elisi | Superstar and New Moon Rising.

Superstar
I honestly can't think of anything to say about this episode. I mean it's fun, but it just doesn't have much... depth. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy watching it very much indeed, but compared to 'Storyteller' it comes across as fluff. Maybe because its main 'purpose' (apart of course from having fun with making Jonathan the center of the universe, which is a brilliant idea!) is to make Buffy & Riley make up.

Oh I *do* have a thought. Spike continually calls Buffy 'Betty', signifying that she isn't herself. A little touch that I enjoyed very much. :)

New Moon Rising
Watching this I noticed a lot of parallels between the Oz/Willow/Tara triangle and the Angel/Buffy//Spike triangle in 'Chosen':

OZ: You smell like her. She's all over you, do you know that? [...] Cause she never said anything to me like that. We talked all night and she never-

ANGEL: Is it Spike? You're not telling me something. And his scent, I remember it pretty well.

Of course the situations are very different - for a start Angel takes the news a *lot* better than Oz! But the thing that struck me was that the final goodbyes are really very similar:

OZ: It was stupid to think that you'd just be... waiting.
WILLOW: I was waiting. I feel like some part of me will always be waiting for you. Like if I'm old and blue-haired, and I turn the corner in Istanbul and there you are, I won't be surprised. Because... you're with me, you know?
OZ: I know. But now is not that time, I guess.

BUFFY: Angel. I do... sometimes think that far ahead.
ANGEL: Sometimes is something.
BUFFY: Be a long time coming. Years, if ever.
ANGEL: I ain't getting any older.

Finally a thought about Spike. In 'New Moon Rising' Adam recruits Spike, explaining his plan to him:

ADAM: You see my problem, though. Total annihilation of the humans doesn't help me. I'll be needing heavy casualties on both sides.
SPIKE: I get that. I'm still not sure how the Slayer fits in.
ADAM: The humans need a leader... a champion. The Slayer can do that.

The thing is... Buffy won't be fighting in Adam's battle. She's not the one who's going to even the kill ratio, saving human lives. The Champion role will be - Spike's! And he'll be doing it to preserve his own skin, but nevertheless he'll be doing Buffy's job, stepping into her shoes. Which is just... neat! :)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I suppose the way to think about 'Superstar' is this: season 4 is about our characters leaving childhood behind. Jonathan takes the opposite route, preferring his wish-fulfilment life of fantasy. Where he's both a chess grandmaster and a kickass martial artist, not to mention a babe magnet. This tendency in him is surely why the writers later made him part of the Trio, which would otherwise have seen a little out of character. (And of course Jonathan is the first to realise that the Trio's schemes are childish, and he's the first to tell Andrew to 'grow up'.)

I think you're spot-on with the Willow-Oz and Buffy-Angel comparisons: neither woman will ever truly 'get over' the man who was her first great love, and played such a huge role in shaping her memories, perceptions and attitudes; but acknowledging that importance doesn't necessarily mean that they want them to play an active part in their lives now...

Jonathan takes the opposite route, preferring his wish-fulfilment life of fantasy.
Ah yes, that's true. I guess it's the lack of growth that bothers me - I think though that Superstar!Jonathan *does* get it, but once that reality starts to fade he can't really remember it anymore.

I think you're spot-on with the Willow-Oz and Buffy-Angel comparisons
Thank you! :) And I forgot to mention it, but I really liked Willow in this episode - very quiet and reflective and not rushing into anything. Of course it also means that she's not completely open with Oz, but that is more is his issue than hers...

I think though that Superstar!Jonathan *does* get it, but once that reality starts to fade he can't really remember it anymore.

So why should he be the only person on the show who only needs to receive an important life lesson once? ;) But he does seem to learn the wrongness of using magic to force other people to serve your wishes (pity Willow didn't take note...), even though he still thinks of magic as a handy shortcut to fulfil your own desires.

('Dead Things' seems to contradict this: but it does seem that Jonathan genuinely didn't make the connection between the hypno-ball and what he did in 'Superstar' - and when he did he was horrified - rather than simply choosingto go back on what he'd learned.)

I really liked Willow in this episode - very quiet and reflective and not rushing into anything

Or extremely insecure and confused. (I think the best bit of acting in the episode is her expression in the split second when she makes up her mind to tell Buffy "It's complicated because of Tara"... and then the old-fashioned look she shoots at Buffy when she misunderstands.)

So why should he be the only person on the show who only needs to receive an important life lesson once? ;)
Hehehehehe. Maybe it's just because he's short... *g*

Or extremely insecure and confused
Or all of these. She knows that she's going to have to come clean about Tara, and I think she's very scared about that, as is only natural. But she knows that it's all about making a decision, and doesn't even consider using magic to make the problem go away! (See 'Lovers Walk'...)

Superstar and New Moon Rising.

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