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Nov. 14th, 2025 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Watched part of the Public Theater's presentation of Shakespeare's Twelth Night that premiered at the new theater in Central Park, this summer.
Didn't see it - for two reasons: 1) there were lines at all locations at 4 am in the morning and 2) no time. Also, I've seen Twelth Night about five times? And I'm not crazy about it. It's among Shakespeare's famous comedies, although I like "As You Like It", "Much Ado About Nothing", and "Midsummer Night's Dream" more.
It aired on Great Performances around 9pm, and will most likely be re-aired at some point, also on PBS Passport.
The performances are excellent, as is the direction and staging. Along with the somewhat modern but limited set design - the current trend is in limited set designs. Also Sandra Oh is fascinating me at the moment? She did this, and is apparently doing a comedic opera at the Met. The woman has an insane amount of range.
Sandra Oh is among my actor crushes. Peter Dinklage and Lupito Nypona (sp?) are also standouts. Dinklage manages to make Malvolio hilarious and not a cringe inducing victim. I dislike Twelth Night normally because of Malvolio - I hate humiliation humor. But Dinklage who also dislike humiliation humor or laughing at instead of with - manages to switch it around a bit. I read an interview with him about his take on the role and how he found it challenging to twist it around a bit. I've had an actor crush on Dinklage for a very long time now.
That said, I gave up around 10:30 and went to bed. It's a two-three play. I got tired. And my sleep deprived and somewhat tired brain wasn't capable of deciphering Shakespeare last night. It is Shakespeare, which either works for you or doesn't.
2. Fall is creeping along in NYC - we're experiencing a late fall. There are still green leaves and yellow leaves on many of the trees outside my window for example, there are still flowers about, and red leaves. It's pretty actually. It's normally not until after Thanksgiving that the leaves are gone, and snow arrives.
Struggling with blood sugar issues and balance issues today for some reason. I feel just a little off or dizzy.
3. Angel and Buffy Rewatch
I've completed the four episode Faith Arc now that arcs through Buffy S4 episode This Year's Girl/Who are You to Angel S1 episodes FivebyFive/Sancturary.
The Angel episodes are better - but that's mainly because Angel S1 has a better arc than Buffy S4, and there's no Adam. Also, Faith works better with Angel and Wes than Giles and Buffy, partly because Angel and Wes are trying to redeem themselves, while Giles and Buffy aren't.
The best of the four episodes is actually the last one, which is co-written by Tim Minear and Whedon, and unlike Whedon, Minear gets the whole redemption angle. Whedon struggles with it and slips into Daddy Issues or Mommy Issues. Minear doesn't. So in Angel, we get a little less of that - although it is readily apparent in Five by Five, which isn't Minear's episode, but written by Jim Kouff and possibly Jeanine Renshaw. The difference between the two episodes in regards to writing - is night and day.
The last one makes a few things clear. The slayers are slightly more powerful than the vampires. Buffy is slightly more powerful than both Spike and Angel, and can put both down. It's why she's the "slayer". Buffy hits Angel, and Angel hits her back. She complains. He says "not to go all school yard, but you hit me first. And as you well know, you are slightly more powerful than I am here." That's Angel. It gives you an idea of how powerful Buffy is. As is Faith - who can equally take on a whole group of vampires.
It also makes it clear that Faith regrets hurting Wes and Buffy. And has no clue how to make up for it. Buffy gives one to her - turn yourself in and go to jail, which Faith ultimately decides to go along with. (Buffy notably doesn't suggest going to the Watcher Council or turning herself into the Watcher Council, because they'd kill Faith outright, to get a new slayer (the line goes through Faith not Buffy, it's why another one isn't called when Buffy dies in S5)). Buffy doesn't want to kill Faith, nor does she necessarily want vengeance like Angel thinks - she wants Faith to make amends, and get help and stop screwing up her life.
Angel has a tendency to project his own issues onto others. Wes also surprises Angel, in that he turns against the Watcher Council and helps Faith escape them. He does it for Angel not Faith - or so he says? But my guess, is more likely both.
The episode is yet another nail in the coffin of the Buffy/Angel relationship. To the tune of the Taylor Swift song..."We are Never, Ever Getting Back Together". The writers keep hammering home why it doesn't work. (They kind of had to, since the Buffy/Angel fandom is dense and somewhat masochistic.) Buffy doesn't trust Angel, she doesn't even know him. And he doesn't seem to know her - although I'd say he knows her better than he's allowed her to know him, and often without her permission. The deeper we get into Angel's psyche and point of view - the more unsettling the Buffy/Angel relationship becomes. It's why I stopped shipping them after Angel S1. I didn't understand why other people didn't? Was the subtext completely lost on them? I mean it is clear in Five by Five and Sanctuary, that Angel trusts Wes and Cordelia, even Faith more than Buffy, with who he is. And it is clear, that Buffy at this point, most likely trusts everyone more than Angel. He keeps things from her, why would she trust him?
Angel tells her they aren't in each other's lives and that was her decision. Which is odd, considering it was actually Angel's decision. She made the mistake of telling him that it was painful to be with him and unable to physically love him. And his solution was to leave without so much as a goodbye, and to visit, lurk, not tell her, then help Faith, not tell her, and when she shows up handwave what happened to her. (This is ignoring the episode I Will Always Remember You - where he basically chooses being a "hero" over being human and with her.)
The episode also shores up the Wes/Angel relationship. Angel/Cordelia had bonded over Doyle's death, and Cordy getting the visions. But Angel and Wes has been a slow burn in some regards. By the end of this episode, it's clear that Angel trusts Wes enough to confide in him (far more than he has to anyone else to date) and Wes trusts Angel well enough to help him with Faith - against the murderous Watcher Council.
The Faith arc has two good episodes in there - Who are you, and Sanctuary, which I forgotten. The only thing I remembered from Sancturary was the helicopter, and I thought for some reason Buffy had arrived in it and taken Faith with her to prison. She doesn't. She arrives earlier. The helicopter is the watcher council. And Faith turns herself in to Kate and the police, and goes to jail.
4. Finished reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik finally - and, the writing style didn't work for me. I liked the story and characters well enough, jus got bogged down by the writing style (which I've discussed in previous posts). Too many first person point of views.
Moving on to The Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem.
Didn't see it - for two reasons: 1) there were lines at all locations at 4 am in the morning and 2) no time. Also, I've seen Twelth Night about five times? And I'm not crazy about it. It's among Shakespeare's famous comedies, although I like "As You Like It", "Much Ado About Nothing", and "Midsummer Night's Dream" more.
It aired on Great Performances around 9pm, and will most likely be re-aired at some point, also on PBS Passport.
The performances are excellent, as is the direction and staging. Along with the somewhat modern but limited set design - the current trend is in limited set designs. Also Sandra Oh is fascinating me at the moment? She did this, and is apparently doing a comedic opera at the Met. The woman has an insane amount of range.
Sandra Oh is among my actor crushes. Peter Dinklage and Lupito Nypona (sp?) are also standouts. Dinklage manages to make Malvolio hilarious and not a cringe inducing victim. I dislike Twelth Night normally because of Malvolio - I hate humiliation humor. But Dinklage who also dislike humiliation humor or laughing at instead of with - manages to switch it around a bit. I read an interview with him about his take on the role and how he found it challenging to twist it around a bit. I've had an actor crush on Dinklage for a very long time now.
That said, I gave up around 10:30 and went to bed. It's a two-three play. I got tired. And my sleep deprived and somewhat tired brain wasn't capable of deciphering Shakespeare last night. It is Shakespeare, which either works for you or doesn't.
2. Fall is creeping along in NYC - we're experiencing a late fall. There are still green leaves and yellow leaves on many of the trees outside my window for example, there are still flowers about, and red leaves. It's pretty actually. It's normally not until after Thanksgiving that the leaves are gone, and snow arrives.
Struggling with blood sugar issues and balance issues today for some reason. I feel just a little off or dizzy.
3. Angel and Buffy Rewatch
I've completed the four episode Faith Arc now that arcs through Buffy S4 episode This Year's Girl/Who are You to Angel S1 episodes FivebyFive/Sancturary.
