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moscow_watcherSummary:
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.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-09 11:18 pm (UTC)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...(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-09 11:33 pm (UTC)Actually, I wonder if writers will forget about the book by the next issue. I'm almost sure they will.
And fans will argue if Giles has hidden a valuable exhibit from Buffy and whether it means he's a traitor.
My biggest problem with season 8 is that I can't figure out the level of suspension-of-disbelief I should apply to the events.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-09 11:53 pm (UTC)Good point. But I've got the impression that season 8 is closer to season 1 than to season 6 in spirit.
You mean you wanted her to kill Gigi or let her go?
I wanted a situation on a par with Bad Girls. Ambiguous (in BG it's left unclear if Faith has actually saved Buffy by killing Mayor's deputy), grey and tragic. With Buffy, Faith and Gigi there Vaughan had a lot of possibilities.
I don't intepret what went before as betrayal.
I'm copy-pasting from my reply to Stormwreath down the thread:
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.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 12:33 am (UTC)Agree. But, so far I saw real depth only in issue 5. Or maybe I fanwanked it because nobody else perceived The Chain the way I perceived it.
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.
Giles' motivations are still unclear to me. I don't discount the possibility of him suspecting the mole in Buffy's ranks and acting this way to quell the mole's vigilance.
But the most probable explanation is banal plot necessity. :( I'm afraid writers just don't dig as deep as fans.
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".
I think you're right. I also think Vaughan went too far with Gigi. All fans from Great Britain think she's a caricature and I agree.
and Joss was wearing Boston "Red Sox" cap on Mutant Enemies day! Looks like he's serious about coming to Boston. :)).
Oh, I didn't know that! Damn interesting! :)
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?
If memory serves me right, Floaty Boots appears in the first scene of issue 1 - he watches the attack of Buffy's squad from above. And Warren is unearthed in the end of the issue 1. So it's not Warren. Hopefully.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 12:50 am (UTC)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.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 01:22 am (UTC)Because the focus here was on her, and also because we had a month to ruminate on each issue. While with my DVDs I'd rather rewatch, I dunno, FFL rather than Faith episode. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 04:47 am (UTC)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.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 06:36 am (UTC)I believe he left early S6 to accomplish that precise goal - not to mention leaving everything in her hands in S7. Strikes me as a little late to try to 'protect his little girl' from the hard choices out there.
(Although as Moscow says, it does depend on where they stand within their organisation. However in cases like this before she tends to get mad and close the door in his face. Just sayin'.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 06:43 am (UTC)I know why you used 'betrayal' I was just pointing out that what you were critiquing was moscow's interpretation of the text not the text itself.
Angel: "And you can't possibly know what she's going through."
Buffy: "And of course, you do? - I'm sorry. I can't be in your club. I never murdered anybody."
After which Buffy could only appear more like a twelve year old by adding nah, nah, nah,nah, nah to the end of her line. Whereas in the comic as soon as she figures out what Giles has been up to with Faith she hands him over to Willow with instructions to do what she can. You can read her (literally) black mood afterwards however you want but as stormwreath and I have both tried to point out there are perfectly adult justifications for it.
Well if you're proposing that she's in love with Gigi
That's a very Gilesian interpretation of why she wouldn't kill Spike. That she was a woman blinded by her emo to the risks he presented. (And she said she would let Dawn die not kill her.)
She'd certainly agree that taking out Gigi would be necessary if it'd stop an apocalypse.
Would she? Or would she question the need to kill Gigi rather than at least attempt to reform her as you and others vehemently insisted Faith should have done?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 07:01 am (UTC)Based on what other than your original determination that it should be so?
in BG it's left unclear if Faith has actually saved Buffy by killing Mayor's deputy
That's a slightly radical interpretation of the text. Saved Buffy from what? The drama comes from Faith having accidently killed an innocent bystander and her refusal to face any consequences for that or admit that anything of any significance had happened.
I think the tragedy of Gigi's death is similar to that of Cassie in HelpBecause, 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.
So now we agree about the betrayal aspect being completely uncertain?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 07:53 am (UTC)And here he is, 18 months later, and he *still* hasn't got the point? Maybe he's senile. Or - maybe that's why she looks so stricken! He's got Altzheimers! They had similar conversations 5 times before, but he can't remember it - and she knows there's no point arguing, because he thinks she's 16!
The same episode also has Faith saying "you and I can never get along" and Buffy accepting that without argument
*throws hands up in frustration*
That scene is - like every other scene in that episode - a long, extended period of two characters giving and receiving support, re-building old bonds. It reminds me most of all of Spike & Angel: We might not like each other all that much, but we *understand* each other/we're not alone. And that is - literally - priceless. Buffy has struggled *all* season with being the sole person in charge, and we saw how it weighed on her. Now - thanks to 'Empty Places'/Touched - Faith has gone through exactly the same thing (right down to getting some Potentials killed). And - Faith lets Buffy know that she 'gets it', and Buffy lets Faith know that feeling crappy and guilty is just normal. It's how she feels all the time.
