Well, I'm halfway through revisiting season 8, but it's taken a damned long time. The point of this was to practice writing while taking a close look at Buffy season 8 to try to figure out what happened and why, since by the end I mostly felt confused and a little depressed. I'm still going for it, but since it's taking me so long to complete, I'll probably have to take time to reread what I've written to have it fresh in my mind when I get to the end. Read my own writing? Ugh. But that's for later I think.
I'm going to try to do this more often and actually get through the next 4 trades/arcs more quickly now, but we'll see how it goes. How's that for goal setting?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Buffy Season 8 - Issue #20 POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR BUFFY 1-8 ENTIRE, S9 #1, & ANGEL THRU AFTER THE FALL
Time of Your Life Part 5.
We begin with a montage of Buffy battling various crechy faces, saying over and over, "Can't say I didn't warn you." She's musing on how hard it is to have to save the world over and over, and it's a bit of a thematic callback to "Going Through the Motions" I think. Even the patter is rote at this point, even if getting a good night's sleep is not. "Why is it always this hard?" I hear you, sister.
Headquarters. Don't think it's the castle anymore but not sure. Buffy's come in and collapsed on a bed to get some sleep, but it's Xander's bed and he doesn't want demon goo all over it. As he complains, Buffy falls asleep.
And she visits Buffy the Animated Series, the show that never was, but was planned for years to happen. (I believe; I'm not going to research it. No one's reading this anyway and whatever.)
Buffy's dream is herself in the old days of Sunnydale High. We get enough clues throughout to determine it's probably end of season 1, after Puppet Show but before Prophecy Girl. Joyce and a young Dawn are there. It's always fun to see Dawn in the flashbacks when she wasn't there in the original time line. Buffy quickly learns that Joyce doesn't know she's the Slayer and that there's a party tonight. Buffy's wearing a tee that says Relax. Subconscious much?
Buffy is herself and knows she's in a dream; she hasn't forgotten all that's happened. She gets to school and sees Willow and is happy, being still a bit traumatized at having to kill her future self. Thanks a lot, Future Willow.
Cordy! is there and being a bitch to Willow. Buffy says someday she'll be dead and Willow will be a sorceress supreme. Harsh, B. RIP Cordelia.
Xander's on the skateboard he never got to ride in the show. Principal Snyder confiscates it in his typical nasty fashion. Buffy tells Xander that maybe someday he'll get eaten by a giant snake and you'll be in charge of a bunch of women, only to be reminded that Willow is not yet gay (I know, terminology, just going with how Willow herself tends to put it) and has the hots for Xander. Yeah, this is when you definitely get the time period.
Buffy's starting to enjoy the dream, happy to be part of the little Scooby gang again. It's after school, and they meet up with Giles in a graveyard, talking obsessively about the party that night. Giles is looking particularly dire through this whole sequence, like he's taking the blame for ruining the fun. He kind of served that function before but this seems extra layer-y. Buffy's still not too happy with him I think.
Anyway, the fate of the world is up for grabs tonight. Again. This could "shift the balance of good and evil beyond all hope and reckoning." This is one part that makes me think some Slayer prophecy/Spidey sense stuff is leaking into this fairly fluffy dream. That's too relevant to what's going on in the now.
As her young, fit, unbeaten down, high school self, but still having all her memories of so many battles to draw on, Buffy's confident she can deal with whatever is happening here. She wipes out the three vampires in the nest Giles is worried about, the worshippers of Morgala, but he's still worried because he notices Morgala's image seems to be a dragon. Chekov's dragon.
But Buffy goes off about wanting to have fun. I think she appreciates now that she did get a chance to have some fun and normalcy in high school, even though at the time slaying always seemed to get in the way, and now she wants to enjoy this simpler time that's so irrevocably gone for good. OOH, Sunnydale High reunion! needs to be a story someday.
They split up to get ready for the party (well, Giles is probably going back to the batlibrary to mutter over his books and worry). Buffy looks at her cross and thinks of Angel of this time. She and Joyce have a season 1 style conversation, and Joyce says even with Buffy's whole life ahead of her, she can always come home again. Bittersweet, knowing Buffy can't return either to Sunnydale the town or Joyce's home. But also again, some Slayer instinct at work re returning to Sunnydale in the present?
Buffy meets Angel on the way to the party. He tells her he heard about the vampire thing and it's good she took out Morgala's five followers so they couldn't raise Morgala. Pretty much highlights that he just wants to see her because why does she need to here about what could have been? Classic early Angel.
