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The Girl in Question
May. 6th, 2004 08:00 amGREAT episode. Fabulous. They took the fact that they couldn't get SMG and they turned into a massive strength. The episode wasn't about "resolving Buffy" - it was about resolving Spike and Angel.
People move on. It's what they do. The healthy thing to do after a relationship ends, given a certain amount of time for mourning, is to move the fuck on. You never forget what the old relationship gave you, in terms of both joy and pain, but you have to get on with your life.
Buffy Summers, a 23 year old woman, moved on. Let's face it - this isn't the first time. Riley was a major moving on thing. After Season Six, she moved on from her destructive relationship with Spike, and was even able to afford him forgiveness for his awful actions in Seeing Red, and yes, love. Sure, there's still some feelings there for both men, but that's just human nature.
Spike, at over a hundred years old, and Angel, at just this side of 250, haven't moved on. They find themselves incapable of doing so. And because of that, their emotions regarding Buffy have long shifted from reasonable to a self-centered need to have something they cannot. Even Spike, who begrudgingly accepts that she might never love him, seems wrapped up in his own Buffy issues, rather than an actual love of Buffy. Because if they loved Buffy, really loved her? They would have moved on a long time ago.
So, this episode then brought this lack of motion into sharp relief. You didn't need Buffy because it wasn't about her. Angel and Spike's emotions weren't about her, not really. They were about themselves, and, in a competitive sense, each other. It didn't help that the guy that took her was their arch-nemesis from way back when ("Those were MY nuns!").
The episode itself was funny as hell. "Ciao!" "Have you read his book?" "...which I'm told he's climbed several times." "Gypsies! Filthy things! (spits) We will speak of them *no* more!" Angel's whole anguished cookie dough thing. The fact that Boreanaz has gotten so puffy that Mutant Enemy will no longer allow him to appear shirtless (thank god). The fact that Marsters is still hot enough to appear shirtless (thank god). "Concurrently." "You never let us do that."
The fact of the matter is that Spike/Angel is still the most interesting and funniest non-romantic 'ship in the Whedonverse (and yes, laden with Hoyay). And Marsters tends to make Boreanaz a better actor, I think just because they have good chemistry and DB brings up his game a bit. So an episode of, essentially, nothing but Spangel goodness? Rockth.
I will admit the placement is a bit awkward (three episodes left and all of that) - but I get the feeling that this episode was intended for February (especially since 1943/Why We Fight seemed awfully fillertastic for Sweeps) and that they held off on doing it until they were sure they couldn't get SMG. Which is ridiculous, of course, because Sarah was not only not necessary, but I'm almost positive she would've had a negative impact on the episode.
At this point, I'm pretty giddy. I've been saying since "Buffy" ended that it would make a lot more dramatic sense for the character if she ended up with neither Angel or Spike - but somebody new and interesting. I'm not saying that's The Immortal - I get the impression that he's something of a "Summertime"-like fling (minus the whole aging spinster angle) - but it could be somebody we haven't met at all... Or maybe she just figures this chica's doin' it for herself. In any case, it would be really ridiculous to presume that she'd go back to old relationships just because they're the ones that did work at one time in her life - that way rarely leads to goodness.
People move on. It's what they do. The healthy thing to do after a relationship ends, given a certain amount of time for mourning, is to move the fuck on. You never forget what the old relationship gave you, in terms of both joy and pain, but you have to get on with your life.
Buffy Summers, a 23 year old woman, moved on. Let's face it - this isn't the first time. Riley was a major moving on thing. After Season Six, she moved on from her destructive relationship with Spike, and was even able to afford him forgiveness for his awful actions in Seeing Red, and yes, love. Sure, there's still some feelings there for both men, but that's just human nature.
Spike, at over a hundred years old, and Angel, at just this side of 250, haven't moved on. They find themselves incapable of doing so. And because of that, their emotions regarding Buffy have long shifted from reasonable to a self-centered need to have something they cannot. Even Spike, who begrudgingly accepts that she might never love him, seems wrapped up in his own Buffy issues, rather than an actual love of Buffy. Because if they loved Buffy, really loved her? They would have moved on a long time ago.
So, this episode then brought this lack of motion into sharp relief. You didn't need Buffy because it wasn't about her. Angel and Spike's emotions weren't about her, not really. They were about themselves, and, in a competitive sense, each other. It didn't help that the guy that took her was their arch-nemesis from way back when ("Those were MY nuns!").
The episode itself was funny as hell. "Ciao!" "Have you read his book?" "...which I'm told he's climbed several times." "Gypsies! Filthy things! (spits) We will speak of them *no* more!" Angel's whole anguished cookie dough thing. The fact that Boreanaz has gotten so puffy that Mutant Enemy will no longer allow him to appear shirtless (thank god). The fact that Marsters is still hot enough to appear shirtless (thank god). "Concurrently." "You never let us do that."
The fact of the matter is that Spike/Angel is still the most interesting and funniest non-romantic 'ship in the Whedonverse (and yes, laden with Hoyay). And Marsters tends to make Boreanaz a better actor, I think just because they have good chemistry and DB brings up his game a bit. So an episode of, essentially, nothing but Spangel goodness? Rockth.
I will admit the placement is a bit awkward (three episodes left and all of that) - but I get the feeling that this episode was intended for February (especially since 1943/Why We Fight seemed awfully fillertastic for Sweeps) and that they held off on doing it until they were sure they couldn't get SMG. Which is ridiculous, of course, because Sarah was not only not necessary, but I'm almost positive she would've had a negative impact on the episode.
At this point, I'm pretty giddy. I've been saying since "Buffy" ended that it would make a lot more dramatic sense for the character if she ended up with neither Angel or Spike - but somebody new and interesting. I'm not saying that's The Immortal - I get the impression that he's something of a "Summertime"-like fling (minus the whole aging spinster angle) - but it could be somebody we haven't met at all... Or maybe she just figures this chica's doin' it for herself. In any case, it would be really ridiculous to presume that she'd go back to old relationships just because they're the ones that did work at one time in her life - that way rarely leads to goodness.
