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Date Posted: 02:22:15 01/24/12 Tue
Author: Angel's Watcher
Author Host/IP: c-98-213-92-109.hsd1.il.comcast.net / 98.213.92.109
Subject: BTVS Rewatch Beneath You

I intitally confused this one with Entropy, before we got to that ep. There's more of Spike's struggling with his new soul, and Anya grants a frat boy a wish that goes horribly wrong when a giant worm escapes to attack Sunnydale. Buffy is adjusting to being counselor, and we see a bit more of Principal Wood.

(Sorry I'm late)

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[> Re: BTVS Rewatch Beneath You -- chuckit25, 15:19:46 01/25/12 Wed (cpe-76-84-130-127.neb.res.rr.com/76.84.130.127)

The shadow murder was scary. “From beneath you it devours.” Snickerfest ensues.

I admit, the trip to UPN ended my Buffy viewing. I read the scripts and barfed up a lung, lost my interest, but not my love for a girl who is still my daughter’s age, 30, if not 31, pushing comic book 20’s to give me some sign, other than Angel is the guy she wants to live with, if she is “still in there.” I so miss her.

The DVDs got the once over and sit under toad like spiders undisturbed. So my recall is not fair probably on either season 6 or 7—I think Willow and Tara became the great love story, despite the disturbing manipulation, if you believe memory meets experience defines who you are (which is mildly suggested as giving rise to consciousness?) or if you believe Tara’s own sense of humanity wouldn’t have found its way to love and forgiveness for the greatest of sinners. Angel needs to be around her for a week and this :yawning” (pun intended) epic of generations would actually move forward somewhere.

Of course what is beneath you refers to the hellmouth, a rather genius metaphor from any point of view, but really not much on Buffy saying Spike was beneath her (contempt). She arrived beneath him.

The problem with the metaphor is that she was in a clinical depression so her self hate has nothing to do with having sex with a demon. It’s her view she will be asked to deal with more and more impossible situations and find no comfort anywhere in the world, a view she actually brings on herself. She feels she is a victim to the isolation of being a slayer. Her friends never went anywhere. They still help keep things going, each to their gifts.

I loved the entire Giles/Willlow story line. Loved. “Trust your self” is a big theme with him and is the only positive I recall in years. (It presupposes that the essential human nature is good). He also is sharing his wisdom AND is now a real father figure: HE grew up. Then they have dispatch a bringer as if he wasn’t even to be seen—an important metaphor, considering they are blinded by their own propaganda to murder, but an utterly shocking juxtaposition. These ARE HUMAN BEINGS.

AS I mentioned the book ends of season 1 and season 7 are now having consequences in season 9 and Beneath You is no different. Even the reference to hating tea brings up missing Giles in the current text. Drug references are a staple of this verse and the visionary dreams are usually given such a reference, despite season 9 fairies that magically survive “no magic” as they are “earth bound,” and Willow’s ability to share the dreamspace with Buffy. I don’t know if this subtext of them sleeping together is just hot—even if they always end up pregnant to boot, or is some form of cheating that sh/would be the death of Hollywood.

This episode also has a bit of crazy Spike. The usual result for anything having human origins in a state of transition from a shock. Catatonia: Cat is a celtic world for killer of rats the cat; and catatonia is an early word for schizophrenia. So what we see gives us a clue he has his soul and he is :beneath—his subconscious is emerging from its hole—pulling his head out of his own arse? and is under the SCHOOL. HE actually learns. His story makes progress. People don’t. The hope is only given rise to hang it out there as foolish and painful.

Spike the William is in conflict as to the consequences of a soul; Spike has a dual existence of memory and experience in conflict. He gets in control mode; And we have Spike repeat the motifs of Angel, so that has become his story. Woobiefication is full throttle with a finale to be faced this season, with enough torture to make love mean one is worthy enough to die. So die already, the lot of ya and go with some joyful bunny humping. Anya’s phobia never heard of birth control, but being hammered works wonders.

Xander has grown up—he snarks at Spike enough to ensure there are enough sparks to light a conflagration of ship fic and Dawn makes sure to insert the conversation really is about her.

Buffy as a school counselor would have been real hope SO it must be badly handled to make sure her life choices never rise above the level of servant and mess cleaner upper for the more privileged. We have the concrete reality: Buffy can’t learn a damn thing series. She lived it and beat it until season 5. Suddenly she is less than a trained seal (navy or otherwise) and will FAIL to balance pencils on her nose—she can’t smell danger under her nose, her wisdom as a weapon is not psychological or intuitive from experience; we know she did’t finish college, but she needs the gross body to hit, I guess.

Anya as a vengeance demon had real consequences so easily wiped off the books it became a theme for everyone else.. Moral standing disappears left and right. A repeat, but makes the point: Giles dispatch in shocking disregard of a * crazed * human being, is highlighted that Spike murdering 10 people in the basement is * excused * because he is crazy. And both are English men of breeding, doncha know.

Um kay. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, if I include Angel here, sword in the gut and all, and for females it’s “open the legs is to open the heart” yet some sort of message is in this “stop screwing the demon and all is forgiven forever” which goes back to the sex is evil metaphor of a 17 year old, I guess.

Smoochies tend to mean there is affection (or lust that is frustrated and therefore good) present BEFORE sex. So the lesson re human “good”is lost on me in the presence of sex which vilifies both the body and the expression of human beings who join in sex as opposed to face smashing, eye gouging, lopping off heads and arms etc.