She snipes at him a bit, then gets close and asks if he knew of the future of someone, would he tell that person what he knew. Thinking of Angelus and, well, all of Angel's unfun future stuff no doubt. And maybe of Willow too, come to think of it. That makes more sense really. That must be wearing on her mind, whether to tell Will what happened in the future. He actually answers that weird ass question, saying no, because if they know, it could change their future into something unpredictable.
Buffy leaves, then realizes that three and five are different, there's still two Morgala vamps out there. So instead of letting the party music pull her in that direction, she heads back to the vamp nest and finds the other two acolytes finishing their ritual. She dusts them, but they've brought forth the Dragon!
She grabs it as it flies up into the air and fights with it as they soar over the party and Buffy bitches at the dragon for ruining her fun dream. She really is getting a lot of air time in the comic books. (Crack myself up.) She gets rid of it easily, but then falls to the ground and...
...wakes up, just where we left of with Xander. She's been asleep all of four seconds. They're joined by Dawntaur and Willow, who has word from Andrew of trouble in Madrid. Buffy is excited to babble to them about her high school dream.
She says she kept thinking how nice it was when it wasn't so complicated. But it really wasn't that different. And it doesn't matter. Dream over. By the end of that chain of thought, she all depressed about life again. I can't even tell you how many times I've had that same segue happen, and it's always in that order of emotions too.
"We've got a world to save," says BuffyAtlas. And her last thoughts are on Angel's words. "You can't change a person's past. And just by telling them, you'll change their future into who knows what." I think that means she's decided not to tell Willow what she becomes. But I can't help but think it might be important in a more general way to the season's themes, since it was repeated twice, but I can't figure out how it applies quite yet.
But this volume of stories began with a trip to Will's far future and ended with a visit to Buffy's past, so that's something to ponder as we go forward.
We begin with a montage of Buffy battling various crechy faces, saying over and over, "Can't say I didn't warn you." She's musing on how hard it is to have to save the world over and over, and it's a bit of a thematic callback to "Going Through the Motions" I think. Even the patter is rote at this point, even if getting a good night's sleep is not. "Why is it always this hard?" I hear you, sister.
Headquarters. Don't think it's the castle anymore but not sure. Buffy's come in and collapsed on a bed to get some sleep, but it's Xander's bed and he doesn't want demon goo all over it. As he complains, Buffy falls asleep.
And she visits Buffy the Animated Series, the show that never was, but was planned for years to happen. (I believe; I'm not going to research it. No one's reading this anyway and whatever.)
Buffy's dream is herself in the old days of Sunnydale High. We get enough clues throughout to determine it's probably end of season 1, after Puppet Show but before Prophecy Girl. Joyce and a young Dawn are there. It's always fun to see Dawn in the flashbacks when she wasn't there in the original time line. Buffy quickly learns that Joyce doesn't know she's the Slayer and that there's a party tonight. Buffy's wearing a tee that says Relax. Subconscious much?
Buffy is herself and knows she's in a dream; she hasn't forgotten all that's happened. She gets to school and sees Willow and is happy, being still a bit traumatized at having to kill her future self. Thanks a lot, Future Willow.
Cordy! is there and being a bitch to Willow. Buffy says someday she'll be dead and Willow will be a sorceress supreme. Harsh, B. RIP Cordelia.
Xander's on the skateboard he never got to ride in the show. Principal Snyder confiscates it in his typical nasty fashion. Buffy tells Xander that maybe someday he'll get eaten by a giant snake and you'll be in charge of a bunch of women, only to be reminded that Willow is not yet gay (I know, terminology, just going with how Willow herself tends to put it) and has the hots for Xander. Yeah, this is when you definitely get the time period.
Buffy's starting to enjoy the dream, happy to be part of the little Scooby gang again. It's after school, and they meet up with Giles in a graveyard, talking obsessively about the party that night. Giles is looking particularly dire through this whole sequence, like he's taking the blame for ruining the fun. He kind of served that function before but this seems extra layer-y. Buffy's still not too happy with him I think.
Anyway, the fate of the world is up for grabs tonight. Again. This could "shift the balance of good and evil beyond all hope and reckoning." This is one part that makes me think some Slayer prophecy/Spidey sense stuff is leaking into this fairly fluffy dream. That's too relevant to what's going on in the now.
