Well-known reviewer and blogger MarkWatches started watching "Buffy"
- Thread starter Moscow Watcher
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L
Living Dead Boy
Guest
He's reviewing Becoming part 1 tommorow! Sucks that we have to wait for part 2 until Monday, but he's made it to what is widely known as the zenith of the series. I can't wait! 😀 😀 😀
Valjavertjinn
I'm soooo excited!
Spikefan31
Effulgent
Does anyone know how to decipher the gibberish in the comments?
L
Living Dead Boy
I've been wondering the same thing, but I have no clue.
Cast No Shadow
You are my world.
Still Markwatches, but [MENTION=10438]JCoatsworth[/MENTION], thought you might be interested: http://markwatches.net/reviews/2012/01/mark-watches-jurassic-park/#more-903
JCoatsworth
cool, thanks!
Valjavertjinn
I am, I am, I am.
It's written in rot13, which is a certain coding tool. If you want it, it's right here: http://www.rot13.com/ .
L
Living Dead Boy
ooooooh! Thanks!
Spikefan31
Effulgent
L
Living Dead Boy
Guest
Just read it. Surprised he didn't mention the coming-out-gay/coming-out-Slayer parallel. Love this bit: That’s when Joss Whedon teaches me that I should never, ever desire anything ever from him, because he will promptly destroy it.
He's finally learning, eh?
There's a Spuffy discussion going on in the comments (rot 13'd, of course), and I found this post about AtS S5 Spike interesting:
I don't think he's really over it. I think he puts on a mask — despite his attitude, Angel has the power to hurt him deeply through his emotions. We see this with the flashback with Dru when Spike walks in on them for the first time back when he was first turned. Now, he's got Angel constantly telling him that Buffy will never love him the way she loved Angel, that he didn't save the world, only "wore a necklace," etc. And while he may become friendly with Fred, Gunn, Lorne and even Wes, ultimately they are Angel's friends, not his. So I think Spike uses his attitude and "regresses" to his Big Bad persona simply to protect himself.
You can argue that this is why he "created" Spike in the first place — to protect his soft William underbelly that never truly went away. William is still very much present in the flashbacks just after Spike is turned. He still loves his mother, he thinks he's found his One True Love in Dru, etc. It is only after he meets Angelus and gets the speech about how nothing belongs to him anymore that he begins to harden his heart and become the badass vampire we all know and love.
SO I think that, in Angel's presence, it is perfectly in character for Spike to act the way he does in ATS S5. As entertaining as they are to watch, he and Angel bring out the worst in each other, and Spike cannot allow Angel to hurt him again. The attitude protects him; Angel isn't Buffy, and if Spike showed Angel the sides of himself that he showed Buffy, Angel would rip him apart. So Spike does the best he can to protect himself, while still incorporating as many of the lessons that he learned from Buffy as he can.
As for Spike not going to Buffy . . . . while Spike may be doing his best to protect himself against Angel, the things Angel tells him are inevitably going to take their toll. He may not let on to it, especially in Angel's presence, but if someone tells you enough times (and punctuated with violence a la "Destiny") that you don't deserve the girl, that the girl never loved you, etc, eventually you will start to believe it, no matter how hard you try not to. This is why bullying is so damaging to so many people. Also, Spike is an inherently insecure person, which is another thing that Angel never sees if Spike can help it. However, when Spike confides in Harmony at the end of "Harm's Way" about his reasons for not going to Buffy, I can buy it, because Spike's insecurities, salt newly rubbed in by Angel, are festering openly on the screen in that scene.
So he stays in LA, doing his best to honour Buffy by fighting the good fight, knowing she may never hear of it. He tells himself that he and Buffy went out on a good note, and he wants to leave it there in case she didn't mean her "I love you" or has gotten over him. He doesn't want his heart broken again, not after having gone through such lengths to protect it against Angel. He's got a good life in LA. He may not be living his dream, but it's good. He's put himself back together, piece by piece, after going crazy after getting his soul, and he's finally in a place where he can be comfortable with himself. He doesn't want to upset the delicate balance he has created within himself.
