Thoughts on Farscape and Buffy rewatches
May. 1st, 2007 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI love Farscape’’s ‘Out of their Minds.’ Such a funny, cooky episode (and of course, just as always, a cooky happy episode precedes major angst arcs. That’s just how it is.
It’s a very hard ep to meta, almost as hard to write about as it is fun to watch because what is there to analyze in a goofy, crazy ep where everyone switches bodies?
Of course, it says something that for the Moya crew, switching bodies with each other while on a ship about to be blasted to pieces counts as a good day. In a way it’s parallel to S1’s ‘Through the Looking Glass:’ near death and craziness and off-kilter stuff with a happy ending and we know the angst is about to hit, with the Gammak base and torture. (The same happens in S3. After the lovely, hilarious LoMo ep, it’s all angst from there. S4 doesn’t have that as the whole thing is pretty grim).
I think OOTM is a wonderful acting ep: the actors must be having a blast and they are pulling off a really difficult feat, acting like each other, and they do it brilliantly. Ben Browder gets Rygel’s intonations down pat, Claudia Black’s imitation of Crichton’s guy mannerisms and the thumb to the mouth is awesome. And Anthony Simcoe’s body posture is spot-on Chiana.
Another thing I love about this ep is that reactions of the characters are so spot on about what they would do in other people’s bodies but most shows would never go there: Rygel in John’s body needing to use the facilities, John in Aeryn’s body ‘trying out the equipment’ (I love that scene) etc etc.
And of course, this ep reconfirms that Moyans listen to John more than to anyone else. Zhaan refuses to follow the plan to change them all back, until she thinks it comes from John (in reality Rygel in John’s body). And the bit with Chiana in D’s body hitting on Rygel in Crichton’s is hilarious and awesome and only Farscape would do that (it shows that for Chi John is also one of primary ‘caretaker’ figures, but she knows that Rygel is the easiest prone to weaseling). Though Rygel does show unexpected depths when he talks about revenge being his goal. We forget often that he is a former Dominar, but he is.
Hmmm, what else. Zhaan once again proves compassionate but ruthless when necessary.
The ending is awesome. One of the funniest, most perfect ones. Chiana and D’Argo finally deciding to get it on (love D being bashful and Chi teasing and the dawning look of comprehension on John’s eyes) and the bit with John pretending to still be Rygel and then going ‘joke, Aeryn’ and she jumps on him and they wheel around the floor, laughing. So much giddy joy.
And of course, one of the best tags ever. Crichton saying ‘You gotta walk a mile in someone’s shoes’ (to understand them) and Aeryn replying wryly that she knew what he was doing when he was in her shoes (feeling her up) and his grinning ‘give me a break’ and then her sly little comment that it’s OK ‘you were in my shoes, I was in your pants…’ and his laughing and running after her and just…joy.
I always wondered what the status of their physical relationship before LATP was. I don’t think they did it after AHR in S1, but they do seem very comfy with each other, so maybe playing around? But then judging by her reaction to the kiss in LATP, maybe just physical horsing around without the sexy stuff. Hmmmm. Opinions?
I also have babbly meta about next ep in my Buffy rewatch. Season 2’s ‘When She Was Bad.’ Actually, I want to talk about WSWB now.
I love this ep. Ret me rephrase: I love this ep. If I was compiling a list of my top 10 Buffy eps, I don’t know if it would be on it, but it very well might, the only one of season openers to be considered. Like many other shows, Buffy is a lot better at season enders than season beginnings.
This ep is Season 6 in microcosm, only done right. We have Buffy confronting her fears of her mortality and of her violent lifestyle (as she was briefly killed by the Master) and pushing her loved ones away and trying to put on a brittle shell, to push away emotion and caring and people. This seems to be her strategy really: to fall apart only in private, to allow no one to see her weak: we get it in S1 when she finds out she is about to be killed, we get it in WSWB when she deals with her fears, we get it (very notably) in S3 when she does not tell anyone about her guilt and heartbreak over Angel’s death (even as the results are tangible: she ran away), we get it in S6 when it’s only the demon who makes her reveal she was in Heaven.
Eventually, her friends begin to distance themselves, to buy into this surface appearance of normalcy (as early as S3 actually, when their solution to her being upset over having to kill her bf is ‘hey, you should date again’) but here they are not there yet.
That is another thing that WSWB gets right and S6 did not: Buffy’s friends notice her acting oddly and they care. Willow and Xander and Giles realize something is wrong.
I love the little hints of Xander and Willow here, Xander’s strong caring for her (he lets loose on Buffy by the end, when Willow could be harmed). I was a happy Willow/Oz shipper (as it was built so gradually, so believably, one of the best things about S2) but that is what I like so much about Willow and Xander: he might not love her romantically (I think the brief fling in S3 is more last minute desperation, he realizes he might never get another chance and thinks ‘what if’) but he is loyal to his friends. To Willow, to Buffy. You mess with them and he will not forgive you. That is why Angel (with whom he’s established an uneasy tolerance by mid S2) never recovers from the Angelus stint in Xander’s eyes. He hurt Buffy. He hurt Willow. He hurt Giles. For Xander, a lot of things are black and white.
This episode is dark, especially for early Buffy, but deliciously, wonderfully dark, whether it’s the scene of Buffy and the backup glibly torturing the vamp for info or the fact that Buffy is not a nice person in this one. But this ep does something wonderfully that later Buffy (and certainly this season’s Veronica Mars) lost the ability to do: making us still care about the heroine, showing us that there is a frightened, wounded girl underneath the tough bitch shell.
And it’s like she tries to alienate everyone who might even get close to discover what is wrong, to make her confront her fears: Willow and Xander and Angel.
Her treatment of Angel in this ep is another thing that is a much better take of what will happen in S6 with Spike. She is acting out her self-loathing fear by lashing out at him, by treating him as less than a person, I suppose as a way to prove to herself she doesn’t feel, she doesn’t need him. (Of course, she doesn’t know it, and neither do we, but every comment of the sort is adding another block to the giant wall of guilt that will finally crush Angel into leaving at the end of S3, because of normalcy wishes for her and what not). David Boreanaz is not an Oscar-winning type actor, but he’s improved enormously since S1, and the crackling chemistry between him and SMG certainly doesn’t hurt. I never noticed before how different Angel is in S2 and S3. He is never a jolly life of the party, but he retreats utterly into himself, becomes completely withdrawn and ‘guilty’ in S3, as the result of the Angelus stint. In S2, he is not that way. He has healthy anger at being treated that way by Buffy because he has some self-worth.
But of course, he is madly in love, too, and the way he is hurt (because for him, Buffy is literally the only good thing in his life), the way he withdraws, is just awww. And of course we get the scene where she admits she missed him just a second too late, after he already left. Her mask is not perfect.
You have to excuse me for slanting this write-up so heavily into B/A discussion favor, but I am a B/A shipper so excuses must be made :D
And yet, he still has her back. She might say she doesn’t want it, she might insult him, and snarl at him, and treat him like dirt, but he will not allow it to interfere with protecting her when he thinks she needs it (Angel is, after all, unlike Buffy or Xander or Willow, an adult).
One of my favorite scenes in the ep is the scene where Buffy decides to kill three birds with one stone, to drive everyone away. She dances with Xander, and it’s a sexy, teasing dance, even though she knows Willow is watching, Angel is watching. The look on Willow’s face is heartbreaking, like a puppy being kicked: she knows Buffy doesn’t want Xander, she knows Buffy knows about Willow’s crush. And the look on Angel’s is also heartbreaking: he is jealous of course, but also Buffy is rubbing her viewing him (Angel) as a thing, her preference for a human boy (he can never be human after all) etc etc.
Even initially clueless Xander gets it and of course it hurts him too, to be used like that, a sort of thing for a girl who knows how he feels.
I do love how it’s Cordelia who proves to be a snarky, awesome voice of reason (the whole ep is full of dialogue so sharp it can cut stone, but her ‘spank your inner moppet’ bit is my favorite).
Ultimately, Buffy gets her head screwed on straight, defeats her fears figuratively and literally. And I love that Willow and Xander ‘take her back’ unhesitatingly, no questions asked.