As her young, fit, unbeaten down, high school self, but still having all her memories of so many battles to draw on, Buffy's confident she can deal with whatever is happening here. She wipes out the three vampires in the nest Giles is worried about, the worshippers of Morgala, but he's still worried because he notices Morgala's image seems to be a dragon. Chekov's dragon.
But Buffy goes off about wanting to have fun. I think she appreciates now that she did get a chance to have some fun and normalcy in high school, even though at the time slaying always seemed to get in the way, and now she wants to enjoy this simpler time that's so irrevocably gone for good. OOH, Sunnydale High reunion! needs to be a story someday.
They split up to get ready for the party (well, Giles is probably going back to the batlibrary to mutter over his books and worry). Buffy looks at her cross and thinks of Angel of this time. She and Joyce have a season 1 style conversation, and Joyce says even with Buffy's whole life ahead of her, she can always come home again. Bittersweet, knowing Buffy can't return either to Sunnydale the town or Joyce's home. But also again, some Slayer instinct at work re returning to Sunnydale in the present?
Buffy meets Angel on the way to the party. He tells her he heard about the vampire thing and it's good she took out Morgala's five followers so they couldn't raise Morgala. Pretty much highlights that he just wants to see her because why does she need to here about what could have been? Classic early Angel.
She snipes at him a bit, then gets close and asks if he knew of the future of someone, would he tell that person what he knew. Thinking of Angelus and, well, all of Angel's unfun future stuff no doubt. And maybe of Willow too, come to think of it. That makes more sense really. That must be wearing on her mind, whether to tell Will what happened in the future. He actually answers that weird ass question, saying no, because if they know, it could change their future into something unpredictable.
Buffy leaves, then realizes that three and five are different, there's still two Morgala vamps out there. So instead of letting the party music pull her in that direction, she heads back to the vamp nest and finds the other two acolytes finishing their ritual. She dusts them, but they've brought forth the Dragon!
She grabs it as it flies up into the air and fights with it as they soar over the party and Buffy bitches at the dragon for ruining her fun dream. She really is getting a lot of air time in the comic books. (Crack myself up.) She gets rid of it easily, but then falls to the ground and...
...wakes up, just where we left of with Xander. She's been asleep all of four seconds. They're joined by Dawntaur and Willow, who has word from Andrew of trouble in Madrid. Buffy is excited to babble to them about her high school dream.
She says she kept thinking how nice it was when it wasn't so complicated. But it really wasn't that different. And it doesn't matter. Dream over. By the end of that chain of thought, she all depressed about life again. I can't even tell you how many times I've had that same segue happen, and it's always in that order of emotions too.
"We've got a world to save," says BuffyAtlas. And her last thoughts are on Angel's words. "You can't change a person's past. And just by telling them, you'll change their future into who knows what." I think that means she's decided not to tell Willow what she becomes. But I can't help but think it might be important in a more general way to the season's themes, since it was repeated twice, but I can't figure out how it applies quite yet.
But this volume of stories began with a trip to Will's far future and ended with a visit to Buffy's past, so that's something to ponder as we go forward.
Buffy Season 8 - Issue #19 POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR BUFFY 1-8 ENTIRE, S9 #1, & ANGEL THRU AFTER THE FALL
Time of Your Life Part 4.
Future Willow, Madwoman, is melancholy about living for so long. Which won't be a problem much longer. She's talking with Melaka and Erin Fray as Buffy, chained to a chair, starts to come around. Fray is still not willing to kill another slayer, despite whatever horrible thing Willow showed her. Erin's for just sending her home, but Fray says if they do that, she'll try and change the future and end their world.
Buffy wakes up and is a bit upset that Willow went dark again. But before they can get into it, Harth and co. show up. He brings up the fact that Willow told him the opposite of what she told Melaka, that Buffy would cause this world to be after all this. Willow admits to the deception, saying she's all evil and stuff. Then she says it's not important who dies, just who kills them. Hunh? Oh, I get it. Sort of. Future Willow is just all kinds of messed up. So sad.
Gates(?) is helping Buffy with her chains while Melaka faces off with Will. Which was the lie? Harth doesn't care; he just wants to kill them all. And then Gunther! arrives with reinforcements and cool submarine-looking cars, scoffing that Harth though three vamps could take him out.
In the melee, Buffy gets free and disables Erin and Melaka. She says she doesn't care about their world, she just has to save hers. For reals, I mean, how many worlds can she have on her shoulders? Will says she's not done yet as she races off.
