Buffy 3x21: Graduation Day, Part 1

[fajrdrako]

A lot of this is set-up for the season finale. Fun, anyway.

I like the idea of Cordelia as 'a lone fashionable wolf'.

1. Another good Cordelia line: "Wow, you've really mastered the power of positive giving-up. "
   
   
2. Why does Xander slip into soldier-mode here? Just to remind us that he can?
   
   
3. Willow and Harmony sign each other's yearbooks and Willow confesses to Buffy that she hates Harmony. I'm not sure I understand that. Do people always act so weird at graduation, or is it that Willow's messed up because she's afraid what the Mayor will do?
   
   
4. Buffy says, "I just don't get the whole graduation thing. I mean you get a piece of paper and nothing changes." Why does she say that? A lot changes - she won't have to go to high school any more. How well I remember that happy day!
   
   
5. I like Willow's guesses about the commencement speaker - Siegfried, Roy, the tiger.
   
   
6. Faith kills Professor Worth. Love her last line: "I never thought to ask" why. Chilling.
   
   
7. Faith wears a dress. The Mayor acts fatherly. Awww. Is it a dream world? Is it just creepy, or is it a good thing in Faith's odd life?
   
   
8. I liked Willow's conversation with Percy, her success case: "History's important...I'm graduating tomorrow, can forget all this crap."
   
   
9. Lovely conversation between Anya and Xander:

   Anya: Men like sports. I'm sure of it.
   Xander: ...A thousand years of avenging our wrongs and that's all you've learned?

10. Buffy reads about the murder of Wirth and knows it's Faith: "One of her pieces. I recognize the brush work." How detailed was the newspaper photo? What made Buffy so sure?
    
    
11. Lovely Willow line: "Everybody does seem to be going a bit mad, lately. Faith has something of a head start."
    
    
12. Good Buffy line: "The Mayor's trying to hide. I say we go seek." Whedon's on a roll here.
    
    
13. And Wesley: "Aas that a yes? I have trouble keeping track." Gad, I do love him. Can't see why the others don't.
    
    
14. Nice exchange between Giles and Buffy:

    Giles: Nonetheless, keep watch. Faith has you at a disadvantage, Buffy.
    Buffy: Cause I'm not crazy or cause I don't kill people?
    Giles: Both, actually.

15. Wesley says: "Don't let your feelings about Faith interfere with your work." Does he mean that to sound as slashy as it does?
    
    
16. Nice line from Anya: "You've never seen a demon... All the demons that walk the earth are tainted, are human hybrids like vampires. The Ascension means that a human becomes pure demon. They're different." Scary foreshadowing, and a good bit of myth-building... for what it's worth.
    
    
17. Love it that the Mayor walks into the library. Cool. "That's one spunky little girl you've raised. I'm gonna eat her." Great dialogue and characterizatoin. I love it that it's Giles who tries to kill him.
    
    
18. Anya: "If there's a lunar shuttle going up anytime soon, I'm on it." I think I like Anya.
    
    
19. Buffy makes Joyce leave. Not sure how I feel about that. It makes sense logically. But in terms of story-telling? I'm not sure.
    
    
20. Lovely Willow/Oz kissing scene. "What are you doing?" "Panicking."
    
    
21. Interesting dialogue between Buffy and Angel:

    Buffy: Look, I don't need an escort. I'm a big girl. Superpowers, remember? I don't need you crowding me.
    Angel: I didn't think I was.
    Buffy: No, of course you don't. You just show up at the prom and then you disappear into the ozone. For all I know, you left town.
    Angel: Are you mad at me for being around too much or for not being around enough?
    Buffy: Duh. Yes.
    Angel: Which?

    I don't like it because it leads to their separation, but it's beautifully done.
    
    
22. Loved this:

    Vampire: Missed the heart.
    Faith: Meant to.

23. Nice Buffy line: "I've narrowed down my list of one suspect." She's in fine form.
    
    
24. Willow and Oz in bed. Oh my. Good. I like those two.
    
    
25. Good moment with the Mayor and Faith:Faith: You gotta give me something to do. There's no way I'm sleeping. Don't you need anyone dead? Or maimed? I can settle for maimed.
    Mayor: (chuckles) You little firecracker.The tone they set...!
    
    
26. Anya wants Xander to leave with her. That's sweet.
    
    
27. And Xander: "I can't ...I got friends on the line." One of his good moments.
    
    
28. A lot of scenes are ending here with lovers kissing, or refusing to kiss, or going further, or breaking up - interesting juxtapositions.
    
    
29. Wesley says to Buffy, "You can't turn your back on the Council." Why not? I like her answer: "I don't think they can tell which way my back is facing."
    
    
30. Great conversation between Wesley and Buffy here:

    Buffy: I have a strategy. You're not in it.
    Wesley: This is mutiny.
    Buffy: (long pause) I like to think of it as graduation.

31. Is Willow being cagy about the cure for Angel's problem? I think so.
    
    
32. Yup. Confimed. "Drain the blood of a Slayer." And there happens to be two convenient Slayers at hand.
    
    
33. Faith reads a comic book. Damn. I don't like her. I wish it were the characters I liked who read comic books.
    
    
34. Good fight between Buffy and Faith. I'm not usually fond of extended fight scenes, but this is one of the best - partly because it's been looming all season. Or do I mean pending?
    
    
35. So they find a picture of the demon. Looks big. Size counts. The problem is, size on a TV screen really isn't very scary. Nor, come to think of it, at all. I was never a Godzilla fan.
    
    
36. Eating bugs and talking about fibre is just so Mayor-like. Whedon is having too much fun with him. Good Mayor line: "We don't knock during dark rituals?"
    
    
37. So Faith, stabbed, falls out the window onto a moving vehicle so Buffy can't use her blood. How'd she manage that? Remarkable luck. Of course, I don't believe for a minute that she's dead or dying.
    
    
38. To be continued... climax next episode. Okay.

Comments

[beathen.livejournal.com]

It's been a while since I've watched Buffy, but this brought back a lot of great memories. I can't remember what episode it was in, but I loved this line that Giles says to Xander in response to drinking coffee before an impending apocalypse: "Tea is soothing... I wish to be tense.

:D

I miss my Buffy DVD's!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

this brought back a lot of great memories

Good! Even though I'm citing the shows only shortly after watching them, it's fun to remind myself of the good lines.

"Tea is soothing... I wish to be tense."

How wonderful! Have I mentioned lately how much I love Giles?

[catslash.livejournal.com]

To be continued... climax next episode. Okay.

Now imagine waiting the ENTIRE SUMMER for the WB to air the second part, because this was the year of Columbine and they got nervous about some of the stuff in part two. Which, of course, was for no reason - postponing "Earshot" when it was scheduled to air just days after Columbine made sense, but this was just ridiculous.

Not that I am still bitter a decade (!!!) later or anything like that.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That sounds excruciating! I'm glad I could watch the episodes together. It's the only virtue of coming to the show a decade late.

I remember similar frustration in waiting for Dorothy Dunnett to write Checkmate.

[tardistenantsue.livejournal.com]

Good recap! Just saw this eppy myself and you bring up a lot of wonderful points! 5 & 20 had to be some of my fave bits.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Willow's lines are sometimes the best. I love that.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

*blinks*

What happened to Choices and The Prom? I saw your Earshot post (and completely forgot to comment to it, oops), did I miss the ones in between?

Willow and Harmony sign each other's yearbooks and Willow confesses to Buffy that she hates Harmony. I'm not sure I understand that

I think it is about people getting all caught up in the atmosphere and nostalgia for the whole school thing when they are about to leave - and doing the polite social response thing at the same time. I've had conversations like that with people about staying in touch.

Is it a dream world? Is it just creepy, or is it a good thing in Faith's odd life?

I always thought it was kind of sweet. I liked the Mayor's line about "Nobody knows what you are. Not even you, little miss seen-it-all".

Lovely conversation between Anya and Xander

I am really fond of Anya. She gets some absolutely fabulous lines.

Love it that the Mayor walks into the library.

I like his line to Snyder earlier "Sunnydale owes you a debt. And it will be repaid." followed by "Yes, sir, we'll mark that invoice, "paid
in full"" - he makes innocuous statements seem quite sinister.

I've always liked the conversation between Xander and Cordelia too:
XANDER: The Mayor's going to kill us all during graduation.
CORDELIA: Oh. (beat) Are you going to fifth period?
XANDER: I'm thinking I might skip it.
CORDELIA: Yeah, me too.

Ooh, and this is the episode where Angel falls over coming through the door instead of being all stealthy - that was funny.

Good fight between Buffy and Faith. I'm not usually fond of extended fight scenes, but this is one of the best

Yup. They really needed to go all out with it and I think it is fantastic.

