"Once More With Feeling," written by Joss Whedon. Episode 107, season six.
"Will I stay this way forever,
sleepwalk through my life's endeavor?
I don't want to be going through the motions,
losing all my drive.
I can't even see
if this is really me,
I just want to be alive."
This is an episode that people either love or hate. No middle ground. Which makes sense—this is a pretty audacious move, to present a full-fledged musical with a bunch of non-singers and non-dancers, have it be thematically consistent with what came before it, and be essential dramatically to the overall narrative of the series. Imagine Breaking Bad or Mad Men trying something like this. Or Glee...oops, it does—but as successfully? In any case...
1. Reactions? Like? Hate? And why? Whatever you felt about it, what moment or scene or image stuck out for you here?
2. This episode deals directly with the adult Scoobies. How is each of our heroes doing as an adult? Talk about Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles. If you want to include Giles, Dawn, Spike, and Anya, feel free to.
3. Speaking of Spike. I'm just curious...Spike or Angel? And why?
Tomorrow, we skip to the seventh season. We'll let our resident experts fill in the blanks.
I liked it. I have nothing truly against musicals (I think I have a kind of Oz-like mood towards them) and I was impressed that the actors pulled it off so well. I think that it still worked well with the show and it was fun to watch. It was funny (like with Xander and Anya’s duet) but in some cases it was very emotional (like with Buffy’s songs and the walking through the flames song at the end). That moment when Buffy reveals that she was actually in heaven and the look on Willows face afterwards was very powerful as well. I have always felt that emotional things are sometimes best expressed in song form, so while having the episode in musical form took away some of the reality from the show (as musicals always do) I think that the power of the show was not lost.
ReplyDeleteBuffy is obviously suffering because she is feeling trapped by her duties, worn down by being an adult and having to make terrible choices, and she is feeling kind of angry that she had finally found peace after her death and now was torn back into the mundane world. To sum it all up, she feels her life sucks. Xander is struggling as well in the adult world, But I’d say he is doing better than Buffy. He works a low paying job true, but he has an apartment, a fiancé, and a great (if somewhat deadly) friend group. He is more thoughtful as an adult but still just as silly as he always was. Willow is still halfway between the kid world and the adult world. She is in college, living in a dorm with her girlfriend and hasn’t had to deal with the real world in full yet. She kind of worries me as we can clearly see the beginnings of her addiction to dark magic. Giles is still fine as an adult and though his role has changed since the scoobie gang has grown, he still acts as a mentor especially towards Buffy.
Finally, I like spike. Not only is he cool but he is more passionate than Angel and clearly loves Buffy even though he is fully a demon (were as angel has a soul). He is not as emotionally mature as angel but clearly has good intentions. Angel just struck me as creepy and too old. When he was in a relationship with Buffy, he was too mature for her. Its interesting to see how with Spike (the other vampire in her life) that relationship of maturity is the opposite (at least outwardly).
1) Musicals, in my opinion, are okay. This episode was sufficiently bizarre. I felt that the singing and dancing were meant to be, and it could happen to us in the real world. The characters seemed as weirded out as the audience did. At the end of the episode, Buffy knew that if she told them that Willow pulled her out of heaven, she would get a powerful reaction. Willow was crying at end because of her guilt.
ReplyDelete2) I think that Willow is the least adult because she is the only one in college and doesn’t seem to have too many responsibilities. Xander now has an apartment (a rather large apartment), a job, and now a fiancée. He, to me, is the most grown up. He has a lot on his shoulders. Yes, Buffy has to look out for her sister, but Dawn is now 15 and who was taking care of her when Buffy was in heaven? Giles seems less like a mentor and more someone Buffy can go to for research.
3) I like Spike because he really does not care what people think of him and he seems okay with the fact that Buffy will never love him (but she does invite him into her house). I liked Angel as well, but with him all I could see was Edward and Bella from Twilight. It was just the whole “I’m older than you, but I look like a teenager” thing. Buffy’s non-relationship with Spike is a mature relationship where Spike knows her feelings about him.
1. I liked the idea but the episode as a whole left me feeling embarrassed for the actors. There's nothing wrong with having fun in an episode but it just seemed out of place compared to the heavy themes that were presented in the previous episodes. This episode took all of the major secrets and struggles that Buffy had been hiding and almost mocked them through the songs and dances. If this was the only Buffy episode that I had seen then I would have appreciated it more but, when holding it up next to, say, "The Body," this episode falls flat. The moment that stuck out for me was when Dawn lifted up her jewelry box to reveal all the things that she had stolen. Although this particular moment only lasted a few seconds, I think it really told us a lot about Dawn and the way that she tried to cope through all of this. Dawn spends most of her time hanging out with Buffy and her other "adult" friends and, compared to the rest of the "Scooby Gang" she has very little power. She is portrayed as a child and this role is constantly reinforced by Buffy and her friends who are constantly protecting her, both from growing up and from possible demons. This moment added a lot of complexity to Dawn as a character.
ReplyDelete2. I think that Giles feels extremely out of place. He was used to protecting Buffy and acting as a father figure to her. That was, of course, 16-year-old teenage girl Buffy, not the fully-fledged adult Buffy that exists now. Its almost as if he only further fulfills the father role. Now he feels as if he needs to finally step back and let Buffy live her life, something that Buffy is not entirely comfortable with either. Giles realizes that these adults no longer rely on him and that is something that he seems to be having a hard time coping with. Buffy is defiantly an adult now. If there was any doubt in the previous season, it is no longer up to discussion now. Buffy is selfless but almost dangerously so. Her "failed suicide attempt" has only strengthened her careless attitude towards Death. After dying twice, she no longer fears it. The only thing that makes her anxious is how long she is going to have to wait before dying again. As we talked about today in class, her suicide attempt/heroic sacrifice could not have come at a better time. To die now would be to admit defeat, something that she is not comfortable doing. Buffy wishes to mask her lack of "lust for life" by engaging in a battle in which it will look as if the fight could not be won. It is as if Buffy has been an adult for ages. Xander, on the other hand, is just starting out...and doing a pretty good job. He lives a semi-normal life and you have to give him credit for that. He has a nice apartment, a fine job, and a beautiful fiancé. Out of the entire group, you would never have suspected Xander to be the one who has the most success in adult life but it turns out to be so. Willow, I think, is not an adult in the least bit. I think that she looks especially childish next to her girlfriend who has clearly been through a lot more maturation then Willow has. The forgetfulness spell that Willow cast on her is, I believe, a direct example of this. Yes, she is more powerful then the shy, wimpy girl we knew but she doesn't know yet the extent of her power and the responsibilities that go along with it.
3. I think Spike is definitely my favorite. Even though he is not human, he seems much more human than Angel was. I also think that the kind of unabashedly shameless devotion that he shows towards Buffy is extremely touching and rare. I also find it impressive how Spike, though soul-less, can exhibit much power passion then, in my opinion, Angel could.
1) It wasn’t as bad as I remember it to be. Obviously none of them are good singers, or dancers for that matter, but I think that the director uses this to its advantage by making it comical. Though I do think that at some points it was extremely cheesy. For instance when Buffy reveals that she believes she was in heaven before Willow yanked her out, it was suppose to be a very powerful moment. I found that the opposite actually happened for me and I think the singing belittled the moment. It made it awkward for me and the only thing that pulled me out of that thought was the sight of Willow crying. So all in all, it was fine and it at least did portray some substance besides the weird singing and dancing.
ReplyDelete2) I would say Buffy isn’t doing too well. She is depressed about being taken from heaven and put into this “hell” and she isn’t taking very good care of Dawn at all. She leaves the care of Dawn to mainly Willow and Tara instead of taking responsibility for her sister. Willow also isn’t doing very well. She has fallen into magic to cope with the loss of Buffy. I think she may have felt a lack of control over the whole situation of Buffy’s death and resorted to doing magic since it gives her more power. She also won’t admit to herself that she is addicted, so that causes problems. Then for Xander, I would say he is the best thus far dealing with adulthood. He has a job, a house, and is getting married, but we still see a sliver of teen in him when he expresses his worries about marrying Anya. Though many adults have cold feet going into marriage, so perhaps it is normal actually.
3) I am in love with Spike. I’m not sure if it is actually based off of anything substantial, or that he is better than Angel, but he is definitely my favorite. I would say it is because of the jokes he brings along with him and his humor in general. Also it has the fact we were talking about in class, that Spike is nice and kind without even having a soul, whereas Angel is only his sweet self when he has one. From the start Spike has always been the vampire with more feelings, we saw that when he was with Drusilla and the big blue monster said he felt human emotions in the room.
At first, I felt very uncomfortable watching everybody sing and dance because not too many of them could actually pull it off. But I got over my initial discomfort I actually liked the episode. It was ridiculous, but the majority of the things that happen on the show don't make much logical sense. While the monster didn't pose much threat to them (it seems only one person was harmed), the spell that occurred did force the characters to be honest and made them confront some things they had been ignoring or denying. Yes, it was a silly episode, but it did bring out some truths that had been hidden, like Anya and Xander's apprehension about their impending marriage, Buffy's true feelings about being brought back to life, and Willow trying to erase the bumps in her relationship with Tara.
ReplyDeleteAs adults, Buffy, Xander, and Willow are still figuring things out. In this episode, like I mentioned above, they had to confront things they had been trying to ignore, and just like they did in high school they thought they could maybe get away with ignoring things into non existence. I think they are the same people they were two, three years ago, it's just now the choices concern more people: for Buffy, it's Dawn in addition to her whole community; for Xander, it's his future wife Anya; for Willow, it's Tara. Their actions now have consequences that effect not just them, but the ones they love and care about. The responsibilities they have have been amplified since they were in high school, but it seems they are still handling them in familiar ways.
I feel like I have missed to much to really know whether or not Spike is better for Buffy than Angel, but Spike is definitely a more interesting character than Angel was. Spike has a sense of humor and while Angel was the stereotypical broody love interest, Spike was once the villain of the show and now he's made a complete switch to the guy pining over Buffy. Spike's arc is much more interesting than Angel's, so I have to say that I prefer Spike.
1. I'm not awarding the episode a Tony or anything like that, but I liked it. The segue from acting to a song was a little awkward and the voices were not great but it was fun to watch. I especially liked Buffy's first song when she was slaying. singing, and dancing at the same time. The part of the episode that stood out to me the most was the final scene when Buffy's sadness accumulates into her singing about where she actually was in the after life and her dancing that almost catches her on fire. Willow feels guilty and cries. All that the group can imagine is that Buffy's death was horrible, they didn't want to admit that they were bringing her back for themselves and not as much for her. Also it was really powerful when Spike stopped her from dancing and getting caught on fire. It is hard to imagine what it would be like to come back from the dead. For Buffy she was in a place where she could finally be at peace, but then she is pulled right into her previously scheduled slaying.
ReplyDelete2. Buffy, as I wrote before, is having a hard time with coming back to life. She is taken out of resting in peace to be placed back in the world that is riddled with demons that are her responsibility to deal with. She can't be a regular girl, she has to be the slayer. Now she has the added responsibility of a sister to look after. She is thoroughly confused about how to live and if she really wants to be alive at all. Xander is falling into the role of husband and he is starting to make a real life for himself with Anya. He is taking adulthood well while still keeping some of his boyish charm. He still Xander, but he is an adult as well. His character is well developed and teenage Xander and adult Xander have blended together very well. Willow is falling into witch craft in full stride. She has a girlfriend and a lot of things going for her, but she is relying on witch craft more than she should. Willow put a spell on Tara so that she would forget about a fight. She is more of an adult now, but something isn't right with her at this point in the season. Its hard to think about the growth of Giles' character because he has been an adult throughout the entire show. He is becoming less and less of an adult mentor as the show goes on because now the other characters are adults as well. He is trying to find the ground to walk on in this new situation that he is put on. He is no longer the watcher and librarian for a group of high school students and now he has to find his footing.
3. On the first day I heard a lot of people talking about whether they liked Spike or Angel better. I had no idea who either of those people were and where they got their strange names from. Randomly in my mind I thought that I would like Angel more than Spike because of their name, but I have been proved wrong throughout the series. I liked Angel a lot, but all Angel does is protect Buffy, brood, and become a psycho-killer when his soul is removed. The only time we get a glimpse of any kind of personality is when he has no soul. He is nice and he obviously loved Buffy, but I like Spike better. He doesn't need a soul to be capable of love and he has a personality that is very entertaining to watch. Spike is the evil character who we can slowly see as a different, good person.
