Restless: "The Cheese" and other theories...

[Fehmina]

I was watching Restless again the other day and i thought i'd bring up the cheese man again!

(Sorry if this has been done before...)

I know Joss says it doesn't really mean anything, but I noticed quite a few things concerning the cheese and i have my own little theories:

(Im gonna run with the whole "The cheese stands alone" lyric...)

1) The cheese is a metaphor for the slayers. The cheese guy holds up two seperate slices of cheese, when the first slayer and buffy are in the desert, and the first slayer has just said "we stand alone". Sort of signifying that they are alone and made of the same thing (if that makes sense). Furthermore, He also says "I've made a little space for the cheese slices" - representing the solitude of the slayer maybe?
2) The play they re-inact is called 'death of a salesman', and the guy with the cheese looks like a bit of a salesman to me. So perhaps he is trying to 'sell' buffy the idea that she should be alone as the slayer, and that she doesn't need her friends.
3) Again, when the cheese guy says "I wear the cheese. It does not wear me." He's sort of saying, i'm in charge of the slayer, she will pay attention to this dream and leave her friends. Also, trying to tell Giles that he is his own man, and he can leave buffy whenever he wants, hence the reason why he doesnt speak to buffy in that particular scene.
4) Buffy clearly has a penchant for cheese, as seen in previous episodes... perhaps the cheese represents a sort of addiction that Buffy has. One she can overcome. Buffy's slayer personality is inherent to her, its part of who she is... but she is still able to mix it with the rest of her life, and she won't let it control who she is.

However, at the end buffy tells the first slayer, "You're not the source of me", which i think is basically telling her, the source of her power comes from a completely different place... sure she has the slayer powers passed down to her. But even if she didn't have them, she'd still be Buffy, and she'd still have her friends.

I feel this whole episode signifies the strengthening of the scoobies, especially after a whole series of each one deviating from one-another, and it also gives us lots of clues for the upcoming seasons!

So if anyone has any other theories on this ep, i'd love to hear them!
Especially concerning Anya's role, the inter-mixing of the dreams, and other such lovely stuff we can get our teeth into!

♥

[Nostalgia]

There was actually an EXCELLENT essay written about it.. that made perfect sense.. almost making me believe it was true.

I will go scrounging for it on google.. I should have saved it.. that's how well it was written.

I don't remember too much, but how it applied to each character.. and that the cheese represents Buffy herself.

[Weredog]

Wow! Great work! I love how you've sliced (pun intended?) right through the cheese scenes and revealed some very interesting layers (pun intended?) of it.

However, at the end buffy tells the first slayer, "You're not the source of me", which i think is basically telling her, the source of her power comes from a completely different place... sure she has the slayer powers passed down to her. But even if she didn't have them, she'd still be Buffy, and she'd still have her friends.

See, now I always thought it was very strange that Buffy says this to the First Slayer. I'm not sure where Joss was going with this? Was she being sarcastic? Because from this episode, and further episodes, we learn that the Slayer's power derives from the preceding Slayer ie. Faith's power came from Kendra's; Kendra's from Buffy's dot, dot, dot. Ultimately, this means that the Slayer power originated from The First Slayer: the source. So why would Buffy tell her otherwise? That'd be like Buffy telling Joyce "I don't have your DNA" It can't be argued.

Like you said, Buffy believes that without her Slayer powers, she'd still be somebody. And, yes, I'm sure she would be. But that isn't the case. Buffy is a Slayer. Just like how she's an American. Just like how she's a Summers. All of these other "Buffy-attributes" do not negate the fact that The First Slayer is the source of her.

Any thoughts what Joss/Buffy meant by this?

[Fehmina]

hmmm thats actually got me thinking, Weredog. And don't worry about the puns, i find i'm always tripping over them when BtVS is concerned... heh.

Sure, Buffy tries to reconnect with her 'inner-slayer' in season 5, but i think that perhaps that was somehow connected to Dawn's presence. The monks messed with some major magicks to place Dawn in Buffy's life, and i think that it was part of the 'powers-that-be' ensuring Buffy did her job.
I know it's far fetched :-p

Also, perhaps Buffy was rebelling against 'the system' and saying that for her to function as a slayer she needs people she cares about around her. We already know each slayer is different, even if their power is derived from one sorce.

If we compare Buffy to Faith, it would seem that Faith is more connected to her power, due to her raw fighting style and her preference to be alone. She revelled in the fight earlier than Buffy.
But perhaps, this last line was written in to show the progression Buffy goes through. From that point in time, to the end of season 5. ie. going from a somewhat selfish (dare i say it) person, so someone who is prepared to give up a life she has fought so hard to maintain, for someone who in effect wasn't there 6 months previous. That was a very adult decision she made, considering what she experienced throughout the season (eg. losing her mother, and losing Riley).

I think i may have deviated from the point somewhat, sorry

Anyway, Buffy has always been somewhat of a rebel, and i think this was partly her rebelling, and also showing her unwillingness to let go of the 'baby-blanket' that the scoobies represent.

[Weredog]

No, no, no! You're definitely onto something!

I think you're right that season-4-Buffy had a rather selfish personality. Most times it wasn't even conscientiously, for instance how she deviated herself from her friends just to be with her new "boytoy". So I suppose this draws right into "Restless" as well, with her defying The First Slayer that she isn't the source of her power -- which unarguably is. And it seems that Tara attempts to convince Buffy otherwise: "You think you know, who you are, what's to come. You haven't even begun." Ergo, season 5.

