto in all this is seeing where the whole 'Twilight' thing is heading.

That's what holds my interest too. Story interests me. Characters - not so much.

But, come to think of it, that's my attitude to the majority of TV shows. I watch Lost with interest but I don't care about characters. Obviously, it qualifies me as a casual fan and I'm OK with it. Sometimes I see heated debates about Lost and I steer clear of them.

Only in case of BtVS there is another world I care about - the world of fanfiction, fanart, meta - that keeps me connected with comics.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

But, unfortunately, Faith's greatness comes at the expence of everything else.

The more I think about it, the more I agree with this. And this...

There are two types of conflicts between characters in fiction - real and artificial. Real ones are based on characters' different worldviews. Artificial ones are based on misunderstandings.

...is an excellent summary of why I do.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I read theories about Giles' estranglement as a result of something that happened between him and Buffy during "missing months" but I doubt writers have a hidden Buffy-Giles backstory to reveal it 10 issues later. I think they just decided that Buffy's castle is already overcrowded so Giles has to move away.

[lusciousxander.livejournal.com]

But Gigi, who has already swung her axe, conveniently hits Faith with its helve. She is mad at Faith at lying to her about her name, her goals, but most of all, about her nationality: "You're not even English?"

Is it written as a joke? I'm at loss here.

Faith pretended to be English, don't you remember? I guess Gigi suspected that she wasn't but didn't want to believe it as she's desperate for a friend, when she discovered that Faith was lying to her about her name, she realized that everything about Faith was a lie. It reminds me of Revelation, when Faith desperately wanted to fit in, then she discovered that the gang had a meeting without her, not to mention Buffy hiding a killer like Angel, she got pissed and turned against Buffy.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Yes, I remember, but it's still weird. Gigi thinks Faith is there to spy on her and possibly kill her, yet the ultimate accusation is Faith's "wrong" nationality. It reminds me Spike-Buffy snarkage in season 4, when Spike says something along the lines "and - and your hair is stupid!" as the last argument. But in the latter case it was obvious that writers meant it for laughs.

[elisi]

I love your brain.

There are two types of conflicts between characters in fiction - real and artificial. Real ones are based on characters' different worldviews. Artificial ones are based on misunderstandings.
It strikes me that even General Voll's attitude stems from the latter - not Mr Twilight's himself though. I hope he'll prove an interesting villain, because the story desperately needs it.

ETA: Compared to them this watered down resolution is a shameful cop-out that highlights the very nature of comic-vs-TVshow dichotomy.
Well the tragedy is that it doesn't *have* to be that way. Comics can perfectly well carry a deep and dark story with impossible choices - just like fics and any other medium. (And I sincerely hope and pray that AtF won't shy away from difficult situations.)

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I love your brain.

*blushes*

It strikes me that even General Voll's attitude stems from the latter

Oh, don't make me start on general Voll, who a) could be sent to prison because he killed a human before Buffy's very eyes b) could be easily used as a source of information by mind-reading Willow c) could be invited at a bargaining table...

not Mr Twilight's himself though. I hope he'll prove an interesting villain, because the story desperately needs it.

You know, I may be gloating a bit over Twilight, because I can't imagine how Joss could find anything fresh for him. After all, his previous Big Bads were God (season 5), Real Life (season 6) and Subconscious Darkness (season 7). Where do you go from here?

And I sincerely hope and pray that AtF won't shy away from difficult situations.

I join your prayers.

[kathyh]

The problem with artificial conflicts is that they produce artificial resolutions.

Yes, that's it. I've quite enjoyed the Faith storyline (and I'm not a big Faith fan) but the conflicts between first Faith and Buffy and then Giles and Buffy leading to Faith and Giles riding off into the sunset together had me quite bemused. It seemed to spring from the needs of the plot rather than the needs of the characters and felt quite false.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Yes - the situation with Buffy and Giles reminds me of the misunderstandings in The Yoko Factor. But that misunderstandings had been resolved in the very next week episode, and in comics we'll have to wait... and wait... and wait.

