Question Have you changed your mind?

[thrasherpix]

Ooh can you remember any specific interesting BB discussions on S5? I've just finished it on my rewatch and I'd like to read some good deconstructions of it. (I know I can just explore the S5 forum, but any thread recommendations would be appreciated).

Well the main thing was some contradictions and plot holes on how they could know nothing and then about everything, how Buffy's blood could've worked like Dawn's, and--most of all--that Buffy wasn't bravely meeting her inescapable fate (which was not a question of if, but WHEN, with her outliving the vast majority of Slayers already, just how often can you beat the odds?), but rather relieved that she could justify her own suicide, which invalidates her dying well to me. (I have issues and dealt with death, and was forced to come to terms with my own mortality when I was still a teen, so how people face death, and even better, make their death mean something good, is something that interests me. She met it on her own terms, and back when I loved it I saw her as not only bravely meeting her fate but even making it mean something. I'm sure my own death won't be anywhere as dignified or meaningful.)

I just looked for those and didn't find them (granted, I only spent about 5 minutes at most), but I can share this that I think is a brilliant way season 5 could've been rewritten:

Why didn't the monks just destroy the key?

 

[GwenRaiden]

Wasn't the show difficult to watch if you initially disliked Buffy and hated bot

I found Buffy irritating/annoying at times, not all the time, but now I don't judge her so harshly. As for Willow, I don't mind early seasons Willow at all. It's the arrogance of late seasons Willow that kind of tainted her character for me. I just don't buy into her arc I suppose.

 

[margybee]

I always liked Riley in season 4 -- he was sweet and clearly loved Buffy. He showed her real compassion. I've read so much negativity about Riley that for a while I decided he really was Captain Cardboard and boring, and not good enough for Buffy. But I've re-changed my mind back to what I thought before. I like his character and I like the relationships he has with the other Scoobies. That's something Angel never had.

The Initiative episodes in season 4 aren't quite as bad as I remember them being the first or sixth time I saw them. I actually really like "The 'I' In Team," and I'd probably put it in my top 20. There's a lot of humor and some real drama at the end. It's good. I still don't really like the episodes with tons of Forrest and Graham, but there are a few Initiative eps that I'm okay with.

I used to hate season 7. Now I appreciate the good parts of it -- and there are quite a few. Dawn's transition from little sister to researcher is fantastic and I think her character matures a lot. Also, season 7 is my favorite Xander season. He's so much more grown up and it's good to see. I love "Selfless," "Help," "Showtime," and "Touched," and even Andrew isn't as annoying as I found him at first. "I prefer to think of myself as a guest-age." I still don't like Wood and I still hate how Giles' character changes so much. He goes behind Buffy's back and doesn't support her like he did before, and there's a lot of trust lost between them. I miss the Giles who loved Buffy like a daughter and stood by her. I still hate the potentials and Kennedy. I still hate how they kick Buffy out, but it's so satisfying when there's complete chaos after she's gone, and they're led straight into a trap. She comes back with the scythe and she's in charge again. Great to see.