I'm currently working on a watch-through of BtVS on dvd--beginning to end. I'm on season 6 right now and I hope to finish the series before the end of the year, so I can do a write-up/reflection of watching the show all the way through for the first time (I think) since it aired on tv. Just wanted you all to know I still know this blog is here and there will be an update soon!
I could probably write a short "book" on the title of this post, but I don't have enough room here & well I wanted to write an entry because I feel like I neglect this blog. So when I got an idea for it, I figured I would jump on it. :-) So here are 5 things I've learned from watching Buffy (as always, the potential for spoilers exists, so read at your own risk).
1) The older I get and the more I learn, the less I really know.
In "Lie to Me," (S2) Buffy put it this way "the more i know, the more confused I get." It seems to me, that the older I get, the more confusing things become. Right and wrong don't seem as clear. Decisions are more difficult to make. Risks are higher. So much for that childhood notion of mine that I would know a lot more stuff by the time I was in my 20s!
2) Love makes you crazy
I love the way Willow put it in "Some Assembly Required" (S2) "love makes you do the wacky."
Emotions make us do/think/say crazy things--especially when it comes to love and attraction. It blinds us--makes us not think logically and clearly. This also seems to hold truer the older I get.
3) Adulthood can suck, but that's normal.
I never cared for season 6 until about a year or so ago. I watched it through again--and realized that as dark as it is, it's also quite accurate about the entrance into adulthood. It's confusing, dark, strange, depressing...this is not to say that I have died and come back to life or suffered from an addiction or unhealthy relationship as some of the characters did, but I can *understand* why they made choices they made (albeit poor ones at times). The term "quarter-life crisis" comes to mind. Mid 20s is an awkward age to say the least. But it's comforting to know that you can get through it with strength and a little help from your friends and family. If Buffy can make it through season 6, I can too.
4) You don't have to be a "superhero" to matter
Buffy was the slayer. Willow had magic. Xander...had no supernatural power, but he had the ability to see/relate/feel ("the heart" of the group). I've never had a special "power" or skill...mostly im intuitive and creative. Sometimes that doesn't feel like much, even when it might be. In "Potential" (S7), Xander and Dawn put it this way:
Dawn:Maybe that's your power.
Xander: What?
Dawn: Seeing. Knowing.
5) We'll get through this together.
One of my favorite episodes is from S6 "Once More With Feeling." In one of the opening songs the cast sings "what can't we face if we're together." In the past several years, I have really come to learn the deep value of community--whether it be church., school, work, etc...when it's absent, I feel a drastic difference in myself. Sometimes it can't be helped--sometimes alone is what you are faced with--but it's not forever.
Till next time,
--Prophecy Girl
I got this idea on a limb...feel free to comment w/ your own questions/thoughts :-)
**possible spoilers for BtVS and Ats**
*these are not in any special order*
1. What in the world am I supposed to do/think with/about the ending of Angel? I mean seriously...
2. Who in the world came up with the Connor/Cordy storyline in Angel season 4 and why didn't you stop them?!?
3. What does your writing process look like?
4. Why couldn't you let one couple be happy on any of your shows?
5. What is your favorite book? And what written work has inspired you most?
I know you all probably didn't think it was possible, but believe it or not there are a handful of episodes of Buffy that just make me go "what were the writers thinking?" So here is my list--in no particular order really--of my least favorite/worst Buffy episodes (SPOILER alert for those who haven't seen seasons 2-6)
*"Bad Eggs" (S2). ok the premise was amusing--the whole egg/baby sex ed thing...but it got rather hokey from there when there was a mother "thing" that was using the eggs to get the students.
*"Ted" (S2) arguably one of the creepier episodes--and the reason I can't watch John Ritter in anything else. He plays Joyce's love interest who turns out to be an evil robot. It's no fun to watch a show when you have the heebie jeebies the entire time.
"Killed By Death" (S2) also a creepier one...now there are a couple of funny lines/moments (like the end with the peanut butter jar that Buffy can't open) but overall very creepy and dark. More heebie jeebies.
"Go Fish" (S2). While Xander in a speedo was not a necessarily unwelcome sight *ahem* the whole concept was silly. *shrug*
"Gingerbread" (S3). I like the fairytale motif here, but the few times I've watched the ep it just falls flat. There's nothing that really stands out to me. Just seemed like a poor attempt at filler.
"Helpless" (S3). Creepy. Just creepy. I mean the episode is well-done, but it's not one I like to return to.
"Where the Wild Things Are" (S4). This is probably one of the WORST ones. I mean the whole frat house being haunted or whatever...all the sex...it was just lame. Plus the whole thing about the old lady and the children...creepy.
"Doomed" (S4) While I like the whole "it's the end of the world...again" moment as well as Spike in Xander's shirt...why all of a sudden a end of the world episode? why all of a sudden is someone trying to open the hellmouth? Just seems very random-- Especially since it follows the spectacular "Hush."
"Older and Far Away" (S6). This episode is just slow...and maybe that's on purpose b/c it's about feeling trapped. It's not awful, but not one I return to.
"Double Meat Palace" (S6) This is probably the worst next to "Where the Wild Things Are." The premise was GROSS...and I had trouble watching the ep just because of all the ick factors. And honestly, the whole "human bits in fast food" has been done enough. But that's just me.
So there you have it...least favorite/worst eps...you heard it here.
--Prophecy Girl
ok, so these aren't any specific order...but just the top 5 'ships I support in the Buffy/Angelverse:
Yes, yes. I can hear all the Buffy/Angel shippers now. But THEY were in LOVE. Yeah, I think they were--or as in love as Buffy could be as a high school girl. Someone once put it this way: Angel is the gorgeous first love guy you meet when you're young--but it doesn't/can't last for whatever reason. With Spike, Buffy found a real "adult" (and not just in the sexual sense) relationship. I was always a fan of Spike's Romantic poet/bad boy persona and he and Buffy just had a undeniable character chemistry from the beginning in season 2 of Buffy. Their relationship is not the always the healthiest (see season 6) but in the end he really does love her and care for her and fights for her, gets a SOUL for her, etc...and he is supportive of her in season 7 when everyone has turned against her (and gives one of the best speeches ever...see "Touched" season 7). Needless to say, I always wanted to see them together and was thrilled when they got together.
Maybe it's because Willow is my favorite character and I identified with the whole "I like my best friend thing but they don't like me back or maybe they do" thing. I always thought Willow and Xander were SO cute together and would've been perfect. But as is the way of the Joss, we don't get what we want nor do characters get happiness...so...they got together with other people (while still having some sort of feelings for each other...see "Lover's Walk" season 3).
Oh how can we all ever choose what ships' in the 'verse we support? I'll name my top 5 in an upcoming entry--mainly Buffy/Angelverse focused. Stay tuned!
BtVS is a very relatable show on many levels--whether it be a character (s) or sitation(s). I have identified with many of the characters and situations at some point or another in my life, but there are two characters that I always seem to relate to the most: Buffy and Willow.The Willow of It:
I guess I was very much Willow in middle school through most high school and part of college (still am like her in some ways I think--i'm still shy and very nerdy). I wore some pretty bad outfits. I could (and sometimes still can!) relate to the whole having trouble talking to guys thing. Plus I was (still am) a nerd. And I was naive too. I'm also the best friend. I'm the one that people seem to trust with secrets. I try to be loyal. I have never gone evil and tried to destroy the world nor have I dated a guitarist. But I do know what it's like to be "old reliable" (see "Dopplegangland," season 3). And I've always liked school.
The Buffy bit:
Like Buffy, I feel like I bear a lot of responsibility. Being the oldest, I often have to (or am told to) "set the good example" and "do the right thing" etc. Also...I have a tendency to attract/fall for the jerk/player/bad guys. I won't go into detail here...but I have a pretty sad track record--something else Buffy and I have in common. Right now I feel sort of like Buffy in season 6--that awkward in-between adult stage of life with very little income and trying to figure things out. Unfortunately, I am NOT being courted by Spike (wishful thinking haha). And I'm not as depressed. And I haven't been dead (a good thing).
I consider it a GREAT strength of the show to create such relatable characters. I can't name any other show where I could so closely identify with a character or characters. As a writer, even though I mainly write poetry that doesn't usually involve characters, that's something I aim for: relatability--whether it's a character or a theme or a situation. I hope that I can do it even a quarter as well as Joss...ok maybe like a teaspoon as well as he does. But you get the idea. So bravo Joss for such rich and interesting characters, and thank you for helping me to know that I'm not alone.
