The Girl in Question

[shapinglight]

Finished my brief BtVS rewatch with another episode about which the current fandom consensus seems to be that we're not supposed to enjoy it, The Girl in Question.



Have to say, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I love it, not least because, though Angel and Spike both come across as pretty stupid, just for once, Angel is definitely stupider. Most of all, though, I love it for the vespa/car chase and the 'I signalled her with my eyes' scenes. ROFL.

Not going to say any more. I wrote a proper review of this ep back in 2007, and I haven't changed my mind about anything since (except for thinking the comics are even worse than I thought then).

Great stuff.

Comments

[norwie2010.livejournal.com]

Just read your review from way back when (which i hadn't done up until now) and i must say i'm astonished: I came away with the exact opposite impression of Angel and Spike moving on. I always thought that the episode's main connection to the overall arc was that it frees Angel and Spike of their human ties to go on (get off? ;-) to their suicide mission.

[shapinglight]

I always thought that the episode's main connection to the overall arc was that it frees Angel and Spike of their human ties to go on (get off? ;-) to their suicide mission.

Not IMO. They very definitely aren't moving on, no matter what they say. That's why when they say it, they're sitting still, not moving.

Angel does some letting go of his human ties, though, notably sending Nina and her family away.

[norwie2010.livejournal.com]

Yes, i get what you mean (them sitting vs. them moving) - it just feels in the overall arc of the season that this is a, hm, starting point in their suicidal tendencies? So, maybe they're not moving on in this episode (but shortly after), but it still feels important in the end game (mostly for Spike: why would Spike throw away his un-life otherwise?).

[shapinglight]

but it still feels important in the end game (mostly for Spike: why would Spike throw away his un-life otherwise?).

TBH, I never saw it as having any connection to Spike's decision. I really don't think that we're supposed to get from it that he was so dispirited over Buffy moving on that he signed up to commit suicide. After all, he already didn't think she loved him, he said so in Chosen, and says again a couple of times in this ep that he knew he never had a chance with her. Says it quite openly, in front of Angel. If anything, I would think that Andrew saying she loved them both would have made him more optimistic about his chances with her, not suicidal.

I've never really thought Spike signing up for Angel's suicide pact made sense for him. It just comes down to the show ending and Joss having the idea of a The Wild Bunch ending.

[norwie2010.livejournal.com]

Ah, maybe i worded that wrong. I didn't take away from TGIQ that Spike was so, so dispirited that he became suicidal. More like - his ties to humanity are somewhat capped. Buffy is this big, big thing for him, and in TGIQ he sees that she's well off, doesn't seem to need him and thus he's "free". So no, he's not becoming suicidal but he becomes free to do whatever he desires. His only ties to humanity after TGIQ are within the group of Angel, and they all die/go off on the suicide mission themselves. Spike cannot tell himself "i should go see Buffy" anymore, since she obviously doesn't need him.

So, that's what i took away from that ep.

[shapinglight]

I see. Yes, that makes sense.