Now with less writing and organization and more instant reactions. For example, I just watched
Angel - Season 2, Episode 9: The Trial
HOLY BALLS ANGEL DID ALL THAT STUFF, HAD DARLA COMING TO TERMS WITH HER SECOND CHANCE IN A WONDERFULLY DONE SCENE, AND THEN WHAM BAM IT'S DRUSILLA MAKING DARLA A VAMPIRE AGAIN AHHHHH WHAAAAAAAT!?
I loved it. Best episode of Season 2 so far. The trial butler guy was pretty awesome too, but dat ending.
So yeah, that's how it's going to be from now on. No more laboring over writeups. I'm just going to say incomprehensible **** so that I don't get hung up on writing my thoughts down in a coherent manner. And I may not even say anything about episodes at all. But dammit, I want to share my experiences with others, and I find that people will probably get joy out of seeing the reactions above.
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snowpork Zazi is posting from his cellular telephone
Angel is becoming a bad dude and he fired everyone so that he could embrace darkness and the like. Wolfram and Hart is gone, and that is not how I expected it to go down. Gee wilickers.
If you have things you wanna say about episodes, go right ahead and say them because we love seeing your thoughts.
But don't force yourself to write if you don't have anything you want to write about it. Watching the episodes shouldn't make you feel like you have work to do or something.
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The batman villians all seem to be one big joke that batman refuses to laugh at - SantaRPG
Well then. Riley's exit from the show could've gone better. Well, I mean, it was written and executed wonderfully, but it was sadface. Buffy is a ***** and probably deserved that, though. It was cool seeing Xander being the voice of reason. He really got to shine there, especially when he told Anya how much he loved her afterwards. Good to see them still running strong. Hopefully they don't dwell on Riley's exit for too long. Love lost Buffy is probably the worst Buffy.
From: SirBinro | #005 The endings of both those eps are just wow. I love this show.
Yeah. Thus far, I've enjoyed this season of Angel more than this season of Buffy. Obviously with half the season left, that could easily change, and I kind of expect it to based on the popular opinions of each season, but either way I'm enjoying both immensely.
Xander was pretty ace, yeah. I love moments where Buffy is being called out, because she is such a model of independence at times, and can just be a straight up ***** when she has her mind set to something.
Oh, I also enjoyed Riley and Spike tossing the bottle of drank around. Just two guys who can't get what they want because *****es be crazy.
Oh hey so there's a troll and he beats stuff with a hammer. It's a humor episode that also fleshes out a little more of the Xander/Anya relationship, which is nice. Keep them going strong. Also it's good that Buffy is more "humorous" sad than "oh god woe is me I'm going to spend all episode crying" sad. Get her over it soon and let's move on. Oh yeah, Dawn has an idea now AND I TOTALLY DIDN'T EXPECT HER TO FIND OUT BY OVERHEARING IT! Okay that's a lie, because that's exactly what I expected.
Uhh so yeah some **** went down recently, and it lead to me watching a lot of episodes in a very short time.
So yeah. It was all enjoyable, of course, but I don't really have anything prepared. I'm now on Episode 15 of each series.
Stuff stuff...
Umm, I really like the singing demon guy from Angel. Keep him around. He's entertaining. It's also fun seeing Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn run around with their own agency and finding success. Seeing their joy is ^_^. But seeing Cordelia tell Angel to get away from a hurt Wesley and Angel actually doing it is very v_v. Angel allowing Holland Manners and all of the other W&H lawyers save Lindsay and Lilah get feasted on was whoamgwut?
There's been a lot of Spike focus on Buffy. Yay, but it seems weird how naturally Spike has become a "good" guy. I did like Dawn's explanation of "soul/chip same thing" as maybe the conditioning of the chip would eventually word. Who knows. Ben and Glory are related whoamg and she can go to where ever Ben is fast whoamg whoamg. Oh yeah, she's a god wutwutwut. Dawn standing with a knife: "This is blood, right" WUTWUTWUT Spike's tirade against Buffy and Drusilla was a great *****es be crazy moment. Preach it, Spike. Buffy has power. Great scene.
Yeah, that's about it for now.
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Buffy - Season 5, Episode 15: I Was Made to Love You
BUFFY'S MOM IS (PROBABLY) DEAD WUTWUTWUT!? SPIKE IS MAKING A BUFFY ROBOT WUTWUTWUT!? What the hell is going on with all this stuff? This episode also made a big dead to show the significant others of people who were talking. It was odd. And what is the deal with Glory/Ben. So confusing. Oh, there was that deal with the robot. It was whatever.