And as for 'accepting it without argument', then Buffy's reply is: "Also, you went evil and were killing people." Ergo, since Faith is no longer evil and killing people (and in fact is now the only person who understands her), Buffy is saying that they have a chance for getting along.
I *love* this scene:
BUFFY: But you're right. I mean, I... I guess everyone's alone. But being a slayer? There's a burden we can't share.
FAITH: And no one else can feel it. (beat) Thank God we're hot chicks with superpowers.
(Oh and if you point to 'there's a burden we can't share' to prove your point, then I'm going to have your head examined, OK? There 'Cause next you'll be taking 'I signalled her with my eyes' literally.)
Giles is undermining her, demonstrating lack of trust in her. No wonder she feels betrayed.
You know, I'm just going to blame Jeanty. It's either that or accepting that this girl ain't Buffy. At least not a Buffy I care to know or read about. (It happens all the time in fic. Sometimes I even rant - last time that happened I broke almost every Spuffy shippers' heart on my flist. *sigh*)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 10:13 am (UTC)Buffy has home, family, friends whereas Faith has nothing, and yet it's Buffy we're supposed to side with. I find that a bit hard to stomach.
Season 3 does have some of the best standalones, though.
I prefer Faith in AtS.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 10:16 am (UTC)Unfortunately, that extends to all of them as far as I'm concerned. I don't think I'd be that bothered if Joss killed them all in the next issue.
I've already shrugged off the death of Ethan. If it had happened on the show, I would've been very upset. Since it happened in the comic, my reaction is to shrug and think, It's only a comic.
Wonder if I'll be able to do the same if Lynch does something I hate with Spike? That'd be a real test of my resolve not to regard the comics as canon.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 10:41 am (UTC)I don't think so. The whole point of Roden for me was for the gang to get the book, attempting to kill Buffy was just the way to get Roden and his book to exist. And just because the book may not show in the second issue - considering that it will center on Buffy, Willow, Xander and Dawn - it doesn't mean that the writers forgot about it. It means it's not time for it yet.
I have faith that this will not be a second S7 where plots get forgotten and pushed away.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 11:18 am (UTC)Sorry. I actually don't have a problem with Buffy feeling betrayed - that's perfectly natural. It's her *reaction* to this that rings false. A betrayed Buffy gets *angry*. Sure you can fanwank it any way you like, but she looks devastated, like Giles was being really, really mean and now she just wants to go off and have a good cry. As others have said, maybe Jeanty misunderstood what he was supposed to draw. *shrugs*
That's a very Gilesian interpretation of why she wouldn't kill Spike. That she was a woman blinded by her emo to the risks he presented.
Well the reason I *like* the situation, is because it isn't as simple as Giles sees it. Yes Buffy is probably in part blinded by her emotions. But Spike is also someone she's trying to save ("I believe in you, Spike"), someone she feels guilty for using, someone who is a great fighter (the best beside her) and (de-triggered) could invaluable*, and someone she trusts and cares about - the same she does her other friends. What about Willow f.ex? Who 'can't even do a locator spell without getting black roots'. Willow gone wrong could do far, far more damage than Spike, and yet there's no conspiracies against her (remember 'The Killer in Me'? Willow was unstable, and couldn't control her magic). She could have wiped out the Potentials with a flick of her wrist. Can you imagine what would have happened if Giles had tried to have *her* killed?
Would she? Or would she question the need to kill Gigi rather than at least attempt to reform her as you and others vehemently insisted Faith should have done?
Well we don't know, but judging from s8 so far, Buffy would have less qualms than f.ex. Willow. "All's fair" as Dawn says... s8 Buffy is a tough cookie. Or so I thought.
Honestly I can't make heads or tails of anything. Maybe BKV just doesn't know Buffy very well.
*And it turns out she is right: Save the vampire with a soul, save the world. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 12:02 pm (UTC)So when you asked if I were proposing that Buffy were in love with Gigi you meant to ask whether I were proposng that Giles believed Buffy to be in love with Gigi? Meaning that Giles should think Buffy would allow him to arrange Gigi's assasination because he believes she's still a little girl who would only have qualms if such an order had someone she had personal feelings for as its target? But I thought you were primarily arguing that Giles knew and respected Buffy better now and that was why it was out of character for the comics to have him keep her out of the loop.
Alternatively Giles does now respect that Buffy's big picture view of not beating evil by doing evil (or killing off potential allies) is based on more than emotional entanglements and concludes that finding him arranging Slayer assasinations without trial will provoke a similar reaction to the one he got when he setting up Spike's summary execution. But Giles does believe in the power of Buffy's name and in the message about the 'chain' of sisterhood and thinks it vital to protect that and not to draw her into his behind the scenes wetworks. He never assented to her crack about the lack of communication being such a bad thing.
