tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post8448397089910084341..comments2024-01-15T02:19:13.716-08:00Comments on Fragments Of My Imagination: HelplessMark Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-29483179696832969602013-11-12T06:47:12.874-08:002013-11-12T06:47:12.874-08:00Cool. I think all the Buffy writers drew on their ...Cool. I think all the Buffy writers drew on their experience with Buffy when they moved on to new jobs.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-9828762949316195542013-11-12T01:09:28.480-08:002013-11-12T01:09:28.480-08:00Sorry, make that the FOURTH episode of "Lost&...Sorry, make that the FOURTH episode of "Lost".Rick Rischehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04099343670647861471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-4932628150498494742013-11-11T22:45:37.377-08:002013-11-11T22:45:37.377-08:00"Walkabout" is also the title of the fif..."Walkabout" is also the title of the fifth episode of LOST, written by David Fury (who scripted "Helpless"). It's named by a huge number of fans as the episode that hooked them on the series.Rick Rischehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04099343670647861471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-75507939954312388552012-03-22T14:56:18.938-07:002012-03-22T14:56:18.938-07:00Very good and interesting points.
Willow did try ...Very good and interesting points.<br /><br />Willow did try to talk to Buffy about the loss of her powers, but as so often happens they were interrupted:<br /><br />"Willow: Buffy. (they stop) I know you are *definitely*, without a doubt, gonna get your powers back.<br /><br />Buffy: Thanks, Will. (starts up to the stacks)<br /><br />Willow: But what if you don't?<br /><br />Buffy: (stops) Okay... (sighs) if I don't get my powers back, then I don't. I'll deal. (considers) And there's a whole lotta good sides to it.<br /><br />Willow: Actually, this could open up so many...<br /><br />Giles comes into the library. Buffy runs up to him.<br /><br />Buffy: Giles. Did you find anything?"<br /><br />It would be interesting to know what Willow was going to say, but we never get it. My speculation is that it would have gone along the lines we'll see in Choices.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-66280970101618170482012-03-22T14:45:21.165-07:002012-03-22T14:45:21.165-07:00A few posts behind, still have to respond to Amend...A few posts behind, still have to respond to Amends.<br /><br />I agree with your read on the Cruciamentum and the episode. I do think the Cruciamentum has the trait of both keeping slayers in line and of giving them confidence in their abilities. I also think the Cruciamentum makes a lot of sense once we apply the knowledge that it is also meant as a test of the Watcher -- in fact, it might even be the primary function of the test, to ensure that the Watcher is both willing and able to manipulate their slayer.<br /><br />I think that the fairy tale element is in part about the possibility of a fairy tale being used as a (patriarchal) control structure: the Council basically set up the Cruciamentum as a narrative, wherein the slayer, the vampire, and the Watcher play well-defined roles, which they are not expected to break free from. There's a neat parallel between the way the Council keeps Kralik drugged and the way they keep Buffy drugged; and that the Watcher who is turned by Kralik is "corrupted" by the vampire in a similar way to the way Giles is "corrupted," from Quentin's POV, by Buffy's love. I think this resonates with Joss et al.'s overall reason for creating the TV series, which is to put Buffy in the position of being a potential victim so that she might rise above it. I think it's about here that the writers start questioning the basic premise of the series. There is some ambivalence to the Cruciamentum as a result. Buffy does gain something from her rite of passage, but it was wrong of the Council and Giles to force her through it. Obviously the responsibility of a writing staff to fictional characters is much different than the responsibility of Watchers to the slayer, but there are parallels between the writers putting Buffy through the wringer and Quentin/Giles doing so. (SPOILERS) I think this ambivalence about what Buffy has to go through as THE HERO of the story is part of what leads to the willingness in the last two television seasons, culminating in Chosen, to do away with that structure. (END SPOILERS)<br /><br />I got pounced on for saying this in the notes with Maggie, but I do think it's remarkable that Buffy doesn't use the opportunity of having lost her powers to further connect with Willow or Cordelia. Certainly they wouldn't understand what it's like to lose power, so it's perhaps understandable that she only speaks to Angel directly about it (since he is the other superpowered person in her life). That said, our ability to see what Buffy goes through gives us a hint of the life of fear that her friends were left in when Buffy is not there to protect them, which is somewhat frequent. Anyway, the fact that Buffy doesn't even begin to consider the possibility of it being a good thing that she's lost her powers does suggest that she has accepted slaying as a part of herself, if perhaps not entirely consciously.William Bhttp://local-max.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-45559886150567580312012-03-22T14:29:58.874-07:002012-03-22T14:29:58.874-07:00Well put, that makes sense.
