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Thoughts on 'The Wish'.
Watched ‘The Wish’ last night - and what do you know? Some rambling followed.
This episode is a fascinating look at the characters... it made me think an awful lot. Originally I just wanted to watch it for Buffy - all this talk of how Buffy turned into a complete bitch in later seasons - how much of a basis is there for that theory in ‘The Wish’? Not sure if I actually came to any conclusions, but here are my thoughts - ordered by character:
The Master: I never really liked him in S1, but here he’s delightful - the scene where he drinks what I presume is blood out of a teeny little cappuccino cup? Adored it. It’s all about the power for him, and I think in some ways his outlook is very much like Wolfram & Hart - lets use what the humans have created to destroy the world.
Willow: Vamp!Willow is interesting - she was obviously vamped when she was still shy, little nerdy Willow and is very playful - enjoying her power, enjoying being everything she was not. Very much like William actually. She’s let all the stuff she suppressed come to the surface. But although she is deviant and very unpleasant I didn’t find her all that scary - comparing her with Dark!Willow she's a much lighter baddie, if you can see what I mean. Dark!Willow is full of anger and hate and rage - she doesn’t play. Willow went through a lot in the years that separate her from Vamp!Willow and it shows - there is a darkness to her that’s very different.
Xander: Oh, Xander - now him I found chilling. NB does nasty very, very well. We saw some of it in ‘The Pack’, but it’s fully fledged here. Vamp!Xander is not playful - he’s more calculating. He enjoys watching. All the daftness of human Xander have vanished, leaving a cold, brutal killer. Vamp!Xander is an Angelus in the making, and under the guidance of The Master he would have been exceptional. All of which made me wonder - where is all that in human Xander? It’s a side we rarely - if ever - see. Which I guess is something that ties him to Angel again... who - looking at Liam - could have guessed at what lay inside?
Angel: I don’t know if I could have loved Angel more in this episode. I mean look at this bit of dialogue:
Angel: I waited. I waited here for you. But you never... I was supposed to help you. [...] The Master rose. He let me live... to punish me. I kept hoping maybe you'd come. My destiny.
My destiny!!!!! I just wanted to hug him. The only character to be *exactly* the same! ::loves:: (I don’t think I can say any more - I mean what more is there to say? Except that he looked really hot! Mmmm, eye candy!)
Buffy: Oh, but she’s an interesting one. This is Buffy without friends and family - Buffy the Vampire Slayer with everything stripped away. Buffy who’s only the Slayer, not the girl as well. But it’s fascinating to see how ‘Buffy’ she is anyway:
She doesn’t take orders - is not an obedient little Slayer like Kendra:
Giles (on the phone to Buffy’s Watcher): Yes, I understand, but it's imperative that I see her. Here. (listens) Well... when will you? (listens) Yeah, well, you are her Watcher. I'd expect her to at least check in to...
She doesn’t sit around waiting, she makes a plan and implements it straight away. She’s good at taking advantage of unexpected help (Angel). And very good at slaying of course.
It’s the other things that stand out though:
Buffy: World is what it is. We fight. We die. Wishing doesn't change that.
She’s very weary and disillusioned. She doesn't have Faith’s joy of life. She slays because that’s what she’s good at - it’s her duty, her life. If she met Dracula and he told her she was a killer, she’d just shrug. Of course she’s a killer.
How does she compare to S6 - S7 Buffy? I’m not sure... There is a hardness to her, that we very seldom see on the show. The real Buffy is torn - in ‘Selfless’ she shuts down into that hard core, so she can kill Anya - but Wishverse Buffy would never need to - she’s there already. Which of course gets her killed. Because Spike was right (as he very often is) - it’s her ties to the world that keep her alive. And in S6 and S7 she fights very hard to keep hold of those ties - to keep hold of her life. She can be harsh and cruel when she gets desperate, but I think this is because of who she is and what she is. There is that hard core inside her that she can fall back on - if she has to, she can strip everything away. And it isn’t pretty, but it gets the job done. And that’s what matters. It’s how she killed Angel.
But I don't think that she wants to be that Buffy - the cold, cruel one. She wants to be happy and to be loved. It's just that as life gets harder and harder, and her calling continually forces her to maker ever more difficult choices, she has to fight all the more to keep hold of Buffy-the-girl.
Did any of that make sense? I just feel like I was waffling. Now I’d love for all you clever people to bring up lots of excellent points that I’d never even though of. :)
This episode is a fascinating look at the characters... it made me think an awful lot. Originally I just wanted to watch it for Buffy - all this talk of how Buffy turned into a complete bitch in later seasons - how much of a basis is there for that theory in ‘The Wish’? Not sure if I actually came to any conclusions, but here are my thoughts - ordered by character:
The Master: I never really liked him in S1, but here he’s delightful - the scene where he drinks what I presume is blood out of a teeny little cappuccino cup? Adored it. It’s all about the power for him, and I think in some ways his outlook is very much like Wolfram & Hart - lets use what the humans have created to destroy the world.
Willow: Vamp!Willow is interesting - she was obviously vamped when she was still shy, little nerdy Willow and is very playful - enjoying her power, enjoying being everything she was not. Very much like William actually. She’s let all the stuff she suppressed come to the surface. But although she is deviant and very unpleasant I didn’t find her all that scary - comparing her with Dark!Willow she's a much lighter baddie, if you can see what I mean. Dark!Willow is full of anger and hate and rage - she doesn’t play. Willow went through a lot in the years that separate her from Vamp!Willow and it shows - there is a darkness to her that’s very different.
Xander: Oh, Xander - now him I found chilling. NB does nasty very, very well. We saw some of it in ‘The Pack’, but it’s fully fledged here. Vamp!Xander is not playful - he’s more calculating. He enjoys watching. All the daftness of human Xander have vanished, leaving a cold, brutal killer. Vamp!Xander is an Angelus in the making, and under the guidance of The Master he would have been exceptional. All of which made me wonder - where is all that in human Xander? It’s a side we rarely - if ever - see. Which I guess is something that ties him to Angel again... who - looking at Liam - could have guessed at what lay inside?
Angel: I don’t know if I could have loved Angel more in this episode. I mean look at this bit of dialogue:
Angel: I waited. I waited here for you. But you never... I was supposed to help you. [...] The Master rose. He let me live... to punish me. I kept hoping maybe you'd come. My destiny.
My destiny!!!!! I just wanted to hug him. The only character to be *exactly* the same! ::loves:: (I don’t think I can say any more - I mean what more is there to say? Except that he looked really hot! Mmmm, eye candy!)
Buffy: Oh, but she’s an interesting one. This is Buffy without friends and family - Buffy the Vampire Slayer with everything stripped away. Buffy who’s only the Slayer, not the girl as well. But it’s fascinating to see how ‘Buffy’ she is anyway:
She doesn’t take orders - is not an obedient little Slayer like Kendra:
Giles (on the phone to Buffy’s Watcher): Yes, I understand, but it's imperative that I see her. Here. (listens) Well... when will you? (listens) Yeah, well, you are her Watcher. I'd expect her to at least check in to...
She doesn’t sit around waiting, she makes a plan and implements it straight away. She’s good at taking advantage of unexpected help (Angel). And very good at slaying of course.
It’s the other things that stand out though:
Buffy: World is what it is. We fight. We die. Wishing doesn't change that.
She’s very weary and disillusioned. She doesn't have Faith’s joy of life. She slays because that’s what she’s good at - it’s her duty, her life. If she met Dracula and he told her she was a killer, she’d just shrug. Of course she’s a killer.
How does she compare to S6 - S7 Buffy? I’m not sure... There is a hardness to her, that we very seldom see on the show. The real Buffy is torn - in ‘Selfless’ she shuts down into that hard core, so she can kill Anya - but Wishverse Buffy would never need to - she’s there already. Which of course gets her killed. Because Spike was right (as he very often is) - it’s her ties to the world that keep her alive. And in S6 and S7 she fights very hard to keep hold of those ties - to keep hold of her life. She can be harsh and cruel when she gets desperate, but I think this is because of who she is and what she is. There is that hard core inside her that she can fall back on - if she has to, she can strip everything away. And it isn’t pretty, but it gets the job done. And that’s what matters. It’s how she killed Angel.
But I don't think that she wants to be that Buffy - the cold, cruel one. She wants to be happy and to be loved. It's just that as life gets harder and harder, and her calling continually forces her to maker ever more difficult choices, she has to fight all the more to keep hold of Buffy-the-girl.
Did any of that make sense? I just feel like I was waffling. Now I’d love for all you clever people to bring up lots of excellent points that I’d never even though of. :)
no subject
I just now thought of Willow in 'Smashed'. She gets very close to Vamp!Willow - using her powers to make the world her way - only satsifying herself. She's obviously not torturing people for fun (she's not evil!) but she is worryingly lacking in restraint.
But what if Xander was given a superpower? It's an interesting prospect.
There is a very good fic waiting to be written I think... by someone who's good at writing Xander though. I honestly don't know what would happen. ::ponders::
Wish!Buffy seems to not care at all, while Real!Buffy seems to care too much and tries very, very hard to quash that.
It's a fascinating character study. And I really don't know what to think either. My original intention when watching this was to see how cold Wishverse!Buffy was and to try to compare her to S6-S7 Buffy to see how they differed. Because Buffy of the later seasons gets called cold and bitchy and harsh so very often. But compared to Buffy in The Wish? You can see how hard she tries. I'm still trying to work out what I think about it all, and if I ever come to any sort of conclusion will hopefully make a post about Bitchy!Buffy.
Also: *deep, calming breathes*? Was it that good? Or bad?
no subject
I just think most of that is based on canon hyperbole because honestly? I'm not seeing how she's all that bitchy. Distant and removed in certain cases? Yep. Telling some hard truths? You betcha.
Also: *deep, calming breathes*? Was it that good? Or bad?
Oh, it's very good. I was so close to sticking my two cents in upthread and a few months ago, I probably would have. I guess I'm just getting apathetic to the whole 'let's get down on S7' thing. :P
no subject
Me neither. When I watched S7 I was barely aware of fandom and quite simply just enjoyed the show... and Buffy never struck me as bitchy or cold. Just someone with a really, really hard job.
I guess I'm just getting apathetic to the whole 'let's get down on S7' thing. :P
Ah, well, I have a feeling
Oh - and thanks for saying that it's good! :) Now I will go away and attempt to concentrate on my