Dianthus

At this point I would've been more surprised if Hook hadn't killed Charming's dad. As has been pointed out, we were speculating about that for months. A & E are such total hacks. At least Reggie didn't actually bust out crying this ep. Of course Robin with a backbone turns out to be evil. No surprise there either.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of BtVS, and there are articles out there ranking all the episodes, or discussing various aspects of the show, or people talking about what the show meant to them personally. An interesting article I read earlier today talked about s6 and The Trio/geek misogyny and tied it to the whole Gamergate thing. I thought Tabula Rasa did a really good job of balancing silly and serious. Normal Again is an interesting look at an alternate idea of "heaven." s6 is dark, but it shows an important part of Buffy's development. The Gift relies heavily on metaphor (as did the whole show, really). A young woman bleeding and in pain? Menses. Buffy sacrificing herself for Dawnie? The sacrifice of all the sister/mothers who came before us. I understand Buffy's headstone was something the studio wanted. Hard to pretend Buffy's still alive that way.

Angel is Neal: Her 1st love, who is older than he looks, who is not immediately forthcoming about who/what he is. He betrays her (unintentionally) and leaves her emotionally traumatized. By contrast: Spike is introduced as a villain in s2, he's with a female companion, and he's willing to switch sides (temporarily) to get what he wants.

I was thinking Killian might actually recognize a chisel when he saw one, but wasn't his reaction just so Haw-Haw funny?!? /s

More tears for St. Woegina. FFS. Toxic Bitch. Ships, made of wood, usually have a carpenter aboard to make repairs. Or is it part of the enchantment that the Jolly never needs fixing? Next week looks somewhat more promising.

Y'all know I've been redlining on Regina for a while now. Anymore of that already overused toxic bitch, and I'm well and truly done. It's not much of a threat, given the show probably won't make it much further anyway, but there's such a thing as too much of a good thing (which Reggie is decidedly not).

I came across a theory in a series of analyses, years ago, that really resonated with me, re: BtVS. Basically it posits that the other characters were more or less free-range aspects of Buffy. Kinda like Inside Out or Herman's Head. We saw this at the end of s4, when she and the Scoobies do the joining spell to defeat Adam. In that vein, I think Riley represents 'normal' for Buffy. She mentions a desire to be normal (or "just a girl') multiple times over the course of the show. But the Slayer doesn't get normal, so naturally it doesn't work out, even tho' she really wants it to. OTOH, Spike represents Buffy's Inner Darkness/Slayerness. This very much comes into play in s6, IMO. One of my favorite eps from s5 is Intervention.

Not sure where this should go, but this seemed like the best fit (I guess?) - Adam has a banner (or whatever it's called) on his Twitter feed that focuses on Jar-Jar Fucking Binks. Never mind the two generally well-regarded live actors in the scene. Binks is front and center. Like most older star Wars fans I detest the digital disaster with no soul. It's really just there as a novelty. What a sadly appropriate image for someone who's both fucking up beloved childhood stories and ignoring his incredibly talented cast in favor of shocking twists and plot, plot, plot.

Hush, Something Blue, and Beer Bad (don't judge) were/are all standouts from my POV. Watching Buffy whack Parker (talk about Angel-light) over the head with a stick was deeply cathartic.

@Souris, weird weather, sure, but Global Warming is a hoax /s

These guys are not the Jedi Masters they believe themselves to be. Their powers of persuasion are seriously lacking.

I was so NOT thrilled to see Wes back on AtS, but he goes on to be a lot cooler on that show. I didn't really care for Anya at first, but she grew on me. There's a character in s7 I kinda liked at first, but hated by the end of it:

@KingOfHearts, I hope things work out well for you. Got my Rebel Alliance decals today (3; two for the car [one on each side], one for my front window). After all, a woman's place is in the resistance!

Spike is/was a very polarizing character on account of he's not your typical vamp. That's what I love about him (I'm drawn to outliers and misfits), but a vocal faction of the fandom thought he pretty much ruined the premise of the show. After all, if vamps can be redeemed, it's wrong to stake them. OTOH, I just see him as this odd exception. I went to a couple of JM's public appearances, and told him how much I enjoyed Spike's evolution over the course of the series, because you so rarely see TV characters change that dramatically. Spike is no saint, and I wouldn't want that for him anyway, but the complications are what makes him interesting, IMO.

Lovers Walk has always been a special favorite of mine. Spike could often be counted on to take the piss out of whoever, and the scenes with Joyce were fantastic. Also, everyone else is (sorta) ok in the beginning, except Spike, and that's completely flipped by the end of it. He has a plan to go after Dru, and prove to her that he's not so soft ("Tie her up, torture her, until she likes me again.") after all. The Mayor was one of my favorite villains. I like the juxtapositions in his character.

Went to my local Women's March earlier today. Over 7k for turn out in a smallish (albeit college) town. Some great signs, including a few with Princess Leia on them (a woman's place is in the resistance). Cold and rainy, but totally worth it.

On BtVS, they did a Spike centric ep called Fool For Love, one of my favorites. Flashbacks showed Spike's evolution up to that point, and tied in nicely with present day scenes. They didn't rely as heavily on centrics.

@KingOfHearts: there will be more scenes between Spike and Joyce. They are among some of my favorite scenes from the entire series. Lovers Walk is one of my favorite episodes, and it features some delightful Spike/Joyce interaction. I was actually on board with Bangel (B/A) while it was a thing, but I got over it. Spuffy (B/S) was/is a huge thing for me, and very much a precursor for CS. It's not a 1:1 correlation, but closer IMO.

Took myself to see Moana yesterday. Very enjoyable, visually stunning. Lots of sailing.

For me, watching Spike's evolution unfold was far more satisfying than Angel's redemption story (most of which took place in Offscreenville).

Looking past the dated hair and wardrobe, Buffy still has a lot to offer.

I've watched every damn episode of Buffy at least once, and most of them more than that. The show worked on multiple levels, and it lends itself to detailed analyses. I subscribe to the theory that the supporting characters (especially the Scoobies) represent free-range aspects of Buffy herself. I have no desire to do a rewatch of Once, outside of having watched the CS movie a few times. Sadly, this show doesn't even work well on its surface. @KingOfHearts; wait 'til you get to s2!

If only genie could bring a certain other Robin back (to us). :(

I was thinking of quitting after Wish You Were Here (even if it did end on a cliffhanger). That, and the Regina pity party/suckfest of the s5 finale were just about more of my least favorite character than I could stand. I found myself wondering if I should just give up completely, keep watching regardless (most likely, I fear), or just give the A & E - penned eps a miss (hard to do, considering).

Sorry, I don't really get it either. OTOH, I think it may have more to do with the culture in which he was raised than the character himself. Maybe it's not so much old-fashioned as more formal?