Thoughts and opinions on Restless

[Enemies]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to start a discussion to hear everyone's ideas about the dream sequence each character experienced in Restless. What do they mean to you? I know there are a lot of hidden messages in there about the arrival of Dawn etc, but what about the more random stuff? Thoughts and feelings please 🙂 .....

 

[wickedtiger86]

I love Restless. I love the way it was filmed and the fight scene at the end is pretty epic.

I actually watched the commentary that Joss did for the episode. What I really remember about what he said was that The Cheese Man actually had no meaning. He wanted to throw something completely random in there and see what people came up with.

I remember really relating to Willow's dream. When they finally get the costume off of her and she turns back into geeky Willow from earlier seasons. She's so concerned with what people are saying about her. I was like that for the first part of high school too.

I also love Buffy's dream and the continual question of what she is. Is is a killer? She is very disturbed by that word though she does kill vampires every chance she gets, and lots of other demons too.

Though, what is really sticking with me right now is Giles' dream. I remember Olivia sitting next to the baby stroller in the crypt sobbing. I think this has to do with Giles and the fact that he has no children of his own. And he feels like he never can because Olivia left because of the strangeness of his life.

I always remember that scene because I may not be able to have children either. So her sitting there, looking so destroyed, grasping onto that stroller . . . actually hits pretty hard.

 

[Tammy]

I used to have a list of everything i noticed but i can't find it. I am going to re watch it today and post again later with my thoughts. I remember thinking of a few things that i had never heard before, i guess though everyone interprets things in different ways.

 

[OhWow]

I love Restless. In fact, I love all of the Buffyverse dreaming sequences. They are all filled with additional meaning. My personal favorite in Restless was the foreshadowing in Buffy's dream when Tara says, "Be back before dawn."

 

[VisionGirl]

Though, what is really sticking with me right now is Giles' dream. I remember Olivia sitting next to the baby stroller in the crypt sobbing. I think this has to do with Giles and the fact that he has no children of his own. And he feels like he never can because Olivia left because of the strangeness of his life.

I always remember that scene because I may not be able to have children either. So her sitting there, looking so destroyed, grasping onto that stroller . . . actually hits pretty hard.

I don't think it was specifically about Olivia though. We only saw her in one episode, and he never really spoke about her again, I don't think she personally was all that important to him. But I do think it was symbolic of everything he has given up to be a Watcher, and Buffy's Watcher specifically. We can see that this life is not exactly conducive to healthy romantic relationships (for everyone, but for Giles specifically- death of Jenny, Oliva leaving, etc). Hmm, I wonder if it also foreshadowed him losing his "daughter", Buffy, in The Gift. Remember in Nightmares that his nightmare is Buffy dying. It's the ultimate failure of a Watcher, and more poignant to him because of his relationship with Buffy.

And I'm sorry about your difficulties too. I have had troubles that make it really emotional to watch Darla's pregnancy arc in ATS season 3 for example.

 

[wickedtiger86]

I don't think it was specifically about Olivia though. We only saw her in one episode, and he never really spoke about her again, I don't think she personally was all that important to him. But I do think it was symbolic of everything he has given up to be a Watcher, and Buffy's Watcher specifically. We can see that this life is not exactly conducive to healthy romantic relationships (for everyone, but for Giles specifically- death of Jenny, Oliva leaving, etc). Hmm, I wonder if it also foreshadowed him losing his "daughter", Buffy, in The Gift. Remember in Nightmares that his nightmare is Buffy dying. It's the ultimate failure of a Watcher, and more poignant to him because of his relationship with Buffy.

And I'm sorry about your difficulties too. I have had troubles that make it really emotional to watch Darla's pregnancy arc in ATS season 3 for example.

Oh yeah, I agree completely about how it shows everything that Giles has given up. That's part of the reason I like him so much as a character. For not actually being her father, he is very serious about his role as a fatherly figure for her. Just as much as he is concerned with the title of being her watcher and what that means.

I hadn't thought about it for-shadowing The Gift before but that is a great point.

And thank you and also sorry for your difficulties too.

I guess that's what's great about this series. There are so many different ways to look at it and connect to it. Most people probably have one episode or story arc that impacted them, or made them feel. And that's all you can really ask of any story.