Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl (1x12)

[fajrdrako]

So I get to the last episode of season 1, and it's the best one so far, on several counts. The pacing was terrific, the characterization raised a notch for everyone, and the season brought to a real climax.

1. The episode starts with a technique they've used a number of times to start an episode: set it up to appear that a certain improbably thing is happening, and it turns out not to be happening. In this case, it looks as if Xander is asking Buffy on a date. We know it's not really happening (at least not yet) so it has to be practice. In other cases we had dreams and illusions.

I'd like this better if the set-up weren't so transparent each time. It isn't annoying - at least, not yet - but it's a bit of a near miss: more like cheap thrills still than real suspense, simply because each time it's been too obvious and transparent.

This show has mastered punchy scenes and dramatic moments. Not much subtlety yet. It needs to work on its rough edges. It's getting close.

2. Xander: "Just kill me!" I hate that less than I used to. His delivery is improving. His lines are starting to seem funny. Heaven help me.

3. Has Cordelia yet had the same boyfriend two episodes in a row?

4. Is the Codex in demonspeak? Or some other language?

5. Buffy: "Giles would be so proud." I'm glad she's thinking of him.

6. I keep telling myself not to mention it, but I think of it every time I see Giles' office: I love the figure of Shiva Nataraja on his shelf. My favourite god-icon. I get a fannish thrill every time I see it.

7. Earthquake. Aren't those common in California? I guess you can never really get used to them. Hellmouth doesn't make it any easier. I love Cordelia's inclusion in these scenes.

8. The Master remains kind of dull/annoying/silly but I kind of like his voice. I hope this episode gets rid of him once and for all.

9. Buffy: Giles, care? I'm putting my life on the line battling the undead. Look, I broke a nail, okay? I'm wearing a press-on. The least you could do is exhibit some casual interest. You could go, 'hmm'.
Giles: Hmm?

This is very funny, but, forgive me, doesn't it sound a little as if Buffy has been given Cordelia's dialogue by mistake? Especially the "broke a nail" bit.

10. And I loved the next part:

Buffy: Fine. That's okay. I can't put it off any longer. I have to meet my terrible fate.
Giles: What?!
Buffy: Biology.

I can relate.

11. So Xander asks Buffy out and she turns him down. This may be Xander's best scene yet. Nicholas Brendon outdid himself. Writing and acting really meshed, making it one of the most convincing moments we've seen on Buffy yet.

12. And Xander blames Angel for Buffy's lack of interest in him. Huh. Well, one can see why - the situation is hard enough on his ego as it is. And Angel is indeed part of her preoccupation, and part of her reason for refusing him. (Though I think she would have said the same things even if Angel never existed.)

13. Giles says to Ms Calendar, "I don't know if I can trust you." I don't blame him: I don't trust her, either. But I sort of like her anyway, in a non-trusting kind of way.

14. Love the scene where Xander asks Willow to the dance and she turns him down. Great stuff.

15. Giles: "Some prophecies are, are a bit dodgy. They're, they're mutable. Buffy herself has, has thwarted them time and time again, but this is the Codex. There is nothing in it that does not come to pass." How does he know that? My reaction is to be sceptical, but I suppose we're supposed to trust it as true. Anyone who knows the Dame de Doubtance knows that while prophecies may sound true, and may actually be literally true, they're tricky shape-changing beasts who are seldom what they appear.

16. I like the way Buffy turns her fear into anger towards Giles. And I like the way he understands that. The acting from Anthony Stewart Head in this episode is superb. But then, almost everyone is better than usual - better than before.

17. Buffy: "Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die." Awww. Sniff.

18. This seems a good scene to mention this, but... is it just me, or is Buffy particularly attractive in this episode? What's different? She seems sexier and more sharp-edged.

19. Xander said, "I'm just gonna go home, lie down and listen to country music. The music of pain." And then he does. I love it that he does that. Patsy Cline.

20. A wonderful bit of dialogue:

Joyce: Hi, honey. You all right?
Buffy: Sure.
Joyce: Probably just full from that bite of dinner you nearly had.

21. A great Cordelia line: "Obviously, Kevin has underestimated the power of my icy stare." And then they find the boys dead. Yerk.

22. I loved Willow saying to Buffy, "I'm not okay."

23. Yeah, everybody likes Buffy's dress. I don't, particularly - but I like the way it makes her look like a bride, and I like the way she looks in it with the black leather jacket (still Angel's, right?), like an avenging angel.

24. I like Ms Calendar's line, "That's kinda warm and fuzzy for a message of doom."

25. And a climactic, wonderful moment:

Ms Calendar: Well, then we need to warn her.
Giles: I don't intend involving her at all.
Ms Calendar: What do you mean?
Giles: Buffy's not gonna face the Master. I am.

Woo. Moment of impact. Way to go, Giles.

26. This is followed by the most useless thing Giles every said: "I'm older and wiser than you, and just - just do what you're told for once! All right?" He should have saved his breath. I'm sure he knew how useless it was.

29. So Buffy knocks him out. What else is a Slayer to do?

...I would like to make it clear that I actually adore Buffy in this episode. I could even be said to be crushing on her, in a mild and gentle way. But. But. She is so all-over-the-map with her feelings and her angst that I want to either roll my eyes or give her a good shake. You'd think she was a teenager.

..So she comes by it honestly. And she has reasons for moodiness and despair if anyone ever did. Facing death for the cause and all that, and having no choice in the matter at all. Even if she tried to pretend she did for a while.

Or - put another way - she does have a choice, always did, and she made the choice long ago, and because she's Buffy, she goes on making the same choice over and over, and always will.

30. In a episode with all this great characterization, insightful writing and suspenseful pacing, it seems odd that we have at the middle of it the goofy Master and the dullest demon-acolyte kid in the history of boringness. The biology teacher can't even compete.

31. I love it that Xander calls Giles "Locutus of the Borg". Once a fangirl, always a fangirl.

32. Loved this exchange too:

Xander: How could you let her go?
Giles: As the soon-to-be-purple area of my jaw will attest, I did not "let" her go!

33. Interesting that Willow and Xander both seem to think that saving Buffy and saving the world are two completely different issues. Are they missing the big picture here?

34. Xander goes to see Angel to get help in saving Buffy. I am floored. I am thrilled. Xander just went waaaay up in my esteem. And so did Joss.

Stunningly good moment:

Angel: You're in love with her.
Xander: Aren't you?

35. Another good exchange:

Xander: You were checking out my neck! I saw that!
Angel: No, I wasn't.
Xander: Just keep your distance, pal.
Angel: I wasn't looking at your neck.
Xander: I told you to eat before we left.

So it seems that Xander can fairly consistently now make me laugh. I don't know if the change is in me or him. Him, I think; he's a notch more sophisticated, his laughs aren't quite so cheap or so based on bad puns and pointless self-immolation.

36. The Master says to Buffy, "You still don't understand your part in all this, do you? You are not the hunter. You are the lamb." Half of me thinks that's really dramatic. Half of me thinks it's really dumb. Somewhere between the two I'm thinking, "huh?" Buffy's power, like her self-confidence, seems to fluctuate without much rhyme or reason. We know she's a hunter. We've seen it. Is this just the Master trying to demoralize her? Or is there some deeper message - that the lamb is really the hunter, that the tables will turn, that the Master's rhetoric is as empty as his power? Or is it that none of the Master's dialogue is worth anything, however you look at it?

It strikes me that half of the reason I think the Master is so absurd is his make-up. I don't like it: It makes him look silly and ugly rather than scary, and he just can't manage menacing. What would really scare me would be a smooth, handsome, well-spoken demonic type - a master-vampire who looks like Don Johnson or Jamie Bamber. Or even like Jason Dohring in "Moonlight", or - heh - John Simm. Give me such a Master the same dialogue and I might be quaking on the edge of my chair. Why?

