Great take. It’s hard to rank the Big Bads but you did an admirable job. Adam is the easiest but after that lay up , it gets dicey. The question I have had for over 20 years… Is Faith a big bad ? The other question…. Is there a category for Parker? He may not be a Big Bad but he is the worst… ( fill in the blank )
@chissstardestroyer20 сағат бұрын
Yeah, flying in the *cargo hold* really would be something an *actual* demon would find as a *joke* if nothing else, maybe she *would've* met their *actual Red Tsar/Leader* in that air trip she took, and it would've not moved against her to do her *physical* harm, but had a laugh at her expense about *this* lack of safety; as a recruitment policy... and *that* creature is best seen in the perverse light of an "Al Capone" type character: absolute crime-boss! So it actually would *categorically* have tried to recruit her!
@chissstardestroyer20 сағат бұрын
Historically: I do believe that Vlad Lenin nailed it nicely as he broke down why the *state* should take over everyone's kid: you give me a child for the first six years of his life, and I've got him for *eternity*, not that at the time he really *believed* in that kind of state of being, but the emphasis on how to obtain such power is very clear!
@chissstardestroyer20 сағат бұрын
You want a suggested completely *crazy* Cinderella-type story that the RPG books hint at as easy to develop: imagine the heroine's watcher is another lady who'd been a "Potential" who'd been passed over for that "calling": that's really that her "watcher" is *really* way more her stepsister mistress; that can *truly* screw them up- especially if the watcher elects to quite *literally* mess up her charge- some of the books have hinted-at that; but it takes these kinds of relationships into a dimension that really ought not ever to be gone into in the real world!
@chissstardestroyer21 сағат бұрын
Workplace envy? Yeah, that happens, and ironically this series' owner actually made an *excellent quality* argument *for* it; as the diametric opposite of that "deadly sin" itself is basic abandonment of one's tasks and leaving one's post in humble acceptance of one's situation, to the point of *actually* replying to your Head Boss with the phrase "Ah, *bleep* it! You know what; I honestly don't care anymore; let EVERYONE GO TO HELL, I'm fine with that result." as that comes not out of envy at all, but acceptance of the 'will of God' and all the evil nonsense that comes inevitably out of such a blatantly false concept!
@chissstardestroyer21 сағат бұрын
The disabling of her training is NOT at all the lack of so-called (and utterly *worthless* "social competence" at all) it is the failure to teach the gal to think on her feet so to speak, a vital skill for any combatant- also ironically that kind of skill is what is needed for your "graduation" from Philosophy class: you have to take a position and hold it; and defend it, simple as that- that's your basic graduation standards for Philosophy, especially the *one* major department thereof that she no doubt would go for: the ethics department.
@chissstardestroyer21 сағат бұрын
She's one interesting young lady in the "BOOM!" comic remake of the series overall as well, and in *both* renditions of the comic story "Ring of Fire" her character's really very interesting.
@chissstardestroyerКүн бұрын
Well, these guys're *supposed* to be a kind of "training program school" in that mythology; at core, a profoundly seemingly Christian mythology at that, but their Head Boss Himself would kind of tear into her about shutting down her brain in these matches; as that'd make her a useless asset He would have *serious* doubts about committing to combat, given her seemingly brain-dead trust in authorites. Bizarrely, from the elements herein in the story alone, it sounds as if Joss himself was using this story to explore elements inside Christianity's worldview; he did let slip that he's interested in the concept of religious devotion- and the head villain of that work is clearly supposed to be the devil by another name; as well as elements in that work, such as the concept of a "Hellgod" that shows up, and the subtitles in that clearly classify that as a very high-level demon; and one detail tidbit I heartily agree with in that comes out in Season 7 where the First is clearly planning a type of "Stalin Purge" for its own agents; and it has them running scared of winding up on its wrong side- now knowing *its* perverse psychology: it'd consider those events in world history to be true *masterpieces*: the "Stalin Purges" as it were!
