I just finished S4. I have to say it wasn't as good as the first three seasons. I just didn't find the overall plot very interesting. The initiative plotline was boring and Adam wasn't near as good as the previous 3 big bads. There were several episodes that saved it in my eyes, but I'll discuss them after I discuss the characters.
One theme I did want to give its own section was the division of the Scooby Gang. It started off low key with Giles and Xander feeling left out because Buffy no longer needed a Watcher and Xander was the only one not in going to college. When Riley came into the picture the group fractured even further which is one of many reasons I do not like him. He unintentionally isolated Buffy from her friends, which honestly was probably the most significant thing he did. This isolation was even highlighted in "Where the Wild Things Are" they do nothing, but have sex which parts her friends in danger. I can't blame them for that, because no one expects that to happen, but the fact that she didn't even notice what was going on really shows how out of touch she can be at times.
During Buffy's isolation Willow met Tara and their relationship developed. Willow does deserve some of the blame here, because she put a lot of her energy into her and Tara's relationship, but I can't blame her as much, because like Buffy said Willow was going through a huge change in her life.
All of these divisions were exploited by Spike who played off each of the group's fears. He played on Xander's feelings of uselessness, which is something Cordy did in "Zeppo." His manipulation of Giles was fairly similar to what he did with Xander. His work with Willow, was brilliant. He saw that she and Tara were a couple and framed his comments in such a way that it made it seem like Buffy and the others were attack both Willow's relationship and her studying Wicca. That being said, I don't think Spike created these problems, he merely brought them to the surface. In "New Moon Rising" I got the feeling that while Buffy tolerated Willow's relationship with Tara she did not accept it and there is a rather large difference between those two things. Xander showed signs of fears of being useless a lot in this season and the others didn't do enough to help him realize how much they cared. Now on to individual characters.
Willow- She's still my favorite. I really enjoyed her development throughout this season and she was one of the things that really helped it along. Seeing her break up with Oz, get past him and meet Tara was great. She is also growing into a very powerful witch. Watching her get over Oz was very well done and felt authentic.
Giles- Sadly he and Xander don't have much of a role this season, but he did have a few moments. Him being turned into a demon was great episode and I loved hearing him sing (was that his actual voice?)
Buffy- She kind of annoyed me this season, mainly because of her choice in men. I do not like Riley and she was with him way too much. However, I did enjoy watching her grow and move on beyond Angel.
I do feel like she wasn't the best of friends this season. Once again, her attitude towards Wilow and Tara seemed to be more one of uneasy tolerance than acceptance, and while that may be all that we can ask of society as a whole, I think we deserve better than mere tolerance from our closest friends.
Tara- I'm really liking her so far and am going to enjoy watching her and Willow's relationship grow. Count me firmly in the Tillow camp.
Riley- I hate you, that is all. Seriously, he is dull and boring. If he stays around much longer I'm going to turn into a Bangel fan.
Spke- He and Willow saved this season. He was so funny. There are so many great scenes of him I can't list them all. Character wise he is very slowly developing from a villain into an reluctant anti-hero.
Xander- He was in a similar boat as Giles. He didn't play much of a role and was underused in my opinion.
Faith-It was great seeing her again. One thing I don't get though, in the church fight why does she call Buffy sick and murderous? Is she losing herself to whatever part of Buffy's mind remained in her body?
Oz- I hated seeing him leave, I wish he could have stuck around just as a friend to Willow, but I understand why he had to go.
Adam- He was boring and dull. I really didn't like him. He had no charisma and wasn't frightening either. Sure none of the other villains have been scary really, but they had a lot of charisma.
As to individual episodes there were a few that stood out.
Hush- It was great from an artistic standpoint. I love the poem at the start of it. It also was the first sign of Tillow.
Wild at Heart- This was a great episode and was a great way to end Willow and Oz's relationship. You could tell Willow was really hurt when Oz left and he was too. I hated Veronica or whatever her name was.
Something Blue- This episode had me laughing the entire time. Seeing Buffy and Xander plan their marriage was so funny.
Yoko Factor- This was great. I really liked watching Spike manipulate the gang. Also seeing Xander and (drunk) Giles's reaction to finding out Willow was gay was kind of funny. "Bloody Hell."
New Moon Rising- I'm sorry Hush fans, but I enjoyed this one more. It isn't as artistic, but it was had great character moments. Willow telling Buffy her feelings for Tara, Oz trying to win Willow back. Willow talking about meeting Oz in Istanbul. My favorite scene was at the end though. I loved when Willow brought Tara the extra flamey candle and told her she loved her. It was very emotional.
Overall if I had to sum up the theme of this season in one word "growth" The characters all had to grow and accept things about themselves and their friends they may not have wanted to.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts and I'm looking forward to reading what you all have to see. I'm especially curious to know if you all agree or disagree with me on my character analysis and spillting of the Scooby Gang. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it.