Well, mostly because I think the Master looks as silly as he sounds. And I think glamorous vampires are scarier than gross ones.

Angel, for example, is the scariest vampire yet, because I can and do take him seriously.

37. The Master's dialogue is just too faux-pompous. I think I take back some of what I said in the previous comment. Nothing could make his long-windedness scary. I'm more scared of what Buffy will do to herself.

38. And even The Master likes her dress. Groan. Next he'll come out in a feather boa and high heels.

39. Angel can't do CPR on Buffy because he has 'no breath'. Another tick for the checklist of Torchwood dialogue.

40. Vampire fight in the library. I get bored.

41. Buffy gets her nerve back. About time, girl! Go for it! Great moment. Good acting, too. Sarah Michelle Geller is just starting to appear less lightweight.

42. Is that a guest-shot cameo appearance by Cthulhu?

43. Buffy ploughs down vampires in her way. Heh. Love it.

44. Buffy's jokes about "I may be dead but I'm still pretty" and "I flunked the written" are undoubtedly funny (and I laughed) but I didn't like them: I wanted a little more tension here, not a tension-breaker. I think the vampire-fighting stuff is silly enough already. I think I'd be happier if she'd just said one of those jokes, not both. Preferably the second one, because it was funnier.

45. Fruit punch mouth. You know, Buffy put her finger on the whole silliness/weakness of the Master. How can you really fear or respect a guy with red eyes sand fruit punch mouth?

46. You could tell the Master was going to fall on the spiky thing, but I had trouble figuring out what the spiky thing was. The table? I like the weaponry - Giles' sword, and the mallet thingy, and Buffy smashing the Master's bones with it.

47. When the other vampires get staked, they turn to ashes. So why does the Master's skeleton remain intact? Seniority?

48. I love it when Willow says "harsh" as if she really means it.

49. Buffy: "We saved the world. I say we party!" A great motto for her crowd. I like it that Willow is the one talking to Angel at the end.

50. Of course Angel likes Buffy's dress. He's besotted.


Woo - I commented on more than 50 points in this one episode. Did I outdo myself?

Comments

[littleblueghost.livejournal.com]

This was probably one of my favourite episodes from the whole series... It was such a good season Finale!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It was amazing. Quite amazing. I think I want to watch it again - but maybe shouldn't stop for too much rewatching when I still have so many episodes to see!

I have trouble even thinking what my favourite moments would be, but maybe the scene where Giles says he's going to go after the Master, or maybe the scene where Xander goes to find Angel.

Buffy herself was incredible in this one.

[devohoneybee.livejournal.com]

I am so enjoying reliving my original Buffy moments by reading your commentary. Tuesday nights were SACRED way back when. Nice to see your fresh take. :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You watched on Tuesday nights too? Cool.

The guy in your icon looks familiar but I can't place him - who is it?

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

Picks up a pace, and just gets better.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So I hear.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Good points, one and all!

Is this the episode where Ms. Calendar finds out that Buffy is the Slayer? Because I loved her line: "Buffy? The Slayer? But she's so small!" That was a reference to the fact that the woman who played Buffy in the movie was larger and a lot more solid than SMG, and before the TV show first came on the air and the casting choices were mentioned, all the critics ragged on SMG as a choice for the role because she was so tiny!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

the woman who played Buffy in the movie was larger and a lot more solid than SMG

Really? I thought Sarah Michelle Geller was in the movie. Shows what I know.

all the critics ragged on SMG as a choice for the role because she was so tiny!

The tininess makes a rather strong point, I think. Before I watched the show the tininess, youth and apparent anorexia of the female characters in the show were a strong deterrent to watching it. (Especially when I kept seeing music vids in which they were in tears.) Now that I watch, I discover that I have a rather strong kink for pretty, tiny, tough young girls with attitude. Who'd have guessed?

[gillo]

I knew you'd like this one. I wasn't crazy about the dress but really liked the running gag.