@chissstardestroyerКүн бұрын
The reference to that death; she'd say "Oh, yeah, that happens; and it was stupid arrogance to believe that that witch vampiress former nun wouldn't do that- I was dumb to lower my guard, even to draw on a film *sorcerer* in your own presumable culture once voiced it: "you are unwise to lower your defenses"; well, truer words were never said by a *occultist*, said sorcerer was at the time known most commonly by his alias of "Darth Vader", and while his words are truthful; it does NOT benefit him as he did the *exact same thing only worse*., so by that tidbit, my only shame is in shutting down my brain in the process, but *you* sir have a marvelous grasp of my job description; and the cautionary nature to your assessment of my tale makes sense." all it can take is a single moment of the *stupidest* of weaknesses imaginable and you're dead, or *worse*, an agent of the *ultimate* culture of death, someone like Dev Sibwarra: a *deathscort* at age 15 no less- talk about slavery *to* moral corruption! That teen lad who'd be in high school himself was really engaged in the slave trade with Hell itself via the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium! Talk about a useful idiot to the worst kind of monsters imaginable!
@chissstardestroyerКүн бұрын
Good assessment, Sir: have absolute contempt for obedience, but also devotion to duty.
@lifelikelisaКүн бұрын
I did watch your Faith video. I think Faith is a person who had to face demons that none of us will ever know. However, I think her name should have thrown into ring. Her descent into madness was so disturbing and believable, and still we rooted for her! Amazing character!
@doro626Күн бұрын
I watched Buffy live and it was great, then I was rewatching DVDS of Angel and it forced me to go back and rewatch Buffy episodes and it definitely hit different when you werent immersed in it. Maybe I need to check it out again. I will say the Season 8 comic book was great.
@amdzaКүн бұрын
Oh I remember living through the whole Angel vs Spike debate real time!! If you thought the twilight debate fierce, it had nothing on this! I remember really being team Spike partially because of the punk rock aesthetic, but also the idea that the toxic people in your life could change. My mom was abusive (and she was a single parent) so I always hoped if she loved me enough she could "find a soul" and change. Ya'll we were all young and naive once! But it did resonate with me at the time, and now 20 years later my mom and I are speaking again and have a decent relationship. Not at all saying you should blindly stay with your abuser, but years after breaking off contact I did some change in my mother and if it wasn't for that last niggling hope I wouldn't have been open to working on a new relationship. Yes, you need to set boundaries in your life, but if there's not even the hope of forgiveness then that's a sad world to live in. I was sad when I didn't get the overt Spuffy ending I was waiting for. When the comics started being released I really hoped that was our chance. Now with the benefit of some years under my belt, I think the ending was perfect and I'm glad they didn't stay together in the comics (even though they gave it a shot). Watching Spike coming to terms with the fact that he loves her and it's not healthy to be the "dark space" she runs to for escape was perfect. Watching his growing relationship with Angel in the series, and later in the comics, all leading up to beautiful heart breaking moment where Spike asks Angel how he managed to move on from Buffy and he says he hasn't, and solace they find in the relationships not only with each other, but all the friends they made along the way. I think the open ending works better, and that space helped them all grow as people. Plus I love that the happy ending is Buffy and Faith being buddy cops together <3 If anyone needs some post season 7 closure, I can't recommend the comics enough.
@jwmel472 күн бұрын
I never hated him. Yes he is flawed and he didn't grow emotionally like the rest of the group, but (and you mentioned it in the video) the show runners never took the time to give him that growth. They left him behind. Also like you mentioned. he was young, what teenage boy doesn't make mistakes?!
@amdza2 күн бұрын
I loved Kendra. When I watched this for the first time I was completely blindsided by her death. I was left bald headed and confused because she didn't put up a sliver of a fight, it just felt to me like they needed to fridge her to get to the story they really wanted to tell. But all these years later I finally see it through a different perspective. Excellent videos, makes me want to do another rewatch.
@TenebrousFilms2 күн бұрын
Ah! A video about Joss' self-insert character!
@BenChanNYC2 күн бұрын
It started with him creepin' on Buffy when she clearly wasn't interested. Then he mostly just acted like a teenage boy/young man, which is reason enough. It's a compliment to the show though that they let him be as flawed as most young men that age, but he still came through when people's lives were on the line.
@alandoran33642 күн бұрын
Why can't it be victim to abuser back to victim. To hero.
@slayer224520002 күн бұрын
Riley was a different type of toxic/ co-dependent I wanted this to work so much but he gaslighted my girl Buffy into thinking she was wrong and cut off but no I don’t agree Xander pissed me off so much in this one too
@borisammerlaan74083 күн бұрын
I don't hate Xander. He was infatuated with Buffy, but AFAICR not annoyingly so. Didn't he even tell of another guy (...Jessie?) in season 1 for being a creep? And he's loyal. He is scared a lot of the time, but overall he's not a coward. I don't think it is fair to say there is no character development. There is, but it is all in the background; he's just not a main character. No, I hate how he is never held accountable. Leaving Anya at the altar was a dick move, but *summoning a demon* just because you are feeling insecure?
