BtVS Issue 12 "Poodles at the Gate"

[moscow_watcher]

Xander joins Renee during her sentry duty and after cute flirting she invites him to a date. Willow brings Andrew to the castle and gets kidnapped (end of teaser 1). Buffy has sex with Satsu. Xander discovers them as they enjoy their post-coital bliss (end of teaser 2). Everybody discovers that Buffy has slept with Satsu. Even Willow whose abduction was just a Preview Cliffhanger. Turns out, a band of Japanese vampires-cum-werewolves-cum-were-leotards-cum-were-bees-cum-were-mist managed to steal the Scythe. Since they're able to turn into mist, Scoobies come to logical (highlight for issue 13 spoilers) ** but totally wrong** conclusion that the theft has something to do with Dracula. Xander and Renee take a helicopter and fly to Dracula's castle. As soon as Xander sees The Prince of Darkness, he calls him "Master"...

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< Spike's voice > Now that was fun. Don't tell me that wasn't fun. < / Spike's voice >

Yes, it was fun. Good cheesy fun. The dialogues are juicy ("Hi, nude Asian girl" is a highlight), the plot is dumb and all the characters find themselves in the most embarassing situations one can imagine. I read a lot of post by diehard fans who are unhappy with the new development. But, to me, it's an enjoyable romp with great laughs on every page.

Of course all the talk is about Buffy-Satsu's lesbian sex. The scene speaks for itself. "Wow," Buffy says, giving a guideline to the audience. Joss said he did it "to bring the funny". We aren't shown how it happened, so we are free to imagine it. For example:

BUFFY: Oh, Satsu, I'm so tired of sleeping with Mr. Gordo.
SATSU: Oh, Buffy, let me be your Mr. Gordo!

Yes, it's campy. My impression is that сamp slowly but inevitably permeates the show. Each new installment ups the ante, increases the "wow" factor. In the first arc Buffy became the enemy of civilization. Wow. Then she became a bank robber. Wow!! In current arc she has lesbian sex. Wow!!! In the next arc (highlight for issue 16 spoilers) ** she'll travel to the future and meet Fray.** Wow!!!!

I'm not saying that it's bad. It's neither bad nor good - it's a different game. It's a typical movie franchise mentality. When BtVS ended, Joss had been working for big studios for a while so now he may think in terms of 100 mln. blockbusters. Since comics don't have budget restraints nothing stops writers from making their next story bigger and more sensational.

So far the hype works. BtVS gets The New Your Times coverage. The fandom is a-buzz. The problem is you can't up the ante endlessly. Sooner or later the show becomes campy and turns into a self-parody. It already is. I wonder if it was the plan from the very beginning. After all, the premise of BtVS is incredibly cheezy: a cute fearless blonde fights vampires and falls in love with them. After the latest development the parallels with Torchwood are almost inevitable.

People argue if lesbian sex was in character or out of character for Buffy. To me, it was in character. We have Joss' word on it: Buffy is experimenting. And I can accept it. Buffy has always been a very sensuous person. She has naughty dreams and loves kinky sex. She's lonely, there is no man in sight except Xander who (she knows it) is interested in Renee.

But, to me, it's not about being in character or being out of character. It's about being a meaningful story or a PR trick. Buffy could go to university and it would be in character. Buffy could marry and have kids and it would be in character. But, obviously, writers wanted a sensation.

Hopefully I'm wrong. Hopefully it wasn't just a ratings ploy. But, so far, it looks like one.

Also, Joss found the best way to continue his perpetual fence-sitting between Spuffy and Bangel, encouraging the wank and keeping the fandom busy. So far, the most hysterical interpretations I read were from shipper camps. Interpretation #1: Mr. Gordo on the floor means that Buffy was thinking about Angel during her sex with Satsu (because Angel held the toy in his hands in season 2), and that's why Buffy liked lesbian sex so much. Interpretation #2: it's Angel's kiss in Chosen that turned Buffy gay. (Actually, there is something about the idea. On AtF, Nina turned "bi-curious". We'll see if Cordy starts flirting with Gwen in the next issue).

Since this sex farce is supposed to be the first issue of Xander-centric arc, Xander gets a lot of scenes nobody particularly cares about. Is it season 7 again? In that season writers dumped their initial Big Plan for Xander (making him the face of The First) and turned him into Mr. Nice Guy instead. As a result, he's got the second biggest amount of screentime (after Buffy), yet fans were unhappy because his arc wasn't significant to the overall story. I wonder if the trend will continue in season 8.

Then again, what storyarc could give Xander's due? By the end of season 5 I thought that the best development for him could be the exploration of his creative side. I wanted writers to make him a writer or a reporter. With his constant pop-culture references such progression seemed natural. But, obviously, writers saw the character differently, and today he is firmly established as an everyman. I wonder what happens when he starts to interact with Dracula.

The reintroduction of Dracula is... well... interesting. In Buffy vs Dracula he was a powerful symbol of the end of the classical era in the vampire lore. I'm not sure he will be interesting as "just" another guest star, and, frankly, I don't understand so far why he's been reintroduced. I hope that he's here to provide some snark to the story that drowns in cuteness. During the first seven seasons we always had at least one snarky member in the regular cast (Cordy in s 1-3, Spike and Anya in s 4-7). Without them cuteness becomes excessive. Buffy and Satsu scenes are sweet. Xander and Renee scenes are sweet. The level of sugar in shipping matters becomes dangerously high.

About the plot. Um, sorry, what plot? The plot in which a girl sleeps in the barn with her feet stuck out ot it, and nobody cares? The plot in which werewolves unexplicably reveal their presence by abducting Willow for a couple of minutes only to provide a Teaser Cliffhanger? The plot in which Buffy knows where Dracula lives but doesn't slay him (highlight for issue 13 spoilers) ** because he only kills Albanians?** The plot in which Buffy sends to Dracula the most vulnerable person in her team? Let's be honest: it stopped being about the plot. It's about who sleeps with whom. It's All.About.Ships.

The art is very uneven. I love Jeanty's panels of Xander (although his man-boobs on the cover are weird) and Renee. Some facial expressions are spot-on. But every time Jeanty tries to caught on paper Buffy's emotional turmoil, it's a disaster. SMG is a minimalist actress and she conveyed Buffy's emotions much more subtly.

Stolen Scythe may be another indirect link to Caleb. He was obsessed with it from the very beginning.

What could happen to Satsu now? So far, Buffy's partners usually underwent radical changes. One has lost his soul, another has acquired his soul - not to mention the one who fled to South American jungles after vamp suck-job. Then again, there is another option, specially for lesbians. I wonder if this panel is an allusion to something beyond the fact that Jeanty can't properly draw folds of fabric.



At least now I'm 99% sure Satsu isn't the traitor. Between Renee (ethnical minority) and Satsy (ethnical and sexual minority) my bet is on Renee.

Bottom line: BtVS returns to its roots. Where's Luc Perry when you need him?