Xander was SUCH AN ASSHOLE in this ep I thought I was going to throw something at the TV.
I know exactly how you feel. I have a hard time rewatching the show in large part because Xander's actions in season six made me hate him so much that I can't even go back and watch young Xander without wanting to throw stuff at my television every time he appears. He's such a controlling misogynist "nice guy (TM)" jerk and he never really gets called on it--I'm pretty sure the writers had no idea how offensive his behavior actually is.
Loved the Spike/Anya thing.
Yes. In my personal canon, they totally ran off and lived questionably-redeemed-demon lives together happily ever after. (There was a lot of good Spike/Anya fic at the time, from embittered former Spuffies who couldn't get over the beating in "Dead Things" and attempted rape in "Seeing Red.")
"Seeing Red" is such a problematic mess. I'm so angry about the writers using rape as a plot device to push their agenda (they thought the audience was too sympathetic to Spike and not sympathetic enough to Buffy, so they decided to punish us for liking the "wrong" character). It was such a shift from the previous portrayal of the Spike/Buffy relationship, which was very much "they're both messed up and they're both making mistakes." It was like, they wanted things to go back to Buffy = good, Spike = bad, and ... I don't know, attempted rape is such a skeevy way to get that emotional reaction from their audience, and it still doesn't erase the more complicated relationship that came before. At the same time, I can't really love Spike as a character any more, because as much as I felt that scene was a manipulation by the writers, it happened and it's horrible.
(The fan wars over that episode were so horrible. It still surprises me to see that people can talk about it without the comments turning into a friendship-destroying real tears flamewar.)
I didn't think Tara's death was homophobic, exactly--it would've been weird if every other couple fell apart but the lesbians were protected. This way they're real characters and suffer just like the others do. And the writers went way out of their way to make Tara sympathetic and to make Warren the most misogynist jerk imaginable--the audience was clearly supposed to love Willow/Tara and to mourn Tara. And, afterward, they still had Willow and she stayed gay (thankfully--it would've been horrible if she'd dated a guy next). But at the same time, I totally understand how broken-hearted and angry the Willow/Tara fans were--people were profoundly invested in that ship, much like I assume many Jack/Ianto fans were.
Don't want to spoil you, but am very curious what you'll think of developments on the Lilah/Wesley front.
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Date: 2010-06-01 04:28 pm (UTC)I know exactly how you feel. I have a hard time rewatching the show in large part because Xander's actions in season six made me hate him so much that I can't even go back and watch young Xander without wanting to throw stuff at my television every time he appears. He's such a controlling misogynist "nice guy (TM)" jerk and he never really gets called on it--I'm pretty sure the writers had no idea how offensive his behavior actually is.
Loved the Spike/Anya thing.
Yes. In my personal canon, they totally ran off and lived questionably-redeemed-demon lives together happily ever after. (There was a lot of good Spike/Anya fic at the time, from embittered former Spuffies who couldn't get over the beating in "Dead Things" and attempted rape in "Seeing Red.")
"Seeing Red" is such a problematic mess. I'm so angry about the writers using rape as a plot device to push their agenda (they thought the audience was too sympathetic to Spike and not sympathetic enough to Buffy, so they decided to punish us for liking the "wrong" character). It was such a shift from the previous portrayal of the Spike/Buffy relationship, which was very much "they're both messed up and they're both making mistakes." It was like, they wanted things to go back to Buffy = good, Spike = bad, and ... I don't know, attempted rape is such a skeevy way to get that emotional reaction from their audience, and it still doesn't erase the more complicated relationship that came before. At the same time, I can't really love Spike as a character any more, because as much as I felt that scene was a manipulation by the writers, it happened and it's horrible.
(The fan wars over that episode were so horrible. It still surprises me to see that people can talk about it without the comments turning into a friendship-destroying real tears flamewar.)
I didn't think Tara's death was homophobic, exactly--it would've been weird if every other couple fell apart but the lesbians were protected. This way they're real characters and suffer just like the others do. And the writers went way out of their way to make Tara sympathetic and to make Warren the most misogynist jerk imaginable--the audience was clearly supposed to love Willow/Tara and to mourn Tara. And, afterward, they still had Willow and she stayed gay (thankfully--it would've been horrible if she'd dated a guy next). But at the same time, I totally understand how broken-hearted and angry the Willow/Tara fans were--people were profoundly invested in that ship, much like I assume many Jack/Ianto fans were.
Don't want to spoil you, but am very curious what you'll think of developments on the Lilah/Wesley front.