Reacting to Reactions! - BtVS Season 4

[Stoney]

There's a fairly decent chance that Alley Box is actually going to ship it with Buffy and Riley and that her own comments section is going to poop all over her enthusiasm for it, because while Buffy fans make reliable Patrons they also frequently are just there to have their priors validated by the reactor.

Ah, I hope they don't spoil it for her. She was so enthused in Beer Bad, it was sweet. And the build in to Riley and Buffy against what happened with Parker is a nice steady drip feed. She should get to just see it and find its strengths/weaknesses for herself.

I've found it is really enjoyable when you watch someone reacting in the same way that you did and really interesting when you find they differ. I think some of the edge of what she liked about Buffy and Angel was affected by people giving her grief for being hypocritical when she was harsh about Ms French preying on the boys and she never really seemed to shake that off. It isn't even like the problems in the relationships don't get air time, why press someone to feel one way or the other.

[Cheese Slices]

Ah, I hope they don't spoil it for her. She was so enthused in Beer Bad, it was sweet. And the build in to Riley and Buffy against what happened with Parker is a nice steady drip feed. She should get to just see it and find its strengths/weaknesses for herself.

I've found it is really enjoyable when you watch someone reacting in the same way that you did and really interesting when you find they differ. I think some of the edge of what she liked about Buffy and Angel was affected by people giving her grief for being hypocritical when she was harsh about Ms French preying on the boys and she never really seemed to shake that off. It isn't even like the problems in the relationships don't get air time, why press someone to feel one way or the other.

This is such a strange thing to complain about, like how are the situations even comparable ?

[KingofCretins]

Ah, I hope they don't spoil it for her. She was so enthused in Beer Bad, it was sweet. And the build in to Riley and Buffy against what happened with Parker is a nice steady drip feed. She should get to just see it and find its strengths/weaknesses for herself.

I've found it is really enjoyable when you watch someone reacting in the same way that you did and really interesting when you find they differ. I think some of the edge of what she liked about Buffy and Angel was affected by people giving her grief for being hypocritical when she was harsh about Ms French preying on the boys and she never really seemed to shake that off. It isn't even like the problems in the relationships don't get air time, why press someone to feel one way or the other.

She has only just done "Something Blue" before flipping back to Angel and she seems pretty in favor of it. I hope they let her enjoy it if she's enjoying it.

I don't remember the people coming at her with that garbage take that it's hypocritical to like Buffy/Angel but not like Ms. French luring her students (which is played straight and entirely turns on the hot-for-teacher transgression). I'm glad I missed it lol.

[Stoney]

Oh it was ridiculous. It wasn't based on the vampire/teen element, they weren't spoiling he was a vampire, but criticising her starting to like Bangel when Angel was a twenty something approaching a teen, and then criticising Ms French seducing students. It really was a tenuous link. As I recall, she actually apologised for having double standards and said she didn't realise his supposed age because they often have older actors. But she mentioned the age issue and how unsure she was after that more than once. I really do think it affected her.

Of course, she might have gotten to feeling that way anyway, and the show certainly does raise the age/experience difference between Buffy and Angel, but giving her grief for Teacher's Pet was so over the top. As King says, I hope she's allowed to enjoy Buffy/Riley if she likes it and doesn't needlessly have it pulled down for her.

[Stoney]

failwhale34 has posted a reaction to Beer Bad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H5pyA870go
His second-guessing through this was entertaining. I felt his overall sense of it being fun, that it achieved the themes/purpose/plot points well enough but dragged and was cringe-worthy at points too is fair. Again, awareness of something building with Oz, which is definitely one of the more interesting elements. It struck me for the first time here, when you consider this development with hindsight, it also works alongside the topic of the pleasure principle in this ep.

[Stoney]

failwhale34 posted on Wild at Heart - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35j0cto4ato
I really enjoyed his reaction to this episode. It's stood out for him in the season so far and he gave plenty of understandable appreciation for AH in this ep.

[Stoney]

So failwhale's watched The Initiative now too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB3CTAAAl9I
His amusement at Riley's attempt to chat Buffy up was great and his surprise at the reveal of The Initiative was really entertaining. I honestly can't remember if I saw that coming or not. I think I'd suspected Riley was one of the soldiers but didn't expect Maggie's involvement.

I get the pov of thinking the Spike/Willow scene is 'f*cked up but also hilarious', as that's certainly how I saw it the first time I watched it too. But I've grown to find the violence and humour really jarring since. I'm glad he generally liked the episode and the progress/reveals it gave, with the humour laced in. He seemed very energised by it and appreciative of a bit more interest building for Riley. It'll be intriguing to see how he responds to him the rest of this season and next.