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Meta on Chosen and End of Days..(probably last one on the topic)
Re-watched Chosen and End of Days this morning after a breakfast of fresh turkey sausage, courtesy of the farmer's market, and gluten free frozen waffles with fresh maple syrup, also courtesy of the farmer's market. The two episodes were quite poetic in structure. Chosen is better written and less muddled, exhibiting once again Joss Whedon's mastery over Espenson and Fury. Whedon deftly combines multiple story-arcs and hits key emotional moments, without losing the essential story thread - granted Espenson and Fury's job is harder - they have to put in a tone of exposition - which should of been spread throughout the season, and deal with Caleb, the campiest villian ever. Whedon lucks out - Caleb is dispensed with early in the episode. He does have to deal with Angel and Spike. I wonder sometimes if Whedon got as tired of the Angel/Spike debate as I did? From his interviews, I'm guessing he did. It's an unwinnable debate - sort of like arguing politics.
People like who they like and hate who they hate for their own personal reasons. And they are usually on another page entirely. That's the problem with so many internet arguments - we are often arguing from two different wavelengths. You can't persuade someone who is on a totally different wavelength from yourself. It's akin to trying to argue to someone who only speaks Arabic while you only speak English, that you both should only speak in English or only in Arabic. This may explain why we fight so much.
What I liked about Chosen were the metaphors...Buffy decides that if she shares her power and makes it possible for everyone to fight, then she won't be alone. And she won't be the most powerful person on the planet. She faces the evil inside herself - the evil that says, I'm powerful, you bow down to me, I choose to save you or not, if I leave you are dead, if I stay you live. By empowering everyone, including Spike, she removes that threat. Spike is the epitome of irony here - the slayer killer, the vampire who excelled and was proud of killing slayers...we even replay the consequences of one of those kills and he appears at that time not to show much remorse for it (although the fact he let Wood live and talked to Wood, without talking about how hot Nikki was...demonstrated a change in my view - but I'd seen Fool For Love recently and the two talks are distinctly different). Here in Chosen, he choses to stand still, and let his soul, the man inside, finally, destroy all the monsters, including himself, the monsters who are trying to kill the slayers, who get off on killing the slayers, who get off on killing and overpowering women - his soul, the poet, the man inside kills all of them. It is an act of love. Pure love. And it happens because of Buffy, because of her belief in him, her kindness towards him and others, she has inspired that feeling, she has made it possible for the man inside to get a soul and she has given that man inside the means in which to redeem himself for all the slayers he killed or wanted to kill. And metaphorically by doing so, Buffy rids herself of her highschool demons, the men who preyed on her, the Angels, Rileys, Spikes and even Xanders and Owens and Scott Hopes...the watchers and shadowmen and Principal Wood = they all metaphorically burn in that basement.
I'm not sure people get the metaphor...or see it the way I do, now, today.
The reason I see it this way today, is well...what has been happening lately in my own life. Our lives, everyday lives, influence how we view art and each other. The page that I am on today is about female empowerment. I saw a musical yesterday that was pretty much all about that, so that is part of it.
As for the other bits in the episodes..the Buffy and Angel kiss - which I think was nothing more or less than what Buffy told Spike that it was. I think she told Spike the truth. She said it was just a kiss hello. There were no tongues involved. And it was mostly her basking for a bit in the past. Anyone who has ever had a first love that did not work out and they did not marry - gets this. Anyone who hasn't? Doesn't. It is one of those things that you either get or you don't, I suspect.
Also the kiss itself, contextually, is positioned between battle sequences - it does not happen after Caleb is defeated and it does not happen before Caleb appears. It happens after Angel helps Buffy. Angel knocks Caleb down. Buffy thinks she kills Caleb. Buffy and Angel kiss. Then they discuss the stuff Angel brought with him from Wolf Ram and Hart, which Buffy is skeptical of. Caleb comes back to life. Knocks Angel unconscious. Buffy splits Caleb in two. Angel and Buffy talk a bit more. She tells him that no, she doesn't want him in this fight. Doesn't want to risk him - not because she loves him and wants to protect him (this isn't like her sending Dawn and Xander away), but because he is her second front - if she loses, someone must be left to stop him. Angel frustrated, asks what else is going on. Figures out it is Spike and pushes her on the issue. She admits that yes, Spike is in her heart. That she does love Spike. But no, she isn't thinking that far ahead right now. This isn't about marriage and domesticity and kids. It's not a romantic kiss.
It's not a romantic scene nor is it filmed or positioned romantically - it actually as many a professional critic stated at the time, a Chanderlesque moment (noir moment). It is a goodbye scene, a resolution to their relationship. Emphasizing all the reasons why their relationship did not work in a short period of time - as Buffy states in response to Angel's snide comment about her and Spike, "oh' that'll end well" ..."and what was the highlight of our relationship, when you broke up with me or when I killed you?"
Angel can if he wants wait for her forever, or he can move on, there's really no guarantee that she will ever go towards him again...it's unlikely she will. The writer does it fairly diplomatically. I'll give him credit for that. But he also leaves Spike and Buffy a bit ambiguous...and open to interpretation. Which I guess is necessary in order for Spike's sacrifice at the end to have the metaphorical levels of meaning that it has. The writer is a poet and the stanzas must rhyme.
Overall? I enjoyed the last two episodes, but they lacked the emotional resonance of the first ten. Not sure why. Maybe too much action and not enough character for my taste? (Shrugs.)
People like who they like and hate who they hate for their own personal reasons. And they are usually on another page entirely. That's the problem with so many internet arguments - we are often arguing from two different wavelengths. You can't persuade someone who is on a totally different wavelength from yourself. It's akin to trying to argue to someone who only speaks Arabic while you only speak English, that you both should only speak in English or only in Arabic. This may explain why we fight so much.
