Season Four final episodes

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Chasing Cordy

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I must admit I lost all concern about season four when they brought in this "Adam" thing.
For some reason, "Adam" did not impress me much and I barely was able to handle the Initiative and Riley.

However, I do have the episodes on DVD so maybe I can go back later and rewatch them for some gimmer of redemption.
 
Definitely rewatch those episodes, there are some real gems in there. New Moon Rising, The Yoko Factor, Primeval, Restless. I agree with you 100% about Adam, he was just so insipid as a big bad. I think they meant him to have zero personality because he was a manufactured being. Trouble is that the other season big bads had piles of personality.
 
Season four was a definite change of pace and i think it threw a lot of the fanbase.

We lost the comfort of Sunnydale High and Buffy's home (for the most part), Angel and Cordy were gone, soon to be followed by Oz. All these new people were around like Riley, Tara, Anya, Parker and so on. You had almost no mention of the Hellmouth and you also had the Initiative making waves.

The biggest jolt was the dissolution of the Scoobie Gang though. Seeing the problems that culminated in The Yoko Factor develop was tough on the fans that had watched these friendships grow only to see them drift apart.

However, that was the whole point.

The season was about change and growth and how life doesn't always go the way we want it to. When you watch season four again, within the context of the whole series and with the knowledge that everything ends up okay and the gang come back together with even stronger bonds, you will enjoy season four in a whole new way. Trust me, it will happen! 😉
 
I love season four. I had seen a few episodes of Buffy when they first aired like WTTH, Homecoming, The Wish, Earshot, and Graduation but season 4 was the season that got me hooked ever since the very first episode "The Freshman." It's true that Adam was kinda corny but he was different than any of the other villians of the series. I remember watching the episode where Buffy first fought him, I think it's "GoodBye Iowa" and when I saw that she couldn't beat him, I was shocked because Buffy always beat the bad guy. Being a Buffy newbie was a simpler time 🙂
 
Season 4 was the first one I saw as a whole season.. It was on TV in Sweden when I started watching (cause of Amber sort of).. At that time I didn't expect much of BtVS but thought it was good. The Adam thing though, bored me. Just like it still does. No matter how many times I watch the show or in what order, I can't start to like the whole Initiative/Adam thing, and I doubt I ever will. My opinion is that it was quite lame and didn't work half as well as it could have (seeing as I do actualyl like the idea).. So yeah, it's not strange that you feel this way about the ending of season 4.. a lot of people do..
 
VisionGuy
VisionGuy
That was my first whole season too LOL
I think Season Four was good for a change of pace. It drifted from the infamous HellMouth and actually into the lives of each character. It showed how friendships can be eeasily broken, but if they are strong enough they will always reform. I think S4 was trying to show us some examples of life so we could relate more. And who did like Adam???? Or the Iniative for that matter? LOL
 
I wasn't too keen on the Initiative story. First time through I thought Adam was a bad take on the Frankenstein monster. I've heard this S4 storyline described as an "X-files ripoff".

This was the only season where the big battle happened before the finale.

As for the finale, I think "Restless" is a truly great episode. It has this whole mythological quality to it and leaves the viewer with haunting questions to ponder. And of course there are the hints of Buffy's sister-to-come and the provocative role of Tara in the dreams.
 
watcher1006 said:
I wasn't too keen on the Initiative story. First time through I thought Adam was a bad take on the Frankenstein monster. I've heard this S4 storyline described as an "X-files ripoff".
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Not so sure that i'd agree with that. About the only parallel that i could see between Buffy's fourth season and the X Files is the government conspiracy idea, and that is hardly unique to the X Files, although i'd admit that Chris Carter's show was the most famous example.

I'd say that it is more accurate the both examples took a commonly held belief in the general population of this planet that our governments are doing strange and secret things behind our backs. Beyond that they both took the basic idea and made it work for the story they were telling.
 
The Watcher said:
Not so sure that i'd agree with that. About the only parallel that i could see between Buffy's fourth season and the X Files is the government conspiracy idea, and that is hardly unique to the X Files, although i'd admit that Chris Carter's show was the most famous example.

I'd say that it is more accurate the both examples took a commonly held belief in the general population of this planet that our governments are doing strange and secret things behind our backs. Beyond that they both took the basic idea and made it work for the story they were telling.
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I think it relates to the classic gothic Frankenstein theme of technology dread. Man as God, man tampering with nature (or supernature, heh.) But it doesn't quite get the formula right.

The idea of the "real world" coming in and breaking friends up is legitimate"”UC Sunnydale did that a bit. And Adam was trying to strategically split up the Scoobs. Yet Adam basically tanked as a compelling baddie, it seems.

In the original "Frankenstein", there was true pathos. You feel pity, sympathy for the creature"”as well as fear, disgust. The monster had glimmers of true humanity about him. The story was truly tragic. Adam is just an emotionless a-hole, lol. There's nothing tragic about him. If Adam was somehow made to seem a tragic victim, maybe season four would have been more exciting.
 
I liked season 4! I thought the initiativewas a good idea! and I thought adam was a good big bad! and uber buffy!

I remember I was on holiday when primeval first aired and got one of my mates to tape it. The first thing I did when I got back was watch it and it was great! (I had to watcch the uber buffy vs adam fight again. I always wished it could've been a bit longer but I suppose uber buffy was too powerful)

I thought the initiative and the goverment knowing about demons was a great progression from season three where principal snders knowlegde always made me think more people knew than we were aware of.

Sure it was different but change can be good.
 
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