Plots That Came Out of Nowhere *SPOILERS*

[caritas08]

Joss is pretty good about creating proper build up and forshadowing and not pulling plots developments out of thin air unlike many other shows cough: Glee cough: but are there any developments that just didn't seem believable for the characters or just seemed to come out of nowhere to you?

Victor's fallout with Sierra over his increased use of the tech in the Dollhouse finale didn't feel that real to me. He worked so hard to get her and then he became separated from her and their child for years because of his need to use technology?

Boyd being evil. Boyd seemed way too uncertain and morally unsure of the Dollhouse throughout the whole show and then all of a sudden he's a criminal mastermind who was acting morally tormented? Again I just can't buy it during my rewatches. (Though I love Dollhouse).

Buffy having gone to an insane asylum back in her LA days (as stated in Normal Again). Why wasn't that mentioned before?

Any others?

 

[white avenger]

Basically the entire episode "As You Were," from Riley showing up at the Doublemeat Palace when it was clearly stated that he had NOT gone to her house or checked with her friends beforehand all the way to the end when he just happened to show up at Spike's crypt at precisely the most embarrassing moment for Buffy AND mere moments before the sinister Suvolte eggs hatched. In that one 44 minute episode, the unexplained coincidences popped up about one every 6 to 7 minutes.

 

[Taake]

Victor's fallout with Sierra over his increased use of the tech in the Dollhouse finale didn't feel that real to me. He worked so hard to get her and then he became separated from her and their child for years because of his need to use technology?

To me this made kind of sense, I think it fitted with Anthony's personality more than Victor the dolls.

Boyd being evil. Boyd seemed way too uncertain and morally unsure of the Dollhouse throughout the whole show and then all of a sudden he's a criminal mastermind who was acting morally tormented? Again I just can't buy it during my rewatches. (Though I love Dollhouse).

I'll never wrap my mind around this one and it does not make sense if you rewatch, if anything it just confuses me further. To me it reeks of last minute fix if anything, not a well planned plot. Also it upsets me because during re-watches the knowledge of what's to come kind of ruins the character for me. And I love Boyd's and Echo's relationship

Buffy having gone to an insane asylum back in her LA days (as stated in Normal Again). Why wasn't that mentioned before?

Agreed! Last minute idea much? Very out of the blue.


For me Spike getting his soul was out of nowhere and didn't fit.
I agree about "As you were", that ep seemed very 'out of nowhere' to me as well.

 

[This Year's Girl]

Buffy having gone to an insane asylum back in her LA days (as stated in Normal Again). Why wasn't that mentioned before?

Any others?

Huh. I always figured it was something that happened in the film. No? I never could finish it, I thought it was so boring. 🙂

 

[FaithsFollower]

I'm sure people will throw stuff at me, but the fact that Spike realized he had a crush on Buffy in S5 was out of the blue for me.

Not to mention the fact that Riley and Co. turning out to be commandos was out of the blue as well. At least, for me it was.

I tend to miss things when it comes to this show.

 

[sosa lola]

Xander summoning Sweet is one of my biggest WTF moments, mostly because it never accured to Xander to confess when he knew that people were dying because of what he did.

 

[Kean]

My biggest WTF moments are, Spuffy, Buffy telling Wood she'd let Spike kill him, Cordy and Connor *shudder*, and the biggest one, Twilight of S8. None of these make any sense to me.

 

[sosa lola]

Completely agree about Twilight in S8, that was a big mess! Also, agree about Buffy telling Wood she'd let Spike kill him. Actually a lot of Buffy's actions and words in S7 are big WTF moments.

 

[Hale Caesar]

That Slayer Axe in season 7...wtf was that?

Spuffy, I love Spike and Buffy as individuals but not in a relationship. I felt the writers created this relationship just to please fans (which is something I notice they did a lot)

Twilight in Season 8...I don't even know where to start with this one

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

Willlow's realization of sexuality. One bisexual vamp does not a lesbian make.

For me anyways. I totally thought they were going to go with Xander and still feel they had way more going for him in that area than Willow.

edit: also the blue glove people from Firefly that we never saw again...

 

[caritas08]

Willlow's realization of sexuality. One bisexual vamp does not a lesbian make.

For me anyways. I totally thought they were going to go with Xander and still feel they had way more going for him in that area than Willow.

edit: also the blue glove people from Firefly that we never saw again...

Ageed. While I find Willow's attraction to Tara and her being bisexual totally believable, I find it odd that during high school and middle school she only shows interest in boys (Xander, Oz, possibly Percy, unnamed guys who she "flogs and punishes" herself for noticing in Wild At Heart) and then post sophmore year of college she only has interest in women to the point that she's going to turn that guy in "Him" into a girl.

I'm not saying that gay people can't fall in love with someone of the opposite gender, but she only showed sexual interest in boys before and as far as we know she didn't seem to be afraid of unwanted social stigma or judgement from her parents about it so I don't think she was purposely focusing her attention on boys to distract her from girls.

Part of me always thought that would be a good route to go with Xander, but I'm glad they didn't because as much as I would love a Joss show to have a main character who is a gay male, I think it is important to show a straight male supporting and not being threatened by a strong woman like Buffy.

 

[patriot1123]

Jasmine in season 4 of Angel. Absolutely hated, hated, hated, that entire arc. (BTW, we're still in the early stages of season 5 so, while I generally take my chances with spoilers, please no spoilers in direct response to this particular note. Thanks.)

 

[zobothehobo]

The Darla pregnancy arc. Totally crazy surprising to me.

 

[Icarium]

The existence of the Watchers Council. I didn't notice it until someone mentioned it on some forum but it's totally implausible that no one would mention until Faith, Hope and Trick.

- Magic!crack. Need I say more?

- Giles and Olivia. She seems like a nice enough woman (and rather hot too) but I so call bullshit on the idea that Giles who when dating Jenny was (adorably) clueless and dorky about everything would have somehow managed off-screen to entice Olivia to come visit him for sex now and again.

- The Guardian woman. Talk about writers desperation...

- The Scoobies not staking Spike. The demon "community" letting him go with a warning.

- Anya and Xander hooking up. Most crack fanfic pairngs make more sense. Ditto for Spuffy.

- People deciding that vampires are cool because of Harmony's reality show. Xander and Dracula. Willow and exposition snake.

 

[Hale Caesar]

Jasmine in season 4 of Angel. Absolutely hated, hated, hated, that entire arc. (BTW, we're still in the early stages of season 5 so, while I generally take my chances with spoilers, please no spoilers in direct response to this particular note. Thanks.)

That was messed up, I agree. But there was also a lot of behind the scenes drama going on. Basically, Joss had a plan to make Cordelia evil and the season would end in an epic fight. However Charisma Carpenter was pregnant and that forced Joss to write the Jasmine Arc last minute, and because Joss was being a jerk he wrote Charisma out of season 5...which SUCKED.

 

[FaithsFollower]

The Darla pregnancy arc. Totally crazy surprising to me.

Ahh, at which point we then boarded the Crazy Train and sped full-speed throughout S4. 😉 Total surprise, total disappointment for me.


Another (sub)plot that came out of nowhere for me is the existence of the Initiative. I'm sorry, but if they were that big of a deal in S4, then Buffy would've run into them somewhere during S1-3. At least, in my opinion.

Also: Spike on Angel. I did not see that coming. At all. I probably should've known, but I didn't. 🙁

 

[The Scourge]

The Jasmine arc in AtS season 4.

The Circle of the Black Thorn in AtS season 5.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

are there any developments that just didn't seem believable for the characters or just seemed to come out of nowhere to you?

So, my issue with actions/revelations that, "didn't seem believable for characters," is that they are "unearned," meaning that my primary problem with them isn't that they come from nowhere or are slightly uncharacteristic--(people change and act differently sometimes)--but when that happens, there is no organic buildup, no reason why, just a gratuitous plot device, or a way to manipulate the audience.

I think a really big one is Xander summoning Sweet. Never a good explanation, and totally OOC. Or Buffy's friends/family kicking her out of her own home and following orders from Faith.

Then there's the second part of the question regarding things that come out of nowhere. As I mentioned with OOC actions, the same goes for entire plots/storylines that come from nowhere. A lot of the time they are totally unearned. Darla's pregnancy is a great example.

But I'd say that a plot line coming out of nowhere, in and of itself, is not a bad thing; in fact, if done well it can be fantastic and I believe that great storytelling has to have a certain amount of this. (I mean if we could predict everything, why bother watching/reading the freaking thing?) There are plenty of times when something new is revealed and though, yes, it's "out of the blue," it makes perfect sense to me that a) it happened and b)the character wouldn't have discussed it until now. Buffy revealing that she was in an institution after seeing her first vampire is, for me, a perfect example of this.

Spike suddenly realizing that he's attracted to Buffy is another great example. The realization hits him like it does to so many people: suddenly, shockingly. It makes sense that he didn't let himself acknowledge it before. Falling in love with her builds organically over the seasons in my opinion and is neither shocking nor sudden.

Etc, etc...🙂