MILD SPOILERS cont...Well put, that makes sense.<br /><br />MILD SPOILERS cont'd<br /><br />I guess the way she responds to Giles's firing and her continued dedication to being the Slayer regardless of her or his official situations makes your point.aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09511776738005115468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-38395265132864057342012-03-22T13:33:25.158-07:002012-03-22T13:33:25.158-07:00MILD SPOILERS FOR THE REMAINDER OF S3
The way I s...MILD SPOILERS FOR THE REMAINDER OF S3<br /><br />The way I see it, her commitment to being the Slayer is complete. The *kind* of Slayer she'll be is still open. So I see it as a two-stage process.<br /><br />I think of it in metaphor: we all (eventually) commit to becoming adults. The *kind* of adult we become remains fluid.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-44288385128608108592012-03-22T13:32:25.348-07:002012-03-22T13:32:25.348-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-2757766426315305232012-03-22T13:27:54.061-07:002012-03-22T13:27:54.061-07:00I like your reading of the Cruciamentum and the WC...I like your reading of the Cruciamentum and the WC.<br /><br />A question about Buffy's commitment being complete <br /><br />(MILD SPOILERS):<br /><br />do you think she's completely reached that stage by this point? It sort of seems like the journey she has to complete this season (by way of the upcoming conflict with Faith), and the doubts she must overcome as part of it, really seal her commitment because Buffy still needs to be . . . tempted by the dark side? . . . before she can fully commit not only to being the Slayer, but to doing it right.aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09511776738005115468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-53744494133135767842012-03-22T10:31:07.643-07:002012-03-22T10:31:07.643-07:00I like the suggestion that the scene with Cordy pr...I like the suggestion that the scene with Cordy prefigures Buffy. Wish I'd thought of it.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-12778991098461184852012-03-22T10:13:48.743-07:002012-03-22T10:13:48.743-07:00Aeryl—
I also took the scene with Cordelia to be ...Aeryl—<br /><br />I also took the scene with Cordelia to be significant because, if she is indeed Buffy's shadow-self, it vaguely prefigures Buffy's coming loss of self-confidence, her inability to defend herself when she first runs into Kralik and has to be rescued by Giles. (Is that too convoluted?) <br /><br />Very mild spoiler<br /><br />I have always found that scene, from Buffy's mild fright before the rude men to her terror running down the street screaming, to be one of the most gut-wrenching... Although we get the pay-off in Buffy's brilliant triumph with the holy water and her "If I were at full Slayer strength, I would be punning right now," the affective force of her absolute abjection continues, for me at least, to haunt: there is nothing like it in the entire series.<br /><br /><br />(That said, I, too, love the "Whatchdoin...?")StateOfSiege97noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-29162148628848233772012-03-22T09:48:08.042-07:002012-03-22T09:48:08.042-07:00"Walkabout" is also what "The Firm&..."Walkabout" is also what "The Firm" (the British royal family) call trips to perform their ceremonial duties.<br /><br />I often think of the The Watcher's Council as the equivalent of the bureaucracy supporting the royal family--and, as you say, they aren't particularly invested in one Slayer (Queen or King) because another one can just be called. Even if he needs a lot of speech therapy.executrixhttp://executrix.dreamwidth.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-68088368805671250812012-03-22T09:18:26.729-07:002012-03-22T09:18:26.729-07:00It is, but it's vague enough that I won't ...It is, but it's vague enough that I won't worry about it.Mark Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16661801011668244109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-26854800778776368012012-03-22T09:13:15.040-07:002012-03-22T09:13:15.040-07:00Of course now I realize any reference to Robin is ...Of course now I realize any reference to Robin is still a spoiler, so OOPS sorry!Aerylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10442074043571201717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5913356479406165601.post-87885830840469866272012-03-22T09:11:56.216-07:002012-03-22T09:11:56.216-07:00I completely agree that the Crucaimentum was a way...I completely agree that the Crucaimentum was a way to weed out Slayers before they became too independent. And the point you make about the Watchers in the field is interesting. In the Season 9 comics(this isn't a spoiler for any plot, just new info about past stuff) it's been revealed that Nikki Wood was pregnant when she underwent her Cruciamentum, and her Watcher also attempted to interrupt the trial because of it, but was unsuccesful. Apparently he wasn't caught, because he wasn't punished, and remained her Watcher and helped to raise Robin. <br /><br />If your interpretation of Faith's walkabout is correct, it gives me a better frame of reference for Faith's age, which I have always been curious about. I always assumed she was older than Buffy, because she was on her own, but I've seen other stuff that hints she's younger. But if her and Buffy were facing their trials concurrently, then it establishes them as the same age. But Buffy's nonchalant reference to it, makes it seem that this was something Faith did often, and the only actual American cultural reference to "walkabout" that I can think of, is from Crocodile Dundee, where the term walkabout was more implied to just be Dundee disappearing for long periods of time, which is how I've always seen that reference. <br /><br />The connection to Little Red Riding Hood is awesome, especially with my OUAT fixation, which also makes the Wolf in her story a werewolf, and I wasn't aware that was a common interpretation at the time. <br /><br />The scene where Buffy tries to help Cordy, is an interesting mirror to the scene in Gingerbread(that I love to a million pieces*) where the warlock guy is being bullied near Amy, and Buffy just walks up with her head cocked to the side inquisitively, and the guy backs off. This time, she didn't allow her very presence to intimidate the guy, but immedeately became physical, which backfired heavily for her. There's probably a moral in that somewhere. <br /><br />*I just love how she's all "whatchadoin?" and the guy runs off, her reputation as a badass is established.Aerylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10442074043571201717noreply@blogger.com