Buffy issue 10 summary and analysis (spoilers)

[moscow_watcher]

Summary:

Buffy and Willow fly to a Sephrillian demon to ask him for help. Willow levitates in the air, Buffy clings to her. To distract herself from her fear of flying, Buffy fantasizes about Daniel Craig and Willow fantasizes about Tina Fey.

The lair of the demon has a Tardis-like effect: it looks like a small dilapidated house on the outside and like an enormous cave with a staircase on the inside. It's an unstable reality where "time and logic and everything's just bendy in the brain".

The lair is guarded by a "minder" Robin (guest star Robin Balzer who won her role in a letter contest). She says to the girls cryptic words "the important thing is that you rescue the prince" and the girls enter the lair.

Once there, Willow says other cryptic words "ah, l'esprit d'escolier". In French "l'esprit" means spirit and "escolier" is a weird hydrid of the words "ecolier" - "pupil" and "escalier" - "staircase". (I wonder if it's a clue to some future plot twist or just a misspelling). They follow the route, Buffy fantasizes about two Christian Bales at once, then asks Willow about Kennedy - and then a Sephrillian demon appears. It looks like a sand worm from Dune, with a square board attached to his tail. The board features pictures of what look like masks of Greek theater.

Demon informs them that The Twilight's goal is to terminate all demons and all magic. He also tells them they can't accept "the horrible beauty of total awareness" and shows them... ta-dam! Buffy and her slayer squad robbing the Swiss bank... ta-dam! Willow cheating on Kennedy with a half-woman, half-snake. Interestingly, Buffy tries to lie to Willow even when they see the robbery in progress, but Willow quickly realises: "so the mysterious benefactor bankrolling the slayer army..." Buffy tries to justify her actions "It's all insured! It's a victimless crime! And we totally found a Watto the Nazis hid and sent it to the Tate".

In the next scene Willow asks Robin the minder "Has this happened yet?" (?)

Robin shows them Buffy - cut, bleeding, crying - and tells about "betrayal. The closest, the most unexpected".

Willow tells Buffy that she is already betraying her by not letting Kennedy participate in the Slayer program. She is afraid that she'll die like Tara.

The Sephrillian demon speechifies about the upcoming war and weak humans. Buffy, angry, kills him. The place becomes unstable, the girls get thrown out of the lair, and it blows up. Buffy and Willow go away in a bad mood.

In a parallel story Dawn tells Xander that she hasn't slept with Kenny - she has slept with his roommate Nick.

Analysis:

I like Cliff Richards art. A lot. Finally the characters look like young adults, not like children.

I'm saying that because I desperately want to sound positive. I'm afraid I can't - but I don't want to whine and complain. I remember back in 2002-2003 people whined about later seasons (which I love dearly) and were telling that Buffy has lost it's spirit. And now I'm ready to repeat these words. Do I turn into a grumpy hag?

Anyway I'll try to formulate what's wrong different with season 8 in my opinion. I know that many people enjoy it; please, don't throw rotten fruits at me.

To me, Buffyverse's most interesting aspects are stories about love and friendship. Buffy\Spike. Willow\Tara. Xander\Anya. These characters went through hell because of love and I was there with them. In seasons 1-7 BtVS was a drama\comedy about relationships with strong metaphorical subtext. Relationships were the stars of the show; conspiracies were supporting players.

I remember back in 2003 I was mostly concerned if Buffy would confess her love for Spike. I also wanted to know if Xander and Anya would make up; if Faith and Buffy would finally overcome their differences.

Right now I'm wondering who's the traitor. I visit DH board and I notice that other fans are also mostly arguing about the identity of the Twilight's source in the castle. It's understandable: his existence is so hyped; it's mentioned in two consecutive issues, we are teased with it again and again. It's interesting and uninvolving at the same time. It's like Lost. I watch the show with interest but all I care about is the conspiracy. Who lives, who dies, who falls for whom - what's the difference?

Long story short, I think that season 8 is made in different genre. It's a political thriller with detective elements. It's a story about a complex conspiracy with a requisite traitor in the middle of supposedly good guys. Conspiracy is the star, characters serve the plot twists. The plot demands Buffy to rob a bank. She robs a bank. Tomorrow the plot will demand Willow to become a movie star. Or a FBI agent. And she will become the next Julia Roberts or a government spy.

I don't say that Buffy can't rob a bank. Or that Willow can't be a movie star. But I need a motivation. If, say, Buffy did it in a desperate situation to save somebody's life, I'd cheer such plot twist. I love moral dilemmas. But this is not the case. Obviously she did it just because "it's only money". Or maybe she did it for a valid reason but we'll find about it in 5 years when emotionally it won't matter anymore.

I wonder why Joss has switched to another genre. Has he decided that the audience won't be able to care about the relationships of comic characters the way they cared when they were played by actors? Did he find the comic format more suitable for the story about global human\demon stand-off rather than for a more intimate story about relationships? Hard to say.

About the issue 10 per se. The word "unnecessary" comes to mind, and, although I try to chase it away, it refuses to go. What happens to season 8 reminds me the situation with Harry Potter saga. Each new volume was thicker and more extensive than the previous one. I couldn't finish it. I only read the spoilers that has leaked online a week before the publication date of the last book and that was enough. I think that right now Joss is in danger of following in Rowling's footsteps and becoming self-indulgent. He writes just because he likes to write. For example, it takes him four pages to tell that Dawn has slept with one character we never met instead of the other character we never met. And - what? Nothing.

At least now we know why Buffy hasn't exposed general Voll's activities to the American goverment. Because she's also a criminal.

Or not. Current issue is so ambiguous it's really baffling. Willow's question to Robin - "Has this happened yet?" - indicates that even Buffy's mentioning the details of the robbery may be a fluke of unstable reality. What Buffy and Willow saw could be truth or lie. It has either happened or will happen or won't happen. Looks like the goal of the issue is to stir up fans and make them paranoid.

Or maybe Joss just drags it out to make more money.

Or maybe he has a big plan for the whole season.

Questions, questions...

-- Is the Sephrillian demon with Greek masks on his tail the metaphor or art? If that's the case there is a definite echo of Once More With Feeling, where demon Sweet was also the metaphor of art (in his case, singing and dancing) that made people say dangerous truths and get burned by them.

-- Is Robin a good or a bad guy? There is the mention that Robin Balzer relates to Drusilla who is her "fantasy icon" in the letter column. Hmmm...

-- Is Buffy with two Christian Bales a parody on her relationship with her vampires? Bale-the-sweet-charmer from Little Women could be the parody on Spike\William and Bale-the-dragonslayer from Reign of Fire could be a parody on Angel.

-- Is it amorphous "now" or very concrete summer of 2007? Casino Royale premiered in November 2006 and it's summer outside...

Bottom line: I'm not sure I'll go on writing reviews on BtVS. Anyway I'll go on reading them. And I'll definitely continue to read and rec fanfiction, though.

Comments

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Or Bale from 310 to Yuma... which I haven't seen and thus know nothing about, but it involves violent cowboys so we should be able to tie it into Firefly and Capt. Tightpants somehow.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I honestly can't understand why anyone should care why she's a giant by this time and I had trouble caring in the first place (and I like Dawn).

I like her too, but here she's so grotesque I can't feel for her. Every time I see her I can't help remembering Almodovar's film Talk To Her. It features a movie within the movie - a fake old film about an incredibly shrinking man who eventually hides in his beloved's vagina. Every time I see Dawn with Xander I recall this scene and snicker.

I guess I'm just glad that if this is what Joss would have done in the show if he'd had the money, I'm glad he never had the money.

Hee!

I have no idea what's up with Buffy. We'll see next issue, I suppose. Maybe there'll be some payoff.

Hopefully. I'm still looking forward to the next issue. Maybe we'll find out that the bank robbery was just a hallucination.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Right now, she is. Unless Joss decides she isn't by the next issue... :)

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I love your avatar. Makes me ponder on shipping Faith with Giles...

[quinara]

It's hard to get a line on whose perspective we're meant to be following, considering we see both Buffy and Willow's fantasies. With the flashes to Kennedy I'd assume it would be Willow's, meaning that we should be on board with the righteous indignation - but Buffy seems so ludicrous that I can't make it fly with myself.

Considering this is Joss, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just for the lolz. It's a bit like in Gone, when Spike told Invisble!Buffy to leave him alone and she just kept pushing, giving us the 'that's cheating' gag that I think quite a few people found distinctly unfunny.

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

The last issue I think the only thing we agreed on was that there was something off about Buffy. I love this issue because it gives me a reason for that offness that recasts ever so slightly every thing that had gone before. Like I said elsewhere (http://aycheb.livejournal.com/66004.html#cutid1) it answers one question and a dozen more spring up to replace it:

Was it a one-off to enable a world saveage operation such as was shown in The Chain or a regular source of petty cash? Did Buffy plan and order the whole thing or was it agreed on by a larger group? Who knows about it, Xander? Giles? When Buffy said "the guys thought I might be a target," did they mean of Interpol? Who or what is giving them high tech equipment in exchange for gold bars?

It gives me back my Buffy who is complicated and conflicted. Voll called her a monster, Sephrelian mocks her for being human.

You praised Lynch for basic wordplay. Check out the advanced version. Espirit d’escalier means wit of the staircase and they’re on a staircase. It’s hilarious except that it doesn’t mean it literally it means the witicism you only think of on the staircase. Which Buffy was thinking of! Willow speaks twice truths that Buffy can follow neither one of, it flashbacks to French homework in the Bronze and forward to dark betrayals and the whole issue is riddled with the same.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I will never, NEVER, NOT be interested in BtVS.

We both need stickers "Buffy forever!" :) Hopefully, there always will be fanfics.

This issue felt slow to me, of course, and some of it did feel out of character for Buffy and Willow, BUT, I was happy to see a return of Anywhere But Here, and a reaffirmation of the Buffy/Willow friendship.

There is a detail that made me squirm: when Buffy and Willow see the robbery, Buffy easily lies to her friend telling that it's impossible. And, several seconds later she starts justifying her actions. I don't know. Maybe SMG could play it subtly, showing confusion, disarray and embarrassment at the same time. But the panel can't convey the range of emotions we see on an actor's face. And the only thing I see is Buffy lying to her best friend.

And I don't buy Willow ever not choosing to fight by Buffy's side. Not as canon.

I think I can accept it as a premise, as a base for Willow's inner conflict - especially when she has already arrived and saved the day in the standoff with Amy. :)

But I'll accept a little less than my usual show standards when it comes to the comics. I allow them to get away with more, because it's up to you what you wanna take as canon.

Well, Joss has already said that if he makes a Buffy movie he'll discard season 8 if it will сome into conflict with the movie plot.

I really, REALLY loved the first five issues. A LOT.

I like The Long Way Home but #5 The Chain is my fave so far.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Well, Joss has already said that if he makes a Buffy movie he'll discard season 8 if it will сome into conflict with the movie plot.

He did? Do you have a source on that? Not that I think a movie is even a remote possibility at this point, but...

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

And the only thing I see is Buffy lying to her best friend.

It wouldn't be the first time though, would it? She lied about being in heaven, she lied about her relationship with Spike.

And if you'd told someone in season 4 that one day Buffy would be sleeping with Spike, they'd react much the same way they'd react if you told them she'd be robbing banks one day. :-)

Characters can do distubing and surprising things sometimes, even if they're being written "in character", whatever that means...

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

http://www.vh1.com/movies/news/articles/1551700/20070206/story.jhtml

MTV: Is there ever a danger in creating these new storylines that you paint yourself into a corner if or when you do a "Buffy" movie?

Whedon: At some point you have to let go of that fear. The movie audience is going to be different. In terms of a Buffy movie, both David [Boreanaz] and Sarah [Michelle Gellar] have pretty much got swinging careers and have never really wanted to revisit the characters anyway. It's doubtful that would happen. I never say never, and it would be fun to do it with them. I would be willing to overlook certain discrepancies. Ultimately, a movie would have to pick them up later in their lives anyway. I would have to fudge it with David, like "He got his mortality back for five years and then he lost it again," or something like that. I don't think anybody's going to mind that much if they get a movie.

[quinara]

That interview... Oh deary me, Joss.

The movie audience is going to be different.

So the movie audience isn't going to consist of Buffy fans?

I don't think anybody's going to mind that much if they get a movie.

Words fail. Words seriously fail.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

It gives me back my Buffy who is complicated and conflicted.

I'm sorry if I sound caustic, but "complicated and conflicted" is a weird euphemism for a criminal. If somebody steals money, we call him a thief.

I read and loved your essay about Buffy and Roslin - thanks for pointing out! But the crucial difference between them is that we know that Roslin makes extreme decisions in extreme situations. We see these situations. We know Roslin chooses the lesser evil.

In Buffy's case we know nothing about the circumstances of the bank robbery. She may be doing it because it's the only way to save the world. Or because she wants to buy a castle and have fun. Or because the wants to rule the world a-la Austin Powers.

Maybe we'll find later that she acted under the circumstances similar to Roslin's. But unless it happens in the next issue I doubt we'll find out soon. And if we'll find out in a year or two, emotionally it won't matter.

Esprit d’escalier means wit of the staircase and they’re on a staircase. It’s hilarious except that it doesn’t mean it literally it means the witicism you only think of on the staircase. Which Buffy was thinking of! Willow speaks twice truths that Buffy can follow neither one of, it flashbacks to French homework in the Bronze and forward to dark betrayals and the whole issue is riddled with the same.

Yes - but it's "l'esprit d'escolier" in the comics. The question is if it's an occasional misspeling or a deliberate misspelling. Up the thread, Frenchani mentions that in old French "escolier" meant "écolier" ("pupil"). And I wonder if it's a sign that time is also wonky there.

And maybe the robbery really hasn't happened yet.

[quinara]

The difference with Buffy and Spike in S6 though was that there were eight episodes leading up to it, and Buffy herself reacted with much the same disgust/disbelief as viewers from S4 would have. Here there seems to have been very little build up (certainly no slippery-slope minor misdemeanours like the Spuffy kisses) and not much logical motivation (for my own part I still don't understand why the Slayers need giant hi-tech headquarters and state-of-the-art weaponry - there was no threat before their organisation and so no need for them to form a properly functioning army).

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

It wouldn't be the first time though, would it? She lied about being in heaven, she lied about her relationship with Spike.

And if you'd told someone in season 4 that one day Buffy would be sleeping with Spike, they'd react much the same way they'd react if you told them she'd be robbing banks one day. :-)

Characters can do distubing and surprising things sometimes, even if they're being written "in character", whatever that means...

I agree. But I was answering Thenyxie's point about the issue reaffirming Buffy and Willow's friendship. I meant that this issue also shows the rift in their relationship.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I think Joss is mostly fantasizing. He knows that no studio will let him to make a film about 40-years-old Buffy. Modern action film characters are either teenagers or twentysomething people. I think the most probable option would be the reboot of the franchise with new actors.

[quinara]

Very true. It's a bit depressing that I've got to the point where I hope it never happens.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"Ironically, it was Joss who wrote: The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are."
But the sad crux of the matter is we are rapidly discovering that what Whedon think as 'big moment' are far from being ours.

