Buffy season 10 no 21
Nov. 18th, 2015 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapinglightReview behind cut.
Unlike the previous issue, this one did not improve on re-reading.
In actual fact, it got worse. The main reason for this is season 8, which makes my icon very appropriate. The whole season 8 Twilight fiasco really did throw Buffy and Angel as characters under a bus, didn't it? Angel more so, of course, but latterly Buffy, if only because, in their desperate attempts to whitewash Angel and get him off the hook for all the appalling things that he did in season 8, the writers of these books keep putting words in Buffy's mouth to absolve him.
In this issue, they manage to make her come across as a massive hypocrite, not to mention completely useless, when she's confronted by Satsu (with whom she explored her bi-curiosity, if you remember, back in season 8?), who is apparently working with the US Army to combat various demon incursions, caused by the Restless Door portal, which Buffy and her friends failed to take off thethree stooges the Mistress, Soul Glutton and Sculptor in the Angel-comes-visiting arc (this is where the uselessness comes in).
The hypocrisy bit applies when Buffy gets all self-righteous at Satsu for working with the army -"The 'declared Slayers an enemy of the state and went to war against us and killed lots of our friends' army." When Satsu says that the people responsible for that policy are either dead or in jail, Buffy gets angry and asks, "What about all the ones who enthusiastically followed their orders?" Satsu then responds by saying that everything Buffy says about the army applies to Angel too, and she hears that Buffy forgave him. "And don't give me that 'he was possessed' line." Buffy responds that he was possessed, and that he's 'kind of gullible when it comes to destiny.'
Are we actually supposed to think this is a good excuse? I don't know. All I know is, even Angel himself hasn't claimed that he was possessed all the time. Yet here Buffy is waving away all his culpability and blaming it on the army (who might never have become involved at all if Twi-Angel hadn't invited them to).
This whole conversation just makes Buffy look so bad. It really does - and her demanding whether Satsu has forgotten 'they killed our sisters. Friends who died in our arms' really doesn't make it any better, given that in season 8 Buffy herself forgot them in an instant when Twi-Angel asked her if she wanted to be happy.
See what I mean about season 8 throwing Buffy and Angel under a bus? There really aren't any words Gage can put in her mouth (or in Angel's) to make that steaming pile of dung any less stinky.
(And just in case anyone feels inclined to compare Buffy forgiving Twi-Angel to Buffy forgiving Spike for the attempted rape, I'd just like to reiterate that the attempted rape only hurt Buffy (and Spike, but his pain ultimately isn't important). If she chooses to forgive him, that's her business and also affects no one but her and Spike. Twi-Angel's actions caused the deaths of hundreds (maybe thousands) of people, including Buffy's 'sisters.' I just end up thinking, no wonder the other Slayers now want nothing to do with her).
Poor Buffy!(and poor Angel!) What the hell was Whedon thinking?
Anyway, the main part of the issue consists of Buffy and Spike, at Satsu's urging, trying to get both vampire camps (Old School, led by Harmony, New Vamp, led by Vicki) to help the US Army fight the demon incursions (which, in an eerie-and not Gage's fault since he wrote this issue ages ago-echo of current world events, have apparently already killed three hundred people in Rome) as a matter of self-interest.
The vampires insist on whether they agree to help or not being decided by Buffy and Spike taking part in trial by combat. While Buffy is fighting her opponent, Harmony tries to undermine their relationship by telling Spike he can't handle a woman like Buffy, that he's built her up into an impossible ideal of womanhood and he's bound to find the reality doesn't live up to his expectations and ruin it all for himself by doing things to push her away so Buffy will be the one to dump him, the way Drusilla did, so he can then act the martyr. Then, while Spike is fighting his opponent, Vicki tries to psych out Buffy, telling her that she's bound to kick Spike to the kerb before long because she's the sort of girl who wants what she can't have. And isn't she a little old to still be into 'tortured bad boys' etc, etc?
After Buffy and Spike leave, Harmony and Vicki congratulate each other and decide they make pretty good partners. And it looks like they may be right, as neither Buffy nor Spike mention to the other what they said to them, and the issue ends with Spike meetingMrs Marsters Dylan in a bar.
To me, this whole situation seems very artificial, especially given that, as of the end of the previous issue, Buffy and Spike seemed perfectly capable of talking to each other about very painful subjects. Not to to mention I still think Spike's tendency to 'push the woman he loves away,' as stated first by Angel, now by Harmony, is much exaggerated (or possibly non-existent), given that Spike and Dru were together for 120 years.
But oh well, we all knew it wouldn't last, I suppose.
So it looks like there's trouble ahead for Spuffy, and upcoming blurbs and covers emphasise that. In fact, the only thing they have going for them is the fact that, if the villains of the piece (for some completely inexplicable as yet reason) want them to break up so much, maybe ultimately they won't.
Not a lot else to say, except to reiterate how much I dislikeMrs Marsters Dylan being parachuted into comics canon, even though Gage breathes more life into the character in one panel, where she only says three words, than James Marsters did in the entirety of his Spike comic.
Unlike the previous issue, this one did not improve on re-reading.
In actual fact, it got worse. The main reason for this is season 8, which makes my icon very appropriate. The whole season 8 Twilight fiasco really did throw Buffy and Angel as characters under a bus, didn't it? Angel more so, of course, but latterly Buffy, if only because, in their desperate attempts to whitewash Angel and get him off the hook for all the appalling things that he did in season 8, the writers of these books keep putting words in Buffy's mouth to absolve him.
