lirazel | "Xander, don't speak Latin in front of the books" Part I

This post was so long that I have to break it into two parts. Like a season finale!

In one sentence: Season 3 is fantastic and Season 4 isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Nathaniel, who I adore, always says that Season 3 is the greatest season of anything ever (but then, Faith is his favorite character from anything ever, so that explains a lot), and I’m not sure I agree with that. Veronica Mars Season 1 and Friday Night Lights Season 1 are both better, but I’m perfectly prepared to let Buffy Season 5 take first place (and as I’m about halfway through, it’s definitely entered the top five).

And everyone always complains about Season 4, saying it’s horrific and, except for “Hush,” you should just skip it. So I was sort of dreading it. But I liked it quite a lot. It’s still better than Season 1.

The thing I’m beginning to love about the show is the shades of grey. Take the Big Bads. Spike and Dru were messed up, but they genuinely loved each other. Same with Faith and the Mayor. Even if they aren’t human, they act human, and no one is entirely evil. I may want them to lose and for Buffy to win, but I still care about them because they care about each other.

I actually think this is the reason that people don’t like Season 4 very much. As Big Bads go, Adam and the Initiative were pretty lame. I understand that Joss wanted to explore the supernatural versus science and what happens when they collide. But other than Riley and his couple of buddies, I didn’t care about the Initiative and especially Adam. So that was disappointing.

But let’s talk about specific things for a while. Relationships, characters, episodes.

Buffy. Buffy’s Buffy. What can I say except that SMG is a great actress.

Willow. I love watching this girl grow up. I loved her with Oz. And I loved really realizing during Season 4 of how mature she was, how comfortable she was becoming in her own skin.

Xander. Poor Xander during Season 4. The poor boy is so emasculated in this season, living in the basement and feeling like he’s not making a contribution. I kind of resent Joss for putting him through that. But he’s still Xander and loveable.

Giles. Like Xander, I feel like he was really emasculated in Season 4. I felt incredibly bad for him. But I absolutely worship Giles. He’s so incredible. Also, him singing “Behind Blue Eyes” and “Freebird” with his acoustic guitar completely owns my soul.

Faith. Eliza Dushku is a fanastic actress, really. And her creation of Faith as a character is great. I really love the way Joss explores all the things Buffy will never be through Faith because Buffy will never let herself make those decisions. Those contrasts between the two of them were great. And I really ended up loving Faith when she started interacting with the Mayor—I adore their relationship. When she shows back up in Season 4, I was way too sympathetic towards her, mostly because of her dream sequences where Buffy shatters her world. But then she started acting horrible and I was glad when she left for good.

Angel. I like Angel. He and Buffy are so epic. And when he comes back from the dead and he and Buffy are trying to be just friends, and the audience and Spike are like, “Oh, that’s never going to happen.” This feels really a long time ago, so I’m a bit hazy about how I feel, but I know that I felt so bad for him when he decided that he had to leave, because you know that a huge part of him is always going to love Buffy. Always. Their last few scenes together were heartbreaking. And when he comes back and Riley thinks he’s evil—awesome! Maybe I’ll feel differently about this once I’m farther along into the series, but right now I think that Angel’s the one for Buffy. Not that they ever could have worked out, but she’s never going to love anyone as much and he’s always going to own most of her soul.

Riley. I really, really don’t hate this guy. I like him fine, and I think he was what Buffy needed at the moment. I don’t think they’re all wonderful and epic like her and Angel or all sexy like her and Spike promise to be, but he was a good guy and he really cared for her. And the poor boy stamped all over my heart at the end of “The Replacement” when he’s talking to Xander and telling him these beautiful things about Buffy but then finishes them up with “But she doesn’t love me.” GAH! Quit making me cry, Riley Finn! And even though the whole “letting the vamps suck his blood” thing was completely ridiculous, I just ached for him when he left without knowing that Buffy had (finally) realized how much he meant to her.

Cordelia. I love Cordelia. Love her. I have the world’s biggest girl crush on Charisma Carpenter for some reason that I can’t define. And I thought Cordy and Xander were totally and completely cute together. She gave up the most important thing to her—her popularity—for him, and he never appreciated her enough. So when Xander and Willow had their moments of insanity and broke Cordy and Oz’s hearts, I was absolutely furious. I wanted to kill both of them. Especially because they nearly threw Oz and Cordy away over something that was forgotten mere episodes later like it never happened. But I was so proud of her after she got her heart broken and she walked into the school with her head held high and feeling sexier than ever. Good for you, Cordelia Chase!

Oz. I would date Oz. Which is saying a lot, because he’s probably shorter than me and I don’t really go in for guys who are shorter than me. But he’s so quiet and sweet and he just completely appreciates Willow and I pretty much bawled my eyes out when she broke his heart and then I bawled them out a million times more when he left! Yes, he made a couple of stupid decisions with this Veruca-chick, but he deserved more. But the episode where he left broke my heart so incredibly much. It was so beautifully written and acted, that last scene between Willow and Oz. I miss him so much.

Spike. Okay, first off, there are times I can’t stand to look at this man he’s so hot—it’s like “Eyegasm!” And I didn’t find him that attractive at first. But now he’s, like, the sexiest guy since Dean Winchester (or before, you know). I love his accent his cheekbones and his development and the way he tries to be a part of the Scoobies but never really is and when he has that chip in his head, it’s awesome. I really can’t say enough about this guy.

Tara. I really, really like Tara as a character. She’s sweet and awkward and I kind of like that she stutters. But I’m still so completely sold on Oz that I’m not completely willing to give her a chance because I LOVE WILLOW AND OZ! But again, I really like her. And I’m loving watching her gain in confidence and grow up. You’re a cutie, Tara.

Anya. Anya’s great. The way she’s so literal and so new to language—I bet she was so incredibly fun to write. Her misunderstandings and her not getting what’s going on with her and Xander. I like her and Xander, too. Not as much as I liked him with Cordy—not yet—but I really do think she’s way too much fun. And the way she takes the winds out of people’s sails by saying exactly what she’s thinking—it feels like Cordy sometimes, except different because she is so literal. It’s not selfishness or shallowness, it’s just being so new to being human.

Wesley. Oh, gah, I wanted to strangle the guy. But the kiss between him and Cordy that was so awkward and bad was so worth him being on the show. And also the “younger version of Giles” thing was way too fun. And seeing Buffy make him lighten up, too, that was fun. I ended up liking him just fine.

There totally isn’t enough Xander/Willow bonding during Season 4. I mean, they’re best friends. And I love the two of them interacting (when they’re not cheating on Cordy and Oz, that is. Because that was evil). It felt very “Wallace-Season-Three” to me, and it made me sad.