#ask fall

[fallintomidnight]

Ok the reason I have such a difficulty with reviewing s7 of Buffy is because I have a love hate relationship with that specific season. I find myself loving it one day and being utterly disappointed by the waste of potential the next day. So instead of me having to do specific episode reviews, I thought it would be better if i just posted my opinions on certain plotlines. I would be ever so grateful if you all could send asks regarding specific plotpoints you want me to speak on!!!!

[fallintomidnight]

Ask and you shall receive! What are your thoughts on Spike's arc in S7 from crazy man in the cellar (yes, this is a Jane Eyre reference) to final sacrifice (scape goat motive to Buffy's sacraficial lamb)?

THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTIONNN!!!

One of the biggest reasons I feel very conflicted about S7 is because of Spike's character arc. How can I ever hate his character arc? In my opinion from my first watch, it couldn't have gone better. I was actually so dejected after the "Seeing Red" episode in s6 and was really confused on how they could redeem a character like him. I know that a lot of people still don't forgive Spike which I would say is valid. I can understand anyone who hates him for what he did because he DID do a really bad thing. But I don't hate him and here's why.

I usually immediately get an ick with a character if they try to sexually assault someone (Hyena Xander doesn't count imo because he was possessed and I choose to believe that Xander wouldn't do something like that.) because I have such great fear when it comes to SA. I have lost interest in so many characters in different movies/tv shows because of this but Spike was the only one who redeemed himself because he had something that the other characters didn't. He had guilt and the urge to make it right. I have not met a SINGLE person nor character who felt bad for what they did and did something to help the victim instead of outright denying it. Spike was the first Vampire, to my knowledge, to have gone and sought his soul just so he could never harm Buffy.

Now that we've gotten why exactly I root for Spike out of the way, We can get to the real question. I really loved the idea of having The First fuck with his head while he's actively recovering from getting his soul back. I've already talked about what the episode Beneath You means to me so I don't want to get too much into it but I loved the detail of Spike not wanting Buffy to know about his soul because he knows that it would lead to her forgiving him which he thought he didn't deserve.

Spike going from the Vamp that Buffy despised the most to the man that she trusted more than her core group of friends was a surprising yet believable plot twist for me. I knew that she would end up trusting him but seeking comfort with him while her friends actively criticise her was a great thing to see. I feel like the writers had the idea of making Spike "the sacrificial lamb" in the last episode while they first started working on the season because it felt like everything that happened this season led to it. I don't know how to explain it properly but it just felt like this storyline was all they were working on and they just built the rest around it, which would honestly explain a lot.

When I watched it for the first time I was not thinking or analysing what it meant for Spike to be the worthy vamp, I was simply excited for him but how was it for people who went in with no knowledge that Spike was going to die? Because I knew that he was going to die but also it was pretty obvious if you look into it. The final battle starts in the morning, sunlight is deathly for Spike but let's just say that he somehow got in....what about getting out? They closed off all the sewer tunnels. How was he to get out in full scorching sun? From Buffy's reaction, we know that the characters had no idea that Spike might be killed in the process of the final fight....Idk what they were thinking but this was plaguing my thoughts forever....Like I know that he's not getting out of it alive but a way for him to get out would be nice...?

please lemme know if I missed something because my thoughts are very scrambled and there's a high chance I might have missed something. There is the change in Spuffy relationship dynamic change that I want to talk about so lemme know if you want that<3

[fallintomidnight]

Should I make a post about how, I think, all of the "Life of a showgirl" Songs are about a specific marauders era characters/ships? Would that be something y'all would like?

[fallintomidnight]

i don’t follow you but i came across your post about watching the season 2 Buffy finale and oh boy if you thought that was brutal... not to spoil anything but wait until you get to seasons 5-7... always love seeing first time Buffy watchers! happy to have more people joining the fandom<3

Oooohhh now I'm REALLY excited to watch it!!! I'm enjoying myself soooo much and I wanna finish it asap but also want this "first time watching" feeling to last forever 😭.

(also is it bad that I absolutely love spike? It's wrong from a moral perspective but still, he's super funny😭)

[fallintomidnight]

hi me again lol! hope you don't mind cause i know you haven't answered my previous ask yet but i just remembered what your next episode of Buffy is (3x13 The Zeppo) and i'm very much looking forward to what you'll think of it...

Heyyyy!!! I really don't mind the asks, I answered the last ask late because I fell asleep😶‍🌫️. I just finished the zeppo episode and OMG that was a fun one. I love that we stayed on Xander for an entire episode. Like we, as an audience, was given the taste of the medicine that was Xander's reality.

It was such a cool concept for an episode and I absolutely enjoyed it. Sunnydale really has some weird ass people I'm ngl. Like wtf is up with the undead boys😭😭. I did kinda expect Xander to save the day in a more grand manner that would show his efforts to the rest of the gang but this was more grounded in reality. It was good but I wish they would give Cordelia and Xander a chance to have a proper conversation about their messy breakup.

The breakup was brutal because I kinda expected it from Cordelia but not from Xander (the cheating part). Willow and Oz hurt too, especially since I love Oz for her, he's amazing. But atleast they're working on it. Cordelia and Xander didn't really have a proper conversation after Cordy returns from the hospital. I just wish they would atleast give me a proper closure if they're not going to renew the relationship.

[fallintomidnight]

hey! i'm curious to know what other thoughts you had on the episode 3x12 Helpless? thoughts on the betrayal/relationship portrayal between Buffy&Giles in that episode? thoughts on the slayer test? thoughts on Buffy having to rely on other skills other than her strenght? thoughts on Faith not being in the episode? and anything else you might have thoughts/opinions on? look forward to whatever you have to say about it :)

Heyyy!! Thanks for asking me about that because I was wondering if anyone would be interested in me ranting about it😅😅

That episode was so packed, I absolutely loved the emotions I went through. Okay, so the first thought I had when I started it was that maybe Giles was possessed by something that was making him act strange but then when it was revealed that he was ordered by the watcher/slayer(??) organisation to put buffy on a mission, I was genuinely heartbroken.

I think I had pretty much the same reaction that buffy had, which was betrayal. But we can analyse this in two methods. From the audience perspective and from the character development perspective.

From the audience side, we mostly follow Buffy's pov and storylines so it's safe to assume that everyone felt the betrayal just like I did. But I can also understand WHY Giles did it. He had always been a bit of a stickler when it came to rules (atleast once he became a watcher) so I can see why he wanted to follow the orders and from how the episode ended with him getting fired, I can also see that he kinda had no other choice.

I also liked the extra emphasis on buffy and Giles' father& daughter type of relationship. They really built it up in that episode with her father bailing on their plans and it just...it hurt a lot, I'm ngl. I'm not saying Buffy's dad was not a good guy but he was not around and Giles was literally the Father who stepped up!! I was so heartbroken for her.

I really like this plotline because it kinda humanizes these characters. Like Giles is a nice guy but he is also capable of making the wrong or bad decisions from time to time. It gets him off the pedestal I had him on. I'm eager to see how they deal with the " Giles is no longer Buffy's watcher" storyline.

I really enjoyed the task of buffy having to lose her strengths and having to use her wit. It was a very clever plot. I actually thought about this when I started the series. Like I was scared that later down the line the episodes may start to get repetitive, but so far not a single episode felt like that to me.

As for Faith, I genuinely forgot that she wasn't there😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️. Like, isn't it a plothole? How old is faith? Isn't she supposed to do the test as well? Wtf... I completely forgot. So if you know the answer to that please lemme know!

I genuinely want to do lot of review stuff like this so if anyone wants my opinion on any of the episodes or specific plot/characters, feel free to ask or you can even dm me. I will always tag what episode I'm currently in, in the posts I'm posting about buffy.

Thanks<3

[fallintomidnight]

"also is it bad that I absolutely love spike? It's wrong from a moral perspective but still, he's super funny😭"

he's a hugely popular character in the fandom so you're definitely not alone don't worry. gonna stay vague but as with all characters on the show there is always the chance that characters may make some decisions or act certain ways at some point later in the show that might shift your perspective and you end disliking a character you currently really enjoy/love. but that's totally fine too and you will also find plenty/enough people in the fandom who agree with you no matter which characters you are liking or not liking.

all that to say welcome to the buffy fandom and you will always be able to find someone you agree with to gush over the show/characters (some characters/ships are just more or less popular)

Thank youuu I feel validated! I absolutely love the show so far and it's pretty much taken over my whole life. Also, I have to say that so far the buffy fandom, well the Tumblr side of it, has been very welcoming<3

[fallintomidnight]

have you started the next buffy episode after bad girls? (re: faith) i'm curious to see how your opinion of Faith will go as you keep watching... also 3.16 is one i'm very excited to see your thoughts on... oh to get to watch buffy for the first time... it's always so fun seeing people's reactions :D

Ooohhh I'm halfway through the episode after bad girls. Someone interrupted me with an errand and idk if I'll be able to finish it today. If I did then I'll definitely post about it!!!

I saw that 3.16 had a higher rating compared to the other episodes but now I'm even more curious to know what it has. Should I be scared?