I don't know what Buffy is thinking anymore than I knew what miss psycho pep squad really felt about the constant clomping of teenage girly feet in Potential so I look forward to the next issue with great anticipation. But it strikes me that another reason for Buffy's black mood after hearing Giles's refusal to involve her is that she now realises how badly she misjudged Faith and feels guilty about that.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 12:23 pm (UTC)They look like season 1 characters. They act like season 1 characters. Crucial plot points, like the kiss of true love, are borrowed from fairy tales.
That's a slightly radical interpretation of the text. Saved Buffy from what?
From death, apparently. Buffy herself perceived Finch's gesture as an attack and Faith followed her lead.
Writers never explained why Allan Finch has rushed at Buffy in a vampire-infested alley. But it was previously established that he worked for the seasonal Big Bad, knew that his boss is evil, worked for him at least a year eliminating threats to mayor' life. In his previous scene Finch has got a harsh telling-off from the mayor about the lousy security. Now, his actions look like an attack: he hides in the dark then suddenly grabs Buffy's shoulder. Possibly he was planning a trap for her. Of course, it's also possible that he wanted to switch sides and become her ally. Or he wanted to offer Slayers work as mayor's bodyguards. But in any case Allan Finch was working for a bad guy and his behavior looked suspicious and threatening. When Faith staked him she honestly believed that she's saving Buffy. And maybe she did.
So now we agree about the betrayal aspect being completely uncertain?
Of course. It's just my personal perception of what I see on the page.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 12:27 pm (UTC)Umm... it was supposed to be a joke.
I just find Giles to be an enigma. I wish we'd get inside his head, 'cause I can't. (And that's v. unusual - getting inside character's heads is what I love doing. Without that insight, what's the point?)
I look forward to the next issue with great anticipation
Me too. I'm just not raising my hopes very far.
But it strikes me that another reason for Buffy's black mood after hearing Giles's refusal to involve her is that she now realises how badly she misjudged Faith and feels guilty about that.
Well that's a neat idea. I don't think that's it, but it'd be nice.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 01:39 pm (UTC)I'm not going to argue the finer points of the art, it's a non-photo-realist style. But neither hair nor clothes are anything even approaching their S1 styles.
They act like season 1 characters.
In what way? The only resemblance I can see is the friendship between Buffy, Willow and Xander but that was there at the end of S7 and Giles's role is completely different.
Crucial plot points, like the kiss of true love, are borrowed from fairy tales.
The kiss of true love was a minor distraction not a crucial plot point but there are more varieties of magical creature around. However, S1 involved no more fairy tale elements than the later seasons so rather than a regression I see it as a sign of broadened horizons, they've left the suburbs behind and the wider world is a strange place.
Writers never explained why Allan Finch has rushed at Buffy in a vampire-infested alley.
In Conseqences the Mayor implies Finch was intending to betray him while shredding the paper trail he's accumulated and Buffy voices similar suspiscions.
he hides in the dark then suddenly grabs Buffy's shoulder.
Actually she grabbed him. Faith and her were in the middle of a battle with the Illuminati and just before Finch turned up their tactics were for one to pull out a vamp and the the other to stake him.
When Faith staked him she honestly believed that she's saving Buffy.
As soon as Buffy saw Finch was human she yelled at Faith to stop and as soon as Faith saw that her victim wasn't a vamp she went into shock there was never any indication in the way the scene was shot and acted that Finch was anything other than a hapless victim. Faith never tried to justify what she'd done as self-defence and Doug Petrie's commentary is very clear that the scene is a turning point because they'd killed an innocent human and thus committed murder (albeit accidently).
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 01:39 pm (UTC)Зато сколько стеба может породить подобный поворот сюжета! :)
Если серьезно, я не жду ничего выдающегося, поэтому, скорее всего, не особенно сильно разочаруюсь.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 04:03 pm (UTC)You hit on one of my big ambivalences about how to understand the show. Yes, it seems we are to side with Buffy. Yet at the same time, the show observes details that make that seem too easy. Buffy leads with sibling rivalry issues and wants Faith pushed to the side. Buffy's real ire at Faith is only aroused when she suspects Faith is encroaching on Angel. And Buffy makes the deliberate choice to try to kill Faith. None of this presents her as shiny white in contrast to Faith's pitch black. Rather, it looks like a portrait of how a family dynamic conspires to create a black sheep. And then in AtS 1, Buffy really is presented as petty and vindictive -- which underscores that the foundation of Buffy/Faith really is this sibling rivalry thing. "Faith wins again." It's an ugly element to Buffy's personality, and we only know about it because the writers showed it to us. So are we really supposed to side with Buffy? Did they not realize they'd presented a more complicated dynamic? Or are they playing off our instinct to side with the 'hero' by giving us a text where if we pay attention we realize that it's not so simple as it seems? I tend to think its the latter. And then my real frustration is with the sections of fandom which just totally miss the undercurrents and stick with the surface "hero is always right" mentality that the show means to subtly undermine.
