Week 2: 8.05 "The Chain"

[PassionBecoming]

First Reading!

-I still don't understand the whole anti-slayer attitude of the world. They are saving humanity from being sucked into hell, destroyed, being eaten, etc. and they're getting all this hate? Then again, that military organization is probably throwing all kinds of propaganda out to the public.
-I'm sad already after the first page. 🙁
-Uh, since when is there a Tinkerbell in Slayerville??
-Ok, I don't get why the schoolgirl is yanked from the picnic table. Or the segue to Giles.
-Now it makes more sense. I do hope that commercial wasn't real!! Ooo, is that Olivia?!
-I don't get the whole "sending a Buffy to the underworld" plan. She's just supposed to try to keep Yamenh and friends occupied so they don't come up earthside? The slug and fairies might be getting a little too out there for me...

Ok. I think I get it now, but a little more explanation of the war going on in this netherworld would have been nice! Interesting how they shed kind of a negative light on Buffy's army; they took a girl to use for their agenda, she got caught up in it and the power, tried to do her best and was killed. She will never received recognition and the world won't know her name for the sacrifices she made. Heavy story, but I really enjoyed this episode.

---------- Post added at 01:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:09 PM ----------

So that leads me to some questions for our first-time readers. The author in that link remarks that some readers have complained that it's hard to follow the story with the constant switching back & forth between locales, & even times as seen in The Chain. Do you agree with this?

He also brings up the issue of the art- have you had a hard time so far recognizing characters?

I didn't have any problems following issues 1-4. With The Chain I had "huh?" moments when this slayer was called. Why on earth was she knocked back off the table? That didn't happen to any of the ones we saw on S7. Then I was thinking about that girl playing softball in "Chosen" - she was maybe 10? Did Buffy and Co. try to recruit her away from her family? I just find the way they went about finding the potentials-turned-slayers very odd.

Most of the time the art isn't bothering me, but in the next issues I think the artist did a poor job portraying both Buffy and Faith. Other than that, so far the main characters have been recognizable to me. I really need to finish my re-watch of BtVS, especially S7, so it's fresher in my mind.

 

[VisionGirl]

-I still don't understand the whole anti-slayer attitude of the world. They are saving humanity from being sucked into hell, destroyed, being eaten, etc. and they're getting all this hate? Then again, that military organization is probably throwing all kinds of propaganda out to the public.

I think it's exactly what Buffy said to General Voll in #4: "It's about women. It's about power and it's about women and you just hate those two words in the same sentence, don't you?" And also because here's this massive supernatural force that the government can't control, and you know they don't like that! I actually think that at this point the Slayers are not fully out in public. Obviously the government and alot of other forces know, and the public is starting to get an inkling, what with girls getting empowered all over the place. And like I said earlier, I'm not sure Andrew's TV advertisement was such a wise idea. I understand that they're trying to get the message out to all the girls, but the general public doesn't really understand what this is all about.

---------- Post added at 01:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 PM ----------

Also, the Georges Jeanty cover of #5 ("I want you to be strong") is my all time favourite. I have a large version of it framed ubove my desk. It got me through a very tough time earlier in the year when I was working at a job I didn't like and every day as I drove to that Job I would picture that cover in my head and it would give me courage and strength to face the day. I had a friend who was also havign a hard time at her job and so I e-mailed her a copy of the picture. She is not a Buffy fan but it bought her to tears. Powerful image that.

Did most of the issues only have 2 cover options, with a few (like The Chain) having a 3rd cover?