Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "Reptile Boy" (2x05)

[fajrdrako]

Now, this one I liked. A lot.

It was no "School Hard", but it had a tone and a sense of action that I liked. I liked the villains: not vampires but Evil Frat Boys and their Snake-Monster-God. I really liked Reptile Boy, partly becuase I like snakes, partly because it reminded me of one of the climactic panels in one of my favourite comic books, "Conan the Barbarian" #24, drawn by the incomparable Barry Windsor-Smith, in which the jewelled snake tiara Conan was trying to steal turned into a giant snake-demon-deity and attacked Conan.

Same kind of visual, except Buffy is littler and blonder than Conan, and she didn't have a sword. Same fighting spirit, though. And they're very very much the same kind of fantasy stories, for all Conan is sword & sorcery and Buffy is vampires.

(Bet you've never seen Buffy compared to Conan before.)

Points:

1. Starts with Buffy, Willow and Xander watcing TV and kibbitzing. This is very, very like my life at 16. And since. I thought it was cute the way they were braiding Willow's hair.

2. Bit of dialogue:

Willow: I know! We could go to the Bronze and sneak in our own tea bags
and ask for hot water.
Xander: Hop off the outlaw train, Will, before you land us all in jail.

That line sounds like embryonic "Firefly" to me. I think they were better off with TV and
hair-braiding, myself.

3. Delta Zeta Kappa: are the letters of frathouse names chosen at random, or do they stand for
something?

4. Dr. Debby? Cordelia, what have you been watching?

5. Nice conversation between Buffy and Willow:

Willow: You dreamed about Angel again?
Buffy: Third night in a row.
Willow: What did he do in the dream?
Buffy: Stuff.

And if that isn't good enough:

Willow: Oh! Stuff! Was it one of those vivid dreams where you could feel his lips and smell his hair?
Buffy: It had surround-sound.

I love these references to Angel. And though I argue happily for polyamorous relationships in "Torchwood", I might add that I'm not too happy when Xander is hormonally dazzled by Amapata and forgets his interest in Buffy, or when Buffy is charmed by the likes of Tom Warner. I don't think they're being polyamorous, I think it looks as if their feelings are ephemeral or trivial. Or their attention span is. Admittedly, in Buffy's case, she's probably trying to distract herself and it isn't working in the least. In Xander's case, I can't think of any explanation except that his feelings are - not so much ephemeral as sheer lust topped off by teen need.

6. Buffy: "brainsick". Good word.

7. Followed by:

Buffy: I can't have a relationship with him.
Willow: Not during the day, but you could ask him for coffee some night. It's the non-relationship drink of choice.

...Making me wonder just what sort of future Willow is picturing for Buffy and Angel. Is he just following her own romantic impulses without thought? Picturing ongoing years of coffee and hot dreams? Or does she believe that Buffy *can* have a relationship with Angel? I suspect the latter.

8. More good dialogue:

Willow: It's not a date, it's a caffeinated beverage. Okay, sure, it's hot and bitter like a relationship that way, but...
Xander: What's like a relationship?
Buffy: Nothing I have. Coffee?

This is funny, but it's too edged/bitter/multilayered to sound like a sitcom. I approve.

9. And how I love Giles: "Just because the paranormal is more normal and less... para of
late is no excuse for tardiness or letting your guard down." He's really not good at the sergeant-major business but he's cute when he's being teacherlike.

10. Then, predictably, Buffy throws him around the room a lot. Giles doesn't learn very fast, does he? Buffy can take him. Always.

11. Giles: "Giles: When you live on top of a... a mystical convergence it's only a
matter of time before a fresh hell breaks loose." This simply made me think of "Torchwood".

12. Sadly, Giles is a pushover. It's one of his more endearing traits but it also makes me want to kick his ankles. He seems unduly naive where Buffy is concerned. As if his heart isn't entirely into the Watcher business: he wants to see her happy. He'd like to be totally undulgent. This is reinforced by his next line: "And don't dawdle with your friends. And don't think sitting there pouting is gonna get to me, because it won't.... It's not getting to me."

'Course it is. Pushover.

13. We establish pretty quickly here that Cordelia is not so much boy-crazy as money-crazy. My esteem for her sinks lower. She gets a good line, though:

Buffy: Well, I don't really wanna meet any fraternity boys.
Cordelia: And if there was a God, don't you think he'd keep it that way?