@rhyael39333 күн бұрын
Well put-together essay that makes many thought provoking points. One side of R*pe Culture not often discussed is the fact that when men are presented as just wanting s*x/power as the default and then of course to be a man is they always want sex, means that they can't be assaulted by women. I'd like to think in a different time the show would have gone deeper into this topic. Also, the Watchers sucked, I know they were meant to be an allegory and foil for many things due to writing, but how much cooler would it have been if the Watchers actually were concerned about support not control.
@sparkfadingspark3 күн бұрын
I think one of the other things about season 5/Glory is that it forced Buffy to truly become an adult. Losing her mother and having to step up for Dawn's sake is a big part of that. I think it's also part of why Giles didn't really fit into the show after season 5 - granted he was written out because Tony Head wanted to move home to England with his family, but I definitely feel like the show needed him less by that point. Buffy came into her own in alot of ways in season 5, I do feel it was probably her biggest season of growth.
@alter.0073 күн бұрын
Buffy 😍
@banquetoftheleviathan14044 күн бұрын
Every nerd character in the 90's kinda sucked. See the Ross from friends
@TrueYellowDart5 күн бұрын
I would have loved for Kendra to have survived, but then gone off to “find herself” after having learned about how bad the Council actually is. She could have come back darker, more like The Punisher and that could have been a fun bounce off Buffy too. But I love my girl Faith too much and her relationship with the mayor is so rich and disturbing that I wouldn’t want to lose that either.
@jamuky96315 күн бұрын
I really liked Xander in the beginning, but as the show progressed more and more I really couldn't stand him anymore. I felt the same way about almost all the characters in the show. I watched the show in 2023, so I don't have any nostalgic feelings. In the end, I only liked Spike and Willow. Don't even get me started on Buffy's sister. (I've just forgotten her name)
@trw17825 күн бұрын
I have always wondered if we had different opinions on Xander if Joss directed 'Hells Bells' himself. The episode is in my honest opinion just bad and emotional impact fells very flat. Quality of the episodes to have impact on our feelings and it's somewhat hard to even know what they were going for.
@TurnIntoGhosts5 күн бұрын
Xander is a bit of a 'nice guy', really.
@thebigblippity52215 күн бұрын
The only issue is we know when she will die so every season would inevitably lead up to that point.
@alvafairchild136 күн бұрын
Here for the kendra bideo she got robbed i need a whole season of the big bad taking out kendra and her and buffy teaming up and taking out the big bad a whole damn season please and thank you
@colleenschwab6 күн бұрын
He was the "nice guy" trope, the dorky, average looking guy, wanting girls way out of his league, and then treating them all like crap. And his constant bashing of demons and vampires, like it goes from the yah bad guys suck, to dang Xander is sounding like a bigot. Like we get it, you have trauma, but omg how can you be dating and marrying anya, who feels no guilt or remorse over killing probably millions of people, and go around bashing anyone who even thinks of being with a non human. On both buffy and Angel we see non violent demons, or even half demons, that are morally decent, and you know Xander wouldn't want to be near them. His worst trait was his constant dictating of who Buffy can and can't be with, like if my male friends tried that on me, they'd quickly regret it.
@liviabaggio15436 күн бұрын
Faith got more care from those on Angel
@LordNifty6 күн бұрын
I wonder if anyone has mentioned that Faith seems to be about the only main or recurring character actually held to account (at least to legal account) for the people she killed, in either Angel or Buffy. The only other one I can think of that was held to legal account is Ethan Rayne.
@feudist7 күн бұрын
For sheer entertainment, the Mayor and Her Incandescently Scrumptious Naughty Feelings Causing One. For sheer loathing and vicious evil, Angelus. Kudos to Boreanz and Whedon, truly a monstrous creation. For...stakes, Glory, Angelus activating Acathla and the First. "The Gift" would have been a worthy end to the series, but nothing was as operatically Brutal as the S2 finale "Naw, kid...you've got one more thing." For annoying lameness, the Three Mouseketeers. For best after-afterlife, The Master. First in "When She Was Bad", and then "The Wish". For sadness and WTF, Dark Willow. Why didn't she make wretched Andrew's insides his outsides? For best premature ejaculation, the Initiative/Maggie/Adam foulup caused by the sudden departure of Lindsey Crouse. Presumably it gave us "Restless" and the First Slayer, so it's a Win. Most underappreciated, Harmony. She and Angel had the longest tenure in the Buffyverse, appearing in the unaired pilot and the last episode of Angel. Plus she had the best fight scene in cinema. I
@marlenehibiskus7 күн бұрын
That would be great!