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People always seem to have trouble figuring out Glory and Ben in these watch through topics, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to already "get" it >_>
Check my message detail if you want to know. It's not really a spoiler because you should already have figured it out by now, but I'll leave the choice of knowing it up to you.
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The batman villians all seem to be one big joke that batman refuses to laugh at - SantaRPG
Dawn standing with a knife: "This is blood, right" WUTWUTWUT Spike's tirade against Buffy and Drusilla was a great *****es be crazy moment. Preach it, Spike. Buffy has power. Great scene.
Great moments.
-- (Maniac64 at work) All the proteins, vitamins, and carbs of your grandma's best turkey dinner, plus 15% alcohol.
But seeing Cordelia tell Angel to get away from a hurt Wesley and Angel actually doing it is very v_v.
Angel essentially doesn't care enough to be where he's not wanted at that point. If he really wanted to be there, he would have stayed and tried to fix the situation.
That's how I see it, at least.
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"One toot on this whistle will take you to a far away land." -Toad, SMB3
M'kay, so I've watched through Episode 19 of Buffy and 18 of Angel. Let's see what we can scrounge up from each episode.
Buffy: 16: The Body - this was a rather uncomfortable episode to watch, but the power of the acting cannot be denied. Each character got their moments and they all nailed them for the most part. Most touching was probably Anya's. Xander cried at the apartment and it was weird. Also, the blue one was Joyce's favorite. It was interesting in that it was a pure reaction episode and did little to nothing to advance any plots, if I remember right. It's like time was standing still in the series. 17: Forever - eh, this bugged me because of how Dawn reacted. Buffy was completely justified in her reactions and Dawn just misunderstood them. I guess the payoff scene was nice, though. Angel cameo was a really nice touch. Also, I'm just waiting for the episode(s) where Buffy's dad comes back later in the series. 18: Intervention - What started off as more "augh I hate seeing Spike like this" turned into Spike finally getting his awesome hero moment. It's still weird to see Spike, who is supposed to be evil, so changed without having gotten a soul. I just try to remind myself that "soul/chip same difference". Vampires still maintain their human qualities, too, and Spike was a bit of a romantic before his rebirth. 19: Tough Love - More necessary struggles with coping without a parent figure, which I needed but not something I really go to. Also, Tara becomes even more worthless than she already was! But yeah, that was sad. The "you frighten me" comment by Tara and seeing Willow embrace the "Darkest Magick" was whoamg setup, too, so I'm excited for that.
Angel: 15: Reprise - Hell on Earth play, which was interesting. I love Holland Manners, so anything with him was great. Oh, and ZOMG ANGEL SLEEPS WITH DARLA ANGELUS NOOOOOOOOOOO 16: Epiphany - lol sleeping with Darla was perfect (I can't remember the word Angel actually used) sorrow. Interesting way to go about it, and Darla's reaction was lulzy. Also, yay for that three-eyed demon plot. It was hard seeing the AI team being so resistant to let Angel back into their lives. Cordelia's character has made such advancement in five years. 17: Disharmony - Harmony's character starts to grow weary on me. Can we just kill her already? I understand keeping her around to bring her back for interesting stuff like this, but come on. 18: Dead End - And the flip flopping Lindsey finally lands on a side. He got a neat moment to shine in the offense with all his "evil hand" jabs. Good stuff. Have fun playing in coffee shops, Mr. MacDonald.
Phew.
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I neglected to mention Buffy's vision quest. Death is her gift and I don't know what that means unless she has to be a martyr at a later point in the series. Could've very well been something foreshadowed in Restless as well. The last episode of the season is called The Gift, though, so it will probably be addressed there too.
Oh and Glory now knows the Fawn is the key after destroying that building. This should be fun.
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Spike was a bit of a romantic pre-vamp? A bit? William "The Bloody awful poet", Mr. "your light effulgent". Spike was a pansy, sappy, super romantic.
16: The Body - this was a rather uncomfortable episode to watch, but the power of the acting cannot be denied. Each character got their moments and they all nailed them for the most part. Most touching was probably Anya's. Xander cried at the apartment and it was weird. Also, the blue one was Joyce's favorite. It was interesting in that it was a pure reaction episode and did little to nothing to advance any plots, if I remember right. It's like time was standing still in the series.
I actually really like this episode because of how...normal the situation is. Nothing to fight, nothing that magic can help, a bunch of super people who fight monsters stuck facing a completely normal tragedy, where they are all powerless, and how they deal with it. Plus that fake-out montage was EVIL. Such a sad episode.
-- (Maniac64 at work) All the proteins, vitamins, and carbs of your grandma's best turkey dinner, plus 15% alcohol.
All good points on Spike. I look forward to the inevitable episode/arc where Spike gets the opportunity to remove his chip and has to make the decision on whether to do it or not.
Angel - Season 2, Episode 19: Belonging
Weird episode. So many depressing things going on. It was nice to get some backstory on The Host, or Lorne as we can call him now. I love Lorne. Between the Buffy and Angel series, he's probably my favorite recurring character. Sucks about Gunn's friend and that his crew thinks he's a sellout. Sucks about Cordelia's visions and profession. Sucks about Wesley's family. Angel's got it going okay right now, which is an interesting take. Also, AHH HAELL NAW CORDY GOT SUCKED INTO DA PORTAL. "aww crap"
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Buffy - Season 5, Episodes 20/21: Spiral/Weight of the World
I watched these two episodes together since I didn't feel like splitting them up or waiting to watch the next part. They flowed together pretty seamlessly, so it worked. Good use of the cold closing, with Buffy starting into nothingness and then Giles simply stating "you need to kill Dawn." Good stuff. The whole Glory feeling humanity thing is really sudden, and I wish they would've hinted at it in earlier episodes rather than introduce it now. The Order guys got dispatched really quickly without a whimper, and I wonder if they will make a return in the season finale. If they don't, well, they were kind of pointless then. I trust they will, though. Weight of the World just seemed kind of cheesy overall. I didn't like it as much as Spiral. It was interesting seeing Scoobies with their backs totally against the wall and them having no plan to stop any of the chaos that was ensuing. The "Glory/Ben" stuff that Xander kept going through was very entertaining.
I'm excited to watch the finale. This has been the darkest, most ominous season yet and I'm really curious to see how it gets wrapped up.
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I mean, I know she's not dead for good. Two seasons and all, and I doubt the show becomes "Dawn the Vampire Slayer." But still, what? Lots of good stuff this episode, though. I absolutely loved the "previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" opening montage. I loved Giles dark side coming out as he yelled at Buffy and (supposedly) killed Ben. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Xander's proposal to Anya. I can't wait to see that addressed next season. I'm also curious to see what they do with Dawn. I didn't expect her to last past this season, but I guess Buffy needs some sort of family to have around, though I was expecting Giles to just take on the father role. We'll see, I guess.
Probably one of my favorite episodes of the series, really. I think I liked the Season 2 finale more, though.
Also, for the record: 2 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 1
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I really like how Spike kind of inserted himself into the group throughout those final episodes besides nobody really wanting him there.
I love the reactions to Buffy at the end of the episode, especially Spikes.
Bit of a discussion. It's not really spoilerish, but I'd understand if you simply don't like having discussions with people who've seen the whole series and thus don't want to hear things from this perspective, so I'll black it out and you can read if you like.
They always say vampires can't care about another being. Angel actually says that a lot, and you'd think he'd know; being a vampire. But it's mostly because Angelus and Darla weren't capable of love. I don't think that's the case with all vampires though.
I think the chip/soul thing you've brought up is kind of an interesting comparison, but I wouldn't say same difference. Angel's soul makes him regret and be horrified of killing, and thus causes him to not kill anyone anymore. It's a fundamental change to his personality that caused him to stop killing. With Spike, the chip prevents him from killing. It doesn't change his desire to kill everybody. You might recall a scene in season 4 where he's living in Xander's basement and gets annoyed, and tries to bash Xanders skull in from behind with a wrench. He still wants to do those things, but he can't. The result is the same, both stopped killing, but only one started with a shift in his personality to cause that.
But it may work the other way. Now that Spike can't kill everybody, he's spending time with them and being sort of "domesticated". Getting used to these people and, especially in the case of Buffy, starting to care about them. So Angel began caring about people and thus stopped killing, whereas Spike had to stop killing people and, through spending time with people, started caring about them. It's in reverse!
I think it's an interesting comparison.
Also.
"The slayer's a robot! Did anybody know the slayer is a robot?"
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The batman villians all seem to be one big joke that batman refuses to laugh at - SantaRPG
I mean, I know she's not dead for good. Two seasons and all, and I doubt the show becomes "Dawn the Vampire Slayer." But still, what?
