My Thoughts on AtS "Shells"
Mar. 4th, 2004 10:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxMy mother always said that I was incredibly stubborn with a mind of my own. I've never denied it. Having read a lot of different reactions to "Shells," I have to say that I disagree with some very smart people who I like and respect. . . and I agree with some very smart people who I like and respect. In the end, my reaction is my own. Agree with me, disagree with me, it's all good. It's just the way I see it and the way I'm reacting to what's on screen. Take it for what little it's worth, and it doesn't bother me if you disagree entirely.
I liked the episode. A lot. The quibbles I have with the ep are small (and mostly have to do with Harmony) but they don't impact my overall view of the episode which I think was quite good.
1. I think SdK is more subtle than Joss. I'm not really comparing "Shells" with "Hole in the World." I enjoyed both episodes. Joss's ep had more going on (a LOT going on... possibly too much). I remember Petrie's comment in Season 5 about how "Weight of the World" was supposed to end at Glory's tower, but Joss struck claim to it for "The Gift," and I've read Fury's comments about wanting a Spike/Angel powershot in an earlier ep and Joss said know. . .and note that in "Hole in the World" we get Spike/Angel powershots. So, "Shells" may share a bit of ground with "Weight of the World" in that Joss took most of the really pivotal, kick-start moments. There was simply more happening, which makes for an exhilarating, fast paced episode. "Shells" was slower. However, I don't find this to be a flaw in "Shells." "Shells" had a slightly different purpose than "Hole in the World" and I think it served that purpose well. (Again, I personally liked the episode). And. . .well. . .as much as I liked "Hole in the World," Joss Whedon is a manipulative little bastard. Often it's like he stands on the sidelines teaching groupthink "You MUST think as I do. I will make this happen and you. will. love it. Joss-God has spoken..." SdK on the other hand tends to have the unenviable job of delivering very bad news to the audience. One of the ways he seems to deal with this is just allowing things to happen. In SdK eps I tend to be far less certain of what I am "supposed" to think whereas with Joss I almost always know what I'm supposed to think even if I disagree with it mightily. Honestly, Joss is a very, very plot driven guy (something that should ALWAYS be kept in mind when watching a Whedonverse show). Things happen because Joss-God demands that they do, they are not necessarily natural outgrowth of character or character development. SdK frequently humanizes this Jossian dictates by trying his best to wrestle them into making sense with the characters. Joss created the huge plot advances/destruction of "Hole in the World" and he shot them with an artistic eye and he, as he often does, gives good dialog. He made it all look very pretty and poetic (which I enjoy) but he was hogging the plot and forcing his agendas. SdK was taking what had happened in "Hole in the World" and trying to see where it left the characters. Instead of the Jossian "You. will. think. this. way." about what is happening, I'm again thinking that I am seeing the CHARACTERS and how they are dealing. With the exception of Harmony, all the other characters seemed to be in character. I believed them and what they were going through, and I didn't feel as if I was being directed to "think this way." SdK is a little less dictatorial than Joss. However, I think this is also why some people don't like the ep because...
2. Mutant Enemy makes and plays by their own rules. Because even though SdK isn't on a hobby horse saying "think this way," it has to be acknowledged that Mutant Enemy's agendas do not always meet our own and when trying to see what we WANT to see or trying to insist that ME have a different point of view or storytelling methods than they do, leads to unhappiness (I know. I'm unhappy with the show a lot of the time). When and wherever possible, I think for enjoyment's sake we have to try to play along with Mutant Enemy's rules... because god knows, they aren't worried about ours. As in Season 6, the story ME is telling may not be the story you wish they would tell -- which, hey, feel free to hate them for it. But I think it helps to try to understand what they are trying to say so you know specifically what you hate them for (Bad boyfriend crap! Joss, bite me!... Sorry. Residual Season 6 Trauma. See what fighting Mutant Enemy group-think gets you? They always win. It is, alas, their show. If you are against the ME agenda, you're only going to get heartache and bitterness. :) ) So with that in mind, on with the things I think ME is pondering in the story arc...
