Buffy season 10 no 20

[shapinglight]

Have to say, having read this I think one of the posters on Buffyforums has it right, for the most part.

Speculating about the Spike/Buffy stuff in this issue, they say, This feels similar to the Buffy/Giles stuff in the last issue. It's more for the fans than having any story cohesion or, frankly, relevance.

Mostly true, IMO, though as rahirah has pointed out elsewhere, that doesn't mean it's a bad comic, or that it doesn't have anything new to say.

Also, it reads a lot better the second time around.

Spoilers behind cut. There is a lot of mention of the attempted rape in Seeing Red, so if that upsets you, don't read.



I know I'm pretty much alone in liking Megan Levens' art so I won't even mention the art except to say I like it, but I know everyone else will be saying how ugly it is.

The issue is pretty much equally split between the Spike/Buffy stuff and plotty stuff to do with Xander and Ghost!Anya.

It turns out that Ghost Anya is not actually Anya at all, which I personally was disappointed to learn. Despite the fact that over in Angel & Faith this season, the writer has managed to make the return of the real, actual Fred - which I've wanted ever since Joss killed her off in that disgusting way in AHitW - so boring it makes you want to bash your head against a wall rather than read it, I'm not against bringing back dead characters if you have a story to tell, and the Ghost Anya stuff has been one of the most intriguing plotlines in season 10.

Anyway, she's not the real Anya. Xander finds this out during the course of the book but chooses not to tell her (the implication is that he's very lonely since the break-up with Dawn and enjoying Ghost Anya's company so much he doesn't want to risk losing it), and at the end there's a scene between her and someone we don't see, during which it turns out that between visits with this person she herself forgets she isn't the real Anya. What the mysterious person wants her to do we don't learn, but she asks again that it not hurt Xander and is told this is part of the bargain.

My money's on the hidden presence either being D'Hoffryn, because he's being far too nice and reasonable about the Vampyr! book, or possibly on the Sculptor, who may be able to make Ghost Anya a body. We'll see.

As for the Buffy/Spike part of the issue, while I guess I applaud Gage for going where Joss himself feared to tread (because he was a bloody idiot and should never have thrown his characters under a bus so that ground was there to be trodden or not in the first place), I do feel like this issue exists because there must have been correspondence to Dark Horse incensed about Buffy dating 'her rapist,' and giving him the same 'you have a soul now/it wasn't you' out that Angel always gets (even when he does bad stuff with a soul) and this is Gage trying to show that they've taken (some of) their points on board (though not to the extent of breaking Spike and Buffy up. Not yet anyway).

Still, whether that's true or not, as rahirah has pointed out elsewhere, this is in fact the first time we get Buffy's POV on the attempted rape (which beggars belief when you think about it, and is yet more evidence that Joss should never have gone there - he made the AR All About Spike, part of his story, and apparently never thought twice about it).

So in that sense, it's good to return to it, especially since previous mentions of it over the season - notably in the Return to Sunnydale arc - consist of Spike guilt-tripping and Buffy telling him it wasn't him but that other guy who didn't have a soul (a reaction that Spike himself didn't seem to agree with, but which is par for the course with Buffy, as her reaction to Angel during their first meeting post-Twilight makes clear yet again).

In this issue, her conversations with the lady from the Women's Shelter help her realise that she has possibly been handling the fallout from her various traumas (of which there are many) in an unhealthy way, and the final Spike/Buffy scene is a nice one, where she stops him dead in his tracks from further guilt-tripping, which makes it 'all about him', points out that what happened between them is only one of a list of bad things that have happened to her, and not the worst thing on it by far. The death of her mother and her father disowning her trump it by miles (the Twilight stuff should be on that list too, but isn't mentioned), but that she will sometimes remember it and have to deal with it as a consequence.

Spike - which I love - takes this on board at once and says he would like to help. He's just not sure how. Then he listens when she tells him. To me, this seems like good character development for him (though possibly not as revelatory as all that, given that, as early as Beneath You, he seemed aware that apologies on their own were pretty useless).

The 'catalyst' scene in the issue does strike me as rather contrived, though.

This is a scene where Spike walks in on Buffy having a shower (this all makes it look like Spike and Buffy are living together, rather than that she is living with Dawn and Willow and he with Xander, which is weird). Spike asks if he can jump into the shower with Buffy. She says she's already finished. He pulls aside the shower curtain saying he'll 'pop in before the water goes cold.' Buffy kicks him across the room. When she says he surprised her and she acted on instinct, he points out she put her robe on before checking on him. He goes on to say it's fine, only natural, especially given the case they're working on.

I just have a hard time believing that Spike would walk in on Buffy like this, in a bathroom, given that his face when they first talk to the lady at the Women's Shelter makes it clear that, hearing the woman's story, he thinks Buffy must be thinking about the attempted rape.

So, as I said, kudos to Gage for at least going there. I'm pretty certain this won't satisfy any people who might have written Dark Horse angry emails, many of whom probably wanted to see Spike cast into the outer darkness for good, or at least for Buffy to realise belatedly that their relationship was inappropriate and break up with him (which, IMO, would have been very contrived at this point, but YMMV). Neither of those things happen. So, it does read somewhat as Dark Horse trying to silence anyone who has been saying they've treated the matter insensitively, or in a trivial manner, or whatever.

Which won't work, but doesn't mean the story isn't worth doing at all.

Also, the Xander/Anya stuff is interesting, and at least Megan Levens has stopped drawing Buffy with that weird line across her nose (though Spike still has it).

Comments

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

Hm, I disagree. This issue deals with the AR which is THE most discussed subject in the entire fandom and the very thing that has caused and to a certain extent causes fandom wars at all. So I'm glad they took it upon themselves to let the two of them, especially Buffy deal with it directly and in a very realistic manner. I'm well satisfied. The rest of the issue was a bore. EDIT Sorry didn't see there was a long review. Just read the lines before the cut.

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's interesting that the issues that the hard core fans on the boards are dismissing as fan service are going over very well with reviewers -- so far, anyway.

[tei-lj.livejournal.com]

...huh.

You know the thing where, some people are having a conversation, and then someone says something awkward that they immediately wish they hadn't said, but then instead of moving on or trying to fix it, they keep circling back around to it, trying to re-approach it in a way that erases the original awkwardness but actually just gradually digging themselves further into a conversational hole of embarrassment and terribleness for everyone?

I mean, I haven't read the issue and probably won't, but that's kind of what your description of this bathroom scene 2.0 sounds like....

I don't mean that it should never be talked about, but yeah, it seems super contrived and pretty ridiculous that Spike would walk in on Buffy in the bathroom, not notice that she's saying no to him, get kicked across the room, and then... everything is fine, no hard feelings? (Are there no subsequent hard feelings?) Bizarre.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[sandy-s.livejournal.com]

Even though I haven't read all the comics yet because I wait for the big volumes, your review was interesting to read. The title is "Triggers," right? This is funny because I'm a psychologist at a psych hospital and I run the trauma group and the teens talk a LOT about triggers...in fact, sometimes the term gets misused and they use it to avoid things they should be trying to face...like that triggers me so I can't talk about it! Or to get what they want...that triggers me so we can't watch that TV show...can we turn the channel to Sponge bob?

That being said...I kind of agree with the comic people's take here. Buffy really has a sea of traumatic experiences. Geez. In season six alone, she experienced coming back from heaven and crawling her way out of her own grave, witnessing her best friend flay someone alive, losing Tara to a gunshot and almost dying herself from one (that never gets talked about), and in some ways, Giles abandoning her (her safe place...this is known to make trauma worse when you lose your safe haven/secure base when you're going through a lot)...in addition to what Spike did to her and what she did to Spike (she did beat him to a pulp in the alley and was emotionally abusive too).

Okay, I just babbled a lot and realize I'm probably preaching to the choir. :o) Sorry about that.

[shapinglight]

That's fine. Any comments to make on the long review?

[shapinglight]

I agree, Anon. I on the whole like this issue and think Gage walked a very fine line quite well. So I guess I'm with the reviewers rather than the boards on this one.

[shapinglight]

I do think the bathroom scene 2.0 is somewhat contrived, but it's not that Buffy says 'no' to Spike and he ignores her (she doesn't and he doesn't) that I have the problem with. More that, earlier in the issue, he seems very aware of what she must be thinking about, which makes me think he just wouldn't do what he does here.

On the other hand, the circumstances are very different. They're in a consensual sexual relationship now. Possibly they've been having showers together for weeks. Who knows? It's not spelled out.

[shapinglight]

No problem. :)

[shapinglight]

That's no problem, and many thanks for your input. Especially valuable, IMO, because you're a professional dealing with trauma.

It doesn't entirely surprise me (well, not at all) to learn that people misuse the term 'triggering.' I've seen some absurd things - mostly on Tumblr - such as people saying that even seeing Tom Hiddleston's name 'triggers' them. That, to me, is just ridiculous. But I certainly don't mean to imply that the term is a load of nonsense, just that it can sometimes be...let's say, convenient when you want to avoid dealing with something?

I don't think that's how it's handled here. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with how Christos Gage handled it. May be one of the best things he's ever written.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

mostly on Tumblr

Tumblr itself is ridiculous. They're like kids who learn a new word and try to apply it to everything.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

Response on the boards seems generally positive, I thought.

I mean, I do think it's fan service, but it's not completely ridiculous or ignoring character growth like that Buffy-Giles nonsense.

[tei-lj.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure the fact that he once tried to rape his now-girlfriend is something Spike thinks about a lot, and he's also usually written as one of the more emotionally perceptive and intelligent characters in this canon, so the idea that he wouldn't notice the similarities in the situation or be perceptive of Buffy's mental state is pretty OOC.

[sandy-s.livejournal.com]

Hahaha..I could totally see that on Tumblr with all the teenagers. And exactly about the convenience thing!

Who is Tom Hiddleston? (I'm so out of the loop!) :o)

Sometimes triggers are real though...like if someone was badly traumatized and someone reminds him/her of that person...it can be overwhelming. And you can definitely tell it's real because they're having a 90-10 reaction (where 90% of their reaction in the moment is due to past trauma memories/thoughts/feelings surging forward and 10% on the current situation). Then, I work with them to figure out a way to manage that trigger. For example, finding ways that the person who is triggering them is actually different than the person who hurt them (as long as they aren't ignoring pertinent red flags that signal real danger). It's complicated!!

The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with how Christos Gage handled it. May be one of the best things he's ever written.

Now I can't wait to read it! :o)

[sandy-s.livejournal.com]

Lol...

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with how Christos Gage handled it. May be one of the best things he's ever written.

I was wondering what you'd think of this issue, thank you for the review! I've only seen the "teaser" but like Sandy, now I'm rather eager to see it for myself.

My money's on the hidden presence either being D'Hoffryn, because he's being far too nice and reasonable about the Vampyr! book, or possibly on the Sculptor, who may be able to make Ghost Anya a body.

Andrew? He's no stranger to effing around with souls (robo-Buffy in S9). I'm disappointed to hear this to be honest. And how does this jive with the fact that we saw Anya trying to communicate with Xander when they were under the spell of the sirens? A fake Anya makes no sense, much less a fake Anya who doesn't want Xander hurt.

this is in fact the first time we get Buffy's POV on the attempted rape (which beggars belief when you think about it, and is yet more evidence that Joss should never have gone there - he made the AR All About Spike, part of his story, and apparently never thought twice about it).

Kudos to you for simply writing that passage!

Actually, it really beggars belief when I think of all the fan fiction that prioritizes and focuses on Spike's trauma in the aftermath (thousands of stories?) vs the 'count 'em on one hand' number that focus on Buffy. (I'm talking about within Spuffy fandom mostly of course.) You're absolutely right that Joss and Co really DID NOT think the situation through, and we've been left with a Buffy who allows any number of violations on her person ever since (Twangel, Andrew in S9),

I know I'm pretty much alone in liking Megan Levens' art so I won't even mention the art except to say I like it, but I know everyone else will be saying how ugly it is.

