If you don't like the potentials ..?
- Thread starter Professor Walsh
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frankie
Guest
The potentials just stole any momentum the show had. The earlier episodes had such an epic feel. Conversations with dead people is such an awesome episode, and the end where The First talks to Willow seems like the stepping stone to a great season and Buffy's toughest challenge yet. And then the Potentials appeared. The first was side-lined and instead we got a whole lot of dull, similar characters to deal with. Too much time was dedicated to them instead of the core scoobie gang and the season's main villain. So much more should have been resolved in the final season, like Willow. She just seemed to slip back into the group so easily, time should have been spent in the redemption of her character. Instead it just felt like " Hey we have all these girls here, let's just give her a girlfriend." A cop out, we didn't need another relationship, we needed some good character writing and that is true to all the characters. Buffy and Spike got a fine story arc for the season. Dawn, Willow, Giles, Xander and Anya got some nice moments but took a back seat to a lot of characters who's names I didn't even know, or care enough to find out.
My problem with the potentials wasn't that they were dislikeable as characters, but rather that they took the focus away from the regulars - once they showed up, most of the characters (Dawn, Anya, and Giles among others) got short shrift, and the potentials weren't very well developed themselves.
ToShanshuInLA
...
E
EveryNiteISaveU
I wish Rona got killed in the vineyard and not the english chick. Rona was sooooo annoying.
Willow-Tree
Your Childhood Trauma
The main reason I hated the Potentials was because it was the last season of Buffy, and the show barely focused on her friends at all! I mean REALLY!?! REALLY, EX-LIZZIE MCGUIRE STAR, REALLY!?
Blondie Bear
Zydrate Addict
I hated Rona, too.
That said, the storyline was, IMHO, seriously flawed. Buffy has this whole schpiel to the Shadow Men about how they raped that girl with demon energy, she's been bitching for years about being "the picked" instead of "picking this gig," and then her grand plan is to force this calling on MORE girls? Granted, she let them choose . . . but that was only the ones with her. What about the others we saw during the "be strong" speech? What about the ones who were yet to be born or not old enough to be Potentials? What if there was even one in that room with Buffy who didn't want to be a Slayer? Isn't she putting them through the same thing she's been complaining about for years? Does it make it any better that it's a woman who decided this fate for all these girls instead of "a bunch of guys thousands of years ago"?
That said, the storyline was, IMHO, seriously flawed. Buffy has this whole schpiel to the Shadow Men about how they raped that girl with demon energy, she's been bitching for years about being "the picked" instead of "picking this gig," and then her grand plan is to force this calling on MORE girls? Granted, she let them choose . . . but that was only the ones with her. What about the others we saw during the "be strong" speech? What about the ones who were yet to be born or not old enough to be Potentials? What if there was even one in that room with Buffy who didn't want to be a Slayer? Isn't she putting them through the same thing she's been complaining about for years? Does it make it any better that it's a woman who decided this fate for all these girls instead of "a bunch of guys thousands of years ago"?
^ Buffy's point was that the ones Chosen could choose whether they wanted to follow their Calling or not - whereas with one Slayer it was always pretty clear that the Council would get themselves an active Slayer, by any means they deemed necessary. This way, several girls would have the power but weren't forced into slaying. I think that if one of the potentials in the room had spoken up that they don't want the power, she'd have been advised to leave.
Whether that was the right decision is up to debate and interpretation, since to me, it always seemed Slayers also attracted all kinds of demons just because, so wouldn't have any other choice but to fight or die.
As for the Potentials themselves - I really liked the concept, the potentials themselves were hit or miss. I'm on the fence whether I liked the way the storyline was executed since it did take the other Scoobies out of focus but also showed the threat The First was posing.
Whether that was the right decision is up to debate and interpretation, since to me, it always seemed Slayers also attracted all kinds of demons just because, so wouldn't have any other choice but to fight or die.
As for the Potentials themselves - I really liked the concept, the potentials themselves were hit or miss. I'm on the fence whether I liked the way the storyline was executed since it did take the other Scoobies out of focus but also showed the threat The First was posing.