But the scene that actually stays with me, that is my favorite, is Buffy crushing the bones of the Master with a hammer, and crushing and crushing, and finally dropping it, for a moment frighteningly fragile, and finding solace and shelter in Angel’s arms, and he holds her gently as she breaks down, also, no apologies or explanations needed. And the others just look on, and do not interfere because only he can provide what she needs at the moment. (It’s one of those B/A moments with other people just looking on that S2 has. The end of What’s Your Line part 2 comes to mind, where she is cradling him).
This is when I went from a strong B/A shipper, to a psycho obsessive, fic seeking, picture looking one.
Anyhoo, some awesome quotes:
Cordelia: "It was a nightmare, a total nightmare. I mean, they promised me they'd take me to St. Croix, and then they just decide to go to Tuscany. Art and buildings? I was totally beachless for a month and a half. No one has suffered like I have suffered. Of course, I think that that kind of adversity builds character. Well, then I thought, 'I already have a lot of character.' Is it possible to have too much character?"
Snyder: "One day, the campus is completely bare, empty. The next, there are
children everywhere...like locusts. Crawling around, mindlessly bent on feeding and mating. Destroying everything in sight in their relentless, pointless desire to exist."
Giles: "Well, I do enjoy these pep talks. Have you ever considered, given your
abhorrence of children, that school principal was not, perhaps, your true vocation?"
Willow: "What were you thinking about?"
Buffy: "Nothin'."
Xander: "Oh, come on, you can tell us. We're your bosom friends. The friends
of your bosom."
Xander: "Dreams are meaningful."
Willow: "Sheesh, tell me about it. The other night, I dreamt that Xander--uh, it
wasn't Xander. I-In fact, it wasn't me. It was a friend's dream, and she doesn't remember it."
Buffy: "So, is this a social call? It is kinda' late...or, well, it is for me, anyway. What is it for you, lunch hour?"
Angel: "It's not a social call."
Buffy: "Ah, so let me guess. That means grave danger. Gosh, it's good to be home."
Angel: "I'm sorry, I wish I had better news."
Buffy: "So, some of your cousins are in town for a family barbecue, and we're
all on the menu."
Willow: "Angel stopped by? Wow! Was there...well, I mean...was it having to do with kissing?"
Buffy: "Willow, grow up. Not everything is about kissing."
Xander: "Yeah. Some stuff's about groping. It wasn't about groping?"
Buffy: "Okay, hormones on parade here, it was pure shop talk. Remember vampires, pointy teeth, they walk by night. Am I ringing a bell?"
Cordelia: "So, did you guys fight any demons this summer?"
Willow: "Uh, yes, our own personal demons."
Xander: "Uh, such as--as--as lust and, um, thrift."
Buffy: "Cordelia, your mouth is open. Sound is coming from it. This is never
good."
Buffy: "Well, that works out great. You won't tell anyone that I'm a Slayer, and I
won't tell anyone you're a moron."
Buffy: "Look, Angel, I'm sorry if I was supposed to spend the summer mooning
over you, but I didn't. I moved on...to the living."
Cordelia: "Buffy? You're really campaigning for bitch of the year, aren't you?"
Buffy: "As defending champion, you nervous?"
Cordelia: "Whatever is causing the Joan Collins 'tude, deal with it. Embrace the
pain. Spank your inner moppet. Whatever. But get over it. 'Cause pretty soon you're not even gonna' have the loser friends you've got now."
Willow: "What would somebody want with Master bones?"
Xander: "A trophy? Um, a horrible conversation piece?"
Snyder: "There's some things I can just smell. It's like a sixth sense."
Giles: "Well, actually, that would be one of the five."
Snyder: "That Summers girl--I smell trouble. I smell expulsion, and just the
faintest aroma of jail."
Buffy: "You're a vampire. Oh, I'm sorry. Is that an offensive term? Should I say
'Undead American'?"
Xander: "So, are we Bronzing it tonight?"
Willow: "Wednesdays, kinda' beat."
Xander: "Well, we could grind our enemies into talcum powder with a sledgehammer, but gosh, we did that last night."
Xander: "Hey, I got a plan! How 'bout miniature golf?"
Willow: "There's no course here."
