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shadowkat[ETA: This thing has a bunch of typos, some rather funny actually, and needs editing. But no time to do it right now. Have to eat breakfast, then hop off to lunch, and see a play with the Aunts, busy, busy.]
In regards to the question above? Not that much. I rather hate exposition, writing it and listening to it. Beginnings and endings of narratives, I suck at as both reader and writer, with few exceptions. Much prefer the middle, thank you very much.
Anyhow..I took a lovely walk on a lovely day up to the comic store, then to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to sit and take in the view. The sky was cloudless and that robins egg blue that shimmers. Perfect temperature too. Just the right bit of breeze rippling through the leaves behind me (yes, there are actual trees with leaves on them in Brooklyn), and the sun warm and stroking. Plus the city before me in all its splendor. From my vantage point - I could see the statute of Liberty, Manhattan Island with it's tall buildings of glass and steel, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The river below, the cars humming just above the river, and the people walking their dogs in front of me.
But before that, I made it to the comic book store. Was somewhat disappointed - because had a hankering for a bit of my favorite character, written by my favorite comic book writer of the moment.
Comic shop boy to comic shop girl: Want to finish my fries? My stomach can't handle them. I'm gonna burst. My eyes were bigger than my stomach.
Me (grinning, while aimlessly searching for Spike comic - which I thought was coming out in Oct.): I get that. Same thing happens to me all the time. (I glance back at comic book shop boy, who is hardly a boy, since he has a full growth of beard. Glasses. Big belly. Black T-shirt. Your basic stereotype.)
[Giving up, I wander back with my selections - Buffy issue 37, Angel #37 (because Spike actually has some great bits of dialogue and it focuses almost entirely on the Spike/Angel relationship and I'm a sucker for the Spike/Angel relationship. Note I do not ship them the way most fans do, I ship them the same way I ship Damon/Stefan and Dean/Sam - I have a weakness for anything about brothers because I have a love/hate relationship with my own. Sort of how some people are obsessed with sister relationships or father relationships? I'm obsessed with brother relationships.)and True Blood (because it features Tara's backstory, and I like Tara, also a bit on Eric's back story.]
Me: Any news on the Spike comic by Lynch.
Comic book shop boy: I wouldn't know. But you could always go to the con this weekend and ask them.
Me: No, I'm going to a play instead. Plus not a really a fan of cons. I can just go online and find out.
Comic shop boy ("CSB") tries to make a pun on online vs. waiting on line - which doesn't quite work.
Me - suddenly confronted with an astonding, and I mean astounding wall filled with Buffy and Angel action figures. Never seen so many in one spot and right behind the comic desk in my life. :Wow, that's a lot of Buffy action figures.
CSB (as if noticing them for the first time): Yep. Hey, there's one of Buffy and Angel getting married - do you want that?
ME: Eww. No. Why would anyone want that? (oops did I say that aloud? Checks blank faces.)
Comic Shop Girl: Actually I think it's the prom, see all the tiny fake balloons.
CSB: Buffy and Angel went to the Prom?
ME: Yep, believe it or not they actually did.
CSB: What gets me is how his arms are sticking out like he's asking, what the heck am I doing here.
Me: actually I think he had that pose in the show.
Comic Book Shop Girl - who pops up out of nowhere and is stick thin (apparently she doesn't like to eat and works all the time): We were discussing how neither of us ever really watched this show.
Me: Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea...I had to go online to find people who liked it. (These conversations always get uncomfortable, there is a reason I don't talk about Buffy offline, people look at me as if I've lost my mind. A fascination in Bones they understand or even Star Trek, Buffy not so much.)
CSG: No, I'm sure it was fine, I just never had any time to watch it was always working.
Me: Well you can catch it on Hulu or netflix or even Lola now.
CSG looks at me as if I'm speaking some foreign language. Then says: Well I did catch one episode it was towards the last season, when Willow broke up with her lover.
Me: You mean Tara?
CSG: no it was some guy named OZ.
Me: That was season 4.
CSG: Oh. And it was so weird, she got all crazy and did this spell, none of it made sense.
CSB: I loved the movie - it was campy fun. But the tv show just didn't work, Seth Green plays this werewolf but when turns into a werewolf he runs in the opposite direction of the people - hey man that's your food, why are you running away from them. It makes no sense.
Me: You can't exactly apply logic to it. You also have Angel action figures, in fact every character appears to be up there except for...
CSB: Spike. We don't have any Spike for some reason, we never do. He's apparently the most popular.
ME: He was the only one they actually developed and gave a full arc to.
CSB: They gave Angel his own show.
ME: But like most leads, he never really got developed or an arc, all the supporting characters got the true arc. He'd be better off as supporting.
CSB: It's the Joey syndrom.
CSG and Me confused: Huh.
Me: You mean Joey from Friends?
CSB: Yep, great show but spin-off doesn't work.
Me: No that wasn't quite it. Angel was actually a good show...
Sigh. I finally ended the conversation and wandered off to the promenade to read the Buffy comic.
But you had to have seen that wall. Never seen so many Buffy action figures in my life.
Now that just about everyone and their brother has done a review of this thing, thought I'd add my two cents to the pot, what the hell. Since I've read most of the other reviews - I'll avoid repeating too much of what they said. (The most memorable to date are stormwreath, 2maggie2 (who does a riff on how this is all a metaphor on the writing process) and angeria. With IGN as the most critical.
Warning - the below will include snark, which may or may not offend (one can never know). This is just my opinion, it's not gospel folks. Don't take anything I write here personally. I'm just sharing with you how I read it and part of my enjoyment is making ribald fun of it. The snark will most likely be in the same viene as prior posts on the topic, its not that over-the-top and there's a lot more analysis than I thought I'd give. It's behind a cut-tag for length. Feel free to link - but anyone who follows the link - please be careful of your blood-pressure and mine. It's just a comic book after all.
Apparently the editors still haven't caught the error on the blurb on the cover page. Spike's still a former vampire. But what the hey, who reads these blurbs anyway? I almost skipped it. Also, the editor of the comic is now the writer. Interesting. No one has done that before.
The exposition bit is actually Buffy and Spike talking for what I'm guessing is the first time in about two years? Let's see we've done Buffy and Xander in the first oh, 20 issues - actually they jumped around on that one, it didn't end until issue 33 or thereabouts (if Xander had declared his love for Buffy instead of Dawn, would we have gotten Twuffy in issue 34? If not, this is all Dawn's fault (joking)). Buffy and Satsu (that took about ten issues), Buffy and Riley (off-stage and barely focused on outside of Buffy dressing up for him and Angel (excuse me Twangel) snarking about it, then Riley telling her that she was one hell of a woman and how proud he was of her (again) - you guys think you got it rough, B/R shippers just got Xander stating it was the best relationship she had.), Buffy and Angel (that basically consisted of a lot of fighting, shagging (my eyes! my eyes! I could have lived without seeing that...and I thought watching the two naked men arm wrestling in Borat was bad), and some worst dialogue written this side of the Pecos. Now we get Buffy and Spike - which so far, is reminding me a great deal of Buffy and Xander up to and including Turbulence, except Spike wasn't smart enough to actually move on and get a girlfriend. (Speaking of, where is Illyria?)
I do like their banter. But then I've always liked their banter. I like banter. I hate angst. Angst is boring and whiny. Banter is entertaining and makes me laugh. It's a thing.
Buffy: I can't believe you have hot water on this thing. (shouldn't be that surprised, he had it in his crypt, I'm guessing, Spike is anything if not resourceful unlike some other people I won't mention). Also side-bar, what is this thing?
Spike: Tale for another time, pet. (If you read the Lynch comics - you will find out Buffy. Granted you'd have to hop dimensions, but still. I've decided that the IDW comics exist in one dimension and the Dark Horse comics exist in another dimension.)We've got to focus on what's ahead.
Buffy: What's ahead is what should be behind. Suckydale.
Spike: Home again, home again...
