One week left to go! I apologize that I'm running behind on my reading & posting (school starting this week interferred with my Buffy reading LOL!), but I will get caught up very soon. Please don't wait for me to post- feel free to share your thoughts!
Riley: Commitment through Distance, Virtue through Sin
Acclaimed Buffy television writer Jane Espenson is back with answers to one of the surprising twists she and executive producer Joss Whedon introduced in the hit story arc "Retreat"!
In the midst of the battle, Buffy's former flame, the demon fighting soldier Riley Finn, seemingly in league with Twilight, was revealed as a double agent working for the Slayer army. Now Espenson and artist Karl Moline (Fray, Willow) uncover the secrets of Riley's recruitment by Buffy, his infiltration of Twilight's inner circle, and what's become of him and his superspy wife, Sam.
This essential one shot delivers thrilling spy adventure and is filled with major revelations for the story of Buffy Season Eight!
Ugh, I just wrote this super-long post and went to another tab to look for something, came back, and it completely disappeared!!! I will try to remember everything I posted.
-Love the Jo Chen cover, it really captures the essence of Riley & Sam. Except, could they possibly make her boob any bigger?
-Inside of the individual issue says this:
Looking forward to a life on the family farm, do-gooder soldier boy Riley Finn and his lovely wife Sam expect a life of peace, quiet, and relatively little bloodshed. But when Buffy calls, Agent Finn will consider putting it all on the line at the request of his very first love.
-Look at all those corn fields. I grew up in Illinois, so that's a real familiar sight to me.
-I think it's really interesting how it's Sam pushing Riley to accept Buffy's request for help.
-Whistler: "A mask like that is gonna flatten the hair, Angel. Can't be avoided." I love Angel hair jokes!
-"Scared of quilting" LOL
-I love Riley fixing Sam's collar. That's a total married-couple thing to do.
-I think it's funny that Sam & Riley are having this really important conversation in the midst of doing this really important mission. Again, a total married-couple thing.
-Whistler: "Working her ex? Working her other ex?" OK, so this is something I just don't get.
When we meet Spike in the Last Gleaming arc, he obviously has knowledge of Twilight and Angel. Yet, we never find out how much he knows and when he knows it. He plays like he's the hero, saving the day at the last minute. But how much has Angel/Twilight "played him"? We never get the answer to that. I hope we do in season 9, because I think there's more to the story and it has bugged me for a long time.
-"Or maybe this other general will show us around." Why do all the Generals in season 8 have mustaches?
-"There are lots of possible futures, Angel." Willow says this too, to Buffy in the Retreat arc.
-Whistler: "You and Buffy falling in love, that was one of those--a longshot that paid off". This seems to be in complete opposition to what Whistler tells Buffy in Becoming part 2: "It wasn't supposed to go down like this. Nobody saw you coming. I figured this for Angel's big day. But I thought he was here to stop Acathla, not to bring him forth. Then you two made with the smoochies...now he's a creep again. Now, what are you gonna do? W-what are you prepared to do?" So which one is true: was Buffy/Angel prophecied/foretold, like both Giles & Whistler allude to in season 8, or were they unexpected, like Whistler says in season 2? Maybe the PTB didn't expect it, but maybe Twilight did?
-Angel and prophecies have a long, sordid history, a love/hate relationship.
-Riley: "I don't like this. It makes me feel...like...too free. Like you and me, like we're not tied together."
Sam: "We're not. We're together because we want to be. There are no ties."
Riley: "No ties. That's kind of...scary as hell".
and later Riley says "No. It's okay. We're together even when we're not".
Which is what the subtitle of this one-shot alludes to. I also think it refers to Riley's ongoing commitment to Buffy, that he'll go to help if/when she calls.
-"You have to decide where your loyalty lies...with the girl or with the world." Angel chooses the world, Riley chooses the girl. Which is kind of flipped around. But is Riley's sacrifice worth it? Does it really help the situation?
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