Buffy 9.01 "Freefall": news and previews

Yesterday evening I rewatched "Life of the Party", to refresh my memory. Their behavior is very similar to the behavior of people affected by Lorne's advices. Could an empath demon be around?

Xander's absence is interesting. I hope it will be him who'll arrive late (or maybe come by to drive Dawn home) and realise that something is wrong there. Unlike policemen, he has a lot of experience with people acting weirdly.

If it's Xander who finds a way out, then it could explain why he is reluctant to give Buffy shelter when she flees from police custody. He knows that her presence could hurt Dawn.

I wonder if Spike's words about giant mosquito are addressed to a police helicopter. 🙂
 
Moscow Watcher said:
Xander's absence is interesting. I hope it will be him who'll arrive late (or maybe come by to drive Dawn home) and realise that something is wrong there. Unlike policemen, he has a lot of experience with people acting weirdly.
Click to expand...

I'm actually pretty sure that's Xander and Dawn making out in the panel next to the one with Buffy dancing on the table.
 
Yes, I'm pretty sure that's Xan and Dawn making out in the background.

The AR in SR was disgusting and have to be addressed and was addressed in 7 even though Spike had no soul when he did what he did. I was glad ME didn't skirt around the issue by just pretending that everything was groovy now that Spike had a soul.

We're going to have to agree to disagree about the Pack and the Initiative being the same thing. Both were set up to be played for laughs, imo. Willow's not being as strong as Spike was immaterial to the storyline as he had no "strength" so to speak at that moment and we the viewers understood that quickly.
 
Moscow Watcher said:
Yesterday evening I rewatched "Life of the Party", to refresh my memory. Their behavior is very similar to the behavior of people affected by Lorne's advices. Could an empath demon be around?

Xander's absence is interesting. I hope it will be him who'll arrive late (or maybe come by to drive Dawn home) and realise that something is wrong there. Unlike policemen, he has a lot of experience with people acting weirdly.

If it's Xander who finds a way out, then it could explain why he is reluctant to give Buffy shelter when she flees from police custody. He knows that her presence could hurt Dawn.

I wonder if Spike's words about giant mosquito are addressed to a police helicopter. 🙂
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about it too and maybe the "actual" party bombed and Buffy is out patrolling the next night thinking of how it should or could have gone? I just feel there is too much illogical and over the top happy stuff happening for it to be real.
 
The AR in SR was disgusting and have to be addressed and was addressed in 7 even though Spike had no soul when he did what he did. I was glad ME didn't skirt around the issue by just pretending that everything was groovy now that Spike had a soul.
Click to expand...

Not that I agree that the AR wasn't swept under the rug, but in any event that's completely irrelevant to my hypothetical example, as it wasn't played for laughs in the first place. You don't see me complaining about Spike kidnapping Willow in Lovers Walk, despite its many similarities to the incident in The Initiative because the former was treated seriously.
 
I looked at it again and I think it does happen. But like some havbe said, I also think it's under a spell or something. All the behaviors of the characters we know and love seem like the exact things they would never do. Maybe they're the opposite of themselves, or what Buffy thinks about them, or fears, or wishes. They don't seem themselves, and it's obviously from Buffy's POV.
 
Kean said:
I've been thinking about it too and maybe the "actual" party bombed and Buffy is out patrolling the next night thinking of how it should or could have gone? I just feel there is too much illogical and over the top happy stuff happening for it to be real.
Click to expand...

I 'm not sure that Buffy thinks that Spike should kiss a random girl after she, Buffy, flirted with him when he arrived! 🙂 Or that everybody should make out while Buffy talks to her boss about something I can't even understand. I still think something or somebody affects people's behavior.

I even thought that Buffy on the last page has already escaped from the police custody and the whole arc (#1-4) will be unfolding like a big flashback. But then I put together the blurbs of the first three issues and realised that I was wrong: Buffy will get arrested in #2, and it will have nothing to do with the party.

