Well, I can definitely think of a lot to say - rereading it again after posting this rec, I really couldn't help but notice the subtle touches you put in, such as the nice mirroring to Buffy's reactions to light (hard and bright and violent) and her looking at photographs in "Afterlife" in Spike's reactions to being in her room. It's like the two switched places - Buffy was Willow's victim - unintentionally - in "Bargaining," and Spike ends up at sort of a reverse position to this at the end of a long string of choices - like Warren said, Spike does have a choice, and you could read his journey here as the end of a long spiral of what Willow calls "much needed karma." But uplifting too, since he's obviously aware of taht something missing and that ability to make a choice... it's like he has to go to the bottom of hell, experience everything his own victims did, before he can come out the other side.
And I tried in the original review, but I can't praise your depiction of Warren enough. Like a flipside of the Scoobies, who chose "good," Warren chooses bad, and keeps going on it propelled by sheer anger, and his little buddies get dragged along for the ride. The contrast between the nerds and Scoobies feels like one of those psycological experiments about "what would you do if you found a wallet? keep the money? turn it in?" - you zeroed in on something I found uncomfortable about S6, the way former outcasts (the Scoobies) turned into oppressors of the less fortunate (or lower on the food chain) themselves, and really made it clear how this happened. Buffy and her friends don't see themselves as oppressed anymore, so they don't think about the topic at all anymore. The Trio, especially Warren, obsess on it, see slights everywhere and want to take revenge against everyone for it. Buffy can't seem them as dangerous because she's forgotten what that feels like.
There's more. A lot more. If I think of cool ways to lay it out for you, I'll definitely email you. I love getting analytical about this stuff. Can you tell? : )
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Date: 2004-11-10 08:16 pm (UTC)And I tried in the original review, but I can't praise your depiction of Warren enough. Like a flipside of the Scoobies, who chose "good," Warren chooses bad, and keeps going on it propelled by sheer anger, and his little buddies get dragged along for the ride. The contrast between the nerds and Scoobies feels like one of those psycological experiments about "what would you do if you found a wallet? keep the money? turn it in?" - you zeroed in on something I found uncomfortable about S6, the way former outcasts (the Scoobies) turned into oppressors of the less fortunate (or lower on the food chain) themselves, and really made it clear how this happened. Buffy and her friends don't see themselves as oppressed anymore, so they don't think about the topic at all anymore. The Trio, especially Warren, obsess on it, see slights everywhere and want to take revenge against everyone for it. Buffy can't seem them as dangerous because she's forgotten what that feels like.
There's more. A lot more. If I think of cool ways to lay it out for you, I'll definitely email you. I love getting analytical about this stuff. Can you tell? : )