Excuse me, but when you don't know the names of the less than 30 souls under your command, you are simply not fit to command. And we don't waste the lives of our troops recklessly, to use Buffy's word. And way to inspire your troops there, ie., you might wrongly think that you can waste their lives recklessly, but to use that word in front of them... So no surprise their mutiny.
And for taking some into battle when they were clearly unready, well, unless you were buying time so that some truly trained souls would have the time to arrive and then save the day before all was lost, then you should be relieved of command. .
And though I’ll deal more with Anya in a bit, Anya did say it best. You aren’t better, you’re simply luckier. And what could Buffy say? Anya, Willow and Xander did not share her power, but they put their lives on the line as well. So they had as much right to say that they "earned" as did Buffy. Certainly they had earned the right to not have their lives expended “recklessly”.
I'd otherwise rethink the Dawn thing if I were some of you. The dynamic changes when Dawn herself is ready and willing to die. She accepted the need to jump into the rift before Buffy obtained her own enlightenment (as it were). Buffy was otherwise physically blocking Dawn's path into the rift. Buffy is rather stronger than Dawn, yes, so what was Dawn to do in that circumstance? So don't think that Dawn didn't earn the right to speak her mind, as she can fairly say to Buffy, I decided to die before you did, and the only reason I didn't is because before you got your enlightenment, you prevented me from exercising my own will. As I said, kinda changes the dynamic between the two.
Those who had been there knew the score, I mean, Spike got every break in the world, yes? And recall also that Buffy had the chance to kill Angelus but did not do so owing to her not being ready to take that action. More humans died as a result. Now consider Anya again. Did lady hacks-away have a second thought in her regard? So how was Anya to feel? That it was a tad bit murky when it was Angel and Spike, but now here you are telling Xander that it’s his feelings for me that are clouding the issue when we all know what needs to be done? Maybe you might have said that you learned from the Angel/Angelus experience, but then there’s the Spike experience to prove that such is simply not so.
And Willow? Willow spoke to judgment and lack of the same. Consider Selfless again. Willow refused to join Buffy's crusade against Anyanka simply because she knew that the one creature was far more Anya than she was Anyanka. And for Willow’s good judgment, she accordingly found another way to solve the problem. For the tie-in, what did Buffy say in Selfless? I am the law? Same arrogant attitude that more or less said that I'm in command and you will follow in the episode under review here. And she was wrong about Anya and her circumstance, we might say that she misread that one rather badly, and so Willow is still concerned about her judgment, which hasn’t seemed to improve in the interim. And if you want rebellion and mutiny, well, what was Willow's "I can't" in Selfless? Again, she just didn't remain sitting in that chair, she undertook her own mission [a mission that had a purpose other than Buffy's]. And if not for her and Xander's refusal to obey Buffy's command authority, Buffy would have killed Anya. To understand Willow in the episode question, one needs to understand that if Xander and Willow don't go their own way in Selfless, Buffy kills Anya. And so, again, the one is still worried about the judgment of her friend. The use of "reckless" didn't help matters much.
Now, by way of my own personal background, which informs, in part, my view of the circumstance under consideration, well, I grew up in the Jewish part of L.A. The one Jewish mohel who lived up the street was rather nice to me [and even though I moved away two decades ago, everytime he sees my mom, he still always asks about my circumstance and wishes me well], but his sons, when they were younger, considered themselves part of the "chosen people", and me, well, when they used the word, goy [singular], and goyim [plural], you might have thought they were talking about dog(s). So I understand Anya rather clearly, since just as with Buffy and Anya, the mohel's sons being "chosen" and me not was simply an accident of birth [and so they were lucky and not intrinsically better]. And Anya could rightly speak to the matter since, again, if Buffy had had her way, she'd have killed Anya. Recall what Buffy says, For seven years I've kept us safe...well, not really, since if Willow hadn't done her own thing, and Xander knocked you to the side, you'd have killed Anya, so you don't get to say that your command decisions have always kept us [Anya] safe. Nor do you get to say, directly in reply to Anya, that "I've gotten us this far." No, missy, you didn't, as you'd have played lady hacks-away and killed Anya. It was only Willow's and Xander's interference with your command authority that saved the day.
Now, speaking of things that might tend to make one physically ill, this was the most pathetic thing said during that entire episode, Buffy speaking: I can't stay here and watch her [Faith] lead you into some disaster.
And not staying helps how? Thank you, missy, for proving Anya right. You're luckier, not better.
Lastly, for the record, history does indeed record a "turn in charge" as suggested by Kennedy. During WWII in the Pacific, the US Pacific Fleet rotated sea command between Halsey and Spruance, with the fleet being called Third Fleet when Halsey was in command and Fifth Fleet when Spruance was in command. For why:
"While the same ships comprised the Third Fleet under Halsey and the Fifth Fleet under Spruance, the command staffs could plan the next operation while the current one was still underway. This provided a tactical advantage that the Japanese, with huge losses among their flag officers, could never make up."
And so for what might have been, well, what two colors are your favs? The Potentials wear the one color when Buffy is in command and the other color when Faith is in command [say, in colored scarves worn about the neck]. And since some are planning the next operation while the current operation is still ongoing, advantage to those some doing their advance planning. Since they brought Faith back, would have been nice to see, and would have meant that everyone understood that she too had been rehabilitated and so was fit for command.
And for taking some into battle when they were clearly unready, well, unless you were buying time so that some truly trained souls would have the time to arrive and then save the day before all was lost, then you should be relieved of command. .
And though I’ll deal more with Anya in a bit, Anya did say it best. You aren’t better, you’re simply luckier. And what could Buffy say? Anya, Willow and Xander did not share her power, but they put their lives on the line as well. So they had as much right to say that they "earned" as did Buffy. Certainly they had earned the right to not have their lives expended “recklessly”.
I'd otherwise rethink the Dawn thing if I were some of you. The dynamic changes when Dawn herself is ready and willing to die. She accepted the need to jump into the rift before Buffy obtained her own enlightenment (as it were). Buffy was otherwise physically blocking Dawn's path into the rift. Buffy is rather stronger than Dawn, yes, so what was Dawn to do in that circumstance? So don't think that Dawn didn't earn the right to speak her mind, as she can fairly say to Buffy, I decided to die before you did, and the only reason I didn't is because before you got your enlightenment, you prevented me from exercising my own will. As I said, kinda changes the dynamic between the two.
Those who had been there knew the score, I mean, Spike got every break in the world, yes? And recall also that Buffy had the chance to kill Angelus but did not do so owing to her not being ready to take that action. More humans died as a result. Now consider Anya again. Did lady hacks-away have a second thought in her regard? So how was Anya to feel? That it was a tad bit murky when it was Angel and Spike, but now here you are telling Xander that it’s his feelings for me that are clouding the issue when we all know what needs to be done? Maybe you might have said that you learned from the Angel/Angelus experience, but then there’s the Spike experience to prove that such is simply not so.
And Willow? Willow spoke to judgment and lack of the same. Consider Selfless again. Willow refused to join Buffy's crusade against Anyanka simply because she knew that the one creature was far more Anya than she was Anyanka. And for Willow’s good judgment, she accordingly found another way to solve the problem. For the tie-in, what did Buffy say in Selfless? I am the law? Same arrogant attitude that more or less said that I'm in command and you will follow in the episode under review here. And she was wrong about Anya and her circumstance, we might say that she misread that one rather badly, and so Willow is still concerned about her judgment, which hasn’t seemed to improve in the interim. And if you want rebellion and mutiny, well, what was Willow's "I can't" in Selfless? Again, she just didn't remain sitting in that chair, she undertook her own mission [a mission that had a purpose other than Buffy's]. And if not for her and Xander's refusal to obey Buffy's command authority, Buffy would have killed Anya. To understand Willow in the episode question, one needs to understand that if Xander and Willow don't go their own way in Selfless, Buffy kills Anya. And so, again, the one is still worried about the judgment of her friend. The use of "reckless" didn't help matters much.
Now, by way of my own personal background, which informs, in part, my view of the circumstance under consideration, well, I grew up in the Jewish part of L.A. The one Jewish mohel who lived up the street was rather nice to me [and even though I moved away two decades ago, everytime he sees my mom, he still always asks about my circumstance and wishes me well], but his sons, when they were younger, considered themselves part of the "chosen people", and me, well, when they used the word, goy [singular], and goyim [plural], you might have thought they were talking about dog(s). So I understand Anya rather clearly, since just as with Buffy and Anya, the mohel's sons being "chosen" and me not was simply an accident of birth [and so they were lucky and not intrinsically better]. And Anya could rightly speak to the matter since, again, if Buffy had had her way, she'd have killed Anya. Recall what Buffy says, For seven years I've kept us safe...well, not really, since if Willow hadn't done her own thing, and Xander knocked you to the side, you'd have killed Anya, so you don't get to say that your command decisions have always kept us [Anya] safe. Nor do you get to say, directly in reply to Anya, that "I've gotten us this far." No, missy, you didn't, as you'd have played lady hacks-away and killed Anya. It was only Willow's and Xander's interference with your command authority that saved the day.
Now, speaking of things that might tend to make one physically ill, this was the most pathetic thing said during that entire episode, Buffy speaking: I can't stay here and watch her [Faith] lead you into some disaster.
And not staying helps how? Thank you, missy, for proving Anya right. You're luckier, not better.
Lastly, for the record, history does indeed record a "turn in charge" as suggested by Kennedy. During WWII in the Pacific, the US Pacific Fleet rotated sea command between Halsey and Spruance, with the fleet being called Third Fleet when Halsey was in command and Fifth Fleet when Spruance was in command. For why:
"While the same ships comprised the Third Fleet under Halsey and the Fifth Fleet under Spruance, the command staffs could plan the next operation while the current one was still underway. This provided a tactical advantage that the Japanese, with huge losses among their flag officers, could never make up."
And so for what might have been, well, what two colors are your favs? The Potentials wear the one color when Buffy is in command and the other color when Faith is in command [say, in colored scarves worn about the neck]. And since some are planning the next operation while the current operation is still ongoing, advantage to those some doing their advance planning. Since they brought Faith back, would have been nice to see, and would have meant that everyone understood that she too had been rehabilitated and so was fit for command.