The Angel episodes are better - but that's mainly because Angel S1 has a better arc than Buffy S4, and there's no Adam. Also, Faith works better with Angel and Wes than Giles and Buffy, partly because Angel and Wes are trying to redeem themselves, while Giles and Buffy aren't.
The best of the four episodes is actually the last one, which is co-written by Tim Minear and Whedon, and unlike Whedon, Minear gets the whole redemption angle. Whedon struggles with it and slips into Daddy Issues or Mommy Issues. Minear doesn't. So in Angel, we get a little less of that - although it is readily apparent in Five by Five, which isn't Minear's episode, but written by Jim Kouff and possibly Jeanine Renshaw. The difference between the two episodes in regards to writing - is night and day.
The last one makes a few things clear. The slayers are slightly more powerful than the vampires. Buffy is slightly more powerful than both Spike and Angel, and can put both down. It's why she's the "slayer". Buffy hits Angel, and Angel hits her back. She complains. He says "not to go all school yard, but you hit me first. And as you well know, you are slightly more powerful than I am here." That's Angel. It gives you an idea of how powerful Buffy is. As is Faith - who can equally take on a whole group of vampires.
It also makes it clear that Faith regrets hurting Wes and Buffy. And has no clue how to make up for it. Buffy gives one to her - turn yourself in and go to jail, which Faith ultimately decides to go along with. (Buffy notably doesn't suggest going to the Watcher Council or turning herself into the Watcher Council, because they'd kill Faith outright, to get a new slayer (the line goes through Faith not Buffy, it's why another one isn't called when Buffy dies in S5)). Buffy doesn't want to kill Faith, nor does she necessarily want vengeance like Angel thinks - she wants Faith to make amends, and get help and stop screwing up her life.
Angel has a tendency to project his own issues onto others. Wes also surprises Angel, in that he turns against the Watcher Council and helps Faith escape them. He does it for Angel not Faith - or so he says? But my guess, is more likely both.
The episode is yet another nail in the coffin of the Buffy/Angel relationship. To the tune of the Taylor Swift song..."We are Never, Ever Getting Back Together". The writers keep hammering home why it doesn't work. (They kind of had to, since the Buffy/Angel fandom is dense and somewhat masochistic.) Buffy doesn't trust Angel, she doesn't even know him. And he doesn't seem to know her - although I'd say he knows her better than he's allowed her to know him, and often without her permission. The deeper we get into Angel's psyche and point of view - the more unsettling the Buffy/Angel relationship becomes. It's why I stopped shipping them after Angel S1. I didn't understand why other people didn't? Was the subtext completely lost on them? I mean it is clear in Five by Five and Sanctuary, that Angel trusts Wes and Cordelia, even Faith more than Buffy, with who he is. And it is clear, that Buffy at this point, most likely trusts everyone more than Angel. He keeps things from her, why would she trust him?
Angel tells her they aren't in each other's lives and that was her decision. Which is odd, considering it was actually Angel's decision. She made the mistake of telling him that it was painful to be with him and unable to physically love him. And his solution was to leave without so much as a goodbye, and to visit, lurk, not tell her, then help Faith, not tell her, and when she shows up handwave what happened to her. (This is ignoring the episode I Will Always Remember You - where he basically chooses being a "hero" over being human and with her.)
The episode also shores up the Wes/Angel relationship. Angel/Cordelia had bonded over Doyle's death, and Cordy getting the visions. But Angel and Wes has been a slow burn in some regards. By the end of this episode, it's clear that Angel trusts Wes enough to confide in him (far more than he has to anyone else to date) and Wes trusts Angel well enough to help him with Faith - against the murderous Watcher Council.
The Faith arc has two good episodes in there - Who are you, and Sanctuary, which I forgotten. The only thing I remembered from Sancturary was the helicopter, and I thought for some reason Buffy had arrived in it and taken Faith with her to prison. She doesn't. She arrives earlier. The helicopter is the watcher council. And Faith turns herself in to Kate and the police, and goes to jail.
4. Finished reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik finally - and, the writing style didn't work for me. I liked the story and characters well enough, jus got bogged down by the writing style (which I've discussed in previous posts). Too many first person point of views.
Moving on to The Lady's Guide to Mischief and Mayhem.
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