DEAD THINGS--Buffy the Vampire Slayer's finest hour

Chronic Harlot · 09-24-2004, 03:22 PM

I am a newly christened member of the BTVS faithful. I love you ‘DVD-season-box-set-inventor’!

Like cramming for a final, I spent a good chunk of my summer downtime (when I wasn't rehearsing/playing out/recording) immersed in the shady vale of Sunnydale. I've come to the conclusion that, to me, BTVS’s like red wine, which means even if it's bad, it's still pretty good. I have so many favorite moments, character interactions, lines, etc etc, that my love for the show, as a whole, transcends merely selecting individual installments.

Yet, if I had to choose, my picks for the best of the bunch are (in no particular order) Restless, Smashed, Fool for Love, Bad Girls, Hush, Once More With Feeling and The Body; these are all fine hours of television. However, there’s a certain gem of an episode buried in the middle of season six called Dead Things. This is my favorite episode of BTVS, bar none.

Not even Buffy and Faith’s wild night out on the town, or Joyce's death, or the evening the Gentlemen came to Sunnydale could compare with this episode. Dead Things demonstrates, once and for all, that humans, even those who seem innocuous, are capable of great evil. And even our heroine, our deeply flawed heroine, struggles against her own darkness.

The episode is an examination of Buffy and her relationships--her strained friendship with the Scoobies; her failed attempts to be a good sister and mentor to Dawn; and finally her extraordinarily complex affair with Spike. The dynamics of the latter relationship are brought into sharp focus, as writer Steve DeKnight compares and contrasts Buffy's behavior towards Spike with the Trio's attempts at mind control and ultimately rape.

Sara Michelle Gellar at least warranted an Emmy nod for her performance here (Buffy's sobbing confession to Tara, pleading for unforgiveness was a poignant coda), and DeKnight most definately deserved a writing nomination. Also, kudos to whoever it was that did the score.

But the true star of the episode is Adam Busch. It’s much more chilling when your villain has a conscience, yet chooses to ignore it, which is why Busch's Warren is the best ‘big bad’ ever--better than the Master, Angelus, the Mayor, Adam, Glory and The First--for the simple reason that he’s just a human; a socialy retarded 'manboy' that (unlike his villainous predecessors) possesses a fully-functional soul.

Just perfection.

Brikar · 09-25-2004, 04:45 AM

I really have nothing to add to this... except that I agree. I do hope that you give "Angel" a try. I think it surpassed "Buffy," myself. It's third and fourth seasons were just fantastic.

Cymro · 09-30-2004, 07:07 PM

Can someone tell me WHAT THE HELL the last episode of season 4 (I think) was all about? It was just fuckin weird, I tuned in at the beginning of the second quarter and tuned out after the third, because I didn't have a fucking clue what it was all about (prolly cause I missed most of season 4).

I'm not a big Buffy fan but my favourite episode has got to be the one where Angel(us) kill's Giles' woman for trying to get his soul back for him.

I think the whole Angel arc made for some great TV though.

Chronic Harlot · 10-01-2004, 05:26 PM

Ah yes, "Restless". One of my favorites.

In the previous episode, "Primeval", the core Scoobies (Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander) performed an 'adjoining spell', so that Buffy could use the combined energies of all four of them to defeat Adam (who was too powerful for her to slay alone). The spell essentially combined all four of their souls into Buffy's body.

In "Restless", the spirit of the First Slayer takes revenge against Buffy for breaking what I can only call 'The Slayer Code', which basically means that the Slayer must exist completely alone (that she is not meant to have friends, let alone share her body with their souls). The episode is divided into four acts (rather than the usual five) and each one is a corresponding Scoobie's dream sequence (1 is Willow's, 2 is Xander's, 3 is Giles', 4 is Buffy's). At the end of each act, the First Slayer 'kills' a Soobie in their dream, except for Buffy, who refuses to acknowledge the spirit any longer or concern herself with the notion that 'Slayers must walk alone' (which had been something she was struggling with in season 4). Of course, since they were only dreams, nobody was really hurt.

However, the point of the episode was to examine the four main characters; their insecurities, where they've been in season 4 and where they're going in season 5. Joss Whedon wrote "Restless" as more of an art peice, free-associating the various aspects, moments and feelings of each character into four seperatre tone-poems. Seriously, you come away with an even stronger understanding and care for the characters of Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles. It's a brilliant episode but, you're right, you need to watch in it's entirety to understand it in context.

Brikar · 10-01-2004, 08:04 PM

And of course, the Cheese Man, the greatest character ever created for the screen!

Chronic Harlot · 10-05-2004, 05:18 PM

Ah yes, the personification of a dream's random nonsense.

