Surprise/Innocence
I was dreading these two episodes because if there are any two episodes that have most of the key triggers to my Buffy Angst it's these: Buffy putting her life -her birthday party!-on hold to save the world (again)? Check. Buffy getting her ass kicked? Check. Buffy being emotionally manipulated? Check. Buffy in denial about Angel's true bastardry? Check. My god, the hallway scene in Innocence alone is enough to have me curled up in a ball like Buffy was. And I can't count how many times someone would say "That's not Angel" after Angel lost his soul that I would yell at my tv "YES IT IS!" because it's embarrassing.
But I did it, I watched them both and I managed to only shed a couple tears. So I'm going to focus on the positive. Two of my favorite character moments ever are in Innocence. The first is right after Buffy runs out of the library after learning that their night together stripped Angel of his soul and Giles is wondering what in the world could have possibly caused it to happen, and Willow just goes "Shut up Giles" in this quiet yet forceful way. It was such a great moment because at that point you felt that Willow not only really *knew* Buffy but also that even if Willow wouldn't stand up for herself any other time, she would stand up for her friend. Ah, yes, back in the days when I really liked Willow and the mouth-breathing was a cute character trait instead of an acting tic.
My second favorite moment was after Buffy dreamed that Miss Calendar knew about the curse, and Buffy, looking all sleep-deprived and pissed off, storms into her classroom, grabs her by the throat and yells "whadday you know". I LOVE that scene! I never had a problem with Smidge being so tiny and the fight scenes were choreographed well enough that I believed her as a fighter. And she could pull off badass pretty well too as proven in Prophecy Girl. But that scene was the first time I ever was *scared* of her. She wasn't quippy or cutesy or supergirl. In that scene I believed, really and truly, that Buffy would cut a bitch. And the fact that it was Miss Calendar who was the object of her wrath made it 150 times more satisfying because boy did she bug.
So, in short, I made it through my first real hurdle of the rewatch in getting through these eps. I'm going to take a break now I think and pick up with Passion this weekend.
But I did it, I watched them both and I managed to only shed a couple tears. So I'm going to focus on the positive. Two of my favorite character moments ever are in Innocence. The first is right after Buffy runs out of the library after learning that their night together stripped Angel of his soul and Giles is wondering what in the world could have possibly caused it to happen, and Willow just goes "Shut up Giles" in this quiet yet forceful way. It was such a great moment because at that point you felt that Willow not only really *knew* Buffy but also that even if Willow wouldn't stand up for herself any other time, she would stand up for her friend. Ah, yes, back in the days when I really liked Willow and the mouth-breathing was a cute character trait instead of an acting tic.
My second favorite moment was after Buffy dreamed that Miss Calendar knew about the curse, and Buffy, looking all sleep-deprived and pissed off, storms into her classroom, grabs her by the throat and yells "whadday you know". I LOVE that scene! I never had a problem with Smidge being so tiny and the fight scenes were choreographed well enough that I believed her as a fighter. And she could pull off badass pretty well too as proven in Prophecy Girl. But that scene was the first time I ever was *scared* of her. She wasn't quippy or cutesy or supergirl. In that scene I believed, really and truly, that Buffy would cut a bitch. And the fact that it was Miss Calendar who was the object of her wrath made it 150 times more satisfying because boy did she bug.
So, in short, I made it through my first real hurdle of the rewatch in getting through these eps. I'm going to take a break now I think and pick up with Passion this weekend.