I figure that Oz and the others will show up as though they were always there, and Joss and Allie will blame it on Jeanty for "forgetting" to add panels with them in there (which, again, even if that were true, a good editor would have fixed it before it went to print).
He seems to think that no one has good relationships with their parents or that the serious dysfunctions all his characters seem to have are the average human condition. I mean, he tried to throw in that "Joyce is an alcoholic" scene at the end of S2 which he thankfully abandoned. Let's break it down: Buffy and Dawn: Loving yet extremely flaky mother (she got better over time) and absentee father straight out of an Everclear song. Don't forget that Hank reenforces Buffy's fears that ALL MEN WILL HURT AND LEAVE YOU. Willow: Mother too absorbed in her own career to have any idea what her child is doing or what her interests are. Father is still around but has the same level of involvement in his daughter's life that his wife has, not to mention that he's so strict about his religious beliefs that he won't let his daughter watch a Christmas cartoon. Xander: All relatives are presented as drunks, thieves, cheats, scoundrels, and all combinations of the above. Father is physically abusive and an alcoholic as is the mother (though she seems to only be abusive back towards her husband). His mother at least tries to act like a "normal" mother towards her son. Angel: Probably actually has the most normal set of parents (for the time period) out of all the characters. His father just wants him to make something out of himself, make a real life in the world, and unfortunately does seem to be a bit harsh about it. We also get the feeling that Angel's mother might be a bit overindulgent to both her children. Spike: Father is just not in the picture. I get the feeling that he's been deceased for a while (his mother's not wearing black crepe, but she seems to be wearing a wedding ring). His mother is loving yet overindulgent (who probably had hopes that her son had a little more confidence). She doesn't seem to mind that her son has not gotten out of a child mindset around her- she asks him to sit next to her on the sofa, and he in turn sits at her feet instead even though it looks a bit difficult for him to do (blame Marsters's bad knee). Tara: Father is INSANE and a misogynist, and her mother is dead but we are told she was a loving person before she died who obviously was an encouraging force in Tara's life. Giles and Wesley both had parents that forced them into being Watchers (and Wes's father is especially cruel). Lorne's family hates him because they can't understand him. We learn nothing about Oz or Anya's families. Drusilla lived with her mother, her uncle, and her two sisters, and they seemed to have a good relationship (though her mother was obviously very religious and didn't view her daughter's "gift" favorably). Cordelia's parents are the stereotypical rich uninvolved type. Gunn's parents are dead. Connor's parents are Angel and Darla. What else can you really say? XD In the end, Fred is the only character that has a living set of married parents who are completely and totally loving and supportive... only now Fred's dead... and that really sucks.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-09-05 09:08 pm (UTC)He seems to think that no one has good relationships with their parents or that the serious dysfunctions all his characters seem to have are the average human condition. I mean, he tried to throw in that "Joyce is an alcoholic" scene at the end of S2 which he thankfully abandoned. Let's break it down:
Buffy and Dawn: Loving yet extremely flaky mother (she got better over time) and absentee father straight out of an Everclear song. Don't forget that Hank reenforces Buffy's fears that ALL MEN WILL HURT AND LEAVE YOU.
Willow: Mother too absorbed in her own career to have any idea what her child is doing or what her interests are. Father is still around but has the same level of involvement in his daughter's life that his wife has, not to mention that he's so strict about his religious beliefs that he won't let his daughter watch a Christmas cartoon.
Xander: All relatives are presented as drunks, thieves, cheats, scoundrels, and all combinations of the above. Father is physically abusive and an alcoholic as is the mother (though she seems to only be abusive back towards her husband). His mother at least tries to act like a "normal" mother towards her son.
Angel: Probably actually has the most normal set of parents (for the time period) out of all the characters. His father just wants him to make something out of himself, make a real life in the world, and unfortunately does seem to be a bit harsh about it. We also get the feeling that Angel's mother might be a bit overindulgent to both her children.
Spike: Father is just not in the picture. I get the feeling that he's been deceased for a while (his mother's not wearing black crepe, but she seems to be wearing a wedding ring). His mother is loving yet overindulgent (who probably had hopes that her son had a little more confidence). She doesn't seem to mind that her son has not gotten out of a child mindset around her- she asks him to sit next to her on the sofa, and he in turn sits at her feet instead even though it looks a bit difficult for him to do (blame Marsters's bad knee).
Tara: Father is INSANE and a misogynist, and her mother is dead but we are told she was a loving person before she died who obviously was an encouraging force in Tara's life.
Giles and Wesley both had parents that forced them into being Watchers (and Wes's father is especially cruel). Lorne's family hates him because they can't understand him. We learn nothing about Oz or Anya's families. Drusilla lived with her mother, her uncle, and her two sisters, and they seemed to have a good relationship (though her mother was obviously very religious and didn't view her daughter's "gift" favorably). Cordelia's parents are the stereotypical rich uninvolved type. Gunn's parents are dead. Connor's parents are Angel and Darla. What else can you really say? XD In the end, Fred is the only character that has a living set of married parents who are completely and totally loving and supportive... only now Fred's dead... and that really sucks.