Washburne
Protector of the key.
The first evil wanted to kill all slayers (both of them 😛) and all potentials so that the slayer line would be dead forever. So is it then a bad thing to give them the power to at least better defend themselves?
I think Blondie brought up an interesting point though. It's not like most of them had any choice in getting the power and that's kind of hypocritical. But they're not forced to fight. So a debate on if she did the right thing or not can be interesting.
I think Blondie brought up an interesting point though. It's not like most of them had any choice in getting the power and that's kind of hypocritical. But they're not forced to fight. So a debate on if she did the right thing or not can be interesting.
Blondie Bear
Zydrate Addict
In S8, though, they're running around actively recruiting Slayers and telling them that this is something they need to be a part of. Sure, they're not using violence to force them, but there doesn't seem to be a question of choice there, either. I'm thinking specifically of the first Harmony-themed comic with the girl who used to be in the girl gang.
Washburne
A discussion wouldn't be wrong. Start a thread?
MergedLoki
Potential
I personally just didn't like the idea at all. and i STILL don't. (one of the main reasons i never watched all of S7, cept for eps here and there and the series finale). and that i haven't read S8 comics.
just feels (IMO) that it took away what made buffy so unique.
so now instead of the one slayer (or 2 i guess cuz we had faith) there's like... 50? So.. based on the fact that buffy alone saved the world a few dozen times I can safely assume that with 50+ slayers nothing supernatural will ever pose a threat again ever.
and yes im being sarcastic 😛.
but still yea, stole the spotlight from buffy is why i didn't like em lol
just feels (IMO) that it took away what made buffy so unique.
so now instead of the one slayer (or 2 i guess cuz we had faith) there's like... 50? So.. based on the fact that buffy alone saved the world a few dozen times I can safely assume that with 50+ slayers nothing supernatural will ever pose a threat again ever.
and yes im being sarcastic 😛.
but still yea, stole the spotlight from buffy is why i didn't like em lol
Wild At Heart
the moon lights his way
I loved the idea of it but I think it could've been done better. I just didn't like the characters or the actresses portraying them. I thought they definitely couldn't found better actresses. The only one I even remotely liked was Amanda because I just thought she was really funny.
EveryNiteISaveU
peachy keen
Everytime I get to the end of Season 7 episodes, I cringe. I hate how ungrateful and annoyyyyyying all the potentials are. I don't like any of them. Especially Rona. And Kennedy. UGH. It makes me so angry!!!!!!
VisionGuy
Oh Plerr
I don't like the idea of the potentials. I don't like the actresses portraying them. I don't like the storyline. I don't like Kennedy and the other ones who's names escape me at the moment. The potentials suck.
E
EveryNiteISaveU
[No message]
LadyLavinia
Scooby
The only Potential that really annoyed me was Vi. I found her perky personality very irritating. But even more irritating was how the fans tend to idealize her. They seemed to want all of the Potentials to be these sweet girls with no flaws, who would blindly followed Buffy, instead of questioning her authority.
I didn't want them to blindly follow Buffy by any means. I just wanted them to actually do something rather than just sit on their asses whining all day. Hence my lack of dislike for Kennedy. She may have been a spoiled little brat, but at least she actually wanted to fight.
Also there was the simple fact that we don't know or care about these people or their flaws. This was the last season of the show, and screentime was wasted on characters that we had not been watching for over 6 years and had not gotten attached to, while the ones we had were sidelined.
Also there was the simple fact that we don't know or care about these people or their flaws. This was the last season of the show, and screentime was wasted on characters that we had not been watching for over 6 years and had not gotten attached to, while the ones we had were sidelined.
Washburne
Protector of the key.
Even though I'm not against the idea of potentials I see your point and I also would have liked seeing more of the main characters. But I do care for some of the potentials.
One thing that crossed my mind though is when Sarah told Joss about her leaving the show. Was it before the season started, at the very beginning of the season or relative late so it was too late to change the story with the potentials?