Season Arcs via the Authority/Rebellion Angle

[vellavu]

Here's my little theory: a story about the interaction inside an authority is inherently boring. Buffy is only interesting when it's about how to destroy authority. Then we can try using this formula to explain why some arcs are good and others suck.

Season 1
Plots:
Scoobies (rebellion) vs the Master (authority)
The master represents the vampire traditionalists, and represents conventional tropes and cliches as a metaphor.
Scoobies (rebellion) vs Giles (authority)
Scoobies (rebellion) vs Snyder (authority)
Summary:
The main characters as the rebellion in all three arcs. 3/3

Season 2
Plots:
Buffy (rebellion) vs Teenage Sex Morality (authority)
Buffy (rebellion) vs Joyce/Cops/Snyder (authority)
Spike (rebellion) vs Angelus (authority)
Summary:
The main characters (and Spike as an ally) as the rebellion in all three arcs. 3/3

Season 3
Plots:
Buffy/Faith (rebellion) vs Watchers' Council (authority)
School (rebellion) vs Mayor (authority)
Summary:
The main characters as the rebellion in all three arcs. 2/2

Season 4
Plots:
Willow (rebellion) vs Past of Herself (authority)
Initiative (rebellion) vs Scoobies (authority)
It is the first season that the antagonist is the one that rebels. It tampers the traditional order of mythos. It makes Giles and Ethan feel useless.
Summary:
The main characters as the rebellion in one of two arcs. 1/2
This is why the main arc of Season 4 sucks. The Scoobies want to enforce the whatever (no science/no guns/magic only) traditions on innovators.
If the initiative is an organization which insisted that demons/vamps don't exist, and investigated the Mayor's death, then put the blame on the Scoobies, and the Scoobies created Adam (dead Allan Finch volunteers to be the human part, and willow does the machine part), using him to destroy the initiative, Season 4 will be much more enjoyable!

Season 5
Plots:
Buffy (rebellion) vs Greater Good (authority)
Summary:
The main characters as the rebellion in all arcs. 1/1

Season 6
Willow (rebellion) vs Life/Death Order (authority)
Trio (rebellion) vs Scoobies (authority)
Dark Willow (rebellion) vs Everyone Else (authority)
Summary:
The main characters as the rebellion in two of three arcs. 2/3
This is why the middle part of Season 6 sucks. The Trio can easily be more interesting than the Scoobies in this Season, if the writers had not been criminalizing them by artificially making them misogynistic and murders. If you really want to make life the big bad as you say, you can make the Trio allies agains life, instead of making them part of the big bad life. For example, the Scoobies hire the Trio starting from episode 9 to beat any monster of the week they want, then it backfires in episode 19. The writers can still kill Tara and make Willow all dark afterwards. The Trio in the magic box meeting with the Scoobies is much more interesting than, say, a couple of strangers trapped with the Scoobies by Halfrek.

Season 7
Potential (rebellion) vs Buffy (authority)
Buffy (rebellion) vs Slayer Tradition (authority)
Summary:
The main characters as the rebellion in one of two arcs. 1/2
This is why the potential storyline sucks. Why can't the first evil control the local P.D by making the sheriff a bringer, then Buffy can lead the potentials to fight them starting from episode 9 or 10? Why should Buffy act like Season 3 Wesley and fight the potentials in her own house until the last episode?

Of course it's full of cherrypicking prejudice. But so are most "analysis" to most art forms. This is just my two cents to provide some point of view. 🙂

 

[The Bronze]

As with most things people like to route for the underdog. I think it's the same with Buffy. It has more appeal when they're are the little guys fighting against over whelming odds.

Why should Buffy act like Season 3 Wesley and fight the potentials in her own house until the last episode?

I think this is quite far off the mark though. Season 3 Wesley comes from an organisation which just attempted to kill Buffy and her mother. He came in to replace her friends role in her life. He boasts no field time at all, no experience of the Hellmouth and no connection with Buffy. Yet he wants to automatically assume the role of leader and send Buffy out to fight on his instruction.

The exact opposite is true of Buffy and the potentials. They barge into her life, get given food and shelter and Buffy again is the one risking her life every night on their behalf. When she takes the leadership role it's from a position of experience and it's also her neck on the line first.

 

[vellavu]

As with most things people like to route for the underdog. I think it's the same with Buffy. It has more appeal when they're are the little guys fighting against over whelming odds.


I think this is quite far off the mark though. Season 3 Wesley comes from an organisation which just attempted to kill Buffy and her mother. He came in to replace her friends role in her life. He boasts no field time at all, no experience of the Hellmouth and no connection with Buffy. Yet he wants to automatically assume the role of leader and send Buffy out to fight on his instruction.

The exact opposite is true of Buffy and the potentials. They barge into her life, get given food and shelter and Buffy again is the one risking her life every night on their behalf. When she takes the leadership role it's from a position of experience and it's also her neck on the line first.

My bad. What I want to say is that the mutual misunderstanding between Buffy and the potentials is like that of between Wesley and Buffy.

The conflict between Wesley and Buffy is legit and believable. However the conflict between Buffy and potentials is much contrived.