[goodbyebird]

Personally, my favorite out of this arch was #3, where we had actual conflicts and what seemed to me, very real emotions. The highlight of course being Buffy and Faith's confrontation. How they left off was excellent, but then in this issue when Buffy poofs back into the castle and gets Giles on the line, she's all 'Faith and her gang tried to drown me' or whatever. It just backed over the previous issue's ending completely imo. That was the first jarring thing.

The second being the happy sappy ending where Faith learns maybe she should try and help other troubled girls like herself *rolls eyes* I'd think we would have seen this sooner, no? Not to mention it's such a common idea in fics and such... We've still not been treated to anything that explains why Faith was completely on her own again, and if Giles could help her with her legal problems, why hasn't he allready?? I'm sure with all the resources they have at their disposal now they could work something out, not to mention Willow.

Unlike you, I didn't mind Buffy and Giles' snappy tone over the phone. They have been incommunicado so far in season 8, and Buffy even has to borrow Willow's phone to get in touch with him. There's clearly some backstory here. Hopefully, Joss will decide to let us in on it sooner or later.


Compared to them this watered down resolution is a shameful cop-out that highlights the very nature of comic-vs-TVshow dichotomy.
I still think the comics will have more depth to them as we go along. I hope so in any case. Buffy's convorsation with Willow in the previous issue(another highlight) f.exa. had her talking about waging war with humans. This situation reminds me of Marvel's Civil War series, where it's demanded that all superheroes register themselves. Understandably, the gouvernment doesn't want rogue, suped up people rampaging around unchecked. This, to me, seems like the best source for what's to come. Yes, I do love my gray areas ;)

Plus, with all the girls turned into Slayers without any warning or knowledge of what happened either, there's bound to be a lot worse out there than Faith or Gigi. So far I'm not too impressed with the Twilight Dude. Give him some good lines or something, for God's sake!

And on that note, I'll just toss a sharp object at Jeanty's crappy alternate cover, and a prayer that he'll be replaced by the new guy when Jo Chen get's back to her regular gig as cover artist. Amen!

...and now you've set me off! I was swearing I wasn't going to start writing reviewish stuff. *shakes fist*

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I didn't mind Buffy and Giles' snappy tone over the phone.

I don't mind it either. But, with writers interviews revealing that we won't see Giles soon, it looks like they stopped talking for a long time because of a silly misunderstanding.

I suppose it's a plot necessity, a set-up for a future arc, but - could Vaughan handle it more subtly? Could he cut one Faith's flashbacks in favor of Buffy-Giles scenes?

Buffy even has to borrow Willow's phone to get in touch with him

I think she asked Willow because her own phone has been drowned in Gigi's pool.

This situation reminds me of Marvel's Civil War series, where it's demanded that all superheroes register themselves. Understandably, the gouvernment doesn't want rogue, suped up people rampaging around unchecked. This, to me, seems like the best source for what's to come. Yes, I do love my gray areas ;)

I think it's one of the trickiest aspects of the season 8. It's the most magic-fuelled season of the show. If we look at the situation from a RL viewpoint, the most dangerous superbeings are witches and sorcerers, not the slayers.

Anyway, we'll see where Joss will lead us. :)

...and now you've set me off! I was swearing I wasn't going to start writing reviewish stuff

I loved reading your comment. It made me rethink some of my ideas about season 8.

*shakes fist*

*hides under the table* :)

[2maggie2.livejournal.com]

I'm still more hopeful than you that Joss hasn't gone to all the bother of resurrecting the Buffyverse in order to give us a two-dimensional version of it that essentially erases everything that was interesting about the show in the first place. And if the medium requires such a dumbing-down, it makes it hard to understand why Joss has gone out of his way to say that the comics are *canon*. So here are some replies from a more hopeful perspective!

1. The accidental killing of Gigi saves Faith from hard choices. True. But as someone else has observed (Stormwreath?), it also calls back the accidental killing of the deputy mayor that set Faith down her path in the first place. The dynamic in season 3 was really interesting because everyone blurred the line between an accidental death and murderous tendencies in the fateful two episodes culminating in Faith's trip to the mayor. Here Faith understands herself well enough to know that her accidental killing of Gigi does not mean that she herself is a ruthless killer. That means she has more faith in her own judgments than she did in season 3, and I think more trust in others that they won't jump to falsely harsh conclusions about her.

