Reaction to S9 #10

[gryfndor_godess]

This was the first time since S8 that I got my physical copy before finding a download, and that was kind of neat/weird to open it and not know what I would find. 

-I was initially dissatisfied with the Spuffy, but after re-reading parts of #7 and #8, the conversation makes more sense.  I still think that Buffy should have had more of a say in the conversation: I don't think her silence was out of character but I also don't think it would have been out of character if she had been a bit more vocal- it just would have required more finesse on the writers' part.  What disappoints me most, though, and feels like a cop-out on the writers' part, is that Spike didn't just plain ask her if she loved him and would consider being with him.  Obviously it's not his right to be with her, but I think he has the right to ask.  He sort of did by suggesting she come with him, but I would have liked a much blunter question, something that forced her to say yes or no, or even, 'can I think about it a little?'

-On that note, I'm only 90% happy with Spike's characterization here.  In #7, before her arm was ripped off, it seemed like he was seeking that yes or no answer.  Here he mostly rambles, almost like he has already decided to leave and is just explaining things instead of still waiting for an answer- which means Buffy doesn't need to answer.  That's what I mean by cop-out; I can't help feeling that if Spike asked her straight-out and waited instead of rambling (e.g., he could have waited after "Come with me now" instead of immediately going, "You're right..."), Buffy might have said yes, even if she was still nervous, just to keep him there.  As I said above concerning Buffy's silence, I don't think this scene is necessarily out-of-character or improbable, but I can see the writers pulling the strings to keep them apart.

-I liked Spike's "withdrawn" line a lot.

-I love Buffy touching her stomach.  She really wants to have babies with Spike!  *melts*  So here's what you should do, Buffy: Once you feel like you have your life in order enough to have kids, help Willow get her magic back (if she hasn't already) and ask her to make Spike's cold dead seed temporarily not dead (she'll agree because it will be a challenge and a good way to test her powers!).  Have sex.  Repeat.  A lot.  Preferably "on-screen."  Voila!  Blonde and blue-eyed babies!

(Willow resurrected Buffy and almost destroyed the world; don't tell me she can't rejuvenate little old vampire sperm.)

-One thing I do like about Buffy and Spike's conversation is that neither is a bad guy and more importantly, neither treats the other like a bad guy (e.g., Spike doesn't act like a Nice Guy).  It's a very different vibe than I expected after the interviews two months ago when Allie et al. kept saying Spike couldn't be her boyfriend because he was a vampire and not "normal."  They made it sound like Buffy was closing the lid on the possibility of a relationship, even if she had feelings for him, because she wanted to pursue normal instead, whereas the comic makes it seem like she's just really uncertain.  I like the uncertainty better, even if it does mean that my reunion fic has quite a different Buffy!tone at the beginning...

-One thing that depressed me was Spike saying, "an awkward conversation explaining to the little bit and her boyfriend about..."  Xander is suddenly "her boyfriend"??  Xander whom he has known for over half a dozen years and who housed him multiple times is reduced to "her boyfriend"??  WHY CAN'T YOU GIVE US SOME MEANINGFUL SPIKE/SCOOBY INTERACTION, WRITERS???  DO YOU REMEMBER AT ALL THAT SPIKE AND DAWN USED TO HAVE AN AWESOME RELATIONSHIP?  REBUILDING IT WOULD GIVE YOU LOTS OF EMOTIONAL DRAMA TO WORK WITH.  ALSO, SPIKE AND XANDER GOT ALONG IN S7.  EXPLORE THAT WHY DONTCHA I HAVE FAITH IN YOU TWO TO BECOME LEGIT BROS; JAMES MARSTERS AND NICHOLAS BRENDON ARE ADORABLE TOGETHER, YOU GUYS CAN BE, TOO.  ALSO, IF SPIKE WANTED TO BE PART OF BUFFY'S LIFE INSTEAD OF ON THE FRINGE, I THINK HE WOULD TRY HARDER TO BECOME FRIENDS WITH THE SCOOBIES.  JUST SAYING.  FIX IT.

-I've wondered for a while whether Buffy's slayer-ness was connected to her body or her consciousness (I would say 'soul,' but a slayer turned into a vampire would be an uber-scary slayer!vamp, right?), and this arc indicates the answer is her body.  That's very weird to me, given that without her mind, Buffy's body is just a shell.  So if Buffy had switched bodies with a normal human in S4 instead of with Faith, she wouldn't have been the slayer anymore?  Or would it be different if magic had been used instead of technology- maybe a spell to shift Buffy's consciousness would have captured her slayer essence as well.  I've similarly wondered, what would happen if a vampire switched bodies with a human?  I'm guessing the vampire would not regain its soul, but would the demon part of it- the evil and violent instincts- carry over to the human body?  Or would the human consciousness, now in the vampire body and with its soul, feel the evil and violent demon instincts?  How attached are the demonic essence and the human consciousness?  I go back and forth on which scenario I think is more likely. 

-I'm not sure "happy" is the right word to describe my feelings about this issue because, well, Spike's gone now.  But I think it was mostly well written, so I'm not unhappy either.  I liked that Buffy quit at the end.  I have to admit, I'm marginally more interested in the next few issues now.  As I've said before, I've been reading S9 solely for the Spuffy, and in the long term, I don't give a rat's ass about the plot (except for when it's offensive, like the unaddressed date rape possibility, or nonsensical, like Severin somehow draining life force from a robot).  I still don't care much about the plot, but I am interested in seeing how Buffy changes her life, so I'll definitely keep an eye on S9, even though I might not rush to buy them anymore, and I'm interested in Spike's miniseries.

Comments

[rahirah]

I've always assumed that slayerness was physical, because otherwise, the Council's purely physical method of robbing them of their strength for the Cruciamentum wouldn't work.

[gryfndor-godess.livejournal.com]

I suppose that makes sense, although if the potion were magical, I could see them being able to finagle it so their strength is drained regardless of how the Slayer essence is embodied (I honestly don't remember if the poison is magical or "normal").

[rahirah]

It's described as an 'adrenal blocker' which sounds more to me like handwavy science than handwavy magic.

[gryfndor-godess.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. Thanks!

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Hee! For the first time ever(!) I got my comic on the day it came out and had read it by 2 p.m. And I was going to make a post - which I still will, but I think I want to read it again and make sure I haven't missed anything important. I kind of raced through in sitting in the parking lot outside the comic store. *g*

I agree, though. I didn't dislike it at all, and since I already knew Spike was leaving, that didn't floor me the way it would have if I hadn't know. *goes off muttering about spoilers - good or bad?*

[gryfndor-godess.livejournal.com]

Yay for getting it right away! I did the exact same thing, sitting in my hot, hot car (eventually turning on the air conditioning) to read before I left the store. And I definitely skipped the Dowling pages to hurry it up.

since I already knew Spike was leaving, that didn't floor me the way it would have if I hadn't know.

Definitely the same for me. I think if I had not known in advance, I would have been really angry about the ending, and it would have seemed very contrived, as opposed to just, 'I see you there puppet masters.' Despite how much the interviews two months ago annoyed me, it helps now to know that they seem to be taking Spike's character development seriously (will he or won't he move on...). Time will tell, I guess, whether that development will seem fitting or contrived.

[treadingthedark.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it yet, just the summaries. But I'm wondering if maybe the reason Buffy isn't responding to Spike in the way I expect is because she's a robot. She has her brain, but no heart, no hormones. Maybe she appreciates Spike mentally, but all the things that attach and attract are gone because she's a robot.

[gryfndor-godess.livejournal.com]

That's an intriguing theory, although she seemed to show heartfelt emotion when Severin was draining Spike, and she was a robot then (although Severin should not have been able to drain her robotic body in the first place, so clearly consistency is not one of the writers' goals).

Wednesday June 13th, 2012

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

User oni_9 referenced to your post from Wednesday June 13th, 2012 (http://su-herald.livejournal.com/593744.html) saying: [...] reacts to Buffy S9 #10 [...]