That again curls back to the life of the author discussion. For a long time I was under the notion that it was largely Xander projecting his own issues with Anya onto Buffy. He does, after this, go right to her. Then I hear interviews and...I don't know? Sometimes I wonder if the folks at ME are liars or just really bad writers because it seems like most of the time what they say they were writing isn't what was on screen.
do think that the notion that Xander is "always right" is undermined in Selfless when Buffy finally mentions his lie in Becoming (not yet realizing it's a lie); I can see how watching that in real time would be frustrating but it worked for me because it took Xander a long time to at least be able to face the fact that he hurt Buffy, whatever his intentions were; that good intentions aren't enough by themselves. (And I'm surprised by how much of "mainstream" fandom will swear up and down that jealousy had NOTHING to do with it whatsoever. Riiiight.
Selfless is another of those episodes where I think fandom largely missed the point (along with Fool For Love and others). It's an Anya episode, but also a Buffy one because both womens' purposes cross. Anya's forced to do her job as is Buffy. Buffy's "work" is a core theme in 1-5 of Season 7.
I think this keys into a lot of the show's themes but particularly the late seasons; everyone had their reasons and "meant well" in S6, but right intention without action or vice-versa isn't enough.
Yup. The road to hell and all that. It's a major theme in S5 of AtS, too. Which is a huge, massive problem I have with those friggin' comic books because they outright say the opposite.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2013-05-07 08:53 am (UTC)That's exactly what my interpretation of it was.
That again curls back to the life of the author discussion. For a long time I was under the notion that it was largely Xander projecting his own issues with Anya onto Buffy. He does, after this, go right to her. Then I hear interviews and...I don't know? Sometimes I wonder if the folks at ME are liars or just really bad writers because it seems like most of the time what they say they were writing isn't what was on screen.
do think that the notion that Xander is "always right" is undermined in Selfless when Buffy finally mentions his lie in Becoming (not yet realizing it's a lie); I can see how watching that in real time would be frustrating but it worked for me because it took Xander a long time to at least be able to face the fact that he hurt Buffy, whatever his intentions were; that good intentions aren't enough by themselves. (And I'm surprised by how much of "mainstream" fandom will swear up and down that jealousy had NOTHING to do with it whatsoever. Riiiight.
Selfless is another of those episodes where I think fandom largely missed the point (along with Fool For Love and others). It's an Anya episode, but also a Buffy one because both womens' purposes cross. Anya's forced to do her job as is Buffy. Buffy's "work" is a core theme in 1-5 of Season 7.
I think this keys into a lot of the show's themes but particularly the late seasons; everyone had their reasons and "meant well" in S6, but right intention without action or vice-versa isn't enough.
Yup. The road to hell and all that. It's a major theme in S5 of AtS, too. Which is a huge, massive problem I have with those friggin' comic books because they outright say the opposite.