I also liked the way her fake-laugh routine failed first time she tried it.

14. Good exchange:

Richard: Hi, sweetheart. I'm Richard. And you are?
Buffy: *So* not interested.

Sometimes I really love Buffy.

15. Tom gets a good line out of it, too:

Richard: What, she likes to play hard to get?
Tom: No, Richard. I think you're playing easy to resist.

16. So then Tom talks to Buffy and he's really charming and nice, and I start to think: uh-oh. He's probably the real monster here. I wasn't sure, though. Love the way this show can make me speculate but not be sure. And sometimes still fools me later.

17. A wonderful bit of conversational romance between Angel and Buffy:

Angel: Listen, if we date you and I both know one thing's gonna lead to another.
Buffy: One thing already has led to another. You think it's a little late to be reading me a warning label?
Angel: I'm just tryin' to protect you. This could get outta control.
Buffy: Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?
Angel: This isn't some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after.
Buffy: No. When you kiss me I wanna die.

Woo. That's wonderful. I love the way they are both trying to be 'realistic' in a situation where that just isn't going to work. But neither of them know what to do. Angel is so aware of her youth and - for want of a better word, innocence - and she is so unaware of the full reality. But intelligent enough to know it, and to know she's already in too deep.

18. Another really great bit of Cordelia dialogue: "Richard explained it all to me, but I was so busy really listening that I didn't hear much."

19. Though I hated it with the Master, I like all the cult-ritual stuff here, and the monks' robes. Why is that?

20. I love the line where Richard says "God, I love high school girls.", and its implications for Buffy.

21. And a good line from Xander, when Buffy mentions Tom and the frat house party: "Oh, Buffy, I don't think so. Frying pan, fire?" I loved that: partly the old Xander jealousy, partly his concern for her.

22. So Buffy lies to Giles about her mother being sick and where she will be. I can see this from Buffy's point of view, but I and surprised Giles fell for it. Is he always so naive? Or is it that he's blind where Buffy is concerned? Or is it that he feels she should learn from her mistakes, and this is the best way to handle it?

23. I'm really glad Jenny Calendar isn't in this episode.

24. Xander to Cordelia: "Cor, you printing up business cards with your pager number and hours of operation, or just going with a halter top tonight?" Snarky but very funny.

25. Good line from Tom to Buffy: "We're not all a bunch of drunken louts. Some of us are sober
louts." He's too nice to be good, he's gotta be Eeevil.

26. Another great romantic line from Buffy:

Buffy: I shouldn't be here.
Tom: Because you're seeing someone.
Buffy: No.
Tom: You're not seeing someone?
Buffy: Someone's not seeing me.

27. So Xander becomes the target of the frat boys, and I liked the way Xander handled it - not with dignity (impossible) but without loss of control (or even face) and with concern for Buffy still his motivation.

28. I like the evolution and use of the word 'maturity', and the way it motivates Buffy to drink her spiked drink. The whole spiked-drink scenario makes me think of "Veronica Mars", with the difference that instead of waking up raped, Buffy will wake up sacrificed to the snake god. I expected that "Torchwood" would owe a lot to "Buffy", but had no idea how much of "Veronica Mars" was based on similar concepts: a blonde Californian teen in a small town high school doesn't fit in, has a vocation beyond her high school work, a secret quest, separated parents, lots of wittiness, and so on.

29. And this part was really scary, when Richard goes after the unconscious Buffy:

Tom: Get away from her!
Richard: I wasn't doing anything!
Tom: I saw what you were doing.
Richard: I was just having a little fun.
Tom: Well, she's not here for your fun, you pervert. She's here for the pleasure of the one we serve.
Richard: In his name.

Implications: (1) that whatever is going to happen to Buffy is worse than rape, (2) that whatever Richard's weaknesses, he's driven by something stronger than lust, and (3) religion can be weird and scary.

30. The frat boys abducted Kelly, Brittany, Callie and Buffy. Does this say something about girl's names in California in the 1990s, or were they following a pattern? Cordelia's the only one who doesn't fit, and if you call her Cordy.... Hmm.

31. I like it that Willow lectures Angel on his relationship with Buffy - and Giles on his treatment of her. Go, Willow! I don't think she's as right as she thinks she is, but I like the scene.

Great line from Willow to Angel: "you're gonna live forever! You don't have time for a cup of coffee?"