And we're in Scotland. The various wood spirits and fairy creatures of the area have been recruited to take out Amy's demons. Xander and Dawn also got a hold of some swords. Then suddenly the demons go from sickly green and invincible to normal looking lizardy types who get wounded. Hurray, Wiccan Squad! Rowena has led them and the slayers back to the fight. Those guys are toast.
Buffy runs away, headed for the rift building. Fray beat her there. They fight and argue, as slayers are wont to do. Instead of the "big picture," Buffy calls her attitude the "fate of the world, short view." The difference between those two things is probably important, but I'm not sure how. Maybe just that Buffy can see both, but knows when to choose between them? Is this her getting something back she's lost or more of the same? And mistake or rationality? Melaka says that the fate of the world view made sense to her when there was only one world. Fringe-world problems.
So they fight more. Fray's on her own turf, so stronger that way, but Buffy has the memories of all the slayers to guide her. It's a good fight.
Warren, Amy and Twilight are watching their army get decimated. Warren blames Amy for the failure. As the two snipe at each other (they're the worst), Twilight turns to another man in the shadows. He stands all soldiery and has the Twilight scar on his chest. We find out he's who Buffy met in New York. And it's Riley. (I think. The reveals don't work as well in the comics because the representations of the actors are different enough that it's hard to immediately place them and go AHA! By the time you work it out, it's more oh. For me anyway.)
So Riley is pretending to be Buffy's pal while reporting to Twilight? I had forgotten this. I believe he's a double agent though. But I'm still trying to figure out the logic of Twilight in general, so I honestly don't remember how this plays out.
Anyway, Willow of the present blindfolds herself to keep her promise. The rift opens. On the other side, Buffy totally demolishes Fray's scythe. WTF? Is that a sign that she will destroy Fray's world if she goes home? Probably just Slayer strength thing.
Future Willow steps in front of the rift, in Buffy's way. Buffy has it figured out that Willow wanted all of this to happen and wants to know why. I think she probably already knows at this point. It's a long story, Willow begins, and -- THUNK! scythe through the chest. Future Will falls down dead as present Will reaches through the rift and grabs Buffy. Fray lunges for her but is too late.
Buffy is through and crying and hugging Willow, telling her she loves her. Brutal.
Future Willow is dead, just as she wanted. And what was important to her was who killed her. It had to be Buffy, even if it meant messing up the time lines and all. And I can't figure out if that's about love or hate, or if Willow even knew. It feels hateful, like revenge, which is just so unfair. But maybe it's just because they went through so much together, and she knew Buffy would do it if she had to. Or maybe it's a last warning to Buffy about what's to come, the absence of effect of her plans to change the world.
Melaka and Erin stare at Willow's body, Melaka feeling defeated, until they realize that they're still here. The end.
Future Willow, Madwoman, is melancholy about living for so long. Which won't be a problem much longer. She's talking with Melaka and Erin Fray as Buffy, chained to a chair, starts to come around. Fray is still not willing to kill another slayer, despite whatever horrible thing Willow showed her. Erin's for just sending her home, but Fray says if they do that, she'll try and change the future and end their world.
Buffy wakes up and is a bit upset that Willow went dark again. But before they can get into it, Harth and co. show up. He brings up the fact that Willow told him the opposite of what she told Melaka, that Buffy would cause this world to be after all this. Willow admits to the deception, saying she's all evil and stuff. Then she says it's not important who dies, just who kills them. Hunh? Oh, I get it. Sort of. Future Willow is just all kinds of messed up. So sad.
Gates(?) is helping Buffy with her chains while Melaka faces off with Will. Which was the lie? Harth doesn't care; he just wants to kill them all. And then Gunther! arrives with reinforcements and cool submarine-looking cars, scoffing that Harth though three vamps could take him out.
In the melee, Buffy gets free and disables Erin and Melaka. She says she doesn't care about their world, she just has to save hers. For reals, I mean, how many worlds can she have on her shoulders? Will says she's not done yet as she races off.
And we're in Scotland. The various wood spirits and fairy creatures of the area have been recruited to take out Amy's demons. Xander and Dawn also got a hold of some swords. Then suddenly the demons go from sickly green and invincible to normal looking lizardy types who get wounded. Hurray, Wiccan Squad! Rowena has led them and the slayers back to the fight. Those guys are toast.
