Eve of Destruction

[thedeadlyhook]

Generally resting up today - ankle slowly getting better, but not enough for long hikes through the park yet, even if the weather wasn't rainy crap anyway. So, sitting about, reading books, pondering what to cook for dinner. FX keeps playing previews for that Brendan Fraser movie Bedazzled, in which Elizabeth Hurley is the devil. Cute film, and with an actually coherent vision of the afterlife. Huzzah!

FX playing Buffy rerun "Bring on the Night," an episode which never ceases to amaze me on the following points a) the way everyone seems content to sit around for the bulk of the ep exchanging funny glances while Buffy talks about "rescuing" Spike b) Willow's magic coke-snorting scene in which The First tosses the Scoobies around the living room (gee, guess Buffy and the writers had forgotten all about that little hazard by "Get it Done") c) The First's not-exactly-logical persuasion toolkit for getting Spike to "choose a side" (beating and... more beating! You want to hang with us bad guys, right? this is fun, right? how about some more beating? and try some drowning too, although you're a vampire and don't need to breathe, whathfu-?), d) the pointless inclusion of Joyce, e) the pointless inclusion of Weirdly Chillly Giles, and f) the UberVamp. Like, we saw Buffy kick a hellgod's butt and she's getting her clock cleaned by a guy in a latex suit and elf booties? One new observation however - The First's rep in this episode is a Slayer candidate named "Eve." Hm.

I'd note also that the B/S undercurrents were probably never stronger than in this and its partner ep, "Showtime." Given where the series left off with that 'ship, no idea what to make of that. When the chips are down, she likes having him around, I guess. Does any of this still relate to current AtS plotlines? Dunno, except Spike sucks up a lot of torture in it. Strictly on the torture-meter, especially given "Damage" and the like, Angel's falling behind fast. Not sure what percentage that gets you in the AtS worldview.

Looking to update the Just Stake Me site. Especially now that Angel will be winding down, I feel the need for completeness. Need to finish up my episode reviews there, and compile a lot of my AtS thoughts into lucid reviews. Might undertake a redesign as well - the black background is starting to bother me, for some reason. Might turn over a new look in classic white. Hm. Contemplating pruning the guestbook, since it's mostly filled with random messages and even a suspiciously spamlike post, but having a hard time finding the heart to do it. Somehow, reading messages like "I have hotmail!!!!!!!! I rule the world!!!!! We are up and running!!!!!!!!!!" cheers me up, even though it has dickall to do with the site. Ain't the Internet fun?

Comments

Re:

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

And why end it by angering a whole segment of fans?

I'd almost rather be angry be angry than feel quite so... I dunno, patronized, which is how "Chosen" made me feel. The way they decided to play the 'ships as a choose-your-own-adventure just made everyone involved look lame, Buffy most of all. That being the case, I think avoiding the topic completely might be the best available option.

There's a weird part of me that almost wants to see Spike get back together with Harmony and treat her nice this time.

Re:

[glassslipper.livejournal.com]

OK, guess I'm still not signing off. Yeah, patronized is a good word. The cookie dough speech was just too stupid. And I just don't believe she would kiss Angel. She's seen him lots of times before (well, at least a few) and didn't kiss him, not even after her mother died (when indulging in some cuddles would have been understandable).

I like the idea of Spike/Harmony at times, but they'd have to make some kind of allowance for her not having a soul, work that into the mix better. And Spike really doesn't treat her well, he'd have to make some serious inroads into viewing her as a person, not just a little pack of mentholated smokes (or whatever that hilarious line was).

Re:

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

And I just don't believe she would kiss Angel.

Me either. It just made her look... cheap, I guess. Look, watch me slobber over my high school boyfriend! In my experience, a person usually has to be drunk to do that.

I kinda like the idea of Harmony not having a soul. But then again, I'm one of those people who found Spike pretty acceptable without one. The real issue would be his treatment of her, like you said. If he could learn to be the perfect boyfriend to Harmony, then he really would be a saint, wouldn't he? ; )

I'm not serious. I just like Harmony. She deserves some twu wuv too, dammit!

Re:

[liliaeth]

Which is why I want to see Harmony with Angel, they're soo perfect for one another.

Re:

[glassslipper.livejournal.com]

I like Harm too, I admit. And I agree -- Spike without a soul was a pretty good guy, when he cared to be. Kind of like real people are -- you can choose to be evil, or to treat people well, and sometimes you do have to put some effort into it, that's just the way life goes. This is a little too simplistic, given that vampires want to eat people, and clearly Spike had the chip to help him out, but I think that if he had had the chip removed in season 6 he could have chosen not to kill, if he wanted to.

Which was something that didn't fit too well with the "Angelus is pure evil" bit, and always (to me, and I am clearly biased) indicated a real difference between Angel and Spike.