1. I have nothing against musicals, however, I really disliked this episode. To me, when these characters would burst out into song it would be really uncomfortable for me to watch, even considering these aren't singers. Plus, I didn't particularly like the songs and no offense, found some of the singing a bit annoying. I can see why people would like this episode, but in my opinion, a musical just wasn't the right choice for this particular TV show. Putting aside the musical aspect of this episode, I still didn't understand why this curse was brought upon them. I understand it had to do with that odd demon man, but I didn't quite catch the gist of why the musical came to be and that lost a lot of my interest in this episode.
ReplyDelete2. Buffy seems to be doing fine, however, she is very unhappy that she is living. She feels that her life and job is very bleak and she hates it with a passion and she wants a change in her life. Xander seems to be doing fine as well, he's going to get married and he's taking up the responsibly of having his own apartment and having a job as a construction working. However, like some couples, there are disagreements and tics that each partner doesn't like about the other, and this does come into play with Xander and Anya.
Willow seems happy, but I don't quite think she's using her powers as a responsibility as an adult would. Apparently, her and her girlfriend had a fight and she put a spell on her so they would forget the argument. This to me is something very childish to do rather than facing her issues.
3. I knew that there would be a question about this sometimes soon. I've heard small chats about who likes who (Spike vs. Angel) and in todays discussion somebody took this thought and came to a conclusion that really came to my own decision on which I like better. The person in class said that Angel had a soul and therefore could feel and love Buffy. However, Spike doesn't have one. He still acts and has the non-human personality to him but he still somehow copes with Buffy and love her. That is a much more powerful love because he's pushing himself to be a man than a monster in her eyes. Also, I found Angel just plain annoying. Yeah, I liked him in the beginning, but her kept coming and going and breaking Buffy's heart over and over; making things so much more difficult and dramatic for her and from that I just started to dislike him. So overall, yes, I like Spike so much better. Plus, he's british, has cool hair and has a much better personality than creepy, dull Angel.
Like. I am a sucker for musicals and this one also parodies musicals so I’m doubly on board. I also like how all the secrets and burdens and confessions come spilling out all at once. It needed to happen. Everyone had so much weight on their chests that they needed to just get it out there so that they could figure out what to do with it. It’s a shame we won’t be going through Willow’s addiction to magic. I felt that was an important prospect and growth not just of Willow but of the entire group as the coped with it. The image that struck me the most and has stayed with me sense I first saw this episode when I was a tween was the part at the end of Something to Sing About when Spike says/sings “You have to go on living/ So one of us is living”.
ReplyDeleteBuffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles are all very different adults. Buffy has been a sorta-kinda adult in that she has had to deal with adult things for a very long time. She also is the one that is handling it with not much grace. She does it because she has to, but you can tell she just wants her mom back so she cannot have to deal with it anymore, and she does try to put a little bit of her responsibility off on Giles. Xander gets plunged in to adulthood more than Buffy or Willow. He graduates and suddenly has to find a job and pay rent (to his own parents too). He is well on his way to adulthood by the time this episode comes around. He has a steady income, a nice flat, a fiancée, and is not longer studying. He’s still goofy, but adults are goofy. Willow is more in between than both characters. In some ways she’s more mature and in others, she is far behind. She’s still studying at University and does not have to pay rent or find a job yet (though many argue that school is your job) but she has always been level headed (unless romance is involved, then she can do stupid stuff). Giles is in a league of his own. He has been a competent adult for some time now, and I think he’s gotten good at it. He takes care of Buffy and the Gang now. It would be rather unfair to compare them to him.
Spike. Angel was all mope-y and didn’t seem to mind bring Buffy down to mope-y town with him. Spike seems to really want Buffy to be better. He seems to be more of the mind of “Yeah, I’m not alive, but you are! Go do your alive-y thing.”
Personally I did not like the episode very much. But, the ridiculous spell that was cast over the whole town turning them into the cast of High School Musical allowed the characters to be honest and confront some things. One example would be Xander and Anya who had been hiding their concerns about their impending marriage. Through song, as horribly cheesy as that is, they were able to get some things figured out and be honest. Such ridiculousness can be a welcome variant to the emotional rollercoaster that these later seasons have put us through.