Buffy runs away, headed for the rift building. Fray beat her there. They fight and argue, as slayers are wont to do. Instead of the "big picture," Buffy calls her attitude the "fate of the world, short view." The difference between those two things is probably important, but I'm not sure how. Maybe just that Buffy can see both, but knows when to choose between them? Is this her getting something back she's lost or more of the same? And mistake or rationality? Melaka says that the fate of the world view made sense to her when there was only one world. Fringe-world problems.
So they fight more. Fray's on her own turf, so stronger that way, but Buffy has the memories of all the slayers to guide her. It's a good fight.
Warren, Amy and Twilight are watching their army get decimated. Warren blames Amy for the failure. As the two snipe at each other (they're the worst), Twilight turns to another man in the shadows. He stands all soldiery and has the Twilight scar on his chest. We find out he's who Buffy met in New York. And it's Riley. (I think. The reveals don't work as well in the comics because the representations of the actors are different enough that it's hard to immediately place them and go AHA! By the time you work it out, it's more oh. For me anyway.)
So Riley is pretending to be Buffy's pal while reporting to Twilight? I had forgotten this. I believe he's a double agent though. But I'm still trying to figure out the logic of Twilight in general, so I honestly don't remember how this plays out.
Anyway, Willow of the present blindfolds herself to keep her promise. The rift opens. On the other side, Buffy totally demolishes Fray's scythe. WTF? Is that a sign that she will destroy Fray's world if she goes home? Probably just Slayer strength thing.
Future Willow steps in front of the rift, in Buffy's way. Buffy has it figured out that Willow wanted all of this to happen and wants to know why. I think she probably already knows at this point. It's a long story, Willow begins, and -- THUNK! scythe through the chest. Future Will falls down dead as present Will reaches through the rift and grabs Buffy. Fray lunges for her but is too late.
Buffy is through and crying and hugging Willow, telling her she loves her. Brutal.
Future Willow is dead, just as she wanted. And what was important to her was who killed her. It had to be Buffy, even if it meant messing up the time lines and all. And I can't figure out if that's about love or hate, or if Willow even knew. It feels hateful, like revenge, which is just so unfair. But maybe it's just because they went through so much together, and she knew Buffy would do it if she had to. Or maybe it's a last warning to Buffy about what's to come, the absence of effect of her plans to change the world.
Melaka and Erin stare at Willow's body, Melaka feeling defeated, until they realize that they're still here. The end.
Buffy Season 8 - Issue #18 POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR BUFFY 1-8 ENTIRE, S9 #1, & ANGEL THRU AFTER THE FALL
Time of Your Life Part 3.
We start with books. Buffy's reading the histories and trying to figure out what happened. She refers to one entry as being too ridiculous to comprehend. Wonder what that refers to.
What's not mentioned at all is Buffy's creation of the slayer army, and what's not present in the future is the better world she hoped to create with it. So is it a hubris thing? Did she aim too high with the spell? You know, it's not like she had many choices at the time. And the reason things went off the rails in the first place was Willow and the gang bringing her back from the dead. Not her fault, any of it. Feel so bad for her.
Anyhow, Fray and Gates(?) come in with news from Gunther about some vamp action. Buffy's in the mood for some carnage about now.
Xander and Dawn make it to the forest, but are in the opposite direction of the fleeing slayers. They figure out it's a Warren and Amy thing, but aren't sure what to do next. That's when some tree spirit calling himself Lorelahn makes an angry appearance. Xander and Dawn are not impressed with his rhetoric given what they just ran away from, and after insults are exchanged, they settle in to talk.
Gunther is being visited by Harth and some minions. Harth isn't happy about Gunther giving Fray info. Gunther is as unimpressed by Harth and his threats as Xander and Dawn are of the wood fairies. Gunther should be a little more concerned though, since there's three vamps in his water sneaking up behind him as Harth leaves.
Oh, no, Buffy's trying to drive. Why did she think a flying car! would be a good idea? Remember B, unmixy things? There's also a Bandy Candy callback that just sounds weird in this context.
They find some vamps -- in mummy gear to hide from the smog-infested sunlight -- attacking some complex. Fray wants to stop them. Buffy wants to hang back and follow them home after. Looking at the big picture as she's learned to do over and over in the last few years. Fray's not for that though. So is it a critique of General Buffy becoming upper echelon in her thinking and not remembering what it is to be a foot soldier who exists in the field of battle? I mean, she goes in the field all the time, but she has become more end justifies means, organized soldier instead of hero. Is she the new Watcher's Council? The new Initiative? And is it inevitable that that happens when she tries to establish her own status quo? Again, as Buffy is an adult now, the concerns seem very in tune with Angel themes.