32. So the snake-god-guy is called Makida. Does that mean something? I don't see any Makida listed under "snake-gods" in Wikipedia, but Makeda is an alternate name for the Queen of Sheba in Ethiopia.

Nothing says Joss Whedon et al can't make up their own snake-god names, though.

33. They don't make shackles like they used to. I remind myself: Buffy is very strong.

34. And Xander is proving himself resourceful. And not telling stupid jokes. I like that. He's so very not-annoying this episode.

35. When Buffy addresses the snake god (irreverently), Tom says, "No woman speaks to him!" Love it! Not only an evil high priest feeding virgin sacrifices to the god, but a sexist one!

36. And I loved this from Buffy: "You don't want her. Look at her. She's all skin and bones. Half an hour later you'll be hungry."

37. I enjoyed the exchange between Giles and Buffy:

Buffy: I told one lie, I had one drink.
Giles: Yes, and you were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.
Buffy: I'm sorry.

I still think Giles is too indulgent but it's his call.

38. Jonathan. Didn't we see this guy before? Now he's letting Cordelia enslave him?

39. Loved the way the riches and the evil snake-god were linked.

40. So Angel (giving way to temptation?) invites Buffy for coffee. Why didn't Buffy just say 'yes'? And why - now I think of it - does she think it's so much better to hang out with him for coffee than to hang out with him on vampire-patrol? Is it because coffee seems more 'normal' to her, and she has this fetish for normality?

Comments

[beccaelizabeth]

Makita is a name of a brand of tools that were used on the set of Buffy. It just ended up being a snake demon that episode.

Jonathan is... well, noticing him will be useful. yes, we've seen him before. he starts out as sort of a joke.

I still think Giles is too indulgent but it's his call.
suggested alternatives? Right from back in 'The Witch' she was all "and you would be stopping me how?" She has all the power there.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Makita is a name of a brand of tools that were used on the set of Buffy.

Okay. That works.

Jonathan... starts out as sort of a joke.

And becomes something else? No, don't tell me!

She has all the power there.

So she does, and she's enough of a rebel that pushing harder might lose her - or at least, lose her goodwill. But I think mostly Giles is playing it gentle because he likes her.

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Hmm, interesting. I thought you might think this was filler too, but it is more involving than the poor Inca mummy.

I really like how they are watching Bollywood at the beginning. I've seen some of those films, and they do make as much sense as the trio said.

Admittedly, in Buffy's case, she's probably trying to distract herself and it isn't working in the least. In Xander's case, I can't think of any explanation except that his feelings are - not so much ephemeral as sheer lust topped off by teen need

I still think you are being a little harsh on Xander. I don't think that he or Buffy (or Willow) are polyamorous either, but it is possible to be attracted to more than one person and if the person you have been attracted to isn't interested, why not try dating someone else you like who is?

Sadly, Giles is a pushover. It's one of his more endearing traits but it also makes me want to kick his ankles. He seems unduly naive where Buffy is concerned. As if his heart isn't entirely into the Watcher business: he wants to see her happy

No, not Giles' ankles! Poor man. I think he falls for the lie later because he genuinely doesn't expect Buffy to lie to him.

Cordelia is not so much boy-crazy as money-crazy. My esteem for her sinks lower.

I predict your esteem for Cordy will rise later in the series. I have a crystal ball and everything.

But neither of them know what to do. Angel is so aware of her youth and - for want of a better word, innocence - and she is so unaware of the full reality. But intelligent enough to know it, and to know she's already in too deep.

Yup, and yup. This is also not the kind of relationship Angel has experience of either - it isn't just Buffy who is in too deep.

Though I hated it with the Master, I like all the cult-ritual stuff here, and the monks' robes. Why is that?

Monks' robes are cooler than a vampire with fruit punch mouth?

So Xander becomes the target of the frat boys, and I liked the way Xander handled it - not with dignity (impossible) but without loss of control (or even face) and with concern for Buffy still his motivation

Yeah, it's a fairly good episode for Xander. He even manages a plan for getting back in by himself before the others turn up.

And this part was really scary, when Richard goes after the unconscious Buffy

I liked that bit for how they almost fool you into thinking Tom will rescue her - and then he turns out to be worse than Richard because he controls him.

So the snake-god-guy is called Makida

I always thought it was Machida for some reason, though I don't think that makes any more sense.

Jonathan. Didn't we see this guy before?

Yeah, last episode when Ampata nearly kills him. I said you'd keep recognising him. He's one of the background students but he tends to get lines to say every so often.