So, am I making sense, or the kind that's not?
Oh, and on a related-but-not-really note, I think that the majority of the reason that Angel acts as he does toward Spike is jealousy — over Buffy, the soul, etc. But that's another post for another time. This one's long enough as it is!
He's finally learning, eh?
There's a Spuffy discussion going on in the comments (rot 13'd, of course), and I found this post about AtS S5 Spike interesting:
I don't think he's really over it. I think he puts on a mask — despite his attitude, Angel has the power to hurt him deeply through his emotions. We see this with the flashback with Dru when Spike walks in on them for the first time back when he was first turned. Now, he's got Angel constantly telling him that Buffy will never love him the way she loved Angel, that he didn't save the world, only "wore a necklace," etc. And while he may become friendly with Fred, Gunn, Lorne and even Wes, ultimately they are Angel's friends, not his. So I think Spike uses his attitude and "regresses" to his Big Bad persona simply to protect himself.
You can argue that this is why he "created" Spike in the first place — to protect his soft William underbelly that never truly went away. William is still very much present in the flashbacks just after Spike is turned. He still loves his mother, he thinks he's found his One True Love in Dru, etc. It is only after he meets Angelus and gets the speech about how nothing belongs to him anymore that he begins to harden his heart and become the badass vampire we all know and love.
SO I think that, in Angel's presence, it is perfectly in character for Spike to act the way he does in ATS S5. As entertaining as they are to watch, he and Angel bring out the worst in each other, and Spike cannot allow Angel to hurt him again. The attitude protects him; Angel isn't Buffy, and if Spike showed Angel the sides of himself that he showed Buffy, Angel would rip him apart. So Spike does the best he can to protect himself, while still incorporating as many of the lessons that he learned from Buffy as he can.
As for Spike not going to Buffy . . . . while Spike may be doing his best to protect himself against Angel, the things Angel tells him are inevitably going to take their toll. He may not let on to it, especially in Angel's presence, but if someone tells you enough times (and punctuated with violence a la "Destiny") that you don't deserve the girl, that the girl never loved you, etc, eventually you will start to believe it, no matter how hard you try not to. This is why bullying is so damaging to so many people. Also, Spike is an inherently insecure person, which is another thing that Angel never sees if Spike can help it. However, when Spike confides in Harmony at the end of "Harm's Way" about his reasons for not going to Buffy, I can buy it, because Spike's insecurities, salt newly rubbed in by Angel, are festering openly on the screen in that scene.
So he stays in LA, doing his best to honour Buffy by fighting the good fight, knowing she may never hear of it. He tells himself that he and Buffy went out on a good note, and he wants to leave it there in case she didn't mean her "I love you" or has gotten over him. He doesn't want his heart broken again, not after having gone through such lengths to protect it against Angel. He's got a good life in LA. He may not be living his dream, but it's good. He's put himself back together, piece by piece, after going crazy after getting his soul, and he's finally in a place where he can be comfortable with himself. He doesn't want to upset the delicate balance he has created within himself.
So, am I making sense, or the kind that's not?
Oh, and on a related-but-not-really note, I think that the majority of the reason that Angel acts as he does toward Spike is jealousy — over Buffy, the soul, etc. But that's another post for another time. This one's long enough as it is!
ladydorotea
Scooby
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2009
- Messages
- 722
Oh, I love it when fandom tries to <rationalize away> Joss' most unpleasant twists dealt to one character by blackwashing another. I would love to see this poster's <rationalization> of Spike in AtF comic. 🙂 Would be great fun to read. By the way, tv tropes has a nice name for this particular phenomena - it is called 'Ron the death eater'
Check it out!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RonTheDeathEater
---------- Post added at 12:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 PM ----------
[MENTION=11238]KellGreen[/MENTION] and vice versa. 😀 Technically though, the trope is applied to the canon hero/pairing being blackwashed by the fans of the fanon one. The joined phenomena is also called : http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DieForOurShip and can be applied to both shipper camps.
Check it out!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RonTheDeathEater
---------- Post added at 12:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 PM ----------
[MENTION=11238]KellGreen[/MENTION] and vice versa. 😀 Technically though, the trope is applied to the canon hero/pairing being blackwashed by the fans of the fanon one. The joined phenomena is also called : http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DieForOurShip and can be applied to both shipper camps.
L
Living Dead Boy
Guest
His predictions for season three is up. It's a little disturbing how accurate he is a lot of the time. Hahaha.
"1.The first episode of season three will be highly Buffy-centric. I’m guessing this because Buffy left Sunnydale and they sort of have to show where she went and what she did.
2. Cordelia and Xander will break up. My general theme for these predictions will be: “Joy cannot last.” I think this is a healthy choice to have.
3. Angel will be retrieved from Hell.
4. On that note, Willow will continue to pursue doing magic in season three.
5. We will find out why Principal Snyder is “in” with the Mayor of Sunnydale, and the mayor will play a larger role.
6. Principal Snyder will die by a creature that’s not a vampire.
7. We will see one snake in season three.
8. Spike will come back, but not Drusilla."
....Seriously, has he watched season three already? 😛
"1.The first episode of season three will be highly Buffy-centric. I’m guessing this because Buffy left Sunnydale and they sort of have to show where she went and what she did.
2. Cordelia and Xander will break up. My general theme for these predictions will be: “Joy cannot last.” I think this is a healthy choice to have.
3. Angel will be retrieved from Hell.
4. On that note, Willow will continue to pursue doing magic in season three.
5. We will find out why Principal Snyder is “in” with the Mayor of Sunnydale, and the mayor will play a larger role.
6. Principal Snyder will die by a creature that’s not a vampire.
7. We will see one snake in season three.
8. Spike will come back, but not Drusilla."
....Seriously, has he watched season three already? 😛
S
Spikefan31
[No message]
EvilWillow
Scooby
L
Living Dead Boy
Guest
[MENTION=11641]EvilWillow[/MENTION] yeah, after I had read all of his predictions (those above weren't all of them, just the ones that were pretty spot on), I had to facepalm myself, like wow, how could he have known all of that?
BananaBuffy
Peanut Bear
Yeah, I was a little creeped out at how accurate they were. I mean, Spike will come back but not Drusilla? That is far too accurate. LOL. The snake thing was funny.
xaphania
Spike/Buffy
The S3 predictions make me think he's already seen it, or has been spoiled. They're a little too accurate...
By the way, is everyone in this thread listening to the Potentialcast and Redemptioncast podcasts? If you like the Mark Watches then you'd probably enjoy the podcasts. The hosts are three newbies to the verse and one big fan, with various guest presenters. They're really funny and entertaining to listen to, helped me pass many a boring day at work. They're coming up to midway through BtVS S4 and AtS S1 now so there's plenty to go back and listen to. I look forward to a new episode every week.
By the way, is everyone in this thread listening to the Potentialcast and Redemptioncast podcasts? If you like the Mark Watches then you'd probably enjoy the podcasts. The hosts are three newbies to the verse and one big fan, with various guest presenters. They're really funny and entertaining to listen to, helped me pass many a boring day at work. They're coming up to midway through BtVS S4 and AtS S1 now so there's plenty to go back and listen to. I look forward to a new episode every week.
BananaBuffy
I LOVE PotentialCast and RedemptionCast. It's so nice to see that someone else on the board listens.
WileyDairyGnome
Strong like an Amazon
Wow his predictions were mighty accurate like the snake (ahem, the Mayor), and Spike comes back but Drusilla doesn't.
Spikefan31
Effulgent
Yeah, I thought that was really weird. Is he completely spoiler-free? 'Cause guessing about the snake? That's, like, one in a million.😀
Rack
Potential
My only question is...how did he get to 2012 without ever seeing an episode?
BananaBuffy
I got to 2010 without seeing an episode. Seriously.
Spikefan31
Effulgent
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