What did you like better: the earlier seasons of Buffy or the later seasons?

[Bop]

I did appreciate Spike sacrificing himself but it's not like he really did it for all the people he's killed, or it didn't seem that way. Nothing in season 7 showed Spike really feeling guilt for what he's done, isn't 'Lies my parents told me' proof of that? Why does he still wear Nikki's jacket if he's truly feeling guilt over killing her? It seemed more like he was trying to show Buffy what a good man he's become, and yes he's become a better man than he use to be.

 

[Guy]

1) You don't just develop a conscience. You either have one or you don't.

I think Faith would disagree with you about that.

holtzmanns-girl.tumblr.com/post/93148379441/faith-to-buffy-youre-all-about-control-you

The whole POINT of redemption arcs is that people CAN change.

 

[GraceK]

I think Faith would disagree with you about that.

holtzmanns-girl.tumblr.com/post/93148379441/faith-to-buffy-youre-all-about-control-you

The whole POINT of redemption arcs is that people CAN change.

Faith always had a conscience. She's not a sociopath, she's more psychotic. Her conscience was buried under childhood trauma, abuse, guilt and self loathing, that's why it almost destroyed her when she chose to go down a dark path. If she truly had no conscience she wouldn't have bothered trying to change. The point of redemption is WANTING to be redeemed, making a conscious choice to change and be better. The Ted Bundys and Jeffrey Dahmers of this world don't have that.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

@WillowFromBuffy and @GraceK I work with young children. Babies are very self-centred and only care about their own needs eg they want something, they're going to have it regardless if someone else already has it. It's when children start getting older, from about 2 onwards, is when they start to develop empathy for others eg If a 2 year old hears another child cry, they will look to the source of the noise and may look concerned but they won't do anything beyond that. A 4 year old on the other hand will either try and help the crying child themselves or will tell an adult that the child is crying so that the adult can sort it out. However, it's also important to model positive behaviour in order to enable young children to learn and develop appropriate social skills. For example:

If a young child watched Season 2 Spike's behaviour, they would learn that it's alright to hurt people on a whim (Spike punches Dalton in the stomach, him and Buffy fight), they do get examples of Spike saying sorry but that's only towards Dru because Spike likes her. Therefore, from Spike, children would learn that you can hurt anyone you want, just not the people that you like.

If a young child watched season 2 Buffy's behaviour, they would learn that it is kind to help others, they'd learn that being friends makes people happy etc. From Buffy, children learn to help others, to look out for friends, to be kind, and so on.

 

[Carrie Hopewell]

The whole POINT of redemption arcs is that people CAN change.

Angel always had a conscience. The minute he became Angel, he regretted what he did as Angelus. Even if it took a long while until he believed he could be redeemed and until he actively searched for redemption, Angel had already accepted responsibility for his mistakes and mourned the lives he took.

Faith always had a conscience too. Her initial reaction after killing Finch, the way she spiraled afterwards and her destructive behavior prove this. She did awful things because she was living in denial, rejecting her responsibility in the kills and her conscience. She wanted control, to feel powerful and not like a victim or second best, she wanted to fit in with someone. She still had empathy though. She saved Buffy before joining The Mayor, she was shocked and appalled in Enemies when she killed a harmless demon (Faith isn't the best actress and she didn't fake her remorse to Angel), she hurt Wes because she thought she deserved the hatred and to die. Doing evil things doesn't mean you don't have empathy or a conscience even if empathy is something that can grow with time and certain experiences. Certainly, after her dark period, Faith had more empathy towards people just like Angel did when compared to Liam.

Anyway, redemption doesn't equal growing a conscience.

And Spike, btw, has one when he can use that to paint himself as a martyr (Damage, Chosen, every time he talked to Buffy).

 

[Mylie]

Yes even when Faith was acting all though like she didn't care, she obviously did. At first she choose to ignore the guilt but it was still there and it's quite obvious in Bad Girls and Consequences.

And she reached her breaking point, all by herself, in Five By Five. She wouldn't be asking Angel to kill her otherwise.

 

[Stoney]

I like this. This is new 😛 Nobody has said that to me before.

I just want to clarify that I did not want to say that is was hollow. He clearly believed he was going to die. Spike thinks his sacrifice will appear less meaningful to Buffy if he shows up alive and well to bask in her gratefulness. I like to think of Spike as a romantic hero, not Jesus Christ or Neo from the Matrix. Romantic heroes like grand gestures. This is just how I personally enjoy and understand the character. I think a lot of his words support my theory, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Sorry, I did somewhat misinterpret what you were saying. 🙂

Spike is often hot on telling others about their weaknesses, as he perceives them, but often isn't great about seeing his own, but I do agree that there is some truth in what he says in AtS 5. I think it is fair to see his sacrifice in the hellmouth as a grand gesture, and he has certainly always been prone to the dramatic. But I think what he says is a way to simplify and cover the overall uncertainty he is feeling about what worth he has in the world too. Even though I think he was still very focused on Buffy at that point in S7, I do think it was about more than just her and it was also greatly about that uncertainty then too, about how to have purpose once souled and this was tied up in the choice to give up his life for a greater good. Going for the big ending that put others before him gave him a sense of worth perhaps. This I think is why he doesn't know how you follow that, and whilst he really does start to explore the ways he can be a hero in AtS 5, he is gullible to Lindsay's manipulations and then falls back yet again to sacrificing himself as a direction he can understand. It takes a while before he is back in Buffy's orbit and slowly starts to think about fighting alongside the group rather than swooping in at key moments. It was really a slow process of getting a better sense of self and what he could be. 😀

 

[Guy]

@Mylie, you can't just change your avatar like that! 😛 How will I recognize you now? 😀

Faith always had a conscience. She's not a sociopath, she's more psychotic. Her conscience was buried under childhood trauma, abuse, guilt and self loathing, that's why it almost destroyed her when she chose to go down a dark path. If she truly had no conscience she wouldn't have bothered trying to change. The point of redemption is WANTING to be redeemed, making a conscious choice to change and be better. The Ted Bundys and Jeffrey Dahmers of this world don't have that.

Sure. Faith always had a conscience - but she also completely ignored it for a lengthy amount of time. And the same is true of Anya. And in both cases, contact with "normal" people made them connect to their dormant conscience - Faith's time in Buffy's body, among the scoobies, made her connect to her conscience, and Anya's time among the scoobies also made her connect to her conscience. Anya's transition was slower, of course, since centuries of demon life made her bury her conscience even deeper than Faith had.

😀

Angel always had a conscience. The minute he became Angel, he regretted what he did as Angelus. Even if it took a long while until he believed he could be redeemed and until he actively searched for redemption, Angel had already accepted responsibility for his mistakes and mourned the lives he took.

100% true. Which is why Angel's arc had NOTHING to do with what Faith and Anya went through - their journey was about going from being a bad person to being a good person, while Angel's journey was just about a good person who wants to atone. Those are very different things.

Faith always had a conscience too. Her initial reaction after killing Finch, the way she spiraled afterwards and her destructive behavior prove this. She did awful things because she was living in denial, rejecting her responsibility in the kills and her conscience. She wanted control, to feel powerful and not like a victim or second best, she wanted to fit in with someone. She still had empathy though. She saved Buffy before joining The Mayor, she was shocked and appalled in Enemies when she killed a harmless demon (Faith isn't the best actress and she didn't fake her remorse to Angel), she hurt Wes because she thought she deserved the hatred and to die. Doing evil things doesn't mean you don't have empathy or a conscience even if empathy is something that can grow with time and certain experiences. Certainly, after her dark period, Faith had more empathy towards people just like Angel did when compared to Liam.

Sure, as I said - Faith just shut her conscience off (remember the "humanity switch" in TVD?😀), ignored it. When she killed professor Worth, Faith showed ZERO remorse, because she had completely fallen into a nihilistic "nothing matters" philosophy. Just like Anya had before she joined the scoobies. They both buried their conscience, to the point that it ceased to exist for all practical reasons.

Anyway, redemption doesn't equal growing a conscience.

Redemption means a lot of different things depending on who you ask, and most of those interpretations are pretty dumb IMO. But the interpretation that is being promoted in 'Buffy', which I personally prefer, is simple - redemption simply means that people who do bad things can choose to change and start doing good in the world. And Anya definitely fits that definition, by the end of season 7. So do Andrew and Spike and Faith.

And Spike, btw, has one when he can use that to paint himself as a martyr (Damage, Chosen, every time he talked to Buffy).

He also has one whenever he decides NOT to murder innocent people for fun. Which is, like, ALL THE TIME (after he gets his soul, of course). Just because he doesn't spend every day flogging himself like Angel, doesn't mean that he doesn't have a conscience. Faith isn't into the pointless self-flagellation either.

 

[Carrie Hopewell]

He also has one whenever he decides NOT to murder innocent people for fun. Which is, like, ALL THE TIME (after he gets his soul, of course).

Oh, let's give him a cookie! What a good boy!

Just because he doesn't spend every day flogging himself like Angel, doesn't mean that he doesn't have a conscience. Faith isn't into the pointless self-flagellation either.

Okay, Angel isn't into pointless self-flagellation. When we jokingly talk about him brooding, that's not just Angel sitting on a chair and naming his victims. It's about him being introspective and quiet, choosing to spend time reflecting on his day, or enjoying the silence. Yes, Angel is tormented by his past more so than others would be, and yes, he might go through some extremes for redemption, but name one scene in which Angel is being overly dramatic about someone's death? Last time I checked, apologizing for killing someone and remembering that person is respectful, not pointless self-flagellation. In fact, having low self-esteem because you remember killing someone and enjoying it isn't self-flagellation or pointless. It's called being a decent person. I don't think Angel's emotions are pointless at all. They drive him to be the best champion he can be, which is one of the reasons why he'll always be a better champion than Spike.

Anyway, Faith is a lot like Angel. After Ats s1, she becomes withdrawn and has feelings of worthlessness like Angel. She might cover it up with sass and humor, but she readily gives up her life in Orpheus (Angel is the one who tells her that her time isn't up) and readily joins a bunch of people who hate her in the name of "redemption". She could've easily stayed in L.A. to help there, without any burden on her conscience, yet she chose to "punish" herself by helping out in Sunnydale. So yeah, I don't see how she's any different from Angel. They are very alike. Angel is a mentor to Faith and she clearly adopted his attitude. Also, Wes practically had to bully her into being more aggressive. That's not the behavior of someone who has shrugged off all of that "pointless" guilt.

 

[GraceK]

He also has one whenever he decides NOT to murder innocent people for fun.

Hahahahahahahaha

That's not a conscience. He decides not to murder people for fun not because he thinks it's wrong or has any empathy , but because he wants Buffy to like him. Major difference.

(Pre soul of course 🙂 )
 

Sure. Faith always had a conscience - but she also completely ignored it for a lengthy amount of time. A

Which is my point exactly. Ignoring your conscience is not the same as NOT having one.

 

[Bop]

Just like Anya had before she joined the scoobies. They both buried their conscience, to the point that it ceased to exist for all practical reasons.

Except Anya buried her conscience for hundreds of years! Then when she had no choice but to be human, she stopped killing people. Then when things didn't go her way again, she decided to bury her conscience AGAIN and start killing people. I can debate whether Anya had a conscience or not, nobody can do that for Faith because she actually chose to suffer for her crimes unlike Anya.
 

Anya's time among the scoobies also made her connect to her conscience.

Clearly not. She had two and a half years being a human and with the scoobies and what happens after Hells Bells? She chooses to be a killer again because things didn't go her way again. Sociopath behaviour.

 

[Guy]

Oh, let's give him a cookie! What a good boy!

giphy.com/gifs/spike-xgZUFqQCGq7II

But seriously - Spike's behavior in season 7 (not including when he's being controlled by the First, obviously) definitely shows a conscience. Just because he isn't being all "I want forgiveness" like Angel, doesn't mean that he has no conscience.

Okay, Angel isn't into pointless self-flagellation. When we jokingly talk about him brooding, that's not just Angel sitting on a chair and naming his victims. It's about him being introspective and quiet, choosing to spend time reflecting on his day, or enjoying the silence. Yes, Angel is tormented by his past more so than others would be, and yes, he might go through some extremes for redemption, but name one scene in which Angel is being overly dramatic about someone's death? Last time I checked, apologizing for killing someone and remembering that person is respectful, not pointless self-flagellation. In fact, having low self-esteem because you remember killing someone and enjoying it isn't self-flagellation or pointless. It's called being a decent person. I don't think Angel's emotions are pointless at all. They drive him to be the best champion he can be, which is one of the reasons why he'll always be a better champion than Spike.

Angel clearly states that his greatest desire is "forgiveness" (Literally - "What do you want, Angel?" "I want... Forgiveness"). And he isn't talking about personal forgiveness - he's talking about cosmic forgiveness, about the universe forgiving him for his crimes. And that's a problem for two reasons:

1) Angel isn't even responsible for all the people that he killed as Angelus, so his quest for forgiveness is pointless. I mean, it's good that he wants to help people, but he's doing it for the wrong reasons.

2) It makes Angel OBSESSIVE. Angel completely devotes himself to his quest for "redemption" (more like atonement, really), and while that leads him to help a lot of people, that also leads him to do some terrible things. Angel killed Drogyn while seeking redemption. Angel got L.A sent to hell while he was seeking redemption. Angel hurt many people during his "beige" phase in season 2.

That's the problem with Angel's approach to "redemption". A problem that ensouled-Spike doesn't share, thankfully, since he's not obsessive about redemption. For people like Drogyn, Spike was actually a much better champion than Angel.

How did this turn into an Angel versus Spike war again? I swear, it feels like EVERY thread turns into this at some point...

Anyway, Faith is a lot like Angel. After Ats s1, she becomes withdrawn and has feelings of worthlessness like Angel. She might cover it up with sass and humor, but she readily gives up her life in Orpheus (Angel is the one who tells her that her time isn't up) and readily joins a bunch of people who hate her in the name of "redemption". She could've easily stayed in L.A. to help there, without any burden on her conscience, yet she chose to "punish" herself by helping out in Sunnydale. So yeah, I don't see how she's any different from Angel. They are very alike. Angel is a mentor to Faith and she clearly adopted his attitude. Also, Wes practically had to bully her into being more aggressive. That's not the behavior of someone who has shrugged off all of that "pointless" guilt.

The crucial difference is that Faith actually had a redemption arc (as in, she went from a bad guy to a good guy), whereas Angel just had a switch (the soul) that turned him from good to bad to good. Faith CHOSE to do evil, and then she CHOSE to change back. Angel never made those choices. That's why Faith is a lot more like Anya than like Angel, in terms of redemption. Unlike Angel, Faith is actually GUILTY of the bad things she did. Unlike Angel, Faith actually has a reason to feel bad for what she did. And unlike Angel, Faith actually made the choice to change after she lost herself in darkness. Angel had no agency in any of these things. Faith and Anya and Andrew did.

Another difference is that unlike Angel, Faith isn't obsessed with redemption. Faith didn't join the scoobies in season 7 for "redemption", or to punish herself, she did it because she was needed ("The way Willow tells it, that's where I'm needed"). Faith didn't save Angel for redemption, she did it for personal loyalty ("Angel's the only one who never gave up on me, there's no way I'm giving up on him"). Unlike Angel, Faith isn't obsessed with some cosmic forgiveness - she just wants to do good, and to feel good (and doing good makes her feel good, as Faith learned in 'Who Are You'), and to not hurt people anymore. That's why Faith doesn't end up doing things like killing Drogyn - she doesn't devote herself to redemption as some exalted ideal, she just tries to live her life as a good person and a good slayer. Which is far closer to souled-Spike's philosophy than to Angel's.

Hahahahahahahaha

That's not a conscience. He decides not to murder people for fun not because he thinks it's wrong or has any empathy , but because he wants Buffy to like him. Major difference.

In seasons 5 & 6, sure. But in season 7? After he gets a soul, Spike doesn't kill people because he has a conscience, not to get into Buffy's pants. The show was clear about it.

Except Anya buried her conscience for hundreds of years! Then when she had no choice but to be human, she stopped killing people. Then when things didn't go her way again, she decided to bury her conscience AGAIN and start killing people. I can debate whether Anya had a conscience or not, nobody can do that for Faith because she actually chose to suffer for her crimes unlike Anya.

All of these things are found in both Anya and Faith.

1) Like Faith, Anya buried her conscience. For a much longer period, sure, but it's still the same thing.
2) Like Faith, Anya made a CHOICE to kill.
3) Like Faith, Anya made a choice to STOP killing.
4) Like Faith, Anya chose to suffer for her crimes - she asked D'Hoffryn to kill her in exchange for the lives of the people she killed.

So, I don't see the difference.

Clearly not. She had two and a half years being a human and with the scoobies and what happens after Hells Bells? She chooses to be a killer again because things didn't go her way again. Sociopath behaviour.

So, if you falter once you can be redeemed, but if you falter twice than you just don't have a conscience? I gotta disagree.

 

[Bop]

giphy.com/gifs/spike-xgZUFqQCGq7II

But seriously - Spike's behavior in season 7 (not including when he's being controlled by the First, obviously) definitely shows a conscience. Just because he isn't being all "I want forgiveness" like Angel, doesn't mean that he has no conscience.



Angel clearly states that his greatest desire is "forgiveness" (Literally - "What do you want, Angel?" "I want... Forgiveness"). And he isn't talking about personal forgiveness - he's talking about cosmic forgiveness, about the universe forgiving him for his crimes. And that's a problem for two reasons:

1) Angel isn't even responsible for all the people that he killed as Angelus, so his quest for forgiveness is pointless. I mean, it's good that he wants to help people, but he's doing it for the wrong reasons.

2) It makes Angel OBSESSIVE. Angel completely devotes himself to his quest for "redemption" (more like atonement, really), and while that leads him to help a lot of people, that also leads him to do some terrible things. Angel killed Drogyn while seeking redemption. Angel got L.A sent to hell while he was seeking redemption. Angel hurt many people during his "beige" phase in season 2.

That's the problem with Angel's approach to "redemption". A problem that ensouled-Spike doesn't share, thankfully, since he's not obsessive about redemption. For people like Drogyn, Spike was actually a much better champion than Angel.

How did this turn into an Angel versus Spike war again? I swear, it feels like EVERY thread turns into this at some point...



The crucial difference is that Faith actually had a redemption arc (as in, she went from a bad guy to a good guy), whereas Angel just had a switch (the soul) that turned him from good to bad to good. Faith CHOSE to do evil, and then she CHOSE to change back. Angel never made those choices. That's why Faith is a lot more like Anya than like Angel, in terms of redemption. Unlike Angel, Faith is actually GUILTY of the bad things she did. Unlike Angel, Faith actually has a reason to feel bad for what she did. And unlike Angel, Faith actually made the choice to change after she lost herself in darkness. Angel had no agency in any of these things. Faith and Anya and Andrew did.

Another difference is that unlike Angel, Faith isn't obsessed with redemption. Faith didn't join the scoobies in season 7 for "redemption", or to punish herself, she did it because she was needed ("The way Willow tells it, that's where I'm needed"). Faith didn't save Angel for redemption, she did it for personal loyalty ("Angel's the only one who never gave up on me, there's no way I'm giving up on him"). Unlike Angel, Faith isn't obsessed with some cosmic forgiveness - she just wants to do good, and to feel good (and doing good makes her feel good, as Faith learned in 'Who Are You'), and to not hurt people anymore. That's why Faith doesn't end up doing things like killing Drogyn - she doesn't devote herself to redemption as some exalted ideal, she just tries to live her life as a good person and a good slayer. Which is far closer to souled-Spike's philosophy than to Angel's.



In seasons 5 & 6, sure. But in season 7? After he gets a soul, Spike doesn't kill people because he has a conscience, not to get into Buffy's pants. The show was clear about it.



All of these things are found in both Anya and Faith.

1) Like Faith, Anya buried her conscience. For a much longer period, sure, but it's still the same thing.
2) Like Faith, Anya made a CHOICE to kill.
3) Like Faith, Anya made a choice to STOP killing.
4) Like Faith, Anya chose to suffer for her crimes - she asked D'Hoffryn to kill her in exchange for the lives of the people she killed.

So, I don't see the difference.

The difference is that Anya went back to killing, meaning that she clearly never felt guilt for what she's done. Also burying your conscience for hundreds of years is not the same as burying your conscience for a year! Anya could not have been anything other than a sociopath to have buried her conscience for that long. Then to come back and JOKE about what she's done. Then to turn back to killing because something didn't go her way. That's nothing like Faith.
 

But seriously - Spike's behavior in season 7 (not including when he's being controlled by the First, obviously) definitely shows a conscience. Just because he isn't being all "I want forgiveness" like Angel, doesn't mean that he has no conscience.

It was the fact that Spike continued to wear Nikki's coat that gave his conscience act away. If he was really feeling guilt, he'd have stopped wearing the coat. If he wasn't feeling any remorse when he looked at the coat he'd continue to wear it. He continued to wear it. He was even very sad when the coat got blown up in Angel.

 

[Guy]

The difference is that Anya went back to killing, meaning that she clearly never felt guilt for what she's done. Also burying your conscience for hundreds of years is not the same as burying your conscience for a year! Anya could not have been anything other than a sociopath to have buried her conscience for that long. Then to come back and JOKE about what she's done. Then to turn back to killing because something didn't go her way. That's nothing like Faith.

It just means that Anya's redemption arc ended in 'Selfless', whereas Faith's redemption arc ended in 'Sanctuary'. (redemption = changing from a bad guy to a good guy)

In season 7, we saw that Anya gets punished for not being vengeful enough, and we saw that she's no longer apathetic to the vengeance - "Well, causing pain sounds really cool, I know, but turns out it's really upsetting. Didn't use to be, but now it is". Clearly, Anya DID feel guilt. In her second tenure as vengeance demon, it's obvious that Anya was no longer as immoral as she used to be. In the second time, being a vengeance demon was more about her wanting to belong and to have a purpose, than about wanting actual bloody vengeance.

It was the fact that Spike continued to wear Nikki's coat that gave his conscience act away. If he was really feeling guilt, he'd have stopped wearing the coat. If he wasn't feeling any remorse when he looked at the coat he'd continue to wear it. He continued to wear it. He was even very sad when the coat got blown up in Angel.

OR he's just not the sentimental type, and he just thinks that the coat looks cool. Or he wears it to remember his victims, like Wilson Fisk wears his dead father's pins.

OR it was just fanservice, and you shouldn't read anything into it.

Anyway, it doesn't "prove" that Spike had no conscience. It's just a coat.

 

[GraceK]

OR he's just not the sentimental type, and he just thinks that the coat looks cool.

That's disturbing. You don't have to be the "sentimental type" to be disgusted to wear the trophy of your murder victim. So many people defend him on this point, like he's just being "real" or "cool" and " it is what is get over it" like Spike is exempt from having to feel any guilt at all. He hunted, and murdered a slayer , who was also the Mother of a young child and he rationalizes it that she had it coming , that he was only doing what vampires do, and he shouldnt feel bad. Fine, that's all well and good if he feels like that, it doesn't make it any less appalling or gross that he taunts her son with th death of his mother and then, AGAIN, strips the coat off of the son. All while souled. That is vile and disgusting and I don't care how anyone tries to sugarcoat it or feel it's justified.

Oh and Wood tried avenge his mother so of course poor Spike had every right to do it!!! Please. This is what is annoying, are the Spike goggles fans have that anything Spike does is justified, cause he's just so darn awesome. I can love Spike, and Spuffy, and still call him out on the shitty things he does.
 
@Carrie Hopewell your my bb soulmate. 🙂

 

[Mylie]

OR he's just not the sentimental type, and he just thinks that the coat looks cool. Or he wears it to remember his victims, like Wilson Fisk wears his dead father's pins.

OR it was just fanservice, and you shouldn't read anything into it.

Anyway, it doesn't "prove" that Spike had no conscience. It's just a coat.

But it's not just a coat to Spike though... the show has made it a point to show how his identity, as a vampire, is linked to it. So of course the fans will read into it. That's what symbols are for.

 

[RomanticSoul]

He also has one whenever he decides NOT to murder innocent people for fun. Which is, like, ALL THE TIME (after he gets his soul, of course). Just because he doesn't spend every day flogging himself like Angel, doesn't mean that he doesn't have a conscience. Faith isn't into the pointless self-flagellation either.

The dozen or so people that Spike killed in S7 would like to have a word with you. The trigger is no excuse. If he can stop himself from killing Buffy, no matter how he does it, and it's not the First stopping him (who is the only one that controls the trigger) then Spike should have been able to also stop himself from killing all the other non-Buffy shaped people. So souled Spike is guilty of multiple murder.

And of course there is S8, where having the grand entrance meant more to him than letting people know about the whole Twilight!Angel thing.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

What goes on between a slayer and a vampire is war. I see no difference between Spike keeping Nikki's coat and a WWII allied soldier keeping a Samurai sword taken from a Japanese soldier (or in fact any soldier disarming an enemy and keeping the weapon). Even if the war is over, the property of his deceased enemy doesn't get thrown away - it is the valuable possession of the victor. Even if the victor later becomes a pacifist, the property of the enemy is a testament to his valour.

 

[Riderofapocalypse]

Honestly, a mixed bag for me. The only things that remained the same was my disdain for much of S1, and my unwavering praise for S3

When i was in my later teens and earlier 20's, i preferred the earlier seasons. The later seasons reminded me to much of upcoming adulthood, of which I didn't need a reminder of (finding a job, girlfriend, blah blah)
However now i find myself rolling my eyes at earlier seasons, preferring the mature and older version of the characters. It's difficult for me to sit through the 'everything is life or death because that's how it seems when your a teenager' drama. Plus i am not a fan of Bangel whatsoever. (No i don't like Spuffy either, unless it was just Spike getting into Buffy's pants without being a fan servant). Yet, as i re watch the earlier seasons. Every time i watch S2 to S4, hell even some of S5, i keep thinking:
'When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.'

 

[Priceless]

It was definitely about Aluwyn, IMO.
That line was Willow's response to Buffy asking her why she broke up with Kennedy. Willow says that she broke up with Kennedy because "there's someone else", but if that "someone else" is Tara, then why would that make her break up with Kennedy? Willow already got over her "I can't be with Kennedy because I'm not over Tara" phase in 'Killer In Me'. So, the only interpretation that makes sense is that Willow was talking about Aluwyn, since that would be a good reason to break up with Kennedy - at the end of season 8, Willow realized that she's in love with Aluwyn, after she lost the ability to be with her.
Also, in the final pages of that same issue, we see Willow reading a book with a picture of Aluwyn - implying that she's thinking about Aluwyn and thinking about ways to bring Aluwyn back, and NOT thinking about Tara.

I haven't read it in a while, but it does make sense that Willow was talking about Aluwyn, but I think the writers were leaving the statement open to interpretaion as a sop to the Tillow fans, because that's just what Buffy writers tend to do, trying to please everyone.