Wow, guys. As I'm watching the incredible movie Bring It On (starring the fabulous Eliza Dushku of Faith notoriety) I realize that the bitchy second-in-command cheerleader is Clare Kramer. BETTER KNOWN AS GLORY. Glory, the hellish Big Bad from Season 5. This is bringing me no small joy.
"Follow me or perish, Sweater Monkeys."
Monday, September 19, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
New Moon Rising: Live & Uncensored
A Willow friendly room, huh, Tara? As my students might say: "Ohhhhhh yeeeeeyaaaah." Wil, it is so adorable how you translate the Scooby meeting for Tara. I'm so pleased that you two are becoming full-fledged lady lovers as Tara becomes a full-fledged Scooby (a member of the FAMILY, even? Go on home naw, Bobby Ray!).
Giles, YOU may not appreciate Anya's snide remarks, but I really, really do. (Why don't you serve your purpose and go back to being the sexified, raspy-voiced, coffee-shop crooner that I know you are? What?)
And OHMYGAAW, Oz is back!
CUE Nerf Herder. CUT TO Me fist pumping.
"Oz was a werewolf and Willow was DATING HIM?" Oh, Riley. Who hasn't dated a corn-fed Iowa boy with conservative values, unable to accept an "alternative lifestyle," blind to life's variety. Buffy, we all know that love isn't logical with you darlin'. WHERE THE HELL is Angel.
Ugh, I cannot HANDLE the Willow faces in this episode. They are torturous. "I'll have the less confusing waffles right now"--Willow, summing up how I'd like to approach most things in life: f*#& it all, and indulge in various breakfast foods.
Buffy (to Riley): "Right, and then you can have a perfectly balanced breakfast, and then you can call your mother."
...
I could write an entire post on this whole issue, but I have to keep up. Go obey sa'more commands already, Riley.
This coming out is touching, but in the interest of full disclosure I'm currently thinking, "Buffy, your hair is lookin' real nice this season."
Wakey, Spikey! Adam is the most dull villain. I wish to wipe him from my screen.
I'm totally glossing over all the Willow/Tara talk. Sry.
If there were ever an argument for ditchin' dudes, Oz's reaction to discovering Wil's relocation to the Isle of Lesbos is it. I mean, he absolutely loses his shit, all jealous and werewolfy (who wants a thickly-veiled metaphor these days?).
HOLD THE PHONE. Cutest high-five scene ever:
Anya: "Slap my hand now!"
Giles: "Huh?"
Anya: "In celebration!"
10 points for anarchy. You may be on the road to redemption yet, Riley.
ANGELLLLLL.
I'm using humor to deflect the pain I feel watching this final scene between Willow and Oz. Willow looks at him as adorably as the first day she saw Oz at Sunnydale High, but oh, how things have changed.
In conclusion, we can all agree that Where the Wild Things Are ignited a fire within each of us, and that THIS episode is seriously lacking in sexy-singin' Giles. (Ohhhhh yeeeeeeyaaaaah.)
Giles, YOU may not appreciate Anya's snide remarks, but I really, really do. (Why don't you serve your purpose and go back to being the sexified, raspy-voiced, coffee-shop crooner that I know you are? What?)
And OHMYGAAW, Oz is back!
CUE Nerf Herder. CUT TO Me fist pumping.
"Oz was a werewolf and Willow was DATING HIM?" Oh, Riley. Who hasn't dated a corn-fed Iowa boy with conservative values, unable to accept an "alternative lifestyle," blind to life's variety. Buffy, we all know that love isn't logical with you darlin'. WHERE THE HELL is Angel.
Ugh, I cannot HANDLE the Willow faces in this episode. They are torturous. "I'll have the less confusing waffles right now"--Willow, summing up how I'd like to approach most things in life: f*#& it all, and indulge in various breakfast foods.
Buffy (to Riley): "Right, and then you can have a perfectly balanced breakfast, and then you can call your mother."
...
Buffy: "There's different degrees of..."
Riley: "Evil?"
Buffy: "It's just different with different demons. There are creatures, vampires for example, that aren't evil at all"
Douche-bag: "Name one."
...enter Forrest (what a charmer)I could write an entire post on this whole issue, but I have to keep up. Go obey sa'more commands already, Riley.
This coming out is touching, but in the interest of full disclosure I'm currently thinking, "Buffy, your hair is lookin' real nice this season."
Wakey, Spikey! Adam is the most dull villain. I wish to wipe him from my screen.
I'm totally glossing over all the Willow/Tara talk. Sry.
If there were ever an argument for ditchin' dudes, Oz's reaction to discovering Wil's relocation to the Isle of Lesbos is it. I mean, he absolutely loses his shit, all jealous and werewolfy (who wants a thickly-veiled metaphor these days?).
HOLD THE PHONE. Cutest high-five scene ever:
Anya: "Slap my hand now!"
Giles: "Huh?"
Anya: "In celebration!"
10 points for anarchy. You may be on the road to redemption yet, Riley.
ANGELLLLLL.
I'm using humor to deflect the pain I feel watching this final scene between Willow and Oz. Willow looks at him as adorably as the first day she saw Oz at Sunnydale High, but oh, how things have changed.
In conclusion, we can all agree that Where the Wild Things Are ignited a fire within each of us, and that THIS episode is seriously lacking in sexy-singin' Giles. (Ohhhhh yeeeeeeyaaaaah.)
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Slayer and Death
I was driving home after a long weekend away and noticed for the first time this year that the leaves are changing. This event always heralds my favorite time of year: Fall. Fall represents cooler weather, football season, my birthday, the return to school (sadly, the last school year for me), and a fresh feeling in the air. Of course, I live in Alabama, so it's still hot as the Hellmouth out there, but ever since I saw those leaves I've been giddy over the good things to come. However, not everyone feels the same way I do. While reading one of my favorite blogs, I discovered that the autumn season makes the blog's author depressed. Changing leaves for her are the death rattle of the land; the season in general represents another year dying.
As most things do, this discovery made me pensive. I mean, I know that colorful leaves soon lead to bare trees, and that the landscape slowly turns to brown in the fall. But I still love it. This train of thought took me shortly to Buffy.
In season 5, Spike observes that all Slayers secretly have death wishes. Buffy denies this. After all, a Slayer's entire existence is fighting to keep herself and the people of the world alive. Beyond that, what rational person would seek death? Death, in the form of vampires, threatens a Slayer's life at every turn. Death seeks her out; no reason to bring it on faster than it already hurtles toward her.
But we find out that Buffy does have a death wish, in a way. This is fulfilled at the end of the season in "The Gift," as Buffy realizes that although her life has saved countless people, her death will save the world. And when Buffy returns from death in season 6, we find out that she would rather be dead than be back and faced with the crushing burdens that come along with being the Chosen One. Death equals peace to a Slayer. Although death is the end of the line, it's also the end of turmoil, the end of terror, the end of bearing the weight of the world.
There's also an interesting argument that Buffy is actually attracted to death, due to her two romances with vampires. But I won't go down that rabbit trail here.
So, death equals peace. And although BtVS is not a religious show, this message rings true to those of us who are Christians. Like Buffy, Christians travail through life amidst all the pain and strife that goes along with it, all the while understanding that death will bring fulfillment and peace. It's also interesting to note that while Buffy does seek to prevent people from dying, her major work centers around preventing people from what comes after dying - becoming a vampire, or living in a post-apocalyptic hell dimension, both fates worse than death. In both Christian theology and BtVS, it's what comes after death that's so crucial.
The Christian metaphor often breaks down, especially after Buffy's resurrection in season 6. But after we begin to understand the depths of Buffy's despair over being back alive and re-shouldering her impossible burden, we can at least sympathize with her subconscious desire for the death that will end her life-struggle. And this is what makes the end of the series so meaningful. Buffy can smile again because she has fulfilled her worldly mission.
So I guess that brings us back to the changing of seasons. After fall heralds the death of the year, and winter embodies it, spring does come again. And that's why it's okay to love autumn and everything it stands for: death is necessary, and it can be painful, but it can also be lovely. In Buffy's case her beautiful death was the ultimate act of love. Above all, we know that death is not the end - we can be assured that spring will come again, and with it, peace.
As most things do, this discovery made me pensive. I mean, I know that colorful leaves soon lead to bare trees, and that the landscape slowly turns to brown in the fall. But I still love it. This train of thought took me shortly to Buffy.
In season 5, Spike observes that all Slayers secretly have death wishes. Buffy denies this. After all, a Slayer's entire existence is fighting to keep herself and the people of the world alive. Beyond that, what rational person would seek death? Death, in the form of vampires, threatens a Slayer's life at every turn. Death seeks her out; no reason to bring it on faster than it already hurtles toward her.
But we find out that Buffy does have a death wish, in a way. This is fulfilled at the end of the season in "The Gift," as Buffy realizes that although her life has saved countless people, her death will save the world. And when Buffy returns from death in season 6, we find out that she would rather be dead than be back and faced with the crushing burdens that come along with being the Chosen One. Death equals peace to a Slayer. Although death is the end of the line, it's also the end of turmoil, the end of terror, the end of bearing the weight of the world.
There's also an interesting argument that Buffy is actually attracted to death, due to her two romances with vampires. But I won't go down that rabbit trail here.
So, death equals peace. And although BtVS is not a religious show, this message rings true to those of us who are Christians. Like Buffy, Christians travail through life amidst all the pain and strife that goes along with it, all the while understanding that death will bring fulfillment and peace. It's also interesting to note that while Buffy does seek to prevent people from dying, her major work centers around preventing people from what comes after dying - becoming a vampire, or living in a post-apocalyptic hell dimension, both fates worse than death. In both Christian theology and BtVS, it's what comes after death that's so crucial.
The Christian metaphor often breaks down, especially after Buffy's resurrection in season 6. But after we begin to understand the depths of Buffy's despair over being back alive and re-shouldering her impossible burden, we can at least sympathize with her subconscious desire for the death that will end her life-struggle. And this is what makes the end of the series so meaningful. Buffy can smile again because she has fulfilled her worldly mission.
So I guess that brings us back to the changing of seasons. After fall heralds the death of the year, and winter embodies it, spring does come again. And that's why it's okay to love autumn and everything it stands for: death is necessary, and it can be painful, but it can also be lovely. In Buffy's case her beautiful death was the ultimate act of love. Above all, we know that death is not the end - we can be assured that spring will come again, and with it, peace.
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