Re: [buffyloveswillow] Digest Number 187

[ebailey140@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 5/13/00 2:39:14 AM Central Daylight Time,
buffyloveswillow@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

<< Date: Sat, 13 May 2000 00:37:56 EDT
From: AngelusBells@xxxxxxx
Subject: SPOILERS: "The Yoko Factor" and "War Zone"

Sorry this is late. The thoughts weren't coming to my brain very easily this
week. Nothing particularly enlightening, just my opinions.

Warning: Once again, I'm not too lenient with Buffy in this review. Love
her?
Avoid this.

Spoily-type space...
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"The Yoko Factor":

As the quote goes from one of my favorite movies, "the shit hath hitith the
fan...ith." "The Yoko Factor" is probably the most appropriate pop culture
reference on the show to date. While the episode itself wasn't terrible,
what
happened in it was. It makes me pretty darn sad, and makes me wonder if I'll
ever love this show like I once did before the college life hit.

I can't really say I'm surprised at how easily Spike was able to split the
group apart. (Was anyone, really?) As he explained, the problem didn't lie
in
him -- the Scooby dynamic had been broken long before Spike ruffled them up.
And I'm glad it's being addressed, because *maybe* when all has been said
and
done they can become friends again, friends that trust and respect each
other. Like I said last week, the family aspect of "Angel" is what makes me
love that show...and if one thing can get me disenchanted with "Buffy," it's
the fact that the family has broken apart (the Corleones crack was pretty
applicable to the Gang as well). Personally, I think a *lot* of this lies in
Buffy. I'm not saying she's the only one to blame, but, c'mon: "If I was any
more open-minded about the choices you two make, my brain would fall out."
Now, *that* made my jaw drop. I never thought Buffy was *so* conceited that
she actually thought she wasn't one of the top contenders for the
"Questionable Choices" award. She's become so wrapped up in Riley that it's
caused her to drift apart from Willow so that she couldn't even see
something
different in her relationship with Tara; she has no respect for Xander, who
we all know has done quite a bit to help out before, yet the way she, and
Willow, have excluded him has leveled his self-esteem to virtually nil; and
Giles is just "book guy" -- did Buffy ever stop to wonder exactly *why* he
was drunk? "I guess I'm starting to understand why there's no ancient
prophecy about a Chosen One and her friends." Why is that? Could it possibly
be because said Chosen One doesn't know how to *treat* her friends? Of
course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.>

And Willow and Xander have been perfect saints during all this? At least
Buffy made the effort to include her boyfriend in the group. Compare this to
Willow. Willow kept Tara a secret from her supposed best friends as long as
she could. If they hadn't accidently run into BufFaith at the Bronze, they
STILL wouldn't know that Tara existed. As for Xander, he's, well, whipped.
Anya constantly makes it loud and clear that she doesn't want to be there,
and that she doesn't want Xander there. He appeases her, and skips out on
the gang to boink her at first opportunity. How are Buffy and Willow
supposed to see this as anything but Xander putting his sex drive before his
friendships? Neither Willow nor Xander have ANY room to complain about Buffy
being too wrapped up in her significant other.

And while we're on the subject of sensitivity to what's going on with
friends, it's fortunate for Buffy that Willow was unsuccessful in her goal to
keep Tara from her. Faith does the body switch, and neither Willow nor
Xander notice that there's anything wrong. It took Tara, a complete stranger
(thanks to Willow), to figure out something was wrong. Tara's more sensitive
to Buffy than her best friends are, these days.

E