Xander: "Okay...miniature tennis."
And I promise to restart Supernatural. It’s just I am never home during the eps and dl is not something I do unless I have to.
It’s a very hard ep to meta, almost as hard to write about as it is fun to watch because what is there to analyze in a goofy, crazy ep where everyone switches bodies?
Of course, it says something that for the Moya crew, switching bodies with each other while on a ship about to be blasted to pieces counts as a good day. In a way it’s parallel to S1’s ‘Through the Looking Glass:’ near death and craziness and off-kilter stuff with a happy ending and we know the angst is about to hit, with the Gammak base and torture. (The same happens in S3. After the lovely, hilarious LoMo ep, it’s all angst from there. S4 doesn’t have that as the whole thing is pretty grim).
I think OOTM is a wonderful acting ep: the actors must be having a blast and they are pulling off a really difficult feat, acting like each other, and they do it brilliantly. Ben Browder gets Rygel’s intonations down pat, Claudia Black’s imitation of Crichton’s guy mannerisms and the thumb to the mouth is awesome. And Anthony Simcoe’s body posture is spot-on Chiana.
Another thing I love about this ep is that reactions of the characters are so spot on about what they would do in other people’s bodies but most shows would never go there: Rygel in John’s body needing to use the facilities, John in Aeryn’s body ‘trying out the equipment’ (I love that scene) etc etc.
And of course, this ep reconfirms that Moyans listen to John more than to anyone else. Zhaan refuses to follow the plan to change them all back, until she thinks it comes from John (in reality Rygel in John’s body). And the bit with Chiana in D’s body hitting on Rygel in Crichton’s is hilarious and awesome and only Farscape would do that (it shows that for Chi John is also one of primary ‘caretaker’ figures, but she knows that Rygel is the easiest prone to weaseling). Though Rygel does show unexpected depths when he talks about revenge being his goal. We forget often that he is a former Dominar, but he is.
Hmmm, what else. Zhaan once again proves compassionate but ruthless when necessary.
The ending is awesome. One of the funniest, most perfect ones. Chiana and D’Argo finally deciding to get it on (love D being bashful and Chi teasing and the dawning look of comprehension on John’s eyes) and the bit with John pretending to still be Rygel and then going ‘joke, Aeryn’ and she jumps on him and they wheel around the floor, laughing. So much giddy joy.
And of course, one of the best tags ever. Crichton saying ‘You gotta walk a mile in someone’s shoes’ (to understand them) and Aeryn replying wryly that she knew what he was doing when he was in her shoes (feeling her up) and his grinning ‘give me a break’ and then her sly little comment that it’s OK ‘you were in my shoes, I was in your pants…’ and his laughing and running after her and just…joy.
I always wondered what the status of their physical relationship before LATP was. I don’t think they did it after AHR in S1, but they do seem very comfy with each other, so maybe playing around? But then judging by her reaction to the kiss in LATP, maybe just physical horsing around without the sexy stuff. Hmmmm. Opinions?
I also have babbly meta about next ep in my Buffy rewatch. Season 2’s ‘When She Was Bad.’ Actually, I want to talk about WSWB now.
I love this ep. Ret me rephrase: I love this ep. If I was compiling a list of my top 10 Buffy eps, I don’t know if it would be on it, but it very well might, the only one of season openers to be considered. Like many other shows, Buffy is a lot better at season enders than season beginnings.
This ep is Season 6 in microcosm, only done right. We have Buffy confronting her fears of her mortality and of her violent lifestyle (as she was briefly killed by the Master) and pushing her loved ones away and trying to put on a brittle shell, to push away emotion and caring and people. This seems to be her strategy really: to fall apart only in private, to allow no one to see her weak: we get it in S1 when she finds out she is about to be killed, we get it in WSWB when she deals with her fears, we get it (very notably) in S3 when she does not tell anyone about her guilt and heartbreak over Angel’s death (even as the results are tangible: she ran away), we get it in S6 when it’s only the demon who makes her reveal she was in Heaven.
Eventually, her friends begin to distance themselves, to buy into this surface appearance of normalcy (as early as S3 actually, when their solution to her being upset over having to kill her bf is ‘hey, you should date again’) but here they are not there yet.