Ethan like Giles aren't so important because they're old, male and don't look good in skimpy clothes....*g*

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"Paradoxically, the only character I felt emotional connection with was the nameless slayer in The Chain."

Blimey, you did better then me then. I felt absolutely bugger all for the character. I just can't be arsed to 'emote' for someone I've barely 'met' I'm afraid.

Joss's ideas of whats important both plot and character wise is rapidly turning out to a hell of a lot different to mine.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

"And a lot of people saying "Oh my God yes, it's all falling into place now and the story line just got ten times deeper and more interesting."


*pats their guide dog for them*

Oh well, each to their own I suppose.

[ntshpp.livejournal.com]

Привет.

Ха, теперь понятно, что Джосс никакого отношения к успеху BtVS не имел! Он просто присвоил себе чужую славу – настоящими создателями являются Ноксон, Гринвальт, Фьюри и проч. А мы то считали эту посредственность «гением».

В войне Твайлайта и людей против демонов и магии, Баффи выберет сторону… демонов.

И продолжайте писать ревьюшки! Вы делаете это лучше всех – без глупых восторгов и в тоже время, без откровенного неприятия всего, что связано с S8.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

So basically, as with Warren's death, the comics are canon until he gets a different idea...

Yeah.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Considering this is Joss, I wouldn't be surprised if it was just for the lolz.

That's what worries me too. I'm thinking of that scene in "The Prom" where we find out why Andrew's brother wants to kill everyone at the prom - a 2-second flash to him asking a girl to be his date and being turned down - which is a great gag if it's a minor character or something that's not essential to character development. What worries me about the bank robbing is that it'll either get the "2-second-gag" treatment, or the opposite, that it becomes a major plot line since once you start explaining it, it really needs explaining... which is sad, considering how utterly silly it looks.

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

In Buffy's case we know nothing about the circumstances of the bank robbery.
But we know a great deal about Buffy and about Joss from all the seasons that have gone before. People's assumptions about the unknown circumstances simply reveal their own interpretations of the character and the writer. Reading back though the comics I can see all kinds of similarities to the way Buffy's reacted before to feeling under pressure (S7), to having done things she's ashamed of or conflicted about (S6). There's also the precedent of Dawn (who we now know all the circumstances of) covering and lashing out. That's the character background. On the external circumstances we have the increase in magical activity in general and demonic activity in particular, demon armies attacking the world used to be the unique innovation of the First Evil. I hardly think the Buffyverse has become a safer, less violent place since its containment. Last but not least, metaphorically just as Angel going to work at W&H evoked the idea of a former Greenpeace activist signing up with Shell Oil, Buffy finding and working with all the other Slayers recalls the way young people discover political activism, although Equality Now is probably a better model than Greenpeace.

but it's "l'esprit d'escolier" in the comics.
It's like that screenshot analysis of the death of the deputy mayor, you're not seeing the wood for the trees, the line for the letters. Misprint or mispronunciation, in context it's funny, clever and true.

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

Your taste is exemplary.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

a lot of people saying "Oh my God yes, it's all falling into place now and the story line just got ten times deeper and more interesting."

Actually, I don't think it's either/or - this touches upon what moscow said above: the plot is falling into place, I agree perfectly. But a lot of us never really watched BtVS for the plots - most BtVS plots fall to pieces the second you start examining them, and yet the emotional payoff is HUGE. If people feel that the s8 plot happens at the expense of the emotional connect, the characterizations, the character development, the established relationships (and no, I'm not just talking about shipping)... then there can be plot developments galore, but people won't care about them since it's happening to characters they don't recognize. To me, that's the main problem. I watch the graveyard scene in "Help" and I'm an emotional wreck; I read the 8.10 scene of Willow pouring her heart out about grief and love and I go "Hmmm... yes, that's an interesting use of her character." They don't feel real. I wish I could put my finger on exactly why.