And I love the conversation before they fight, especially:
BUFFY: There's a cure.
FAITH: Damn. What is it?
BUFFY: Your blood.

because you can see Faith realise that she's in really deep shit now.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What happened to Choices and The Prom?

Uh-oh. I seemed to have missed them inadvertently. Must retrack. Thanks for pointing this out!

I've had conversations like that with people about staying in touch.

I've never said it unless I meant it... Which doesn't always mean it happens. But I can imagine people saying it, and there's always an awkwardness if someone says it to you and you really don't want to be in touch.

Yup, those are great bits of dialogue!

you can see Faith realise that she's in really deep shit now.

And it's a great way to end an episode.

[gillo]

Why does Xander slip into soldier-mode here? Just to remind us that he can?

Because it fits the needs of the story? It's not the last time useful soldier-knowledge will recur.

Willow and Harmony sign each other's yearbooks and Willow confesses to Buffy that she hates Harmony. I'm not sure I understand that. Do people always act so weird at graduation, or is it that Willow's messed up because she's afraid what the Mayor will do?

The former, I think. We're not done with Harmony yet, though.

Faith wears a dress. The Mayor acts fatherly. Awww. Is it a dream world? Is it just creepy, or is it a good thing in Faith's odd life?

Both, in a way. It will have repercussions.

And Wesley: "Was that a yes? I have trouble keeping track." Gad, I do love him. Can't see why the others don't.

He too will develop, though in Another Place.

Nice Buffy line: "I've narrowed down my list of one suspect." She's in fine form.

Yes, she's on a roll, our girl.

Anya wants Xander to leave with her. That's sweet.

And Xander: "I can't ...I got friends on the line." One of his good moments.

We'll hear echoes of this for some time.

# Good fight between Buffy and Faith. I'm not usually fond of extended fight scenes, but this is one of the best - partly because it's been looming all season. Or do I mean pending?

Both perhaps - certainly inevitable. And, yes, it's a wonderful fight.

So Faith, stabbed, falls out the window onto a moving vehicle so Buffy can't use her blood. How'd she manage that? Remarkable luck. Of course, I don't believe for a minute that she's dead or dying.

Stick with your instincts; most are good.

So good to see another episode from you!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Because it fits the needs of the story? It's not the last time useful soldier-knowledge will recur.

In terms of the full story, yes. But in this particular scene it seemed a little out of place to me. Except as reminder/foreshadowing.

We're not done with Harmony yet, though.

Yay Harmony! - I say that because I know she's going to have a Spike connection.

He too will develop, though in Another Place.

I like the way you say that. On Angel, right?

Stick with your instincts; most are good.

Glad to hear it.

Hope to fill in the two I missed a.s.a.p.

[gillo]

Yay Harmony! - I say that because I know she's going to have a Spike connection.

One way of putting it! She appears in

Angel

too.

I like the way you say that. On Angel, right?

Yes. Wes has one of the most complex and tragic character journeys in the Buffyverse. Think Jerrott.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

She appears in Angel too.

I didn't know that. Glad to hear it.

Think Jerrott.

How... intriguing.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

personally never liked Faith or Wesley (ever, not even in Angel). Liked the Mayor though, something about him. ;-p

Maybe I'll have to go back to watching these. Never got all the way through the DVDs I have.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I can't say I like the Mayor, but he is immensely entertaining! Love Wesley, find Faith uninteresting, on the whole. Or maybe sometimes uninteresting in an interesting way, but totally unlikeable.

I haven't got through my DVDs either, obviously. Time to return to them!

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Found the Mayor entertaining, didn't particularly like him in any other way. Then again, I don't ever tend to like villains.

Faith didn't appeal to me at all. Just never got her. Wesley I found either boring or annoying. Have never been an Anglophile, though I did love Giles, more when I grew up a bit more, though. I watched it from the start on TV, so I was only 22. :-)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

There are some villains I like. For instance, the Christopher Eccleston character in The Seeker: The Dark is Rising was the only character I like, because everyone else seemed dull. And Lex Luthor in Smallville... at least in the first season or two.

Faith was annoying. Loved Wesley, adore Giles - and yes, age may have something to do with it. If I could have watched Buffy as a teen, I might have preferred one of the younger characters.

I was amazed that I came to like Angel, after my original distaste for David Boreanaz.

My favourite Buffy characters are Spike, Giles and Buffy herself.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.. I guess I just have an aversion to (lack of understanding of?) the bad guys -- TV, books, movies. If you're supposed to not like them, I don't. Very susceptible to authorial intent.

Giles is definitely awesome. I was weirded out when he had the fling with Buffy's mom (season 1?) in a 'eeeeew parents getting it on, don't want to think about that' kind of way. It took a few years for me to not see him in avuncular mode. I definitely identified with the kids at first. :-D

Let's see. I like Buffy and Angel and Willow the most, probably. Giles is up there too. Spike, nope, that whole villain thing got in the way. Made some of the later seasons a bit weird.

Thinking on it, Willow may be my favorite character of the whole thing (BTVS & Angel). I think I identified with her quite a bit, besides, she's hot. Though I think attraction-wise, I found Buffy sexier. And Angel. Giles, too, but that later.

Hmmmm.... I don't think I just like the characters because I'm attracted to them in that way, but then, it does all go together for me, often. :-D

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I definitely identified with the kids at first. :-D

An advantage in my case of not seeing it when young, but of course Buffy didn't exist when I was young. Even when it first aired, I would have been nuts over Giles. And one of the reasons I didn't watch it when it first aired was that it seemed to be all about tiny teen girls.

I identify with Willow, too. And she is hot. But I identify more with Buffy - in some ways Willow is too much like me, in things I don't like about myself, like being shy. Buffy has all that honesty and concern for doing what's right. I don't know if I find Buffy sexy - sometimes yes, sometimes no - mostly yes. Angel only sometimes. Spike always. But then, he never seemed to me like a villain. Just a person whose agenda opposed Buffy's.

Yes, it does all go together. Most of the time.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

I get very little fun online surfing time, so have not been here for ages.
Glad you're still watching and enjoying. And points for perseverance with the summaries.
I love Giles, and I love when he gets rippery moments (re your 17 here and re Choices too).
He's not helping Wes fit in, but then Wes' attitude, particularly towards Giles (from my perspective, at least), is very annoying (boy has issues with authority and the council, and really lacks not only the right training but the understanding of how things really work). It's perfectly human of Rupert to be bitter and not feel inclined to help. He, of course, has his own issues with authority and the council.

In general, I don't particularly like Wes at this stage, only later. But then, I never got to like Buffy or Angel. I really like Willow and Spike and enjoy Xander, Anya and Faith without any particular strength of emotion. They get good moments and good lines and have their annoying moments. The mayor is fun to watch. I'd rank him the the funnest Big Bad of the show. Others managed to bore or annoy me, with one exception which was just incredibly sad and painful. But the characters I absolutely cannot stand have not made an appearance at this stage.
Also re choices - northwestern is a real university, relatively big name, in Illinois.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I get very little fun online surfing time, so have not been here for ages.

Welcome back! Glad to see you drop by again.

Glad you're still watching and enjoying.

Definitely, though I've been painfully slow in commenting. You know. Real Life gets in the way. Grump.

I love Giles, and I love when he gets rippery moments

Oh, definitely. Sometimes I wish the show was "Giles the Vampire-Hunter". But I also love Giles with Buffy so I guess I don't really wish that.

I don't think Giles should help Wesley, because Wesley is acting like an idiot. Which makes one question (if one hasn't already) the value of the Council. Did someone send him to Sunnydale, so obviously unprepared for them, because they disliked him and wanted rid of him?

Characters I like:

• Giles
  
• Spike
  
• Buffy
  
• Angel when he interacts with Buffy, Faith, Spike or Drusilla
  
• Willow
  
• Wesley
  
• Anya (though I haven't seen much of her yet)

Mostly I dislike Xander, Faith and, in this season, Cordelia, but my thoughts on Cordelia are mixed, coloured because I hated her so much in season 1 of Angel I could hardly bear to watch. We shall see, as I continue, how I feel about her.

The mayor is fun to watch. I'd rank him the the funnest Big Bad of the show.

So far, he's the best villain by far, unless you count Angel or Spike as villains, which I don't.

I'm glad he didn't become sympathetic, though.

Others managed to bore or annoy me, with one exception which was just incredibly sad and painful.

Is that something I haven't got to yet?

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! Glad to see you drop by again.
Thank you. I enjoy being her.e

Real Life gets in the way. Grump.
See the beginning of my first comment.

Oh, definitely. Sometimes I wish the show was "Giles the Vampire-Hunter".
Sigh.

I don't think Giles should help Wesley, because Wesley is acting like an idiot. Which makes one question (if one hasn't already) the value of the Council. Did someone send him to Sunnydale, so obviously unprepared for them, because they disliked him and wanted rid of him?