09-24-2004, 03:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
Chronic Harlot Pornstar Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Chicago Posts: 65	DEAD THINGS--Buffy the Vampire Slayer's finest hour I am a newly christened member of the BTVS faithful. I love you ‘DVD-season-box-set-inventor’! Like cramming for a final, I spent a good chunk of my summer downtime (when I wasn't rehearsing/playing out/recording) immersed in the shady vale of Sunnydale. I've come to the conclusion that, to me, BTVS’s like red wine, which means even if it's bad, it's still pretty good. I have so many favorite moments, character interactions, lines, etc etc, that my love for the show, as a whole, transcends merely selecting individual installments. Yet, if I had to choose, my picks for the best of the bunch are (in no particular order) Restless, Smashed, Fool for Love, Bad Girls, Hush, Once More With Feeling and The Body; these are all fine hours of television. However, there’s a certain gem of an episode buried in the middle of season six called Dead Things. This is my favorite episode of BTVS, bar none. Not even Buffy and Faith’s wild night out on the town, or Joyce's death, or the evening the Gentlemen came to Sunnydale could compare with this episode. Dead Things demonstrates, once and for all, that humans, even those who seem innocuous, are capable of great evil. And even our heroine, our deeply flawed heroine, struggles against her own darkness. The episode is an examination of Buffy and her relationships--her strained friendship with the Scoobies; her failed attempts to be a good sister and mentor to Dawn; and finally her extraordinarily complex affair with Spike. The dynamics of the latter relationship are brought into sharp focus, as writer Steve DeKnight compares and contrasts Buffy's behavior towards Spike with the Trio's attempts at mind control and ultimately rape. Sara Michelle Gellar at least warranted an Emmy nod for her performance here (Buffy's sobbing confession to Tara, pleading for unforgiveness was a poignant coda), and DeKnight most definately deserved a writing nomination. Also, kudos to whoever it was that did the score. But the true star of the episode is Adam Busch. It’s much more chilling when your villain has a conscience, yet chooses to ignore it, which is why Busch's Warren is the best ‘big bad’ ever--better than the Master, Angelus, the Mayor, Adam, Glory and The First--for the simple reason that he’s just a human; a socialy retarded 'manboy' that (unlike his villainous predecessors) possesses a fully-functional soul. Just perfection. __________________ The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and only hollow rhythms resounded from within.

09-25-2004, 04:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	I really have nothing to add to this... except that I agree. I do hope that you give "Angel" a try. I think it surpassed "Buffy," myself. It's third and fourth seasons were just fantastic. __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

09-30-2004, 07:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cymro Religious Fanatic Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Shitsville, CF63 Posts: 4,921	Can someone tell me WHAT THE HELL the last episode of season 4 (I think) was all about? It was just fuckin weird, I tuned in at the beginning of the second quarter and tuned out after the third, because I didn't have a fucking clue what it was all about (prolly cause I missed most of season 4). I'm not a big Buffy fan but my favourite episode has got to be the one where Angel(us) kill's Giles' woman for trying to get his soul back for him. I think the whole Angel arc made for some great TV though. __________________ "Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. "But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty klingon."

10-01-2004, 05:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
Chronic Harlot Pornstar Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Chicago Posts: 65	Ah yes, "Restless". One of my favorites. In the previous episode, "Primeval", the core Scoobies (Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander) performed an 'adjoining spell', so that Buffy could use the combined energies of all four of them to defeat Adam (who was too powerful for her to slay alone). The spell essentially combined all four of their souls into Buffy's body. In "Restless", the spirit of the First Slayer takes revenge against Buffy for breaking what I can only call 'The Slayer Code', which basically means that the Slayer must exist completely alone (that she is not meant to have friends, let alone share her body with their souls). The episode is divided into four acts (rather than the usual five) and each one is a corresponding Scoobie's dream sequence (1 is Willow's, 2 is Xander's, 3 is Giles', 4 is Buffy's). At the end of each act, the First Slayer 'kills' a Soobie in their dream, except for Buffy, who refuses to acknowledge the spirit any longer or concern herself with the notion that 'Slayers must walk alone' (which had been something she was struggling with in season 4). Of course, since they were only dreams, nobody was really hurt. However, the point of the episode was to examine the four main characters; their insecurities, where they've been in season 4 and where they're going in season 5. Joss Whedon wrote "Restless" as more of an art peice, free-associating the various aspects, moments and feelings of each character into four seperatre tone-poems. Seriously, you come away with an even stronger understanding and care for the characters of Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles. It's a brilliant episode but, you're right, you need to watch in it's entirety to understand it in context. __________________ The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and only hollow rhythms resounded from within.

10-01-2004, 08:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
Brikar The Dude Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 3,606	And of course, the Cheese Man, the greatest character ever created for the screen! __________________ "A million monkeys typing until the end of time will produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. Ten thousand monkeys typing for ten thousand years will write a Hemingway. Ten monkeys typing over Columbus Day weekend will give you a Dan Brown." http://olympusmans.blogspot.com http://benforrealz.blogspot.com

10-05-2004, 05:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
Chronic Harlot Pornstar Join Date: Dec 1969 Location: Chicago Posts: 65	Ah yes, the personification of a dream's random nonsense. __________________ The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and only hollow rhythms resounded from within.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode