Andygirl, I think they’ve been subtle about it in the past. I think they’ve just decided it’s time to reveal it in more overt ways.
LOVED the Ripper bit from Giles. I think it showed that she wasn’t going to hide her (subconscious) motives or passive agressive tendencies from him. Spike and Giles agreeing…scary! 
Re: Xander’s work: last night he said he was “still getting used to this regular paycheck thing.” He must work some wierd hours!
What I liked about the 3 lame-ohs was that they showed BTVS can still do all kinds of shows. I like it when each week is a surprise. You don’t know if they are going to focus on the ongoing story line, or be self-contained. And some are dark, while others more humorous. Makes viewing more of a treat for me.
Tara goofed up and verged on showing some personality yesterday.
I’ve got a question that’s been bugging me ever since the season premiere. Why the heck didn’t they bring SHOVELS to the attempted buffy resurrectioin?
I don’t get it…what the hell are they gonna do to lightne Buffy up now? Every time I look at her, I see a completely depressed woman who was ripped from the safety and joy of heaven, how much of a drag is that? She can’t stay so damned unhappy to be here! Although given her lifestyle, there is no reason she shouldn’t. No money, no love life, everybody pulling at her all the time, constantly doing battle with creepy beasts… in fact, regarding that last, her mental state makes me wonder why she fights so hard. Why not just go ahead and let them kill her?
Considering that I’m essentially 4 years behind you guys, the current status of Angel and Spike continues to be a source of deep consternation to me. Although I like the nice Spike better than the evil Spike.
And watching * Politically Incorrect * the other night I was gratified to learn that I was right: Marsters is faking the accent. I’m so good.
stoid
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Peta Tzunami *
**
I think that the dragging out the engagement thing is about as opposite to a gag as you can get. Anya is anxious to share the joy - and how much more anxious can you get when your fiance doesn’t want to tell his best friends? It’s definitely not a good sign. Xander is being as evasive as he can.
Susan
Good, because I think that Anya chick is just the worst, the absolute worst. Dump her ass and move on!
(I love Xander)
stoid
I also can see the wedding being one of the last, if not the last, episode of the season. Can you just imagine what will go wrong?
Oooh… antici…
[sub]Say it![/sub]
<crickets chirping>
I think Willow will go as dark as Angel did when he was “turned.” I’m thinking she’ll kill Tara at some point and then suffer the guilt of it once Buffy has found a way to turn her back. Final scene will be Willow fighting the temptation to “bring back” Tara.
Y’know concerning Xander and money and all that, what happened to the steady(?) job, the new apartment, and anything else good that may have happened in the “Xander becomes twins” episode? Did that all just go away?
And I don’t think I’ve ever seen Giles/ASH be as good as he was last night. That confrontation with Willow was excellent, a great contrast between the moderately depressed “Why am I still here?” Giles from the season premiere…even if he did get knocked out again. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of him being assertive and in a leadership role - anybody know about how ASH’s whole wanting to spend more time with his family deal is going to interfere with this?
And on a side note, Willow can say some really painful stuff when she wants to…
Well, that’ll explain why Tara’s not in the credits… 
I suspect she won’t kill Tara, that would make her character unredeemable. By her actions, or inactions, Tara will be killed or turned. She’ll have a personal crisis, realize her awful mistakes, and return to the Scooby side.
That’s my prediction and I’m sticking to it.
Since “The Body” I’ve thought Anya could be the best character in the Scooby Gang. I’m still waiting for that to happen.
I’ve noticed this as well. The soulful eyes, the faraway aura…there’s definitely a feel of Jewishness about her. It’s lovely.
Okay, what’s all this “Ripper” jive with Giles? FX just showed the Halloween episode with the weird costume guy that Giles knows, who knows Giles and “What he’s capable of” - it sounded like he was calling Giles both Rupert and Ripper, or maybe I was just projecting…WTF?
(I adore Giles)
stoid
I really do not think that Tara not in credits = Tara is toast. She’s been on the show for about 1 3/4 seasons so far without being in the credits, and she’s still kicking. She’s lasted a hell of a lot longer than Doyle on Angel, who was in that show’s credits.
More likely, Tara not being in the credits has more to do with finance/budget issues. Don’t know how SAG and the entertainment industry works, but it may come down to Joss would have to pay her more if she was billed.
Sua
I loved “Flooded” and have at least a partial solution to Buffy’s money woes: she should charge Willow and Tara rent.
I think Buffy and Dawn are going to have to sell the house (in a moody “giving up memories and growing up” episode) and move into an apartment. Will and Tara would then either go back to the dorm (they had such a cozy setup before!) or get a place of their own. (I’m assuming most of their expenses are covered by parents and/or scholarships.)
Buffy’s going to have to get a real job (ie, one with money) this season. I wonder where Joss and Co. will put her? She’s low on education and will to succeed in the work place…I see a series of humorous fast food incidents in her future.
They don’t have jobs either.
Xander, to me, is a huge problem. I think he’s got amazingly high potential and it kills me to see him utterly wasted. He is the only member of the group who isn’t a slayer, witch, vampire, werewolf, ex-demon, demon, key, or watcher, and as such, he should be the “us” of the group, the normal person who has to deal with this somehow. And he usually doesn’t. Ocasionally they try to make him the voice of reason, but it doesn’t always work. They have explored his role in episodes like “The Zeppo” and the one where he got split in two, but never much beyond that.
It’s especially bad now that the show has Scooby-Doo’d. That is, they don’t have jobs, they don’t have parents, they don’t have school, they just spend all day fighting evil. Xander, as the normal, worked especially well when he did have school and parents, and I liked back when he had a job and found out it was something he liked and was good at. It looked for a moment like he was going to be the most well-developed character on the show, but we may have put the brakes on that particular misstep.
I think only a few of the characters have developed, but unfortunately seldom in logical manners (no, vamp Willow wasn’t gay, she was highly sexualized about everything - recall that she was hot for vamp Xander and Angel and pretty much anything that looked like it might provide adequate friction), and those that have, have done so at the expense of other characters who are completely flat (Tara) or have utterly regressed (Anya, Giles, Xander). I think part of this is because the show got so crowded. While I’m glad that they didn’t go the “Friends” route and just pair them off eventually, bringing in the external love interests has really swelled the ranks, especially since the show insists that such people be directly connected to the paranormal.
I’m with you, Legomancer. “The Zeppo” was Xander’s finest moment, and should have been a beginning for him. Instead it’s looking more and more like a one-time thing, despite his “no more butt-monkey” declaration in the Dracula episode last year.
He’s the Miles O’Brien of Buffy: the regular-joe audience proxy, who gets dumped on the most because he’s most easily dumped on. And he’s the comic relief. I don’t mind him being funny; he gets most of the best lines on the show.
…And, I hasten to add, I want him to remain Everyguy too. If he became a werewolf or a Manwich or whatever, he’d become less cool, paradoxically.
I’m not sure what I want here, but it’s not what I’ve been getting.
Just so you know, Giles’ first name is Rupert. His nickname is Ripper, and when meeting with old associates he tends to be called both.