3. Has Cordelia yet had the same boyfriend two episodes in a row?

She'll settle down a bit before too long.

Giles says to Ms Calendar, "I don't know if I can trust you." I don't blame him: I don't trust her, either. But I sort of like her anyway, in a non-trusting kind of way.

You have some good instincts.

Anyone who knows the Dame de Doubtance knows that while prophecies may sound true, and may actually be literally true, they're tricky shape-changing beasts who are seldom what they appear.

I don't think Joss has read any DD, but you are so right here.

Buffy and Joyce - I really like the poignancy of:

BUFFY: And you had your whole life ahead of you.

JOYCE: Yeah.

BUFFY: Must be nice.

Joyce, like Sunnydale, is in such denial, isn't she? Metaphor for the way adults handle teenagers in a lot of areas of their lives.

29. So Buffy knocks him out. What else is a Slayer to do?

Giles being knocked out, mainly by being hit on the head, is a recurring leitmotif throughout the seven seasons.

Angel, for example, is the scariest vampire yet, because I can and do take him seriously.

::chortles in anticipation::

39. Angel can't do CPR on Buffy because he has 'no breath'. Another tick for the checklist of Torchwood dialogue.

I did mention that you'd notice where it came from, right? There are other things similarly littered through various seasons of BtVS. RTD has a serious Buffycrush. Or Josscrush, considering his orientation...

49. Buffy: "We saved the world. I say we party!" A great motto for her crowd. I like it that Willow is the one talking to Angel at the end.

Yup. The earth is definitely doomed, as Giles said in episode 2...

You do want to rush on to the next season now, don't you? That's when it gets

really

good.

Edited to put some tags in the right place.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I wasn't crazy about the dress but really liked the running gag.

yes, and the dress wasn't annoyingly ugly or anything. It was just a dress.

You have some good instincts.

And I am very opinionated, but the opinions sometimes fluctuate. [g]

I don't think Joss has read any DD

He doesn't need to. The mindset is the same. Tricksy and sadistic to his best characters.

Joyce, like Sunnydale, is in such denial, isn't she? Metaphor for the way adults handle teenagers in a lot of areas of their lives.

It reminds me of the way no one in Doctor Who pays any attention to the TARDIS. It's a strong metaphor for a lot of things in life - what we don't understand is often invisible to us. Including the problems of teenagers. While Joyce shrugs Buffy's behaviour off as inexplicable, Snyder sees it as part of the evil conspiracy of youth.

I did mention that you'd notice where it came from, right?

Hee. It was like being let in on this huge fannish in-joke.

RTD has a serious Buffycrush. Or Josscrush, considering his orientation...

Nothing wrong with that! In fact, one of the reasons I love RTD's writing so much is that I love his sources. Joss's, too. Sometimes they are the same sources. The timing hasn't been right, but in a perfect world, Joss would be carrying on with the sixth season of Firefly and we'd be picking out Doctor Who references in it.

You do want to rush on to the next season now, don't you?

I've already watched 2x01. Might post about it prematurely and to hell with my planned schedule.

Or not.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Woohoo, you made it! Roll on Season 2!

it's the best one so far, on several counts. The pacing was terrific, the characterization raised a notch for everyone, and the season brought to a real climax

And you liked it - which is cool because as good as it is, in comparison to some future episodes there are still bits I find a little lame.

Love the scene where Xander asks Willow to the dance and she turns him down

I think I like that bit even better than the scene where he asks Buffy out. And Xander actually going and listening to country music always makes me smile.

I like the way Buffy turns her fear into anger towards Giles. And I like the way he understands that. The acting from Anthony Stewart Head in this episode is superb. But then, almost everyone is better than usual - better than before

I thought SMG was really good in that scene as well - the way she laughs when she hears them and when she asks Giles "will you train her?" and "do you think it will hurt?" puts a lump in my throat.

