Your Ted post got me to thinking that the "father's love for the child" is very, very creepy coming in an episode where he's been violating her trust and drugging her for days to weeks.
*dusts off hands* My work here is done.
I'm only surprised that the creepiness of the situation is not more widely acknowledged in fandom. The show doesn't exacly belabor the point because it's part and parcel of that entire 'verse - misuse of power, the inability to find the balance between emotional ties and duty. Giles' coldness here will have repercussions in S7 when Buffy is so closed off; we imitate what we are modeled to us by our parental figures.
I guess it's the "everyone loves Giles" factor? This episode actually reminds me a bit of "Ted" which is not a parallel I've seen made overtly but it occurred to me the other day - betrayal by Buffy's literal and metaphorical father figures, use of drugs by men to control women, Buffy having to protect/rescue her mother, both somewhat more intensely frightening than usual, interlacing of the male monsters abusiveness with warped sexuality - and Buffy's Overalls, which are so densely symbolic that they deserve (and will get) their own meta *wicked grin* but serve to somewhat desexualize her in both instances and emphasize her youth.
I've seen "Forever, that's the whole point" quoted as some super shipping line and it's like... you know that was a nightmare, right? And guilt-driven? Which is another interesting discussion.
I know, right? I just - sometimes I have no words. But if you want to lead the way on that discussion I'll gladly follow! One of the reasons I love the episode "Him" is the way it once again subverts romantic tropes, comedically rather than tragically - or in this case, Buffy's romances, in a way that I think also subtly pokes fun at fandom taking the tropes seriously - Dawn spouting "it would be true, forever" and "it's real!", while under the spell - the Bangel and Spuffy catchphrases - just makes me grin like a mad thing.
It's like you said, one thing Buffy always lacked was a stronger, older female character. Buffy needs someone to talk to. Someone she doesn't know and more importantly doesn't have any expectations of her the way her surrogate family does. Olivia would have been the perfect character for that. Plus, you know, Restless tie-backs.
I'd forgotten Olivia's appearance as a mother figure Giles' dream but you're right - I love your headcanon. It fits beautifully.
Biggest complaints about the idea of a Buffy movie is the actors are too old. It's like, uh, why can't the film take place 5-10 years down the line?
WTF? That's one of the things that annoyed me right off the bat about the comics - that they didn't move forward either in time or characterization.
Once again, it's never about the character herself, just who she ends up with.
no subject
*dusts off hands* My work here is done.
I'm only surprised that the creepiness of the situation is not more widely acknowledged in fandom. The show doesn't exacly belabor the point because it's part and parcel of that entire 'verse - misuse of power, the inability to find the balance between emotional ties and duty. Giles' coldness here will have repercussions in S7 when Buffy is so closed off; we imitate what we are modeled to us by our parental figures.
I guess it's the "everyone loves Giles" factor? This episode actually reminds me a bit of "Ted" which is not a parallel I've seen made overtly but it occurred to me the other day - betrayal by Buffy's literal and metaphorical father figures, use of drugs by men to control women, Buffy having to protect/rescue her mother, both somewhat more intensely frightening than usual, interlacing of the male monsters abusiveness with warped sexuality - and Buffy's Overalls, which are so densely symbolic that they deserve (and will get) their own meta *wicked grin* but serve to somewhat desexualize her in both instances and emphasize her youth.
I've seen "Forever, that's the whole point" quoted as some super shipping line and it's like... you know that was a nightmare, right? And guilt-driven? Which is another interesting discussion.
I know, right? I just - sometimes I have no words. But if you want to lead the way on that discussion I'll gladly follow! One of the reasons I love the episode "Him" is the way it once again subverts romantic tropes, comedically rather than tragically - or in this case, Buffy's romances, in a way that I think also subtly pokes fun at fandom taking the tropes seriously - Dawn spouting "it would be true, forever" and "it's real!", while under the spell - the Bangel and Spuffy catchphrases - just makes me grin like a mad thing.
It's like you said, one thing Buffy always lacked was a stronger, older female character. Buffy needs someone to talk to. Someone she doesn't know and more importantly doesn't have any expectations of her the way her surrogate family does. Olivia would have been the perfect character for that. Plus, you know, Restless tie-backs.
I'd forgotten Olivia's appearance as a mother figure Giles' dream but you're right - I love your headcanon. It fits beautifully.
Biggest complaints about the idea of a Buffy movie is the actors are too old. It's like, uh, why can't the film take place 5-10 years down the line?
WTF? That's one of the things that annoyed me right off the bat about the comics - that they didn't move forward either in time or characterization.
Once again, it's never about the character herself, just who she ends up with.
You speak truth.