The latter is a question we've wondered about and discussed. And the same applies to Rupert, if you think of it. Slayers and watchers, at least in this generation, seem to survive despite rather than thanks to the council.

Whether he should have helped Wes or not... For one thing, Wes was being unsupportable towards him, and was there to replace him, so I have no problem with him not helping. It's perfectly natural for him to dislike Wes, and he at least was being passive aggressive most of the time when he could have actively caused more trouble. On the other hand, Rupert was the best placed to know what Wes's background and expectations are and how massively inappropriate they are in the face of reality. He knew how ill prepared Wes. So he could have been more helpful. That said, Wes at that stage was too stiff and arrogant to accept advice, had it been given.


...Cordelia, but my thoughts on Cordelia are mixed, coloured because I hated her so much in season 1 of Angel I could hardly bear to watch. We shall see, as I continue, how I feel about her.

Oh, I forgot to mention Cordy. She has moments when I like her, a few moments in mid Ats, for instance. But mostly she was not particularly liked or hated.

The mayor is fun to watch. I'd rank him the the funnest Big Bad of the show.

So far, he's the best villain by far, unless you count Angel or Spike as villains, which I don't.
I wasn't comparing him any villain that pops up, only to the other Big Bad's - the main villain of each season. Angelus counts, as the Big Bad of S2. I find him truly boring.

>Others managed to bore or annoy me, with one exception which was just incredibly sad and painful.

Is that something I haven't got to yet?
Definitely. I'm thinking of the entire 7 seasons, and actually also of Ats.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

her.e = here.
unsupportable = insufferable (I have no idea how that got there)
Big Bad's = Big Bads

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hee - I figured it out.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

See the beginning of my first comment.

Yes. I think there is entirely too much of that Real Life stuff going on in everyone's lives.

Slayers and watchers, at least in this generation, seem to survive despite rather than thanks to the council.

If I were writing Buffy fanfic, it would be fun to postulate that the Council was in a period of decay - either with corrupt or incompetence at the top, or a conspiracy going on.

I'm glad Giles didn't help Wesley because I love it when Giles is being anarchic, and when he is showing solidarity with Buffy.

Angelus counts, as the Big Bad of S2. I find him truly boring.

I would find Angelus boring if he were not Angel, and if he didn't have the connection to Spike. But since he is Angel, and has a connection to Spike, I enjoyed his story in season 2 very much, and came to like him as a character.

I'm hoping to post another commentary tomorrow or Saturday. Wish me luck.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

Yes. I think there is entirely too much of that Real Life stuff going on in everyone's lives.
I hear you.

If I were writing Buffy fanfic, it would be fun to postulate that the Council was in a period of decay - either with corrupt or incompetence at the top, or a conspiracy going on.
You must have seen Quentin already, in the ep with Buffy's bday, whatever it was called. Incompetent, he's not, I think.

I'm glad Giles didn't help Wesley because I love it when Giles is being anarchic, and when he is showing solidarity with Buffy.

I love anarchic Giles very much. And I don't think any attempt at help would have worked for either of them, but Wes is a poor boy, insecure and incompetent fish out of water.

I would find Angelus boring if he were not Angel, and if he didn't have the connection to Spike. But since he is Angel, and has a connection to Spike, I enjoyed his story in season 2 very much, and came to like him as a character.
Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent season with eps I love. There are some watchable scenes with Angelus, usually not because of his appearance but the others, and the arc is very good. He just usually manages to elicit a mental groan from me, as a character. Which is a stark contrast to the Mayor.

Wishing you luck for the next commentary. And for everything else. Luck is always good.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't remember Quentin... oh, wait a minute, I do. Would have to watch it again to get a sense of him but I can see a level of misguided incompetence there. He didn't achieve what he wanted to achieve, not exactly, and almost lost Buffy. It could be that he's... twisted. Which would explain problems on the Council, too.

Wes is a poor boy, insecure and incompetent fish out of water.

Warped in another way. Still has to find himself. Has been taught the wrong lessons.

Angelus He just usually manages to elicit a mental groan from me, as a character.

I can understand that. I don't feel that way - Angelus made me grin, there are far more groan-worthy characters in the show. (I groan when I see Xander, for example.)

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

I left a long and detailed comment and now it's not here. Did you by any chance get it in your email? Will it miraculously appear again?

Speaking of which, did you get an email from Adam?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Did you by any chance get it in your email?

No. I gave it time to appear but I think it's evaporated into the universe. Or something.

I got email from Adam and answered. And hope to do another set of Buffy comments today.