Buffy 4.12 A New Man SPOILERS
P@rick
First off: Buffy really should know better than not to expect surprises
at her birthday.
It was pretty obvious that Giles had to feel redundant and neglected
this ep. I don't have to sum up the events which lead to that feeling,
because they were oh so very clear. That's one of the BtVS trademarks
when they focus on one character in an ep. Think Zeppo and DGL. In
short, Giles has no real purpose and feels disconnected, the Scoobies
don't seem to consider him at all lately, a paramilitary organisation is
getting better grades on demonhunting than he ever had, and Buffy's fave
professor lives up to her EBMOD-nick as far as Giles is concerned.
Buffy tried her best to convince us that she still needs him to tell her
what to do. But as far as the father figure goes, Walsh seems man enough
to take that place. I think Willow tries to involve Giles in things, but
that isn't really working. She never seemed too eager to consult with
Giles concerning her explorations into magick. And now she has Tara to
do some neat spells with. Xander is basically leading the same life as
Giles, with the exception of his occasional paid jobs. And Anya occupies
his time quite a bit as well. So unless the world is ending (again), or
the Scoobies want some background on a demon or a ritual, Giles isn't in
the picture much.
The way Giles is out of the loop, he might as well be invisible. But
they did that already in S1. So Giles is turned into a demon. As if it
wasn't bad enough the way he had been neglected, now the Scoobies don't
even recognize or understand him. Worse: they think he's the demon that
attacked Giles. I think he would be better off being invisible.
And why did Ethan turn Giles into a demon? What was his motivation for
coming to Sunnydale anyway. Did he come to see the demon Prince Barvain
rise? Then whatever happened to it, if it even did rise. And if he was
waiting for Giles to pump him for information, then why didn't he show
himself as soon as Giles was alone in the cript? He felt caught when
Giles returned to the crypt, so he wasn't expecting that.
Usually Ethan gets paid to pull these kind of tricks (Band Candy), or
it's in his own interest (Dark Age). But I didn't really get his
motivation this time. Did he want to hear Giles out about the
Initiative, or did he only use that as an excuse to avoid getting
himself trashed.
The talk Giles and Ethan had was rather interesting though. It seems
that the Initiative are taking their experimenting places they
shouldn't. Now they've got the whole demon community angry and afraid.
They are tampering with the balance of Good and Evil, and that ain't too
cool. Must be one hell of a secret they're hiding back there in room
314. Kicking the forces of Good and Evil out of balance is no mean feat.
And all that is supposed to be leading to one hell of a fight. Nice
hinting, nice build up of suspense for the season's finale. It makes the
Initiative a whole lot more interesting. At least, until we find out
whether whatever it is they're hiding behind door 314 is worth all the
fuss.
All seems well now between Buffy and Riley. A little too well,
considering how reluctant Buffy was to give in to a relationship with
Riley only one ep ago. All is going so well that Buffy is a candidate to
join the happy Initiative family. She is even in the grace of mama
Walsh. Although she wants to see a more disciplined and obedient Slayer
(as sometimes does Giles). But both Buffy and the Initiative seem eager
to join forces and exchange tips. Buffy's and Riley's methods seemed to
complement each other fairly well. She had the plans and the action. He
had the technology and the info. The way this is going, there's a big
merger coming up. And I'm not really looking forward to that. They
shouldn't mix the Slayer and the Initiative. They represent two
different worlds.
Question is, do the traditional- and the high tech-way blend? One very
big obstacle would be Buffy's unwillingness to follow orders (which
Riley finds cool). And that's not the way to go in a military
organisation. And yes, in this ep we learned that the Initiative has
strong military ties. Seems tI has the whole campus and town wired. They
even have a master key to all the shops in main street. So it's probable
that local government knows about tI, or at least co-operates with them.
Willow has truly found her own playmate (no pun intended of course). A
kindred soul, one she can share her passion for witchcraft with. And
more importantly, practice magick with. Their spell required their minds
to be perfectly attuned, and they pulled that off relatively easy. I
think they have a promising future ahead of them.
While keeping secrets for each other is a big theme this season, Willow
doesn't tell Buffy about Tara. In fact, she flat out lies about where
she has been. I expect this kind of behaviour from Buffy, but not from
Willow. What is it about Tara that she wants to hide? Certainly not that
she's a witch. Maybe she's ashamed of something? Interesting.
Spike was great again. He's sort of an anti-assassin: he won't kill for
money. I doubt whether he could have taken on demon-Giles though. That
guy was strong! I loved that nice little detail where Spike was
measuring the crypt. And Spike is a talented driver (well, until he
crashed the car into the wall), shaking off two Initiative Hummers with
a Citroen Escargot. Just one thing, and you know what I'm going to say:
why is Spike still alive!
That secret behind tI keep behind door 314 sounds promising enough.
Highly classified, yet somehow enough of this high-secret project leaked
out into the darkworlds to upset its inhabitants. Anyway, at ep 12 it's
about time to introduce this season's Bad Guy (m/f).
The events in this ep made the Scoobies aware that they have been
neglecting poor Ripper a lot lately. But in the end all is well again?
Somehow I don't buy that. Buffy did promise to let Giles in on things
earlier (or at all). But it ain't the first time she promised him that,
is it?
This ep set up a lot of storylines for the rest of the season. Still ten
eps to go. Let's sit back and enjoy the ride.
Bye, Patrick
--
Keeper of the Willowism, "And I'm eating this banana. Lunchtime be
damned!"
Keeper of the Wily Willow Charms
ThreadMaker [tm]
ReviewMeister [tm]
Arkasha
> *** SPOILERS Buffy 4.12 A New Man ***
>
>
> First off: Buffy really should know better than not to expect surprises
> at her birthday.
Well, she didn't seem to even remember it was her birthday. And where was
Joyce ?
> It was pretty obvious that Giles had to feel redundant and neglected
> this ep. I don't have to sum up the events which lead to that feeling,
> because they were oh so very clear. That's one of the BtVS trademarks
> when they focus on one character in an ep. Think Zeppo and DGL. In
> short, Giles has no real purpose and feels disconnected,
Just like a regular parent who's child has fled the nest. He needs a hobby!
> the Scoobies don't seem to consider him at all lately,
Well without a central meeting place i guess it's only natural he doesn't
get to see the Scooby gang a lot. But Buffy should keep him up to date. But
then again she is being rather selfinvolved lately.
> a paramilitary organisation is
> getting better grades on demonhunting than he ever had, and Buffy's fave
> professor lives up to her EBMOD-nick as far as Giles is concerned.
For a psychology professor she has very little psychological insight!
> Buffy tried her best to convince us that she still needs him to tell her
> what to do. But as far as the father figure goes, Walsh seems man enough
> to take that place. I think Willow tries to involve Giles in things, but
> that isn't really working. She never seemed too eager to consult with
> Giles concerning her explorations into magick. And now she has Tara to
> do some neat spells with.
And Tara seems just as eager to do spells with Willow.
Tara: "I don't know, but, uh, the petals are off."
> Xander is basically leading the same life as
> Giles, with the exception of his occasional paid jobs. And Anya occupies
> his time quite a bit as well.
i would love to see more of Giles and Olivia. She was just there out of the
blue in The Freshman and then she was gone again.
> So unless the world is ending (again), or
> the Scoobies want some background on a demon or a ritual, Giles isn't in
> the picture much.
Then again, he's not really the kind of guy a young person would hang out
with.
> The way Giles is out of the loop, he might as well be invisible. But
> they did that already in S1. So Giles is turned into a demon. As if it
> wasn't bad enough the way he had been neglected, now the Scoobies don't
> even recognize or understand him. Worse: they think he's the demon that
> attacked Giles. I think he would be better off being invisible.
At least the they were all genuinely upset when they thought Giles was hurt
(except for Anya ;-))
> And why did Ethan turn Giles into a demon? What was his motivation for
> coming to Sunnydale anyway. Did he come to see the demon Prince Barvain
> rise? Then whatever happened to it, if it even did rise. And if he was
> waiting for Giles to pump him for information, then why didn't he show
> himself as soon as Giles was alone in the cript? He felt caught when
> Giles returned to the crypt, so he wasn't expecting that.
i fear it's just another thing the writers hope you would notice since they
didn't had the time to come up with a lot of explanations.
> Usually Ethan gets paid to pull these kind of tricks (Band Candy), or
> it's in his own interest (Dark Age). But I didn't really get his
> motivation this time. Did he want to hear Giles out about the
> Initiative, or did he only use that as an excuse to avoid getting
> himself trashed.
The only thing i can think of is that it was all just for fun.
Ethan: "I really got to learn to just do the damage and get out of town.
It's the "stay and gloat" that gets me every time.
Hmmm, doesn't make it very clear."
> The talk Giles and Ethan had was rather interesting though. It seems
> that the Initiative are taking their experimenting places they
> shouldn't. Now they've got the whole demon community angry and afraid.
> They are tampering with the balance of Good and Evil, and that ain't too
> cool. Must be one hell of a secret they're hiding back there in room
> 314. Kicking the forces of Good and Evil out of balance is no mean feat.
> And all that is supposed to be leading to one hell of a fight. Nice
> hinting, nice build up of suspense for the season's finale. It makes the
> Initiative a whole lot more interesting. At least, until we find out
> whether whatever it is they're hiding behind door 314 is worth all the
> fuss.
I'm just wondering about the time frame of all this. How long is tI been
operating? It too big a operation to have just started, so I'm guessing it
wasn't very successful in itself. Also considering Maggie's statement about
Riley's 17(!) hst's. The whole 314 thing seems to be different. All of a
sudden the whole demon world is upset. So this must be a new project.
> All seems well now between Buffy and Riley. A little too well,
> considering how reluctant Buffy was to give in to a relationship with
> Riley only one ep ago. All is going so well that Buffy is a candidate to
> join the happy Initiative family. She is even in the grace of mama
> Walsh.
Too bad we didn't get to see Walsh's reaction at Buffy's answer
> Although she wants to see a more disciplined and obedient Slayer
> (as sometimes does Giles). But both Buffy and the Initiative seem eager
> to join forces and exchange tips. Buffy's and Riley's methods seemed to
> complement each other fairly well. She had the plans and the action. He
> had the technology and the info. The way this is going, there's a big
> merger coming up. And I'm not really looking forward to that. They
> shouldn't mix the Slayer and the Initiative. They represent two
> different worlds.
Indeed they do, all to clear.
> Question is, do the traditional- and the high tech-way blend? One very
> big obstacle would be Buffy's unwillingness to follow orders (which
> Riley finds cool).
And she can kick his ass!
> And that's not the way to go in a military
> organization. And yes, in this ep we learned that the Initiative has
> strong military ties. Seems tI has the whole campus and town wired. They
> even have a master key to all the shops in main street. So it's probable
> that local government knows about tI, or at least co-operates with them.
Which of course would mean inconsistency with S3. Somehow i don't see the
Mayor working with these guys.
> Willow has truly found her own playmate (no pun intended of course). A
> kindred soul, one she can share her passion for witchcraft with. And
> more importantly, practice magick with. Their spell required their minds
> to be perfectly attuned, and they pulled that off relatively easy. I
> think they have a promising future ahead of them.
> While keeping secrets for each other is a big theme this season, Willow
> doesn't tell Buffy about Tara. In fact, she flat out lies about where
> she has been. I expect this kind of behaviour from Buffy, but not from
> Willow. What is it about Tara that she wants to hide? Certainly not that
> she's a witch. Maybe she's ashamed of something? Interesting.
very interesting and also telling as to how the relationship between Buffy
and Willow is standing. Both of them are drifting apart and keeping secrets.
> Spike was great again. He's sort of an anti-assassin: he won't kill for
> money. I doubt whether he could have taken on demon-Giles though. That
> guy was strong! I loved that nice little detail where Spike was
> measuring the crypt. And Spike is a talented driver (well, until he
> crashed the car into the wall), shaking off two Initiative Hummers with
> a Citroen Escargot.
And doesn't even know how to work the clutch.
> Just one thing, and you know what I'm going to say:
> why is Spike still alive!
Cos he so goddamm cute!
Seriously, i know the way they're spanning this chip thing out is lame. But
i know it's necessary to make him a regular on the show to somehow remove
his immediate threat to Buffy and co. And personally i think he makes a good
addition to the show. He has a lot of funny moments, he's still likes
playing mind games, and...well...he's so goddamm cute.
So i'm willing to accept the unconvincing reasoning that they couldn't kill
him "cos he's can't harm humans right now" (or something like that) in
exchange for his presents in the show. Plus it could lead to some
interesting situations if Dru would ever show up again!
> That secret behind tI keep behind door 314 sounds promising enough.
> Highly classified, yet somehow enough of this high-secret project leaked
> out into the darkworlds to upset its inhabitants.
Maybe tI captured some telepathic demons?
> Anyway, at ep 12 it's
> about time to introduce this season's Bad Guy (m/f).
> The events in this ep made the Scoobies aware that they have been
> neglecting poor Ripper a lot lately. But in the end all is well again?
> Somehow I don't buy that. Buffy did promise to let Giles in on things
> earlier (or at all). But it ain't the first time she promised him that,
> is it?
>
> This ep set up a lot of storylines for the rest of the season. Still ten
> eps to go. Let's sit back and enjoy the ride.
Arkasha
__________________________________
Requiescat in Pace:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~arkasha2312
-----------------------------------------------------------
sah...@my-deja.com
slayer' watch it for sarah an not for the program itself!Personally i
think id enjoy watching it more if the male species around me weren't
salivating half as much!
:)
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Mattia Valente
>
> Quite frankly everyone i know that actually watch 'buuffy the vampire
> slayer' watch it for sarah an not for the program itself!Personally i
> think id enjoy watching it more if the male species around me weren't
> salivating half as much!
> :)
:-p
Actually, to be honest, almost everyone I know (male) watches the show
because of the show (writing, sotries, characters) in the first place,
and Willow close a close second. The show is just good.
Mattia
ReplyMeister[tm]
Jonathan Black
> sah...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> > Quite frankly everyone i know that actually watch 'buuffy the
> > vampire slayer' watch it for sarah an not for the program
> > itself! Personally i think id enjoy watching it more if the
> > male species around me weren't salivating half as much! :)
>
> :-p
>
> Actually, to be honest, almost everyone I know (male) watches
> the show because of the show (writing, sotries, characters)
> in the first place, and Willow close a close second. The show
> is just good.
Hmm, granted, there are some beautiful people on the show, but
that really isn't the main reason I watch it, certainly not the
only reason. There are many other TV shows with sexy girls, but I
watch hardly any of them regularly. Even Charmed I gave up
following because of the general medocrity of the stories; the
undeniable fact that Alyssa Milano is *HOT* was not enough to
keep me tuning in every week. The reason I fell in love with BtVS
was the way in which I was blown away by one of the most
incredible pieces of TV I'd ever seen (`Becoming').
Oh, and is it just me, or did this have little to do with P@'s
`A New Man' review?
Bye,
--
jonathaN
Marc
"Jonathan Black" <j.g....@its.tudelft.nl> schreef in bericht
news:Pine.LNX.4.21.01011...@deadlock.et.tudelft.nl...
> Mattia Valente wrote:
>
> > sah...@my-deja.com wrote:
> >
> > > Quite frankly everyone i know that actually watch 'buuffy the
> > > vampire slayer' watch it for sarah an not for the program
> > > itself! Personally i think id enjoy watching it more if the
> > > male species around me weren't salivating half as much! :)
> >
I'm a gay gonzo librarian! That's why I watch...
No - seriously I liiiiiiike Buffy, - I like Cordelia also but I
luuuuuuuuuuve Willow - is that enough dripping spit on the chin? But I guess
the material on BtVS is a lot better 'cause I'm just a simple-minded guy who
needs his daily dose of humour and ugly demons while brave youngsters save
the world
Actually: what's the point in watching BtVS if your in it for the nice
skin? - Then you better tune in on Charmed, they look stunning, but can't
break an egg together although they even have grandma's big ol' cookbook at
hand - but they do sooo make your eyes melt don't they!
Marc
P@rick
> "P@rick" schreef :
> > First off: Buffy really should know better than not to expect
> > surprises at her birthday.
>
> Well, she didn't seem to even remember it was her birthday.
Maybe she's confused about the exact date of her birthday?
> And where was Joyce ?
Good question. Maybe she's confused as well.
> i would love to see more of Giles and Olivia. She was just there out
of
> the blue in The Freshman and then she was gone again.
Only to return in Hush. But still, way too little coverage and
explanation. It looks like she was only used to upgrade Giles' coolness
factor (or Hugh Hefner status). And to shock Buffy obviously.
> > So unless the world is ending (again), or the Scoobies want some
> > background on a demon or a ritual, Giles isn't in the picture much.
>
> Then again, he's not really the kind of guy a young person would hang
out
> with.
But they did in S1-S3. Of course he was much easier to reach back then.
Now they have to travel from campus to Sunnydale. In that respect, it's
pretty normal that they don't see him as often. OTOH, they don't live
normal alter-lives.
> I'm just wondering about the time frame of all this. How long is tI
been
> operating? It too big a operation to have just started, so I'm
guessing it
> wasn't very successful in itself. Also considering Maggie's statement
about
> Riley's 17(!) hst's. The whole 314 thing seems to be different. All of
a
> sudden the whole demon world is upset. So this must be a new project.
When I give it some thought, it doesn't appear unthinkable that they
existed pre S4. Maybe they restricted their hunting territory to the
campus at first. And I'm not sure that strange events with an impact
like in 'Hush' took place in S3 or even S2 (too lazy to check),
prompting tI to visit the town. This would explain why Buffy didn't bump
into them sooner.
But then it's still strange that Angel didn't pick any rumours up from
the demon world. Or Spike for that matter, who seemed ignorant about tI
existence before they zapped him.
Judging from Walsh' chip and project 314, it's not very likely that tI
only started when S4 started. And Riley and his colleagues are seniors
(or whatever you call them), and presumably have been at it for quite a
while. Probably even started out as soldiers before entering college.
> > They even have a master key to all the shops in main street. So it's
> > probable that local government knows about tI, or at least co-
> > operates with them.
> Which of course would mean inconsistency with S3. Somehow i don't see
> the Mayor working with these guys.
Oh yeah. Well I meant the *new* local government ;o)
> > Just one thing, and you know what I'm going to say:
> > why is Spike still alive!
>
> Cos he so goddamm cute!
> Seriously, i know the way they're spanning this chip thing out is
> lame. But i know it's necessary to make him a regular on the show to
> somehow remove his immediate threat to Buffy and co. And personally i
> think he makes a good addition to the show. He has a lot of funny
> moments, he's still likes playing mind games, and...well...he's so
goddamm
> cute.
> So i'm willing to accept the unconvincing reasoning that they couldn't
> kill him "cos he's can't harm humans right now" (or something like
that)
> in exchange for his presents in the show. Plus it could lead to some
> interesting situations if Dru would ever show up again!
Okay, so here's my opinion. Spike has been reduced to nothing more than
comic relief. Granted, he still is hilarious most of the time. But
before they made him impotent, he was hilarious *and* evil. Spike was
something special, and you knew that it was going to be a cool episode
when he appeared on screen. Now you just know that he's going to say
something funny when he appears on screen. And if they *had* to make a
regular out of him, why didn't they at least make it somewhat more
believable that the Scoobies tolerate him rather than kill him. They're
the writers, they can be more creative than this.
And if they only use him because he's so goddamn cute, then I want
VampWillow (chipped if they have to) as a regular on the show!
Bye, Patrick
Arkasha
> Arkasha wrote:
> > "P@rick" schreef :
>
> > > First off: Buffy really should know better than not to expect
> > > surprises at her birthday.
> >
> > Well, she didn't seem to even remember it was her birthday.
>
> Maybe she's confused about the exact date of her birthday?
>
> > i would love to see more of Giles and Olivia. She was just there out
> of
> > the blue in The Freshman and then she was gone again.
>
> Only to return in Hush. But still, way too little coverage and
> explanation. It looks like she was only used to upgrade Giles' coolness
> factor (or Hugh Hefner status). And to shock Buffy obviously.
Oops, forgot about Hush.
Anyway, I would love to see her back, also to give more substance to Giles.
As we will see in a later ep, she does pay an important role in Giles' mind.
<snip>
> I'm just wondering about the time frame of all this. How long is tI been
> > operating? It too big a operation to have just started, so I'm guessing
it
> > wasn't very successful in itself. Also considering Maggie's statement
about
> > Riley's 17(!) hst's. The whole 314 thing seems to be different. All of a
> > sudden the whole demon world is upset. So this must be a new project.
>
> When I give it some thought, it doesn't appear unthinkable that they
> existed pre S4. Maybe they restricted their hunting territory to the
> campus at first.
Hmm, that would explain why they didn't seem to know about the Hellmouth or
the existence of the Slayer.
> And I'm not sure that strange events with an impact
> like in 'Hush' took place in S3 or even S2 (too lazy to check),
> prompting tI to visit the town. This would explain why Buffy didn't bump
> into them sooner.
Only thing i can think of right now is the army of vampires converging on
the Highschool when the Master was gonna rise(PG) or all the zombies rising
from their graves in Dead Man's Party. Of course none of these events lasted
as long as Hush, but they must have generated some 911 calls.
There was some chaos in eps like Nightmares and Band Candy but that could
have effected tI at the same time.
> But then it's still strange that Angel didn't pick any rumours up from
> the demon world. Or Spike for that matter, who seemed ignorant about tI
> existence before they zapped him.
>
> Judging from Walsh' chip and project 314, it's not very likely that tI
> only started when S4 started. And Riley and his colleagues are seniors
> (or whatever you call them), and presumably have been at it for quite a
> while. Probably even started out as soldiers before entering college.
I don't think any of them actually studies, but the student-thing is just
camouflage. So we don't really know how long they have been enrolled at the
Uni. Riley said he was pulled from special ops training for this, but he
doesn't say when.
Like you said, tI is just too big to be very recent, but that just doesn't
sit right that nobody noticed anything about it before.
> > > They even have a master key to all the shops in main street. So it's
> > > probable that local government knows about tI, or at least co-
> > > operates with them.
>
> > Which of course would mean inconsistency with S3. Somehow i don't see
> > the Mayor working with these guys.
>
> Oh yeah. Well I meant the *new* local government ;o)
Which would favor the recent scenario
> > > Just one thing, and you know what I'm going to say:
> > > why is Spike still alive!
> >
> > Cos he so goddamm cute!
> > Seriously, i know the way they're spanning this chip thing out is
> > lame. But i know it's necessary to make him a regular on the show to
> > somehow remove his immediate threat to Buffy and co. And personally i
> > think he makes a good addition to the show. He has a lot of funny
> > moments, he's still likes playing mind games, and...well...he's
sogoddamm cute.
> > So i'm willing to accept the unconvincing reasoning that they couldn't
> > kill him "cos he's can't harm humans right now" (or something likethat)
> > in exchange for his presents in the show. Plus it could lead to some
> > interesting situations if Dru would ever show up again!
>
> Okay, so here's my opinion. Spike has been reduced to nothing more than
> comic relief. Granted, he still is hilarious most of the time. But
> before they made him impotent, he was hilarious *and* evil. Spike was
> something special, and you knew that it was going to be a cool episode
> when he appeared on screen. Now you just know that he's going to say
> something funny when he appears on screen.
Well, I haven't seen any S5 yet, but i think they were trying to make Spike
more *evil* again by the end of S4 (Yoko factor etc.) I'm very interested
where this line will go.
> And if they *had* to make a
> regular out of him, why didn't they at least make it somewhat more
> believable that the Scoobies tolerate him rather than kill him. They're
> the writers, they can be more creative than this.
It's pretty hard to come up with a plausible scenario where Spike is evil,
actually dangerous but still not an immediate threat to Buffy &co and that
would also explain why they tolerate him.
That's the whole reason real baddy don't last longer then one season,and are
never regulars. It just a contraditio in terminis.
> And if they only use him because he's so goddamn cute, then I want
> VampWillow (chipped if they have to) as a regular on the show!
I'll vote for that!
They could hook up together, so VampWillow can do the evil and Spike gets to
watch.