Buffy: Jiggedy jig (yes she finishes his sentences, they have the same knowledge of pop culture and the same quippy sense of humor - adding to the fun banter. If her conversations were this interesting with Angel, I might have stayed awake during their romantic scenes on the show and in the comics.) What's the seed of wonder and why is it there? (Good question. Wonder if we'll get an answer? She's drying her hair by the way. The art in this portion is actually quite detailed and rather good. Surprisingly so. He even got Spike's raised and scarred eyebrow. (and ouch, having had that happen to me, you have headaches in that spot for the rest of your life). )
Spike (who has apparently become a watcher now - after threatening to become one in Xander's dream in Restless. Actually this whole bit is not out of character. Spike was well on his way to becoming Buffy's Watcher or source of critical information around Fool for Love - where he tells her more about slayers than Giles ever has, and their relationship to vampires.): It's always been there. Before you, before humans...before the First, even, which has a nice irony. (Then why haven't we ever heard of it before? This reminds me of the whole scythe back-story in S7. )
Buffy: And it is? (yes, really, get to the point already!)
Spike: Just what the name implies. (Sigh, writers and their magnmucnmuffins - that's what George Lucas calls it - the funky item that the writer has created for the characters to hunt - which will save or destroy the world. If done well, it's something we've heard of before like the arc of the covenant, but in Whedon's shows, it is usually some bizarre thing we haven't. At any rate they always think the magnmucmuffin (sp? I have no idea) is obvious to the reader and they don't have to explain it. OR they don't care to explain it, because it's just a plot device.) The source of all the magic in the world. ( And we didn't know about this before, because? You'd think someone would have happened upon it. Then again, maybe not. The characters seem to take for granted much like the audience that there's all this weird magic that pops up out of nowhere. Anyhow, will give Whedon credit - the explanation does sound a bit obvious. On the other hand Seed of Wonder can mean a lot of things. Of course Spike, being a writer and a poet, sees the metaphors in everything - what's obvious to Spike may not be obvious to anyone else.)
Spike continues with the exposition - which feels like a twist on Giles speech in Welcome to the Hellmouth, and the demon's speech in Fray. It's also Whedon's way of cobbling Buffy and Fray together into one timeline. He did the same thing in S7 - with the scythe. I liked Fray by itself. I don't like how Whedon has frayed (pun intended) his original story in order to make a half-interesting and somewhat obscure comic book make sense.
Anyhow it's not that complicated. Basically the seed created the world, and it was all magic, demons, etc...but the seed didn't create the demons - just brought them over from another dimension. Then being a nice little seed - chose for reasons that aren't quite explained, kept the demons and monsters here. Kept them from seeping back into that old dimension from whence they came. (I'm guessing someone else created the seed and used it to get rid of all the nasties on their world by creating a new world - earth and sending them all there. Hey, it's hardly a new concept. Don't like your garbag? Find another dimension, throw it all there, let them deal with it, and walk away.) "Now the earth was an improvement, a step up or it was a ghetto" (guessing a ghetto, because why would you throw all your unwanted nasties somewhere nice? Then again, maybe it was a demon who created the seed, found a new dimension and used the seed to bring its entire race there, because its old dimension was falling apart? Both explanations are plausible, I guess). At any rate the earth's on its own and the seed the source of it all - is the only thing powerful enough to keep it from bleeding back. (Alright, I don't know about you, but I'm confused. They missed a step in there somewhere. Apparently the seed brought the demons to earth, then..what exactly? Bottled them up in another dimension on earth? Or are they co-existing on earth? I'm guessing they are co-existing? Because, hello, we have had demons long before the whole Twilight mess. These are the earth demons. The new demons - or nasties are the new dimensions demons - which the seed is supposed to be keeping out while keeping the earth demons in? OR is the old dimension earth, and...Whedon? You suck at exposition. You are worse than I am. Just saying.)
Anyhow...Buffy finally gets the point as do we. IF you pop the cork or remove the seed, the world as we know it goes by, and the new universe takes its place. And it would have stayed that way if Buffy hadn't decided to go boink Angel. Just as Angel would never have become evil and sent the world to hell in a hand-basket if she hadn't boinked him back in S2. Buffy? Do you ever learn?
Buffy now decides to explain to Spike (and us by extension) why she boinked Angel. "It wasn't like we were out of control - though we kind of were...it was like (a drunken binge?) Elemental. Like we were outside ourselves, in each other, like we were the wind that swept us up. (sigh, sex, so overrated. Basically you got carried away by your hormones and had an oragasmic experience. We get it. It's not that earth shattering Buffy. Or that interesting. Basically it is physical love without the intellect or mind. Two animals frakking. Except when animals do it the world doesn't get shredded as a result.)
Spike: Can you think of a single creature on any plane of existence that wants to hear this less? (actually quite a few, including yours truly, and well Xander, Riley, and Giles for starters. And Buffy wonders why Riley left her or Xander gave up on her and went for Dawn. OR Spike for that matter chose not to tell her he was alive. Jeeze. It's not like they didn't have to watch it after all. Plus deal with the consequences. Next time you do this - can you go to a hell dimension first? Save so much time.)
Buffy: I'm sorry (yeah right). I'm still feeling...(the buzz?) Like something got switched on and I don't know how to turn it off (basically you are horny as all get out). I really shouldn't be telling you that but..but you were the guy I told the things I wasn't supposed to tell. You're my dark place, Spike. (Gee, what a nice thing to tell a guy who went and got a soul and changed his ways to become a better man. Batting a thousand here, Buffster. Although I suppose I get the metaphor, Spike - Buffy could tell all her deep dark secrets to, and he told her his, because she knew he'd love her no matter what. He'd never judge her harshly, he'd be honest. While Xander - she confided all her hopes and dreams to. In short, she was best friends with Spike and Xander. Yet, for some reason she thinks she is in love with a guy she can't have a conversation with? As I'm writing this, it is worth noting that Buffy is currently daydreaming about Spike taking her into his arms and kissing her. Not going to happen, why would he do that? Let's think about this for a second, if you saw your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend boinking a rival (someone you had a long-standing rivalry with) and then listened to them go on about it, would you want to kiss or be nice to them? Heck Buffy couldn't handle seeing Spike boink Anya fully clothed on video at the magic box, after they split up, after she told him it was over, and after he apologized and said he felt nothing for Anya and he and Anya were just trying to deal with their mutual pain. Yet here she is, right after boinking Angel and telling Angel how great he is, fantasizing about Spike and flirting with Spike. Talk about double-standards. Buffy, you are definitely your father's daughter. )
Spike (is attempting to give us more exposition. Personally I prefer the kissing sequence and the insight into Buffy's head. But the explanation would have been nice too.) : No wonder Giles said you were a crap student.
[What I find interesting in the comparison study of Spike and Angel? Is that Angel is depicted in a manner that is similar to Hank Summers - Buffy can't talk to Hank. Hank takes her ice-skating. She swoons in his presence. He has another family. And he is out of her reach, unknowable. While Spike is increasingly depicted in a manner similar to Giles - present in her life, not out of reach, knowable, and informative. Loves her unconditionally. And is always there. Buffy yearns for Hank, yet it is Giles who is her father in all the ways that count. Just as she yearns for Angel, but it is Spike who is her partner in all the ways that count. Fascinating. The plot sucks beans, but the psychological metaphors that are piled on are nice and chewy - well if you are like me and a frustrated psychologist/english lit major.]
Spike: Yeah, no mystery who you were thinking about.
Buffy (who is struggling to keep up, because her fantasy has discombobulated her a bit, she doesn't appear to know what to do with her feelings for Spike, they don't make sense to her. Her feelings for Angel are simple. But Spike confuses her.): No mystery (liar). Already solved (you wish). Let's go back just a teeny bit. (what were you saying? How can we stop the world from being destroyed ? - It's interesting that Buffy's romantic fantasies keep getting in the way of obtaining crucial info on saving the world. In the past saving the world got in the way of the romance, now the romance is getting in the way of saving the world. The dichotomy is interesting.
And it explains another metaphor that I just figured out tonight. The Chain or Buffy double underground is stranded, alone, fighting demons, trying to save the world, while Buffy double above ground in Rome is having an amazing romance with the Immortal, shagging him, not a care in the world. Romance vs. Life. Being alone and saving others vs. having someone and not helping anyone. All Buffy's life it has been an either/or scenario. She can't have both. She's either the slayer - alone, underground, buried in the muck or the normal girl at the dance kissing the boy, while kids die around her. At least that's how she feels. It's not true, but in her head it is.)
Spike brushes her off, annoyed. He's had enough Bangle for a lifetime. States, much like Giles would - he's in full "Watcher" mode, at the moment - "Why don't we get you into bed?" It's what a father might say or Giles might say. But Buffy thinks of Spike in another way, her head goes right to sex. And she's flustered.
Poor Dawn. I can identify. Although if I had to choose between giant cockroaches running a ship and spiders, I'd pick the cockroaches (plus easier to draw, I suspect). Why Whedon chose to have the ship piloted by cockroaches I have no idea. Is this some sort of reference to Spike as the cellar dweller? Spike's always being associated with Bugs in this show...and not all that effectively. First it's the bugs in As You Were, then the Egyptian Beetles that clean him out, somewhat painfully in Grave (that must have been fun to act). Rather like Xander in this scene (I mean I like Xander notthat Xander is similar to Spike). But, sorry, Dawn's toast. Xander basically jinxed it - just as he jinxed his relationships with Anya and Renee...the boy never learns. "Assuming we survive (assuming Dawn survives) and I assume (probably not a good idea) we could get an apartment (talk about wishful thinking). Just us - not a hundred slayers (don't worry there probably will be a lot less than that by the time this is over). You could go back to school (where exactly?), I'd get work (doing what? Carpentry? I suppose you could do security?) Support us - in barely above poverty line style - too much too soon? (yep, you just jinxed yourself, you idiot.).
It's a touching scene, made more touching by the guy with the moustach watching them. This is the General in case you were wondering. I have no idea what he is up to. But I'm guessing when the whole seed story comes out, he's going to be in favor of smashing it. I would be if I were him. It's a heck of a lot easier to fight vampires and slayers, with magic gone from the world. Besides, I think that was his agenda from the get-go.
We jump to Angel now - attempting to save the world from the billions of new demons that he conspired to let loose in it by powering up Buffy then shagging her brains out. (Literally, she has no brains now. Just a horny little thing. But then neither does Angel apparently. Not that either were especially brainy to begin with.) The writers are showing me this in an attempt to make me feel sympathy for Angel or think he can be redeemed? I'm sorry, but it is not working. You are going to have to do a lot more than have him fly about and fight demons. That actually looks like fun.
Back to Spike and the gang. Spike tells everyone what he told Buffy, but we don't have to hear it - yay us. They apparently understand this plot-line about as well as we do. God isn't supposed to make sense or loopy writers who like to change places with their editors for that matter.
Giles: I just don't see how I didn't realize this before (possibly because up until now it didn't exist, because the writer/god didn't come up with it until now?)
Willow: You had a lot of prophecies to sort through, it's understandable. (Interesting how a professed athesist and existentialist loves to create multiple prophecies. Personally, I think he enjoys making fun of them.)
Spike amusingly uses the same metaphor with Xander (who unlike Buffy is more concerned about things like how does Spike know any of this? )
Spike: Three words little man (why is Jeanty drawing Spike as taller than Xander or the same height? Is Spike wearing lifts in this comic? Or did Jeanty not get the fact that Xander is 6 foot and Spike is 5'8? Or possibly 5'5, it's hard to tell.) I speak Fyarl. (Apparently Fyarl demons are smarter than we thought. OR just savvy to the whole seed thing. You don't need to be smart to know about the seed, just old and into self-preservation. And they are guns for hire, which means they've probably been hired to protect it before. We've been told that the demons on this plain of existence don't want to be kicked off of it. Don't blame them. Or share it with the new demons. Hard enough just sharing it with the humans. Now if they were bright - they'd join up with the humans and fight the new demons. But they aren't. The demons on this plain not wanting the seed pulled out is according to Spike -and is one of the things they have in their favor.)
Xander: But that doesn't expl (anything? No, it doesn't. But this is Whedon telling you it doesn't matter...just go with the flow. Xander is basically Allie and Jeanty, quibbling, and Spike is Whedon.)
At this point Willow falls into Aliwuyn's world, because Aliwuyn (the snake lady) needs to provide the other bit of exposition that Spike doesn't know about. (Hmmm - all our exposition is provided by the trickster characters, Aliwuyn (Willow's version of Spike, I guess) and Spike. Except Aliwuyn is depicted on a nice magical plain, which reminds me of the Twilight verse. It's not Twilight's verse - just reminds me of it.
Anyhow, Ali (getting tired of trying to spell the other), tells Willow that if you smash the seed - all magic goes by-bye, which means goodbye to your witchcraft, to me, and well all the other things that are magical and aren't vampires and slayers. If you remove it - then they are swallowed by a hell dimension (sort of like in Season 2 with Acathla - this is the problem with fantasy, people come up with names for things that I can't pronounce or remember how to spell.)
Personally, I don't see the problem here. So you lose your magic Will's. Deal. It's better than having to fight demons all the time. Ali states - "your world would lose something it doesn't know it needs.." (okay obvious metaphor for imagination - which was done in the Marvel comics back in the 80s with more or less the exact same speech. ) "It's not only Twilight you have to stop Willow." And we are getting back to the two villians or big bads...there have always been two, in every season. There's the human one and the demonic one. Here the two villians are Angel and the General. The General represents the humans who want an end to magic, to this power, and a normal world that they can control. Angel wanted Twilight - a new universe, a higher plain to take over.
Angel's all about changing the world and everyone around him to atone for his sins, but never himself. He needs to take a page from old Leo Tolstoy - "everybody thinks they need to change humanity, never themselves.".
And now, we get the big plot-twist that everyone is speculating on and I personally don't think is that big a deal. Willow: "Buffy had a vision that someone close would betray here. You know who it is, don't you?"
I'm guessing it's Xander. But I'm also guessing it doesn't matter. Because Buffy has already betrayed everyone by sleeping with TwAngel and bringing about the apocalypse, again. If at first you don't succeed...Okay, I've changed my mind. Buffy shouldn't have staked Angel in S1, she should have castrated him - it would have solved so many problems. (Assuming of course it didn't grow back, one never knows with vampires. So maybe not?) At any rate, I know this much - whatever happens is going to cause what created the Frayverse. Basically Buffy sealing herself off in another dimension. S9 will be the fallout from that and people attempting to free her. Now, how that happens? As convoluted as this story has become? I'm guessing what will happen is the General will talk either Dawn or Xander into smashing the seed. Xander may end up getting talked into doing it after Dawn gets killed. There's a reason we have the General eavesdropping on them. This would no doubt cause Buffy to get sealed in the new universe - Willow may push her, who knows. But Willow clearly feels guilty about it in the future, or maybe guilt is the wrong word. Is bitter about it? Don't really know or care that much to be honest. Although I am curious - I do want to see how this story ends. Come this far...
And we hop back to Angel - to see how bad things are (they are pretty bad, demons popping up everywhere, more demons than humans - see humans this is what happens when you trust a crazy vampire with a god complex). Angel's trying to help, and getting off on it apparently. So no, not convincing me this guy is redeemable. He looks like he's having a blast."Buffy's right! I do need this!"
Meanwhile Giles and Faith are discussing something. No clue what exactly. I'm guessing what Spike told everyone. Since Giles says they have to locate the seed. The problem with how Faith is drawn is sometimes she looks a lot like Dawn. Jeanty is better with Spike and Buffy. Granted we don't see Faith and Giles that often, so he may just be rusty.
Faith is annoyed by it all. Don't blame her. She feels as if they are all off course. And wants to help the girls. Faith has redeemed herself. Unlike Angel, Faith has actually changed and grown. (except when she looks like Dawn) She changed herself, did the work. She may be the most evolved next to Spike.
Giles appears to be asking Faith to do something else, that's she's not so keen on. Their interaction reminds me of No Future for You - with Gigi. Is he asking her to betray Buffy? To do what must be done to save the world? To step in?
Spike pops up and looks a lot like Andrew...although that is admittedly a tough posture to draw. And it is an Andrew moment - he's awed by what he did to Sunnydale. (Actually what the amulet that Angel gave him did - and his soul, so I guess you could say what his soul did?)
They all go to the hellmouth. Buffy first, with Spike hanging on for dear life onto her waist, in much the same position Buffy used to have when Willow took her on similar flights. Except Buffy's horny and says - Spike's touching my butt. Honey, is that all you can think about? You are worse than a guy. Granted if Spike were holding onto my waist for dear life, I'd be thinking much the same thing, but then I'd have shagged Spike, and staked TwAngel. So...
Xander insists Will teleport all them to Sunnydale. Xander? You are going to regret that decision.
There's a fight scene with the Master. Buffy defeats him. Actually it's not the Master. No one calls him that. He just sort of looks like him. They call him the Protector. Who thinks little of this new universe that she created with Angel. The Protector is confused to see Spike and not Angel, and thinks they are fighting to take the seed. (By the way, the whole The destroyer, the protector, etc bit reminds me of Ghostbusters. I keep expecting to see the Stovetop Marshmellow Puff Man walking around.)
Back to Angel - who is tired and not having fun any more. The world is shredded. Yes, Angel you just cause one apocalypse after another. Twilight shows up and reveals to Angel that he/she/it (people call it a she, but honestly? I can't tell.) is not the PTB but rather the new universe. It showed up in the past to manipulate him into bringing it to life, sort of like Jasmine did with Connor. Angel you really need to stop reading shanshu prophecies. Seriously, is it just me or is Angel constantly being used as a stud or sperm donor by the PTB? As Cordy once said - why does the PTB keep wanting to knock me up? Good question. First we have the convoluted Darla/Connor/Cordelia/Jasmine plot - which actually made more sense than this one does. Possibly because Tim Minear and David Greenwalt were half-way involved in the plotting? Now we have the even more convoluted Angel/Buffy/Twilight plot. Angel's like that dumb jock who just keeps getting the ditzy cheerleader preggers, except their kids want to destroy the world.
The kid shows up looking like Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia - making me think that somebody has been reading those books to their kids and has gotten sick of them, and taken a page from Philip K. Pullman, deciding to turn the kindly Aslan (aka God) from Narnia into an destructive force. Although I wouldn't call it evil - it just wants to survive.
"But I'm here now, Father. You can't deny the universe you created."
Jeeze. Poor Angel, he just can't get away from reliving that scenario, can he? That's the same line he told his own father before he tore his throat out. "I'm here now, Father. You can't deny the man that you had a hand in creating. I'm the monster you made me." Which in turn is the same line Connor throws in Angel's face. And the same line, Jasmine does. And for that matter, Spike. Angel, face it, dude, you have turned into your father except a hell of a lot worse.
Angel really needs to stop creating things or trying to control or change things. He keeps repeating the same mistakes. And something tells me a simple mindwipe ain't gonna make it all better.
What do you think Angel's going to do? Well, if past history is any indication - probably aid the new universe. Angel learn from his mistakes?
My difficulty with the comics is that while Angel is technically speaking in character, they have simplified him to such an extent that all I see are the things I despise about the character. I actually did enjoy the Angel series and found the character interesting. That wasn't David Boreanze, if it was, I would like Bones and I don't. No, that character was complex, and multi-faceated. Here - he's been reduced to a metaphor or allegory. He's basically Daddy issues personified.
Which brings me to the lengthy and rather ironic letter and exchange with Allie at the back of this issue. Making me wonder how people think. Allie admits in response to the letter that he screwed up by engaging in the Angel vs. Spike wars. (You think? But hey, no worries, you are hardly the first writer to do this...Fury and Noxon did the same thing and have the bruises to prove it.) I don't understand why writers, particularly writers of soap operas and comic book serials can't figure out that there will be vehement fan rivaleries and as a writer, to take one side or the other is the kiss of death. I mean there have been ship wars since the 1800s. I read recently how Louisa May Alcott had to deal with rabid fans writing her letters on the lead character Joe marrying Laurie and not the Professor. (Joe married the Professor, Laurie married her younger sister Amy, people were not happy.) And all you have to do is go to a daytime soap opera fanboard to see ship wars that will make your eyes bleed. It's par for the course. Heck, the X-men - had them. There was a huge fracas over whether Jean should be with Scott or Wolverine. She ended up with both of them at one point or another. This is part of the territory. The letter and response hit me as ironic - because the letter writer is upset with how Spike and Spuffy are being treated in contrast to Angel and Bangle, and the responder states all I said is we're not going to say Buffy loves Spike more than Angel, but we are treating their relationship with respect (meaning Spike/Buffy). This is ironic, because the relationship that has been repeatedly bashed in the comic and the character that is being repeatedly bashed is Angel and Bangel. They are not treating that relationship with any respect whatsoever. (I can't speak for the fanboards, but fanboards and writer interviews are distractions. As Whedon aptly stated - judge the story on the page, not what the teller says about it.) It's obvious to me that the writers and artist is mocking the Bangel romantic relationship - to such an extent, that I found it offensive at different points and I'm by no means a Bangel shipper, but I was once upon a time. If I were a Bangel shipper now? I wouldn't want to read this. And all the Bangel shippers that are on my mutual friends list? They aren't. Or if they are, are upset about it. If they aren't reading it? They never will. They would hate how Angel is being depicted here. The ones who are Angel fans and are reading them? Hate how he is depicted and feel they don't even recognize him. So I'm guessing the writer and editor is probably looking at the letter and the Spike fans and thinking, WTF? There's a disconnect here, I think. The story isn't going to end on romantic note - the writers are NOT romantics.
And it's clear to me that Buffy is going to end up alone and possibly in a hell dimension as she fears. It's forshadowed in all her dreams and nightmares. It's her deepest fear. And as such her self-fulfilling prophecy. There's alot of self-fulfilling prophecy going on here. The Buffy/Spike relationship is a tragic one - because once again Buffy screwed it up. Not that Spike did not play a role in that. And who knows what would have happened if he showed up before Angel had?
To me, the comics are a bit of a chaotic mess - plotwise and metaphorwise. The writer is trying to do far too many things at once, and none of them well. But they are entertaining. I agree with the IGN reviewer on this. Pacing is bad. In some respects the comics remind of a daytime soap opera such as Passions. The plot isn't based on logic so much as well emotion. It's like a fever dream. A very longwinded fever dream. With better editing - this might have been good. I can see why people who love chewy metaphors are excited by it. It has an abundance of chewy metaphor and subtext. If you are a poet, you may well be in heaven. If you read things more literally, you may not be. Hard to say, people are impossible to pigeon hole.
I see multiple metaphors here. The political one about creating a better world by destroying the old one, only to discover the new one is even worse - or a morality tale on abuses of power. The romantic one - or fable - about how giving into idealized romance...leads to nothing. Love comes first and foremost from like minds and friendship. If you can't trust your lover with your dreams and your nightmares, than he has no business being your lover. And the creative metaphor - of playing god with one's characters, this does double service metaphysically. And finally, the psychological one - about growing up, letting go, and moving on. There's a lot here, but it is confusing and muddled. And there's little time to unmuddle it. Campy and silly? Sure. But after discussing the tv series with the comic shop people - it occurs to me that that was always the case. If it weren't I wouldn't be so embarrassed to discuss it with people. And the plot lines were never clear or logical. Buffy was always a soap opera. A supernatural soap opera with lots of action, but still a soap opera, with all the flaws and foibles of that genre.
The comic book at times reminds me of some of the girl magna books that I've seen. Lots of sex. Lots of sexual fantasizing and romantic entanglements. Also a lot of male moralizing about what it means to be female and about female sexuality. And no, they don't get it. At all.
But this is getting long and it is time for bed. Also not as snarky as I thought it would be. Odd that. But oh well.
In regards to the question above? Not that much. I rather hate exposition, writing it and listening to it. Beginnings and endings of narratives, I suck at as both reader and writer, with few exceptions. Much prefer the middle, thank you very much.
Anyhow..I took a lovely walk on a lovely day up to the comic store, then to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to sit and take in the view. The sky was cloudless and that robins egg blue that shimmers. Perfect temperature too. Just the right bit of breeze rippling through the leaves behind me (yes, there are actual trees with leaves on them in Brooklyn), and the sun warm and stroking. Plus the city before me in all its splendor. From my vantage point - I could see the statute of Liberty, Manhattan Island with it's tall buildings of glass and steel, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The river below, the cars humming just above the river, and the people walking their dogs in front of me.
But before that, I made it to the comic book store. Was somewhat disappointed - because had a hankering for a bit of my favorite character, written by my favorite comic book writer of the moment.
Comic shop boy to comic shop girl: Want to finish my fries? My stomach can't handle them. I'm gonna burst. My eyes were bigger than my stomach.
Me (grinning, while aimlessly searching for Spike comic - which I thought was coming out in Oct.): I get that. Same thing happens to me all the time. (I glance back at comic book shop boy, who is hardly a boy, since he has a full growth of beard. Glasses. Big belly. Black T-shirt. Your basic stereotype.)
[Giving up, I wander back with my selections - Buffy issue 37, Angel #37 (because Spike actually has some great bits of dialogue and it focuses almost entirely on the Spike/Angel relationship and I'm a sucker for the Spike/Angel relationship. Note I do not ship them the way most fans do, I ship them the same way I ship Damon/Stefan and Dean/Sam - I have a weakness for anything about brothers because I have a love/hate relationship with my own. Sort of how some people are obsessed with sister relationships or father relationships? I'm obsessed with brother relationships.)and True Blood (because it features Tara's backstory, and I like Tara, also a bit on Eric's back story.]
Me: Any news on the Spike comic by Lynch.
Comic book shop boy: I wouldn't know. But you could always go to the con this weekend and ask them.
Me: No, I'm going to a play instead. Plus not a really a fan of cons. I can just go online and find out.
Comic shop boy ("CSB") tries to make a pun on online vs. waiting on line - which doesn't quite work.
Me - suddenly confronted with an astonding, and I mean astounding wall filled with Buffy and Angel action figures. Never seen so many in one spot and right behind the comic desk in my life. :Wow, that's a lot of Buffy action figures.
CSB (as if noticing them for the first time): Yep. Hey, there's one of Buffy and Angel getting married - do you want that?
ME: Eww. No. Why would anyone want that? (oops did I say that aloud? Checks blank faces.)
Comic Shop Girl: Actually I think it's the prom, see all the tiny fake balloons.
CSB: Buffy and Angel went to the Prom?
ME: Yep, believe it or not they actually did.
CSB: What gets me is how his arms are sticking out like he's asking, what the heck am I doing here.
Me: actually I think he had that pose in the show.
Comic Book Shop Girl - who pops up out of nowhere and is stick thin (apparently she doesn't like to eat and works all the time): We were discussing how neither of us ever really watched this show.
Me: Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea...I had to go online to find people who liked it. (These conversations always get uncomfortable, there is a reason I don't talk about Buffy offline, people look at me as if I've lost my mind. A fascination in Bones they understand or even Star Trek, Buffy not so much.)
CSG: No, I'm sure it was fine, I just never had any time to watch it was always working.
Me: Well you can catch it on Hulu or netflix or even Lola now.
CSG looks at me as if I'm speaking some foreign language. Then says: Well I did catch one episode it was towards the last season, when Willow broke up with her lover.
Me: You mean Tara?
CSG: no it was some guy named OZ.
Me: That was season 4.
CSG: Oh. And it was so weird, she got all crazy and did this spell, none of it made sense.
CSB: I loved the movie - it was campy fun. But the tv show just didn't work, Seth Green plays this werewolf but when turns into a werewolf he runs in the opposite direction of the people - hey man that's your food, why are you running away from them. It makes no sense.
Me: You can't exactly apply logic to it. You also have Angel action figures, in fact every character appears to be up there except for...
CSB: Spike. We don't have any Spike for some reason, we never do. He's apparently the most popular.
ME: He was the only one they actually developed and gave a full arc to.
CSB: They gave Angel his own show.
ME: But like most leads, he never really got developed or an arc, all the supporting characters got the true arc. He'd be better off as supporting.
CSB: It's the Joey syndrom.
CSG and Me confused: Huh.
Me: You mean Joey from Friends?
CSB: Yep, great show but spin-off doesn't work.
Me: No that wasn't quite it. Angel was actually a good show...
Sigh. I finally ended the conversation and wandered off to the promenade to read the Buffy comic.
But you had to have seen that wall. Never seen so many Buffy action figures in my life.
Now that just about everyone and their brother has done a review of this thing, thought I'd add my two cents to the pot, what the hell. Since I've read most of the other reviews - I'll avoid repeating too much of what they said. (The most memorable to date are stormwreath, 2maggie2 (who does a riff on how this is all a metaphor on the writing process) and angeria. With IGN as the most critical.
Warning - the below will include snark, which may or may not offend (one can never know). This is just my opinion, it's not gospel folks. Don't take anything I write here personally. I'm just sharing with you how I read it and part of my enjoyment is making ribald fun of it. The snark will most likely be in the same viene as prior posts on the topic, its not that over-the-top and there's a lot more analysis than I thought I'd give. It's behind a cut-tag for length. Feel free to link - but anyone who follows the link - please be careful of your blood-pressure and mine. It's just a comic book after all.
Apparently the editors still haven't caught the error on the blurb on the cover page. Spike's still a former vampire. But what the hey, who reads these blurbs anyway? I almost skipped it. Also, the editor of the comic is now the writer. Interesting. No one has done that before.
The exposition bit is actually Buffy and Spike talking for what I'm guessing is the first time in about two years? Let's see we've done Buffy and Xander in the first oh, 20 issues - actually they jumped around on that one, it didn't end until issue 33 or thereabouts (if Xander had declared his love for Buffy instead of Dawn, would we have gotten Twuffy in issue 34? If not, this is all Dawn's fault (joking)). Buffy and Satsu (that took about ten issues), Buffy and Riley (off-stage and barely focused on outside of Buffy dressing up for him and Angel (excuse me Twangel) snarking about it, then Riley telling her that she was one hell of a woman and how proud he was of her (again) - you guys think you got it rough, B/R shippers just got Xander stating it was the best relationship she had.), Buffy and Angel (that basically consisted of a lot of fighting, shagging (my eyes! my eyes! I could have lived without seeing that...and I thought watching the two naked men arm wrestling in Borat was bad), and some worst dialogue written this side of the Pecos. Now we get Buffy and Spike - which so far, is reminding me a great deal of Buffy and Xander up to and including Turbulence, except Spike wasn't smart enough to actually move on and get a girlfriend. (Speaking of, where is Illyria?)
I do like their banter. But then I've always liked their banter. I like banter. I hate angst. Angst is boring and whiny. Banter is entertaining and makes me laugh. It's a thing.
Buffy: I can't believe you have hot water on this thing. (shouldn't be that surprised, he had it in his crypt, I'm guessing, Spike is anything if not resourceful unlike some other people I won't mention). Also side-bar, what is this thing?
Spike: Tale for another time, pet. (If you read the Lynch comics - you will find out Buffy. Granted you'd have to hop dimensions, but still. I've decided that the IDW comics exist in one dimension and the Dark Horse comics exist in another dimension.)We've got to focus on what's ahead.
Buffy: What's ahead is what should be behind. Suckydale.
Spike: Home again, home again...
Buffy: Jiggedy jig (yes she finishes his sentences, they have the same knowledge of pop culture and the same quippy sense of humor - adding to the fun banter. If her conversations were this interesting with Angel, I might have stayed awake during their romantic scenes on the show and in the comics.) What's the seed of wonder and why is it there? (Good question. Wonder if we'll get an answer? She's drying her hair by the way. The art in this portion is actually quite detailed and rather good. Surprisingly so. He even got Spike's raised and scarred eyebrow. (and ouch, having had that happen to me, you have headaches in that spot for the rest of your life). )
Spike (who has apparently become a watcher now - after threatening to become one in Xander's dream in Restless. Actually this whole bit is not out of character. Spike was well on his way to becoming Buffy's Watcher or source of critical information around Fool for Love - where he tells her more about slayers than Giles ever has, and their relationship to vampires.): It's always been there. Before you, before humans...before the First, even, which has a nice irony. (Then why haven't we ever heard of it before? This reminds me of the whole scythe back-story in S7. )
Buffy: And it is? (yes, really, get to the point already!)
Spike: Just what the name implies. (Sigh, writers and their magnmucnmuffins - that's what George Lucas calls it - the funky item that the writer has created for the characters to hunt - which will save or destroy the world. If done well, it's something we've heard of before like the arc of the covenant, but in Whedon's shows, it is usually some bizarre thing we haven't. At any rate they always think the magnmucmuffin (sp? I have no idea) is obvious to the reader and they don't have to explain it. OR they don't care to explain it, because it's just a plot device.) The source of all the magic in the world. ( And we didn't know about this before, because? You'd think someone would have happened upon it. Then again, maybe not. The characters seem to take for granted much like the audience that there's all this weird magic that pops up out of nowhere. Anyhow, will give Whedon credit - the explanation does sound a bit obvious. On the other hand Seed of Wonder can mean a lot of things. Of course Spike, being a writer and a poet, sees the metaphors in everything - what's obvious to Spike may not be obvious to anyone else.)
Spike continues with the exposition - which feels like a twist on Giles speech in Welcome to the Hellmouth, and the demon's speech in Fray. It's also Whedon's way of cobbling Buffy and Fray together into one timeline. He did the same thing in S7 - with the scythe. I liked Fray by itself. I don't like how Whedon has frayed (pun intended) his original story in order to make a half-interesting and somewhat obscure comic book make sense.
Anyhow it's not that complicated. Basically the seed created the world, and it was all magic, demons, etc...but the seed didn't create the demons - just brought them over from another dimension. Then being a nice little seed - chose for reasons that aren't quite explained, kept the demons and monsters here. Kept them from seeping back into that old dimension from whence they came. (I'm guessing someone else created the seed and used it to get rid of all the nasties on their world by creating a new world - earth and sending them all there. Hey, it's hardly a new concept. Don't like your garbag? Find another dimension, throw it all there, let them deal with it, and walk away.) "Now the earth was an improvement, a step up or it was a ghetto" (guessing a ghetto, because why would you throw all your unwanted nasties somewhere nice? Then again, maybe it was a demon who created the seed, found a new dimension and used the seed to bring its entire race there, because its old dimension was falling apart? Both explanations are plausible, I guess). At any rate the earth's on its own and the seed the source of it all - is the only thing powerful enough to keep it from bleeding back. (Alright, I don't know about you, but I'm confused. They missed a step in there somewhere. Apparently the seed brought the demons to earth, then..what exactly? Bottled them up in another dimension on earth? Or are they co-existing on earth? I'm guessing they are co-existing? Because, hello, we have had demons long before the whole Twilight mess. These are the earth demons. The new demons - or nasties are the new dimensions demons - which the seed is supposed to be keeping out while keeping the earth demons in? OR is the old dimension earth, and...Whedon? You suck at exposition. You are worse than I am. Just saying.)
Buffy: Like Dawn is a Key?
Spike: Forget "key". Think "cork". As long as it's in its place, the hellmouth, more recently known as Sunnydale (something Whedon borrowed from The Lost Boys) -- things stay more or less where they should. (So, the cork keeps the original demons on earth, and new demons outside. Got it.) But pull it out...(he pops a cork, but Buffy who has never been into alcohol and is a bit dense when it comes to metaphors and analogies anyway ( a poet, this gal is not), doesn't get it. Not surprising, remember this is the girl who compared herself to cookie dough. I still love Spike's reaction to Angel repeating the cookie dough speech, precious.)
Buffy: Probably would have been more impressive if something poured out. Like if you held it upside down...(or he was talking to Giles not to you)
Spike: It's a seventy-year-old Madeira. ( I agree with stormwreath here, that's a nice touch. Spike is a connoisor of alcohol. Much like Giles. I can see Giles saying the same thing - it's a seventy-year old Scotch, you nit.) I'm not dumping it on the floor just cause you have no imagination.
Anyhow...Buffy finally gets the point as do we. IF you pop the cork or remove the seed, the world as we know it goes by, and the new universe takes its place. And it would have stayed that way if Buffy hadn't decided to go boink Angel. Just as Angel would never have become evil and sent the world to hell in a hand-basket if she hadn't boinked him back in S2. Buffy? Do you ever learn?
Buffy now decides to explain to Spike (and us by extension) why she boinked Angel. "It wasn't like we were out of control - though we kind of were...it was like (a drunken binge?) Elemental. Like we were outside ourselves, in each other, like we were the wind that swept us up. (sigh, sex, so overrated. Basically you got carried away by your hormones and had an oragasmic experience. We get it. It's not that earth shattering Buffy. Or that interesting. Basically it is physical love without the intellect or mind. Two animals frakking. Except when animals do it the world doesn't get shredded as a result.)
Spike: Can you think of a single creature on any plane of existence that wants to hear this less? (actually quite a few, including yours truly, and well Xander, Riley, and Giles for starters. And Buffy wonders why Riley left her or Xander gave up on her and went for Dawn. OR Spike for that matter chose not to tell her he was alive. Jeeze. It's not like they didn't have to watch it after all. Plus deal with the consequences. Next time you do this - can you go to a hell dimension first? Save so much time.)
Buffy: I'm sorry (yeah right). I'm still feeling...(the buzz?) Like something got switched on and I don't know how to turn it off (basically you are horny as all get out). I really shouldn't be telling you that but..but you were the guy I told the things I wasn't supposed to tell. You're my dark place, Spike. (Gee, what a nice thing to tell a guy who went and got a soul and changed his ways to become a better man. Batting a thousand here, Buffster. Although I suppose I get the metaphor, Spike - Buffy could tell all her deep dark secrets to, and he told her his, because she knew he'd love her no matter what. He'd never judge her harshly, he'd be honest. While Xander - she confided all her hopes and dreams to. In short, she was best friends with Spike and Xander. Yet, for some reason she thinks she is in love with a guy she can't have a conversation with? As I'm writing this, it is worth noting that Buffy is currently daydreaming about Spike taking her into his arms and kissing her. Not going to happen, why would he do that? Let's think about this for a second, if you saw your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend boinking a rival (someone you had a long-standing rivalry with) and then listened to them go on about it, would you want to kiss or be nice to them? Heck Buffy couldn't handle seeing Spike boink Anya fully clothed on video at the magic box, after they split up, after she told him it was over, and after he apologized and said he felt nothing for Anya and he and Anya were just trying to deal with their mutual pain. Yet here she is, right after boinking Angel and telling Angel how great he is, fantasizing about Spike and flirting with Spike. Talk about double-standards. Buffy, you are definitely your father's daughter. )
Spike (is attempting to give us more exposition. Personally I prefer the kissing sequence and the insight into Buffy's head. But the explanation would have been nice too.) : No wonder Giles said you were a crap student.
[What I find interesting in the comparison study of Spike and Angel? Is that Angel is depicted in a manner that is similar to Hank Summers - Buffy can't talk to Hank. Hank takes her ice-skating. She swoons in his presence. He has another family. And he is out of her reach, unknowable. While Spike is increasingly depicted in a manner similar to Giles - present in her life, not out of reach, knowable, and informative. Loves her unconditionally. And is always there. Buffy yearns for Hank, yet it is Giles who is her father in all the ways that count. Just as she yearns for Angel, but it is Spike who is her partner in all the ways that count. Fascinating. The plot sucks beans, but the psychological metaphors that are piled on are nice and chewy - well if you are like me and a frustrated psychologist/english lit major.]
Spike: Yeah, no mystery who you were thinking about.
Buffy (who is struggling to keep up, because her fantasy has discombobulated her a bit, she doesn't appear to know what to do with her feelings for Spike, they don't make sense to her. Her feelings for Angel are simple. But Spike confuses her.): No mystery (liar). Already solved (you wish). Let's go back just a teeny bit. (what were you saying? How can we stop the world from being destroyed ? - It's interesting that Buffy's romantic fantasies keep getting in the way of obtaining crucial info on saving the world. In the past saving the world got in the way of the romance, now the romance is getting in the way of saving the world. The dichotomy is interesting.
