elisi: Living in interesting times is not worth it (Willow - playing god by bogwitch)
elisi ([personal profile] elisi) wrote2006-09-29 12:56 pm
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The Killer In Me.

I had a few thoughts... lets see if I can remember them.

1) I was going to write something about how I really don't mind Kennedy. I think her attitude probably has a lot to do with her upbringing - coming from a seriously rich background I've no doubt that she had a pro-active mindset drilled into her from early on. ([livejournal.com profile] stormwreath wrote a lot of good stuff about her in the AOQ thread. He should bring it over to LJ! *pokes gently*) Heh. He beat me to it. Post defending Kennedy here! :)

2) Re. the whole 'is-Giles-The-First', then I don't mind all that much, since it shows very well is how detached Giles is, and how paranoid they're all getting. The First might not be around just at the moment, but that doesn't mean that the fight has gone away. Because its strongest card is to make people doubt themselves and each other.

And I also discovered that there was a bit cut from that scene:

GILES: Well, I... I really don't know what to...
(realization dawns)
Wait, let me understand. You thought I was evil because I took a group of young girls on a camping trip and didn't touch them??

A beat. They take in the irony.

ANDREW: I don't get it.


3) Because it'd been so long since I last watched, I had forgotten a lot of the Willow parts. So this line stood out especially:

WILLOW/WARREN: It's not a trick, it's not a glamour. I'm becoming him. A murderous, misogynist man. I mean, do you understand what he did? What I could do? I killed him for a reason.

"I killed him for a reason." Oh Willow, that was quite an admission - because what she's implying here is that it wasn't just about revenge. She still thinks of Warren as more dangerous than herself, as the greater evil. And from someone who tried to destroy the world? That's quite something. (All of which is dealt with in this vid and accompanying essay, so I'm not going to delve any deeper. But - what a line. One day there might be an essay.)
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[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
(stormwreath wrote a lot of good stuff about her in the AOQ thread. He should bring it over to LJ! *pokes gently*)
Beat you to it. (sticks out tongue)

"I killed him for a reason." Oh Willow, that was quite an admission - because what she's implying here is that it wasn't just about revenge. She still thinks of Warren as more dangerous than herself, as the greater evil.
On the other hand, she is turning into Warren - which means that vindictiveness and self-justification are taking over her personality. Although it's not too strange that Willow's old belief that the normal rules don't apply to her because her motives are good should still linger on, even now she's seen - and been repelled by - where such an attitude can take her.
shapinglight: (Default)

[personal profile] shapinglight 2006-09-29 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Like all the other season 7 eps, TKiM wasn't as bad as I remembered. There was good stuff in it, but it was very cluttered and I could've done without the Giles stuff. The comedy didn't really seem to work in this episode for somer reason - as if everyone's timing was off.

I didn't mind Kennedy as much on second viewing either but she still annoys me a lot in Get It Done.

[identity profile] confusedkayt.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I am interested in your thoughts about Kennedy... I actually have the same reaction her. If I had a nickel for every kid I encountered in the Ivy league who was every bit as pushy, grating, controlling, and petulant as Kennedy... Well, I'd have a whole lot of nickels. I'm afraid I think like a fic writer instead of a meta-person, so this doesn't necessarily translate onto my page very well. Depending on the character, or the person in my RL, you might get any of an array of reactions, but many will be tinged with annoyance, resentment, and maybe even a little bit of envy. Though, after the really weird way they introduced class issues with Faith in Season 3, I liked seeing the show at least try to work through the flipside.

Wow. What was the purpose of that little ramble? I dunno. I suppose you just articulated my whole read on Kennedy very briefly and I felt compelled to pipe up. :)

I want you to know that your pull quote from Willow is influencing how I think about her, too. She's gonna pop up more in MCwDP, and I think the attitude you noted will echo. Again, something I had a hunch about and now have much more solid grounding in. So thanks! :)

[identity profile] lusciousxander.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
And yet people love Cordy - ain't that weird? *g*


It's probably because people loved Tillow, and were upset that Kennedy replaced Tara. If Willow didn't date her, people won't hate her this much. Then again many poeple hate Rona, and she's kinda like Kennedy.
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[identity profile] stormwreath.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 05:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Then again many poeple hate Rona, and she's kinda like Kennedy.
Is she, though? As far as I can remember, Rona is all about the negative comments and non-constructive sarcasm. Kennedy may be tactless and full of herself, but she's also generous, straightforward and loyal.

As for TKIM's casting, personally I'd much prefer if they'd just had Alyson except for the very occasional flash to Adam Busch just to establish what was happening. But maybe I'm biased. :)

[identity profile] lusciousxander.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 06:47 pm (UTC)(link)
As far as I can remember, Rona is all about the negative comments and non-constructive sarcasm.

It's probably because both of them love to put Buffy in her place while the other potanials are scared to do so. I like both Rona and Kennedy, you just have to picture yourself in their place to get them.

As for TKIM's casting, personally I'd much prefer if they'd just had Alyson except for the very occasional flash to Adam Busch just to establish what was happening. But maybe I'm biased. :)

Nothing like a crying Alyson, she's so amazing when she cries, I can't help myself but cry with her.

[identity profile] lusciousxander.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I remember I didn't really like that the actors shifted in the Willow/Warren bit. I wish they only showed Adam Bush, but I know, Alyson has to be there for the famous Aly crying abilities in that scene with Willow crying.

The Giles bit, I'm happy he didn't die, coz I love Giles but it wasn't handled well sadly, even as a comedy coz it pissed people off more than amused them.

How about when Riley called Spike ass-face? LOL! Strange how Riley sounded funny when he wasn't on screen.

[identity profile] aycheb.livejournal.com 2006-09-29 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Re Willow’s attitude to Warren, I suspect what we’re supposed to take from that line is that Willow doesn’t feel guilty about killing Warren for the same reasons Xander and Dawn gave in their debate with Buffy back in Villians. She might feel guilty about wanting to end the world, attacking her friends and possibly Jonathan and Andrew but to Willow Warren is just the man who killed Tara and Katrina and enjoyed it. With hindsight that speech is the first real indication that she knows why she’s turning into him and it’s all to do with betraying Tara’s memory by even being able to contemplate moving on. I think Willow may reasonably believe that what she did to Warren was justice in a situation when human law had no ability to ensure it and it’s arguable but not a viewpoint that can be dismissed out of hand. Buffy wins the debate in Villians by bringing in the argument that Willow will destroy herself not by establishing conclusively that Warren can be stopped by the agencies of human justice.