Discussion of Buffy 9.01 "Freefall"- Released 9/14/11 (Dark Horse)

[Whirlwind]

All in all, I thought this was a great issue. It seemed more grounded than some of the previous arcs.

We get appearances from Spike, Willow, Andrew, Riley, Xander and Dawn, and we get to meet Buffy's new roommates, one of whom might be starting a band with Spike.

Buffy doesn't really remember everything that happened at the party, and throughout the issue we see flashbacks to it, including one of Spike letting Buffy know danger is on its way.

One flashback that will probably cause some discussion is the one of her and Xander alone in Buffy's room. Xander says at one point that Dawn doesn't have to know. We're led to believe that something might have happened there, but I don't think either would do that to Dawn, or at least I hope not.

The issue ends with Buffy, Spike and Willow being confronted by a monster that wants Buffy to pay......for her student loans!

 

[Icarium]

The issue is rather boring, we have seen Buffy feeling lost in just about every season opener, so the whole thing has the feel of "been there, done that, and it was much better once upon a time too". Riley's pep talk was nice but it too had a heavy sense of deja-vu. Too many jokes that aren't really funny. I am kind of surprised Willow mentioned she had a job, would be nice to know what it is.

And Riley says his men are hunting down terrorists now, instead of demons. You would think they would be searching for Angel instead. Buffy has trouble remembering Willow can't do spells any more. I know she is supposed to be in a bad place right now, but she manages to be all kinds of insensitive and stupid in so few pages. Not that I didn't enjoy her calling Spike "Stalky the clown", mind you.

No direct mentiion of Giles's death. Do they intend to put all the aftermath of it in Angel and Faith? That would be silly in the extreme, I want to see how Willow, Xander and Buffy are taking it, not freaking Angel!

I reckon Willow means her new girlfriend when she says she "snuck on Aura" to come visit Buffy. Are they living together already, I wonder? Not that the new girlfriend even has a line in this issue...

And my goodness, is the art ugly or what. Buffy looks literally like a drooling idiot in the panel where she welcomes Xander and Dawn.

 

[wickedtiger86]

Ahhh! I forgot that it was Wednesday. . . actually the only way I ever really know what day of the week it is . . . is because of these boards usually . . . I should really be less busy . . .

Must go pick this up before work! Hopefully making this post will get me to remember to actually go get the thing. Sometimes I worry about myself. . .

 

[LyteHouse]

Yeah, this issue is pretty dull. And that last page made me cringe so much I thought my spine was going to snap.

But on a side-note, was that our very own Skytteflickan88 who got her letter published in the back pages?! Way kewl....

 

[Gum Gnome33]

Mine's on its way, in the mail! Of course I had to read this anyway; I'm completely impatient and couldn't wait.

we get to meet Buffy's new roommates, one of whom might be starting a band with Spike.

Um, wow. So excited about this.

Xander says at one point that Dawn doesn't have to know. We're led to believe that something might have happened there

Seriously? Why?! I really hope this is one of those "oh let's get the audience to assume it's the worst when really everything is peachy and the characters were referring to Buffy accidentally ripping Dawn's sweater or something." Season 7, anyone? But if not, what the hell.

Riley's pep talk was nice but it too had a heavy sense of deja-vu.

The idea of Riley and Spike at a party together is really intriguing. I mean, how does Riley feel about the fact that the creature he hunted down for months now has a soul and is helping to save the world? It must be a quite inspiring for him--or perhaps horrifying--to know that a soulless demon can change and become a good man seeking redemption, while day after day he is on the hunt for terrorists who are evil and human to begin with. Come to think of it, that must really mess with his head. Good thing for his sanity that Spike is the exception and not the rule. Right? (Of course I've brought up this issue before in relation to Buffy and how she feels about slaying vampires but--again--anomaly, fiction, I need to get over it, and just enjoy the unique fantastic-ness that is Spike).
In general, anyway, I'd love a one shot with Riley in which he considers the differences among the "creatures" he's taken captive--working for Walsh against the demon world, and now, in the attempt to eliminate terrorists.

No direct mentiion of Giles's death. Do they intend to put all the aftermath of it in Angel and Faith? That would be silly in the extreme, I want to see how Willow, Xander and Buffy are taking it, not freaking Angel!

Seriously. Well said.

And, yes, from what I can tell the illustrations look horrible.

But all in all, I'm very excited about this!

 

[Moscow Watcher]

I don't understand the bit in the scene where Buffy talks with her roomies after the party: "But you scored big in -- 2D? ZD?"

What could it mean?

 

[Icarium]

I don't understand the bit in the scene where Buffy talks with her roomies after the party: "But you scored big in -- 2D? ZD?"

What could it mean?

I think they refer to a neighbour who is huge computer nerd, stays home all the time and the only people he usually sees are two-dimensional pictures. Or maybe I have watched too much anime where such characters are common. 🙂

Yeah, this issue is pretty dull. And that last page made me cringe so much I thought my spine was going to snap.

It wasn't just you, my reaction was the same. Such a lame joke that it made Andrew's usual lame jokes seem positively Oscar Wilde-ish in comparison.

The idea of Riley and Spike at a party together is really intriguing. I mean, how does Riley feel about the fact that the creature he hunted down for months now has a soul and is helping to save the world? It must be a quite inspiring for him--or perhaps horrifying--to know that a soulless demon can change and become a good man seeking redemption, while day after day he is on the hunt for terrorists who are evil and human to begin with. Come to think of it, that must really mess with his head. Good thing for his sanity that Spike is the exception and not the rule. Right? (Of course I've brought up this issue before in relation to Buffy and how she feels about slaying vampires but--again--anomaly, fiction, I need to get over it, and just enjoy the unique fantastic-ness that is Spike).
In general, anyway, I'd love a one shot with Riley in which he considers the differences among the "creatures" he's taken captive--working for Walsh against the demon world, and now, in the attempt to eliminate terrorists.

This would require Joss to actually address the inconsistencies in jis vampire mythos and to treat Riley as a character rather than a plot device, so I don't see it happening.

 

[sosa lola]

Unlike you all I really enjoyed the issue. I thought it was funny and very true to the heart of the first episode of a BtVS season - which tend to be less awesome than the rest of the seasons' episodes. There were a lot of funny jokes. I loved Willow in this issue way more than I did throughout S8! She appeared so mature and having it all together.

I really love that there's a secret that's depressing Xander and no one knows but Buffy. I love their friendship so much!

 

[Moscow Watcher]

I think they refer to a neighbour who is huge computer nerd, stays home all the time and the only people he usually sees are two-dimensional pictures. Or maybe I have watched too much anime where such characters are common. 🙂

Thanks!

So it isn't an American idiom I'm not aware of. It's something that Joss has intentionally left vague.

Is it only me or this Heinrich really is suspicious? A reclusive type (nobody even knew his name), sends Buffy flowers after spending 20 minuted with her. Sounds like a set-up for something.

 

[Kean]

I didn't like this at all. While some of Buffy's hungover thoughts were funny I thought the whole vibe was far too light and ridiculous coming off of S8. I would have rather'd some genuine time spent on that then reading about Buffy's Most Heinous Hangover. Compared to the A&F opener, this was shite.

 

[madhttr]

2D would be his apartment number.

 

[The Scourge]

That was kind of dumb. Buffy got drunk and may have slept with Riley or Xander? The police officers party with them? Buffy not willing to discuss a potential threat that Spike and Willow are trying to tell her about? The demon is just wants Buffy to pay her student loans? Although Spike's face at the end was priceless, I have to wonder... who writes this crap?

Not even a mention of Giles? The man has been there for her for 8 years! They can at least pretend to miss him for my sake! Why do Angel & Faith miss the man more than the Scoobies seem to?!

The best thing about this issue was Spike. I laughed out loud when Buffy wonders if she can make him beg and he replies "Not this year." Of course, I fully expect them to screw over his character in later issues.

There's really nothing else worth mentioning in this issue, unless you want to mention the horrid art. I thought Spike looked bad in the previews, but Willow is just so bad. She looks like a dude in some panels.

All in all, the writing, art, and story were much better in Angel & Faith. If I do continue with the Buffy issues it will probably be to see if any events will affect A&F. Just as long ass Joss is writing for this and not A&F... knock on wood.

 

[sisterofmercy]

None of this sounds particularly promising, may give this issue a miss and see if it improves before investing in it.

 

[sosa lola]

Some thoughts about the issue:

- I kinda picked up an angry vibe from Xander directed at Buffy. He seems to be upset with her, hence the snark. His tone when he's talking to her is quite harsh. "Our couch misses you, we don't," which can be read as humorous, but after reading the whole issue, it's probably not. He's pretty negative to everything she says. Also, it looks like Buffy is being too friendly with him, like she's trying too hard to make sure everything is okay between them.

- Didn't you guys just love Willow in this issue? She seemed to have it all together and pretty much older and more mature. I love that she's working in a grown up job! She was always about magic and now she finally feels normal and relatable. I love that she's still friends with Buffy, even if she got issues, I never understood why she'd be hating Buffy to the point of never talking to her or that she'd be so lost without magic.

 

[zobothehobo]

I didn't think it was boring... I thought it wasn't nearly as action packed as season 8... but it's a lot of confusion on Buffy's part. A lot of putting up fronts. A lot of doing EXACTLY what I've been doing recently: "If I don't think about the problem, it doesn't exist." That's not boring. I relate to her in a way I haven't since I watched season 6 for the first time. I, personally, can't wait to read the rest of this season because I want to know how she overcomes this. And I want her to help me.

Other than that, Willow was incredible in this issue. I loved her in this issue so much. She's doing a lot better than I thought she'd be doing.

On a side note, I adored Spike's mocking of Willow and Buffy with the "I am also going to add "y" to the end of my sentence-y."

 

[sosa lola]

I didn't think it was boring either. I have enjoyed it so much, it was a lot of fun with interesting questions about the characters: What the hell is wrong with Xander? Why doesn't he want Dawn to know? (I LOVE that Buffy is the only one who knows! Aw, Xander/Buffy friendship!!!) Was that dead girl a vampire with the demon sucked out of her leaving nothing but a dead human body? What the hell did Buffy do and can't remember? Who's the neighbor? And will Spike and Tumble start a band? Hee!

 

[Icarium]

Not even a mention of Giles? The man has been there for her for 8 years! They can at least pretend to miss him for my sake! Why do Angel & Faith miss the man more than the Scoobies seem to?!

That's an excellent, excellent question.

 

[wickedtiger86]

"When you get right down to it, a nice hot shower is just thousands and thousands of scalding water drops screaming down at you like kamikazes in a never-ending wave of wet hate."

I swear I have thought this.

Also I kinda think that that monster is also coming after me. *grumble grumble student loans grumble

That horendousness at the end there aside, I liked it. I'm feeling more connected to characters this time around, already. Which is a good sign to me. I'm thinking it'll bet better over time. It did seem a bit like, a transition comic.

Also, even though I'm repeating [MENTION=10363]zobothehobo[/MENTION] I giggled when Spike said "I'm also gonna add "y" to the end of my sentence-y."

I love when Joss makes fun of his own characters like that.

 

[brinkster130]

I found this issue fairly enjoyable. Overall it was lacking in the seriousness considering what happened with Angel/Twilight/Giles/magics; I hope we get more into the aftermath of that in the next issue. It did bring up some interesting questions that I look forward to learning more about.

Who was the dead girl and who/what was doing this to girls? Will their deaths tie into the seed being destroyed? What is Buffy/Xander's secret? How is this secret going to affect Dawn/Xander? What happened with Buffy and her neighbor in 2D? Who exactly is Spike warning Buffy about?

One thing I wasn't so interested in was finding out exactly what happened that night that Buffy couldn't remember. Call me crazy, but Buffy getting trashed then possibly hooking up with someone doesn't make for a very interesting story.

 

[EVIL UU]

It was...OK, I guess.

First of all, there was no plot, just a bunch of disjointed scenes, the issue feels like a big preview. And where's the slaying? I for one like my Buffy violent, she's The Slayer, killing is like breathing to her, take that away and you've got...this issue.

Oh look, Willow has a new girlfriend, surely she will be as interesting, important and well developed as Willow's last two love interests. Why, why do they introduce a new character if she's going to get as much attention as Kennedy/Aluwyn in season 8? It's pointless, especially if she's an ordinary human being without any powers.

Now the real problem, why is Buffy in college again? Is this the woman who's been fighting and killing and dying for 10 years, since she was 15? It's like they're trying to make the character more relatable but at this point it's nothing but bullshit. All the trauma and character development from season 6, 7 and especially 8 just went poof?

And what's with the shipping baits? Half of the issue is about new villains, the other half is basically "Who did Buffy bone this time?" Willow, Xander, Riley, Spike or maybe her neighbour? Well, excuse me but I just don't care.

Art. Some panels look absolutely terrible and everything else isn't really that good either, see: "Angel and Faith". Next time I'm reading "Buffy" before "Batwoman", not the other way round.

Things I've noticed:

Did Willow borrowed Buffy's clothes ( and shoes? ) in the morning?

Tumble plays Mass Effect. Good, Mass Effect is awesome. Buffy/f!Shepard crossover, bring it on! By the way, I want a new Buffy video game.

The dead girl - she had Satsu hair, kind of like Buffy and earrings exactly like Buffy. I guess that was what got her killed.

So yeah, not that bad, but I've seen it before. More story, more slaying, less relationship nonsense, tighter narration please. Get your head out of the 90s and give us Buffy worthy of year 2011.