Yeah, I mean, it's even interesting that both series returned to some of the same plot elements, but either took different tactics or came to different conclusions (and sometimes, to the same conclusion) -- and that often how one feels about the ideas behind it reflects one's feelings about the shows. For example, in A Hole in the World, Angel lets Fred die so as not to kill untold others, whereas Buffy is willing to let the world die to save Dawn, and only finds a way out by sacrificing herself. Idealists view "Buffy" as better because she won't sacrifice her personal values; consequentialists view "Angel" as better because he puts the needs of the many, etc. But really both are partly just about those characters' reactions to circumstance. Buffy, at the end of season five, is in a different frame of mind than Angel is, and has different feelings toward Dawn -- I think the contrast is less about which position is "right" than what it says about the characters.
I guess to continue on the theme, it's interesting how some ideas from one show get picked up in another -- for example, the way "The Wish" and "Birthday" tell a kind of similar story centred around Cordelia, of a world in which Cordelia is "the star" and in which she is no longer an adjunct to the main character's journey. However, "The Wish" very deliberately, and I think even subversively, cuts short the obvious narrative -- where Cordelia learns Buffy's importance and comes to terms with it, etc. -- completely short, killing the episode's apparent protagonist halfway through, and then going on to tell the "real" story, which is following through on the consequences of Buffy's absence on Buffy, her friends, the town, etc. Whereas "Birthday" is a more traditional story in which Cordelia recognizes her value to the cause over her value as a star. The latter is in some ways more traditionally satisfying as a narrative -- Cordelia has a character arc with a real beginning, middle, and end -- but it's also I'd argue less imaginative and in some ways easier on the character (Cordelia has to choose between being an amazing person because she's a Champion selected by the Powers That Be, or being an amazing person because she's a television star -- as opposed to "The Wish," where she has to choose between being a bit player in someone else's story or the star of a narrative that ends with her death).
I'm definitely aware of the ATPOBTVS site :) I've browsed there before.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2014-10-10 06:51 pm (UTC)I guess to continue on the theme, it's interesting how some ideas from one show get picked up in another -- for example, the way "The Wish" and "Birthday" tell a kind of similar story centred around Cordelia, of a world in which Cordelia is "the star" and in which she is no longer an adjunct to the main character's journey. However, "The Wish" very deliberately, and I think even subversively, cuts short the obvious narrative -- where Cordelia learns Buffy's importance and comes to terms with it, etc. -- completely short, killing the episode's apparent protagonist halfway through, and then going on to tell the "real" story, which is following through on the consequences of Buffy's absence on Buffy, her friends, the town, etc. Whereas "Birthday" is a more traditional story in which Cordelia recognizes her value to the cause over her value as a star. The latter is in some ways more traditionally satisfying as a narrative -- Cordelia has a character arc with a real beginning, middle, and end -- but it's also I'd argue less imaginative and in some ways easier on the character (Cordelia has to choose between being an amazing person because she's a Champion selected by the Powers That Be, or being an amazing person because she's a television star -- as opposed to "The Wish," where she has to choose between being a bit player in someone else's story or the star of a narrative that ends with her death).
I'm definitely aware of the ATPOBTVS site :) I've browsed there before.