What I liked about Chosen were the metaphors...Buffy decides that if she shares her power and makes it possible for everyone to fight, then she won't be alone. And she won't be the most powerful person on the planet. She faces the evil inside herself - the evil that says, I'm powerful, you bow down to me, I choose to save you or not, if I leave you are dead, if I stay you live. By empowering everyone, including Spike, she removes that threat. Spike is the epitome of irony here - the slayer killer, the vampire who excelled and was proud of killing slayers...we even replay the consequences of one of those kills and he appears at that time not to show much remorse for it (although the fact he let Wood live and talked to Wood, without talking about how hot Nikki was...demonstrated a change in my view - but I'd seen Fool For Love recently and the two talks are distinctly different). Here in Chosen, he choses to stand still, and let his soul, the man inside, finally, destroy all the monsters, including himself, the monsters who are trying to kill the slayers, who get off on killing the slayers, who get off on killing and overpowering women - his soul, the poet, the man inside kills all of them. It is an act of love. Pure love. And it happens because of Buffy, because of her belief in him, her kindness towards him and others, she has inspired that feeling, she has made it possible for the man inside to get a soul and she has given that man inside the means in which to redeem himself for all the slayers he killed or wanted to kill. And metaphorically by doing so, Buffy rids herself of her highschool demons, the men who preyed on her, the Angels, Rileys, Spikes and even Xanders and Owens and Scott Hopes...the watchers and shadowmen and Principal Wood = they all metaphorically burn in that basement.
I'm not sure people get the metaphor...or see it the way I do, now, today.
The reason I see it this way today, is well...what has been happening lately in my own life. Our lives, everyday lives, influence how we view art and each other. The page that I am on today is about female empowerment. I saw a musical yesterday that was pretty much all about that, so that is part of it.
As for the other bits in the episodes..the Buffy and Angel kiss - which I think was nothing more or less than what Buffy told Spike that it was. I think she told Spike the truth. She said it was just a kiss hello. There were no tongues involved. And it was mostly her basking for a bit in the past. Anyone who has ever had a first love that did not work out and they did not marry - gets this. Anyone who hasn't? Doesn't. It is one of those things that you either get or you don't, I suspect.
Also the kiss itself, contextually, is positioned between battle sequences - it does not happen after Caleb is defeated and it does not happen before Caleb appears. It happens after Angel helps Buffy. Angel knocks Caleb down. Buffy thinks she kills Caleb. Buffy and Angel kiss. Then they discuss the stuff Angel brought with him from Wolf Ram and Hart, which Buffy is skeptical of. Caleb comes back to life. Knocks Angel unconscious. Buffy splits Caleb in two. Angel and Buffy talk a bit more. She tells him that no, she doesn't want him in this fight. Doesn't want to risk him - not because she loves him and wants to protect him (this isn't like her sending Dawn and Xander away), but because he is her second front - if she loses, someone must be left to stop him. Angel frustrated, asks what else is going on. Figures out it is Spike and pushes her on the issue. She admits that yes, Spike is in her heart. That she does love Spike. But no, she isn't thinking that far ahead right now. This isn't about marriage and domesticity and kids. It's not a romantic kiss.
It's not a romantic scene nor is it filmed or positioned romantically - it actually as many a professional critic stated at the time, a Chanderlesque moment (noir moment). It is a goodbye scene, a resolution to their relationship. Emphasizing all the reasons why their relationship did not work in a short period of time - as Buffy states in response to Angel's snide comment about her and Spike, "oh' that'll end well" ..."and what was the highlight of our relationship, when you broke up with me or when I killed you?"
Angel can if he wants wait for her forever, or he can move on, there's really no guarantee that she will ever go towards him again...it's unlikely she will. The writer does it fairly diplomatically. I'll give him credit for that. But he also leaves Spike and Buffy a bit ambiguous...and open to interpretation. Which I guess is necessary in order for Spike's sacrifice at the end to have the metaphorical levels of meaning that it has. The writer is a poet and the stanzas must rhyme.
Overall? I enjoyed the last two episodes, but they lacked the emotional resonance of the first ten. Not sure why. Maybe too much action and not enough character for my taste? (Shrugs.)
no subject
I agree w/your interpretation of the metaphor... of course what thrilled me the most is that I didn't see it coming: I never dreamed that the whole power sharing was an option, and even if it was, that Buffy would have been the one to go for it.
When Joss was in the middle of filming Serenity (and completely in love with Firefly/Serenity) he made some crack about being sick of Vampires. And I think, at that moment, he really was... I don't think he cared about the Spike/Angel debate because I don't think he ever envisioned Buffy being dim enough to marry a vampire (or is that just me who thought that?). Loving is one thing, but building a life and a future around a corpse (even one that walks and talks) doesn't seem to be the ideal. But it was kind of Joss to be diplomatic and allow the fans to decide for themselves who Buffy really loves, leaving plenty of room for fan fic.
no subject
Ooh. Shiny. (Sorry, slipped into Firefly mode there. Much like Joss...) But I've not seen that metaphor pointed out before, and I think it's very appropriate.
no subject
Yeah, I haven't seen anyone mention it before either, which is interesting. Because when I rewatched the series - it jumped out at me. (Could be because I'm reading the comics at the same time - which seem to be hitting on similar issues yet in a different way).
But it hit me, while watching the last part of season 7, that Caleb in a way said all the things that Buffy feared all the men in her life were saying about her. His words are a weird echo of Hank's in Nightmares.