lembergwatcher

Happy b-day, Adam Kaufman!

I find it quite ironic that Buffy considers touching her stuff more serious offence than, say, kidnaping her two best friends. Hence Sunday turns to dust but Prince Spike just walks away before Buffy confirms both Xander and Willow are alive and well. Something just ain't right with Buffy's priorities, don't you think? Guess the whole post-fluke fiasco and the trouble with Ozdelia distracted the Scoobs' attention from Spike therefore neither X, nor W bothered asking about him... Very sad actually... Xillow would've been quite upset if they learned some decorated parasol aka Class Protector Award meant more to their supposed best friend than their well-being. Talk about vanity.

One of the recent photos... Buffy at Cannes.

They wanted Xander to join the Initiative?? Between making Xander one of Maggie's henchmen or directionless Anya's fucktoy I'd say they should've chosen the former...

You see, there are naïve fools like me who still think that if one creates some kind of a magic 'verse he or she still has to set up rules regarding how magic and the whole supernatural stuff work, and try to stick to them. People involved in creating Buffyverse clearly did not subscribe to this point of view. Hence all the superpowers and weaknesses manifesting or vanishing whenever writers want them to (like, say, Xander's "soldier memories" or Oz's "super nose"). But I guess now we know why the plot makes no sense or the characters act like a cheap caricatures of their former selves (it's good that you've reminded of the embarassing "patrol" scene). It's the freaking Monks' fault! They are the ones to blame for illogical contrivances that constantly change the "established" rules and rebut everything we knew so far and for our supposed heroes acting like freaking morons. They're the ones who mindfucked our beloved characters so hard and in such a perverted form those characters barely resemble the ones they used to be... Maybe I'm too harsh but chomping on chips while on patrol or instantly believing Tara isn't demon just because your (former) nemesis (the one who tried to kill you and your boyfriend just two eps prior) says so doesn't seem to be a smart thing to do... Magic is the convenient plot device, yes, but even magic has it's own set of do's and don't's. No to mention that the piece of technology the Initiative put inside Spike's head isn't exactly magical in origin. But who am I to question anything if the Monks decided Spike can aim shotguns at Buffy for drama's sake? Those pesky Monks... I dunno... Maybe Spike's "feelings" for Buffy somehow enable him to coming close to hurting her. Since he doesn't want to make the beast with two backs with Xander (no matter what countless pieces of Spander fanfiction tell us) Spike has trouble with pointing toy guns. But because he wants carnal knowledge with Buffy... We know how to hurt those we love, right?..

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Nice outfit you got there Cordelia... Well, I'm not an expert on anything fashion-related but I doubt this is the exact thing one's gonna wear while heading into battle with the supernatural creatures ten times stronger than your average human. The battle that requires you to be fast and agile and I'm not sure whatever Cordy's wearing at the moment is comfortable enough to either fight or run for your life if necessary. OTOH who am I to judge? She and Buffy have defeated the whole mercenary squad wearing the prom queen dresses... As much as I find this episode fun and entertaining I'm not sure the high school graduates, 90% of whom had zero experience dealing with the things that go bump in the night, constitute a formidable force to challenge Dick Wilkins' plans whatever they are. The whole charge scene, i.e. someone with the frame of Alyson Hannigan or Danny Strong pummeling the creatures that freaking slayers sometimes can't kill in one fell swoop (remember that hyperactive Angel's minion from Becoming, Pt.2?), seems too bizarre even for Buffyverse. And, yeah, Jonathan totally made my day when I watched the ep for the first time long ago... Way to go, Jonno, you fucking rock...

Does it even occur to Xander that Harmony's current state is partially his fault too? That it wasn't the brightest idea to bring her of all people into the whole mess of "Mother of All Battles" on graduation day? That if it wasn't for his persuasion Harmony could've remained human and Brad probably too. What were the chances Harmony who was hardly familiar with the underworld, let alone had any fighting experience, would've made it out alive and well? Zero, I'd say. Harmony may not have been the most pleasant character inhabiting the halls of SHS but that doesn't mean she deserved to be killed and vampirized. Besides, what exactly could she have brought to the table regarding the battle looming? Why was it so necessary to recruit her for the task she obviously wasn't prepared to? Xander's attitude towards Brad the Guy That Used to be Dick to him is gross, true, but at least Xander had nothing to do with his demise. While his banter with Harmony whom he still views as some sort of annoying schoolmate and not someone who lost her life and took Joss knows how many others simply because General Harris thought it was a great idea to recruit every single 1999 graduate back in the day, is kinda unnerving. They should've shown Xander at least a little bit saddened, a little bit aware Harmony ended up like that partly because of his mistakes too. Because he was looking at the thing that killed the girl he knew for many years while the aforementioned girl died due to her listening to his arguments and joining the fight despite lacking abilities or experience. There could have been some drama involving Xander/Harmony interaction. Something vaguely resembling the issues between Sam Winchester and sheriff Roy Dobbs from Unforgiven... Yet the writers decided it was best to turn the whole thing into comedy. Because everything involving Xander has to be comical and superficial. JMO though...

It's kinda ironic that Jenny made a declaration of love to the one person who turned out to be indirectly responsible for her demise... Because I don't think Jenny either cared too much about Angel or just wanted to make amends with Buffy with the whole spell thing. She wanted to get back in Rupert's good graces. Pure and simple. She could've been eating pizza and watching old films in the safety of her private apartment without any risk of having uninvited guests with fangs. Instead she ended up at the one place where Angel could get her... Seems like Jenny's love for Giles clouded her judgement and thus has dulled her survival instinct. Jenny's blood was not only on Angel's hands but on Giles' and Buffy's too.

Happy birthday, Eric Balfour!

I'm not sure Nick is having fun here. He looks like he either got kicked in his... nuts or he's about to pee on David's sneakers... Who knows maybe that was the reason for the feud between the two?.. No need to drink so much, Nicky...

OMG... 1998 MTV's Rock n' Jock Basketball

Some funny thing I've found...

That's like remedy for my soul 🤩 Thank you. Lemberg enjoys

Turns out April is kinda 'fruitful' for Buffy alumni...

Smidge with Mom ... and filmong I Know What You Did Last Summer, 1997

46!

Happy birthday, Californian Loser 😢

He has lots of frenemies in the underworld, hasn't he? Some valuable connections, I'd say. It's almost the same as if we start asking how exactly was Angel able to deflower Buffy since vampire = dead = no heartbeat = no blood running through his veins = no erection (if I remember all those biology classes from many years ago correctly)? Probably some magic... Or the sure sign that Joss should've spent a little less time hyping Buffy in the media and a little more time trying to write logical and consistent storylines...

Guess who's gonna blow the candles on a birthday cake...

Giles could've handled it. It was him who shot Angel in Passion.

So the one Alexander Lavelle Harris goes from being the "useless part of the group" (The Zeppo) to the "Key Guy" (Graduation Day, Part 2) and there's absolutely nothing in between for the audience to understand how the guy got from here to there. There are eight episodes between The Zeppo and Graduation Day, Part 2. And even though we know Xander is kinda cool too since the whole 3x13 debacle, that's supposed to be the big secret for the Buffyverse, i.e. the thing no one is supposed to know, right? Even if Xander eventually told the gang about his nighttime activities when the Sisterhood of Jhe came to town, chances are nobody took him seriously. Yeah, they all believe in Xander doing something stupid like sleeping with Faith, but saving everyone's ass? No, no, no, can't happen here, really. Let's have a quick look on Xander's activity throught post-Zeppo episodes. Bad Girls - does nothing of importance. Consequences - nearly gets himself killed after coming to Faithie. Has to be saved by non other than Angel. Which kinda proves the point the gang made at the beginning of The Zeppo. Doppelgängland - does nothing of importance too exept for "saving" Vamp!Willow from Percy and helping Giles stake one vamp. Enemies - does nothing to make the gang change their minds, gets knocked out by Angel. Kinda leads the "charge" on Angel's mansion, but Faith is still alive and Angel isn't dust so this doesn't count. Earshot - nearly gets himself killed by the lunch lady, has to be saved by Buffy (hi there, Zeppo!). Choices - minimal contribution from Xand-man. Buffy and Willow have each other and do not need him in any way, shape or form. The Prom - pushes Cordelia out of harm's way when Tucker's doggo comes to April Fools. Brave move but hardly enough to make Xander the "Key Guy" in the upcoming battle. Besides, he agrees to take Anya to the prom which is kinda pathetic if you ask me. Because that Xander guy, he's such a scum. Not a single non-demonic girl in the whole SHS/Sunnydale/state of California will ever find him attractive so there's nothing left for him than to date a (former) demon and a very annoying one. Graduation Day, Part 1 - finds a source of important information regarding the Ascension. Smart move but, once again, hardly enough to make Xander a "Key Guy" out of the blue. Besides, stealing the rocket launcher (Innocence) or asking Angel to go fuck himself (Killed by Death) was ten times more badass but apparently seems not enough for the Scoobs not to treat Xander like shit. The showrunners hated Xander's guts. At least since the third season. So there's no wonder the guy was sidelined as fuck throughout most of the third seasons. OTOH they couldn't sideline Xander into oblivion. "See that Brendon guy? He still gets his paycheck so we kinda have to make his character matter a little bit every once in a while" - that's probably what Whedon and Greenwalt were thinking back in the day. A good explanation even though it has nothing to do with the series' plot. Xander rarely doing something worthwile throughout the season but then all of a sudden having a moment closer to the season's end To those who may object to the whole tirade: my point is not wanting Xander to steal the spotlight from Buffy therefore turning Buffy the Vampire Slayer into Xander the Glorified Bricklayer. Somehow Joss and his peers managed to keep Xander important enough without him outshining the main protagonist throughout the first two seasons. Unfortunately since season 3 most of the time Xander has a bit of the spotlight the only reason he gets there are Nick Brendon's contract obligations. Which, like I said before, has nothing to do with the story. Sigh.

And one more thing: the way Dan Vebber portrays Xander in this episode makes the guy look not only useless, but also very dumb. Why? Consider this. Cordelia taunts Xander because of him lacking super-freakin'-powers. Xander OTOH for some mysterious reasons asks Oz for lessons in coolness. I'm totally lost here: are we required to believe "cool" is some kinda synonym to "superpowered" from now on? Why aren't saving the freaking day then? What "superpowers" does Oz have anyway? Isn't it kinda dumb to ask him for advice regarding superpower-related issues? Why not go to Willow ("Can you give me some lessons in magic, Will so I won't be that useless?") or Angel ("Can you turn me so I'll be looking cool like you and ladies gonna find me attractive?")? Is the whole scene written just to humiliate Xander/say "fuck you" to a few Xillow 'shippers out there who remained loyal? Like, see, not only Xander accepts his defeat and doesn't fight for Willow but he also believes the Wolfboy is totally superior? What happened to the whole "it's totally ok to be uncool" narrative from the first two seasons? Besides, how exactly having a cool "thing" (in this case some stupid car) proves Xander's usefulness to the gang? Is riding the car considered to be some sort of a superpower? Does Xander really believe Buffy and Willow are that shallow to be impressed solely by his driving skills? Ok, Buffy is a little bit shallow, true, but Will?.. The girl Xander used to know since kindergarten?.. Was Xander's memory erased so that he doesn't remember his own contribution to the cause? Do others have amnesia too? Why wasn't Xander's safety an issue when soulless Angel was running around wrecking havoc while Buffy couldn't decide whether to stake him or not? Or that time when Buffy was in LA for months and the whole slaying thing became the responsibility of 3-4 non-superpowered teens because Giles the Prick got more important things to do? Why Xander's "safety" all of a sudden matters at this particular moment Does any fucking thing make sense in this "landmark" episode?

Well, you can learn how to play guitar and start some mediocre band which will eventually occupy the stage at The Bronze for some time since no major acts perform in such places... But there's another way, Xander. Much better way. You can kill a bloody lot of people, attempt to start an Apocalypse or two, torture someone for fun (like, say, Oz) and... voilà, congratulations, you're cool now. That's Buffyverse, baby. Oh, I just imagine what it would've been like if...