Buffy 5x04 Out of My Mind
Wed, May. 19th, 2004 12:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterBuffy 5x04 Out of My Mind
The Riley liking hit a peak in The Replacement, with his little thing to Xander on how he adores Buffy and loves her so much, and then goes on to say that she doesn't love him back, all with the same smile on his face, like he was sad but sort of accepted it because it was worth it to be by her.
Then it took an abrupt dive during Out of My Mind. What is he thinking? Argh. And yeah, I can see it as being sort of like Willow's self-image issues, how he thinks he has to be all Superman (versus Willow's witch), because who would want to deal with normal Joe him? I would buy it except for the fact that previously they've played Riley as someone who admired Buffy for her strength and her Slayerness (with a few exceptions) -- he was really nice before about it and about not posturing, about being kind and not stupid macho army male for the majority of the eps. Obviously, some notable exceptions to this, but the niceness and the laidbackness was what I liked.
And now he's all like he just found out Buffy was the Slayer again. I think I would be more okay with the entire self-worth-tied-to-other-things issue ala Willow if they hadn't stuck the whole sort of gender role thing in! The whole you can't be fulfilled if your girlfriend is more powerful than you, and you should be macho and you belong in the army thing that Initiative Guy feeds him, along with the fear that Buffy won't love him if he's not physically strong. I mean, I understand the fear, I just don't like where it's going (and I know how the arc ends, which bodes ill...). Am frustrated. Was pleased before because of things like Buffy asking him in the Replacement: "Would you it better if..." and him saying "no" without even letting her finish the thought because he loved all of her. I like that Riley.
Plus, if I were Buffy and my boyfriend pulled some stupid health thing like that, I would go ballistic. Particularly after having a near scare with my mother fainting. Also, I mean, that's how Buffy shows she loves him, I feel.
Small giggly thing: opening power shot of Buffy crouched on a crypt... turns out the name on the crypt is "Law." Hee. Buffy is literally above the law ;).
Also, despite knowing the Spike dream is coming up, the revelation that Spike is in love/lust with Buffy feels strangely disjointed and unconvincing.
And I adore bratty Dawn. Haha, my sister isn't like that, but I totally sympathized with Buffy and her whole "I want to be protected and taken care of, why do I have to take care of her?" rant. I just really like the sister thing.
The Riley liking hit a peak in The Replacement, with his little thing to Xander on how he adores Buffy and loves her so much, and then goes on to say that she doesn't love him back, all with the same smile on his face, like he was sad but sort of accepted it because it was worth it to be by her.
Then it took an abrupt dive during Out of My Mind. What is he thinking? Argh. And yeah, I can see it as being sort of like Willow's self-image issues, how he thinks he has to be all Superman (versus Willow's witch), because who would want to deal with normal Joe him? I would buy it except for the fact that previously they've played Riley as someone who admired Buffy for her strength and her Slayerness (with a few exceptions) -- he was really nice before about it and about not posturing, about being kind and not stupid macho army male for the majority of the eps. Obviously, some notable exceptions to this, but the niceness and the laidbackness was what I liked.
And now he's all like he just found out Buffy was the Slayer again. I think I would be more okay with the entire self-worth-tied-to-other-things issue ala Willow if they hadn't stuck the whole sort of gender role thing in! The whole you can't be fulfilled if your girlfriend is more powerful than you, and you should be macho and you belong in the army thing that Initiative Guy feeds him, along with the fear that Buffy won't love him if he's not physically strong. I mean, I understand the fear, I just don't like where it's going (and I know how the arc ends, which bodes ill...). Am frustrated. Was pleased before because of things like Buffy asking him in the Replacement: "Would you it better if..." and him saying "no" without even letting her finish the thought because he loved all of her. I like that Riley.
Plus, if I were Buffy and my boyfriend pulled some stupid health thing like that, I would go ballistic. Particularly after having a near scare with my mother fainting. Also, I mean, that's how Buffy shows she loves him, I feel.
Small giggly thing: opening power shot of Buffy crouched on a crypt... turns out the name on the crypt is "Law." Hee. Buffy is literally above the law ;).
Also, despite knowing the Spike dream is coming up, the revelation that Spike is in love/lust with Buffy feels strangely disjointed and unconvincing.
And I adore bratty Dawn. Haha, my sister isn't like that, but I totally sympathized with Buffy and her whole "I want to be protected and taken care of, why do I have to take care of her?" rant. I just really like the sister thing.
Re: surfed on over from <lj user="mutant_allies">
Fri, May. 28th, 2004 01:24 am (UTC)I personally HATED this ep not just because of....well, many many things....but because this really cements Buffy's getting abandoned by men. Her father left, Angel left, Parker treated her like dirt, now there goes Riley, Giles is soon to follow....I liked the way Riley started out as too-wholesome-to-be-true (although the television depiction of everyone from Iowa as blandly wholesome is so annoying) and then turned into a typical Sunnydale character with a well-shaded dark side, but the Buffy/Riley relationship collapse just made me wince. Like "Why am I sitting here watching this on television when I have had this argument personally with someone I know?"
The one part of the ep I did like was the coinage of "suck job," as in Spike's "You're not the long haul guy....Or else you wouldn't be getting suck jobs from two-bit vampire trulls." I thought that was a v witty way to get around "blow job," which the network surely wouldn't permit, while being accurate re vampire/human as well.
Re: surfed on over from <lj user="mutant_allies">
Fri, May. 28th, 2004 09:57 pm (UTC)I actually liked the collapse because it was like me -- it's why I think S6 resonated so much with me. I liked Buffy before, but I suddenly understood the characters in a way I didn't before when they were in angst and pain.
I totally missed "suck job"! That's awesome ^_^.
Re: surfed on over from <lj user="mutant_allies">
Fri, May. 28th, 2004 10:03 pm (UTC)Heh. Who wrote that one again? Marti Noxon! Why am I not surprised? Damnit, Marti, keep your gender issues off my characters!
it's why I think S6 resonated so much with me. I liked Buffy before, but I suddenly understood the characters in a way I didn't before when they were in angst and pain
It hit just a little too close to home for me -- I was like "Aaaagh, ohhh, oh poor girl, oh someone get her an icecream sundae with Prozac sprinkled on top, can't she just go for two weeks to Aruba?"
I totally missed "suck job"! That's awesome ^_^.
Doesn't that rock? You know, I bet Joss came up with that an inserted it -- that's really got his stamp.