Thoughts on S4 halfway through.

[whitewolf]

Season 4 has been an odd season so far. It has had some great episodes such as "Hush" and "Something Blue" (which I thought was hilarious) and some really weak ones such as "Beer Bad" which I really didn't like. The only good things were Willow's talk with Parker and seeing Buffy hit him over the head. Overall I have to say so far its the weakest season to me, despite several gems, but still much better than nearly anything currently on TV. Now, let's talk characters.

Willow- I'm still loving her. I'm really enjoying watching her develop as a witch and a person. Her breakup with Oz in "Wild Hearts" was heartbreaking, I thought they were a great couple. I like the idea of her becoming a lesbian, if it is done right. I see the signs that they are going to put her with Tara. I hope this doesn't end up as coming off as a rebound thing over Oz, if they portray it right it could be really good, if not it could be be bad.

Giles- Where is he, damn it? He's awesome, but I wish he got more screentime. He just seems so underused.

Buffy- She's still a great lead. I'm glad she's over Parker. I'm looking forward to watching her deal with Initiative , frankly I hope she tells them to go jump off a cliff, because they annoy me. Oh and I also hope the Riley thing doesn't last long. He's so dull. It makes me miss Angel, he's so bloody boring. Speaking of "bloody."

Spike- Remember when I posted a thread complaining about him killing the Anointed One? I take it back, Spike is tied with Willow for favorite character now. He is always funny. Every time he says something I laugh. I really hope he stays around more, because he's a great villain/ anti-hero which is what it looks like he's being groomed for. I wonder if he will ever get back with Drul, though? Oh, and the scene where he tries to bite Willow was really funny and watching him live with Xander is great. I just hope he gets the chip taken out or something, it's kind of sad watching him drink blood from a cup.

Xander-I'm glad he's with Anaya, now that my hopes for a Xander/Willow relationship are dead. I do have problems with that relationship though, that I'll get into below. Watching him with Spike has been funny.

Anaya- I'm sorry, I don't buy it. She spent the last 1000 years or so tormenting men for their crimes and now she's all in love with Xander and doesn't even seem to care about getting powers back. It doesn't make any sense to me.

Riley/Initiative- I hope they get eaten by demons. Fine, that was harsh, but God do they suck. The are so incompetent and Riley is so boring. The Watcher's Council are Justice League compared to these people. Oh, but as an aside. For anyone who's seen Cabin in the Woods, does the Initiative's lab remind anyone of that movie?

 

[Robb Stark]

Season 4 has been an odd season so far. It has had some great episodes such as "Hush" and "Something Blue" (which I thought was hilarious) and some really weak ones such as "Beer Bad" which I really didn't like. The only good things were Willow's talk with Parker and seeing Buffy hit him over the head. Overall I have to say so far its the weakest season to me, despite several gems, but still much better than nearly anything currently on TV. Now, let's talk characters.

Willow- I'm still loving her. I'm really enjoying watching her develop as a witch and a person. Her breakup with Oz in "Wild Hearts" was heartbreaking, I thought they were a great couple. I like the idea of her becoming a lesbian, if it is done right. I see the signs that they are going to put her with Tara. I hope this doesn't end up as coming off as a rebound thing over Oz, if they portray it right it could be really good, if not it could be be bad.

Giles- Where is he, damn it? He's awesome, but I wish he got more screentime. He just seems so underused.

Buffy- She's still a great lead. I'm glad she's over Parker. I'm looking forward to watching her deal with Initiative , frankly I hope she tells them to go jump off a cliff, because they annoy me. Oh and I also hope the Riley thing doesn't last long. He's so dull. It makes me miss Angel, he's so bloody boring. Speaking of "bloody."

Spike- Remember when I posted a thread complaining about him killing the Anointed One? I take it back, Spike is tied with Willow for favorite character now. He is always funny. Every time he says something I laugh. I really hope he stays around more, because he's a great villain/ anti-hero which is what it looks like he's being groomed for. I wonder if he will ever get back with Drul, though? Oh, and the scene where he tries to bite Willow was really funny and watching him live with Xander is great. I just hope he gets the chip taken out or something, it's kind of sad watching him drink blood from a cup.

Xander-I'm glad he's with Anaya, now that my hopes for a Xander/Willow relationship are dead. I do have problems with that relationship though, that I'll get into below. Watching him with Spike has been funny.

Anaya- I'm sorry, I don't buy it. She spent the last 1000 years or so tormenting men for their crimes and now she's all in love with Xander and doesn't even seem to care about getting powers back. It doesn't make any sense to me.

Riley/Initiative- I hope they get eaten by demons. Fine, that was harsh, but God do they suck. The are so incompetent and Riley is so boring. The Watcher's Council are Justice League compared to these people. Oh, but as an aside. For anyone who's seen Cabin in the Woods, does the Initiative's lab remind anyone of that movie?

I don't dislike S4, but it is my least favorite season (which is contrary to S1 of Angel, which I love). The overall arc of S4 just isn't amazing, and while I think the message of the season, people drifting apart a bit after high school and learning how to become and adult while you're still really a kid, is potent, I never felt like they nailed college life like they did with high school.

Plus, they pour on the Riley, and he drives me nuts. After everything that happened with Angel in S2 and 3, and after "I will remember you" on the Angel series, I couldn't get into Riley at all.

There are some great stand-out moments though, and Spike absolutely owns S4. He's just comedic gold. Him almost committing suicide in Xander's basement was hilarious. I love "Pangs" too, when the Scoobies are arguing over how to deal with the Native demon, and Spike just loses it: "You won the war! You came in with better weapons, and you killed them!". Him tied up in the chair was pretty funny too.

Tara is very popular, and she develops into a great character, but I do miss Oz. I think a big part of why there's a bit of an emotional lull in S4 is that they lose Angel, and then a few episodes later Oz leaves the show as well. Two of the main male leads are just gone. No matter how great the replacing characters are, that's tough to overcome.

Xander and Giles, well, S4 is kind of the last gasp for them. They stick around and are always entertaining, but I think the writers sort of ran out of things to do with them after S3, especially Xander. The story of him being the only one of this friends who didn't go to college is an interesting one, but after that you always just kind of feel bad for him. I always liked him better in high school. Anya...meh. People dig her, and she is funny I suppose, but she's my least favorite of the post-S3 characters. She just gets annoying after a while.

Have you been watching Angel as well?

 

[shadcat]

Anaya- I'm sorry, I don't buy it. She spent the last 1000 years or so tormenting men for their crimes and now she's all in love with Xander and doesn't even seem to care about getting powers back. It doesn't make any sense to me.

It's because she is experiencing human emotions again.

 

[Robb Stark]

It's because she is experiencing human emotions again.

Yeah, she has to deal with them now, but there was never any mention that Anya didn't a soul during her demon days, unlike say, Angel or Spike. I always found it incredibly strange that someone who has murdered thousands upon thousands of people out of her own free will was just welcomed into the group. Especially in S7 (trying not to spoil anything) when things really go sideways with her. She was a pretty inconsistent character.

 

[Evil Angelus 95]

I completely agree with you on Riley, too much too soon. I mean, I know how Buffy still wasn't completely over Angel yet and was kinda looking to rebound, but come on, it wasn't done well at all with S4.

To go with that, S4 has got to be my least favorite season out of all of them. There simply isn't enough good gems or a good big bad to make it be anywhere near the awesomeness of S3, but as you said, it is better than anything else on TV right now 🙂

 

[whitewolf]

Oh I forgot to mention, this season does have my new favorite relationship so far. Spike and Buffy. That one episode with them was so funny, watching them argue was great. Somehow I can't imagine that one ever working out without magic involved.

 

[Jodast]

I am so glad you're still enjoying the show. Season 4 is my least favourite season, but I still really like it. I am practically sitting on my hands trying not to spoil anything for you, so I will leave it just at saying there's cool stuff ahead, season 5 is my favourite, so I can't wait until you get there and I love your writing.

*goes back to sitting on hands* 🙂

 

[whitewolf]

I am so glad you're still enjoying the show. Season 4 is my least favourite season, but I still really like it. I am practically sitting on my hands trying not to spoil anything for you, so I will leave it just at saying there's cool stuff ahead, season 5 is my favourite, so I can't wait until you get there and I love your writing.

*goes back to sitting on hands* 🙂

I'm really looking forward to S5 simply because I've heard Buffy faces Dracula. And thanks I'm glad you like my posts.

 

[eunsoma]

I personally think Anya becomes more enjoyable to watch from season 5 onwards, she never really seemed to fit in comfortably in season 4. Without spoiling anything, Giles is used more next season.
Season 5 is great, definitely one of my favorites. Don't lose hope if you don't enjoy season 4 as much as the others, there's plenty more good stuff to come!

 

[Evil Angelus 95]

She never gets over him...

I know, worded that wrong. Running on only a few hours of sleep right now 😛

 

[whitewolf]

I personally think Anya becomes more enjoyable to watch from season 5 onwards, she never really seemed to fit in comfortably in season 4. Without spoiling anything, Giles is used more next season.
Season 5 is great, definitely one of my favorites. Don't lose hope if you don't enjoy season 4 as much as the others, there's plenty more good stuff to come!

She seems very out of place in S4, even Willow doesn't like her very much.

 

[shadcat]

Yeah, she has to deal with them now, but there was never any mention that Anya didn't a soul during her demon days, unlike say, Angel or Spike. I always found it incredibly strange that someone who has murdered thousands upon thousands of people out of her own free will was just welcomed into the group. Especially in S7 (trying not to spoil anything) when things really go sideways with her. She was a pretty inconsistent character.

I totally agree they did not address this enough. But I'd have to think demons don't have human being souls....that is the only way it makes sense to me

 

[dexeded]

Giles- Where is he, damn it? He's awesome, but I wish he got more screentime. He just seems so underused.

Well, his absence and underused-ness is his character arc over the season--Buffy is growing up and does not need as much guidance as she did in high school. He has to learn how to deal with it or find some other way to be useful.

Buffy- She's still a great lead. I'm glad she's over Parker. I'm looking forward to watching her deal with Initiative , frankly I hope she tells them to go jump off a cliff, because they annoy me. Oh and I also hope the Riley thing doesn't last long. He's so dull. It makes me miss Angel, he's so bloody boring. Speaking of "bloody."

I didn't much like Riley either, but I always thought Angel won the prize for most boring, if only because of the overwrought melodramatic Bangel scenes.

Spike- Remember when I posted a thread complaining about him killing the Anointed One? I take it back, Spike is tied with Willow for favorite character now. He is always funny. Every time he says something I laugh. I really hope he stays around more, because he's a great villain/ anti-hero which is what it looks like he's being groomed for. I wonder if he will ever get back with Drul, though? Oh, and the scene where he tries to bite Willow was really funny and watching him live with Xander is great. I just hope he gets the chip taken out or something, it's kind of sad watching him drink blood from a cup.

Yay Spike! He's a fan favourite.

Anaya- I'm sorry, I don't buy it. She spent the last 1000 years or so tormenting men for their crimes and now she's all in love with Xander and doesn't even seem to care about getting powers back. It doesn't make any sense to me.

Yeah... only way to get over this is suspension of disbelief, I have to say, or you'll always have that nagging problem when you watch.


Anyhoo, I look forward to you seeing S5, because that is my favourite season and certainly brings what S4 was missing in spades.

Xander and Giles, well, S4 is kind of the last gasp for them. They stick around and are always entertaining, but I think the writers sort of ran out of things to do with them after S3, especially Xander. The story of him being the only one of this friends who didn't go to college is an interesting one, but after that you always just kind of feel bad for him. I always liked him better in high school.

Prefer high school Xander? Wasn't he too... jealous and immature? Honestly wondering why you prefer high school version because I don't come across this opinion often.

 

[Robb Stark]

Prefer high school Xander? Wasn't he too... jealous and immature? Honestly wondering why you prefer high school version because I don't come across this opinion often.

He had his flaws, for sure, but he seemed to have, I don't know, more of a purpose during the high school years. I'm not really sure if I'm explaining it right. For starters I thought he was way funnier in high school. I know the metaphor they were working with, and like I said, I thought it was a good one, but after a while I just never really felt the same with Xander.

Plus, and this didn't help, the one main character over the course of the entire series I don't really like is Anya. Beyond a few jokes here and there that make me laugh, she just bugs me. I always liked the romantic plots Xander had, or was trying to have, with Buffy, Willow and Cordelia, so that was probably part of it.

 

[whitewolf]

One character I forgot to mention.

Tara-She hasn't done very much so far aside from help Willow with spells, but you can tell there is something between them just the way they act around each other. I think Willow knows she has feelings for her, because of the fact that she tried to hide her from Buffy in the episode where they go to the Bronze and Willow mentions bringing someone else, but then backtracks and claims it was a hypothetical statement. I'm also curious as to why she hid the potion during the demon hunting spell. Is she a demon herself or half demon like Doyle? She mentions her mother was very powerful.