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

[Kean]

But Buffy didn't act over the top when she was sober. She acted exactly like every person with a severe hangover - desperately trying to remember what the heck she'd done the night before.

I found the insistent, perky quippiness and utter lack of acknowledgement to what happened last season, over the top and not true to her life at this point in time. Nor did I find it true to how we have seen Buffy react to extreme emotional turmoil and disaster in the past i.e. S2/3 and S6.

Maybe it will come in later issues, but right now I have to ponder the same question the Buffyfest review posed: is Buffy ever going to grow up?

 

[sosa lola]

I found the insistent, perky quippiness and utter lack of acknowledgement to what happened last season, over the top and not true to her life at this point in time. Nor did I find it true to how we have seen Buffy react to extreme emotional turmoil and disaster in the past i.e. S2/3 and S6.

That was mostly during the party, which is so very Buffy. She was being overly cheerful so that no one would notice that she isn't. Riley was the only one who saw through her cheerful act and called her on it. See the panel where everybody is kissing except Buffy? It shows exactly what this season is about, everybody has moved on, except for Buffy who is clinging to the past. Time to let go and work for the future.

You can see in the scenes after the party that she wasn't at all perky or quipy. Her scenes with Willow and Spike in the end and how she's struggling through her hangover, her shame when she remembered that she hit on Riley.... that's how Buffy really feels. During the part she was quick to drink too much and pretend to be happy.

 

[EVIL UU]

And that's what's challenging Buffy. Herself. Look at what Xander says in the issue, "You making plans? That are not battle plans? That's impressive." Buffy lived her whole life thinking she has nothing but slaying. No future like her friends. She never bothered to think about her major and what she'll excel at except when she were in college and now that she's twenty five with no college degree and the doors being wide open for her to be anything she wanted, she's too scared that's too late to think of what she can be. I also think she's dreading losing the vampires and demons –things she's used to and is very good at. Throughout the years, she did so well at being a slayer but not so well at real life matters. She's probably afraid of failing, which is something all of us fear.

No, it's not. She's getting drunk, hitting on just about EVERYBODY and avoiding the real issues. She's not some girl in her mid twenties, by most definitions she's not even a human being. She should be slaughtering vampires and demons, now that they are weaker and can't sire, preferably with a squad of trusted Slayers ( oh surely there are some girls out there who'd rather watch vampires burn than watch vampires on TV and don't mind working with the best Slayer ever ) and cleanse the world of demonic vermin, once and for all. That's a goal worthy of who she is, not becoming a DJ or a hat maker. She's trying to ignore her calling and after 10 years of being the Slayer it's idiotic of her to even think that it's even possible. She what? Gave up? Really?

I have a feeling that the writers tried to create something that's metaphorical instead of something that actually makes sense.

Maybe it will come in later issues, but right now I have to ponder the same question the Buffyfest review posed: is Buffy ever going to grow up?

The problem is, she already did and now she's apparently regressing. In season 7 she had a regular job, in season 8 she used to run a worldwide organisation.

 

[Icarium]

She should be slaughtering vampires and demons, now that they are weaker and can't sire, preferably with a squad of trusted Slayers ( oh surely there are some girls out there who'd rather watch vampires burn than watch vampires on TV and don't mind working with the best Slayer ever ) and cleanse the world of demonic vermin, once and for all. That's a goal worthy of who she is, not becoming a DJ or a hat maker. She's trying to ignore her calling and after 10 years of being the Slayer it's idiotic of her to even think that it's even possible. She what? Gave up? Really?

Buffy has more than earned the right to retire from the Slaying "business". Not that I think she would do it this season obviously but if she did I don't think anyone should blame her for it. There are hundreds of Slayers out there and even the authorities know about demons and vampires. There is no pressing need for Buffy to be on the front line.

I'm excited for S9 because it's gonna focus on the characters more and keep the issues more relatable and hopefully use the monsters as matephors like they did in the high school seasons.

After the completely ridiculous "student loans" demon in the end I don't think your expectations are realistic. To write interesting metaphors you need subtlety and the Buffy comics tend to have as much subtlety as a hammer to the head. Sweeping the "apocalypse" of S8 under the rug doesn't instil in me any confidence in the writers' ability to write anything realistic, nor does them completely messing the timeline completely (is it 2004 or 2011? Who cares!). The time skip in order to not deal with the consequences of S8 felt like blatant cheating. And there are way too many characters and too few issues to include much real world stuff, I think.

The meta thing got out of control, shipper baiting, self-conscious-y, subtext-y madness, it's like they're trying to be like...



Oh God.



Fan Fiction.

This comic crap sullies the good name of fanfiction. At least the decent fanfiction writers give a damn about continuity and consistent characterization. And they tell you at the very start which pairings you are going to see instead of trying to pander to all possible shippers.

 

[sosa lola]

Kean agrees: I'm just not seeing what you see. Buffy's demeanour but during and after the party felt wrong to me. Actually, every seemed off to me. Perhaps future issues will change my opinion.

It's all right. 🙂

No, it's not. She's getting drunk, hitting on just about EVERYBODY and avoiding the real issues. She's not some girl in her mid twenties, by most definitions she's not even a human being.

Ouch! Honestly, I'm not so sure where the problem is. Can't Buffy have an apartment warming party? Can't that party have a lot of beer, dancing and silliness? Last time I checked, Buffy is twenty five, not forty. I do think that she was drinking her sorrows away and trying to be cheerful "“too cheerful "“ to show everybody and herself especially that she's all right. What she's been through wasn't at all easy.

Don't remember? Here's a recap: haunted down, tormented, and manipulated by her ex-boyfriend, forced to have extra powers she did not ask for, ex-boyfriend killed her father figure, known worldwide as a terrorist, had to run from place to a place to escape the wrath of humans and her demonic enemies, hundreds of slayers waiting for her to make the hard decisions, finally having the courage to confess her feelings for her long time best friend and getting rejected, right now resented by her squad and having to deal with their sudden attacks and spiteful remarks on a daily bases, warned on a nightly bases that something dangerous is coming to get her"¦..

Let the poor girl have a drink!

 

[EVIL UU]

Buffy has more than earned the right to retire from the Slaying "business". Not that I think she would do it this season obviously but if she did I don't think anyone should blame her for it. There are hundreds of Slayers out there and even the authorities know about demons and vampires. There is no pressing need for Buffy to be on the front line.

But that would be fair and Slayer's life is nothing but fair. She's the chosen one, fight till death and hope that you won't be resurrected.

This comic crap sullies the good name of fanfiction. At least the decent fanfiction writers give a damn about continuity and consistent characterization. And they tell you at the very start which pairings you are going to see instead of trying to pander to all possible shippers.

Yeah, I know, some of the post season 7 fan works devastate the canon. Anyway, I meant something else, 9.01 has just too many things that traditionally belonged in fan fiction.

Ouch! Honestly, I'm not so sure where the problem is. Can't Buffy have an apartment warming party? Can't that party have a lot of beer, dancing and silliness? Last time I checked, Buffy is twenty five, not forty. I do think that she was drinking her sorrows away and trying to be cheerful –too cheerful – to show everybody and herself especially that she's all right. What she's been through wasn't at all easy.

She can do whatever she wants to, the question is, is it interesting? Is it entertaining? Are the writers doing a good job at continuing the franchise? I just want Buffy to stay in Fantasy/Action and not turn into Fantasy/Soap Opera. Take away the slaughter and the grime and it's not Buffy any more.

 

[Icarium]

But that would be fair and Slayer's life is nothing but fair. She's the chosen one, fight till death and hope that you won't be resurrected.

So what you are saying is that you prefer Buffy to be suicidal instead of cheerful?!? And she is still patrolling, so I don't see the problem. She isn't the Chosen One any more since everybody knows about vampires and demons and there are so many other Slayers. If she doesn't want to risk her life every day, that would be more than understandable but I don't think this is what's happening. We, the readers, know that the main story will be about Buffy and that whether she wants or not she will have to save the world again but she doesn't know she is that main character in a story, so from her viewpoint thinking about taking it easy would be perfectly understandable. If I were her, I would have retired right after Chosen.

 

[EVIL UU]

She isn't the Chosen One any more since everybody knows about vampires and demons and there are so many other Slayers.

Of course she is. 2003 Slayers are just hot chicks with superpowers, it's been established in season 8 that there's a difference between Buffy and the potentials activated by Willow. There's only one, and those are Faith's words.

but she doesn't know she is that main character in a story

I don't know man, she's pretty genre savvy, between "Normal Again" and subtext line in 9.01, she's a smart person, I'm telling you, deep down she knows what's going on.

If I were her, I would have retired right after Chosen.

She can't retire, slaying is not a job.

So what you are saying is that you prefer Buffy to be suicidal instead of cheerful?!?

I don't know, now that you're asking...suicidal I guess, because hello, EVIL.

 

[Icarium]

Of course she is. 2003 Slayers are just hot chicks with superpowers, it's been established in season 8 that there's a difference between Buffy and the potentials activated by Willow.

It has? Who is the one who tuned her back on everything she was supposed to represent by sleeping with Angel? Why, I think it was Buffy! Who is the one who stil lrefuses to kil lAngel after he caused so many deaths and helped him hide from other Slayers and the government? Why, I think it's Buffy (and Faith). Yes, she is Chosen all right, chosen by the writers for being bailed out again and again... That "huge" apocalypse of S8 turned out the least destructive thing ever if we judge by everybody's complete non-reaction a few months later. Everyone is talking about the Seed and nothing else.