A great Cordelia line: "Obviously, Kevin has underestimated the power of my icy stare." And then they find the boys dead

I think it's interesting that this episode is the first where Cordelia seems to care about her boyfriend - this one isn't just one of the ever changing line-up. She's finding him sweet and cute and it's not her normal attitude (and I love that she is talking about it with Willow for some reason), and then he dies.

Yeah, everybody likes Buffy's dress. I don't, particularly

Oh good, me either. I always watch those bits going "huh?" And I have a little bit of a problem with her going to face the Master in it, even if it does look cool with the leather jacket. It's just so impractical! Who goes off to face the creature that's supposed to kill them wearing a prom dress?

I'm over it. Let's move on.

I like Ms Calendar's line, "That's kinda warm and fuzzy for a message of doom."

I liked that they tie in a Bible reference and that Giles just knows it off the top of his head. And I love his reply to her that turns the reading so sinister: "Depends on where he's leading them to."

I actually adore Buffy in this episode [...] she does have a choice, always did, and she made the choice long ago, and because she's Buffy, she goes on making the same choice over and over, and always will

Yeah. *nods along* You've hit the nail on the head, and it's very definitely a large part of why I love her.

And Giles of course, trying to protect her by taking it on himself. Not that it would have necessarily changed anything, unless by some slim chance Giles had managed to kill the Master. He wouldn't have got free by feeding from Giles, but that would just put off when Buffy had to face him - in fact, if he'd killed Giles she'd have been straight down there to avenge him.

the dullest demon-acolyte kid in the history of boringness

Yeah, the Annoying One was a dead end the writers went down. It doesn't help that the kid playing him is so completely blank. but take heart - the writers reverse themselves back out of the dead end fairly soon.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

in comparison to some future episodes there are still bits I find a little lame.

Lame? I'd say there were bits that were crippled to the point of paraplegia. Like any scene with the Master, for instance. But. Still lots of good stuff there among the silliness.

Xander actually going and listening to country music always makes me smile.

yeah. He too was a character who suffered from being too much comic relief and too one-faceted. This made him seem a lot more human. He tried, he failed, he turns to Patsy Cline. I liked that.

the way she laughs when she hears them and when she asks Giles "will you train her?" and "do you think it will hurt?" puts a lump in my throat.

Yes. She was so scared. And I think it was very poignant that her first fear was distress over being replaced, rather than simply fearing death.

Oh good, me either. I always watch those bits going "huh?"

There are lots of interesting things about that dress.

(1) Buffy didn't actually pick it out, her mother did. Nobody really likes clothes their mother picks out for them. (Even if they initially had liked it in the shop window.)

(2) Buffy doesn't wear it for pleasure or for the dance, but for the hunt.

(3) Everyone says how they like it: it's traditional to compliment someone on their pretty prom dress even if you don't like it.

(4) Being white, it has those bridal/virgin sacrifice implications.

I thought it would end up bloodstained, but it didn't.

Anyway, I liked her fighting the Master in a prom dress. That is just so Buffyish. Mixing the 'cute teen girl' aspect with the 'relentless predator' aspect. Mixing the supernatural and the mundane. Mixing the pleasurable and the dangerous.

Put another way: isn't a prom supposed to be a sort of graduation ritual? Buffy in this case is graduating from one stage of slayerdom to another.

You've hit the nail on the head, and it's very definitely a large part of why I love her.

Yes. The heroism despite the internal conflicts. Sure, part of her wants to be 'normal' and 'safe'. But she knows that's weakness and she's gotta do what she's gotta do.

Giles of course, trying to protect her by taking it on himself. Not that it would have necessarily changed anything, unless by some slim chance Giles had managed to kill the Master.

I'm not sure how he could have. The right spells? It's clear his physical fighting powers are minimal compared to Buffy's. But he is brave and resourceful. I wouldn't rule him out as a lightweight.

It doesn't help that the kid playing him is so completely blank.

Yeah, really. No personality there at all. If he showed a glimmer of fear as what he's got into, or power-lust, or something, he might be interesting, but there's just nothing there at all.

but take heart - the writers reverse themselves back out of the dead end fairly soon

Glad to hear it!