Actually....I have your back on this subject (and i thought I was the only one.)

I liked Levins art in previous issues although it took me a bit to get used to it. I wish there were a better artist assigned to the flagship title, I really do (why does A & F get the better artists?) But I prefer Levin's Buffy to Isaacs. Levin's style is cartoony, but Isaac's attempts as "realism" often fall flat to me. Isaac's Buffy seems blank-eyed to me - fatal in a character who expressed so much via her eyes thanks to SMG. Every character uses identical gestures. Anger is expressed through extreme shoulder hunching; tears look like geysers. And I'm always wondering "what in the hell is Buffy wearing/doing to her hair?"

The bodily motions of Isaac's characters rarely look natural to me; Levin's is able to convey motion efficiently; I understand how bodies are moving through space; but she also communicates emotions with greater subtly. (the graveyard scene between Buffy and Spike in - ep 13? the entirety of Buffy's shifting emotions is conveyed in three drawings and the shifts are very small. Levins knows how to convey the "slow burn".)

Levins takes more pains to differentiate the female characters - they have different facial shapes, not just different hair color. I love the black and white dress Levin gave Willow in S13, the shoes she draws for the girls. Willow doesn't look as attractive as Aly Hannigan and yet somehow she still conveys "Willow" to me. I think Isaacs Anya is better and her Dawn is more attractive; but Levin's Dawn is more convincing as a nearly-20something young woman rather than a 15 year old.

I think Isaacs is better at drawing backgrounds and settings, at building a convincing sense of place around the characters. But Levins is better at creating a real sense of terror or a gothic atmosphere - compare Spike's dream by Levins vs Buffy going inside Spikes' head by Isaacs. The latter should have been truly disturbing and it comes off as rather sanitized. I guess that's one of the differences for me - Isaacs art is often pretty but rarely engaging.

Neither one of them can draw profiles. They just can't. And what is it with all the funny lines they both put at the ends of noses?

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

I think ML draws the girls better and the guys not so much. Her biggest issue, I think, is her propensity for banana face in profiles. Far too much chin action.

[shapinglight]

Agreed. I actually like it more the I think about it.

[shapinglight]

I don't know. I've thought about this some more, and he can be a bit thoughtless sometimes (well, very thoughtless). On the other hand, he doesn't come across as thoughtless anywhere else in the comic, so it still does seem contrived.

Not sure how else they would have set that moment up, though.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's not bad. Other than the bathroom stuff, it's pretty good. They could have probably had the same effect with Buffy just talking to the victim, but I guess they felt they needed some action, maybe.

Anyway, it has Buffy forming a plan, executing a plan and succeeding for perhaps the first time since the comics began. That alone puts it above the rest of the books if you ask me.

[shapinglight]

Anyway, it has Buffy forming a plan, executing a plan and succeeding for perhaps the first time since the comics began. That alone puts it above the rest of the books if you ask me.

Yes, which is probably why I've seen several people say it read to them more like a show MotW episode. It's nicely complete, yet there's stuff from the ongoing plot happening too.

The bathroom scene is very heavy-handed, but yes, it was probably thought there had to be an action scene, given that Gage's style is quite dialogue/exposition heavy in the first place.

[shapinglight]

I think a lot of them are kids, though?

[shapinglight]

Who is Tom Hiddleston? (I'm so out of the loop!) :o)

He's a British actor who played Loki in the Marvel Thor and Avengers movies. Gained a huge fanbase. Joss compared Loki to Spike. ;)

It's possible of course that the person I mentioned genuinely was triggered by the sight of Tom Hiddleston because he resembles someone who hurt her. On the other hand, on a site like Tumblr, I think it a little unreasonable to expect to get trigger warnings on every single post featuring this actor (there are a lot!)

But yes, I'm sorry if I came across as thinking I don't believe in triggers at all. I do.

[shapinglight]

Does Isaacs do the lines on the nose too? I admit, I hadn't noticed.

I agree the issue with Buffy going through Spike's mind was way too pretty-pretty.

I also think that both artists have one thing in common: neither of them can draw Spike, which always strikes me as odd. James Marsters is such a weird-looking person, I would have thought he'd be easy to draw. ;)

Actually, it really beggars belief when I think of all the fan fiction that prioritizes and focuses on Spike's trauma in the aftermath (thousands of stories?) vs the 'count 'em on one hand' number that focus on Buffy. (I'm talking about within Spuffy fandom mostly of course.) You're absolutely right that Joss and Co really DID NOT think the situation through, and we've been left with a Buffy who allows any number of violations on her person ever since (Twangel, Andrew in S9)

Well, to be fair, those fics are just copying what we saw in the show. Spike is the one who is most upset by what happened. For Buffy, it was (as she points out to Spike in this issue) just one thing on a long list of shitty things that she has to deal with, and very far from the worst thing on that list.

Really, a show about a supernaturally strong girl who fights vampires is not, and never was, really a good place to be exploring RL traumas experienced by RL rape/abuse victims - except at several removes, such as in the numerous 'the magical doohickey made us do it' plots. It's just too removed from reality.

Thing is, if Buffy really is as traumatised as a normal human woman would be in that situation then there is no Spuffy, is there? There is no RL parallel where a man who commits rape/attempted rape can essentially turn himself into a different person, and the woman he raped/tried to rape lets him come within ten miles of her, if she can help it, let alone into her bed again.

('Course, the same is true of the man who murdered one of her teachers, but as I said, that's kept at a remove, and the fact that it's so much easier to rehabilitate Angel from what was in RL terms a far worse crime is just more evidence, IMO, that Joss and co should never have gone there with Spike and Buffy.)

So I guess if you want to write Spuffy fic, and you want to take in all parts of canon, you have to write from a Watsonian perspective. Go Doylist and there is no Spuffy (or Bangel).

Sorry if I've not explained myself very clearly. Don't have a lot of time.

ETA 2: I'm talking about 'shipper fic only, of course. All 'shipper fic in the Buffyverse is problematic in one way or other.

[sandy-s.livejournal.com]

Oh! I haven't seen either yet! :o)

And oh...I didn't think you didn't believe in them. I just had my psychologist hat on. Sorry about that! lol

[sandy-s.livejournal.com]

Thing is, if Buffy really is as traumatised as a normal human woman would be in that situation then there is no Spuffy, is there? There is no RL parallel where a man who commits rape/attempted rape can essentially turn himself into a different person, and the woman he raped/tried to rape lets him come within ten miles of her, if she can help it, let alone into her bed again.

The closest I've seen Buffy to being genuinely traumatized was when she crawled out of her own grave after being in heaven.

And it's been done...some Luke and Laura characters on some soap opera. He raped her and they eventually got married. Never saw the show so I dunno...but of course, it's a soap opera! I just remember hearing about the scandal of Luke and Laura when I was a kid....

Of course, in actuality, some women stay with guys who rape them. I've heard of that...in abusive relationships. The girl is sleeping with the guy even though she doesn't want to or he forces himself on her. The women leave and go back or they just stay even if they're being hurt. Usually though, the guy doesn't make any sort of transformation...or simply pays lip service to it.

All 'shipper fic in the Buffyverse is problematic in one way or other.

So true!

[shapinglight]

And it's been done...some Luke and Laura characters on some soap opera. He raped her and they eventually got married. Never saw the show so I dunno...but of course, it's a soap opera! I just remember hearing about the scandal of Luke and Laura when I was a kid....

Of course, in actuality, some women stay with guys who rape them. I've heard of that...in abusive relationships. The girl is sleeping with the guy even though she doesn't want to or he forces himself on her. The women leave and go back or they just stay even if they're being hurt. Usually though, the guy doesn't make any sort of transformation...or simply pays lip service to it.

Oh sure, yes, but in the case of Luke/Laura (which I also haven't seen, being a Brit) it was a long time ago, when standards were somewhat different (though even then, I'm sure there were plenty of people who saw it as problematic). Plus, if it's a soap, it's suppose to be 'realistic,' isn't it (Brit soaps certainly are), so it's a more viable place in TV terms to explore such issues in an RL way. I realise this may not be the case with American soaps, but it certainly is with Brit ones.