I don't know man, she's pretty genre savvy, between "Normal Again" and subtext line in 9.01, she's a smart person, I'm telling you, deep down she knows what's going on.

Normal Again where she rejected the tempting idea that her life was fiction? If Buffy knows what's going on than her behaviour makes even less sense. She should just relax and wait for the inevitable kicking of the Big Bad's ass.

She can't retire, slaying is not a job.

You can call it quit, retire, stop, whatever, she can decide to not fight monsters any more any time she wants, that's a fact.

 

[EVIL UU]

You can call it quit, retire, stop, whatever, she can decide to not fight monsters any more any time she wants, that's a fact.

No man, it's your opinion and you're wrong. She can decide not to fight baddies but the baddies will never decide not to fight her, sure, she can stop and get herself killed like Nikki Wood and countless other Slayers before her but apparently, she still wants to live. Not an option, she tried, last time in Tibet.

Normal Again where she rejected the tempting idea that her life was fiction? If Buffy knows what's going on than her behaviour makes even less sense. She should just relax and wait for the inevitable kicking of the Big Bad's ass.

Oh God, can't you take a joke? Geez, I'm out of here.

 

[Icarium]

No man, it's your opinion and you're wrong. She can decide not to fight baddies but the baddies will never decide not to fight her

Except that the number of bad guys who will specifically look for Buffy just for the lulz is many orders of magnitude smaller than those she fights right now. So yeah, maybe she will not be 100% safe but fighting some demon every few months is completely different than doing it every night. In the summers between S1-2 or S2-3 no bad guy followed Buffy to LA and tried to attack her and that was when she was one of only two Slayers in the world.

 

[Anya2012]

Does anybody know if its out in Australia yet??

 

[Abby27]

FINALLY got my comic in the mail today.

Not thrilled.

Super disappointed that Giles wasn't even brought up. I don't know. It seems..wrong. I get it, it's been a few months, they are all adults and are moving on, but the writers should have realized that the fans would want the Scoobies to deal with that. I mean, I get a lot of A&F will deal with the aftermath of Giles' death, but it almost makes me less angry with Angel for getting to see Angel grieve Giles in a way we haven't seen in with the Scoobies.

I don't know...I guess having this issue focus on Buffy having a party and trying to figure how who she slept with...I was just expecting more. I mean, Buffy is obviously not moving on with her life and I think the party is a way for her to cover up her grief that Giles died and her whole world has done a 180.

Also, I HATED the end. But to give them the benefit of the doubt, they did have a "Loan Shark" in Tabula Rasa...is this much worse?

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

This is quite the interesting debate.

 

[The Scourge]

"Buffy" as a series has never quite matured the way "Angel" has. They seem to want to keep using events in Buffy's life as metaphors for growing up, on the eternal cusp adulthood, etc. They seem more concerned with these metaphors than they do about telling good stories.

I say drop the metaphors. Its not clever anymore and its distracting. Focus first and foremost on telling good stories.

It's time for "Buffy" to grow up.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I think right now, Buffy is experiencing the fallout of many years of being forced to be the one in charge--the one who has to have all of the answers all of the time, and has to win all of the time. To save everyone. To save herself. To pretend she's ok after being torn from heaven only to continue this cycle. This is the woman who had to not only kill her lover but send him to hell--at age 17. For all intents and purposes, she became a full time mother at age 20. As a girl, she was more grown up than most will ever be. The world depended on her for its survival. And she always got the job done.
And now? There's a bit of a lull in the action. She is suffering greatly from the loss of Giles and the only way she can deal with it is to live in denial. To become a teenage girl again, (the kind she never ever was, before). Buffy never had time or opportunity to get "funky drunky" or whatever, (except for in Life Serial), and this is her moment. Buffy's life has been such an epic mess for so many years with very little calm and very few moments of peace. I think the way she's behaving right now is entirely appropriate.

ETA: I don't think this excuses the fact that Giles's death was not brought up at all in this issue. It needed to come from someone, somewhere. But to me this is a separate issue.

 

[The Scourge]

I think right now, Buffy is experiencing the fallout of many years of being forced to be the one in charge--the one who has to have all of the answers all of the time, and has to win all of the time. To save everyone. To save herself. To pretend she's ok after being torn from heaven only to continue this cycle. This is the woman who had to not only kill her lover but send him to hell--at age 17. For all intents and purposes, she became a full time mother at age 20. As a girl, she was more grown up than most will ever be. The world depended on her for its survival. And she always got the job done.
And now? There's a bit of a lull in the action. She is suffering greatly from the loss of Giles and the only way she can deal with it is to live in denial. To become a teenage girl again, (the kind she never ever was, before). Buffy never had time or opportunity to get "funky drunky" or whatever, (except for in Life Serial), and this is her moment. Buffy's life has been such an epic mess for so many years with very little calm and very few moments of peace. I think the way she's behaving right now is entirely appropriate.

ETA: I don't think this excuses the fact that Giles's death was not brought up at all in this issue. It needed to come from someone, somewhere. But to me this is a separate issue.

That's a good theory and all, but it shouldn't be up to the fans to explain her (or anyone's) actions. The writers should do it themselves, instead of having characters do random things and just expect the fans to make up plausible reasons as to why they do them.

 

[VisionGirl]

"Buffy" as a series has never quite matured the way "Angel" has. They seem to want to keep using events in Buffy's life as metaphors for growing up, on the eternal cusp adulthood, etc. They seem more concerned with these metaphors than they do about telling good stories.

I say drop the metaphors. Its not clever anymore and its distracting. Focus first and foremost on telling good stories.

It's time for "Buffy" to grow up.

I believe I said this earlier in this thread but you sure stated it better! The metaphor worked well in the 1st 4 seasons. And season 5 didn't try to force the metaphor so much, thus its greatness. There's nothing wrong with metaphor, & it was certainly done in ATS (parenthood being the biggest one) but the story was not sacrificed FOR the metaphor.

I'm not really interested in drunk Buffy solely for the sake of Drunk Buffy. I didn't like Beer Bad. Life Serial is a different deal IMO.

But I am telling myself not to judge the entire season on this first issue. I'm willing to give it a shot & see where it goes. I'm also thinking at this moment that it's not always fair to compare Angel & Buffy as characters. While they may have lots of similarities, the one main difference is that Angel is a vampire & always will be, unless he gets the Shanshu. Buffy is human and even though a normal life seems way far out of reach, it is a slight possibility.

 

[Abby27]

And now? There's a bit of a lull in the action. She is suffering greatly from the loss of Giles and the only way she can deal with it is to live in denial. To become a teenage girl again, (the kind she never ever was, before).

Right. The only way I am ok with what happened in this issue is if over the course of the season, it becomes apparent that Buffy isn't dealing with her issues while everyone else around her is growing up and moving on. The panel where all the couples are macking, and Buffy is talking about hacky sack, a game for college kids. She was also forced to be in charge and to mature quickly, and now she is trying to recreate what should have been her late teens/early 20's. I'm hoping for a climatic scene where one of the scoobies forces Buffy to deal with her problems and grow up. Maybe something similar to Spike stopping Buffy from combusting in OMWF.

Also, how old are they supposed to be now? In real time, they'd be 31 but I doubt that. Is it supposed to be only a couple years after the fall of Sunnydale?

 

[sosa lola]

She was also forced to be in charge and to mature quickly, and now she is trying to recreate what should have been her late teens/early 20's. I'm hoping for a climatic scene where one of the scoobies forces Buffy to deal with her problems and grow up. Maybe something similar to Spike stopping Buffy from combusting in OMWF.

I think the problem here is that Buffy was forced to give up a lot of the teen and early twenties wackiness and fun and irresponsibility and future dreams. She had a huge responsibility since she was 15, told she'd die young, lost her mother at 20 and was forced to provide for her sister as well as drop out from college, brought back from the dead and forced to provide for her sister as well as save the world on a nightly bases and deal with depression and the loss of heaven, had more than sixteen teenage potential slayers shoved down her throat to train and provide for as well as the fate of the world on her shoulders, had to hide in a Scottish castle with more than a 100 young slayers from the government, far away from the world, tormented and manipulated for a whole year by Angel, new powers she didn't ask shoved into her, been told she was sucking those powers from her slayers, watch Giles killed right in front of her eyes by Angel, Giles leaving all his belongings to Faith, and now working as a waitress after being on top.

All that happened before she hit twenty five. I say cut Buffy some slack, all she did was drink too much in a party. So what? I can see why some would think that it's too late for Buffy to party and worry about the future since she's in her mid twenties and should have gone through that stage in her college years, but Buffy did not finish college, she had to drop out, she had to grow up and mature at a very young age.

As for mourning Giles, we saw that in #40. Buffy wearing black, her tears, her nightmares, obviously she cares about Giles a great deal.

Also, how old are they supposed to be now? In real time, they'd be 31 but I doubt that. Is it supposed to be only a couple years after the fall of Sunnydale?

They're 25. Still young. S8 starts a year and a half after Chosen, which makes the characters 24. S9 starts a few months after S8, so that makes them 25 and Dawn 19/20.