moscow_watcher (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
moscow_watcher) wrote2008-01-09 10:34 pm
moscow_watcher) wrote2008-01-09 10:34 pm
Buffy issue 10 summary and analysis (spoilers)
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
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.
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I thought the idiom means something like "feeling like an uninvited guest" (my French is very rusty) - so thanks you for your explanation.
But I see someone says that it is spelled incorrectly, so it can't be that.
Or... it can. If it's just a misspelling. Maybe the publishers will fix it in the trade paperback, like they did with Willow's eye color in The Long Way Home. :)
You know I'm happy you're still interested in BtVS and, at the same time, sorry that I can't say: "Join the discussion of this great season 8". I try to like it, but... *le sigh*
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The French have this phrase, l'esprit d'escalier. Literally, it translates as "the spirit of the staircase" but what it actually means is "the things you think of to say after it’s already too late and you’re on your way out."
So it's just a minor misspell, probably a typo.
:) I will never, NEVER, NOT be interested in BtVS. Granted, SPN fandom has become an engrossing distraction from BtVS fandom, but I could never abandon BtVS all together :) I don't 100% agree that the comics totally suck, but my excitement did seriously wane after issue #7 or so. 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. However, it did drag out a lot longer than necessary. And I don't buy Willow ever not choosing to fight by Buffy's side. Not as canon. 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.
I really, REALLY loved the first five issues. A LOT.
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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.
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He did? Do you have a source on that? Not that I think a movie is even a remote possibility at this point, but...
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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.
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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.
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Yeah.
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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...
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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.
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And yes, it was uncomfortable then and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be uncomfortable now. Like I said in my own review: Buffy and Willow can still fight together in perfect synchronisation; their differences haven't severed the basic bond between them. But it does mean that they can't face looking at each other for a while, and walk off far apart and not talking to each other at the end of the comic. (Which is another trope the TV show often used as the final scene to a sad episode; characters walking away from each other in silence. 'Harsh Light of Day', 'Selfless', 'Tabula Rasa' etc).
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Or maybe they have planned it before the mission: "If we won't convince the demon to take our side, we'll kill him. You, Willow, should hide your magic mojo. We'll lie to the guardians that we're weaponless and came to talk. And if I decide to kill him and start acting, you'll extract your mojo and throw it to me". :)
Just kidding. It's already three days that I want to read yor review and can't find enough time. First I didn't read it because I wanted to write mine without your influence. Now I'm replying the comments.
But I'll get to you soon! :)
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It was "The Chain" that killed the comics for me; I got half way through, decided that it was utter drivel, and stopped reading. I haven't been able to force myself to start again.
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It's incredible how differently people see the same stories. I remember that
Re The Chain: I'm copy-pasting my reply to
To me, The Chain is a brilliant exploration of a hero as a monster. A regular hero is usually a brainwashed person who is ready to die for a higher purpose. It's people who fought and died for Stalin, for Hitler. Japanese kamikaze pilots. Al-Qaeda terrorists.
I suppose my background played a role. I met people who fought in Soviet-Afghan war and killed Afghan civilians. And they were regarded as heroes. And I know that they'd sacrifice their lives saving Russian women and children as willingly and without second thoughts as they killed Afghan women and children.
Maybe because of my background, to me, decoy!Buffy is the ultimate existential hero. She fought in the war where both sides are bad guys. She has provoked the demons and unleashed the war in which many creatures of different species died. She was brainwashed by shiny Council slogans and she has done a lot of harm.
Yet she saved without hesitation her schoolmates when she has stopped the truck in the schoolyard. She believed she did the right thing when she has started the war. And she died believing she's a hero.
And, ultimately, it's the only thing that matters.