3. It's not about love. I've seen a couple of debates on a couple of boards about the whole "love" issue in regards to HitW and Shells. Some of it concerns people's positions on the Fres ship, others are about whther or not Joss views love as a force for good or ill or whether it's transformative. In regards to Joss's position about love, I don't disagree with the notion that he doesn't place much value in it or in its transformative nature. . .but, while I find that a very good debate in regards to Spuffy, I find that immaterial to a discussion of Shells or HitW which I don't think are about love -- transformative, transcendent, good, bad, neutral, or otherwise. I also don't find it to be about Fres as a relationship in any substantive form. Fres came out of no where and is going no where because the whole purpose of it was Jossian "gotcha." Find love -- die. Whoo-eee. We've never seen that before in the Whedonverse... (In honor of Anya that's sarcasm BTW. Unfortunately, such things are par for the course with Joss and as such I dismiss them.) So all the discussions I've seen of whether or not one cares about the death of the Fres ship, whether Joss thinks that love redeems, or whether Spike is still functioning as Love's Bitch when he, like some chivalric champion, does good to honor a lady seem immaterial to me. Nothing in the last two eps appears to ponder then meaning, purpose, or power of love. It's not about that. Nothing in the season has been about that. It's superfluous to the questions at hand (though of course we, the audience and the characters, still care...it's just not something to focus on much. It's not the focus of the story ME is trying to tell).
4. It's about loss. Lost the battle with Illyria. Lost Fred. Lost Cordy. Lost Connor. Lost Buffy. Lost "specialness." Lost an army. Lost a world. Lost destiny. Lost purpose. Lost the mission. Lost self respect. Poor Fred lost her battle to live. There's a whole lot of losing going on. "Probably tried to control it for a while and just gave up. Thought he had to fight it alone, ended up with nothing worth fighting for." AtS 5.03 Unleashed
I've long since given up the illusion that ME has any answers. I don't think Joss is god or even a demi-god. I don't think that there will be some awesome revelation when all is said and done. I don't believe that what we're seeing will lead logically to some wonderous climax that all makes sense. By and large, ME isn't that coherent. But they do have talking points. They do have little drums they like to bang on. They may not have answers but much like the three year discussions on Spike-redemption, they sometimes bring up really good questions. They have themes and points (and the question always remains whether it will lead anywhere or whether it will be as pointless as BtVS Season 7 Grrrllll Power). Still, ME has their favored soap boxes (don't you love my mixed metaphors?) and we're seeing one of them in AtS Season 5.
Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons. No friends. No hope. Take all that away and what's left? Buffy: Me. BtVS 2.22 Becoming II
Kate:"It's like nothing I do means anything." Angel: "It doesn't." Kate: "Doesn't what?" Angel: "Mean anything. In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win. {...} If there is no great glorious end to all this, if - nothing we do matters, - then all that matters is what we do. 'cause that's all there is. {...}I fought for so long. For redemption, for a reward - finally just to beat the other guy, but... I never got it. {...}I wanna help because... I don't think people should suffer, as they do. Because, if there is no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness - is the greatest thing in the world." AtS 2.16 "Epiphany"
Buffy: No, you've done enough. You could still— Spike:No, you've beat them back. It's for me to do the cleanup. [...]I mean it! I gotta do this. Buffy: I love you. Spike: No, you don't. But thanks for saying it. Now go. I wanna see how it ends. BtVS 7.22 "Chosen"
God, being a hero in the Whedonverse is a completely thankless and bleak job. It's consistently this way. In Season 5 BtVS they systematically stripped Buffy of everything. In Season 7 BtVS they tortured Spike and then he died. Joss likes loss. He likes to explore it. . .again and again and again, and, in his way, he finds nobility in it.
"The hero recognizes the need to continue fighting the "badness," but he also recognizes the futility of a fight in which there can be no victory, only survival. Film Noir and the Hard Boiled Detective Hero
This concept (conceit) has far more to do with what's on our screens and a more apropos thing to dissect than what "Shells" says about love... because I don't think it is saying anything about love. Wesley's "love" of Fred isn't functioning on a romantic level but in the form of a raison d'etre. (It is even likened to that in "Shells"). And when looking at the ep in that way, the whole Fres ship (and whether it has chemistry) isn't important. All that matters is that it was something Wes longed for, fought for, and ultimately lost. Everyone is losing -- losing what they wanted, what they wished, what they fought for, and the thing being pondered here is why do you keep fighting? Angel: Aren't you listening?
5. It's About Guilt "The hero cannot escape from the evil of the world, nor can he win a complete victory over it. He is able to defeat the evil only by sacrificing his own life, perhaps because he is himself implicated in the all-inclusive guilt of his world." Film Noir and the Hard Boiled Detective Hero
Joss has said, more than once that one of the things that AtS is about this year is how you reclaim a life once it has been badly misspent. (I rather fear that in this Jossian, bleak world the answer may be that you can't). But that is something we're seeing this season. . .
And this is why Fred had to die. She didn't fit the season. Angel fits. (Hey, he was Angelus. There's a lot of bad past to try to overcome.) Spike fits (Former Big Bad Seeks Redemption). Wes has "Dark Wes" (even if he doesn't remember it which is probably why Fury noted that they had to do something to bring back dark Wes). They have also done a very good job of filling Gunn with a sense of guilt and remorse. (JAR was excellent in "Shells"). Now, Gunn has a truck load of remorse to top his sense of loss. But Fred didn't fit. She was too much the innocent to fit this theme of monsters. She had to die. . . and be transformed.
6. It's About Fable Too often we overlook the fact that Joss prefers fable and plot to character driven evolution. An important theme of the season is corruption, but I've seen arguments that the FG aren't being corrupted. Nothing that's happened to them couldn't have happened if they weren't at W&H. Well... yeah... so? Have we forgotten what was brought home to us so painfully during BtVS Season 6? In the Whedonverse it's not about what you do or who you are, it's about WHAT you are and what you represent. Realistically, could you show corruption by choices? Yeah. But this is Joss. What's the metaphor, here? Don't argue that Fred wasn't corrupted, because she was! Literally. That's the point. No, it's not character driven. It's not realism. It's fable. Fred the character? Not so much with the corruption. Fred's death? Dude, it was ALL about corruption. (Remember not what you do -- what you ARE). Unfortunately, Fred as a character didn't fit the theme so she got sacrificed to the metaphor (much like poor Soulless Spike did in Season 6 when he wasn't a bad boyfriend...except by virtue of the fact that he was a vampire. WHAT he was far outranked anything he did. It wasn't about his actions or his love, it was about what he represented). Fred: God, I've sinned. I've sinned and I'm being punished. I don't know what's wrong. {...} Why did we go there? Why did we think we could beat it? It's evil." AtS "Hole in the World Now, I'm not saying in any way that Fred deserved to die. She didn't. And she did NOT sin enough to be punished in this way. But, again, that's sort of beside the point. It's more what she represents. She was (relatively) innocent (like Dana). So what is Fred symbolically. A good person. . .whose skin hardened as she was corrupted (the Illyria spore/dust) which hollowed her out (becoming more and more empty... destroying her soul) as she became less and less who she was and more and more. . .a monster. The whole illness/death was symbollic corruption. Spike:The tingling in my forearms tells me she’s too far gone to help. She’s one of us now. She’s a monster.” Angel: “She’s an innocent victim.” Spike: “So were we, once upon a time.”AtS Damage
And voila. Fred, who had not fit the theme of the season (Joss: How do you redeem a life that has been misspent?) becomes Illyria who DOES fit.
Illyria joins the land of the lost (e.g. our other lost heroes each of who has lost their conviction, purpose, raison d'etre. Spike lost Buffy. Angel lost Connor and Cordy. Wesley has now lost Fred. Gunn was searching for a purpose other than being "the muscle" and chose poorly becoming "the brain" and with that choice comes great regrets. Can he value that brain upgrade now like he did before? Highly doubtful. Er... no way. So he's lost his "purpose" as well. And Illyria? Her army is gone. Her world is gone. How does she find a way to live in this world of men? Illyria fits the theme where Fred didn't. It's all about WHAT she is.
7. It's about Why We Fight... When "Why We Fight" aired I had a long, rambling post about it and where it fit in the season (I think part of the reason I liked "Shells" so much was the ep confirmed my guesses of where the ep would go). Spike: What was he looking for? Angel: A reason
What do you fight for when you've lost what you were fighting for? This is the question that Spike and Angel have been struggling with the entire season. Spike wonders if his sacrifice meant anything. He no longer has his goal of "for Buffy" it's gone and he's been adrift searching for a new raison d'etre. Angel lost Connor. He lost Cordy. And he fears that he is empty. Now welcome Gunn, who didn't want to be the muscle, took the brain upgrade and has learned to regret it. . .what's his raison d'etre now? There's Wesley who lost Fred and it's made very clear in the ep that they are using Fred as his "reason." They flat out stated it (and if I had a tape of it I would use the quote. But there was definitely a line about how she had been his world). And there's Illyria who has lost her world and now wonders how she can survive in this one.