The idea no one is beneath redemption is handled in sloppy order, if not magically wished away even as Principal Wood encourages violence as the means to deal with students with problems.

Buffy of the early years is truly gone and I haven’t seen her since. Which is why her continuing adventures are mostly writers trying to figure out how to torture her for some angsty loss. Season 9 we threaten some (mystical) pregnancy, complete with fake-out,, blackout, drunken sex and losing her right arm to argue how much loss means a loss in identity. It’s the bot or a mystical healing on the ship of Spike, returning the snark/woobie favor to her “free fall” being re constituted as is Faith’s care for Angel, sippy cup and lots of lies.

The worst part of the Buffy verse is this juxtaposition of starkest kindness to that of pure indifference and the great rise of the plastic saint in great need of burning.

Xander brings up the (attempted) rape and Buffy blows by it that “she can take him.” Is that some kind of punny joke?!

THIS was Buffy NOT taking back her power, this was denying the emotional trauma that even an attempt of rape has on a person. She is shown constantly confused and upset that this guy brushes past her and she has to confront her love of this monster rising through the fun of violence and violation. Why he isn’t paste eludes me, especially because violent and crazy are good enough for dispatching to death a human being. Where is a good Sluggoth demon when you need one? Why these died out in the Crusades eludes me as we seem to have subverted the word infidel just fine.

Most women can’t “throw off” such an attack on her intimate sense of choice and person, her trust in relationships, and even the world view in gender and justice issues. The fact remains that “killing” people who are restored with a season long trauma deserved better dealings by the actual person IGNORED in ACTUAL events to favor the redemption of Spike story. Which is still the major B plot versus Buffy’s own healing NEVER addressed except to thank Spike for raping her into mental hardness/herohood with “I love you” she hasn’t said to any other man than Angel/us who courted her and never attempted rape in both “persons” of his persona. He remained true to the metaphor of death that ALL of Spike’s story botched.

I guess I just find the reason for Spike’s story essentially weak because Buffy issues were never with her mother or even around being a mother, a desire she actually has expressed—especially with the creation of the slayers story.

And because this episode really dismisses the great finale of redemption through the worst violence and disregard for 1. a human being’s right to expectations of privacy in their own body, 2. a male metaphor beating up a woman, is subverted yet again with a 3. male body attempting to rape a female, I have to post these stats for your own ammunition that feminist Buffy in typically “male roles” now brushes off the filthy secrets of domestic violence, criminal assault, battery, and rape and even that of coercion in chain of command and danger in the weapon of rape for thousands of reported rapes, and 5 to 6 times as many going unreported in the military, with barely 2 percent even being adjudicated, let alone won, some perverse reversal has now been established in Buffy as a feminist icon in showing everything that is appalling in the real world to real women from the POV of women. You know I do what I can on this front and I can’t just walk past this CULTURAL reality.

Please don’t

STATS FBI, Surgeon General’s Office, Nat’l Coalition against Domestic Violence.
1. 21 percent of women using hospital emergency SURGICAL services are battered
2. 6 million women are beaten by their husbands or boyfriends each year, 4, 000 are killed
3. Every 18 seconds domestic violence occurs.
4. 7.5 million children witness abuse of a parent, usually the mother, each year
5. Children in homes of domestic abuse are themselves abused and neglected at a rate 1500 percent higher than the national average.
6. Abusive fathers seek custody of their children twice the rate of separating fathers—which slaps both cheeks when it comes to men in relationship to their kids.
7. WHY DON’T they leave?
A. Homicide risk is highest for 2 months AFTER leaving
B. 70 percent of women are injured in domestic violence AFTER separation.

And, FACT, emergency room activity tends to up tick when the home team FOOTBALL team loses. The fact kids seek attention and compete with jobs, schedules, and televised sports is NOT lost on them.

I will repeat: the dangerous rite of pregnancy resulting in deaths for women is brought about by murder.

AND, poor widdow Spikey now requires Buffy figure out how to use him. He can’t grow a pair and determine his own path? I mean really. WE already know the world is full of demons and what not. Three people means two of them know a secret, so that isn’t a hint? And that reminds me this episode kept referring to LISTENING versus the blinding thing of “knowing what to see” that has been typical. Spike is the great listener, right? And Angel has the nose that knows?

Anyway, Spike might be influenced by Anya the vengeance demon for acting out more demony and pointing out that Buffy misses their tryst and ends up hurting this transformed abuser to whom he ACTUALLY APOLOGIZES. Buffy gets the word he won’t say he is sorry (words aren’t enough) and that he can ever make up for his actions (so he sets his path to save Buffy from herself). WHY was this guy so GREAT with Dru and so TERRIBLE thereafter, the glittering, selfish clarity moved into comedy relief between Spike, Anya and Xander (since Cordy left over to ATS)?

Buffy’s compassion is the real story as the real Buffy and she finds she actually doesn’t have a black heart. So the dichotomy of body and soul is entrenched in the sacrifice of the body for the soul in Spike’s sorrow SHOWN. Buffy’s, of course was barely a flinch and this will lead to Buffy’s redemption. Jesus. SHE needed redeeming?

And draping the sexy Spike to a cross, staked by his own balls. Jakers. Mother Mary is complete in vengeance is a useless art. Shut up, Xander.
Be well
chuckit25

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