Of course, in actuality, some women stay with guys who rape them. I've heard of that...in abusive relationships. The girl is sleeping with the guy even though she doesn't want to or he forces himself on her. The women leave and go back or they just stay even if they're being hurt. Usually though, the guy doesn't make any sort of transformation...or simply pays lip service to it.

Yes, I understand that, but in a way I kind of feel like that supports what I'm trying to say about how trying to make too close RL parallels with happenings in the Buffyverse really doesn't work and Joss should never have tried it. Especially not in such a thoughtless, cack-handed way.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

The irony being Luke and Laura were the reasoning behind going ahead with it. They came back from it; so could Buffy and Spike.

Of course in the Chosen commentary, Joss claims Buffy would never be Laura to his Luke, so... Just one of the many contradictions from Mutant Enemy.

[shapinglight]

Yeah, I rolled my eyes when I heard that one. Jane E had already revealed that's not what he thought at the time.

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Not that Jane hasn't contradicted herself, but Joss has just flat-out lied more than once.

Random question: Was there no letters page this issue?

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

We learn that Xander's been alone in his apartment for days so it's safe to say that Spike's been staying at Buffy's apartment, so they are right now sort of "living together". And my take on Spike walking into the shower is that during the previous days they've already been in that bathroom and shower together several times without any trigger going off in Buffy's mind. But as she's reminded of the AR and as she herself explains, sometimes, it will probably be right there in front of her triggered by this or that and that's just how it's going to be. As for the rest of your review: Agree.

[singedbylife.livejournal.com]

"the shower sounds" like he's hitting his face into the shower wall but right now I can't think of another way to phrase it. Hope you know what I mean. :)

[rahirah]

That was me... not sure why it logged me out. :P

[rahirah]

Yep. I feel like a weird pervy grandma over there.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I quickly read through the issue just once, so I reserve the right to adjust my thinking, but I was really impressed that Buffy got to point out that the AR was NOT all about Spike, and that she should get to have her own reaction(s). Amen, sister.

Her stated reasoning for being mostly untroubled by it — that way more terrible things have happened to her/been done to her — makes sense to me, but also is pretty much the only way to maintain the relationship at all. Buffy is very forgiving. It's hard to imagine she'd have any friends or relations left in her life if she wasn't — they've all betrayed her terribly at some point.

Is it fan service to write about the characters dealing with things from way back? That kind of continuity was part of the original show, and made it special and different. It wasn't consistent then and it isn't now, but it seems like when the emotional side of things is ignored — as it was in S8 — it isn't aligned with the original intent of showing Buffy dealing with her inner demons through the metaphor of outer demons. When she's a blank, the story is less interesting. Give us our butt-kicking, thinking, feeling heroine! It's no more fan service than it ever was!

[shapinglight]

Sorry I didn't answer this. No, there wasn't.

Also, the mystery of Google releasing issue 21 the way they did may have been resolved. Apparently, they had it listed as 2014, so they thought it was an old one.

It's not available any more, as you probably know.

[shapinglight]

but I was really impressed that Buffy got to point out that the AR was NOT all about Spike, and that she should get to have her own reaction(s). Amen, sister.

I agree. I also agree that her stated reasons for not, on the whole, being overly traumatised by it, are sound (inside the verse. If she were an ordinary woman it would be different). She is repeatedly being put in the position of having to be more forgiving than is believable, though. Not just with this, but with so many things.

I don't think the issue was fan service, no. I do think that it possibly exists (this issue, I mean) because Dark Horse had loads of complaints (or some complaints) about the whole Buffy dating 'her rapist' thing - some of them from disgruntled 'shippers, some quite genuinely outraged.

[shapinglight]

;)

[shapinglight]

Yes, I think you probably have it right. The way he behaved in the scene did make is seem that way - ie. that he was used to walking in on Buffy in the bathroom/showering with her and really was taken by surprise by her reaction in this case.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I was really impressed that Buffy got to point out that the AR was NOT all about Spike, and that she should get to have her own reaction(s). Amen, sister.

PREACH.

While I agree the scene in the bathroom was awkward (more along the lines of how it was executed - than the fact that it happened at all) that is really my only quibble with the issue.* the conversation at then end felt refreshing and real. I don't need to see either characters self-flaggellate themselves any more; it's not what they do best. Taking action, forgiving, demonstrating love through service is what Spuffy is all about, for me, and the conversation between Buffy and Spike exemplified that beautifully.

I've read the issue a few times and I really enjoyed it more than any other issue this season (and possibly more than any other of the canon comics).

when the emotional side of things is ignored — as it was in S8 — it isn't aligned with the original intent of showing Buffy dealing with her inner demons through the metaphor of outer demons. When she's a blank, the story is less interesting. Give us our butt-kicking, thinking, feeling heroine! It's no more fan service than it ever was!

YES!

I loved that Buffy went from rote "we'll get the bad guy" to more personal, intimate conversation with Jean: sharing our stories and taking strength from one another has always been central to feminism. and the theme of people being empowered knowing about demons feels very much like what Chosen and the Slayer Spell was trying to achieve but fell short of. Jean and Buffy are very much aligned as protectors.

Buffy needed to hear Jean's words because it's in fact how she lives her life; a reassurance that Buffy's on the right path. And their conversations reflect how much Buffy has matured since S3's Beauty and the Beast. She''s more compassionate now.

And Jean's shame at what happened to her, is VERY realistic; I've been there myself; I know that feeling thoroughly. I loved the very meta comments about how foolish it was to keep people in the dark, because it only made them feel crazy and they doubted they'd be believed (again, very true to the victims of not just rape but domestic violence or any form of abuse and again, I know that feeling). It's also brilliant because that was one of the most nonsensical things about the Buffyverse.

I wish Levin's art wasn't so cartoony but she was the right person to do this issue rather than Isaacs. She may not get exact likenesses and her artwork isn't as pretty as Isaacs, but she gets the spirit and the emotional truth in a way that Isaacs just doesn't. I loved how she and Gage convey Spike's conflicted feelings, his doubt, confusion and tenderness; his genuine desire to help but not knowing how is very believable and well done. And kudos for the figure skater poster in the bedroom!

And the only issues or images I've found genuinely scary have been Levins'. I was frightened for Ghost Anya when the ectoplasm grabbed her, then genuinely frightened for Buffy when the incubus had her under it's spell. The image there reminded me the scenes in Living Conditions of Buffy having her soul sucked out (which also freaked me out). GhostNotAnya's dilemma echo the concerns of the nature of existence and what makes us human, that have always a part of the Buffyverse (Dawn, Blood Ties "Am I real?") Finally the Ghost Anya story is starting to have some real weight and connection to the main story; and Xander's sadness and disappointment is palpable.

And the incubus's statements echoed those of Archaeus to Spike in the earlier issue, (14?) that killing someone who exists to destroy you (Slayers/women) is like sticking a thumb in the universe's eye. Basically I love this issue way more than I expected, sorry to babble like that.

* Well, that and Downing going on about how she withdraws when things get too intense. STFU dude, you don't know her; why has Buffy's "pattern in relationships" been retconned by the men talking behind her back this season as "she pursues what she can't have and then she withdraws" when historically she's been the one who was pursued and she was the one being dumped (except when she broke off with Spike in S6)?

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I just had my psychologist hat on.

Your insights are invaluable, actually!

And I've gotten my hands on the issue via digital source, read it several times and I think I LOVE it. Probably more than any of the canon comics thus far. I babble on at length about it to rebcake down thread, but I definitely recommend it. I didn't expect to like it but it feels very much like a genuine episode - not just the Spuffy storyline but Jean the counselor and the connection buffy makes with her; the incubus is genuinely frightening, and I also loved that the GhostAnya story is finally connecting to the main story lines and has real weight to it now.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

All 'shipper fic in the Buffyverse is problematic in one way or other.

AMEN.