The thing I've seen people say is that the Wes/Illyria scene near the end "dragged a little" for many people... the thing is. Guys, that little conversation is the core of the episode. What's the reason to go on, to fight? (Not that I think there IS much hope in the Whedonverse. But it is the central question of the season). How do our heroes find... conviction (which was the issue raised in Ep 1 of this year... and will almost certainly bookend the year in Ep 22).
SdK did a bang up job in "Shells" as far as I'm concerned. The episode ponders all these questions, brings out all these themes (themes which have been set up throughout the season.)
JAR was excellent in the ep. Gunn did something for which he feels terrible loss and guilt. And Gunn did these things (even very selfish things) and hasn't lost our sympathy. Though Gunn is haunted, I think he's going to find his way in the end. He won't go out unredeemed.
Wesley... oh, Wesley worries me. He has lost and is losing his way. Where the hell is his moral compass? I'm not entirely sure. I don't find his love for Fred to be a laudable thing really. Not in the way it's been presented. It's not that it's a terrible thing. It's just. . .there's something off in this. And, if Wes loves Fred's "shell" I'm not sure he really loved her all that much. Still, shooting Knox, stabbing Gunn (even if he was correct in where Gunn's true sin resided --and hey, Xander! How the hell did you get away with doing the same thing about Sweet?!) these are slippery slope things. And, what is more scary is that Wes doesn't seem to have any sense of responsibility, regret, guilt, etc in this. Not that Wes is guilty of any failure to protect Fred. It just seems somehow... well... Wesley seems cold to me. His is not a passionate love, which I think is why I find it disturbing. Passion (even the overwhelming variety) I can thrill to (hey, it's why I liked Wilah). But this thing with Fred... well, there were moments when I though Wes was going to turn that gun to his own temple, and other moments where I thought he was about to go on a shooting spree. Ultimately, I don't trust the character of Wesley any longer. I don't trust his judgement . . .or his sanity. I'm not sure whether I am supposed to feel this distrustful of the character, but I do. While, I'm left feeling that Gunn has already hit his low point, I'm left feeling that Wesley's is still to come.
Angel, as always, is conflicted. He does feel culpability (and if Wes is bothered about Gunn's secret... well, Angel has secrets regarding what happened last spring and there's still that shoe left to drop). I don't find Angel to be on the slippery slope. I don't feel him to be in moral danger. But I do think he's heading toward emotional exhaustion, and he's still struggling to find a reason.
Spike... God, I love Spike. He always seems to be swimming against the tide. Spike has lost his "reason" as surely as Angel, but he hasn't floundered in quite the same ways (not that he hasn't floundered) and yet... in "Shells" Spike seems to find himself. He has become centered. Ah... that's my beloved Spike. Thank you, SdK, for understanding my boy. Two things happened in regards to Spike and both of those were in character and meaningful in the context of the themes of the season. Spike has his place, his purpose, and his mission here. The fight is dangerous, perhaps futile, maybe fatal. Things are going to get ugly. Spike: And that's where I live. In a godawful, hopeless fight... there is no one better to be at your back than Spike. He's proven it countless times. Glory, the First, goddamned Judas betraying Scoobies. When things are at their worst, Spike is at his best. This is where Spike excells. It's his niche. When the chips are down... Spike kicks ass. My hero. And, Spike's heart is also back. Every step he's taken he has found through his heart. He found his soul... via his heart. For Spike, it makes sense that he finds his mission via his heart as well. He stays because, damn it all, he cares. He cared for Fred. And as he puzzles out what he cared for he hits on "I want this." Spike is still growing and becoming. I love Spike.
As far as any return of the Buffster goes... I don't know how in the hell Golden Girl would fit into this season. She doesn't fit and doesn't work and doesn't belong (not that that has ever stopped ME before.) Logically, if she happened to show up, it should resemble Sanctuary... because precious, chosen Golden Girl doesn't "get it." She never did understand Angel and his need for redemption. I don't think she would have any hope in hell of understanding what's going on in LA. She wouldn't understand Angel... or Spike. By any logic, she should be shown the door again just as she was in Sanctuary... probably following some "all about me" speech (just like Sanctuary). Unfortunately, Spike would still be screwed over because she would be begging Angel to be all about her and Spike would be an afterthought. But I just don't see the Buffster being there at the end. If she shows up, she'll probably irritate the hell out of us because whenever Buffy has appeared on AtS she's been a shallow, self involved twit of a girl. She will be again if she appears. Here's hoping Joss et al spares us (not that I trust him).
And... before I go into bitter about Buffy mode, I'll end it.
But... I really liked Shells. :)
I liked the episode. A lot. The quibbles I have with the ep are small (and mostly have to do with Harmony) but they don't impact my overall view of the episode which I think was quite good.
1. I think SdK is more subtle than Joss. I'm not really comparing "Shells" with "Hole in the World." I enjoyed both episodes. Joss's ep had more going on (a LOT going on... possibly too much). I remember Petrie's comment in Season 5 about how "Weight of the World" was supposed to end at Glory's tower, but Joss struck claim to it for "The Gift," and I've read Fury's comments about wanting a Spike/Angel powershot in an earlier ep and Joss said know. . .and note that in "Hole in the World" we get Spike/Angel powershots. So, "Shells" may share a bit of ground with "Weight of the World" in that Joss took most of the really pivotal, kick-start moments. There was simply more happening, which makes for an exhilarating, fast paced episode. "Shells" was slower. However, I don't find this to be a flaw in "Shells." "Shells" had a slightly different purpose than "Hole in the World" and I think it served that purpose well. (Again, I personally liked the episode). And. . .well. . .as much as I liked "Hole in the World," Joss Whedon is a manipulative little bastard. Often it's like he stands on the sidelines teaching groupthink "You MUST think as I do. I will make this happen and you. will. love it. Joss-God has spoken..." SdK on the other hand tends to have the unenviable job of delivering very bad news to the audience. One of the ways he seems to deal with this is just allowing things to happen. In SdK eps I tend to be far less certain of what I am "supposed" to think whereas with Joss I almost always know what I'm supposed to think even if I disagree with it mightily. Honestly, Joss is a very, very plot driven guy (something that should ALWAYS be kept in mind when watching a Whedonverse show). Things happen because Joss-God demands that they do, they are not necessarily natural outgrowth of character or character development. SdK frequently humanizes this Jossian dictates by trying his best to wrestle them into making sense with the characters. Joss created the huge plot advances/destruction of "Hole in the World" and he shot them with an artistic eye and he, as he often does, gives good dialog. He made it all look very pretty and poetic (which I enjoy) but he was hogging the plot and forcing his agendas. SdK was taking what had happened in "Hole in the World" and trying to see where it left the characters. Instead of the Jossian "You. will. think. this. way." about what is happening, I'm again thinking that I am seeing the CHARACTERS and how they are dealing. With the exception of Harmony, all the other characters seemed to be in character. I believed them and what they were going through, and I didn't feel as if I was being directed to "think this way." SdK is a little less dictatorial than Joss. However, I think this is also why some people don't like the ep because...
2. Mutant Enemy makes and plays by their own rules. Because even though SdK isn't on a hobby horse saying "think this way," it has to be acknowledged that Mutant Enemy's agendas do not always meet our own and when trying to see what we WANT to see or trying to insist that ME have a different point of view or storytelling methods than they do, leads to unhappiness (I know. I'm unhappy with the show a lot of the time). When and wherever possible, I think for enjoyment's sake we have to try to play along with Mutant Enemy's rules... because god knows, they aren't worried about ours. As in Season 6, the story ME is telling may not be the story you wish they would tell -- which, hey, feel free to hate them for it. But I think it helps to try to understand what they are trying to say so you know specifically what you hate them for (Bad boyfriend crap! Joss, bite me!... Sorry. Residual Season 6 Trauma. See what fighting Mutant Enemy group-think gets you? They always win. It is, alas, their show. If you are against the ME agenda, you're only going to get heartache and bitterness. :) ) So with that in mind, on with the things I think ME is pondering in the story arc...
3. It's not about love. I've seen a couple of debates on a couple of boards about the whole "love" issue in regards to HitW and Shells. Some of it concerns people's positions on the Fres ship, others are about whther or not Joss views love as a force for good or ill or whether it's transformative. In regards to Joss's position about love, I don't disagree with the notion that he doesn't place much value in it or in its transformative nature. . .but, while I find that a very good debate in regards to Spuffy, I find that immaterial to a discussion of Shells or HitW which I don't think are about love -- transformative, transcendent, good, bad, neutral, or otherwise. I also don't find it to be about Fres as a relationship in any substantive form. Fres came out of no where and is going no where because the whole purpose of it was Jossian "gotcha." Find love -- die. Whoo-eee. We've never seen that before in the Whedonverse... (In honor of Anya that's sarcasm BTW. Unfortunately, such things are par for the course with Joss and as such I dismiss them.) So all the discussions I've seen of whether or not one cares about the death of the Fres ship, whether Joss thinks that love redeems, or whether Spike is still functioning as Love's Bitch when he, like some chivalric champion, does good to honor a lady seem immaterial to me. Nothing in the last two eps appears to ponder then meaning, purpose, or power of love. It's not about that. Nothing in the season has been about that. It's superfluous to the questions at hand (though of course we, the audience and the characters, still care...it's just not something to focus on much. It's not the focus of the story ME is trying to tell).
4. It's about loss. Lost the battle with Illyria. Lost Fred. Lost Cordy. Lost Connor. Lost Buffy. Lost "specialness." Lost an army. Lost a world. Lost destiny. Lost purpose. Lost the mission. Lost self respect. Poor Fred lost her battle to live. There's a whole lot of losing going on. "Probably tried to control it for a while and just gave up. Thought he had to fight it alone, ended up with nothing worth fighting for." AtS 5.03 Unleashed
I've long since given up the illusion that ME has any answers. I don't think Joss is god or even a demi-god. I don't think that there will be some awesome revelation when all is said and done. I don't believe that what we're seeing will lead logically to some wonderous climax that all makes sense. By and large, ME isn't that coherent. But they do have talking points. They do have little drums they like to bang on. They may not have answers but much like the three year discussions on Spike-redemption, they sometimes bring up really good questions. They have themes and points (and the question always remains whether it will lead anywhere or whether it will be as pointless as BtVS Season 7 Grrrllll Power). Still, ME has their favored soap boxes (don't you love my mixed metaphors?) and we're seeing one of them in AtS Season 5.
Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons. No friends. No hope. Take all that away and what's left? Buffy: Me. BtVS 2.22 Becoming II
Kate:"It's like nothing I do means anything." Angel: "It doesn't." Kate: "Doesn't what?" Angel: "Mean anything. In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win. {...} If there is no great glorious end to all this, if - nothing we do matters, - then all that matters is what we do. 'cause that's all there is. {...}I fought for so long. For redemption, for a reward - finally just to beat the other guy, but... I never got it. {...}I wanna help because... I don't think people should suffer, as they do. Because, if there is no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness - is the greatest thing in the world." AtS 2.16 "Epiphany"
Buffy: No, you've done enough. You could still— Spike:No, you've beat them back. It's for me to do the cleanup. [...]I mean it! I gotta do this. Buffy: I love you. Spike: No, you don't. But thanks for saying it. Now go. I wanna see how it ends. BtVS 7.22 "Chosen"
God, being a hero in the Whedonverse is a completely thankless and bleak job. It's consistently this way. In Season 5 BtVS they systematically stripped Buffy of everything. In Season 7 BtVS they tortured Spike and then he died. Joss likes loss. He likes to explore it. . .again and again and again, and, in his way, he finds nobility in it.
"The hero recognizes the need to continue fighting the "badness," but he also recognizes the futility of a fight in which there can be no victory, only survival. Film Noir and the Hard Boiled Detective Hero
This concept (conceit) has far more to do with what's on our screens and a more apropos thing to dissect than what "Shells" says about love... because I don't think it is saying anything about love. Wesley's "love" of Fred isn't functioning on a romantic level but in the form of a raison d'etre. (It is even likened to that in "Shells"). And when looking at the ep in that way, the whole Fres ship (and whether it has chemistry) isn't important. All that matters is that it was something Wes longed for, fought for, and ultimately lost. Everyone is losing -- losing what they wanted, what they wished, what they fought for, and the thing being pondered here is why do you keep fighting? Angel: Aren't you listening?
5. It's About Guilt "The hero cannot escape from the evil of the world, nor can he win a complete victory over it. He is able to defeat the evil only by sacrificing his own life, perhaps because he is himself implicated in the all-inclusive guilt of his world." Film Noir and the Hard Boiled Detective Hero
Joss has said, more than once that one of the things that AtS is about this year is how you reclaim a life once it has been badly misspent. (I rather fear that in this Jossian, bleak world the answer may be that you can't). But that is something we're seeing this season. . .
And this is why Fred had to die. She didn't fit the season. Angel fits. (Hey, he was Angelus. There's a lot of bad past to try to overcome.) Spike fits (Former Big Bad Seeks Redemption). Wes has "Dark Wes" (even if he doesn't remember it which is probably why Fury noted that they had to do something to bring back dark Wes). They have also done a very good job of filling Gunn with a sense of guilt and remorse. (JAR was excellent in "Shells"). Now, Gunn has a truck load of remorse to top his sense of loss. But Fred didn't fit. She was too much the innocent to fit this theme of monsters. She had to die. . . and be transformed.
6. It's About Fable Too often we overlook the fact that Joss prefers fable and plot to character driven evolution. An important theme of the season is corruption, but I've seen arguments that the FG aren't being corrupted. Nothing that's happened to them couldn't have happened if they weren't at W&H. Well... yeah... so? Have we forgotten what was brought home to us so painfully during BtVS Season 6? In the Whedonverse it's not about what you do or who you are, it's about WHAT you are and what you represent. Realistically, could you show corruption by choices? Yeah. But this is Joss. What's the metaphor, here? Don't argue that Fred wasn't corrupted, because she was! Literally. That's the point. No, it's not character driven. It's not realism. It's fable. Fred the character? Not so much with the corruption. Fred's death? Dude, it was ALL about corruption. (Remember not what you do -- what you ARE). Unfortunately, Fred as a character didn't fit the theme so she got sacrificed to the metaphor (much like poor Soulless Spike did in Season 6 when he wasn't a bad boyfriend...except by virtue of the fact that he was a vampire. WHAT he was far outranked anything he did. It wasn't about his actions or his love, it was about what he represented). Fred: God, I've sinned. I've sinned and I'm being punished. I don't know what's wrong. {...} Why did we go there? Why did we think we could beat it? It's evil." AtS "Hole in the World Now, I'm not saying in any way that Fred deserved to die. She didn't. And she did NOT sin enough to be punished in this way. But, again, that's sort of beside the point. It's more what she represents. She was (relatively) innocent (like Dana). So what is Fred symbolically. A good person. . .whose skin hardened as she was corrupted (the Illyria spore/dust) which hollowed her out (becoming more and more empty... destroying her soul) as she became less and less who she was and more and more. . .a monster. The whole illness/death was symbollic corruption. Spike:The tingling in my forearms tells me she’s too far gone to help. She’s one of us now. She’s a monster.” Angel: “She’s an innocent victim.” Spike: “So were we, once upon a time.”AtS Damage
And voila. Fred, who had not fit the theme of the season (Joss: How do you redeem a life that has been misspent?) becomes Illyria who DOES fit.
Illyria joins the land of the lost (e.g. our other lost heroes each of who has lost their conviction, purpose, raison d'etre. Spike lost Buffy. Angel lost Connor and Cordy. Wesley has now lost Fred. Gunn was searching for a purpose other than being "the muscle" and chose poorly becoming "the brain" and with that choice comes great regrets. Can he value that brain upgrade now like he did before? Highly doubtful. Er... no way. So he's lost his "purpose" as well. And Illyria? Her army is gone. Her world is gone. How does she find a way to live in this world of men? Illyria fits the theme where Fred didn't. It's all about WHAT she is.
7. It's about Why We Fight... When "Why We Fight" aired I had a long, rambling post about it and where it fit in the season (I think part of the reason I liked "Shells" so much was the ep confirmed my guesses of where the ep would go). Spike: What was he looking for? Angel: A reason
What do you fight for when you've lost what you were fighting for? This is the question that Spike and Angel have been struggling with the entire season. Spike wonders if his sacrifice meant anything. He no longer has his goal of "for Buffy" it's gone and he's been adrift searching for a new raison d'etre. Angel lost Connor. He lost Cordy. And he fears that he is empty. Now welcome Gunn, who didn't want to be the muscle, took the brain upgrade and has learned to regret it. . .what's his raison d'etre now? There's Wesley who lost Fred and it's made very clear in the ep that they are using Fred as his "reason." They flat out stated it (and if I had a tape of it I would use the quote. But there was definitely a line about how she had been his world). And there's Illyria who has lost her world and now wonders how she can survive in this one.
The thing I've seen people say is that the Wes/Illyria scene near the end "dragged a little" for many people... the thing is. Guys, that little conversation is the core of the episode. What's the reason to go on, to fight? (Not that I think there IS much hope in the Whedonverse. But it is the central question of the season). How do our heroes find... conviction (which was the issue raised in Ep 1 of this year... and will almost certainly bookend the year in Ep 22).
SdK did a bang up job in "Shells" as far as I'm concerned. The episode ponders all these questions, brings out all these themes (themes which have been set up throughout the season.)
JAR was excellent in the ep. Gunn did something for which he feels terrible loss and guilt. And Gunn did these things (even very selfish things) and hasn't lost our sympathy. Though Gunn is haunted, I think he's going to find his way in the end. He won't go out unredeemed.
Wesley... oh, Wesley worries me. He has lost and is losing his way. Where the hell is his moral compass? I'm not entirely sure. I don't find his love for Fred to be a laudable thing really. Not in the way it's been presented. It's not that it's a terrible thing. It's just. . .there's something off in this. And, if Wes loves Fred's "shell" I'm not sure he really loved her all that much. Still, shooting Knox, stabbing Gunn (even if he was correct in where Gunn's true sin resided --and hey, Xander! How the hell did you get away with doing the same thing about Sweet?!) these are slippery slope things. And, what is more scary is that Wes doesn't seem to have any sense of responsibility, regret, guilt, etc in this. Not that Wes is guilty of any failure to protect Fred. It just seems somehow... well... Wesley seems cold to me. His is not a passionate love, which I think is why I find it disturbing. Passion (even the overwhelming variety) I can thrill to (hey, it's why I liked Wilah). But this thing with Fred... well, there were moments when I though Wes was going to turn that gun to his own temple, and other moments where I thought he was about to go on a shooting spree. Ultimately, I don't trust the character of Wesley any longer. I don't trust his judgement . . .or his sanity. I'm not sure whether I am supposed to feel this distrustful of the character, but I do. While, I'm left feeling that Gunn has already hit his low point, I'm left feeling that Wesley's is still to come.
Angel, as always, is conflicted. He does feel culpability (and if Wes is bothered about Gunn's secret... well, Angel has secrets regarding what happened last spring and there's still that shoe left to drop). I don't find Angel to be on the slippery slope. I don't feel him to be in moral danger. But I do think he's heading toward emotional exhaustion, and he's still struggling to find a reason.
Spike... God, I love Spike. He always seems to be swimming against the tide. Spike has lost his "reason" as surely as Angel, but he hasn't floundered in quite the same ways (not that he hasn't floundered) and yet... in "Shells" Spike seems to find himself. He has become centered. Ah... that's my beloved Spike. Thank you, SdK, for understanding my boy. Two things happened in regards to Spike and both of those were in character and meaningful in the context of the themes of the season. Spike has his place, his purpose, and his mission here. The fight is dangerous, perhaps futile, maybe fatal. Things are going to get ugly. Spike: And that's where I live. In a godawful, hopeless fight... there is no one better to be at your back than Spike. He's proven it countless times. Glory, the First, goddamned Judas betraying Scoobies. When things are at their worst, Spike is at his best. This is where Spike excells. It's his niche. When the chips are down... Spike kicks ass. My hero. And, Spike's heart is also back. Every step he's taken he has found through his heart. He found his soul... via his heart. For Spike, it makes sense that he finds his mission via his heart as well. He stays because, damn it all, he cares. He cared for Fred. And as he puzzles out what he cared for he hits on "I want this." Spike is still growing and becoming. I love Spike.
As far as any return of the Buffster goes... I don't know how in the hell Golden Girl would fit into this season. She doesn't fit and doesn't work and doesn't belong (not that that has ever stopped ME before.) Logically, if she happened to show up, it should resemble Sanctuary... because precious, chosen Golden Girl doesn't "get it." She never did understand Angel and his need for redemption. I don't think she would have any hope in hell of understanding what's going on in LA. She wouldn't understand Angel... or Spike. By any logic, she should be shown the door again just as she was in Sanctuary... probably following some "all about me" speech (just like Sanctuary). Unfortunately, Spike would still be screwed over because she would be begging Angel to be all about her and Spike would be an afterthought. But I just don't see the Buffster being there at the end. If she shows up, she'll probably irritate the hell out of us because whenever Buffy has appeared on AtS she's been a shallow, self involved twit of a girl. She will be again if she appears. Here's hoping Joss et al spares us (not that I trust him).
And... before I go into bitter about Buffy mode, I'll end it.
But... I really liked Shells. :)