That is another thing that WSWB gets right and S6 did not: Buffy’s friends notice her acting oddly and they care. Willow and Xander and Giles realize something is wrong.
I love the little hints of Xander and Willow here, Xander’s strong caring for her (he lets loose on Buffy by the end, when Willow could be harmed). I was a happy Willow/Oz shipper (as it was built so gradually, so believably, one of the best things about S2) but that is what I like so much about Willow and Xander: he might not love her romantically (I think the brief fling in S3 is more last minute desperation, he realizes he might never get another chance and thinks ‘what if’) but he is loyal to his friends. To Willow, to Buffy. You mess with them and he will not forgive you. That is why Angel (with whom he’s established an uneasy tolerance by mid S2) never recovers from the Angelus stint in Xander’s eyes. He hurt Buffy. He hurt Willow. He hurt Giles. For Xander, a lot of things are black and white.
This episode is dark, especially for early Buffy, but deliciously, wonderfully dark, whether it’s the scene of Buffy and the backup glibly torturing the vamp for info or the fact that Buffy is not a nice person in this one. But this ep does something wonderfully that later Buffy (and certainly this season’s Veronica Mars) lost the ability to do: making us still care about the heroine, showing us that there is a frightened, wounded girl underneath the tough bitch shell.
And it’s like she tries to alienate everyone who might even get close to discover what is wrong, to make her confront her fears: Willow and Xander and Angel.
Her treatment of Angel in this ep is another thing that is a much better take of what will happen in S6 with Spike. She is acting out her self-loathing fear by lashing out at him, by treating him as less than a person, I suppose as a way to prove to herself she doesn’t feel, she doesn’t need him. (Of course, she doesn’t know it, and neither do we, but every comment of the sort is adding another block to the giant wall of guilt that will finally crush Angel into leaving at the end of S3, because of normalcy wishes for her and what not). David Boreanaz is not an Oscar-winning type actor, but he’s improved enormously since S1, and the crackling chemistry between him and SMG certainly doesn’t hurt. I never noticed before how different Angel is in S2 and S3. He is never a jolly life of the party, but he retreats utterly into himself, becomes completely withdrawn and ‘guilty’ in S3, as the result of the Angelus stint. In S2, he is not that way. He has healthy anger at being treated that way by Buffy because he has some self-worth.
But of course, he is madly in love, too, and the way he is hurt (because for him, Buffy is literally the only good thing in his life), the way he withdraws, is just awww. And of course we get the scene where she admits she missed him just a second too late, after he already left. Her mask is not perfect.
You have to excuse me for slanting this write-up so heavily into B/A discussion favor, but I am a B/A shipper so excuses must be made :D
And yet, he still has her back. She might say she doesn’t want it, she might insult him, and snarl at him, and treat him like dirt, but he will not allow it to interfere with protecting her when he thinks she needs it (Angel is, after all, unlike Buffy or Xander or Willow, an adult).
One of my favorite scenes in the ep is the scene where Buffy decides to kill three birds with one stone, to drive everyone away. She dances with Xander, and it’s a sexy, teasing dance, even though she knows Willow is watching, Angel is watching. The look on Willow’s face is heartbreaking, like a puppy being kicked: she knows Buffy doesn’t want Xander, she knows Buffy knows about Willow’s crush. And the look on Angel’s is also heartbreaking: he is jealous of course, but also Buffy is rubbing her viewing him (Angel) as a thing, her preference for a human boy (he can never be human after all) etc etc.
Even initially clueless Xander gets it and of course it hurts him too, to be used like that, a sort of thing for a girl who knows how he feels.
I do love how it’s Cordelia who proves to be a snarky, awesome voice of reason (the whole ep is full of dialogue so sharp it can cut stone, but her ‘spank your inner moppet’ bit is my favorite).
Ultimately, Buffy gets her head screwed on straight, defeats her fears figuratively and literally. And I love that Willow and Xander ‘take her back’ unhesitatingly, no questions asked.
But the scene that actually stays with me, that is my favorite, is Buffy crushing the bones of the Master with a hammer, and crushing and crushing, and finally dropping it, for a moment frighteningly fragile, and finding solace and shelter in Angel’s arms, and he holds her gently as she breaks down, also, no apologies or explanations needed. And the others just look on, and do not interfere because only he can provide what she needs at the moment. (It’s one of those B/A moments with other people just looking on that S2 has. The end of What’s Your Line part 2 comes to mind, where she is cradling him).
This is when I went from a strong B/A shipper, to a psycho obsessive, fic seeking, picture looking one.
Anyhoo, some awesome quotes:
Cordelia: "It was a nightmare, a total nightmare. I mean, they promised me they'd take me to St. Croix, and then they just decide to go to Tuscany. Art and buildings? I was totally beachless for a month and a half. No one has suffered like I have suffered. Of course, I think that that kind of adversity builds character. Well, then I thought, 'I already have a lot of character.' Is it possible to have too much character?"
Snyder: "One day, the campus is completely bare, empty. The next, there are
children everywhere...like locusts. Crawling around, mindlessly bent on feeding and mating. Destroying everything in sight in their relentless, pointless desire to exist."
Giles: "Well, I do enjoy these pep talks. Have you ever considered, given your
abhorrence of children, that school principal was not, perhaps, your true vocation?"
Willow: "What were you thinking about?"
Buffy: "Nothin'."
Xander: "Oh, come on, you can tell us. We're your bosom friends. The friends
of your bosom."
Xander: "Dreams are meaningful."
Willow: "Sheesh, tell me about it. The other night, I dreamt that Xander--uh, it
wasn't Xander. I-In fact, it wasn't me. It was a friend's dream, and she doesn't remember it."
Buffy: "So, is this a social call? It is kinda' late...or, well, it is for me, anyway. What is it for you, lunch hour?"
Angel: "It's not a social call."
Buffy: "Ah, so let me guess. That means grave danger. Gosh, it's good to be home."
Angel: "I'm sorry, I wish I had better news."
Buffy: "So, some of your cousins are in town for a family barbecue, and we're
all on the menu."
Willow: "Angel stopped by? Wow! Was there...well, I mean...was it having to do with kissing?"
Buffy: "Willow, grow up. Not everything is about kissing."
Xander: "Yeah. Some stuff's about groping. It wasn't about groping?"
Buffy: "Okay, hormones on parade here, it was pure shop talk. Remember vampires, pointy teeth, they walk by night. Am I ringing a bell?"
Cordelia: "So, did you guys fight any demons this summer?"
Willow: "Uh, yes, our own personal demons."
Xander: "Uh, such as--as--as lust and, um, thrift."
Buffy: "Cordelia, your mouth is open. Sound is coming from it. This is never
good."
Buffy: "Well, that works out great. You won't tell anyone that I'm a Slayer, and I
won't tell anyone you're a moron."
Buffy: "Look, Angel, I'm sorry if I was supposed to spend the summer mooning
over you, but I didn't. I moved on...to the living."
Cordelia: "Buffy? You're really campaigning for bitch of the year, aren't you?"
Buffy: "As defending champion, you nervous?"
Cordelia: "Whatever is causing the Joan Collins 'tude, deal with it. Embrace the
pain. Spank your inner moppet. Whatever. But get over it. 'Cause pretty soon you're not even gonna' have the loser friends you've got now."
Willow: "What would somebody want with Master bones?"
Xander: "A trophy? Um, a horrible conversation piece?"
Snyder: "There's some things I can just smell. It's like a sixth sense."
Giles: "Well, actually, that would be one of the five."
Snyder: "That Summers girl--I smell trouble. I smell expulsion, and just the
faintest aroma of jail."
Buffy: "You're a vampire. Oh, I'm sorry. Is that an offensive term? Should I say
'Undead American'?"
Xander: "So, are we Bronzing it tonight?"
Willow: "Wednesdays, kinda' beat."
Xander: "Well, we could grind our enemies into talcum powder with a sledgehammer, but gosh, we did that last night."
Xander: "Hey, I got a plan! How 'bout miniature golf?"
Willow: "There's no course here."
Xander: "Okay...miniature tennis."
And I promise to restart Supernatural. It’s just I am never home during the eps and dl is not something I do unless I have to.