So Angel (giving way to temptation?) invites Buffy for coffee. Why didn't Buffy just say 'yes'?

I think Buffy is reacting partly to the way he asks "maybe... sometime" and partly getting some power back. Angel is definitely giving way to temptation.

why - now I think of it - does she think it's so much better to hang out with him for coffee than to hang out with him on vampire-patrol?

I don't think it is as much about fetishising normality as it is about only ever seeing Angel when it is about Slaying. Buffy wants some interaction where it is just about the two of them and not blood and death and weirdness.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

1. Starts with Buffy, Willow and Angel watcing TV and kibbitzing.

Wait, WHAT? I would pay cash money to see Buffy, Willow and Angel watching TV and kibbitzing. Interesting Freudian typo, there!

Reptile Boy

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I thought you might think this was filler too, but it is more involving than the poor Inca mummy.

I liked it much better. Not necessarily for good reasons. Just because I did.

I really like how they are watching Bollywood at the beginning.

I loved that. And I really like Bollywood films - not that I get much chance to see them. "Making sense" is... not the point. [g]

I still think you are being a little harsh on Xander.

No doubt. You should hear me on character I really don't like.

I don't think that he or Buffy (or Willow) are polyamorous either, but it is possible to be attracted to more than one person and if the person you have been attracted to isn't interested, why not try dating someone else you like who is?

I'd agree, except I'd say that Xander was pretty clearly bouleversé over Ampata.

No, not Giles' ankles!

He's tough. He can take it. Even if I kicked as hard as I can, it would be nothing like the mildest blows from Buffy.

I think he falls for the lie later because he genuinely doesn't expect Buffy to lie to him.

I agree: I think he genuinely believes her. Even if I sort of wish he didn't.

I predict your esteem for Cordy will rise later in the series. I have a crystal ball and everything.

Hee. I believe you. Maybe.

I predict your esteem for Cordy will rise later in the series. I have a crystal ball and everything.

Indubitably! Yes, I think actually, a large part of it was that no one was actually ugly. I don't like the Orc scenes in Lord of the Rings much, either. Well, some of them. When the Orcs have personality, I like them.

Yeah, it's a fairly good episode for Xander. He even manages a plan for getting back in by himself before the others turn up.

I thought he was exellent. There was no point at which I thought he said or did something really stupid.

I liked that bit for how they almost fool you into thinking Tom will rescue her - and then he turns out to be worse than Richard because he controls him.

I loved that. And that he doesn't stop him for Buffy's sake, but for the sake of the snake god.

Angel is definitely giving way to temptation.

I like that. I like the notion that Angel just can't resist.

Buffy wants some interaction where it is just about the two of them and not blood and death and weirdness.

You mean like... uninterrupted conversation? What a concept!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Erg. I blush. I confess to massive, massive freudian slip and wishful (very wishful) thinking.

Must fix.

Shows where my head is.

Re: Reptile Boy

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

Xander was pretty clearly bouleversé over Ampata

*scratches head* What does bouleversé mean?

You mean like... uninterrupted conversation? What a concept!

A rare commodity in the Jossverse for sure!

Re: Reptile Boy

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What does bouleversé mean?

"Head over heels"

[medelle.livejournal.com]

One thing to keep in mind with Xander is that despite the Scooby membership and his moments of profound maturity, when all is said and done, he's a 16 year old boy and 16 year old boys are not especially known for consistency or constancy. :)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

16 year old boys are not especially known for consistency or constancy

Indeed. But there are smart sixteen year olds and there dumb sixteen year olds, and there are some sixteen year olds I like more than others.

I think Xander would be a trial for me at any age; the kind of person that, even while not disliking him, I would cross the street to avoid, so as not to be forced to hear his bad jokes.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Makita (http://www.makita.com/) - one of the most popular construction tool company in the U.S.

Giles believes her

Giles is still learning how to be Buffy's Watcher, and he probably didn't believe Buffy would lie to him. He's got a little field experience at this point, but not much.

If you don't know the movie this is based on, you're missing a little backstory (much of which Joss keeps for the series). If you recall from what you've seen so far in the series, Buffy and her mom moved to Sunnydale because she burnt down the gym of her previous high school - that's where she first discovered that she was "The Slayer". Buffy's first watcher, Merrick, found her there and explained what a Slayer is, and that she is the Slayer, etc. Merrick is then killed by a vampire. (In the movie the vamp is called "The Master", which is then re-imagined for S1 of the tv show.)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

one of the most popular construction tool company in the U.S.