BTW, notice that in this last issue, we are again reminded that for Buffy its the sibling rivalry thing that is paramount. She's not mad at Giles for going behind her back. She's mad that it's *HER*.
Re your other post today: congrats on the new bed! And a new mattress next year? Life is good.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 04:28 pm (UTC)Hmm, for me it was the other way around. I couldn't muster any interest in Faith because I felt we were supposed to sympathise with her somewhat to the end, but I just couldn't summon any sympathy to that extremely nasty psychotic bitca who only bit the hand offered to her countless times. I really couldn't side with Faith POV since she started killing, raping and torturing people, and since so much patience and kindness and effort was poured on her by Buffy, Angel, Giles etc. to pull her from the brink, to no avail. She betrayed them all, and I can't get very upset about Buffy stabbing Faith when Faith was going to horribly torture Buffy and sadistically kill her just a couple episodes before that. I got upset on Buffy's behalf, that she was driven into this. But by golly I was ready to say goodbye to Faith by that time.
She won me over on AtS, when she started repenting. But on BtvS I just didn't see what all the fuss was all about. Maybe I'll rewatch seson 3 with the new eyes now, paying more attention to Faith.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 05:57 pm (UTC)F.ex., Buffy stops talking with Giles because he has sided with Faith. When I look at the situation "from the outside" I realise that it must be a plot necessity for the next story. But - could writers handle it more subtly? Both Buffy and Giles act like 12 years old.
In Consequences the Mayor implies Finch was intending to betray him while shredding the paper trail he's accumulated and Buffy voices similar suspiscions.
Yes, it's one of the possibilities. But it was never made clear and I suppose writers intentionally made it that way. It was very easy to avoid the ambiguity and make the message clear: by providing dying Finch with a line: "Buffy... I have to... warn... you... the mayor is..." or something like that.
Actually she grabbed him. Faith and her were in the middle of a battle with the Illuminati and just before Finch turned up their tactics were for one to pull out a vamp and the the other to stake him.
Um, no. They were walking down the alley, Finch was hiding in the shadows. He grabbed Buffy first. She perceived his action as an attack, threw him against the wall and the next moment Faith staked him.
there was never any indication in the way the scene was shot and acted that Finch was anything other than a hapless victim.
I suppose it's subjective. I see a lot of indications: Finch waiting for Buffy in a suspicious place, hiding, suddenly and unexpectedly grabbing her... I suppose that was Joss' goal - to create a complex psychological situation without obvious heroes and villains.
There are interesting comments on that issue by 2maggie2 and shapinglight down the thread. (http://moscow-watcher.livejournal.com/54172.html?thread=360348#t360348)
Faith never tried to justify what she'd done as self-defence
Because it wasn't self-defence. Faith thought she was defending Buffy. Or, rather, helping her.
Doug Petrie's commentary is very clear that the scene is a turning point because they'd killed an innocent human and thus committed murder (albeit accidently).
I have to re-listen the commentaries. If Petrie insists that Major's deputy is innocent why didn't he made it clear onscreen? And why did he choose a Big Bad's minion as an innocent victim? Why didn't he use a random homeless man?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 06:15 pm (UTC)I'm not sure we are supposed to side with Buffy.
I remember that in season 3 I liked Faith more than Buffy. And I wasn't participating in online fandom back then; it was just my feeling that Faith is more compelling as a person and her story is more interesting. Later when I joined the fandom, I was amazed to discover that Faith has a big and loyal following.
I think Joss could easily make Faith unsympathetic to make everybody side with Buffy. But he chose a very attractive actress and provided the character with the backgound that made the audience sympathize with her.
I think that Joss' intention was to make us root for both slayers.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-12-10 06:24 pm (UTC)I'm sure they meant us to think about it. I'm also sure they didn't mean us to just cast aside our feelings of sympathy for Faith. However, I suspect they also enjoyed pulling the rug out from underneath the audience, along the lines of, This girl has had a really hard time and everyone's being nasty to her. Oh, turns out she's an evil, homicidal bitch. It's a little like building up all that sympathy for Spike in Entropy only to knock it down again in SR.
But no, I don't think they meant us to think that because Faith turned out to be a homicidal bitch, Buffy was necessarily always right. So I share your frustration with people who refuse to see anything the hero/heroine (for which read Buffy and Angel, because I know who you're talking about) as anything but good and heroic etc.
The bed is great - though it'll be even better with the new mattress.
Also, sorry to be on a bit of a downer about the comic again. I thought about it too much over the weekend and ended up feeling quite grumpy.