"School Hard" / "Chosen"

[red_satin_doll]

Like Mother, Like Daughter original artwork a gift to me from comlodge, an amazing artist and generous friend. Check out the original on her journal.



Apparently, Buffy isn't the only Summers woman who is going to be "a fireman [sic] when the floods roll back."

ETA: beer_good_foamy reminded me that Joyce's threat to Spike, "You get the HELL away from my daughter!" (Rock on, Joyce!) could be seen as applicable to Buffy's actions in Chosen, if we consider the new Slayers as her metaphorical "offspring".  (What's the plural for "childe"?)


Or, Kendra was her "daughter", Faith her "granddaughter", then Buffy and Faith got together and now the new Slayers have two mommies - which. ok, is kind of
incest-y, but no worse than the Fanged Four, right?

 And Willow is their midwife. Something like that.

.

Comments

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Maybe overreliance on the archetype would be a better way to say it.

GOTCHA. That's exactly right.

I just don't like how it's never mentioned again. At all. Arguably, it's the biggest betrayal on the whole show and yet there are no long term repercussions to it, at least not explicitly stated ones anyway.

Agree to disagree? I can see what you're saying. I think that it does have ripple-effect repercussions even if they're never stated outright that are in the mix all the way to S7. They love each other but IMO Giles is never able to fully commit to either either being Watcher or Father. Like Buffy he imagines the two halves as separate but he can't completely chose between or integrate them as Buffy must (she's the Hero after all.) Unlike Buffy he has the luxury & the ability to stay or to go; so he very nearly leaves in S4 & S5 until Buffy says she needs him as a Watcher. But when she needs a parent more in S6 he leaves (which sometimes happens to people with depression in RL) only to come back in full-on Watcher mode at in TTG/Grave, as well as S7. He rationalizes his actions every time, but his emotions are still compromised.

Also, just from my own personal experience, kids will forgive a LOT & because they have no choice until they get older, because all you've got is each other, you are bonded by secrets, & your understanding of parental love involves (abuse, neglect abandonment, etc) That's the child's normal life. Buffy needs a father, Giles is the only one there, which doesn't negate genuine love; in fact it makes it more difficult to stand up for oneself or change things. Change the dynamic, you risk losing the love. I think a person has to be strong enough in themselves or have sufficient outside resources/support to do that. That's S7 in a nutshell.

I was more bothered by the fact that Joyce's actions in Gingerbread aren't addressed at all; yes she's under a spell - just another day in Buffy's world (see above), but Joyce's actions here (& Ted, DMP, etc) are pretty profound betrayals IMO. The spell or drugs allow her to express frustration and resentments that she wouldn't otherwise. What I dislike is how her being kidnapped in Helpless can be read as closure for Gingerbread because a) Joyce is "punished" for her sins, &/or b) that she & Buffy are able to move forward because Buffy saves her. I don't recall if it's explicit in the text but it does seem to be implied whether the writers intended it or not. It's not a far-out reading by any means.

I don't really like to rank seasons because I don't think any one season, with the possible exception of S4, is a standalone season. 1-3, 4, 5-7 is how I tend to look at them.

TOTAL AGREEMENT. For me 4 is the "bridge" season between childhood & adulthood. In part because that reflects my own experience of college: moving out of my mom's house for the first time, pursing subjects I was interested in, carving an identity, etc. I thought I was adult but wasn't aware of how much support/structure college provideduntil I had to drop out for health & financial reasons, work two jobs etc. The structure disappeared & I failed to make the relatively smooth transition to career, family etc that other people did. Which reinforces my identification with late-seasons Buffy!

but I've come to defend the guy thanks to the comics.

I mostly just enjoy poking fun of him, or letting BGF do it for me. & WORD on fanwank parodies in the comics; the "shag or die (save the universe)" trope has been mocked much better in other fanfics without the vulgarity or the juvenile mean-spiritedness.

You'll see Spike fans take him claiming S2 as his when it's pretty clear that he's in the same boat as Angel; just posturing. After all, all you need to do is watch the DVD to see Spike shrug his shoulders and leave when it looks like Angelus has her down for the count.

Agree on the second sentence, but 'splainy on the first one, pretty please?