let's talk Buffy, shall we? :D

[tiggz]

this is my original post from last night and a post i just made a few minutes ago at beta. feel free to discuss here. it's why i'm posting it. :)

overall, i'd say i enjoyed it. i was spoiler free so that's always a good thing. the opening sequence with Buffy and Dawn was a nice sister bonding moment. i'm still not comfortable with them setting Dawn up for a spinoff. she was so much less annoying. definite good.

they've set Dawn up with her very own Scooby gang. i like that, as well. she needs someone other than Buffy's friends to talk to about all the crazy stuff going on in her life. who better than people who have experienced the world of manifested spirits? *g*

the Willow/Giles scenes were good. albeit short and not to enlightening. hopefully we'll get to see the coven she mentioned. so sad to hear her wish she was "just Willow". haven't we all been wondering where our sweet Willow went? it was heartening to see that she was remorseful and guilty over killing people. maybe next week we'll get more in depth with these two.

seems to me that Spike is a bit tanned to be a vampire. could just be the effects of the summer away from filming, but i do believe it's in his contract to avoid prolonged sunlight. methinks our Spike is human. *nod* James does a good job of portraying all aspects of Spike. crazy!Spike was intriguing. "I tried to cut it out." can't imagine what he's talking about. ;)

that whole end sequence was superb! all of the old villains newest to oldest. fantastic! i loved it! not sure what it all meant yet, but i'm sure we'll have theories soon enough. *g*

i'm happy with this. hopefully they'll keep on this track.



second viewing comments for Lessons...


still not sure what the deal is with the girl in Instanbul. the only logical explanation is a slayer-in-waiting.

as for those who mentioned the fact that it's impossible for Spike to be human because of the opening credits, i tell you to rewatch. the scene is not a new one. it's from last year's episode, Tabula Rasa. i'm sticking to my Spike is human theory until i'm proven wrong.

Willow not mentioning Tara isn't all that surprising to me. it's been three months and i'm guessing the coven is trying to keep her mind off that particular event as much as possible. forving her to study other things. i'm also sure that Willow realizes that her reaction to Tara's death was extremely unhealthy and she's trying to tone it down herself. everyone also needs to remember that people grieve in their own ways. what you think is acceptable may not be to others.

Anya did look very schoolmarmish. can we tell we have a new costume designer? *cough* i did like her hair color. the style...not so much. also, Xander was looking pretty freaking suave. i think he's finally coming to terms with his adulthood. yay him! :D

speaking of clothes, haven't we seen that sweater Dawn was wearing before? in season 5 or 6? it looks really familiar. significance?

Principle McHottie, while hot, seems a bit shifty. don't know what it is. i'm sure we'll find out though. *g*

i absolutely adore the cinematography of Willow and Giles seated on the grass when the camera pans backwards through the door. amazing!

back to Principle McHottie. why would the school board recommend that he review Buffy's file? seems very suspicious to me. he does seem to genuinely like her though. :)

a couple of people have mentioned they were uncomfortable with the scene where Buffy confronts the spirits and tells them she doesn't care how they died. i have to agree. her whole mission is to save people. she's now faced with people she didn't save and seems oblivious. i understand she was worried about Dawn, but she should be remorseful about not being there to save them.

now to the scene when Buffy enters Spike's "lair". Spike yells "can't you see i'm trying?!" then says he isn't fast. that he isn't a quick study. is this referring to physical prowess or just the fact that he can't deal with having a soul. we shall see. he then says he dropped his board(?) in the water and the chalk all ran. ummm...Drusilla ramblings anyone? geez...where does Joss come up with this crap? *sigh* what are peoples theories on his comment that he "tried to cut it out"? i'm still leaning towards a heart. he hasn't felt his heart beat in over a hundred years. it would certainly cause a person to go crazy. especially with all the other stuff he's dealing with. also? his comment about it being in the wall. what exactly? all these questions and no answers...

still impressed with the stunt double. i'm still not sure if they've changed her or if this one just lost some weight to look more like SMG. it's much less distracting though. :)

i'm still very much confused by the final scene with all the Big Bads. so far VaBuffyFan's theory about it being the First Evil from Amends seems the most plausible. Joss definitely loves to bring up past things to kick us in the ass. *g*

i really enjoyed this ep. except for the score. not overy impressed. it was too....cheesy. *shrug* to be honest this is the first episode i've watched twice in a short period of time in a long time. i enjoyed the season finales last year and the musical, but other than that nothing really grabbed me enough to watch more than once. this bodes well for the season. :)