My Season 7 Binge

IndianaSolo221

IndianaSolo221

Potential
Joined
Nov 29, 2020
Messages
215
I was all by myself today and decided to use the time to continue my binge of Buffy S7. I started with the episode "Help" and just ended with "Get It Done," and I just wanna say...the emotional/tonal whiplash has been crazy! I really enjoy this season, specifically certain moments:

Buffy's speech to Xander in "Selfless" gave me some serious goosebumps and chills.
"Him," is a really comical episode for such a dark season.
"Sleeper" really shows how The First has been driving Spike insane.
I found Spike's initial response to Buffy's date in, "First Date," to be very sweet.
I love the return of Spike's leather duster in, "Get It Done"...Spike obviously took Buffy's speech to heart and brings out, "dangerous Spike" to fight the demon.

So yeah, this is a summary of my thoughts so far. This is the first time I've attempted a full rewatch of S7, and I noticed some things I hadn't paid much attention to before. If anyone has anything to add about these episodes, feel free to do so here.
 
B
Btvs fan
Will you be carrying over with Angel S5 after S7. What with Spike on there an all ?
I think it's interesting that for all of Buffy devaluing soulless Spike as a "thing", that this is the Spike she wants. I'm anticipating someone mentioning that she merely wants the dangerous Spike so she can accomplish a task, but I think it goes a little deeper than that. Spike needed to have some of his edge back, and that coat scene is one of the coolest of season 7.
 
Dude, I watched some Buffy & Angel on Amazon Prime because... it's Buffy obviously, but I noticed right away that it looks very high def, crisp..so it's almost like watching it new again! But also, I wanted to say that I randomly watched Sleeper of all episodes and was amazed at how much I liked it! It never stood out to me, like a handful of s7 episodes, it never stood out to me before as a very distinct episode but upon this rewatch, the intrigue and mystery over Spikes trigger/killing was very effective, James' acting was superb & I love Anya's line "soulless Spike would have me upside down and halfway to happy town" 😆
 
Priceless
Priceless
Sleeper is my favourite S7 episode!
fauxindigo said:
Dude, I watched some Buffy & Angel on Amazon Prime because... it's Buffy obviously, but I noticed right away that it looks very high def, crisp..so it's almost like watching it new again! But also, I wanted to say that I randomly watched Sleeper of all episodes and was amazed at how much I liked it! It never stood out to me, like a handful of s7 episodes, it never stood out to me before as a very distinct episode but upon this rewatch, the intrigue and mystery over Spikes trigger/killing was very effective, James' acting was superb & I love Anya's line "soulless Spike would have me upside down and halfway to happy town" 😆
Click to expand...

Sleeper was a really good setup for the trigger, and yes, James' acting was awesome in this episode! There's a scene in which Spike comes to and pulls away from Buffy to keep from biting her, and his expression in that moment was something we hadn't really seen from Spike before, and it was perfect. He looked truly surprised in that moment, and it made it very convincing that Spike hadn't known what he was doing.
 
Moggin said:
I think it's interesting that for all of Buffy devaluing soulless Spike as a "thing", that this is the Spike she wants. I'm anticipating someone mentioning that she merely wants the dangerous Spike so she can accomplish a task, but I think it goes a little deeper than that. Spike needed to have some of his edge back, and that coat scene is one of the coolest of season 7.
Click to expand...
LOL! Get it Done? No...it goes a lot deeper than that! 😄 I always think "Oh for God's sake - get a room". Note the camera work in the exchange in front of the potentials. I think they alternate between lenses. The door and the picture of the door behind Spike appear then disappear. Significant because she tells him he can leave. When he's fighting the demon, Buffy is fighting the shadow men and I think there are match-cuts between the two fights...then he has what has to be a post-coital cigarette. The cave and the shadow puppets are, I think, a reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

I think S7 is great. I started a review of Lessons for another forum but gave up because I'd written 15,000 words on the prologue! 🤣
 
IndianaSolo221 said:
Sleeper was a really good setup for the trigger, and yes, James' acting was awesome in this episode! There's a scene in which Spike comes to and pulls away from Buffy to keep from biting her, and his expression in that moment was something we hadn't really seen from Spike before, and it was perfect. He looked truly surprised in that moment, and it made it very convincing that Spike hadn't known what he was doing.
Click to expand...

I also loved the fallout from Conversations with Dead People (one of my all time faves) in the beginning of Sleeper, Buffy confronting Spike was powerful (especially when Spike asks Buffy to kill him), the First giving us Spike doppelgänger is cool (you can't have too much Spike and it's interesting to see evil Spike alongside his newly ensouled self)... and of course the scene in the Bronze w/Aimee Mann singing Pavolvs Bell is ace. There's good action, suspense and psychological horror in this episode.
 
fauxindigo said:
I also loved the fallout from Conversations with Dead People (one of my all time faves) in the beginning of Sleeper, Buffy confronting Spike was powerful (especially when Spike asks Buffy to kill him), the First giving us Spike doppelgänger is cool (you can't have too much Spike and it's interesting to see evil Spike alongside his newly ensouled self)... and of course the scene in the Bronze w/Aimee Mann singing Pavolvs Bell is ace. There's good action, suspense and psychological horror in this episode.
Click to expand...


