Episode Reviews
Monday: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Checkpoint
Tuesday: Angel - Blood Money
Wednesday: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Blood Ties
Thursday: Angel - Happy Anniversary
Friday: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Crush
Liveblogs
Sunday: Game of Thrones - Blackwater
(No Korra episode this week because of Memorial Day weekend.)
Meanwhile over on Reads, Mark continues Sandman.
Monday, May 21, 2012
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Dragon Elexus 124p · 678 weeks ago
[youtube uKrCE1aYz7o&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKrCE1aYz7o&feature=relmfu youtube]
cait0716 125p · 678 weeks ago
Definitely Glory. I love her whole attitude. Unlike most of the other villains, her goal isn't inherently malevolent. She doesn't want to destroy the world or rule it. She doesn't even want to be in it. Much like Dorothy, Glory just wants to go home. It's her methods that make her a bad guy. Glory doesn't care how many people she hurts or kills. She doesn't care that her method of leaving our world will result in its destruction. As long as she gets home everything else is irrelevant.
Her view of Buffy is rather refreshing, too. Rather than seeing the Slayer as a nemesis or an obstacle that must be dealt with, she just sees an annoying bug who she ultimately has to deal with in order to find the Key. If not for the monks and Dawn, this wouldn't even be personal. But that adds a whole other fascinating layer.
Not to mention that she is just endlessly entertaining. Her obsession with the more glamorous aspects of life. Her utter disgust at being stuck in Sunnydale. Her tenuous hold on reality. I just love everything about her. And every word that comes out of her mouth.
Tomorrow: Favorite Male Villain
Neet · 678 weeks ago
Zbzzl?
I'm going to be watching Twitter with bated breath. I can't decide whether I want to see Mark's reaction with a sadistic kind of joy, or if I'm just worried how he'll respond because of how he's reacted to this storyline so far, plus his personal experiences and love of the character in question. I think it could be painful.
Tauriel_ 109p · 678 weeks ago
Legend of Korra: THE AFTERMATH
Because FEELS.
(Also, warning: May contain speculation and/or spoilers)
Medli 141p · 678 weeks ago
this is going to be very useful
stefb4 131p · 677 weeks ago
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
Tonraq and Korra - Daddy's little girl (source)
BRB DYING OF CUTE. <3 <3 <3
(This actually reminds me a lot of myself and my Dad when I was little - I mean, not that either of us are waterbenders, obviously... x-D But I can very much relate to that special daughter-father relationship - my Dad taught me how to ride a bike, how to ski, how to make a fire, he took me out hiking... I have very fond memories of my childhood thanks to him, and we still have a very good relationship. So this picture really struck home with me... <3 )
cait0716 125p · 677 weeks ago
My favorite villain period is The Mayor.
I'm in the midst of writing a big report at work, and my brain is just not willing to really switch gears. So here's a quick list of things I like about him instead:
fear of germs
relationship with Faith
the patience to wait 100 years for his plan to come to fruition
lack of cursing and general nice guy attitude
shredding usually cheers him up.
He'd sell his soul for a decent short game - if he hadn't already
The mundanity of evil (see his to do list: PTA meeting, haircut, become invulnerable)
Tomorrow: Episode You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Sophi 92p · 677 weeks ago
Does anyone have any ideas for non-confrontational things I could say if he comes over to me that express that I don't want to talk to him?
Something that isn't quite "fuck you, you really scared me, I do not want to see you"--because he did scare me, and I don't want to make him angry, because I think he still thinks he's in the right and I am a Witch Who Said She Would Be Friends--but that clearly expresses I don't want to talk to him, or see him, or know that he's quietly seething at me from across the room or something. I want to have a good time; a large part of this is just worry because he did frighten me post-break-up, I don't even know if he's still going or on what day or at what time (I'm going super early) but if I have something to say if I do see him, that would really help to steady me.
Noybusiness 127p · 677 weeks ago
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
I must say, I like the possibility that Tahno comes from a mixed waterbender/firebender relationship. Also, he should totally join the Krew! I'm sure his attitude will improve, and I think he could be an asset...
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
He says he's in the second series, too (we already know he's in series 1), so maybe his character is a recurring one? :D He did say way back that his character was related to Zuko... perhaps a grandson? It would fit, age-wise...
cait0716 125p · 677 weeks ago
There was a whole lot of backlash against the season 6 episode Normal Again. There is some implication that the second reality is the real one, mostly because of how they chose to end this episode. Some people got angry about because they felt that this invalidated the previous six seasons of television. That the episode was attempting to say that everything had happened only in Buffy's mind.
I've always assumed that both realities are real. That Buffy, and slayers in general, are girls who exist in two realities at once. BtVS has played with the idea of alternate dimensions before, in both The Wish and Superstar. So there's no need for one reality to be true and the other to be nothing more than a hallucination. I like to think that when Buffy finally does die once and for all, she'll wake up back in the mental hospital, magically cured of everything. She'll get the one thing she's always wanted more than anything: a normal life. She'll get to hang out with her family and shop and date. She'll be warm and loved. And she'll be done trying to save the world.
And I think that's why I love this episode so much. It lets me give Buffy the happy ending she'll never really get as the slayer. Because as long as she's the slayer, she has to fight and lead and inspire and save the world. But after she dies, she gets a happy, normal life.
This episode also lends itself nicely to an interpretation of the show that says it's all about Buffy. Anything that Xander, Willow, GIles, Spike, etc does is merely a metaphor for what Buffy herself is going through. It's a really interesting perspective on the show that leads to some great insights about the coming of age story and hero's journey. This episode fits right in to that interpretation.
Tomorrow: Character You Relate to the Most
cait0716 125p · 677 weeks ago
"It's the computer age; nerds are in. They're still in, right?
I'm not a lesbian, a witch, or Jewish, but I've always related to Willow incredibly strongly. Particularly in seasons 2 and 6. Personality-wise we have a lot in common.
In high school I practically was WIllow in a lot of ways. I was decent with computers, and I loved school. I was less about chemistry and more about physics, but maybe that would have changed if I'd been able to make magic potions. Or if my high school had a halfway decent chemistry program. I spent time tutoring my fellow students and was even asked to help teach a class when one of our teachers was suspended for a few weeks. This didn't work out nearly as well for me as it did for Willow, since I was actually a student in that class. I also had the unrequited crush on my best friend that eventually blew up in my face.
Then in college I went through a whole bad drug thing. I didn't fall quite as hard as Willow, but I did seriously fuck up some relationships. And just like it was never really about the magic for Willow, it was never really about the pot* for me. I used it to mask my own feelings of inadequacy, to help me cope with the stress of college, and to create an identity for myself separate from the nerd I was in high school. It wasn't until after college that I finally embraced my high school self and found some sort of balance between who I had been and who I wanted to be.
*It probably matters that I come from a family of hippies. Pot was never considered a bad thing when I was growing up. It was as much a part of family gatherings as alcohol, though more carefully hidden from the younger kids.
Tomorrow: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
Matt Smith to carry the Olympic Torch. :D
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
How about Makorial Day Weekend? :D
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
Seriously, I now believe Amon wouldn't turn into an evil bastard if only he had a pet fire ferret when he was little... :p
Tauriel_ 109p · 677 weeks ago
Apparently, this appears on Xfinity cable guide when you pause the page before it finishes loading
"Bhg bs gur Cnfg", ru? Znlor jr svanyyl yrnea jung gur jubyr ohfvarff jvgu Lnxbar jnf, naq ubj vg znl or gvrq gb Nzba! Be (ubcrshyyl) Mhxb svanyyl fubjf hc! :D
knut_knut 137p · 677 weeks ago
cait0716 125p · 677 weeks ago
I have two answers.
The first is Chanterelle/Lily/Anne. The annoying bit is that she even pops up in a few episodes on Angel, and I still feel like she doesn't get enough screen time. Mostly I want an episode or maybe some flashbacks to show her journey as Anne, between getting the name from Buffy and setting up the Teen Center in LA. Her story is great, and I really want to see that part of it. Did Buffy keep her promise and call occasionally to check in? Did she have a moment of epiphany when she realized that she was successfully taking care of herself? Did she struggle to get to that point? Did she consider giving up? Was there a specific person who she helped out that made her realize that opening a shelter was what she wanted to do? Or did she end up in a shelter herself and that's where the inspiration came from? How did she meet Gunn, and what's their history? I just want to know everything about her.
The second character I want more of is Ethan Rayne. He's in four episodes, but then he just disappears after A New Man. It would have been nice to see him again in the later seasons. The Initiative came up a few more times, and I think a story where he escaped from them would have been interesting. Or maybe he could have turned up as the First somehow.
Tomorrow: Character You Like That Everyone Else Hates
episkey825 85p · 677 weeks ago
azdarkwater 120p · 677 weeks ago
So excite.
doesntsparkle 93p · 677 weeks ago
Edit: Embed Fail, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhWrsVlNgVo&fe...
sophiesensation 139p · 677 weeks ago
It was kind of hilarious. I mean, I've been talking to him about how much I relate to a certain character in a certain blue book, and he's been really interested in that and in using the book somehow in therapy, and I've also talked about how much I miss writing and want to get back to that. So today he suggested I write fanfic and I was like "well, I don't know, I'd have to re-read it, to really get into the character's head..." and he was like "I thought the purpose of fanfic was to insert yourself into the story?" And I was thinking "Uh... I don't have time to educate this guy on mary sues and why they're a bad idea..." so I was just like "Um, well, sometimes?"
I mean, I have immense respect for my shrink, but it was just funny, you know, like when your mom hears about lolcats for the first time or something. I don't know if I'll actually do it, but it's interesting to think about. I suppose if I don't show it to anybody I can Mary Sue the fuck out of it and nobody will care :P
cait0716 125p · 677 weeks ago
I definitely have to go with Dawn. I really liked her, and thought she was a good addition to the show. She wasn't perfect, but no one was. I think the good definitely outweighs the bad in her case.
Part of this might be my intense love of Michelle Trachtenberg. I was a devout fan of Pete and Peteand spent hours watching and re-watching Harriet the Spy. I even watched the short-lived NBC drama Mercy because Trachtenberg was on it. (And then I rediscovered my love for James Van Der Beek, which totally made that show worth it)
So, yes, Dawn could be a whiny teenager. But she seemed very realistic to me. She's been living in the shadow of her sister the slayer for her entire life, which she just found out is almost six months. And she's not quite human. And a god wants to kill her. Naq ure zbz qvrq. I'd whine, too.
Dawn has some good qualities, too. She really does want to help Buffy as much as she can. As soon as she's allowed, she's hanging out doing research. She's good with the languages and struggles through books without even realizing that there are English translations. She may be slacking in school in the later years, but she really does want to learn.
Dawn is also proactive, which is probably a Summers trait. When everyone finds out that Dawn is the key and starts acting weird, she sneaks out and learns why. She may not always make the best decisions, but that's part of being in high school. Buffy made some pretty stupid decisions when she was Dawn's age, too.
In the seventh season, she finally matures and really comes into her own. I love her arc in Potential. And I like that, despite not having any superpowers, she steps up and joins the fight. When Xander kidnaps her to get her away from it, she heads straight back to Sunnydale. I really love her for the determination.
Tomorrow: Best Spike-Centric Episode