Ooooooookay, this all falls into place now! See, I thought when Buffy said "you're not the source of me" Joss was taking a stance and stating something about the Slayer mythology, but instead it seems that he was just (re)presenting Buffy's ignorance about her power. That which she'll discover throughout season 5.

[redrevo]

So I suppose this draws right into "Restless" as well, with her defying The First Slayer that she isn't the source of her power -- which unarguably is.

Buffy says "You're not the source of me," not "You're not the source of my Slayer powers." She's drawing a very important distinction - Buffy is not just the Slayer, and this is something she struggles with throughout season 5 (Does being the Slayer mean being nothing else? Alone? A killer? A murderer? An "instrument"? - and at the end, the answer is a resounding no).

[Weredog]

Buffy says "You're not the source of me," not "You're not the source of my Slayer powers." She's drawing a very important distinction - Buffy is not just the Slayer, and this is something she struggles with throughout season 5 (Does being the Slayer mean being nothing else? Alone? A killer? A murderer? An "instrument"? - and at the end, the answer is a resounding no).

But that's what I believe she is. The Slayer power is Buffy. We never saw a non-Slayer Buffy (save in the flashback in "Becoming"). Like Riley said, the Slayer is a part of Buffy. She is not without it. It is not without her. They are homogeneous.

The First Slayer is the source of Buffy. The First Slayer is the source of Kendra as is the source of Faith.

I think that in "Restless" Buffy defies this because she believes that she is beyond than just some "instrument". But as she learns in season 5, her power is who she is. And it ultimately is what motivates her to sacrifice herself for her sister.

[redrevo]

I think that in "Restless" Buffy defies this because she believes that she is beyond than just some "instrument". But as she learns in season 5, her power is who she is. And it ultimately is what motivates her to sacrifice herself for her sister.

I think an "instrument" - a pure Slayer - would chuck Dawn over the tower to save the world. Buffy makes it pretty clear in Checkpoint that she's no one's instrument. She has friends, and a family, and ultimately she saves the world because she loves what's in it - not because of a "destiny."

But that's what I believe she is. The Slayer power is Buffy. We never saw a non-Slayer Buffy (save in the flashback in "Becoming"). Like Riley said, the Slayer is a part of Buffy. She is not without it. It is not without her. They are homogeneous.

Remember the "I want to have a normal life" Buffy back in season 1 who defied destiny because she had friends? Buffy has always been the one who subverts tradition. She doesn't listen to the Council, she keeps a seven- or eight-member inner circle (unlike any Slayer before her), and there is no way in hell she will give up Dawn even before she knows her blood will replace Dawn's. The slayer powers may be a part of Buffy - a large part - but they are overwhelmingly not the whole Buffy.

[stormwreath]

Like Riley said, the Slayer is a part of Buffy. She is not without it. It is not without her. They are homogeneous.

They're not homogenous, they're semi-skimmed. But enough of the dairy metaphors.

I agree with redrevo here: being the Slayer is part of what makes Buffy who she is, but it's only a small part. "I wear the cheese, it does not wear me." Kendra, by contrast, was only a Slayer; she had no other life outside that. Buffy draws her strength from her family and friends, and also her life outside slaying - as a normal modern girl with keen fashion sense. The First Slayer may be the source of Kendra, but she's only one of many sources of Buffy.

[Fehmina]

The First Slayer may be the source of Kendra, but she's only one of many sources of Buffy.

I think that says it perfectly... it is possibly one of the many underlying reasons why Buffy has lasted so long as a slayer. Because she has always been able to draw on strength from places other than her slayer source.
A perfect example perhaps, is when she loses her power in "Helpless". She is still able to defeat the rogue, insane vampire that was Zachary Kralik, and she did it by drawing on her strength in humanity and cunning.

In season 7, she comes to the somewhat bizarre conclusion of using the essense of the scythe (etc etc), which was a thinking-out-of-the-box sort of descision, that just demonstrates her willingness to let go of who she is. And also her complete disregard for things that have gone before. And also her ability as a leader.
This sort of makes you realise that eventhough she said she wouldn't sacrifice herself for Dawn if it were to happen again, she has grown as a person, as a woman. Afterall, "The mission is what matters" right?
But i think, buffy's mission was always completely seperate to anything the Watcher's Council had prophecised, or ruled.

Anyway, what does everyone else think? heh.

[buffyholic]

Great points here. I have to say that I never thought of the cheese man like a metaphor for the two slayers but that?s really interesting. And I agree that when she?s saying "you?re not the source of me", sh? is saying that she is not like her, the first slayer. She has friends and family, she is not a killer like the first slayer. That?s definitively what she struggles in season 5 and even 7
About Restless, there are things that I can?t explain but the episode is truly a masterpiece, exploring the Scoobies, their strenghts and weakenesses throughout dreams. I really like the meaning in Xander?s dream: he tries so hard to leave the basement, trying to build his life but he always ends up in the basement.

[Nostalgia]

Here's the one I wasn't looking for.. but a really good analysis.

http://www.whedon.info/article.php3?id_article=5318

Honestly.. I cannot figure out why Joss would make these lines interpretative if they meant nothing. He definitely lied to keep us guessing.

[jeeva]

the cheese thing, isnt it supposed to give you nightmares if you eat it before bed? (so theorised Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol")