#rewatch 2012

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

thoughts on buffy as christ figure

I was explaining aspects of Buffy to my stepdad, who's an English professor, today, and this came up. I don't plan to embark on a comprehensive analysis of this right now, but I think it's fairly clear that there's some Christ symbolism going on with Buffy, particularly in "The Gift." She sacrifices herself (arms spread, let us note) to save the world and to save her friends. She sacrifices herself to prevent the murder of her little sister. And she is risen from the dead (from heaven, let us note - if I'm not mistaken, I don't believe any other Buffyverse character has ever been there...?) for the purpose of providing strength and courage to her friends. (And she rises from death or near-death a couple of other times, of course. No big deal.)

However, BtVS is ultimately intended as a deconstruction, and Buffy-as-Christ-figure is, in my view, pretty thoroughly deconstructed in season 6. When Buffy rises from the dead, she is far from triumphant, and far from pure. Instead, she withdraws from her friends, fights mundane and inane enemies instead of grand evildoers, and has sex based on lust with a soulless vampire. The reality of rising from the dead, were such a thing to happen in reality, is explored mercilessly throughout the rather depressing progression of season 6. "Real life is the Big Bad" as Joss (I believe) said. Furthermore, Buffy is sidelined during much of the season - though we, as viewers, have access to her mental place, her friends do not, and Willow is the one who undergoes the primary struggle, who is shown to have the most power. The Christ figure, having risen, becomes a wallflower, thoroughly broken, nobody's icon. 

And I really like season 6 now that I look it from more perspectives like this, thinking of things that it might be trying to do, rather than just labelling it depressing and shoving it aside.

P.S. I am not the world's expert on Christian symbolism and these are just assorted thoughts, so there's my disclaimer.

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

dear box of tissues,

I'm sorry your time on this Earth was so short. But I have a cold and I was watching "Chosen," so.

More concluding thoughts to come, most likely. (ANYWAY, THE REWATCH ISN'T DONE TILL I GET MY ANGEL BOXSET NEEENERRRRR*)

*what is this even 

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

caleb

is the MOST DESPICABLE VILLAIN IN THE BUFFYVERSE

and by despicable I also mean TERRIFYING

I mean, way to play into all my fears of preachers/the South, Joss...

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

I don't really watch battle/war movies at all, but I'm a total sucker for a good battle theme. AND I HAD NO IDEA BUFFY HAD SUCH A GOOD ONE. That's what I get for being snobby and never rewatching season 7...

Also I was not into Spike-as-hero/Spike-as-woobie at ALL when I originally watched this season, and now I am and I love it. I don't know what changed between freshman year and now. (Besides, like, my major and my friend group and other irrelevant things.)

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

also

I'm rewatching season 7 now even though I had decided to suspend the rewatch until I'm on another school break. (And that was before s6.) Oops. (AtS is still suspended...for the moment.)

And actually, although I lambasted s6 and s7 the first time I watched Buffy, accusing them of poor writing and dragging it on too long... they actually are good. I think my perspective was skewed because I was watching them in a state of depression and they weren't making me happy enough. Sure, they still have their writing flaws. But s6 in particular is strong in its own way. Yes, it's sadder, yes, after the bombastic ending of s5 it never quite measures up in epic scale. But as long as s5 was going to be followed up, s6 did so pretty well. And the characters continue to grow in ways that are fascinating to watch - I remembered why I used to love Anya so much only after she became a vengeance demon again. She and Spike both have the former-badass-who-learned-to-be-human thing going on (them having sex was also a better scene than I remembered.) 

So yeah. I mean, this can only be a good thing - there's more Buffy that I can truly say I love. And I know I said I ultimately liked AtS better before...that may not actually be true. BUT MAYBE I SHOULDN'T BE CHOOSING A "BETTER" ANYWAY AND JUST LOVE THEM BOTH BECAUSE I DO 

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

top 10 favorite characters

Buffy and Angel I just feel like I have to "credit" the protagonists above all. Although Buffy can be frustratingly headstrong, I feel what she feels and I cry when she cries and I would give anything to be 1% as strong as she is. She is the show. And Angel (in AtS) is silly and equally frustrating and his storylines are similarly heartrending. They're the protagonists; they were designed to be identified with. Even though both of them are superhuman (not to mention fictional), I feel somehow close to them.

Wesley Much of the reason I fell so hard for AtS when I first watched it was WESLEY. His character arc is the most wonderful one to watch besides Cordelia's - evolution from lameass to badass. Angel tells him in season 5 (if I remember correctly) that he's always the one who makes the tough decisions. And he is. Wesley is loyal, he generally tries to do what is right, but he takes paths that Angel and the others are afraid or unwilling to touch. And despite his loyalty, he also chooses to act on passion and emotion in situations where he knows it's not necessarily the "right" thing to do (see "Shells.") But whether if he's working for Angel, above him, against him, or for himself, he manages to be completely badass the entire time. Also....HE'S HOT.

Cordelia The other best character arc ever. How does a snobby, selfish girl believably transform into a warm and resilient and deeply moral human being? Cordelia is how. She doesn't take Angel's shit, which Wesley doesn't either, but Cordy, unlike Wesley, is unambiguous in her goodness. And she becomes as strong as Buffy in her own way. I just fucking hate what they do to her in s4 and consider it the top worst Buffyverse-writer betrayal.

Spike I have to admit, I actually forgot how much I loved Spike for a little while. But I'm in Buffy s6 and...now I remember. Possibly the character with THE best sense of humor (which is really saying something.) Manages to play the supervillain and the hero, like Angel, but in a completely different style. Oh, and...is hot.

Giles I forgot how much I loved Giles too. The bond between him and Buffy is the best kinship bond I have ever seen on television - and they aren't even "blood" kin. He also has a dry sense of humor, subtler than Spike's, and is a morally ambiguous badass but more subtly than Wesley. Basically he's Mr. Subtle, but IN THE BEST WAY. And I love that he loves books but loves people he cares about more.

Willow And then there's my Willow. Willow can be scary, actually, unstable...but on the whole she's the character I most personally identify with and I love her to death. And she's also incredibly powerful (I JUST LOVE ALL THE POWERFUL WOMEN SO MUCH) and has a pretty damn awesome character arc as well. And is so cute. And so funny. And TARAAAA

Faith I didn't actually love Faith until I rewatched the show. Okay, super hot...I'll just say that first. And the fucking PERFECT foil to Buffy. Explores the potential of the Slayer in an entirely different way. And just so compelling to watch.

Lilah SO RUTHLESS. The thing I love about ALL the women on the list (also the runners-up below) is that they're ALL so strong but in such incredibly different ways. Lilah has her shit together so completely and her with Wesley omg and her appearances after that ahhhhh okay this is devolving

Anya I have always loved Anya dearly. First and foremost, she's hilarious (of course). Also I want to be a vengeance demon or have one or something. And somehow the heartbreaking factor of emotional scenes is always upped when Anya reacts (see her speech in "The Body"; her reactions when Giles left)

Illyria For a character that only appeared in 6 episodes, she made a hell of an impression. Fred's death was horrible, but Illyria is ....so FUNNY. It always gets me when they're funny. And badass. It also gets me when they're badass.

Runners-up:

Tara I love Tara so much now I feel like she should really be in the top ten. Here's a character who's genuinely nice, and shy, and yet she's not annoying or boring IN ANY WAY. She is, with no doubt, the biggest force of kindness and warmth in the Scoobies. Yet she's not afraid to tell Willow when her behavior is unacceptable. She's the best thing that ever happened to Willow, and late s6 is just...gah

Fred Can I ever not love the smart girl? NO, DUH. Adorable, girly, yet (yes, there is a pattern in these shows) SO CAPABLE AND STRONG. And then there's her love for Mexican food. I mean, talk about identifying with something.

Drusilla I just love Drusilla. Okay??????????????

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

so like i know spike and buffy is supposed to NOT glorify unhealthy relationships

but it just makes me want to have one so um

[alwayswinsatkittenpoker]

btvs s6: willow's character arc

I feel like I've seen a lot of criticism of s6 floating around that focuses on how blatant the magic = drugs metaphor is in Willow's arc. Addiction = bad, moral hits you over the head, all that jazz. 

But I think it's more complicated than that. First of all, addiction is certainly not a simple concept. David Foster Wallace wrote a 1000+ page novel about it, and his exploration is limited in no way to drugs. And Willow isn't just doing something that makes her feel good - she's high (so to speak) off the power of it. Furthermore, she's always been a character of extremes, of ambiguous morality. She's intelligent and prone to very low lows. I actually think Angel and Willow have a lot in common. They're both trying to shed shadows of their past selves. They both behave in incredibly destructive ways when it comes to love and romance. Etc. 

I love Willow. It pains me to see the turn that she takes in this season, but it also excites me, the same way it does when Angel(us) loses his soul. She has power and cunning and she knows how to use it. She takes her pain and runs with it. She is not a slave to the magic - she owns it.