ReplyDeleteI think that Buffy, Xander and Willow are handling adulthood poorly. Buffy after being resurrected by her friends is unhappy to be back in her hell. It seems like she has relinquished care of her sister to Tara and Willow. She is unable to understand that her friends need her and is unable to take on more responsibilities that are required of her as an adult. Willow and her spell casting on Tara is incredibly irresponsible. She is trying to make it a perfect, glossed over relationship, which is immature. Xander, who is surprisingly handling adulthood the best of all of them, is not being honest with Tara which is not as serious of a crime as Buffy’s and Willow’s but still something that must stop if they are to get married.
I think that Spike is much more human than Angel. Although he doesn’t have a soul and instead is controlled by a chip in his head, he was a lot more human to start out with. As someone mentioned in class, Spike is able to feel and act semi human as a vampire. I think that he is also a much more interesting character and therefore a much better match for Buffy.
ReplyDelete1. I like this episode. It's weird seeing all the familiar characters singing and dancing, but even if they're not great, it's entertaining. It also lets not only the other characters in the show know exactly how they're feeling but the audience as well. In most episodes, it's just implied that there might be some weirdness for Anya and Xander or Buffy and Spike or anyone whose secrets are revealed. In this, it's openly sung, so you know exactly what's going on with each character which is an interesting change from just interpreting subtext. For me the scenes with Spike especially stuck in my mind. He's forced to be completely honest with Buffy, and we see how in love with her he is, and how much it hurts him. Even if he's singing, there's something serious about it, something upsetting. So it's a combination of funny, strange, and upsetting and that sticks with me. When he kisses Buffy at the end, we also hear her sing "this isn't real" which tells us a lot about how Buffy has changed.
2. Buffy is not especially stable in this episode. She's really struggling with being back in the world and trying to hide her big secret from her friends. When she kisses Spike, something she would once have never considered, she says: "this isn't real, but I just want to feel" She feels numb and unhappy and kissing Spike is a desperate attempt to feel something. Xander is doing a little better, but he's still learning to deal with adult life and the commitment he's facing definitely scares him. He's still pretty young, and seems nervous and unprepared for this wedding. Willow is becoming more confident and powerful in her abilities. She's grown a lot, but we see that her morals have become a little questionable through what she does to Tara. I think she's moving too fast and becoming drunk on power. She's become so reliant on magic. Giles has been an adult for awhile now, but he's still very conflicted and worried about having Buffy back. I think what happened to her scares him and we see that he's going to leave her behind, maybe trying to escape his responsibilities. None of them are doing particularly well, although Buffy seems to be struggling the most.
3. Personally, I like Spike. He's a much more complicated interesting character than Angel. Angel is so serious; we never see him have a conversation with Buffy when the world isn't ending or something really serious isn't happening in their lives. Everything always seems so intense with him. Spike, on the other hand, has much more personality, much more of a sense of humor. He also has a much blinder devotion to Buffy; Angel recognizes when he needs to leave and is able to do it, whereas Spike doesn't seem like he'd ever give up on Buffy. Not only that, but Spike is able to love Buffy deeply without a soul. When Angel didn't have a soul, he tried to kill her and manipulate her, but Spike is devoted to her, even if he is a bit conflicted about it.
1. as i have made very public, this is not my favorite episode. i find it a little ironic that i dont like this episode with singing and dancing, because i am a huge musical fan. this episode just makes me cringe a little, and i think it's due to the inexperience of the actors in the music world. i feel like a snob to say that the awkwardness of the dancing, the unusualness of the songs, and the unique singing, was just simply off-putting to me. but i can definitely see how others can enjoy this fun episode.
ReplyDelete2. as i said in class today, i believe Xander is the most grown up of all the Scoobies. Buffy has been relying on her mother (now, wishing she was still around), has dropped out of college, and is living at home to take care of her sister. Willow is still a fun loving college student, spending her nights with her sweetheart, and excelling in her classes. the reason i find Xander to be the most "grownup-esk" of everyone is because he is the one with the job. he is the one who has bought an apartment of his own, is getting married, and learning to live a life as an adult. i believe that a major part of being a "grownup" is self sufficiency, and Xander is the only one close to it. i'm so proud of how far he's come since the first season; farther than any of the other characters i believe. go Xander.
3.ok so i am thoroughly perturbed with the issue of Spike vs. Angel. i've made known to the class how much i love and admire Angel: his rugged looks, bad boy ora, good guy qualities, etc. but now the Spike's in the picture instead...it's hard to choose. with the chip in his head, Spike is such a good guy, and i love watching him fight for Buffy's attention and admiration. and the hair. man. so i am sorry to tell you, but i have no definitive answer for you on this issue as of now. the two sexy vampire men are still fighting for the top spot in my heart.
I thought some parts of the musical episode were annoying, but overall it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. I’m not a musical type of guy, and some songs felt like they lasted for hours, but some parts were funny enough to make it enjoyable. The moment that stuck out to me is when they are all in the place with the devil guy, and Buffy says that being back on earth is like living in hell. Willow’s reaction was very interesting, and it seemed like she had a look of disgust on her face. She had the same look on her face as if Buffy were to kill Xander, a look of total betrayal. She brings Buffy back to life, and Buffy thanks her by wishing she was dead.
ReplyDeleteWillow doesn’t seem to me like she has changed much, and isn’t as adult-like as her friends. She still doesn’t have that self-confidence that I thought she would develop as she grew older. She is happy with Tara, and she seems to rely on Tara a lot. Xander has changed a significant amount, but as we found out in his song with Anya, he isn’t completely happy. I think it is surprising that he proposed, and I doubt he would’ve done it if the end if the world wasn’t close to happening. I haven’t seen enough episodes to totally see how Buffy is doing as an adult, but in her songs it seems like she doesn’t want to have the responsibilities that she has.
I definitely like Spike better. Angel was cheesy in everything he did, and that’s not my type of character. Spike’s sarcastic humor is very funny, and Angel was too much of the typical perfect boyfriend.
Although I had fairly low expectations coming into the episode, I ended up enjoying it a great deal. The songs gave the episode an incredibly light and optimistic air while simultaneously dealing with several overtly dark and morbid subjects. Buffy’s first and last numbers in particular stuck out to me, as they displayed her debilitating inward struggle while maintaining a light, comedic atmosphere. Although shrouded by the positive air of the music, the episode still contains a fatalistic message regarding Buffy’s sudden fall from a seemingly idyllic state, something that in no way can be taken lightly.
ReplyDeleteWhile Buffy had seemingly found adulthood’s true purpose long before any of those surrounding her, Willow and Xander appear to be searching for its true meaning and what it entails on a consistent basis. Whether it be Willow frantically attempting to discover how to cope with death or Xander learning what love and marriage truly mean, the characters we once knew have still retained much of who they really are. On the other hand, Buffy and Giles appear to be hardened versions of their former selves, and thus have matured to a considerable extent accordingly.
I personally prefer Spike, predominantly due to his refusal to run away from his problems in a similar fashion to Angel. While both seem to genuinely care about Buffy, Spike additionally seems to be both more committed to her wellbeing as an individual and is willing to do more to ensure her physical safety (some of which was obviously out of Angel’s control). While I prefer Angel as a character, I believe Spike is a more compatible fit for Buffy and can give her a greater resemblance of a normal life than Angel ever could.
Overall I liked the episode. Although I didn’t enjoy listening to some of them sing, I liked that the singing made them tell their true feelings. At the end when the demon says that no one got a happy ending, I agree, but keeping their secrets eventually harms the group more that helps them. Like most secrets, they were inevitably bound to get out. One moment that struck me was when we saw Willow crying after Buffy sang her true feelings about being back from Heaven. It must have been hard for Willow to hear that after devoting herself to helping Buffy, she is responsible for Buffy’s pain. Out of all the songs I think “Walk Through the Fire” is my favorite. I like Spike’s conflicted emotions toward Buffy. I also especially like the reprise at the end between her and Spike.
ReplyDeleteXander doesn’t seem to be doing that well. I don’t think he realized what he was getting into when he asked Anya to marry him. I don’t think he had enough maturity to make that huge commitment, and now as evident by his duet with Anya, he’s having second thoughts. Similarly Willow’s relationship with Tara is falling apart. She abused her power, and now Tara doesn’t trust her anymore. There’s a quote “the abuse of power comes as no surprise.” I don’t know who said it, but it’s relevant to this situation. The adult Willow acts pretty childishly by trying to fix all her problems with magic. Adult Buffy is numb. She says a few times that it doesn’t matter if she lives or dies. I guess dying twice can do that to a person. She still has the same love for Dawn, but she is more distracted.
I feel like I haven’t seen enough of this new good Spike to fairly judge between him and Angel. That being said, I do like Spike and Buffy together. He is right for her at this time in her life. He seems to know what she’s going through the best out of the group. He is the one who saves her from bursting into flames and dying. As others have said, the fact that he loves her so deeply even though he technically doesn’t have a soul makes him special and more human. From my understanding the chip only make it so that he can’t feed, but it does not return his soul.
1. I love this episode: it’s so fun! That being said, the goofy songs and dances do hold a much deeper and sometimes darker meaning. In Buffy’s first song, for example, she expresses how she’s lost all passion for what she does. Her heart is not in it and she finds herself simply “going through the motions”. It’s always nice to have a break from the usual action packed, vampire slaying episodes and watch a quirky and experimental one. What stuck out to me the most were Buffy’s songs, which as I’ve already said might have had upbeat tempos but actually exposed some of the confusing and difficult challenges Buffy is facing. I thought the lyrics were ingenious: clever and witty but also really effective in getting their point across.
ReplyDelete2. Buffy is having a lot of trouble returning from her happy trip to heaven back into a cold and cruel world. The shock of this transition as well as having to become a mother for Dawn is extremely tough and confusing for Buffy. Like she sings about, she feels as though she’s lost all passion in her life. Xander is living the life of an engaged/married man, which is very grown-up of him, but in this episode he and Anya come to see it’s not always a fun and happy time: a true relationship gets difficult at times and that’s something they’re going to have to learn to deal with. Similarly, Willow is fighting with Tara, or was before she put a spell on her. In this episode Willow learns that’s using magic to manipulate her relationship won’t help anyone and only causes more problems. Giles is starting to realize that the members of the Scooby gang are growing up and it’s time for him to move on. More than anything he’s holding them back from furthering their growth. It’s time for him to step down as father figure and allow Buffy, Willow, and Xander to figure the rest out for themselves.
3. I’m definitely team Spike. Angel has always struck me as a dark and brooding complainer. He’s constantly doing things to make Buffy love him then turns around and breaks her heart. They’re clearly a bad match and Angel, the older, wiser, and more mature of the two, should have seen that sooner and realized that the best things for Buffy was to leave her alone. Spike, on the other hand, becomes a true gentleman by the end of the 5th season. Of course he’s still crude and misunderstood, but he truly loves Buffy and will do anything in his power to protect and make her happy.
1. I liked it. Of course the singing and dancing wasn’t the quality of those trained in singing and dancing, but I feel as if that didn’t really detract from the overall episode. I thought it was interesting how music was used to express the characters’ secrets they’d been keeping and make them face the complications of their relationships.
ReplyDelete2. As Giles notes in his song, Buffy has been almost avoiding aspects of adulthood by handing him some of her responsibilities. While she clearly has a lot to deal with, if she wants to ever fully grow up he must leave her. It is clear though that Buffy is really struggling to find a reason to continue fighting or really just living. She has become emotionally numb and unfeeling ever since her resurrection. Willow also avoids her own responsibilities by abusing her magic to make problems disappear. Instead of resolving her fight with Tara, she choses to erase it, showing that she too still has a lot of growing up to do and must learn to manage her newfound power in a mature way. Xander appears outwardly to be handling adult matters well, with an apartment, job, and fiancé, but as he reveals in his song he still has many uncertainties about his future. He is on the verge of a big, adult milestone in his life - marriage - and that huge step is a daunting concept for him.
3. I much prefer Spike. Not only as a match for Buffy, but also just as a character. He has more depth to him and I love watching his transformation from the villain to hero. In this episode in particular, the scene of him simultaneously plotting to kill and save her was a great depiction of the torment he feels by loving her but yet the impossibility of him not loving her. While he can wish for her to leave him alone and want her out of his life, he is almost stuck with the extremely human, heartfelt emotions he feels for her. However, Spike isn’t just a sappy romantic. He also has some great pithy and sarcastic lines and insults which add the humor and personality to his character that Angel always seemed to lack.
1) I looove this episode! I don't care if some of it is off pitch or super cheesy (well most of it's pretty cheesy), but I feel like it flows really well, the songs are catchy and well created, and it's all around a really adorable episode, dealing with the true feelings of all the characters- Buffy's numbness, Spike's upset over his unrequited love, Xander and Anya's nervousness over the wedding, Tara and Willow's love, Tara and Giles' feelings of having to leave, and for a little bit Dawn sings about feeling invisible. Not only does this episode remove a curtain of falsehoods that many characters have been dragging out, but it does so in an enjoyable, entertaining fashion. I usually hate musicals, actually, but I just love Whedon's for some reason. I really liked all of it, honestly, but Tara and Willow's number, as well as Buffy's, actually, stuck out for me. The numbness that Buffy feels is all too relatable for me, and it shows just how SHE feels explicitly and nicely sounding. I also like her and Spike together, which I'll elaborate on later. In regards to Willow and Tara, I basically just love the two of them, like Dawn does. Also, Amber Benson is a kickass singer. She reminds me of Joni Mitchell somehow.
ReplyDelete2) At this point, everyone is an adult. When Buffy died, Willow (and Tara) took her place in raising Dawn, so Willow has finally caught up with that sense of responsibility. Buffy is "going through the motions", right now, and while still maintaining her own responsibilities, she is beginning to fall into the reckless portal that is Spike, and, I feel, begins to start having masochistic tendencies in order for her to feel. She's at her quarter life crisis, and needs to find the meaning. Xander and Anya are, as discussed, probably represent the most accurate models of adulthood. Marriage, jobs, having your own home- these are intrinsic parts of adulthood, accurately displayed by the lives of Anya and Xander. They're feelings are more or less overwhelmed, which plays, once again, accurately into the fear represented. Giles is at the point where he's realizing that Buffy needs to be independent, and for this to happen, he must leave. I feel like that represents that part in a father's life when he realizes that it's time to let the bird fly free.
3) Spike. Without question. Angel is the worst vampire of all time, and Spike is probably the most human. However, Spike isn't mopey like Angel- he is passionate, witty, and proactive. He later goes to lengths that are insane (I won't elaborate), to prove his love to Buffy. He defies his curse of evil soullessness and learns to love with that burden. Angel was just pure evil without a soul, but like the Judge said, Spike has human in him. He's just a really loyal, strong, and also entertaining character and I adore him.
1. I love this episode so much. I own the soundtrack. Joss needs to write something and put it on Broadway because if you've ever seen Dr. Horrible, it confirms how amazing he is. It was a pretty good device to just get what everyone was feeling out there. Not to mention that while not all of the cast are singers, the actors who play Spike and Giles are, and Tara has an amazing voice anyways. Walk Through The Fire is the song that describes the entire show. It has Buffy's longing to feel normal again, Giles's worry, her friends support, and Spike's undying love. Rest in Peace is amazingly written though, probably my favorite. Sweet's my favorite demon too.
ReplyDelete2. Buffy is doing awfully. This entire season is a metaphor for depression and she literally fights the urge to be dead every day. She's a great protector of Dawn, but no one is protecting her, except for Spike. Xander's doing great. Good job, nice apartment, amazing fiancee. Willow is struggling with addiction, so she's not doing so well. She and Buffy get some of the darkest storylines this season. Meanwhile I don't think Giles should leave. Buffy is allowed to lean on someone for a while. It's not such a bad thing that she needs a little help. But they all have each other because they're family, so even if some of aren't doing so well, they can get support.
3. Spike, hands down. He's more attractive, funnier, more attractive, better accent, better singing voice, and not as evil. You can't take the soul away from this guy. He can feel remorse and love and guilt with or without one. He cares for Buffy and for Dawn. And while Angel wanted to kill Buffy for making him feel human, it's something Spike can never thank her enough for. He would choose to be one if he could. He's my favorite character in the entire show and the one with the best heart. Spike may be love's bitch, but at least he's man enough to admit it.