And it explains another metaphor that I just figured out tonight. The Chain or Buffy double underground is stranded, alone, fighting demons, trying to save the world, while Buffy double above ground in Rome is having an amazing romance with the Immortal, shagging him, not a care in the world. Romance vs. Life. Being alone and saving others vs. having someone and not helping anyone. All Buffy's life it has been an either/or scenario. She can't have both. She's either the slayer - alone, underground, buried in the muck or the normal girl at the dance kissing the boy, while kids die around her. At least that's how she feels. It's not true, but in her head it is.)
Spike brushes her off, annoyed. He's had enough Bangle for a lifetime. States, much like Giles would - he's in full "Watcher" mode, at the moment - "Why don't we get you into bed?" It's what a father might say or Giles might say. But Buffy thinks of Spike in another way, her head goes right to sex. And she's flustered.
Poor Dawn. I can identify. Although if I had to choose between giant cockroaches running a ship and spiders, I'd pick the cockroaches (plus easier to draw, I suspect). Why Whedon chose to have the ship piloted by cockroaches I have no idea. Is this some sort of reference to Spike as the cellar dweller? Spike's always being associated with Bugs in this show...and not all that effectively. First it's the bugs in As You Were, then the Egyptian Beetles that clean him out, somewhat painfully in Grave (that must have been fun to act). Rather like Xander in this scene (I mean I like Xander notthat Xander is similar to Spike). But, sorry, Dawn's toast. Xander basically jinxed it - just as he jinxed his relationships with Anya and Renee...the boy never learns. "Assuming we survive (assuming Dawn survives) and I assume (probably not a good idea) we could get an apartment (talk about wishful thinking). Just us - not a hundred slayers (don't worry there probably will be a lot less than that by the time this is over). You could go back to school (where exactly?), I'd get work (doing what? Carpentry? I suppose you could do security?) Support us - in barely above poverty line style - too much too soon? (yep, you just jinxed yourself, you idiot.).
It's a touching scene, made more touching by the guy with the moustach watching them. This is the General in case you were wondering. I have no idea what he is up to. But I'm guessing when the whole seed story comes out, he's going to be in favor of smashing it. I would be if I were him. It's a heck of a lot easier to fight vampires and slayers, with magic gone from the world. Besides, I think that was his agenda from the get-go.
We jump to Angel now - attempting to save the world from the billions of new demons that he conspired to let loose in it by powering up Buffy then shagging her brains out. (Literally, she has no brains now. Just a horny little thing. But then neither does Angel apparently. Not that either were especially brainy to begin with.) The writers are showing me this in an attempt to make me feel sympathy for Angel or think he can be redeemed? I'm sorry, but it is not working. You are going to have to do a lot more than have him fly about and fight demons. That actually looks like fun.
Back to Spike and the gang. Spike tells everyone what he told Buffy, but we don't have to hear it - yay us. They apparently understand this plot-line about as well as we do. God isn't supposed to make sense or loopy writers who like to change places with their editors for that matter.
Giles: I just don't see how I didn't realize this before (possibly because up until now it didn't exist, because the writer/god didn't come up with it until now?)
Willow: You had a lot of prophecies to sort through, it's understandable. (Interesting how a professed athesist and existentialist loves to create multiple prophecies. Personally, I think he enjoys making fun of them.)
Spike amusingly uses the same metaphor with Xander (who unlike Buffy is more concerned about things like how does Spike know any of this? )
Spike: Three words little man (why is Jeanty drawing Spike as taller than Xander or the same height? Is Spike wearing lifts in this comic? Or did Jeanty not get the fact that Xander is 6 foot and Spike is 5'8? Or possibly 5'5, it's hard to tell.) I speak Fyarl. (Apparently Fyarl demons are smarter than we thought. OR just savvy to the whole seed thing. You don't need to be smart to know about the seed, just old and into self-preservation. And they are guns for hire, which means they've probably been hired to protect it before. We've been told that the demons on this plain of existence don't want to be kicked off of it. Don't blame them. Or share it with the new demons. Hard enough just sharing it with the humans. Now if they were bright - they'd join up with the humans and fight the new demons. But they aren't. The demons on this plain not wanting the seed pulled out is according to Spike -and is one of the things they have in their favor.)
Xander: But that doesn't expl (anything? No, it doesn't. But this is Whedon telling you it doesn't matter...just go with the flow. Xander is basically Allie and Jeanty, quibbling, and Spike is Whedon.)
At this point Willow falls into Aliwuyn's world, because Aliwuyn (the snake lady) needs to provide the other bit of exposition that Spike doesn't know about. (Hmmm - all our exposition is provided by the trickster characters, Aliwuyn (Willow's version of Spike, I guess) and Spike. Except Aliwuyn is depicted on a nice magical plain, which reminds me of the Twilight verse. It's not Twilight's verse - just reminds me of it.
Anyhow, Ali (getting tired of trying to spell the other), tells Willow that if you smash the seed - all magic goes by-bye, which means goodbye to your witchcraft, to me, and well all the other things that are magical and aren't vampires and slayers. If you remove it - then they are swallowed by a hell dimension (sort of like in Season 2 with Acathla - this is the problem with fantasy, people come up with names for things that I can't pronounce or remember how to spell.)
Personally, I don't see the problem here. So you lose your magic Will's. Deal. It's better than having to fight demons all the time. Ali states - "your world would lose something it doesn't know it needs.." (okay obvious metaphor for imagination - which was done in the Marvel comics back in the 80s with more or less the exact same speech. ) "It's not only Twilight you have to stop Willow." And we are getting back to the two villians or big bads...there have always been two, in every season. There's the human one and the demonic one. Here the two villians are Angel and the General. The General represents the humans who want an end to magic, to this power, and a normal world that they can control. Angel wanted Twilight - a new universe, a higher plain to take over.
Angel's all about changing the world and everyone around him to atone for his sins, but never himself. He needs to take a page from old Leo Tolstoy - "everybody thinks they need to change humanity, never themselves.".
And now, we get the big plot-twist that everyone is speculating on and I personally don't think is that big a deal. Willow: "Buffy had a vision that someone close would betray here. You know who it is, don't you?"
I'm guessing it's Xander. But I'm also guessing it doesn't matter. Because Buffy has already betrayed everyone by sleeping with TwAngel and bringing about the apocalypse, again. If at first you don't succeed...Okay, I've changed my mind. Buffy shouldn't have staked Angel in S1, she should have castrated him - it would have solved so many problems. (Assuming of course it didn't grow back, one never knows with vampires. So maybe not?) At any rate, I know this much - whatever happens is going to cause what created the Frayverse. Basically Buffy sealing herself off in another dimension. S9 will be the fallout from that and people attempting to free her. Now, how that happens? As convoluted as this story has become? I'm guessing what will happen is the General will talk either Dawn or Xander into smashing the seed. Xander may end up getting talked into doing it after Dawn gets killed. There's a reason we have the General eavesdropping on them. This would no doubt cause Buffy to get sealed in the new universe - Willow may push her, who knows. But Willow clearly feels guilty about it in the future, or maybe guilt is the wrong word. Is bitter about it? Don't really know or care that much to be honest. Although I am curious - I do want to see how this story ends. Come this far...
And we hop back to Angel - to see how bad things are (they are pretty bad, demons popping up everywhere, more demons than humans - see humans this is what happens when you trust a crazy vampire with a god complex). Angel's trying to help, and getting off on it apparently. So no, not convincing me this guy is redeemable. He looks like he's having a blast."Buffy's right! I do need this!"
Meanwhile Giles and Faith are discussing something. No clue what exactly. I'm guessing what Spike told everyone. Since Giles says they have to locate the seed. The problem with how Faith is drawn is sometimes she looks a lot like Dawn. Jeanty is better with Spike and Buffy. Granted we don't see Faith and Giles that often, so he may just be rusty.
Faith is annoyed by it all. Don't blame her. She feels as if they are all off course. And wants to help the girls. Faith has redeemed herself. Unlike Angel, Faith has actually changed and grown. (except when she looks like Dawn) She changed herself, did the work. She may be the most evolved next to Spike.
Giles appears to be asking Faith to do something else, that's she's not so keen on. Their interaction reminds me of No Future for You - with Gigi. Is he asking her to betray Buffy? To do what must be done to save the world? To step in?
Spike pops up and looks a lot like Andrew...although that is admittedly a tough posture to draw. And it is an Andrew moment - he's awed by what he did to Sunnydale. (Actually what the amulet that Angel gave him did - and his soul, so I guess you could say what his soul did?)
They all go to the hellmouth. Buffy first, with Spike hanging on for dear life onto her waist, in much the same position Buffy used to have when Willow took her on similar flights. Except Buffy's horny and says - Spike's touching my butt. Honey, is that all you can think about? You are worse than a guy. Granted if Spike were holding onto my waist for dear life, I'd be thinking much the same thing, but then I'd have shagged Spike, and staked TwAngel. So...
Xander insists Will teleport all them to Sunnydale. Xander? You are going to regret that decision.
There's a fight scene with the Master. Buffy defeats him. Actually it's not the Master. No one calls him that. He just sort of looks like him. They call him the Protector. Who thinks little of this new universe that she created with Angel. The Protector is confused to see Spike and not Angel, and thinks they are fighting to take the seed. (By the way, the whole The destroyer, the protector, etc bit reminds me of Ghostbusters. I keep expecting to see the Stovetop Marshmellow Puff Man walking around.)
Back to Angel - who is tired and not having fun any more. The world is shredded. Yes, Angel you just cause one apocalypse after another. Twilight shows up and reveals to Angel that he/she/it (people call it a she, but honestly? I can't tell.) is not the PTB but rather the new universe. It showed up in the past to manipulate him into bringing it to life, sort of like Jasmine did with Connor. Angel you really need to stop reading shanshu prophecies. Seriously, is it just me or is Angel constantly being used as a stud or sperm donor by the PTB? As Cordy once said - why does the PTB keep wanting to knock me up? Good question. First we have the convoluted Darla/Connor/Cordelia/Jasmine plot - which actually made more sense than this one does. Possibly because Tim Minear and David Greenwalt were half-way involved in the plotting? Now we have the even more convoluted Angel/Buffy/Twilight plot. Angel's like that dumb jock who just keeps getting the ditzy cheerleader preggers, except their kids want to destroy the world.
The kid shows up looking like Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia - making me think that somebody has been reading those books to their kids and has gotten sick of them, and taken a page from Philip K. Pullman, deciding to turn the kindly Aslan (aka God) from Narnia into an destructive force. Although I wouldn't call it evil - it just wants to survive.
"But I'm here now, Father. You can't deny the universe you created."
Jeeze. Poor Angel, he just can't get away from reliving that scenario, can he? That's the same line he told his own father before he tore his throat out. "I'm here now, Father. You can't deny the man that you had a hand in creating. I'm the monster you made me." Which in turn is the same line Connor throws in Angel's face. And the same line, Jasmine does. And for that matter, Spike. Angel, face it, dude, you have turned into your father except a hell of a lot worse.
Angel really needs to stop creating things or trying to control or change things. He keeps repeating the same mistakes. And something tells me a simple mindwipe ain't gonna make it all better.
What do you think Angel's going to do? Well, if past history is any indication - probably aid the new universe. Angel learn from his mistakes?
My difficulty with the comics is that while Angel is technically speaking in character, they have simplified him to such an extent that all I see are the things I despise about the character. I actually did enjoy the Angel series and found the character interesting. That wasn't David Boreanze, if it was, I would like Bones and I don't. No, that character was complex, and multi-faceated. Here - he's been reduced to a metaphor or allegory. He's basically Daddy issues personified.
Which brings me to the lengthy and rather ironic letter and exchange with Allie at the back of this issue. Making me wonder how people think. Allie admits in response to the letter that he screwed up by engaging in the Angel vs. Spike wars. (You think? But hey, no worries, you are hardly the first writer to do this...Fury and Noxon did the same thing and have the bruises to prove it.) I don't understand why writers, particularly writers of soap operas and comic book serials can't figure out that there will be vehement fan rivaleries and as a writer, to take one side or the other is the kiss of death. I mean there have been ship wars since the 1800s. I read recently how Louisa May Alcott had to deal with rabid fans writing her letters on the lead character Joe marrying Laurie and not the Professor. (Joe married the Professor, Laurie married her younger sister Amy, people were not happy.) And all you have to do is go to a daytime soap opera fanboard to see ship wars that will make your eyes bleed. It's par for the course. Heck, the X-men - had them. There was a huge fracas over whether Jean should be with Scott or Wolverine. She ended up with both of them at one point or another. This is part of the territory. The letter and response hit me as ironic - because the letter writer is upset with how Spike and Spuffy are being treated in contrast to Angel and Bangle, and the responder states all I said is we're not going to say Buffy loves Spike more than Angel, but we are treating their relationship with respect (meaning Spike/Buffy). This is ironic, because the relationship that has been repeatedly bashed in the comic and the character that is being repeatedly bashed is Angel and Bangel. They are not treating that relationship with any respect whatsoever. (I can't speak for the fanboards, but fanboards and writer interviews are distractions. As Whedon aptly stated - judge the story on the page, not what the teller says about it.) It's obvious to me that the writers and artist is mocking the Bangel romantic relationship - to such an extent, that I found it offensive at different points and I'm by no means a Bangel shipper, but I was once upon a time. If I were a Bangel shipper now? I wouldn't want to read this. And all the Bangel shippers that are on my mutual friends list? They aren't. Or if they are, are upset about it. If they aren't reading it? They never will. They would hate how Angel is being depicted here. The ones who are Angel fans and are reading them? Hate how he is depicted and feel they don't even recognize him. So I'm guessing the writer and editor is probably looking at the letter and the Spike fans and thinking, WTF? There's a disconnect here, I think. The story isn't going to end on romantic note - the writers are NOT romantics.
And it's clear to me that Buffy is going to end up alone and possibly in a hell dimension as she fears. It's forshadowed in all her dreams and nightmares. It's her deepest fear. And as such her self-fulfilling prophecy. There's alot of self-fulfilling prophecy going on here. The Buffy/Spike relationship is a tragic one - because once again Buffy screwed it up. Not that Spike did not play a role in that. And who knows what would have happened if he showed up before Angel had?
To me, the comics are a bit of a chaotic mess - plotwise and metaphorwise. The writer is trying to do far too many things at once, and none of them well. But they are entertaining. I agree with the IGN reviewer on this. Pacing is bad. In some respects the comics remind of a daytime soap opera such as Passions. The plot isn't based on logic so much as well emotion. It's like a fever dream. A very longwinded fever dream. With better editing - this might have been good. I can see why people who love chewy metaphors are excited by it. It has an abundance of chewy metaphor and subtext. If you are a poet, you may well be in heaven. If you read things more literally, you may not be. Hard to say, people are impossible to pigeon hole.
I see multiple metaphors here. The political one about creating a better world by destroying the old one, only to discover the new one is even worse - or a morality tale on abuses of power. The romantic one - or fable - about how giving into idealized romance...leads to nothing. Love comes first and foremost from like minds and friendship. If you can't trust your lover with your dreams and your nightmares, than he has no business being your lover. And the creative metaphor - of playing god with one's characters, this does double service metaphysically. And finally, the psychological one - about growing up, letting go, and moving on. There's a lot here, but it is confusing and muddled. And there's little time to unmuddle it. Campy and silly? Sure. But after discussing the tv series with the comic shop people - it occurs to me that that was always the case. If it weren't I wouldn't be so embarrassed to discuss it with people. And the plot lines were never clear or logical. Buffy was always a soap opera. A supernatural soap opera with lots of action, but still a soap opera, with all the flaws and foibles of that genre.
The comic book at times reminds me of some of the girl magna books that I've seen. Lots of sex. Lots of sexual fantasizing and romantic entanglements. Also a lot of male moralizing about what it means to be female and about female sexuality. And no, they don't get it. At all.
But this is getting long and it is time for bed. Also not as snarky as I thought it would be. Odd that. But oh well.
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Date: 2010-10-13 03:34 am (UTC)