2. The conflict between Buffy and Giles is fueled by misunderstandings. If we get no more story on what's going on, you're right. But I'm really expecting more story. If there is a standing breach between them which is character-driven, that would set the stage for the 'accidental' misunderstandings here. Also, as far as the misunderstandings on Buffy's part -- she always misunderstands in an almost wilful way when it comes to actions she perceives as 'betrayals'. So, again, that would be a character-driven misunderstanding. And I think we are given some clues about the source of the breach: Giles has some idea that Buffy is above things, but that leads him to treat her in ways that isolate her. In season 7 he tries to cut her off from Spike because he wants 'more' for her. Here we see continuations of the thought that heroes like Buffy don't do things like kill Ben. So Giles would place himself on the side of people who aren't good enough for her. If things develop along this way we can see Buffy getting stuck in a pincer-movement. Voll says slayers are too demonic to be trusted by humans. Giles has slayers as too heroic to sully themselves with demons or tainted humans. That would leave the slayers standing alone.

3. But I'm not going to try to defend the easy happy ending for Faith. Too bad -- they set up such a brilliantly angsty spot for her -- but she learns all her lesssons about as quickly as she mastered a convincing British accent, and about as plausibly. Actually, though, I'd use this point to invert your main conclusion. The easy solution for Faith tells us that this really wasn't Faith's story after all. It's Buffy's. Faith is shown as having learned and grown. Faith made the wise decisions. Faith's instincts were spot on. Buffy hasn't grown much. Her instincts are way off. Buffy is the one with more story. Faith has been used for compare and contrast, wtih Buffy looking worse in comparison on every point. Now that she's served that purpose she's moved off-screen until such time as the plot needs Buffy to confront the fact that Faith is now the model slayer capable of making good instinctive judgments on the fly rather than being driven by her own insecurities and fears.

[elisi]

Here Faith understands herself well enough to know that her accidental killing of Gigi does not mean that she herself is a ruthless killer. That means she has more faith in her own judgments than she did in season 3, and I think more trust in others that they won't jump to falsely harsh conclusions about her.
Ah, but this brings up all the problems a lot of people had with the story from the start - Faith's willingness to be a ruthless killer (again). Yes, the eventual death was accidental, but that does not change the fact that she fully intended to kill Gigi when she first arrived, and probably would have if it wasn't for the gargoyle. All the ending does is stop her from dealing with the problem (even though, yes, I can see the coming-full-circle thing, and it's very nice. But it more parallels her fight with Buffy, than her killing of the deputy mayor).

The conflict between Buffy and Giles is fueled by misunderstandings.
Yes... but. He went behind her back once, to kill someone, and we saw how she hated that. And how she was ready to let Spike kill Robin. Buffy has every right to be pissed off - it's the sudden moping *I* can't make fit with anything. If she'd angrily said 'Fine! But we're not done!' and handed him back to Willow, that I could have understood.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

The accidental killing of Gigi saves Faith from hard choices. True. But as someone else has observed (Stormwreath?), it also calls back the accidental killing of the deputy mayor that set Faith down her path in the first place.

Agree. But that's what makes me uneasy with Vaughan's Faith. She is basically season 3 Faith. Everything goes back to season 3. All her actions are defined by her Buffy issues in season 3 and her relationship with Mayor. Either the writer hasn't watched Faith on AtS and BtVS season 7 ot he deliberately ignores her development because it contradicts his own take on Faith.

Voll says slayers are too demonic to be trusted by humans. Giles has slayers as too heroic to sully themselves with demons or tainted humans. That would leave the slayers standing alone.

That's an interesting idea! I have to think about it.

But I'm not going to try to defend the easy happy ending for Faith. Too bad -- they set up such a brilliantly angsty spot for her -- but she learns all her lesssons about as quickly as she mastered a convincing British accent, and about as plausibly. Actually, though, I'd use this point to invert your main conclusion. The easy solution for Faith tells us that this really wasn't Faith's story after all. It's Buffy's. Faith is shown as having learned and grown. Faith made the wise decisions. Faith's instincts were spot on. Buffy hasn't grown much. Her instincts are way off. Buffy is the one with more story. Faith has been used for compare and contrast, wtih Buffy looking worse in comparison on every point. Now that she's served that purpose she's moved off-screen until such time as the plot needs Buffy to confront the fact that Faith is now the model slayer capable of making good instinctive judgments on the fly rather than being driven by her own insecurities and fears.

Agree - but I suppose it wasn't Vaughan's intention. He's just a big fan of Faith. So big that he balanced dangerously on the brink of turning her into a Mary-Sue. Thankfully, he doesn't overstep, but comes very close, IMHO.

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

The story works great as long as you don't search something deep and significant in it.
I think you can find as much as you look for. If I remember your review of the first issue correctly you’d already determined to see the comics as a S1 style romp so kudos for consistency. However you’ve commented on posts (by myself and stormwreath) which do see greater depths to the series without contesting those points.

He saves Faith from a hard choice - either kill Gigi or let her go knowing that she may strike again.
Or play social worker to her:-)

Not all stories about the same stylized moral dilemmas, which are arguable better addressed by philosophers than creative artists. Is The Gift a bad story because Buffy escapes the ‘hard‘ choice she made in Becoming? Is Chosen a cop out because she doesn’t have to kill Spike? Or more to the point is Selfless being too easy on Anya by letting her live? The hard choice she has to make between her life and those of the frat boys’ supplies an all too predictable moral lesson, what makes it a great story rather than a simply competent one comes in the coda and it’s not about any ethical dilemma but about a moment of self-understanding that leads to her rejecting Xander’s completely sincere offer.

I think this is another story more about psychology and character than abstract philosophical notions. I don’t read Faith as killing her metaphorical dark side in Gigi, but as being being shown a funhouse mirror of the girl she used to be and the temptations she succumbed to from father figure to existential pride. Gigi’s death isn’t cathartic so much as a second chance, a chance for Faith to make different choices and find that she has changed. It’s less of a metaphorical shorthand but it recalls Spike’s being finally able to feel his soul.


Real ones are based on characters' different worldviews.

Buffy and Giles do have long established different views on whether the means justify the end. When Giles tells Buffy he doesn’t want her to be any part of what he and Faith are doing why do you think she lets the issue go telling Willow to help him? Since she clearly believes that Faith was working undercover with him and also knew Gigi’s intentions it seems most likely that she stops asking what’s going on because she’s figured it out. What Giles didn’t want her to have any part of was stopping Gigi, becoming the killer of another Slayer. It’s also more complicated than their argument about Spike because even if Buffy were to accept the necessity of lethal force against Gigi her current position as the heroic figurehead to 500 girls (the key link in The Chain) means that she can’t be seen to be involved. So I don’t think it’s a misunderstanding keeping them apart but an all too clear understanding.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

If I remember your review of the first issue correctly you’d already determined to see the comics as a S1 style romp so kudos for consistency.

Yes, I'm trying to stay optimistic by not raising my expectations too high.

However you’ve commented on posts (by myself and stormwreath) which do see greater depths to the series without contesting those points.

I saw enormous potential when I read issue 5. The only issue that made me cry. The only issue that really is on a par with the finest TV episodes, IMHO. Funnily, the majority of fans dimissed it as mediocre. :shrugs:

Or play social worker to her:-)

Good point. :-) - But not in Jossverse. Heroic sci-fi epic is hardly a genre for stories about social work.

I agree that Faith's arc ends as a story about psychology and character. But it ends as social drama while in the beginning there was strong tragic potential in the arc. I hoped for a bigger-scale conflict and more heartwrenching resolution.

So I don’t think it’s a misunderstanding keeping them apart but an all too clear understanding.

Interesting interpretation. I hope Buffy-Giles conflict will be addressed in the next issue. Because, frankly, what I see on the page doesn't convince me that Buffy understands the situation as you describe it. I only see her hurt and feeling betrayed. Maybe SMG could play a wide range of emotions here, but a drawing can't convey it.

[tessarin.livejournal.com]

'The problem with artificial conflicts is that they produce artificial resolutions.'

Great comment. I agree with virtually all of this. My problem with the Faith arc was the starting point and the fact that whilst she was still Faith she was more a hybrid S3/S4 Faith with none of the Angel influence and entirely missing the slightly quieter standoffish Faith of S7 and as Beer good has said its A-F back to B.

This as well.

'The story works great as long as you don't search something deep and significant in it. It's good entertainment, well-paced and provided with a requisite Valuable Moral Lesson. But it's a story of convenient situations, easy choices and artificial conflicts.'

I wasn't expecting the same depth but any depth that could be explained without constant retcons and fanwanking would have been good. At the moment it's very 2d . 'Giant Dawn' anyone!

My other main problem was that it was a Buffy mirror story again using Gigi as a mirror to Faith so a non-subtle retelling of her S3-S7 arc. I was hoping for something new.

Plus the habit of dropped balls doesn't fill me with confidence to explaining the Buffy & Giles situation.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

My problem with the Faith arc was the starting point and the fact that whilst she was still Faith she was more a hybrid S3/S4 Faith with none of the Angel influence and entirely missing the slightly quieter standoffish Faith of S7 and as Beer good has said its A-F back to B.

Sometimes I wonder if it's inevitable after-effect of crossing over to another medium or another show. When Willow crossed over to Angel in Orpheus she has basically turned into a season 3 Willow. When Spike has crossed over to Angel in season 5 he has turned into a season 4 Spike. When all Scoobies crossed over to comics they had turned into their high school selves - visually and internally. And while I don't mind Xander getting a six-pack and Buffy getting her season 1 boobs back, their behavior is often annoying. So far, Faith has got the best arc, but hoped for more.

Plus the habit of dropped balls doesn't fill me with confidence to explaining the Buffy & Giles situation.

Yes - I tried to explain his behavior by his knowledge of the existence of the mole, then realised that it's a useless fanwank. :)

[mrs-underhill.livejournal.com]

Ookay. :)
a reviewer may easily turn into a whiner who complains about the lack of Shakespearean depth in a Shreck movie.
This one is unwarranted for two reasons. 1) We absolutely can expect Shakespearean depth in Joss, who is, on top of all else, a Shakespearean geek and used a lot of Shakespearean themes and even names in his works. Not a stretch to expect this depth in a different media, which brings us to 2): cartoons can not only have Shakespearean depth but also deal with Shakespearean themes. "Lion King" was a brilliant take on "Hamlet", for example (and its sequel was not so brilliant take on Romeo and Juliette, but hey, they tried).
This comic doesn't deliver yet. But who knows - it's a long story.

But this one:
Faith's greatness comes at the expence of everything else.
I can only say "amen" to that. And I was the one who didn't care for her on the show but came to appreciate her character in this arc. Her development was great, and I can't see how she can be considered the same as in Season 3 - she was a different person in Season 3, her morals were asleep, her soul non-functioning, she was driven only by her desires and passions. Season-3!Faith is Gigi in this book. And we *can* tell a difference btw Faith and Gigi, nes pa?
Faith journey in this arc makes perfect sense - but at expence of everything else, I agree. We can wank that it took her so long to realize she could help other slayers because she was tied up with Robin and then with break-up with Robin. She doesn't want to do dirty jobs anymore. I think she'll still fight vampires to save people, if needed - or when teaming up with "bad" slayers. She's tired, psychically unstable and "over the hill". She doesn't want to use her dark side to fight, as it's too much on her. Remember Spike in Get It Done? A bit of analogy here. Spike got over it, over hiding from his dark side, because it was absolutely necessary to the fight. And Spike is Spike: he bounces back, he's a survivor, so he could keep it together even after that, after letting his demon back. Faith is more damaged and more human. I'm happy for her to have a break, and not to be alone in the end. Giles is slightly better than Wood for her - even though those issues with hiding the info and manipulating behind people's backs were left unaddressed.
As for conflicts with Giles and with Buffy being artificial - also completely agree. They may be addressed later - or may be not. There's nothing to discuss until they are addressed.
Also want to point out that Faith-Mayor was paralleled with Faith-Giles and not just with Faith-Roden. "The guy who put me in a dress", the guy who sends her for jobs to "spill blood of the innocents" - it's Giles too. Giles role in her arc ended to be pretty simple, much less than I hoped. It was all about who matters to Giles more - Buffy or Faith, and can Faith matter more to him than Buffy. And also whether he cares for her or not - so he comes through to help her in the end and that's the closure for that concern. But the issues of manipulating, trust, withholding the truth? So Buffy and Faith shouldn't worry their pretty little heads with that Twilight stuff, Giles would know better? That part left me very unsatisfied.
On "you aren't even English". Gigi was shown to be obsessed with aristocracy, bloodlines, royalty etc. Not being English is even worse for her than not being an aristocrat, worse than being an English commoner. It's a step below that in her eyes - being a "colonial". So it's not a funny line on her part: in her eyes it's uncovering the depth of betrayal. Also Faith reaction "ouch. it hurts" when being called a New-Yorker: that one was played for laughs. As there's a long-standing rivalry between Boston and New York, in everything, especially in baseball. (heh, and Joss was wearing Boston "Red Sox" cap on Mutant Enemies day! Looks like he's serious about coming to Boston. :)).
On Twilight guy. I hope, hope, hope it's not Skinless Warren in a suit! It probably cannot be, as floaty boots appear in the end of #1, and Warren has just been unearthed. But maybe he was put into a suit a teleported there? Oh please let it not be Skinless Warren!

[elisi]

Season-3!Faith is Gigi in this book. And we *can* tell a difference btw Faith and Gigi, nes pa?
Yes. But... 'No Future For You' would have made more sense character-wise if it had started with Giles springing Faith from jail. Then the Faith/Buffy scenes would have made sense. (The Buffy/Giles stuff would still leave me all wtf?, but everyone keeps telling me that the changes in Buffy will be explained.)

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that Giles and Buffy's disagreement is entirely character driven... assuming there's no backstory we've yet to be told. He thinks that Buffy is pure and heroic but also naive and unwilling to make the hard decisions. So he makes them for her.

"And sooner or later, Glory will re-emerge and make Buffy pay for that mercy, and the world with her. Buffy even knows that, and still she wouldn't take a human life. Because she's a hero, you see. She's not like us."

"Takes more than rousing speeches to lead, Buffy. If you're going to be a general, you need to make the proper decisions, regardless of cost."

"I understand your anger... but please believe me when I tell you we did what we did for the good of all -- "
"He's alive, Giles. Spike's alive. Wood failed."
"... That changes nothing. What I said to you before is still true. You need to learn -- "
"No. I think you've taught me everything I need to know."

Buffy, meanwhile, is trying to grow into her new responsibilities, and feeling the strain - but her sense of duty would never let her set them aside. She's responsible for the new Slayers.... yes, even for Gigi. But Giles won't let her grow up.

Trivia:

I know that a metallic blade can't go into a stone
But you don't have Slayer strength, and you aren't as outright furious as Gigi is right now. True, the axe might break rather than cut the stone - but they use metal blades to cut stone in quarries, don't they? Besides, the axe might be enchanted.

Buffy doesn't strike me as a girl who reads Burgess or watches Kubrick.
When she told Tara she'd watched the Disney film of 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' instead of reading the actual novel Tara believed her, but she was joking then... and she was the only one to know about William S Burroughs' life story too. I think Buffy is rather more erudite than a lot of people give her credit for... the dumb blonde routine is an act she puts on sometimes.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Buffy, meanwhile, is trying to grow into her new responsibilities, and feeling the strain - but her sense of duty would never let her set them aside. She's responsible for the new Slayers.... yes, even for Gigi. But Giles won't let her grow up.

OK, but could two responsible adults just meet and talk?
As I said in another comment, it's hard to argue because we don't know if Giles and Buffy work in the same organization and who is the boss. If Giles is Buffy's subordinate and he organized an undercover operation behind her back - that's betrayal. If he's the boss, he doesn't have to report to her about his operations. And if he works solo or in a small reformed Council (Giles as CEO, Trafalgar as his deputy and some witch as coven liaison) then it's just bad planning.

Besides, the axe might be enchanted.

... or the statue! ;)

I think Buffy is rather more erudite than a lot of people give her credit for... the dumb blonde routine is an act she puts on sometimes.

Hopefully we'll see her drop her act soon. To be fair, Buffy's erudition has always been depending on the writer's tastes. Sometimes she talked about "motherships" and even mentioned secondary Star Trek characters...

[shapinglight]

You know, I totally missed the axe in stone thing - and Stormwreath's comment above notwithstanding, that's a very grave error. Not everything should have to be fanwanked.

Great review, Moscow. I agree with it 100%. Also, it strikes me as very sad that anyone should not like Faith in the show and only come to like her in this comic, seeing as Faith in the comic is two-dimensional in every sense of the word compared to Faith, as played by Eliza Dushku, in the show.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

You know, I totally missed the axe in stone thing - and Stormwreath's comment above notwithstanding, that's a very grave error.

I couldn't imagine that my camping and kayaking experience could help me in comics analysis! :)

Also, it strikes me as very sad that anyone should not like Faith in the show and only come to like her in this comic, seeing as Faith in the comic is two-dimensional in every sense of the word compared to Faith, as played by Eliza Dushku, in the show.

I totally adore Faith in the show. She's such a fascinating character, she could easily eclipse Buffy given a bit more screentime. I'm a diehard Spuffy but a single Spike-Faith scene in Dirty Girls almost turned me into a Spaith shipper.
Still can't make myself really care about her in comics.

[ntshpp.livejournal.com]

Хороший обзор.

Мне в этом выпуске не понравилось почти всё. Перегруженность боевыми сценами, смерть Жени и Родена, уродливые рисунки Джанти, концовка истории Фейт и очередной, типично комиксовый, «злодей в маске и плаще». Мне уже совершенно безразлично кто такой этот Закат и кто предатель (вероятно Эндрю).

И от следующего выпуска я не жду ничего хорошего. Шизофреничка победительница конкурса и возможное камео Тары – блюэээ!

Чувствую, в арке о Японии такого нагородят об этой стране, что бормотание Жижи покажется детским лепетом.
Только бы не переносили действие в Россию! Демонов с балалайками, называющих друг друга «tovarisch» я не перенесу.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Только бы не переносили действие в Россию! Демонов с балалайками, называющих друг друга «tovarisch» я не перенесу.

Зато сколько стеба может породить подобный поворот сюжета! :)

Если серьезно, я не жду ничего выдающегося, поэтому, скорее всего, не особенно сильно разочаруюсь.

While I'm not the most critical...

[blackie-da-minx.livejournal.com]

I WILL say that if this storyline is conveinant the same could be said for the end of Grad Day with Faith NOT dying to salvage Buffy's character every bit as much as GiGi dying on accident to salvage Faith's. It's as griddy as it's gonna get and I enjoyed it whole-heartedly as is...besides....Faith killing someone on accident leads her back to where she started on her journey and lets her make the *right* choice, that killing humans ain't her MO,full circle, and she no longer wants place as hired gun....continues what was shown on Angel. The whole saving lives and not putting bad dogs outta their misery.

Further reading, my feelings on the whole Giles-Buffy dynamic, can be read here:

http://www.smgboard.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21236&pid=465591&st=225&#entry465591

*waves*

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Hey, Alex, I'm so glad to see you posting here! BTW, I thought about you and our discussions on SMGfan today when I was agruing about Faith and Buffy in season 3 up this thread.

the end of Grad Day with Faith NOT dying to salvage Buffy's character every bit as much as GiGi dying on accident to salvage Faith's.

Interesting parallel. I have to think about it.

I'm torn about Faith-Giles tandem. One part of my brain wants to see them in a full-fledged spinoff, working a-la-Avengers. The other part wants to see more Buffy-Faith interaction. There was criminally little Buffy-Faith interaction in No Future For You.

[(Anonymous)]

The story works great as long as you don't search something deep and significant in it. It's good entertainment, well-paced and provided with a requisite Valuable Moral Lesson. But it's a story of convenient situations, easy choices and artificial conflicts.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts about the issue. Though, due to the fighting scenes, it felt a bit slow paced to me.