Fray attacks, the vamps flee, and Buffy follows them, giving future Willow time to talk to Fray. Yeah, that'll end well.
Back to the present Willow getting mystically sexy with Saga Vasuki. She says someone she trusted told her what to say to Willow. Willow is polite but firm, she wants Buffy back. Willow is always going after Buffy. Future Willow even goes after Buffy for her own reasons while knowing that her past self will come after Buffy too and planning for it. Anyway, Saga Vasuki says the rift will reopen, but she insists that Willow promise her not to look at the future when she reaches for Buffy. And then Willow's back with Kennedy, orgasm--I mean, vision over.
Future Willow talks with Fray, saying she should kill Buffy because they want different things. When Fray mentions they both want vampires to be gone, Willow says, "The most important men in both your lives are 'lurks.' You think it's really that simple?"
But what I don't get, if it's about balance and not the eradication or the victory of one side over the other in good vs. evil terms, how does deleting all magic do the job? Isn't that just another extreme winning out?
Willow suggests to Fray that she can't access much magic. Is she wiped out with all the temporal rifts and such? But she wants to show Fray some kind of vision. No doubt calling on the things she learned from Saga Vasuki that she had put to use setting this thing in motion with past Will, so nice.
Buffy managed to crash her car close to where the vamps went, but then suddenly she's back at Fray's place being accosted by Erin. I guess she came back for reinforcements. They bond over troublesome younger sisters, but then bam! Buffy is shocked unconscious by Fray. It was a trap. Part of Fray's plan to save her world.
Back to the present Willow getting mystically sexy wit
Buffy Season 8 - Issue #17 SPOILERS FOR BUFFY 1-8 ENTIRE, S9 #1, & ANGEL THRU AFTER THE FALL
Time of Your Life Part 2.
We start with flying cars! Fray and Buffy have allied and are on the way to find a nest of vamps. Except the nest is actually the van they're flying next to. Except oops, it's not Buffy but Fray's sister, Erin. Similar look to them. Damn comics. My eyes don't adjust to the difference well. Anyway, we're in the future but back in time from the future we were in at the end of the last episode. Yeah, that works.
Fray cuts open the van with her scythe and fights vamps in midair, asking one where Harth is. If you've never read Fray or, like me, read it long ago and have forgotten virtually everything about it, don't worry. We'll find out more about Harth later on. Erin blows up the vamp van as it flies by a really cool, Isengard-like statue of an old man holding a book with his other hand positioned with thumb and ring ringer together in a circle. Does it mean anything? Is it a visual reference to the Fray comic? Need to reread (NTRR). Who knows.
As she rides the vamp onto the roof of another car (dirty), he mentions a madwoman who was supposed to save them. The way he describes her, she sounds a lot like Drusilla. I was fooled for a while the first time through.
Fray and Erin are back at her home. Fray mentions that Harth got her slayer memories from her and all she's got left are the diaries, so I guess that happened. NTRR. They're joined by a four-armed monkey thing as Fray talks about "Gates," the last great watcher who sacrificed himself at the Battle of Starbucks. ?? So I guess he's the monkey-thing now. And I'm not sure. Is that referring to Sunnydale or the end of season 8 or something we haven't seen? The histories are awfully incomplete and flawed as we'll see later.
Fray's looking for the madwoman in the books.
Harth speaks with the madwoman, telling of a slayer dream he's had of her fighting Buffy, who he knows is coming to the future. We don't see her face, and she does dress and talk like Dru. She's not slithering around like her though. And as we turn the page, she sounds less and less like Drusilla. Harth asks her why she wants the two slayers to combine forces. She replies, "Vampires gain strength from each other. Slayers, ultimately, don't." Also saying what happens here will help bring about the time they're in because of ripples.
Okay, one, that's foreshadowing. Two, and sad. The lone hero is stronger? Lot of bitterness there, and given that we find out later that she's Willow, it makes some sense given Will's role in the slayer spell vis-a-vis the ending of the season. But three, is this deconstructing season 7 and saying everything seemingly good about the ending is ultimately bad? That seems to be what all of season 8 says, which is a little bleak for Joss. I remember season 6 of Angel was supposed to be: Okay, now you've destroyed the status quo, now what do you do? And this feels like that too, especially given what Buffy says at the very start, but I don't know what kind of answers we're given when the end not only resets to a lone slayer (or 2), but also removes all magic from the world. But we'll get there.
Back in present New York, Willow says this is all her fault. Kennedy was injured by the demon that took Buffy's place. Will is keeping it alive to figure things out. Kennedy says this whole deal was supposed to help them, WTF? And Willow says that's what she thought so it's her fault. Does she know at this point? Or suspect?
Scotland. Green fire and destruction in the command center. Oh right, Warren's missile hit them. At least 7 slayers are dead that they know about so far. Rowena is freaking. Xander pulls her together as sickly green demons coalesce out of the flames and start macing computer screens and shooting green arrows, one of which nails Xander's shoulder as they move for the escape tunnels. Rowena makes it out, but Xander is down. Centaurette to the rescue! There's some awkwardness about Xander having to ride Dawn out of there, but they make it.
Fray ends up at the rift building because the diaries apparently said, "The last girl came here and was transformed." So I would say Willow had to plant that passage because we just established that she knew right away that it wasn't a transformation that happened. She's just putting the pieces into play. But also, Buffy is the last girl? For reals? Will Faith's death no longer call forth a new slayer after all is said and done?
Present Willow has found out from the demon it was hired to take down the Slayer. It didn't know about time traveling to kill a past Slayer though. Whoever did it has a lot of power and went to a lot of trouble to make sure Willow would get the Slayer in the right place at the right time. Yup. Sorry. Once you get the reveal, it's harder to look back and appreciate all the pieces leading up to it.
And we're back to the end of the last episode, with Buffy and Fray fighting in traffic, as is the Fray way. Buffy figures out she's another slayer quickly, which makes sense. She's kind of used to there being more than one around. This calls back to her meeting both Faith, and especially, Kendra.
They finally start talking, and Fray believes she's the real Buffy. They try to understand each other's particular brand of language, which is fun. Buffy is babbling a bit, asking her about how to destroy Twilight and how many slayers there are and how they're organized and -- boom. She finds out there's only one Slayer again, who was the first called in a century. Fray calls herself half a Slayer because her twin brother, Harth, has the Slayer memories, while she has the skills.
Okay, so Harth didn't steal the memories from her, he was somehow born with them. How could I forget that? NTRR. That's interesting. Now's he's a vamp and is using the memories to kill potentials and wreak havoc, all that normal villain stuff.
Fray has taken Buffy to see Gunther, a fishy demon/mutant type who lives in a sea of water under a glass floor. Buffy is regretting her choice to wear a dress. Fray asks him what he knows of the madwoman. Just that she's been alive since ancient times. Well, that's helpful. Not. Buffy's finally realizing this is all really happening.
Harth is gearing up for a battle. Madwoman is saying that Buffy is starting to feel the weight of her failure. Yeah, seeing that her changing of the world didn't stick, that would kind of suck.
Harth wants to kill his sister because she's the last thing he ever loved. "And what in this world is stronger than love?"
And the reveal. It's Willow who replies, "Time. Only time."
So time is stronger than love, slayers are stronger alone -- why does Joss hate joy? Right now this season is feeling as unremittingly bleak as season 6 or 7. I'm interested to see how I feel about the ending this time through, since right now all I feel is sadness at knowing what's to come.
We start with flying cars! Fray and Buffy have allied and are on the way to find a nest of vamps. Except the nest is actually the van they're flying next to. Except oops, it's not Buffy but Fray's sister, Erin. Similar look to them. Damn comics. My eyes don't adjust to the difference well. Anyway, we're in the future but back in time from the future we were in at the end of the last episode. Yeah, that works.
Fray cuts open the van with her scythe and fights vamps in midair, asking one where Harth is. If you've never read Fray or, like me, read it long ago and have forgotten virtually everything about it, don't worry. We'll find out more about Harth later on. Erin blows up the vamp van as it flies by a really cool, Isengard-like statue of an old man holding a book with his other hand positioned with thumb and ring ringer together in a circle. Does it mean anything? Is it a visual reference to the Fray comic? Need to reread (NTRR). Who knows.
As she rides the vamp onto the roof of another car (dirty), he mentions a madwoman who was supposed to save them. The way he describes her, she sounds a lot like Drusilla. I was fooled for a while the first time through.
Fray and Erin are back at her home. Fray mentions that Harth got her slayer memories from her and all she's got left are the diaries, so I guess that happened. NTRR. They're joined by a four-armed monkey thing as Fray talks about "Gates," the last great watcher who sacrificed himself at the Battle of Starbucks. ?? So I guess he's the monkey-thing now. And I'm not sure. Is that referring to Sunnydale or the end of season 8 or something we haven't seen? The histories are awfully incomplete and flawed as we'll see later.