In this issue, they manage to make her come across as a massive hypocrite, not to mention completely useless, when she's confronted by Satsu (with whom she explored her bi-curiosity, if you remember, back in season 8?), who is apparently working with the US Army to combat various demon incursions, caused by the Restless Door portal, which Buffy and her friends failed to take off the
The hypocrisy bit applies when Buffy gets all self-righteous at Satsu for working with the army -"The 'declared Slayers an enemy of the state and went to war against us and killed lots of our friends' army." When Satsu says that the people responsible for that policy are either dead or in jail, Buffy gets angry and asks, "What about all the ones who enthusiastically followed their orders?" Satsu then responds by saying that everything Buffy says about the army applies to Angel too, and she hears that Buffy forgave him. "And don't give me that 'he was possessed' line." Buffy responds that he was possessed, and that he's 'kind of gullible when it comes to destiny.'
Are we actually supposed to think this is a good excuse? I don't know. All I know is, even Angel himself hasn't claimed that he was possessed all the time. Yet here Buffy is waving away all his culpability and blaming it on the army (who might never have become involved at all if Twi-Angel hadn't invited them to).
This whole conversation just makes Buffy look so bad. It really does - and her demanding whether Satsu has forgotten 'they killed our sisters. Friends who died in our arms' really doesn't make it any better, given that in season 8 Buffy herself forgot them in an instant when Twi-Angel asked her if she wanted to be happy.
See what I mean about season 8 throwing Buffy and Angel under a bus? There really aren't any words Gage can put in her mouth (or in Angel's) to make that steaming pile of dung any less stinky.
(And just in case anyone feels inclined to compare Buffy forgiving Twi-Angel to Buffy forgiving Spike for the attempted rape, I'd just like to reiterate that the attempted rape only hurt Buffy (and Spike, but his pain ultimately isn't important). If she chooses to forgive him, that's her business and also affects no one but her and Spike. Twi-Angel's actions caused the deaths of hundreds (maybe thousands) of people, including Buffy's 'sisters.' I just end up thinking, no wonder the other Slayers now want nothing to do with her).
Poor Buffy!(and poor Angel!) What the hell was Whedon thinking?
Anyway, the main part of the issue consists of Buffy and Spike, at Satsu's urging, trying to get both vampire camps (Old School, led by Harmony, New Vamp, led by Vicki) to help the US Army fight the demon incursions (which, in an eerie-and not Gage's fault since he wrote this issue ages ago-echo of current world events, have apparently already killed three hundred people in Rome) as a matter of self-interest.
The vampires insist on whether they agree to help or not being decided by Buffy and Spike taking part in trial by combat. While Buffy is fighting her opponent, Harmony tries to undermine their relationship by telling Spike he can't handle a woman like Buffy, that he's built her up into an impossible ideal of womanhood and he's bound to find the reality doesn't live up to his expectations and ruin it all for himself by doing things to push her away so Buffy will be the one to dump him, the way Drusilla did, so he can then act the martyr. Then, while Spike is fighting his opponent, Vicki tries to psych out Buffy, telling her that she's bound to kick Spike to the kerb before long because she's the sort of girl who wants what she can't have. And isn't she a little old to still be into 'tortured bad boys' etc, etc?
After Buffy and Spike leave, Harmony and Vicki congratulate each other and decide they make pretty good partners. And it looks like they may be right, as neither Buffy nor Spike mention to the other what they said to them, and the issue ends with Spike meeting
To me, this whole situation seems very artificial, especially given that, as of the end of the previous issue, Buffy and Spike seemed perfectly capable of talking to each other about very painful subjects. Not to to mention I still think Spike's tendency to 'push the woman he loves away,' as stated first by Angel, now by Harmony, is much exaggerated (or possibly non-existent), given that Spike and Dru were together for 120 years.
But oh well, we all knew it wouldn't last, I suppose.
So it looks like there's trouble ahead for Spuffy, and upcoming blurbs and covers emphasise that. In fact, the only thing they have going for them is the fact that, if the villains of the piece (for some completely inexplicable as yet reason) want them to break up so much, maybe ultimately they won't.
Not a lot else to say, except to reiterate how much I dislike
no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 04:34 pm (UTC)But maybe she does? We'll see.
I don't think what Harmony and Vicki said to Buffy and Spike is true either, but I've a horrid feeling Gage thinks it is. Harmony is only reinforcing what Angel said about Spike in the crossover arc. And though Angel's no judge, IMO, and Gage insisted what he said was only his opinion, I'm very suspicious of repetition like this in comic books. It has to be leading somewhere.
I hope I'm wrong. If (when) Buffy and Spike do break up, I'd like them to have had a lot more than three weeks (if Harmony's to be believed) to decide whether it will work or not.
I agree, btw, about the things you found fun in the comic. They were fun. I enjoyed Harmony, Queen of the Vampires.
no subject
Date: 2015-11-19 10:19 pm (UTC)If (when) Buffy and Spike do break up, I'd like them to have had a lot more than three weeks
Well, yeah. I mean, it's already been months, in my mind. I'm less concerned about Harmony and Angel's opinions on things than I would be about Willow, Xander, Dawn, and Giles who all seem very much on board or at least not bothered. Their enemies are always going to be stirring the pot, as it were.
All that said, I think there could have been a bit more reconnecting after Vegas. Even a hand squeeze would have been good at showing that they were okay.
One more thing I liked: Clem announcing that Buffy was wearing Rag and Bone. It means nothing to me, really, but one of my more fashionista FB friends posted a photo of her new Rag and Bone boots the same morning that the comic came out, so it felt very current.
no subject
Date: 2015-11-20 12:48 pm (UTC)Agree. For me, this is a far greater sign of trouble than Spike meeting Dylan (until we know more about the circumstances of that meeting anyway - though it does bug me a bit that he talks to her as if they know each other really well, when they only met once in their lives up till now - unless this is going to be another of those 'oh, it happened off panel' moments, like so much has been in the comics).