So yeah. That is where Buffy on WB ends, and it could have been the series finale. The show ended up continuing (obviously) but Joss was fully ready to end it there. Death is your gift and all.
A couple things I feel like clarifying cause they will never be outright stated (one is Restless related). I will put them in spoiler tags even though I don't really think it is required.
The number that shows up in the season 3 and 4 finale dreams (7-3-0) was a countdown to Buffy's death (the season 5 finale would be estimated to air 730 days after the season 3 finale. It ended up a few days off I think). The first one even hints how Dawn would be the cause for it (Little Miss Muffin, counting down from 7-3-0). I just love that he had this planned that far in advance.
Giles killed Ben. He is dead. We didn't see it because its a family show and all that. But Ben is definitely dead and Giles definitely murdered him because he knew Buffy couldn't. I feel this is important to know from a character stand point.
-- (Maniac64 at work) All the proteins, vitamins, and carbs of your grandma's best turkey dinner, plus 15% alcohol.
Was I the only one that didn't really care for Buffy's mom? Like, she was always pretty annoying. The episode was still kind of sad, but more in an "I'm sad for the living characters" way than an "I actually care that she's dead" kind of way.
-- No I'm not a damn furry. Looney Tunes are different. - Guiga I wanted Sonic/Shadow romance at that time, not sex. - MWE
I wouldn't say she annoyed me, but I was more sad for the characters than her being gone. I guess I would describe her as more 'inoffensive' than bothersome.
I don't think many people liked Joyce prior to season 5, she was typically a nag. But that storyline was done so well that even if you don't care about her you feel for Buffy and Dawn (and the rest) who are going through all of it. So yeah, I think a lot of it is more about the gang than Joyce herself. I mean even the episode focused more on how the death impacted everyone.
On the other hand she does have some awesome moments throughout the series, like any time she interacts with Spike (including hitting him on the head with an axe)
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
I absolutely hated Joyce at the beginning but she had few good moments and got slightly better right before she died. Still not enough to make up for how big of a complete ***** she was in the earlier seasons. I know they needed a parent that was stupid and messed up her secret slayer duties, but come on!
So I watched Angel 20 a couple of days ago and I just watched Angel 21 now.
First things first, **** them for killing Lorne/The Host. Just after I said "Oh he's probably my favorite recurring side character in both series har har" that go and behead him. Such bull****. I don't really like this storyline being used to finish Season 2, though. The Wolf-Ram-Hart thing was pretty neat, but everything else is just kinda meh and sort of hard to follow. Hopefully the season finale goes well. Cordelia as a Princess is nice if not just because I get to oogle at the gorgeous Charisma Carpenter is a bikini the entire episode. I don't understand the Groosalugg and his purpose. I don't understand how there are so many humans in the actual world. I was enjoying how Angel was becoming comic relief, but now they've done away with that with his demon self being so augmented in this new world. I have no idea what to expect in the last episode here, but that's a lot of because I don't fully know what's going on. Oh, and there's Fred. She's around and acting weird and such. Just kind of jumbled stuff going on here.
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Angel doesn't really have as strong of arcs as Buffy. Buffy usually has a distinct arc from episode 1 to the finale of each season where Angel can have a finale like what you're seeing now. Just a different style.
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No amount of planning will ever replace dumb luck.
So I watched Angel 20 a couple of days ago and I just watched Angel 21 now.
First things first, **** them for killing Lorne/The Host. Just after I said "Oh he's probably my favorite recurring side character in both series har har" that go and behead him. Such bull****. I don't really like this storyline being used to finish Season 2, though. The Wolf-Ram-Hart thing was pretty neat, but everything else is just kinda meh and sort of hard to follow. Hopefully the season finale goes well. Cordelia as a Princess is nice if not just because I get to oogle at the gorgeous Charisma Carpenter is a bikini the entire episode. I don't understand the Groosalugg and his purpose. I don't understand how there are so many humans in the actual world. I was enjoying how Angel was becoming comic relief, but now they've done away with that with his demon self being so augmented in this new world. I have no idea what to expect in the last episode here, but that's a lot of because I don't fully know what's going on. Oh, and there's Fred. She's around and acting weird and such. Just kind of jumbled stuff going on here.
Things make sense next episode.
But yeah, R.I.P. The Host. Joss Whedon really hates his green-skinned demons.