Fray's looking for the madwoman in the books.
Harth speaks with the madwoman, telling of a slayer dream he's had of her fighting Buffy, who he knows is coming to the future. We don't see her face, and she does dress and talk like Dru. She's not slithering around like her though. And as we turn the page, she sounds less and less like Drusilla. Harth asks her why she wants the two slayers to combine forces. She replies, "Vampires gain strength from each other. Slayers, ultimately, don't." Also saying what happens here will help bring about the time they're in because of ripples.
Okay, one, that's foreshadowing. Two, and sad. The lone hero is stronger? Lot of bitterness there, and given that we find out later that she's Willow, it makes some sense given Will's role in the slayer spell vis-a-vis the ending of the season. But three, is this deconstructing season 7 and saying everything seemingly good about the ending is ultimately bad? That seems to be what all of season 8 says, which is a little bleak for Joss. I remember season 6 of Angel was supposed to be: Okay, now you've destroyed the status quo, now what do you do? And this feels like that too, especially given what Buffy says at the very start, but I don't know what kind of answers we're given when the end not only resets to a lone slayer (or 2), but also removes all magic from the world. But we'll get there.
Back in present New York, Willow says this is all her fault. Kennedy was injured by the demon that took Buffy's place. Will is keeping it alive to figure things out. Kennedy says this whole deal was supposed to help them, WTF? And Willow says that's what she thought so it's her fault. Does she know at this point? Or suspect?
Scotland. Green fire and destruction in the command center. Oh right, Warren's missile hit them. At least 7 slayers are dead that they know about so far. Rowena is freaking. Xander pulls her together as sickly green demons coalesce out of the flames and start macing computer screens and shooting green arrows, one of which nails Xander's shoulder as they move for the escape tunnels. Rowena makes it out, but Xander is down. Centaurette to the rescue! There's some awkwardness about Xander having to ride Dawn out of there, but they make it.
Fray ends up at the rift building because the diaries apparently said, "The last girl came here and was transformed." So I would say Willow had to plant that passage because we just established that she knew right away that it wasn't a transformation that happened. She's just putting the pieces into play. But also, Buffy is the last girl? For reals? Will Faith's death no longer call forth a new slayer after all is said and done?
Present Willow has found out from the demon it was hired to take down the Slayer. It didn't know about time traveling to kill a past Slayer though. Whoever did it has a lot of power and went to a lot of trouble to make sure Willow would get the Slayer in the right place at the right time. Yup. Sorry. Once you get the reveal, it's harder to look back and appreciate all the pieces leading up to it.
And we're back to the end of the last episode, with Buffy and Fray fighting in traffic, as is the Fray way. Buffy figures out she's another slayer quickly, which makes sense. She's kind of used to there being more than one around. This calls back to her meeting both Faith, and especially, Kendra.
They finally start talking, and Fray believes she's the real Buffy. They try to understand each other's particular brand of language, which is fun. Buffy is babbling a bit, asking her about how to destroy Twilight and how many slayers there are and how they're organized and -- boom. She finds out there's only one Slayer again, who was the first called in a century. Fray calls herself half a Slayer because her twin brother, Harth, has the Slayer memories, while she has the skills.
Okay, so Harth didn't steal the memories from her, he was somehow born with them. How could I forget that? NTRR. That's interesting. Now's he's a vamp and is using the memories to kill potentials and wreak havoc, all that normal villain stuff.
Fray has taken Buffy to see Gunther, a fishy demon/mutant type who lives in a sea of water under a glass floor. Buffy is regretting her choice to wear a dress. Fray asks him what he knows of the madwoman. Just that she's been alive since ancient times. Well, that's helpful. Not. Buffy's finally realizing this is all really happening.
Harth is gearing up for a battle. Madwoman is saying that Buffy is starting to feel the weight of her failure. Yeah, seeing that her changing of the world didn't stick, that would kind of suck.
Harth wants to kill his sister because she's the last thing he ever loved. "And what in this world is stronger than love?"
And the reveal. It's Willow who replies, "Time. Only time."
So time is stronger than love, slayers are stronger alone -- why does Joss hate joy? Right now this season is feeling as unremittingly bleak as season 6 or 7. I'm interested to see how I feel about the ending this time through, since right now all I feel is sadness at knowing what's to come.
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