I always feel a little bad going into long replies to your long comments, since you've heard me discuss a lot of this before, but since this chapter is almost entirely new to you, I think it's okay in this situation.
But rather, the dynamic here - Spike keeping his distance from Buffy, holding parts of himself back from her, treating her respectfully and affectionately but still maintaining a distinct separation between her daylight world and his nighttime one... now she's out of that biz, or so they both assume...
Yes, I could put in a reminder here of the Gem of Amarra, which Spike wanted but Angel smashed... although I think the issues between Buffy and Spike are more personal than the whole day-world, night-world thing, even if it does tend to get expressed that way...
I approve! I wonder if you're extrapolating from the drawing class she was taking in "The Body"?
That, and I'd mentioned she might be studying art restoration. It just seemed a logical arc for Dawn to me, since she's into the research and ancient languages, to be interested in art, the creation of a reflected or imaginary reality, since she herself is such a creation...
See, this is what I meant by Buffy not being defined entirely by her relationship with Spike. She's looking at him not just as That Man Of Mine, but also as a possible model for making decisions about her own life.
Not to mention the heavy focus on making choices in the final episode - it would seem we were supposed to take away some impression of Buffy as being pro-choice, at least in a "choose power" capacity... I'm just extending that idea to her new life as well, since right now she has the "choice" to be anything she wants... but what does she want?
I don't remember whether the Immortal was originally established as an alchemist or not, but I like the idea.
I could've sworn it was mentioned in "The Girl in Question," but it's possible I'm just channeling a fic I've read. If so, kudos to the person who originally thought of it. I know I'm not the first person to come up with this, but like you said, it has all sorts of neat connotations, again with the "change" theme, material properties transformed...
And the Casanova thing, too. ; )
Not only do you vindicate the Spuffy shippers' hopes that our star-crossed lovers got in some last-minute off-camera nookie, but you also give us a Buffy who's grown up enough to recognize the element of exploitation involved.
I figure in the wake of his last words to her, she'd have to be pretty naive to not see that mistakes were made, albeit well-intentioned ones. That is, unless you hold the opinion that she was just being kind to him, and I'd really rather not, because it makes me despise Buffy for using her devoted slave as a tool. In my view, she's kind of aware that's how it might look.
Her new plan - the waiting and dating and how-have-you-been - makes for a nice change of pace. And the best part, of course, is that nothing could possibly go wrong with it.
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Date: 2004-10-17 09:05 pm (UTC)But rather, the dynamic here - Spike keeping his distance from Buffy, holding parts of himself back from her, treating her respectfully and affectionately but still maintaining a distinct separation between her daylight world and his nighttime one... now she's out of that biz, or so they both assume...
Yes, I could put in a reminder here of the Gem of Amarra, which Spike wanted but Angel smashed... although I think the issues between Buffy and Spike are more personal than the whole day-world, night-world thing, even if it does tend to get expressed that way...
I approve! I wonder if you're extrapolating from the drawing class she was taking in "The Body"?
That, and I'd mentioned she might be studying art restoration. It just seemed a logical arc for Dawn to me, since she's into the research and ancient languages, to be interested in art, the creation of a reflected or imaginary reality, since she herself is such a creation...
See, this is what I meant by Buffy not being defined entirely by her relationship with Spike. She's looking at him not just as That Man Of Mine, but also as a possible model for making decisions about her own life.
Not to mention the heavy focus on making choices in the final episode - it would seem we were supposed to take away some impression of Buffy as being pro-choice, at least in a "choose power" capacity... I'm just extending that idea to her new life as well, since right now she has the "choice" to be anything she wants... but what does she want?
I don't remember whether the Immortal was originally established as an alchemist or not, but I like the idea.
I could've sworn it was mentioned in "The Girl in Question," but it's possible I'm just channeling a fic I've read. If so, kudos to the person who originally thought of it. I know I'm not the first person to come up with this, but like you said, it has all sorts of neat connotations, again with the "change" theme, material properties transformed...
And the Casanova thing, too. ; )
Not only do you vindicate the Spuffy shippers' hopes that our star-crossed lovers got in some last-minute off-camera nookie, but you also give us a Buffy who's grown up enough to recognize the element of exploitation involved.
I figure in the wake of his last words to her, she'd have to be pretty naive to not see that mistakes were made, albeit well-intentioned ones. That is, unless you hold the opinion that she was just being kind to him, and I'd really rather not, because it makes me despise Buffy for using her devoted slave as a tool. In my view, she's kind of aware that's how it might look.
Her new plan - the waiting and dating and how-have-you-been - makes for a nice change of pace. And the best part, of course, is that nothing could possibly go wrong with it.
Oh, god, people are going to hate me....