Potential - make that MAJOR - Problems‏

Luckily, the family did tape Buffy last nite, so I got to watch it when I came home from the movies. The episode was entitled "Potential," which I think was rather appropriate, because the episode had great potential, but also had some big, BIG holes and problems. I'll start with the bad before I get to the really good. ~ Buffy's "My death could make one of you the slayer." Since fucking when? I literally yelled at my TV at 11:00pm "No, it can't!" Somebody obviously missed something because it was mentioned more than once. If this is true, then there is another slayer running around somewhere and she has been since May 2001. I seriously hope that this is Buffy simply attempting to assert her importance, cuz it's a BIG ol' problem. If there is another slayer out there, why haven't they found her and why did they never care to look for her? Did everyone suddenly forget that Buffy died twice? I can maybe accept that Joss was fucking with us after "The Gift" when he said there would be no new slayer, but why has this not been addressed until a year and a half later. God, especially now! Royally pissed off about this one...~ The Spuffy (Spike-Buffy) shit has to stop. It is such a dead weight and makes me groan every time it is made reference to. I hate it, I hate them, it's over and done with. This is no time for romance! No time!~ In relation to that, I've decided that Principal Wood is in fact evil, because only an evil man would make Buffy a counselor. I'm surprised they haven't mentioned that suicides among Sunnydale teens have gone up since Buffy took over as counselor. How many times has she taken someone else's problem and made it hers? I thought the guilt from the frequent Spike fucking last season was going to remain in last season. Make it go away. And those writers are getting really repetitive with their no-so-subtle metaphors about Buffy and Spike. Everything else is in some way symblematic of the two of them, isn't it? A poor awkward girl looks for counseling and Buffy makes it about herself. Grrr Argh. (I really don't think that Wood is evil tho)~ No I have to talk about the SiT's who become worse as the weeks go on. I want Rona dead now. Kill her soon. I can't even look at her anymore. I HATE HER MORE THAN I HAVE EVER HATED ANY CHARACTER ON BUFFY EVER. More than stupid Riley, more than Veruca, more than sappy-whiny Angel, more than pussy-whipped Spike. Maybe they could have her go into a counseling session with Buffy and have her realize that she's just gonna die, so she might as well commit suicide. I would stand up and clap at my TV if they did that.~ Does stupid redhead with a hat have a name? I never caught it. I hate her hat. I hate her too. Spike should have broken her arm.~ Rona's "I like the way wood feels in my hand" and then her comment about being 15 and in a bar. Ew, yuck, kill her now!~ And Widget could do a better cockney accent than the other dimwit Molly.~ Yeah, so I figure Kennedy is totally dead. I mean Buffy says "Some of us will die in this battle," and the camera is right on Kennedy's face. It's a damn shame cuz I like her.~ More bad stuff...Why has Andrew seemingly become a Scooby? Kick the little whining bastard out on his ass and make him answer for his actions. He is not threatening! Not at all. He does make me laugh now and then, but that's Xander's role, not his. Rid us of his whines.~ Back to the SiT's...I can't deal with Buffy's speeches. I find her very unconvincing and irritating. Not to mention pretentious and conceited...~ Why doesn't Buffy seem to know about last week's revelation that the First's appearance is tied to the slayer? That really bugged me. Anya better have told her, or someone else, or she needs a good smacking.~ Unfortunate not to see Giles, especially after he's hardly been there when he actually is there, you know?~ By the way, I hate UPN again. I got their email about upcoming eps when they mention, something about Will and Kennedy and something about Giles maybe being the First. What the fuck is wrong with this station? Ok, so onto the good stuff:~ Very interesting that slayers-to-be aren't exactly normal humans. That doesn't really account for Amanda's incredible fighting skills, but still, it's interesting.~ Clem! It was great to see Clem! I was hoping he would pop up. His name wasn't in the opening credits, which made it even better.~ Although I do get quite irritated by the Spuffy nonsense, I do still appreciate James Marsters as an actor. When Buffy made that statement about all vamps being the same inside, the look on his face was absolutely perfect.~ The best stuff was with Dawn though. I was convinced that she was the new potential and I was rather surprised how heavy-handed they were with the foreshadowing, especially considering the rumors that are floating around about Dawn getting a spin-off. I still wonder though what they have planned for her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the savior of the season, a la Xander last year.~ Anya's summation of Dawn's life was great.~ Xander's "You are important - now," really hurt. God, have some compassion Xand-man. Why on earth would he ever say that, especially considering the end of the ep.~ Just as I'm starting to have hope for Dawn when she kinda tells the guys about Joyce's warning, she goes and pulls a Buffy. It is absolutely incredible how alike they are. What was she thinking going into the school alone? That was the Dawn of last season, I thought she had progressed beyond that.~ I thought the stuff with Amanda was really well done. When she met her on the street, I was convinced she was a vampire and was bringing Dawn back to her sire for a late night treat. And then, they pull the rug out from under me and Amanda's the potential. That was pretty cool.~ She does have a couple of screws loose tho, doesn't she? With the whole I want to sic the vamp on the marching band" and all. She's got a bit of awkward Willow in her, doesn't she? That didn't turn out so well last year.~ Amanda runs funny.~ Her fighting, like I said before, was pretty silly. I can accept the extra strength as a pre-slayer, but fighting ability and tactics do not come pre-programmed.~ Well, my favorite part of the episode was Xander's talk with Dawn. That is the Xander I love. That's the one that could be one of my favorite characters. He had the best line of the night, but it was too long for me to jot down. I'll have to get back to you on that one. Nick Brendon did a great job and that one scene made the whole episode for me. I loved it. Oh, and he fuckin mentioned Oz! How awesomely cool was that??

It's Showtime! (Finally)‏

So, I finally have time to write you my thoughts on "Showtime," last weeks Buffy. I'll jump right into it... ~ Let's start with Willow. I did enjoy her flirtation/conversation with Kennedy. I do think that starting (or continuing, in Buffy/Spike's case) a romance is a bad idea now. If they do go in the direction of romance for Will, I definitely see Kennedy dying. It's unfortunate because she's the only SiT (Slayer in Training) that I like.~ Speaking of the SiTs, I totally saw the Eve as First Evil coming from the time she questioned Buffy about Spike.~ Why do all potential slayers have to be pretty and bad actors? There were some pretty bad accents thrown around 1630 Revello Drive.~ I hope SiT Rona dies next week. She was the worst of all. I have no sympathy for any of them. They should all react like Kennedy. It's a damn shame they're in this situation, but whining is not going to help.~ I thought it was funny when Anya "translated" British into American.~ The scene with that demon Torg (?) was pretty funny...Torg: "I remember. You wore pink." Anya: "Those were entrails." and his comment about not sleeping with her for "all the kittens in Korea." Funny little reference to last season.~ The kitchen scene with Xander was pretty cool too. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I kinda forgot about it till the end.~ On to Andrew...Now, I know I've said that I find him amusing. I do, but I don't really know what his point is. Why are they keeping him around? They can't actually feel threatened by him. I hope that the bigwigs have some plan for him, cuz it's seems kinda pointless to be giving the laughs to such a one-note character when Xander only gets 2 minutes of screen time. Hey, Anya and Dawn can be funny too.~ But still, Andrew does make me laugh:"That's my joystick hand." Xander: "I'm not touching that one."After Eve reveals herself: "I'm gonna go clean up again."He also had some line about his inner ear condition that I can't remember."I'm Bored. Like Episode I bored."~ Matt mentioned the other day that he was watching reruns on FX. He saw "Real Me," episode 2 of season 5. That's the one with Harmony's gang, of which Tom Lenk as a vampire named Cyrus (or something) was a member. There's also all those Andrew/Spike parallels. I wonder if Andrew is going to end up with pointy teeth and a poor skin condition.~ Let's talk a bit about Giles...There seem to be quite a few red herrings being thrown around this season, so I'm not really sure what to think of him. I'd be willing to wager that he's not a manifestation of the FE for 3 reasons:1. The coven called Willow. If they can detect potential slayers, they should be able to detect Giles. If they know he's there, at the very least he's a benevolent spirit or at least a manifestation of the coven's creation.2. I don't think that the FE can appear as more than one person at the same time. (Did you mention this too when we talked about it last week?) Giles was in the room with Eve, and she was FE.3. I read somewhere that the FE has never appeared in the sunlight. Giles obviously has.So whatever he is, I don't think he's bad. He very well may still be dead, that might even be Giles himself, but something does seem a little off about him, which worries me.~ If they are going to continue the series in some way, Faith is going to die. I think that that is unfortunate.~ Like I mentioned last week, Dawn could be the end of Fray. And if they do continue the series as Dawn the Vampire Slayer, or whatever, I'm certain that I'll watch. If Sarah stays on, I think I'll be disappointed. I don't think she's done a very good job acting this year; it almost seems like she doesn't want to be there. The only good stuff she's done is with Spike, and I cannot tell you how tired I am of Spike loves Buffy/Buffy loves Spike. It's getting to the annoyance level of Buffy/Angel in season 3.~ I'm still not sure who the "...but not her" comment by the First refers to. Easiest explanation is Buffy, so I guess I'm leaning toward that, but that seems too easy. Like I said, maybe Willow, I just don't know. They certainly are keeping me guessing though.~ The Ubervamp was too easy to kill. They shouldn't have had that big showdown in the "Bring on the Night." Buffy was pummeled and seemed too assured that she could defeat it. It was a good idea and it did what she had hoped, but I really think it was too easy. I do typically have problems with David Fury-written eps tho.~ Curious as to what will come nest from the FE. Maybe the Master? That would be fuuuuuun. I think that's it. I liked the episode enough, I guess. It was pretty good, but probably my least favorite of the season. I'm looking forward to nest week's though, and I can't wait until Faith comes back.

