*** Buffy 4.22 Restless ***
P@rick
Wow, I wish Joss Whedon could write and direct my dreams as well.
Although I doubt that I'd sleep well with his fantasies being played out
in my head. Especially with a First Slayer hunting me in my dreams. Or
maybe he'd send The Gentlemen after me. Or even worse... Riley!
But let's not get frantic here. Let's not think up the worst nightmares
imaginable. I'll leave that to Joss. After all, he has al lot of
experience with that and has proven his worth. First with Nightmares way
back in S1 (story JW, teleplay DG) and now with Restless. But whereas
the dreams in Nightmares were just that, nightmares, the dreams in
Restless are a whole lot more. For one thing, they're mayorly
psychedelic. Which is why they're a whole lot of fun. But also why this
ep is a little hard to review. I mean, should I mention every little
detail and try to attach a meaningful comment to it? Sounds like a lot
of work to me. Especially while I'm very likely to miss more than half
of the references. Working out all the details in Restless is a combined
effort of many fans and reviewers. So I'll just add my little
contribution to the great unravelling game, and give my piece of mind
and interpretation to the dreams. First off, I'd like to make it very
clear that I really, no I mean *really* enjoyed this episode.
So let's start with Willow's dream. What is that all about. In general,
it's about her resident feelings of uncertainty (like she showed in
'Doomed'). Still very much the insecure little schoolgirl underneath
that thin varnish of lesbian-witch-confident-in-college-clothes,
which is all an act anyway. Still very much afraid that people think
lowly of her, even doubting the true feelings of the ones who love her
(most notably Tara and Oz). Fearing that people will find out about her,
who she really is (or thinks she is). It's like a greek tragedy, just
like Willow's performance of Oedipus Rex in The Puppet Show was. Stage
fright, and being subjected to the criticism of other people, come into
play again.
A world of difference from the shelter she finds in Tara's Willow-
friendly room. Although Tara hints that she's not all that she seems.
But Willow won't have any of that. Instead she paints a poem on Tara's
back (so *that's* what they've been doing all those nights!).
When the First Slayer catches Willow, she takes her spirit (Spiritus).
Xander's dream starts off with a mildly disturbing scene where Joyce is
being more than a friendly mum to Xander. If you can't have the daughter
then aim for the mother (and then work your way down... sorry 'bout
that). Xander tries to catch up with his friends, who are all way ahead
of him. When he meets Buffy she calls him big brother (and she already
called him "one of the girls" back in The Witch). That's the level their
relationship is at, and it makes Joyce's avances even more disturbing.
And then, in the ice-cream truck, we see Willow and Tara as Xander
probably imagines them when he's 'doing a spell by himself'. Again, can
Joss *please* write one of my dreams? Willow also tells Xander she's way
ahead of him. And thisis true, since she's made a major step in her
personal development by admitting her feelings for Tara. Xander has yet
to make such big and important steps. When Xander starts crawling out of
his truck and into his basement, he ends up in UCS. And he couldn't be
more out of place there. The colors are all weird, and the college
people speak a different language than he does, as proven by Giles and
Anya in fluent and badly dubbed French. Xander had a similar experience
in Beer Bad, where a college boy turned all snobbily academic on him at
the bar. I loved the return of Snyder! Great acting as well. Marlon
Brando eat your heart out!
All throughout his dream Xander's trying to escape from his basement, or
his parent's grip to be more precise. When the FS catches up with him,
she takes his heart (Animus)
Giles' dream is centered around his (lack of) Watcher duties, and the
consequences they have on his life. He goes to a cemetery fair with the
closest thing he has to a family. Buffy is his substitute daughter who
takes things less serious than he'd like her to. Olivia walks around
with an empty pram. Later we even see her crying. In 'Hush' Olivia
wasn't certain yet whether she could get used to the darker parts of
Giles' life. I think we have the answer now.
Giles continues in research mode, and figures out what is happening to
them. Which he communicates through a great rock-musically song. But the
FS has heard enough and pulls the plug. When Giles goes looking for the
cause of the interruption, he finds his watch. Giles-the-stage-performer
is a thing of the past. A carreer stopped in its tracks by Giles'
predestined duties as a Watcher. When the FS attacks him, she goes for
his mind (Sophus).
That leaves us with Buffy. Also on the search for her friends, who she's
been neglecting this season. Poor Joyce even ends up living in a wall.
Though she doesn't seem to mind, it would take little effort from Buffy
(a little more attention) to free her mother from that predicament.
And since this is a dream sequence, and it's Buffy's dream, we get more
references to 7-3-0 and someone who's coming (Little Sister/Miss
Muffet). We learn that the clock (7:30) is completely wrong. So she
might be coming sooner or later than expected. And Tara's "You think you
know ... what's to come ... what you are. You haven't even begun" sounds
promising enough. Some deeper insights into Slayerdom sounds very
interesting.
The FS comes after Buffy and tries to kill the vessel (Hand, Manus). But
she can't defeat her. Although they're both Slayers they are not really
alike. But they have the same origin. Buffy says that the FS is not the
source of her. Maybe not exactly, but what does Buffy know about that
anyway? Adam suggests that Buffy's Slayer powers might even be demonic
in origin. The Slayer has evolved a great deal since the First. Maybe
Buffy represents the next big step in evolution. Mmmm... *really*
looking forward to some Slayer history lessons.
Well that's it for now. I'll probably add some new observations later on
when I watch Restless again. And again, and again... One thing's for
sure though: I'm not even touching this Cheese Guy!
Thanks for listening and pleasant dreams!
Bye, Patrick
--
Keeper of the Willowism, "And I'm eating this banana. Lunchtime be
damned!"
Keeper of the Wily Willow Charms
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