[gillo]

Yeah, the Annoying One was a dead end the writers went down. It doesn't help that the kid playing him is so completely blank. but take heart - the writers reverse themselves back out of the dead end fairly soon.

And how! I'm dying to see her response to that plot twist!

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Exceeding the limits again - I'm a rebel.

Xander goes to see Angel to get help in saving Buffy. I am floored. I am thrilled. Xander just went waaaay up in my esteem

Cool. But it's a scene that tends to make Angel go down in my esteem because Xander has to push him into helping. Unfortunately they cut out a scene between Angel and the Anointed that makes him a little more understandable. Angel wakes up to find the AO on the end of his bed:

AO: He said you lived like one of them. I don't understand it.
Angel: Maybe when you're older.
AO: People are weak. They're stupid. Why would you want to be one?
Angel: Did he send you?
AO (nods): He's coming. Soon. Stay out of his way.
Angel: Why should I?
AO: Because he doesn't like you anymore. You know what he could do to you...
Angel: Yes.
AO: No you don't.

Which at least shows that Angel is afraid of the Master, and in light of the prophecy probably doesn't think there is anything he can do.

Buffy's power, like her self-confidence, seems to fluctuate

Or to put it another way, her power fluctuates with her self-confidence, and given there's a supposedly unbreakable prophecy the Master will kill her, she has good reason for being off her game mentally. And to be fair, the prophecy does come true - I tend to wonder whether it would have gone down that way if Buffy hadn't known about the prophecy. Would she have been as vulnerable to the Master's mesmerising, for instance, if the prophecy hadn't shaken her?

a smooth, handsome, well-spoken demonic type

*looks ahead and cackles. evilly* There are better villains coming up, believe me.

Another tick for the checklist of Torchwood dialogue

I saw so many reviews of A Day in the Death that just went "Buffy steal!" over that bit. And went through the familiar list of why it makes no logical sense.

Vampire fight in the library. I get bored

Yeah, another boring fight - but I like it for the great Cordelia moments. First of all, she's actually been out mourning her boyfriend, she saves Willow and Miss Calendar, she drives through the school (I am childishly pleased by that bit) and she bites a vampire! I was impressed.

I commented on more than 50 points in this one episode. Did I outdo myself?

Okay, now I'm wondering how many you're going to do for some of the really good episodes - because if I chose my top 10 over all the seasons this one wouldn't even make the short list. In fact, it probably wouldn't make the list if I was restricted to the first 3 seasons alone.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm a rebel

Go for it.

it's a scene that tends to make Angel go down in my esteem because Xander has to push him into helping

Hmm. I took that as an example of Angel's otherworldliness and his mistrust of humans. Not a reluctance to help in any absolute sense.

her power fluctuates with her self-confidence

Hmm. Yes, interesting way of looking at it. And her youth and lact of experience would be a handicap in this regard.

Would she have been as vulnerable to the Master's mesmerising, for instance, if the prophecy hadn't shaken her?

My instinct is to say she would be - she's already demonstrated that she's afraid of the Master, for whatever reason. And he was playing on that fear.

I saw so many reviews of A Day in the Death that just went "Buffy steal!" over that bit. And went through the familiar list of why it makes no logical sense.

It makes sense to me - more in Torchwood than in Buffy. I loved it. Of course, I didn't know at first it was a Buffy steal, having not seen this episode then. It felt like a sequel to the 'no blood circulation' line from the week before - which I also loved.

But Owen is the Walking Dead, not a vampire, and vampires should have a whole different set of rules. "No breath" for a vampire makes very little sense to me: especially since they can and do act indistinguishible from humans. (Cf. Darla in the first episode. And Angel in his initial appearances.)

Maybe they just breathe the wrong kind of breath - incompatible with living humans for purposes of CPR. No oxygen/co2 flow involved. Yeah, that's my theory.


I like it for the great Cordelia moments.

Yeah. Cordelia excelled. I don't have any sense of caring about Cordelia yet - she's been pretty much 100% comic relief so far, and I have trouble thinking of her as real. She is a good catalyst for Buffy-angst, though.

now I'm wondering how many you're going to do for some of the really good episodes

I'll never shut up.

Or maybe I'll just run out of time.

[countrycousin.livejournal.com]

Haven't watched any of the TV Buffy.

You may have made a convert.

*goes to meditate to see if the urge will go away*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Haven't watched any of the TV Buffy.

Do you mean by that, that you've seen the original movie? Or read the comics or books?

You may have made a convert.

Not deliberately. I'm firmly in the "nobody needs another fandom" school of thought. But my friends roped me in, and... I'm sure my enthusiasm is showing. Despite a decade of restistence to this show, I'm getting into it.

It's still rough around the edges (as of the send of season 1), but the characters are great and the situation is... deepening.

[luthien.livejournal.com]

*is currently watching 'School Hard' from Season 2*

*has watched a bunch of episodes from seasons 6 and 7 in the past few weeks*

Hmmn, I wonder why I suddenly got into the mood for Buffy?

*g*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

For some reason that I hope no one will explain to me yet, a lot of people I know have been rewatching "School Hard" lately. I wonder why. I have a guess or two....

I wonder why I suddenly got into the mood for Buffy?

I'm beginning to feel a bit like a viral contagion. In a good way, I hope - !

[vervassal.livejournal.com]

7. Yup, earthquakes are very common in CA. :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

makes for a good story set-up!

[monsieureden.livejournal.com]

Yay for your warming up to Xander! I so loved Xander. Less so towards the end, but he was my fave next to Spike. Well, no, that would be Giles. So next to Giles / Spike. Actually, the three of them sort of took turns; I always liked Giles most, then Xander and Spike at various moments.

Who am I kidding, I am simply indecisive.

I love that you mentioned the Dame de Doubtance, LOL!!

One reason I didn't watch Buffy as soon as it came out was from seeing the 'vampire make-up,' i.e. the Master and his like. I didn't like that it seemed so silly and corny. I, like you, am more scared by the normalcy of evil. But I ended up liking other elements of the show, came to know its inherent corniness, and watched it anyway.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

he was my fave next to Spike

Really! Interesting. So far I'm still not crazy over Xander, but he does get good lines, and I don't find he bothers me as he did. At this rate I'll end up liking him for real; he certainly has admirable moment. I still don't like his looks or his manner, but that may grow on me as I come to like the character.

I always liked Giles most, then Xander and Spike at various moments.

Since Giles and Spike are so much my favourites, that bodes well for my future liking of Xander.

I love that you mentioned the Dame de Doubtance, LOL!!

Well of course. S he is my mental touchstone for the oracular soothsayer. Especially when they are particularly creepy or ambiguous.

One reason I didn't watch Buffy as soon as it came out was from seeing the 'vampire make-up,' i.e. the Master and his like.

Yes. Me too. Just as in Doctor Who and Stargate and the like I dislike people with alien/monster make-up. I don't even like it in Star Wars, which did it as well as it could be done! And the Buffy vampires are awful.

But that doesn't keep me from watching; it's just something about it that I don't like.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

"I'm just gonna go home, lie down and listen to country music. The music of pain."

One of my all-time favorite Xander bits. And how about later, when he's lying there listening to Patsy Cline, and the phone rings, and he picks it up, puts it down, and drops it off the cradle, all without changing his posture or expression? Such fun.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It'a a great Xander moment. This might be where I first started to think I really liked the character. Still not a favourite; but he seems more real, less annoying than he did. More... worthwhile.

[ceruleancat.livejournal.com]

Saw an ep of S5 today and wondered what you'd think of it, and how you'd like how the characters developed. :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I wonder!

I suspect my reactions will be positive, but we won't know till we know.

I certainly know of some things that are going to happen later on of which I don't approve, but I still might like them when I get to them.