#1
Season 8 ended with a bang when Buffy cut the world off from the hell dimensions and all supernatural influence. Great, right? Except Buffy has left her best friend, Willow, powerless, and ended the long line of vampire slayers, leaving her hated by the hundreds of girls who recently stood behind her. Newly relocated to San Francisco, Buffy can count on a fresh start, and focus on what she’s good at—slaying.
#2
Buffy continues her nightly patrols while trying to cobble together a sensible life . . . Willow’s adopted a new look, while Dawn and Xander celebrate the comforts of a magicless world. The fun and games come to a halt when mysteriously marked bodies start appearing. As Buffy starts to investigate she captures the attention of San Francisco police detectives who have taken notice of the unnaturally gifted Slayer
#3
Spike has heard rumblings. Someone, or something, is coming for Buffy—and now, after she recklessly slipped out of police custody, the SFPD is certainly looking. When Buffy’s family and friends deny her refuge from the cops, she turns to the streets and slaying, where she discovers there’s a new kind of vampire slayer in town . . .
Click to expand...

Chosen Enemy
I looked at it again and I think it does happen. But like some havbe said, I also think it's under a spell or something. All the behaviors of the characters we know and love seem like the exact things they would never do. Maybe they're the opposite of themselves, or what Buffy thinks about them, or fears, or wishes. They don't seem themselves, and it's obviously from Buffy's POV.
Click to expand...

Something definitely affects people's behavior - but Joss has to think hard to explain how it could happen in a magic-less world.

Then again, there already is a possessed girl on A&F, so they could just start calling that kind of stuff "paranormal" instead of "magic"... 🙂
 
Reddygirl said:
What happened between Spike and Willow in the Initiative is on par with what happened between Buffy and Xander in the Pack when Xander tried to rape Buffy. I have no idea if that scene in the Pack, which was pretty much played for laughs, upsets you or not.

The scene in the Initiative was clearly meant to be a light-hearted comment on erectile dysfunction, not forced sex.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how The Pack scene was suppose to be funny. I think we were suppose to be scared for Buffy and the relieved. Nothing like in Seeing Red, but still a serious scene. I wish I could recall what soundtrack that was used. That says a lot about how a scene is suppose to effect the audience.

Besides, it's almost cliché to write murder attempts in a funny way, but people don't as often make fun of rape, which makes he think it wasn't meant to be funny in The Pack. And even when they do, it's not that cheery, more of a way for the character to put up a shield. Like when Buffy fights of the swin team in Go Fish. She tries to be funny but it feels like the character is just putting on a show, a sort of self defense.
 
I really like this preview !!! I'm curious to see more and to know more about the context of the issue. I won't judge before reading the whole thing.

For the moment, from what we see, Buffy's loneliness makes me a little bit sad. And big yay for the Buffy & Spike flirt ♥ I think they will make the relationship progress all along season 9, and that's exactly what I wish (more stories, more material !). It changes to see Spike making out with a random girl in presence of Buffy, in regard of the Spuffy dynamic. I definitely want to see more.
 
It changes to see Spike making out with a random girl in presence of Buffy, in regard of the Spuffy dynamic
Click to expand...

This.
There's no way that in these pages what we see is what Buffy wants to happen, Spike making out for example. There is no way Buffy wants Spike to make out with another girl, no matter what the dynamism between them is, no matter what their relationship is at the moment. We saw how hurt she was when Spike brought another girl to Xander and Anya's not a wedding, and then when he slept with Anya. They weren't together back then, she broke up with him. Still, she was hurt in both times. So here, it would hurt Buffy if she saw Spike with another girl. Those pages don't show what she wants. But maybe they show what SHE DOESN'T want to happen. That's what I'm thinking right now.
 