One theme I did want to give its own section was the division of the Scooby Gang. It started off low key with Giles and Xander feeling left out because Buffy no longer needed a Watcher and Xander was the only one not in going to college. When Riley came into the picture the group fractured even further which is one of many reasons I do not like him. He unintentionally isolated Buffy from her friends, which honestly was probably the most significant thing he did. This isolation was even highlighted in "Where the Wild Things Are" they do nothing, but have sex which parts her friends in danger. I can't blame them for that, because no one expects that to happen, but the fact that she didn't even notice what was going on really shows how out of touch she can be at times.
During Buffy's isolation Willow met Tara and their relationship developed. Willow does deserve some of the blame here, because she put a lot of her energy into her and Tara's relationship, but I can't blame her as much, because like Buffy said Willow was going through a huge change in her life.
All of these divisions were exploited by Spike who played off each of the group's fears. He played on Xander's feelings of uselessness, which is something Cordy did in "Zeppo." His manipulation of Giles was fairly similar to what he did with Xander. His work with Willow, was brilliant. He saw that she and Tara were a couple and framed his comments in such a way that it made it seem like Buffy and the others were attack both Willow's relationship and her studying Wicca. That being said, I don't think Spike created these problems, he merely brought them to the surface. In "New Moon Rising" I got the feeling that while Buffy tolerated Willow's relationship with Tara she did not accept it and there is a rather large difference between those two things. Xander showed signs of fears of being useless a lot in this season and the others didn't do enough to help him realize how much they cared. Now on to individual characters.
Willow- She's still my favorite. I really enjoyed her development throughout this season and she was one of the things that really helped it along. Seeing her break up with Oz, get past him and meet Tara was great. She is also growing into a very powerful witch. Watching her get over Oz was very well done and felt authentic.
Giles- Sadly he and Xander don't have much of a role this season, but he did have a few moments. Him being turned into a demon was great episode and I loved hearing him sing (was that his actual voice?)
Buffy- She kind of annoyed me this season, mainly because of her choice in men. I do not like Riley and she was with him way too much. However, I did enjoy watching her grow and move on beyond Angel.
I do feel like she wasn't the best of friends this season. Once again, her attitude towards Wilow and Tara seemed to be more one of uneasy tolerance than acceptance, and while that may be all that we can ask of society as a whole, I think we deserve better than mere tolerance from our closest friends.
Tara- I'm really liking her so far and am going to enjoy watching her and Willow's relationship grow. Count me firmly in the Tillow camp.
Riley- I hate you, that is all. Seriously, he is dull and boring. If he stays around much longer I'm going to turn into a Bangel fan.
Spke- He and Willow saved this season. He was so funny. There are so many great scenes of him I can't list them all. Character wise he is very slowly developing from a villain into an reluctant anti-hero.
Xander- He was in a similar boat as Giles. He didn't play much of a role and was underused in my opinion.
Faith-It was great seeing her again. One thing I don't get though, in the church fight why does she call Buffy sick and murderous? Is she losing herself to whatever part of Buffy's mind remained in her body?
Oz- I hated seeing him leave, I wish he could have stuck around just as a friend to Willow, but I understand why he had to go.
Adam- He was boring and dull. I really didn't like him. He had no charisma and wasn't frightening either. Sure none of the other villains have been scary really, but they had a lot of charisma.
As to individual episodes there were a few that stood out.
Hush- It was great from an artistic standpoint. I love the poem at the start of it. It also was the first sign of Tillow.
Wild at Heart- This was a great episode and was a great way to end Willow and Oz's relationship. You could tell Willow was really hurt when Oz left and he was too. I hated Veronica or whatever her name was.
Something Blue- This episode had me laughing the entire time. Seeing Buffy and Xander plan their marriage was so funny.
Yoko Factor- This was great. I really liked watching Spike manipulate the gang. Also seeing Xander and (drunk) Giles's reaction to finding out Willow was gay was kind of funny. "Bloody Hell."
New Moon Rising- I'm sorry Hush fans, but I enjoyed this one more. It isn't as artistic, but it was had great character moments. Willow telling Buffy her feelings for Tara, Oz trying to win Willow back. Willow talking about meeting Oz in Istanbul. My favorite scene was at the end though. I loved when Willow brought Tara the extra flamey candle and told her she loved her. It was very emotional.
Overall if I had to sum up the theme of this season in one word "growth" The characters all had to grow and accept things about themselves and their friends they may not have wanted to.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my thoughts and I'm looking forward to reading what you all have to see. I'm especially curious to know if you all agree or disagree with me on my character analysis and spillting of the Scooby Gang. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it.