@Ian_sothejokeworks7 күн бұрын
Yeah, sorry, I friggin' LOVE Xander! I grew up as the goofy, funny guy in a group of girls, and I learned a lot of how not to act from my cringe-ass brother. He's the most essential character, in later seasons, he's the heart of the gang, and he's always managing to pick up skills that help him be better for his friends in the hell-on-Earth that is his life.
@kittyfreya91417 күн бұрын
The algorithm actually recommending youtubers right. Loving your takes. 😊
@bitokay1477 күн бұрын
Riley was safe for Buffy but she needed a challenge He also wasnt secure he didnt think he would be good enough because he was not a vampire.Spike to me was endgame for Buffy.
@Daiko1088 күн бұрын
I personally feel that they missed an opportunity for Xander to become a Watcher. Andrew was in the show for 2 seasons and I felt that he had more of a story arch than Xander. He starts off as a villain and eventually becomes a Watcher of sorts when he returns in Angel season 5. Xander had gained way more experience and knowledge of the supernatural than Andrew, yet, they chose to do nothing with him.
@Joshjoshomg8 күн бұрын
Love the video keep up the good work . Please so an episode where you analyze the different ways Buffy says it's wrong or because it's wrong or your wrong it's interesting
@janedoe86628 күн бұрын
I don´t agree, Cordy for me never grew out of her jelousy for Buffy for both, what she was and what she had (espacially for Angel), even after years in L.A. the only time she did not speak badly or critized either Buffy or her relationship with Angel was during the short time that Buffy was dead, the second Buffy came back to life it was open season for Cordy trashtalking her and her and Angel, even to the point of making fun of their relationship and the reason for it to end
@NeloBladeOfRanni8 күн бұрын
"From novice wicca" Except willow was NEVER a wiccan
@elizabethclementi68589 күн бұрын
Xander slept with Faith. He didn't want to. Willow was heartbroken when she found out.
@sarahpettipher17599 күн бұрын
Your submission theory is very interesting, I always thought the reason why it didn’t work the second time on Buffy, was because she actually died, that fear no longer was there the second time. It could be a combo of both. I hated when Kendra died, however I’m glad that they didn’t do what they did with Faith, I would have hated it even more if they turned her into a villain
@brash_and_sassy9 күн бұрын
The House of the Master is the prequel series we never realized we needed.
@charlesw59199 күн бұрын
Idk, I never hated Zander. To me, he's just a dude who never really figured out where he fitted in, which happens.
@charlesw59199 күн бұрын
I get the feeling Riley's psychological/emotional development was stunted by his commando training/programming. I believe the earlier Riley was just a facade, a character he constructed and played. The later Riley was the real Riley.
@charlesw59199 күн бұрын
If I remember correctly, Kendra is exactly how the Council wants the Slayers to be: obedient disposal tools with expiration dates. They needed the Slayers for their abilities; but at the same time, they feared the uncontrollable force of nature that's the original Slayer spirit to awaken in their charges. So they train the Slayer children, as young as possible, to be obedient to them, and, at the same time, give them nothing in material comfort and psychological support to isolate the Slayers from the world so they have nothing to live for. That way the Slayers can die young before their independent streak can awaken, and the Council can move on to manipulate the next child.
@dancing_fig9 күн бұрын
Overall? Team cookie dough. Writing-wise, Bangel, since they had the tragic romance thing dead to rights, and it was written *well.* But Angel as a character was always a touch too smooth and smarmy for me to be fully on board with him. However, at a gut level when I remember the show? Team Spike (not Spuffy), because of James Marsters' *ridiculous* chemistry with any costar he's paired with. But that's a complicated thing due to the 2nd half of S6, so long thoughts are in a separate comment below.
@dancing_fig9 күн бұрын
The SA in S6 was atrocious. I have no argument with people who have a hard stop with Spuffy because of that. But IMO, it's a tricky issue within the overall series since it was poorly written and doesn't fit with a lot of the overall character and dynamic between the two of them. Since part of actively watching a long series is having the characters make sense given how they've interacted up until that point, and as they interacted afterwards, viewers have to fill in the blanks. In one direction, we can figure out ways to understand why he attacked her, why she didn't seem to have any traumatic reaction to the situation, and why she was so quick to forgive him. This is definitely do-able, but it's harder, since there's little within the show to go on. In the other direction, we can follow the show's lead and say that things weren't that bad - maybe Spike didn't mean what we thought he meant? I mean, he was horrified afterwards, right? That's got to make a difference? This is deeply gross, but it matches with what US society was pushing on SA survivors in the early 2000s. There are also those of us who go meta, and put the SA scene in with some other canonical parts of Buffy that are relics of our reality, but which shouldn't have been part of the show. (Willow being queer was awesome, but she shouldn't have been written as a never-into-guys lesbian [an explicit network demand, since us bisexuals were too edgy back then]. Xander being SA'd by Faith was a big deal for both of them, despite it being utterly glossed over. It's an expedient plot point for Watchers to be wealthy while slayers are unpaid and financially vulnerable, but it's functionally bonkers. And Willow as a Jewish person being protected by crosses should either be explained more or not true, because I don't want to like a show that says all religions besides Christianity are bullshit.)
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Great take. It’s hard to rank the Big Bads but you did an admirable job. Adam is the easiest but after that lay up , it gets dicey. The question I have had for over 20 years… Is Faith a big bad ? The other question…. Is there a category for Parker? He may not be a Big Bad but he is the worst… ( fill in the blank )
Yeah, flying in the *cargo hold* really would be something an *actual* demon would find as a *joke* if nothing else, maybe she *would've* met their *actual Red Tsar/Leader* in that air trip she took, and it would've not moved against her to do her *physical* harm, but had a laugh at her expense about *this* lack of safety; as a recruitment policy... and *that* creature is best seen in the perverse light of an "Al Capone" type character: absolute crime-boss! So it actually would *categorically* have tried to recruit her!
Historically: I do believe that Vlad Lenin nailed it nicely as he broke down why the *state* should take over everyone's kid: you give me a child for the first six years of his life, and I've got him for *eternity*, not that at the time he really *believed* in that kind of state of being, but the emphasis on how to obtain such power is very clear!
You want a suggested completely *crazy* Cinderella-type story that the RPG books hint at as easy to develop: imagine the heroine's watcher is another lady who'd been a "Potential" who'd been passed over for that "calling": that's really that her "watcher" is *really* way more her stepsister mistress; that can *truly* screw them up- especially if the watcher elects to quite *literally* mess up her charge- some of the books have hinted-at that; but it takes these kinds of relationships into a dimension that really ought not ever to be gone into in the real world!
Workplace envy? Yeah, that happens, and ironically this series' owner actually made an *excellent quality* argument *for* it; as the diametric opposite of that "deadly sin" itself is basic abandonment of one's tasks and leaving one's post in humble acceptance of one's situation, to the point of *actually* replying to your Head Boss with the phrase "Ah, *bleep* it! You know what; I honestly don't care anymore; let EVERYONE GO TO HELL, I'm fine with that result." as that comes not out of envy at all, but acceptance of the 'will of God' and all the evil nonsense that comes inevitably out of such a blatantly false concept!
The disabling of her training is NOT at all the lack of so-called (and utterly *worthless* "social competence" at all) it is the failure to teach the gal to think on her feet so to speak, a vital skill for any combatant- also ironically that kind of skill is what is needed for your "graduation" from Philosophy class: you have to take a position and hold it; and defend it, simple as that- that's your basic graduation standards for Philosophy, especially the *one* major department thereof that she no doubt would go for: the ethics department.
She's one interesting young lady in the "BOOM!" comic remake of the series overall as well, and in *both* renditions of the comic story "Ring of Fire" her character's really very interesting.
Well, these guys're *supposed* to be a kind of "training program school" in that mythology; at core, a profoundly seemingly Christian mythology at that, but their Head Boss Himself would kind of tear into her about shutting down her brain in these matches; as that'd make her a useless asset He would have *serious* doubts about committing to combat, given her seemingly brain-dead trust in authorites. Bizarrely, from the elements herein in the story alone, it sounds as if Joss himself was using this story to explore elements inside Christianity's worldview; he did let slip that he's interested in the concept of religious devotion- and the head villain of that work is clearly supposed to be the devil by another name; as well as elements in that work, such as the concept of a "Hellgod" that shows up, and the subtitles in that clearly classify that as a very high-level demon; and one detail tidbit I heartily agree with in that comes out in Season 7 where the First is clearly planning a type of "Stalin Purge" for its own agents; and it has them running scared of winding up on its wrong side- now knowing *its* perverse psychology: it'd consider those events in world history to be true *masterpieces*: the "Stalin Purges" as it were!
The reference to that death; she'd say "Oh, yeah, that happens; and it was stupid arrogance to believe that that witch vampiress former nun wouldn't do that- I was dumb to lower my guard, even to draw on a film *sorcerer* in your own presumable culture once voiced it: "you are unwise to lower your defenses"; well, truer words were never said by a *occultist*, said sorcerer was at the time known most commonly by his alias of "Darth Vader", and while his words are truthful; it does NOT benefit him as he did the *exact same thing only worse*., so by that tidbit, my only shame is in shutting down my brain in the process, but *you* sir have a marvelous grasp of my job description; and the cautionary nature to your assessment of my tale makes sense." all it can take is a single moment of the *stupidest* of weaknesses imaginable and you're dead, or *worse*, an agent of the *ultimate* culture of death, someone like Dev Sibwarra: a *deathscort* at age 15 no less- talk about slavery *to* moral corruption! That teen lad who'd be in high school himself was really engaged in the slave trade with Hell itself via the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium! Talk about a useful idiot to the worst kind of monsters imaginable!
Good assessment, Sir: have absolute contempt for obedience, but also devotion to duty.
I did watch your Faith video. I think Faith is a person who had to face demons that none of us will ever know. However, I think her name should have thrown into ring. Her descent into madness was so disturbing and believable, and still we rooted for her! Amazing character!
I watched Buffy live and it was great, then I was rewatching DVDS of Angel and it forced me to go back and rewatch Buffy episodes and it definitely hit different when you werent immersed in it. Maybe I need to check it out again. I will say the Season 8 comic book was great.
Oh I remember living through the whole Angel vs Spike debate real time!! If you thought the twilight debate fierce, it had nothing on this! I remember really being team Spike partially because of the punk rock aesthetic, but also the idea that the toxic people in your life could change. My mom was abusive (and she was a single parent) so I always hoped if she loved me enough she could "find a soul" and change. Ya'll we were all young and naive once! But it did resonate with me at the time, and now 20 years later my mom and I are speaking again and have a decent relationship. Not at all saying you should blindly stay with your abuser, but years after breaking off contact I did some change in my mother and if it wasn't for that last niggling hope I wouldn't have been open to working on a new relationship. Yes, you need to set boundaries in your life, but if there's not even the hope of forgiveness then that's a sad world to live in. I was sad when I didn't get the overt Spuffy ending I was waiting for. When the comics started being released I really hoped that was our chance. Now with the benefit of some years under my belt, I think the ending was perfect and I'm glad they didn't stay together in the comics (even though they gave it a shot). Watching Spike coming to terms with the fact that he loves her and it's not healthy to be the "dark space" she runs to for escape was perfect. Watching his growing relationship with Angel in the series, and later in the comics, all leading up to beautiful heart breaking moment where Spike asks Angel how he managed to move on from Buffy and he says he hasn't, and solace they find in the relationships not only with each other, but all the friends they made along the way. I think the open ending works better, and that space helped them all grow as people. Plus I love that the happy ending is Buffy and Faith being buddy cops together <3 If anyone needs some post season 7 closure, I can't recommend the comics enough.
I never hated him. Yes he is flawed and he didn't grow emotionally like the rest of the group, but (and you mentioned it in the video) the show runners never took the time to give him that growth. They left him behind. Also like you mentioned. he was young, what teenage boy doesn't make mistakes?!
I loved Kendra. When I watched this for the first time I was completely blindsided by her death. I was left bald headed and confused because she didn't put up a sliver of a fight, it just felt to me like they needed to fridge her to get to the story they really wanted to tell. But all these years later I finally see it through a different perspective. Excellent videos, makes me want to do another rewatch.
Ah! A video about Joss' self-insert character!
It started with him creepin' on Buffy when she clearly wasn't interested. Then he mostly just acted like a teenage boy/young man, which is reason enough. It's a compliment to the show though that they let him be as flawed as most young men that age, but he still came through when people's lives were on the line.
Why can't it be victim to abuser back to victim. To hero.
Riley was a different type of toxic/ co-dependent I wanted this to work so much but he gaslighted my girl Buffy into thinking she was wrong and cut off but no I don’t agree Xander pissed me off so much in this one too
I don't hate Xander. He was infatuated with Buffy, but AFAICR not annoyingly so. Didn't he even tell of another guy (...Jessie?) in season 1 for being a creep? And he's loyal. He is scared a lot of the time, but overall he's not a coward. I don't think it is fair to say there is no character development. There is, but it is all in the background; he's just not a main character. No, I hate how he is never held accountable. Leaving Anya at the altar was a dick move, but *summoning a demon* just because you are feeling insecure?
Well put-together essay that makes many thought provoking points. One side of R*pe Culture not often discussed is the fact that when men are presented as just wanting s*x/power as the default and then of course to be a man is they always want sex, means that they can't be assaulted by women. I'd like to think in a different time the show would have gone deeper into this topic. Also, the Watchers sucked, I know they were meant to be an allegory and foil for many things due to writing, but how much cooler would it have been if the Watchers actually were concerned about support not control.
I think one of the other things about season 5/Glory is that it forced Buffy to truly become an adult. Losing her mother and having to step up for Dawn's sake is a big part of that. I think it's also part of why Giles didn't really fit into the show after season 5 - granted he was written out because Tony Head wanted to move home to England with his family, but I definitely feel like the show needed him less by that point. Buffy came into her own in alot of ways in season 5, I do feel it was probably her biggest season of growth.
Buffy 😍
Every nerd character in the 90's kinda sucked. See the Ross from friends
I would have loved for Kendra to have survived, but then gone off to “find herself” after having learned about how bad the Council actually is. She could have come back darker, more like The Punisher and that could have been a fun bounce off Buffy too. But I love my girl Faith too much and her relationship with the mayor is so rich and disturbing that I wouldn’t want to lose that either.
I really liked Xander in the beginning, but as the show progressed more and more I really couldn't stand him anymore. I felt the same way about almost all the characters in the show. I watched the show in 2023, so I don't have any nostalgic feelings. In the end, I only liked Spike and Willow. Don't even get me started on Buffy's sister. (I've just forgotten her name)
I have always wondered if we had different opinions on Xander if Joss directed 'Hells Bells' himself. The episode is in my honest opinion just bad and emotional impact fells very flat. Quality of the episodes to have impact on our feelings and it's somewhat hard to even know what they were going for.
Xander is a bit of a 'nice guy', really.
The only issue is we know when she will die so every season would inevitably lead up to that point.
Here for the kendra bideo she got robbed i need a whole season of the big bad taking out kendra and her and buffy teaming up and taking out the big bad a whole damn season please and thank you
He was the "nice guy" trope, the dorky, average looking guy, wanting girls way out of his league, and then treating them all like crap. And his constant bashing of demons and vampires, like it goes from the yah bad guys suck, to dang Xander is sounding like a bigot. Like we get it, you have trauma, but omg how can you be dating and marrying anya, who feels no guilt or remorse over killing probably millions of people, and go around bashing anyone who even thinks of being with a non human. On both buffy and Angel we see non violent demons, or even half demons, that are morally decent, and you know Xander wouldn't want to be near them. His worst trait was his constant dictating of who Buffy can and can't be with, like if my male friends tried that on me, they'd quickly regret it.
Faith got more care from those on Angel
I wonder if anyone has mentioned that Faith seems to be about the only main or recurring character actually held to account (at least to legal account) for the people she killed, in either Angel or Buffy. The only other one I can think of that was held to legal account is Ethan Rayne.
For sheer entertainment, the Mayor and Her Incandescently Scrumptious Naughty Feelings Causing One. For sheer loathing and vicious evil, Angelus. Kudos to Boreanz and Whedon, truly a monstrous creation. For...stakes, Glory, Angelus activating Acathla and the First. "The Gift" would have been a worthy end to the series, but nothing was as operatically Brutal as the S2 finale "Naw, kid...you've got one more thing." For annoying lameness, the Three Mouseketeers. For best after-afterlife, The Master. First in "When She Was Bad", and then "The Wish". For sadness and WTF, Dark Willow. Why didn't she make wretched Andrew's insides his outsides? For best premature ejaculation, the Initiative/Maggie/Adam foulup caused by the sudden departure of Lindsey Crouse. Presumably it gave us "Restless" and the First Slayer, so it's a Win. Most underappreciated, Harmony. She and Angel had the longest tenure in the Buffyverse, appearing in the unaired pilot and the last episode of Angel. Plus she had the best fight scene in cinema. I
That would be great!
Yeah, sorry, I friggin' LOVE Xander! I grew up as the goofy, funny guy in a group of girls, and I learned a lot of how not to act from my cringe-ass brother. He's the most essential character, in later seasons, he's the heart of the gang, and he's always managing to pick up skills that help him be better for his friends in the hell-on-Earth that is his life.
The algorithm actually recommending youtubers right. Loving your takes. 😊
Riley was safe for Buffy but she needed a challenge He also wasnt secure he didnt think he would be good enough because he was not a vampire.Spike to me was endgame for Buffy.
I personally feel that they missed an opportunity for Xander to become a Watcher. Andrew was in the show for 2 seasons and I felt that he had more of a story arch than Xander. He starts off as a villain and eventually becomes a Watcher of sorts when he returns in Angel season 5. Xander had gained way more experience and knowledge of the supernatural than Andrew, yet, they chose to do nothing with him.
Love the video keep up the good work . Please so an episode where you analyze the different ways Buffy says it's wrong or because it's wrong or your wrong it's interesting
I don´t agree, Cordy for me never grew out of her jelousy for Buffy for both, what she was and what she had (espacially for Angel), even after years in L.A. the only time she did not speak badly or critized either Buffy or her relationship with Angel was during the short time that Buffy was dead, the second Buffy came back to life it was open season for Cordy trashtalking her and her and Angel, even to the point of making fun of their relationship and the reason for it to end
"From novice wicca" Except willow was NEVER a wiccan
Xander slept with Faith. He didn't want to. Willow was heartbroken when she found out.
Your submission theory is very interesting, I always thought the reason why it didn’t work the second time on Buffy, was because she actually died, that fear no longer was there the second time. It could be a combo of both. I hated when Kendra died, however I’m glad that they didn’t do what they did with Faith, I would have hated it even more if they turned her into a villain
The House of the Master is the prequel series we never realized we needed.
Idk, I never hated Zander. To me, he's just a dude who never really figured out where he fitted in, which happens.
I get the feeling Riley's psychological/emotional development was stunted by his commando training/programming. I believe the earlier Riley was just a facade, a character he constructed and played. The later Riley was the real Riley.
If I remember correctly, Kendra is exactly how the Council wants the Slayers to be: obedient disposal tools with expiration dates. They needed the Slayers for their abilities; but at the same time, they feared the uncontrollable force of nature that's the original Slayer spirit to awaken in their charges. So they train the Slayer children, as young as possible, to be obedient to them, and, at the same time, give them nothing in material comfort and psychological support to isolate the Slayers from the world so they have nothing to live for. That way the Slayers can die young before their independent streak can awaken, and the Council can move on to manipulate the next child.
Overall? Team cookie dough. Writing-wise, Bangel, since they had the tragic romance thing dead to rights, and it was written *well.* But Angel as a character was always a touch too smooth and smarmy for me to be fully on board with him. However, at a gut level when I remember the show? Team Spike (not Spuffy), because of James Marsters' *ridiculous* chemistry with any costar he's paired with. But that's a complicated thing due to the 2nd half of S6, so long thoughts are in a separate comment below.
The SA in S6 was atrocious. I have no argument with people who have a hard stop with Spuffy because of that. But IMO, it's a tricky issue within the overall series since it was poorly written and doesn't fit with a lot of the overall character and dynamic between the two of them. Since part of actively watching a long series is having the characters make sense given how they've interacted up until that point, and as they interacted afterwards, viewers have to fill in the blanks. In one direction, we can figure out ways to understand why he attacked her, why she didn't seem to have any traumatic reaction to the situation, and why she was so quick to forgive him. This is definitely do-able, but it's harder, since there's little within the show to go on. In the other direction, we can follow the show's lead and say that things weren't that bad - maybe Spike didn't mean what we thought he meant? I mean, he was horrified afterwards, right? That's got to make a difference? This is deeply gross, but it matches with what US society was pushing on SA survivors in the early 2000s. There are also those of us who go meta, and put the SA scene in with some other canonical parts of Buffy that are relics of our reality, but which shouldn't have been part of the show. (Willow being queer was awesome, but she shouldn't have been written as a never-into-guys lesbian [an explicit network demand, since us bisexuals were too edgy back then]. Xander being SA'd by Faith was a big deal for both of them, despite it being utterly glossed over. It's an expedient plot point for Watchers to be wealthy while slayers are unpaid and financially vulnerable, but it's functionally bonkers. And Willow as a Jewish person being protected by crosses should either be explained more or not true, because I don't want to like a show that says all religions besides Christianity are bullshit.)