rohaina

Up to Beauty and the Beasts so far. I feel like after the incredible epicness of Becoming I & II, and in general, most of the back half of season 2, so far it's a bit of a letdown. But that's more on how much I loved the second half of season 2, rather than an indictment on the quality of season 3. Conversely, the hubby is loving season 3. So far I think I liked Dead Man's Party the most. I loved the big fight because I didn't feel like I was supposed to be taking sides with either Buffy or the rest. It didn't feel like an either-or situation, I could see where both sides were coming from. Also, in a situation like this, people do often revert to passive aggressiveness which is what was going on here. And I loved the resolution too because it felt as natural. Ofcourse after a crisis situation like that, everyone would reconcile. That's what family does. The ep also had a really great Giles moment where he's making tea and just listening to the kids talk. His kids. I'm not sure about Faith yet. I'm not really a fan of this two-slayers thing. And so far she's the only character that's come off as a bit of a caricature. I hope they'll add more layers to her soon. Beauty and the Beasts was the weakest ep so far, saved by Oz and the return of Angel. I'm so happy Oz has an increased role this season. I do have a question. How did Buffy get off the hook for murder? Was it a loophole or did I miss something?

Becoming I & II - Wow. What an incredible way to end what has easily been one of the best seasons of television I've ever seen. The best part is that I've gotten my husband into the show too! He was protesting sooo much about me watching it, and I kept asking him to give it a go, but he wouldn't. The last half of the season, he would randomly pop in and out and pass random comments on what the characters were doing and what they should've been doing and then by Becoming I, he was watching just that much more, and by Becoming II, not only was he watching but during the Buffy/Angelus sword fight, was completely into it! He keeps saying its the sword fight that did him in lol. Now we're watching season 3 together! Back to Becoming, it was such a fantastic character study of Angel in a way. Right from the start of the ep, as he encountered Darla, to the modern day transition to who he'd become. Those choices and chances along the way, all contributing to who he was in the now. Brilliant stuff. I really loved the use of flashbacks. I thought the rest of the characters had some good moments too. I like Willow's interest in magic and she seems to want to learn. I can see her becoming a real asset. Giles. Oh, Giles. My heart broke for him during the torture scenes. Cordy had some real human moments, of fear and compassion. I like Oz too and hope he gets more of a role later. One of my absolute favourite parts was the Buffy-Spike team up. How amazing was that? I was not expecting that all and yet it worked on so many levels. I love Spike. What a teriffic villain motivated by his own self interest above all else. The whole Spike in Buffy's living room bit was comedy gold. Poor Kendra. :( Although the whole two-slayers thing never really resonated with me, so happy to be done with it in a way. Another chillingly, beautifully orchestrated moment was the Buffy-Angelus fight at the end of the first part and how he's stalling her and then with Buffy's mad rush back to the school and the voice over in the background. Seriously good TV and again I can't believe I was dumb enough never to have watched this show. But the ep belonged to Buffy. Love her, love her, love her. I felt so much for her throughout the ep. I can't remember the last time I was so invested in a fictional character. With everything that was thrown her way, she just soldiered on, which is why her breakdown at the end made so much sense. The fight with Angelus and when she's cornered and he asks what she has left - dare I say it, was just epic. And then the "close your eyes" and. Yeah. I did have a few minor quibbles though. Like I felt that the Acathla plan just came out of nowhere. How much of it had to do with the events in IOHEFY, I wonder? Was Angelus beginning to feel, was Angel breaking through somehow and so Angelus thought 'to hell with it', literally? Also, where did Willow get that sudden burst of energy from? And I really don't like the resurfacing of the Willow/Xander thing, this time from Xander's side. I adore him and Cordy and Willow and Oz together.

I've only obviously seen up until I Only Have Eyes For You and I don't really know what's coming up ahead but I agree that there's very little indication so far of Xander ever having liked Angel. Maybe a throwaway line of acceptance here and there earlier this season but he's obviously accepted the Angelus thing in a far more gung-ho manner than the rest have. I don't know if I blame him entirely though. He's seventeen, his crush on Buffy has not subsided completely, despite his relationship with Cordy, and the combination of the two leads to a certain irrationality when it comes to Angel. Now, I don't think it's Xander's best quality, but I can somehow still see it. Having said that, I do hope that his crush on Buffy dies a natural death as I wished Willow's on Xander's would end too, because I really don't want to see any inter-dating between these three. Their bond is too familial, for that, I think. I also really want to see Xander and Cordy give it a real go, as I think the two are fab together. Also, desperately hoping against hope here that Angelus's soul can be restored here because otherwise I see a very grim scenario where's he's shipped off to his spin-off while still soulless to create havoc elsewhere and him and Buffy never getting a proper resolution. As of now though, I also have to give real credit to the show for making Angelus so intensely unlikeable. I absolutely despise him, and that's a real testament considering I loved Angel. I really liked IOHEFY. Buffy's pain and guilt were so palpable as was Giles desire to communicate with Jenny again. I liked Killed by Death too, although it's an odd one because I loved what the ep did for the various characterizations but I hated the actual monster storyline. Cordy was a real MVP in KBD I thought. It was brutal. :(

My god, could Passion have been any more of a punch in the gut? Shit. I can't believe Jenny is dead.. And the way she was killed. Angelus is one twisted mofo. I just can't believe it. And just when it looked like her and Giles would reconcile after Buffy gave her the best version of forgiveness she could, really. Evil move, show. Evil. It was a brilliant ep though I have to say. Angelus's obsession with Buffy was really explored well. His moves were so cold and calculated and yet fueled by, passion? Creepy. I can't get over how legit scary that Angelus-chases-Jenny scene was. It was such a dogged pursuit by him and then snap. Literally. And the scenes after where Giles finds her body and then Angelus watches Buffy. It's sick how he actively sought out her pain. I think that fight scene between him and Buffy later on could very well have ended in her killing him. She was that hopped up on her anger but obviously, Giles. Another great scene, the one that followed with them outside the warehouse. So raw. They need each other, plain and simple. And then in all of this, there are brilliant moments of humour like when Spike says to Dru, 'no point going in unless you're tagged.' Lol! A rollercoaster ep. I wasn't sure about Phases and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered following Innocence. Not because I didn't enjoy them. I did. BB&B in particular. But tonally, I don't know they just felt a little off but then I didn't know what a tragedy fest I was going to be in just an ep later. RIP Jenny.

Thank you everyone! It's so nice to have found this place. I feel like I missed out on all the fun by not watching the show in real time. Oh well, better late than never! Hoping to catch up on a few eps tonight, for sure.

So a friend of mine recently gave me the full series box set for my birthday. She was a big fan, always tried to get me into the show but I dunno, I just never bothered. I like genre shows but Buffy just never seemed the right fit for me. But I have to say. Could I have been more wrong?! I'm up till Innocence in Season 2 and like I said, just wow. I am loving it. The only thing I'm bummed about is that obviously I'm spoiled for some of the stuff. Maybe not a lot but like I always knew Angel would go bad. I also know somewhere down the line I think either Giles or Joyce dies? And that there's a long lost sister out there somewhere. And that Spike and Buffy have a thing. At some point. Anyway. So yeah, I was pretty much hooked from the pilot. The setting and clothes and all felt terribly dated but the writing and the characters pulled me in. Pretty much after the first ep only you kinda know this is going to be an epic bond between these characters. I thought the Master was way campy but it kinda fit with the tone of the first season. There's no doubt that the show found its footing in the second season though. So far I've loved all the eps except I think it was Inca Mummy Girl? I love Buffy. She is so my kinda heroine. She kicks ass but she's got heart. I love the growth in Willow and Cordelia already and I actively look forward to Giles and Xander scenes. I think Spike and Dru are an absolute hoot. But the part I really like is that they do seem like a formidable threat too, in a loose cannon-y sort of way. But ofcourse now Angels gone bad, so who knows what'll happen. The thing that really caught me off guard was Jenny's involvement. I really like her and Giles together. I hope they can work through this! But the most surprising thing for me so far is how invested I've gotten into Buffy/Angel. I remember my friend mentioning it back in the day and then I know theres a spin off somewhere down the line and I always used to think the showrunners probably figured out how gross a teenager and a hundreds year old vamp sounds, but here I am. Completely in awe of their chemistry. They seem genuinely in love with each other when these two are together. I wanted desperately to know more about Angel, I hope we still get to find out? Their instinctive pull towards each other has been nice also I think because the show so far hasn't been utterly consumed by it. They've spent time on other characters too and that's what's gotten me really hooked. The relationships, all of them so far, have added to the overall story, not taken away from it. I am really liking Willow/Oz and Xander/Cordy too. Angel in Innocence was absolutely chilling. Brrr.