I love how when he asks her to stake him, he basically just pulls his duster to the side and whimpers something along the lines of, "Make it quick." It's such an openly emotional scene in which we see how badly Spike is hurting and that he doesn't want to hurt anyone else.

One thing I love about this show is that many of scenes that are shot in The Bronze are so tonally perfect and match the feeling of the particular episode. The music in this series is fantastic because songs are not overused, but when they are used, it is to great emotional affect.
 
TriBel said:
LOL! Get it Done? No...it goes a lot deeper than that! 😄 I always think "Oh for God's sake - get a room". Note the camera work in the exchange in front of the potentials. I think they alternate between lenses. The door and the picture of the door behind Spike appear then disappear. Significant because she tells him he can leave. When he's fighting the demon, Buffy is fighting the shadow men and I think there are match-cuts between the two fights...then he has what has to be a post-coital cigarette. The cave and the shadow puppets are, I think, a reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.

I think S7 is great. I started a review of Lessons for another forum but gave up because I'd written 15,000 words on the prologue! 🤣
Click to expand...
If it's the same place I'm thinking of you shouldn't have let that stop you as other people did several part reviews of Sleeper and Never Leave Me and they were awesome.
 
TriBel
TriBel
It was - and the reviews there are awesome (and long). RL also intervened but I did what I've done all my life - got lost in theory and minutia. I couldn't see my way through the wood for all the damned trees I planted. :(
Btvs fan said:
Are you doing the Faith/Willow episodes from Angel to go with Dirty Girls ?
Click to expand...

After I finish my rewatch of S7, I'll probably hop on the Angel train and watch various episodes there. I haven't watched Angel in a while, so I'm going to have to figure out which episodes I plan to rewatch and which I'll skip.

I've never been one to watch Buffy and Angel together in order. I've thought about trying it, but...I'm not sure it's for me. I think I would get confused.
 
Priceless
Priceless
Angel S5 is pretty good.
IndianaSolo221 said:
After I finish my rewatch of S7, I'll probably hop on the Angel train and watch various episodes there. I haven't watched Angel in a while, so I'm going to have to figure out which episodes I plan to rewatch and which I'll skip.

I've never been one to watch Buffy and Angel together in order. I've thought about trying it, but...I'm not sure it's for me. I think I would get confused.
Click to expand...

Was thinking more the crossovers. E.G Darla in Angel S2 goes with Buffy S5 FFL
In Angel S4 the Faith amd Willow episodes Salvage/Release and Orpheus all come before Dirty Girls and of course Home where Angel gets the Amulet comes before End of Days and Chosen.
While Spike joins Angel after Chosen
 
IndianaSolo221 said:
After I finish my rewatch of S7, I'll probably hop on the Angel train and watch various episodes there. I haven't watched Angel in a while, so I'm going to have to figure out which episodes I plan to rewatch and which I'll skip.

I've never been one to watch Buffy and Angel together in order. I've thought about trying it, but...I'm not sure it's for me. I think I would get confused.
Click to expand...
Passion of the Nerd's Ian Martin thinks the series are best watched separately rather than swapped between especially Angel's first series which is so tonally different to Buffy's 4th but there are watch orders which take account of crossovers and there is some danger of spoilers for one series. I think stretches are the way to go but that requires a mate or friendly advisor to know where the crossovers are.
 
katmobile said:
Passion of the Nerd's Ian Martin thinks the series are best watched separately rather than swapped between especially Angel's first series which is so tonally different to Buffy's 4th but there are watch orders which take account of crossovers and there is some danger of spoilers for one series. I think stretches are the way to go but that requires a mate or friendly advisor to know where the crossovers are.
Click to expand...

Ian is wrong then. In Buffy S4 they literally start stories that only end in Angel S1
Buffy/Angel phone call in the Freshman
Gem of Amarra Spike crossover Harah Light of Day and In the Dark
Buffy /Angel crossover with Phases /I Will Remember You
Faith and Buffy crossover with This yeara Girl and Who Are you and on Angel 5by5 and Sanctuary then the Yoko Factor on Buffy
 
I've tried to watch Buffy and Angel together and it was difficult to get over the tone changes, especially when you are binging. It might be easier if you are watching a few days apart, but one after the other didn't work for me. Plus you get involved in a storyline and you find you've watched six episodes before you know it, and missed the point where you should have gone to the other show.
 
The best time to watch both at the same time is Buffy S4 and Angel S1; my last rewatch I was literally shocked by how many of the themes crossed over in totally subtle ways, beyond the actual crossover episodes. They do it again with Buffy S5 and Angel S2, though with less actual crossovers, and then that's it, probably due to the changing networks.
 
So, I started at "Storyteller" and just finished with "End of Days." I'm gonna take a break for a little while and I think I'm gonna hop into Angel tonight. Probably start somewhere in S1 and see where I end up.
 
IndianaSolo221 said:
So, I started at "Storyteller" and just finished with "End of Days." I'm gonna take a break for a little while and I think I'm gonna hop into Angel tonight. Probably start somewhere in S1 and see where I end up.
Click to expand...

I would recommend skipping I Fall to Pieces and Expecting and She. All are bad episodes and you miss nothing by skipping them. Lonely Hearts isn't great either but it does introduce Kate
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom