…no… I’m good. Caps work just fine.
Thanks for the suggestion though.
Running on walls? Ever considered applying to the Watchers Council?
The thing is - JW clearly said that he doesn’t like to have the slayer do a lot of pointless jumping around and showing off. The scene this week was clearly just that.
No, you say. She was trying to avoid Caleb, since she can’t fight him. Ok, fine. I still think that it didn’t serve any purpose. And the deus-ex-machina feeling was strong. If Buffy can run on walls, why haven’t we seen it before? I doubt being cuddled by Spike will get her new skills. She might rest and focus on the skills she has, but not new stuff.
But that’s just me.
…at no point did Buffy run on a wall. She kicked off of one twice… but no running on walls.
I think the point of the fight scene being presented that way was to show that for the first time in awhile Buffy is fighting with her head and not her fists.
I actually liked her fight scene with Caleb. It showed she was thinking again, something apparently she’s been unable to do for several episodes. See, snuggling works!
This is what was so wrong with the Uber-Vamp fight from several eps ago. In that, the UV kicked her butt, and then she gave a rowsing speech and just fought harder. Sorry, that’s sucky writing. This time she got Caleb angry, sloppy, and eventually he exposed the hidden trap door. (OK, that was a little hokey but I’ll give them that.
And I still think slitting the Bringer’s throat was completely out of character. It seemed like panic and fear, something Giles (in or out of Ripper mode) doesn’t show. It’s not the action of killing the Bringer, that’s fine, it’s how and when he did it.
I kind of viewed the various sex and snuggling scenes as a continuum. We have Buffy/Spike who have Twoo Luub; Anya/Xander who love each other despite everything and fall back into familar arms; Willow/Kennedy who are representing new love/lust (but falls completely flat), and Faith/Wood who are into meaningless physical snugglebunnies.
Or “a CYBORG with a BOMB in its RIBCAGE!!!”
But no. Something can claim to be a personifcation of evil all it wants. And maybe it’s got another big surprise coming at the end. But being mean (not even intelligently snarky-mea), having lots of minions, and having an unkillable guy are not exactly new or even all that impressive. The Bringers are, I’ll grant you, a cut above some of the other minions we’ve seen. And the Ubervamps a cut above that. But still: what’s all the hubbub?
Yes, she did. Over the arch. I just re-watched it. If I need to prove it, I’ll put up the pictures at my website. I’d rather not go through that trouble though, since that means burning the file, loading the cd in WinDVD, taking frame by frame and doing screenshots, then putting a series of jpg’s on a site that’s not for BtVS, but for my company.
Just trust me on this. She’s running on walls.
pepperlandgirl, thanks for the speech.
And did anyone else get a Bladerunner vibe from that speech? And I mean that in a good way. After “I’ve seen things you couldn’t imagine, and done things I’d prefer you didn’t” I half expected “Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion” 
Maybe it was just the similarity in lighting and actors’ position.
Again, no I don’t. I don’t mind the shippers- they are the ones that help keep a marginal show on the air. Just because it is my opinion what the writers might have been after touches on that group of fans hardly implicates them for any blame. The blatent pandering in the episode was aimed at someone. I gave my opinion as to who. If you think I am wrong, please explain why. After all rational discourse is why we are here. I don’t mind that we disagree (heck you may be right), but please don’t assign nefarious motives to me when there are none. If I am blaming someone you will notice, trust me.
Or he has chosen not to. This may be one of the bigger implications of having a soul Spike vs. chipped Spike. The ability to make choices on moral grounds. This season’s Spike would not engage in the demon egg scam. He feels remorse. He is not nearly as fun either (but I digress).
Given:
(a) the review and ratings disasters that were Seasons 6 & 7. (b) Firefly getting cancelled. © Ripper going nowhere. (d)Cartoon is kaput. (e) Spin-off was torched when 1/2 the actors declined, and E.D. took a crappy pilot instead. And (f) the only show they left alone- Angel, was the one that improved the most.
You would think they wouldn’t be telling “anyone” to blow off.
Further, seeing the massive plot retrenchment which came after the negative reaction to the mini-scoobies in the first episode of this season “Joss & Co.” seem to be a little more reactive to fan input then you state.
Additionally, the shoving of the despised Kennedy into the plot despite how disliked she is might be based on the previous highly negative fan reaction to Tara’s death. Given how pissed some fans were, killing off Willow’s next girlfriend (no matter how bad a character and actress are stinking up the series) might be off the table.
I did. Joss doesn’t care about the shippers. If he cared about the shippers, Tara wouldn’t be dead. If he cared about the shippers, the AR would have never happened. If he cared about the shippers, Xander wouldn’t have left Anya. If he cared about the shippers, Spike would finally be loved by somebody. If somehting happens that’s good for any shipper it’s because it’s either going to lead to catastrophe at one point, or simply because it somehow fits into Buffy’s story. In that sense, you have to look at what happened between the other couples and think “Mmmmmmm, how would mindless, non-hot sex affect Buffy’s story.” As has already pointed out, they served as contrast to the snuggling. So you think, hey! THe Spuffy shippers are happy!
Well, yeah, I’ve been waiting two years for some tenderness. AFAIC, this is the best episode of the year. Spike hitting Faith, Spike’s speech, Buffy finally sleeping…however, I know. I’m not stupid. There is either going to be a castrophe and the snugglign was to encourage extra-pain, or somehow, this makes Buffy change. Given Joss’s track record, I’d say he’s, as D’Hoffryn put it “Going for the pain.” (BTW, that’s not a spoiled point. That was my gut reaction when I read episode 20, which is before I saw 21 and 22. At the time I thought this, it had no bearing on what would actually happen, and as for what will actually happen, you know I have no comment.)
I’m amazed that 3/4s of the people in this thread apparently despise everything they’ve seen this year, but still keep watching. Speaks volumes to me that ME is still doing what good writing is all about-- making sure the audience wants to know what happens next.
I liked this week’s episode. I like how Spike came to Buffy’s rescue one more time, how they went through the motions one more time, and finally got it right.
I liked the ‘desperate’ sex between Willow and Kennedy, and how it reflected Tara returning to Willow after their breakup. I liked Xander and Anya showing that while they may have fucked up the wedding, they know what a marriage is really about. And I liked that Wood finally got over his mother, and realized that even though the mission comes first, a Slayer still has time for love.
Giles’ slitting the Bringer’s throat was out of character. Rupert has become increasingly desperate and frantic every time we see him this season. He’s not used to being alone, and not having the backup of the Council. He’s not as secure as he’s been in the past, and it’s showing. He’s tried desperate move after desperate move, and it just ain’t working. Yes, he has killed people in the past-- but with the exception of killing Ben softly, out-of-sight, it’s always been in hot blood. Giles is out of sorts, and I think it’s going to set him up for a showdown (reminiscent of S6’s showdown between Giles and Willow).
The bomb was on a timer, not a lock-activated trigger. My bet is that the Bringers heard the SITs et al coming, set the timer, and then did their best to kill them all-- knowing that if they actually succeeded, the survivor would be able to turn off the bomb. And if they died, so would the SITs.
The axe-- is a red herring. You’re supposed to think of Olaf’s Troll hammer, and Buffy will go up and use it against Caleb and TFE-- but I predict that ultimately she will have to abandon it. Buffy didn’t defeat Glory’s plans by whacking her with a hammer-- she did it by giving freely of herself. And Buffy didn’t defeat Willow at all-- it was Xander who showed that love conquers all.
This season’s finale is going to be Buffy demonstrating that while all her super powers are mighty keen, when you get right down to it, evil comes from fear, and the only way to put the smackdown on fear is to give it a big hug.
My SO isn’t into Buffy or Angel, but he watches them with me, because I don’t let him watch anything else 8-10 on Tuesday night.
He’s only started paying attention during the last few episodes (since his “day at the shooting range”), and his comments bring the whole thing bac kinto perspective for me.
-
re. Caleb and the first disastrous battle at the vineyard - “Get a freaking gun! He’s just standing there! Why don’t they just shoot him?!?”
-
re. the bomb - “Pull the timer out of the plastique and no one will blow up! Geez, Ann, this show is so unrealistic.” (much mutterings.)
But we aren’t watching it because it’s realistic. We are watching it because we love to get caught up in the fantasy, we want to see strong characters kick ass and deal with the fallout, we want to see that there is a hero out there fighting against the darkness.
No matter what is said about the “crappy writing, directing and acting”, I’m going to miss this show, lame plot lines and lack of realism and all.
Maybe I’m more dedicated than smart, but I still love BtVS.
Sorry Gaspode but if you consider jumping and using the wall to post off of “running on walls” then… there’s no hope for you 
Seriously I rewatched the scene and she does NOTHING that a welltrained martial artist couldn’t do. Trust me one of my roommates is a nationally ranked Kung Fu dude and I’ve seen him post off of walls. That’s all Buffy did. Running involves… running… not having both feet on a wall for a split second and then using one foot to push yourself off the wall further.
That’s all I’m saying.
I’ll still argue that slitting the throat was in character for Giles. He was clearly angry at the time and we know when Giles gets angry he gets vicious.
Carter. I’m not gonna be dragged down to a childish level of saying “I’m right, you’re wrong, so there.” Maybe you’re right. I don’t know any martial arts. I’ve never seen it in real life. I don’t watch it, if it’s on TV, since it doesn’t interest me. The only things I’ve seen is fictional martial arts, where there are stunt people, wires, camera tricks, blue screens and a whole lot of other things.
If you say that a person can jump off a barrel, turn in the air, land on a wall with one foot, being at a 90 degree angle with the wall and parallell to the floor, then take two more steps on the same wall ( I counted), before pushing off and landing - well, then maybe it’s so. Maybe people into martial arts have these skills that defy what I feel is part of Newton’s laws. But I’m about as limber and agile as a fridge, so I’m probably just baffled with what I saw.
Carry on.
Gaspode, when I saw that scene my first reaction was “Oh, Buffy is channeling Xena!”
I expected any second to here the battle cry. Alas.
I have perhaps a different view on this show than most of you. I only started watching it this year, beginning around mid season 4 with the FX reruns. That was some high quality shiznit, so wife and I bought season 1, followed shortly by 2 and 3. We’ve tracked down all the other episodes by other means. Seasons 1 through 4 were just fantastic, and this is coming from two people who generally despise TV series. Season 5 was good, but definitely not as good, especially with Dawn as Mini Bitch Buffy minus the good parts, and Glory the Greater Valley Demon of Annoyance and Incompetence. Season 6 started sucking, for reasons already stated, and this season? Well, it’s little different from all the other dreck out there. Characters are flat and uninteresting, there’s little to no wit or sparkle, no interesting paralells between sets of characters on the show or between the show and real life, self-consistency has gone out the window, etc. So from my point of view, the show took a very abrupt and painful faceplant into the sidewalk, and its lifeblood is ebbing into the gutter.
I miss the fun. I miss the witty banter. The show doesn’t seem as fun as it once was. But I also have been thinking that maybe it’s not as easy to enjoy this show when the real world has gotten so troublesome.
However, I loved the Spuffy snugglefest. (shippers are so easy to please…)
I know this is absurdly nitpicky of me, but the first thing I thought of when I heard this line was, “How do they pant without tongues?!?”
Some of the bringers have tongues, at least. The ones in Amends could speak.
You know how bored I am of Buffy? All I’ve got to add to this thread is a type-setting nitpick:
Actually, italics are used for emphasis. Caps are used to communicate loudness. The line blurs to the extent that, in writing dialogue or in the first person, the writer may want to convey emphasis by having a character shout. This is a convention that predates the internet.
Okay, I thought from what I have read that Buffy didn’t find an axe. I thought she found
a scythe.
Regarding her running on walls: We don’t often see Buffy fight in such enclosed spaces. Most, though not all of her fight scenes are in a graveyard or some other outside venue.
With the speed she is running at and her strength, might not the force of her jump to the wall allow her to sustain the inertia long enough to do her little jumps on the wall?