...With no particular connections to snakes or snake-gods or human sacrifice? Until this episode, of course.

Giles is still learning how to be Buffy's Watcher, and he probably didn't believe Buffy would lie to him. He's got a little field experience at this point, but not much.

I was thinking not so much of slayer experience, as the notion that young people, especially when desperate, will lie to get their way. Presumably the thought Buffy was more honourable than that, but she's already shown that she isn't.

On the other hand, I like it that Giles thinks highly enough of her to overestimate her. It's good psychology, too. Trust someone and they may become trustworthy.

Thanks for the background info!

[globalfruitbat.livejournal.com]

The thing I had pointed out to me -- a long time ago, and by whom I can't remember -- is just how much of Willow's "Rah Rah Angel" act is support for Buffy, and how much of it is motivated by keeping Buffy away from Xander? Whether or not Willow is thinking that way consciously...

[jackarono.livejournal.com]

"Buffy: No. When you kiss me I wanna die."

Bangel shippers (Buffy/Angel) sometimes use that line to prove Buffy belongs with Angel.

Yes, Veronica Mars owes a lot to Buffy. I kept expecting V to develop superpowers. :) Rob Thomas never made any secret of his love for All-things-Whedon. In fact, I think there's one episode where Logan (very lightly) calls her Buffy. And when V goes to college, she runs into a "take back the night" feminist sort who calls her (paraphrase), "Muffy, Buffy, whatever your name is."

Didn't Joss appear in S2? A rental car guy, I think. Very nerdy.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. That would be an extra bit of motivation for Willow - much good it does her.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Bangel shippers (Buffy/Angel) sometimes use that line to prove Buffy belongs with Angel.

In the past, having minimal knowledge of the show, and having a strong aversion to Angel, I would have said I was a Spike/Buffy shipper. Now... I'm not so sure of myself.

But wanting to die isn't necessarily a good thing, hmm?

I kept expecting V to develop superpowers. :)

That never occurred to me, but if I watched it now - I'd have a whole new perspective!

"Muffy, Buffy, whatever your name is."

I remember that - I had no idea it was a tribute! How cool.

Didn't Joss appear in S2? A rental car guy, I think. Very nerdy.

Possible. I remember Kevin Smith being in it.

[jackarono.livejournal.com]

Jonathan, by the way, is a recurring character, and has an actual character arc. He's got a lovely bit part at the end of S3, and stars in my favorite non-Spikian episode of all, Superstar, in S4, and has a big role in S6, and is even in S7 a bit.

The actor, btw, wrote the screenplay for the HBO movie Recount, about the 2000 election.

[jackarono.livejournal.com]

Well, when you get into the Spuffy relationship, you might see that the "Wanting to die" angle is used rather well to show a contrast.

But I do think that line captures the whole teenaged fascination with death and the connection to sex.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It really is a brilliant line - so suitable for the show, and so evocative of the palpable intensity that exists between Angel and Buffy

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What's the actor's name?

I love it when writers are actors and vice versa.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

LOL!

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

I dunno. Willow's a romantic at heart. That bit of motivation doesn't strike me as explaining her. In any case,
Buffy is just not interested in Xander. It's just not in her DNA.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

And so teenaged-angsty.

I like Buffy/Angel in its place. And I like Buffy/Spike in its place.
(It doesn't, in any way, have to be an either/or.)

And I like Spike/Angel - the third, different side of the triangle in
Season 5 Angel - in its place.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I like Buffy/Angel in its place. And I like Buffy/Spike in its place.

So far, I would agree - in principle. Not that I've seen much of Spike's interaction with Buffy, but what I've seen, I've liked.

(It doesn't, in any way, have to be an either/or.)

I was hoping that.

And I like Spike/Angel - the third, different side of the triangle in
Season 5 Angel - in its place.

I look forward to that.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think Willow would think she had to keep Xander away from Willow - after all, they share the friendship without jealousy.

I agree that Willow is a romantic, and I think Angel's dark romanticism appeals to her. The impossible nature of the relationship just makes it all the more appealing.

[teaphile.livejournal.com]

I adore Jonathan. I was surprised, going back and watching the DVDs, at how early he appears.

And since I still haven't replied to another comment from an earlier post, I'll stick it in here:

I said: Not my least favourite episode, but definitely in the bottom ten.

You said: Hee. Not the worst? Tell me the other nine are in first season, so I don't have to face worse still!

I divide my worst and least favourite lists in a complicated way. There's pre-season five and post-season five, for one thing, because ten just isn't enough once you get to season six.

My least favourite pre-season-five episode(the first ep of season three) is actually a very good episode, for various reasons, and has one of my favourite fight scenes, but I hate, hate, hate Joyce in it, and I don't like hating Joyce.

The second episode of that season is the worst, but I don't have strong feelings about it. I accept that it's the worst and move on.

I have no idea if any of that made sense. And take my judgments about season with a grain of salt, because one of my favourite seasons (4) is also one of the most generally disliked.

[basingstoke.livejournal.com]

Well, in this one, the robes are on little boys pretending to be big bad monsters. In the Master's crew, they're on actual big bad monsters, and the costume overstates the point and diminishes the effect.

[gillo]

(Bet you've never seen Buffy compared to Conan before.)

You'd lose I've even seen Buffyverse/Conan crossover fic.

I think it looks as if their feelings are ephemeral or trivial. Or their attention span is. Admittedly, in Buffy's case, she's probably trying to distract herself and it isn't working in the least. In Xander's case, I can't think of any explanation except that his feelings are - not so much ephemeral as sheer lust topped off by teen need.

He's sixteen, most of the girls he fancies think he's a loser and he's too blind to see Willow's interest. They say boys of that age think about sex every seven seconds.

11. Giles: "Giles: When you live on top of a... a mystical convergence it's only a matter of time before a fresh hell breaks loose." This simply made me think of "Torchwood".

So, you are beginning to get why we see Buffy everywhere in Torchwood?

So Buffy lies to Giles about her mother being sick and where she will be. I can see this from Buffy's point of view, but I and surprised Giles fell for it. Is he always so naive? Or is it that he's blind where Buffy is concerned? Or is it that he feels she should learn from her mistakes, and this is the best way to handle it?

Giles is totally out of his depth with teenage girls. He's been trained in a Watcher mentality that says a Slayer does what she's told, when she's told. He's trying to adapt, but he flounders at times. He's out of his depth with females in general anyway, hence his dorkishness with Miss C.

Jonathan. Didn't we see this guy before? Now he's letting Cordelia enslave him?

One of the (many) things I like about this show is that background characters are often played by the same actors, so they build a sense of depth to the world created. Harmony, one of Codry's sycophantic friends, is another. Both will grow as characters over the next few years, though - when Joss and the writers realised they had people with good acting skills they often wrote more in for them. Or didn't kill them off. Or stuff.

So Angel (giving way to temptation?) invites Buffy for coffee. Why didn't Buffy just say 'yes'? And why - now I think of it - does she think it's so much better to hang out with him for coffee than to hang out with him on vampire-patrol? Is it because coffee seems more 'normal' to her, and she has this fetish for normality?

She's sixteen, still resents her calling, especially the lack of choice she has in it, and desperately wants to do some sixteen-year-old things. Even if it is with a guy who has a severe reaction to sunlight.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You'd lose I've even seen Buffyverse/Conan crossover fic.

Oh, reeeally? Where? Can you send me the URL? Would it contain spoilers I shouldn't know about yet?

They say boys of that age think about sex every seven seconds.

Yes. Which is fine. It's all in how they handle it. Xander is just too uncool about it.

you are beginning to get why we see Buffy everywhere in Torchwood?


I understood that all along, though didn't see the extent of it. What really surprises me is seeing how much of Veronica Mars was inspired by Buffy. "Reptile Boy" particularly.

He's been trained in a Watcher mentality that says a Slayer does what she's told, when she's told.

Woo - was he misinformed!

She's sixteen, still resents her calling, especially the lack of choice she has in it

One can relate to that - at any age.

desperately wants to do some sixteen-year-old things. Even if it is with a guy who has a severe reaction to sunlight.

Yes. I hope she does get somewhere with Angel - even if just to a coffee shop.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

But are the boys not monstrous? They are dealing in the abduction and murder of women, for the sake of money and misplaced religious ardour. Seems monstrous to me, and their pretty faces only make it worse.

Put another way: seems to me the boys have more choices than the vampires. Vampires need blood to survive. Moreover, if what Giles said is right, vampires have lost their souls and have lost the moral judgement by which they could choose their fate - the only exception we have seen so far, Angel, is a special case only because he is under a curse.

So I'd say the frat boys are more culpable.

Not that it isn't a pretty abstract point. I guess my point was... the frat boys are more interesting.

[gillo]

Oh, reeeally? Where? Can you send me the URL? Would it contain spoilers I shouldn't know about yet?

It concerns a character you won't meet for several seasons yet. There's a wonderful writer called speakr2customrs who does a lot of crossover fics, many insanely funny. There's one called

Dojo Hard

which is a reworking of S2 into the world of samurai Japan, with substantial G&S elements. You can't even read that for another twenty episodes or so though.You must not be spoiled for events to come.

Xander is just too uncool about it.

Poor Xander just doesn't know how to do cool. He attracts a certain type, quite consistently.

What really surprises me is seeing how much of Veronica Mars was inspired by Buffy. "Reptile Boy" particularly.

When

Victoria Mars

started the comparison was noted everywhere.

Woo - was he misinformed!

It's just that this Slayer didn't read the manual, so to speak.

I hope she does get somewhere with Angel - even if just to a coffee shop.

Be careful what you wish for...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the story rec and the link - I realize I'm not ready for fanfic yet. So. I'll just wait around patiently. Or impatiently. I can't keep up with my Torchwood fic reading anyway, let alone the fic-writing, so there's no need to be greedy.

Poor Xander just doesn't know how to do cool.

Or smart. Really, it's remarkable I'm as tolerant of Xander as I am.

It's just that this Slayer didn't read the manual, so to speak.

I like that about her.

Be careful what you wish for...

Yeah, yeah, I've heard. Love and pain. Right. Love and pain and coffee.

[gillo]

Only a little coffee. Mostly love and pain. Well, mostly pain, really...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And then more pain on top of that? Right.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

and she didn't have a sword.

Um, yes, she did. As, I am sure, others have already reminded you!

1. Both of them braiding Willow's hair was probably one of the best, most heart-felt early moments of true family among these people. I loved it with wordless happiness at how right it felt.

3. That one's random. There actually is a sorority named Delta Zeta, however. Probably mostly coincidence.

5. that conversation was incredibly hot, no? As for the ephemerality they occasionally show: early season, producers still sticking to the High School Kid Reality line! Which I thought they pulled off wonderfully.

7. At this point, Willow knows that Buffy can't even figure out how to get a personal conversation with Angel... so, "coffee" is a first step for getting to other places. Or so I took it.

8. Brilliant dialogue, and much more of the same to come in future episodes, yes!

12. As if Giles isn't really into being her Watcher. ...Hm!

13. It seemed to me that Cordelia is just trying to play her expected role. She slides out of the stereotyped persona easily enough, later on... just a thought.

17. This dialogue was incredibly hot, too, possibly because I've felt the same way and couldn't verbalize it.

19. Well, possibly because all this stuff is so true to life. Isn't that what the hokey secret society Skull & Bones was supposed to be? It made me shiver, as I watched it this time through, just because the acting president would have fit into one of those robes so well! Same arrogance, same insipid sense of entitlement.

23. What? You were glad Jenny was not in this episode...? Tell me it is not that you do not like the character?!!

28. Oh. When you showed me my first episode of Veronica Mars, Buffy leapt so quickly to mind that I assumed you were already there ahead of me. Hm.

29. I agree with you entirely, here. This was a wonderfully done and very shocking little scene.

32. They make up most, if not all, of the names and so on for demons, but they do it so it seamlessly meshes with both expected patterns and real data. I like.

33. Yeah, Buffy is very strong. Later on, there are casual references made to "preternatural Slayer strength," I believe. But, also, this fraternity has been doing this for 50 years or more, so maybe the shackles have gotten a little shaky, huh?

38. Yes. He's eager to please, not enslaved. And, remember him: he's a face in the crowd, but he's there a lot.

40. Meeting him for coffee would give them a start on a relationship that does not involve her un-asked-for Chosen One status, don't you think? It's a way of stepping out of it for a very little while.

Glad you liked this one. I actually found it annoying, but I can't actually pinpoint why. The characterization was on target, and the dialogue wonderful, but I just didn't like the casual killing of so many teen girls year after year, I think. Eh. Willing suspension of disbelief, and all that!

[pluvial-poetry.livejournal.com]

I keep seeing your Buffy posts as I do [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com], and I hope it's okay if I comment briefly...

Are the letters of frathouse names chosen at random, or do they stand for
something?

They're supposed to stand for something. Usually they're the initials from a longer phrase. Like in English, if I wanted to call my group Blah Blah United, I could call it BBU for short. I don't speak Greek so I don't know where Delta Zeta Kappa might have taken it's name but for example, the fraternity Phi Alpha Delta. That's the short version of it's true name "Philos Adelphos Dikaios". Which translated means "Justice is a dear brother". Just in case you were really curious. lol.

Anyways, I love that you're going through these shows one by one. I haven't seen Buffy in so long, it's like being reintroduced to an old friend.

[gillo]

With a side dish of wry humour and occasional hope which makes the pain more poignant...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And a dash of death and despair? Or am I misjudging there?

[gillo]

Nope, you've got the gist. All sautéed in wit and pop cultural references, though.

Oh I love my show so much.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Buffy may own a sword, though we haven't seen it yet. I meant that she hadn't taken a sword with her to the party to fight the snake god.

Re fraternities: Yes, but I take it that their initials are not chosen for any meaning? Even if more than one might have the same initials?

The conversation about surround-sound was sort of sexy but I wouldn't call it 'hot' because it was too light in tone. Now, when Buffy said Angel's kiss made her want to die - that was hot.

It seemed to me that Cordelia is just trying to play her expected role.

Yes, and sometimes she can't quite figure out how to.

It seemed to me that Cordelia is just trying to play her expected role.

Not much. Should I? I don't trust her.

When you showed me my first episode of Veronica Mars, Buffy leapt so quickly to mind that I assumed you were already there ahead of me.

I had no idea. I'd hardly seen Buffy - and of what I'd seen, none of it was episodes in which Buffy was in high school. I suspect the only episode of Buffy I'd ever seen right through (or paid any attention to) was the last one. Then I saw about five episodes of Angel. I'm hoping I will like Angel better when I get to it at its proper time in continuity; I wasn't very impressed by what I saw then.

I was glad I'd liked this one, because I hadn't liked the previous episode and that was disappointing after "School Hard".

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I hope it's okay if I comment briefly...

Oh, of course! I'm more into Torchwood than Buffy but it's always fun to talk about any of the shows I like or love. And going through Buffy is a treat.

Like in English, if I wanted to call my group Blah Blah United, I could call it BBU for short.

Right! that's what I was wondering. That means Delta Zeta Kappa might really stand for something that means Snake Worshippers Priesthood for the Sacrifice of Virgins, but it can just sit innocently behind the initials and pretend it means something virtuous.

Yeah, I was really curious. I usually am when I ask these questions. Thing is, when I talk about Buffy, I ask rhetorical questions about what's coming up - as I do with Torchwood - the difference being that with Torchwood no one knows, but with Buffy everyone knows but me, and I have to remember to add disclaimers - "Don't tell me, I'll find out, I don't want spoilers!"

I'm glad you're enjoying my Buffy comments.

So... how about that Captain Jack, hmm?

[P.S. Love that icon. It's gorgeous. Is it from "Tooth and Claw"? I'm guessing because of the way Rose is dressed.]

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I love my show so much.

I guessed.

♥

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm planning to come back and look at this message after I've seen all the episodes. Then I can choose my top and bottom ten.

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

Emailed you something I hope you'll read before Friday...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yup - read and answered. We're okay here.

Stand by for Halloween on Saturday. Er, that is, with any luck. (I still haven't seen it yet.)

[pluvial-poetry.livejournal.com]

Well I can't blame you for being more into Torchwood, because I certainly love the show more than is healthy. Especially that Captain Jack and especially after that scene in "Adrift" which shall henceforth be known as the best moment in my fannish life (so far).

And indeed my icon was from "Tooth and Claw". I'm a little short on Buffy icons at the moment so I went for a Blonde Girl icon, to at least keep it somewhat relevant. lol.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I certainly love the show more than is healthy

I like to think that frequent daily doses of Captain Jack are very good for my health. Fun, anyway!

especially after that scene in "Adrift" which shall henceforth be known as the best moment in my fannish life (so far).

it was right up there!

I'm a little short on Buffy icons at the moment so I went for a Blonde Girl icon, to at least keep it somewhat relevant. lol.

I approve! Rose is wonderful. Not much like Buffy in character, but both are strong personalities, and interesting ones.