In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t know what I’m doing here…
So I love the episode, because everything that Xander says in the end is true. But not just that, look at how much confidence Dawn has. We’re talking about a girl young woman with fake memories, a history of being mystical energy, who lost her mother and sister and only very recently got Buffy back, who has ALWAYS lacked confidence. As soon as she thinks she’s special, she actually becomes special.
It’s always reminded me of the time in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Harry lets Ron think he’s had some Felix Felices (lucky potion). It turns out, Ron had it in him all of the time. Turns out, Dawn had this in her the whole time.
(Source: komichameleon)
I don’t want to talk about the Buffy/Spike relationship/dynamic/anything in this moment. I want to just talk about the writing. This is one of the most evocative, real moments in the show. You get a very clear image of what he feels, even though what he says is not a literal representation of what he experiences. We have such visceral reactions to this. We can feel it. Many of us have experienced at least part of this.
(Source: gerrymanderer)
I don’t know if I have one absolute fav, but I really love the scene in Forever, because I think that it truly encapsulates the root of their relationship. It’s the essence of true, pure love. Real love, that deep emotional love, is not about romance, or passion, or sex, or being involved with each other. Real love is about being there when it counts, no questions asked. It’s about friendship and devotion. It’s about saying everything while just sitting in silence.
This moment is the epitome of what we should all look for in any relationship with any person. It’s very similar to Spike just holding Buffy in Touched. It’s the exact same sentiment. It’s the whole “just being there” concept. Just being there is sometimes all that you can do, and is more than the other person could have ever asked for.
There’s something about this scene that always makes me smile. It’s really sweet and innocent, but she’s also not treating the kid like a child. She manages to convey a very scary truth without being condescending or fake. It’s just a really nice sentiment.
(Source: thebuffster)
I really like this scene. I like a lot of the aesthetic aspects, especially the lighting and the hair and makeup. But I also really like the message that it portrays about really good friendships. In a really good friendship, you have the privilege of being able to be called out on your shit when you need to be called out. I mean REALLY called out in such a way that you don’t think you’ll be forgiven (but you are in the end). BUT, you also have the privilege of NOT being called out on your shit when you really need to be forgiven without being called out.
A lot of people get mad that Xander gets away with more than he “should”. But you know what, so does Willow and so does Buffy, because sometimes you just need to be forgiven for your mistakes (or whatever) and just move on. They don’t bother calling Buffy out here because that’s not what she needed.
(Source: slayerage)
Once upon a time…
So I know this is from AtS, but I just really wanted to say that it makes me really sad. In BtVS, we hardly get to see Angel and Spike as Liam and William, as humans (I know that their human lives are expanded in AtS). We see Liam as a drunk who resents his father and who wants to travel. We see William as almost codependent on his mother, and fearful of rejection. They both wanted to escape their own inadequacies, and the inadequacies of their worlds.
However, we never get to hear them talk about their lives as humans. If I remember correctly, the only times we hear either of them in reference to their human lives are in Amends (Angel), Fool For Love (Spike), and Lies My Parents Told Me (Spike).
“I was a man once” (Amends 3.10)
“What can I say, I’ve always been bad” (Fool For Love 5.07)
“Unlike you, I had a mother who loved me…” (Lies My Parents Told Me 7.17)
But we never hear them talking like this, with this really reminiscent sadness over the loss of something they no longer cherish. They’ve never referred to themselves as innocent men. They’ve never referred to themselves as VICTIMS. Look at their faces. They’ve been dead for 130-280 years. They’ve been evil for a combined 200ish years. Look at their faces. Look how much they hurt thinking about it still. I think that’s the essence of them having souls. It’s not just feeling the guilt of their actions, it’s the overwhelming sadness that they really were victims. They were not saved or enlightened (as many vampires believe, or at least say they believe). They were victims, torn from their lives, and for a hundred years, they didn’t care.
(Source: pagets)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (3x19)
Willow is kidnapped and Oz silently makes the decision to save her over destroying the box.
I really love this scene. I think that it captures Oz’s true essence, and his importance to everyone. When I was younger I never connected his smashing of the vase/urn/thing with what it actually was. For some reason I always missed that the ingredients to destroy the box were in the urn. I just thought that Oz was “making a scene” to prove that if he was willing to interrupt the people with power, and he was willing to allow himself to be angry/upset/mad, that his voice (silent as it may have been) should still be heard.
Finally, sometime in the last few months, it actually clicked that Oz was literally taking the choice away from Wesley and Buffy. It eliminated one of the only two options that remained. He made the choice, AND he “made a scene”, which proved that he had power, just as much as Wesley, the Council, and Buffy.
Additionally, I would like to point out that Xander’s face in the gif on the right, second row from the bottom, is beyond perfect. Buffy’s face shows a slight sense of surprise, but her’s is more like she was surprised that the argument was interrupted. I think that Xander more readily understood the gesture that Oz was making. I think that he was the first to register that Oz made the decision for them, and in such a way that was both characteristic, and uncharacteristic, of his nature. I think Xander really understood the Willow/Oz relationship in that moment. He saw just how much Oz loves her, and I think he realizes that Oz did what Xander would have wanted to do in that position, but might not have had the courage or conviction to do.
This moment hurts a bit. I understand Buffy being stoic, believe me I get it, but it makes me feel bad for Riley. He’s the kind of person who needs to be the stoic one. He needs to have someone crying and being outwardly emotional, because he knows how to deal with that. He knows how to be boyfriendly. He knows how to hold her close and stroke her hair and just be there. But Buffy isn’t the kind of person who deals in that manner.
I don’t think people understand that “The Body” was and is the scariest episode in Buffy. Buffy’s mom died. Not because of a huge plot or a villain or even an accident. She died because people die and the universe lets it happen for no reason and it almost reminds me that it could have been my mom on the couch. My mom staring at me. My mom dead. And that is the scariest thing in the entire universe. And one day it will happen. There’s no ‘if’ or ‘but’s. There’s no, “oh, it’s just a TV show it’s not real.” There’s no condition, no clause and no loophole. It will happen. And that is why it’s so terrifying because there’s no way I can get out of it.
I hope you don’t mind me reblogging this. I think you’ve perfectly described one of the layers of this episode of which people rarely speak.
Pretty much what I think. Except I do think that Jonathan was good. His judgment was just clouded by the fact that the only people that ever seemed to support his talents and abilities for more than their one or two interactions with him, were Warren and Andrew.
Jonathan also cared a lot about other people, even if they didn’t care about him. He remembered Willow wearing floods and packing her own lunches. He remembered his high school locker combination. He remembered the people that liked him, and the ones that didn’t. He wanted so badly to repent for what he had done, that he was willing to return to Sunnydale, uncover the seal, relinquish the information to Buffy, and then turn himself in to the authorities to go to jail.
