BtVS season 1: The Harvest
Feb. 4th, 2008 08:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapinglightTrawled through my enormous cache of icons looking for suitable ones for posts about BtVS season 1 and this was the best I could come up with. Very nice, though, isn't it?
Anyway, tomorrow I'm off back to work. No more episodes of The Wire in the afternoons. I'm stalled at episode 6, which was - of course - brilliant. :Sigh: I didn't get to watch one today either, as once K left to catch the train, there wasn't time. I did have time to watch another episode of BtVS season 1, though. Thoughts on The Harvest behind cut.
Hmm, Buffy gets out of her Luke-induced tight-spot rather easily, doesn't she? It was a bit of a One Leap and Buffy Was Free Moment. Apart from that, while she's down in the sewers with Xander, she seems a lot less take-charge than she does by the end of the episode, and I have to say the fight scenes made me smile. Wee little SMG-P, with her chubby cheeks and her tiny little fists raised in a defensive posture. However, her beheading of the minion with the cymbal is still a cool moment as is her under the brows stare at the remaining vampires at the end.
Quite a few important mythology bits in this episode, including Giles's Revised History of the World talk in the library, his vehement insistence to Xander that Jesse is not his friend 'but the thing that killed him', a view certain fans refuse to move on from, no matter how later events contradict it. Also, since I'm always sticking in descriptions in my fics of vampires as having eyes that glow in the dark like a cat's or a wolf's, was very pleased to see the vampire glowing eyes in the sewer scene (even if we never see them again). See - canon!
The Master, along with Luke, is still a crashing bore in this episode, except in the scene where he pokes the unfortunate Colin's eye out. Awful lot of Colins in the Master's family, aren't there?
Luke, Darla and Jesse all standing gaping at the Master while he pontificates is very silly. I'm fanwanking to myself that Darla's really thinking, "What did I do to end up with this bunch of losers?" while she's standing there, but sadly, I don't think she is.
Angel's cryptic act really annoyed me this time, even though he still looked very pretty (see icon). In view of later events, I ended up thinking, did he decide he wasn't going to back Buffy until he knew she could win? That's not how it came across in Becoming 1, though in fact I think I prefer that interpretation to what did happen in Becoming 1.
Xander still annoyed me too, though I suppose I have to expect that, seeing as he made such a poor first impression. I kept having to remind myself that Jesse was his friend and that's why he felt impelled to go after Buffy, but he still came across as whingy and sorry for himself to me when he was complaining about being useless. The Cordy/Harmony/Willow scene in the IT lesson was quite amusing. Cordy gets most of the best lines.
Best line of all, however, belongs to Giles, who looks utterly, utterly gorgeous in his cardy, with his 'The Earth is doomed' line at the end. His glee about all the nasties Buffy may have to face in the future is also very funny. However, I had to grit my teeth at his Techno Amish moment. Of course, in the late 1990s, we Brits were still sending each other messages by post-chaise, or even carrier pigeons, and had never heard of computers. :Rolls eyes:
Finally, Joyce's attempts to be stern mum with Buffy suggest that she's not really done it before, which is odd in view of Buffy's less than stellar academic record, and doesn't mesh that well with the relationship they seem to have. Poor Joyce! Doomed to be a feckless parent because her getting a clue would mean the end of the story. Also, I really like Principal Flutie. Wish he'd lasted a teeny bit longer before being eaten.
All-in-all, fun but the cheese factor is too high for comfort.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm off back to work. No more episodes of The Wire in the afternoons. I'm stalled at episode 6, which was - of course - brilliant. :Sigh: I didn't get to watch one today either, as once K left to catch the train, there wasn't time. I did have time to watch another episode of BtVS season 1, though. Thoughts on The Harvest behind cut.
Hmm, Buffy gets out of her Luke-induced tight-spot rather easily, doesn't she? It was a bit of a One Leap and Buffy Was Free Moment. Apart from that, while she's down in the sewers with Xander, she seems a lot less take-charge than she does by the end of the episode, and I have to say the fight scenes made me smile. Wee little SMG-P, with her chubby cheeks and her tiny little fists raised in a defensive posture. However, her beheading of the minion with the cymbal is still a cool moment as is her under the brows stare at the remaining vampires at the end.
Quite a few important mythology bits in this episode, including Giles's Revised History of the World talk in the library, his vehement insistence to Xander that Jesse is not his friend 'but the thing that killed him', a view certain fans refuse to move on from, no matter how later events contradict it. Also, since I'm always sticking in descriptions in my fics of vampires as having eyes that glow in the dark like a cat's or a wolf's, was very pleased to see the vampire glowing eyes in the sewer scene (even if we never see them again). See - canon!
The Master, along with Luke, is still a crashing bore in this episode, except in the scene where he pokes the unfortunate Colin's eye out. Awful lot of Colins in the Master's family, aren't there?
Luke, Darla and Jesse all standing gaping at the Master while he pontificates is very silly. I'm fanwanking to myself that Darla's really thinking, "What did I do to end up with this bunch of losers?" while she's standing there, but sadly, I don't think she is.
Angel's cryptic act really annoyed me this time, even though he still looked very pretty (see icon). In view of later events, I ended up thinking, did he decide he wasn't going to back Buffy until he knew she could win? That's not how it came across in Becoming 1, though in fact I think I prefer that interpretation to what did happen in Becoming 1.
Xander still annoyed me too, though I suppose I have to expect that, seeing as he made such a poor first impression. I kept having to remind myself that Jesse was his friend and that's why he felt impelled to go after Buffy, but he still came across as whingy and sorry for himself to me when he was complaining about being useless. The Cordy/Harmony/Willow scene in the IT lesson was quite amusing. Cordy gets most of the best lines.
Best line of all, however, belongs to Giles, who looks utterly, utterly gorgeous in his cardy, with his 'The Earth is doomed' line at the end. His glee about all the nasties Buffy may have to face in the future is also very funny. However, I had to grit my teeth at his Techno Amish moment. Of course, in the late 1990s, we Brits were still sending each other messages by post-chaise, or even carrier pigeons, and had never heard of computers. :Rolls eyes:
Finally, Joyce's attempts to be stern mum with Buffy suggest that she's not really done it before, which is odd in view of Buffy's less than stellar academic record, and doesn't mesh that well with the relationship they seem to have. Poor Joyce! Doomed to be a feckless parent because her getting a clue would mean the end of the story. Also, I really like Principal Flutie. Wish he'd lasted a teeny bit longer before being eaten.
All-in-all, fun but the cheese factor is too high for comfort.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-04 09:42 pm (UTC)It is interesting to view with a critical eye after repeated watchings and several years in fandom/fanfic.
I too am annoyed by Cryptic!Angel. My Spuffy heart tells me that Spike never would have hidden while she fought, but then again she always knew Spike was a vamp.
And I wonder about this Darla. Here is a dangerous 400 year-old vampire and she cowers before Buffy like she's never seen a slayer (has she?). I may be getting ahead of myself, but it seems like she doesn't get balls until the episode where she tries to lure Angel back to the family (and why does she never get a wardrobe change in Season 1?).
Xander doesn't annoy me too much, but I find myself wondering why I love to slash him with Spike.
I liked Flutie, too!
no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 12:26 pm (UTC)I think Early Angel suffers from serious lack of Joss quite knowing what to do with him. The show was never supposed to be about vampires, after all. In fact, I think Joss actively wanted to avoid the whole 'romantic vampire' cliche, but fortunately for us, he ended up doing quite the opposite.
You're right about Darla. She's mostly OOC, though I'm not sure the cowering in front of a Slayer bit is OOC. I think Darla would be only too pleased to have a big, strong man (Luke in this instance) do all the hard work while she ducks out of trouble. She's a survivor.
Xander doesn't annoy me too much, but I find myself wondering why I love to slash him with Spike.
Heh! Afraid I can't help you with that one.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-07 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-07 10:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-06 06:24 am (UTC)But he's one of the most out of character written chars in Buffy fanfic. Because he's the 'normal one' he's supposed to be the standin for the viewers and unfortunately that often comes through in fanfic where he's very often not Xander, but Xander Stu.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-07 05:26 am (UTC)How true is that! Never would have thought of it that way. And yes, bully is how I often think of him when I'm watching the show.