Chosen Enemy said:
This.
There's no way that in these pages what we see is what Buffy wants to happen, Spike making out for example. There is no way Buffy wants Spike to make out with another girl, no matter what the dynamism between them is, no matter what their relationship is at the moment. We saw how hurt she was when Spike brought another girl to Xander and Anya's not a wedding, and then when he slept with Anya. They weren't together back then, she broke up with him. Still, she was hurt in both times. So here, it would hurt Buffy if she saw Spike with another girl. Those pages don't show what she wants. But maybe they show what SHE DOESN'T want to happen. That's what I'm thinking right now.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. I think it's possible that she wants Spike to move on, so if this is a dream, it could be of what she wants for her friends. For Dawn & Xander to be happy, to Willow to move on from Kennedy and that Spike moves on as well. I think she would feel guilty if Spike was still into her and she didn't respond.

I definitly think she still loves/cares for Spike, and because of that she might want him to be happy, even if it's with someone else.

It's impossible to tell for sure though. We're given signs that she's over him (she didn't contact him whe she found out he was alive) and that she still likes him (daydream when she was on the bug ship, angry that Spike took so long to get back after the fight for the Seed as seen in the Spike one shot) and how they flirted in this preview. We also don't know if her jelaousy would make her want Spike not to move on, and if that wins over her wish for him to be happy.
 
Skytteflickan88 said:
I don't think so. I think it's possible that she wants Spike to move on, so if this is a dream, it could be of what she wants for her friends. For Dawn & Xander to be happy, to Willow to move on from Kennedy and that Spike moves on as well. I think she would feel guilty if Spike was still into her and she didn't respond.

I definitly think she still loves/cares for Spike, and because of that she might want him to be happy, even if it's with someone else.

It's impossible to tell for sure though. We're given signs that she's over him (she didn't contact him whe she found out he was alive) and that she still likes him (daydream when she was on the bug ship, angry that Spike took so long to get back after the fight for the Seed as seen in the Spike one shot) and how they flirted in this preview. We also don't know if her jelaousy would make her want Spike not to move on, and if that wins over her wish for him to be happy.
Click to expand...

The fact that she wants Spike to move on doesn't mean she actually wants him to. Yes, she wants him to be happy, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt her (therefore why wanting something that will hurt). She did tell him to move on after she broke up with him, and he did, twice (girl from wedding and Anya), and she got hurt when he did. What I'm saying is, while she might want to see Spike happy and move on, doesn't mean that it's what she really feels. She can act as though she wants that, but inside she'd hate it. I'm sure that if she saw Angel with another girl (like Cordelia), she'd hurt, even though she wants him to be happy, even though they're not together for years. She doesn't really want him to move on for what might seem like a selfish reason.

And it's not true what you suggest that she didn't care enough to contact him. It was explained that after Willow told Buffy about Spike, she's spent so much time knocking on people's doors to find out if it's true. Later on, she's hurt by Spike that he didn't contact her. It's not that she didn't want to contact him, it's that she was hurt. To me that seems like she did not get over him.
 
It's not a dream. According to the script, it's a flashback:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v671/MoscowWatcher/Comics_s9/1Buffy-S9_drft4_fnl-pg-7-1.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Chosen Enemy said:
The fact that she wants Spike to move on doesn't mean she actually wants him to. Yes, she wants him to be happy, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt her (therefore why wanting something that will hurt). She did tell him to move on after she broke up with him, and he did, twice (girl from wedding and Anya), and she got hurt when he did. What I'm saying is, while she might want to see Spike happy and move on, doesn't mean that it's what she really feels. She can act as though she wants that, but inside she'd hate it. I'm sure that if she saw Angel with another girl (like Cordelia), she'd hurt, even though she wants him to be happy, even though they're not together for years. She doesn't really want him to move on for what might seem like a selfish reason.
Click to expand...

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm saying that it might hurt her more if he didn't move on. It's possible that the guilt she might feel if he didn't move on is even greater than the pain she might feel if he moved on (assuming she actually feels any pain at all).

Did I explain myself better this time?

And it's not true what you suggest that she didn't care enough to contact him. It was explained that after Willow told Buffy about Spike, she's spent so much time knocking on people's doors to find out if it's true. Later on, she's hurt by Spike that he didn't contact her. It's not that she didn't want to contact him, it's that she was hurt. To me that seems like she did not get over him.
Click to expand...

When was it explained? I have completely missed this info.

---------- Post added at 06:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:11 PM ----------

Interesting, it's page seven. So that first sentence did get cut off. It seemed very out of the blue.
 
Skytteflickan88 said:
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm saying that it might hurt her more if he didn't move on. It's possible that the guilt she might feel if he didn't move on is even greater than the pain she might feel if he moved on (assuming she actually feels any pain at all).

Did I explain myself better this time?
Click to expand...

That's why I said that it's for selfish reasons. It's hard to let go when you feel deep feelings toward someone. I believe it's possible that she wants to let go, but that's not such an easy thing to do and there are feelings she can't control. There are many feelings people can't control. Such as jealousy. Buffy was jealous when she saw him with other girls, and it hurt her, no matter how happy she wants him to be. She can't control those feelings, just shut them off. Maybe she wants to (when she wants him to be happy and move on), but it's out of her control. That's why she would't really want to see Spike with others, no matter how much she wants the best for him.

We see it well after she broke up with him and told him he had to move on, but then when he slept with Anya, I think she was feeling not only hurt and jealousy, but also like he cheated on her. They weren't even together, she was the one to tell him to move on. But she hadn't really. So for her it felt like he betrayed her.

When was it explained? I have completely missed this info.
Click to expand...

I think it was in Spike's comic, which is also canon, him and Willow met, she told him about Buffy and they hugged (aww!!)
 
Chosen Enemy said:
This.
There's no way that in these pages what we see is what Buffy wants to happen, Spike making out for example. There is no way Buffy wants Spike to make out with another girl, no matter what the dynamism between them is, no matter what their relationship is at the moment. We saw how hurt she was when Spike brought another girl to Xander and Anya's not a wedding, and then when he slept with Anya. They weren't together back then, she broke up with him. Still, she was hurt in both times. So here, it would hurt Buffy if she saw Spike with another girl. Those pages don't show what she wants. But maybe they show what SHE DOESN'T want to happen. That's what I'm thinking right now.
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly. And I just can't see Spike doing that now. In season 6 he was angry and hurt, and wanted to make her jealous, plus he had no soul. As mad as he might be at Buffy after the space-frak of season 8, I just can't see him (the Spike of season 7 & AtS season 5) doing that. I agree with everyone that this is some kind of spell or something going on here.

---------- Post added at 12:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:12 PM ----------

Chosen Enemy said:
And it's not true what you suggest that she didn't care enough to contact him. It was explained that after Willow told Buffy about Spike, she's spent so much time knocking on people's doors to find out if it's true. Later on, she's hurt by Spike that he didn't contact her. It's not that she didn't want to contact him, it's that she was hurt. To me that seems like she did not get over him.
Click to expand...
Chosen Enemy said:
I think it was in Spike's comic, which is also canon, him and Willow met, she told him about Buffy and they hugged (aww!!)
Click to expand...
Do you mean one of the IDW comics, or the season 9 online one-shot?

Moscow Watcher said:
It's not a dream. According to the script, it's a flashback:
Click to expand...
I'm not seeing it in the script, can you point it out to me? (sorry for my dumbness today LOL)
 
VisionGirl said:
Do you mean one of the IDW comics, or the season 9 online one-shot?
Click to expand...

I never seem to remember. I think it was the IDW, not season 9. 😛

And I agree about Spike's side in the story, he wouldn't hurt Buffy on purpose (after falling in love with her I mean). With Anya he was drunk, in the AR scene he was clearly in shock at what he's done, and with the wedding skank he wanted to hurt Buffy but felt bad about it so he told Buffy he was sorry he was hurting her by doing it, and then took off so that it wouldn't hurt Buffy him being there with that girl.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom