and on into the dark side
a review of buffy the vampire slayer episode, "villains"
original Philippine TV premiere, may 5, 2003.
and i thought i would never like willow evil.
a little side story: fifteen minutes before eight pm last
monday, me and my little tv had a little... uhm, argument. to make the long
story short, it blew up right in front of me. as in... *poof*shhhhh* with
matching white wisps of smoke and all that bad odor... and so, ten minutes
before eight, i was panicking and freaking out like hell. texted julie,
asked if i could watch buffy at her place, and everything after that is
history. so... thanks julie... it is by your kindness that this article
springs to life. i am forever indebted, heh.
first thought off the top of my head - buffy made it to the
hospital. and lived. and tara *didn't*. so, is this some unwritten joss
rule? slayer always lives at the expense of some other potentially interesting
character? if it is, i hereby state that I DO NOT LIKE IT. period.
and buffy was rushed to the hospital. well, i guess, we have
to hand it over to xander, who was all sensible and stuff.
willow was just...
well, it's different. (and then, a sudden U-turn, eh?) xander
was standing there with buffy, NOT with anya. and besides, even if it were
anya, it would still have been different.
my point being, THINKING was easier in xander's situation.
it was easier, thinking of getting the phone, dialling 911... xander had
it easier.
willow didn't. she didn't see warren with the gun. she didn't
hear him screaming. she just heard the glass get broken. she just saw tara
falling.
that makes all the difference that matters.
i didn't see that part, where willow tries desperately to
resurrect tara -- it was all about the tv blowing up, you know? but i did
read the transcript. i did see the screen caps. and my god, it was still
depressing. i sit here and wonder how i would've coped if i'd actually watched
it myself. shudder.
and it all boils down to the unwritten joss rule - buffy could
when nobody else could. which meant, at this point in time, buffy could
get resurrected, tara could not. simple.
i hate it.
willow goes berserk - in a cool, smooth, sophisticated, wonderfully,
dropdeadgorgeously deadpan (someday, i will get that adjective for myself,
really) manner.
that was the only part i liked, actually. i didn't think i
would like her black hair, but surprisingly, i welcomed the change.
and Rack said it best: "If I were you, I'd worry about
the witch."
warren deserved every inch and bit of pain he got that episode.
he really goddamned did.
buffy going all moral. okay, i mourn for tara, but i do understand
buffy and her whole crusade against killing warren, and her utter faith
in the justice system. (did i just say *faith*? pun unintentional, sorry.)
she's too good to be true, sometimes. (which actually makes
the whole sleeping with spike arc a quite healthy addition... makes her
character more.. imperfect. and somehow closer to real.) but this time,
i see where all that moral stuff comes from - even it's from three seasons
ago.
it comes from faith. as in that other slayer, remember her?
hmm. looks like even after the resurrection, a part of buffy still remembers
the *principles*. a part of buffy still remembers faith, and who she was,
and who they'd been to each other (basically pains in each other's asses,
but what the heck), and what they'd done to each other (in the process of
being pains in each other's asses.)...
anyway, i just wanted to point that out. buffy remains firm
in her belief in the sacredness of human life, whether it be with faith
or with willow, her best friend. which is actually a good thing. consistency
is a good thing.
but it doesn't necessarily mean it'd work. at least, not on
this willow. this willow is a very angry willow who wouldn't want to listen.
who wouldn't want to come back.
kinda scary. everything. the black get-up (i remember *that*
jacket from "dead things" though, i'd just like to share...),
the black hair, the uber-black eyes, the deadpan, emotionless expressions...
it was kinda scary. sexy, kind of, but nevertheless, scary.
and i liked it. *grin*
willow taking warren out slowly. the word was excruuuuuciaaating.
really. with the bullet, and the slow agony of dying and knowing it. he
deserved every bit of it, let me just say that again.
tiny piece of metal destroys everything.
she's in so much pain, she doesn't know where to begin hurting.
or how. the grief hasn't settled just yet, and my god, if all people mourned
like this, the world would've ended ages ago. the rage, the anger, all that
desire to hunt and hurt and kill.
bored now.
now. if majority of the people who get bored nowadays turned
other people into skinless piles of living, breathing semi-monsters... well,
i'd say dermatologists would have more work around here.
that is, if the skinless piles don't get burned quickly afterwards.
hmm. what else?
oh. i thought i'd miss james marsters. well, there was relatively
less of spike in this ep, but there's him nevertheless. and it's nice, actually.
it's welcome.
spuffy. buffy wanting to leave dawn at spike's, only to come
to an almost-empty crypt. ended up with no other choice but clem.
and the question was clem's: "he didn't tell you?"
and that look on buffy's face. "did he say when he's
coming back?"
oh. don't we just love these love-hate relationships?
the thing is, i would've. if only i hadn't been too busy grieving.