Well, it wasn't as bad as "Gone"

The way I look at it, every episode up to and including "Never Leave Me" was excellent. Loved em all. "Bring on the Night" had it's really good (I do love my Drusilla) and really bad ("I'm afraid there may be some internal bleeding" which made me cringe). I blame the bad on Marti. I attribute the good to Doug Petrie cuz I usually like his stuff. "Showtime" was ok; it seemed like a review of "Bring on the Night," but without the great Petrie stuff. I haven't been that thrilled with David Fury lately anyway. I think the mistake that was made was having Buffy fight the Ubervamp and her getting demolished in "Night." She was too assured in "Showtime" and the fight would have been more exciting and the outcome believable if she wasn't pummeled in the previous ep. That was my biggest problem. Second biggest problem were the stupid SiT's, except for Kennedy, who's probably going to die at some point, unfortunately. Bad accents, bad acting, just a waste of time when I would rather see more Willow, Anya, Giles (or pseudo-Giles), Xander and Dawn. I think what's really keeping me going is the lack of spoilers. At this point last year, I had just seen "Gone" (another Fury ep, I think), and there didn't seem to be that much to look forward to. Now, I think there's tons to look forward to: Faith, perhaps another Drew Goddard ep, an explanation of Giles, maybe an ep or two by Joss (or maybe that's just wishful thinking). I don't know what the deal is with Andrew. I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to say that I like him (after all he killed my buddy Jonathan), but he's certainly better than he was last year. His geek jokes do make me laugh, but why keep such a one-note character around? I can't seriously believe that they think he's a threat to them. There's gotta be a reason, hopefully we'll find out soon. If not, they (as in ME, not the Scoobies) really should just kill him. As for the speeches....hmmmmm. I did like the speech in "Checkpoint." It had me smiling and cheering. But I don't think that Buffy really is a speech-maker. Why couldn't she have just come downstairs (internal bleeding and all) and said "Listen you idiots: we have no choice, we have to fight, they'll be no whining. If we die, we die. There's nothing else we can do."? That would have done the same thing. I think that it does have to do with SMG's acting though. I used to think that she was great. This season has really made me question why they would even want her around if they continued next season. They only scenes where she seems remotely interested in acting are the scenes with Spike. And let me get on my soapbox now and say that I hate, hate, HATE anything resembling a romantic relationship this year. The flirtation between Will and Kennedy is cute, and I can deal with that, but I am so incredibly tired of Buffy loves Spike. God, I watched "Lover's Walk" yesterday and I remembered why I once loved the character of Spike. It is so damn unfortunate that he is so popular with the ladies. I think James Marsters is a phenomenal actor, but does half of the season have to be full of topless Spike? Hasn't anyone in Sunnydale learned by now that these romances just make you weaker? They're fighting the First Evil. Shouldn't they be more concerned with fighting? Ugh, I just wish that Spike would sacrifice himself to save Buffy so we would be done with it all.