My Mixed-up POV on AtS

Where am I on this? I honestly don't know. In the last hour I have written quite a long, depressive... well not rant exactly, too much resignation in it to be a rant about all things fucked up on AtS. I also conclude I'm just too bitter about it. Surely I've lost all objectivity about the show and am just angry, the angriest of the angry. I roll my eyes at the pollys. I mean, I'm bitter, right?

Then I scrounge around and read others views and go -- wow! You know, maybe I'm not the angriest of the angry or the most bitter of the bitter, because, damn me, as much as I hate things on the show, I don't hate EVERYTHING on the show.

Does that leave me somewhere in the middle? I don't tend to think so. Surely my level of bitterness has me a long way from being in the middle. It just seems that as disillusioned as I am, I accept a certain amount of disillusionment.

The Whedonverse is a black and white universe. Yes. I recognized that a while ago. I realized it to my dismay and disillusionment way back in BtVS Season 6. Joss Whedon does not do gray. He may think that he does, but he doesn't. I saw it years ago, I'm in no way shocked when this is reaffirmed time and again. Joss likes to raise gray moral questions. He does not, however, give gray answers to them. I suppose it comes with his thinking that he's a genius.

At any rate, having accepted this after the brutal BtVS Season 6, I gave up expecting anything else. Therefore, I'm in no way bothered that AtS Season 5 isn't tinted and shaded in grays, but is as morally black and white as it ever was. I never thought that signing onto W&H should be viewed as something somewhere in the middle for Angel. It wasn't making a "sacrifice" for his son, it was Angel selling his soul to the devil to buy his son a second life. It always fell under the heading of "Not Good." And I always assumed that in Season 5 he would go into a funk over it (which was why I was annoyed as hell with the PodAngel of Chosen. It rang untrue in every sense).

As far as the general arc of the season, I'm not wholly discontent nor am I disillusioned. It's proceeding pretty much as I would expect. Angel angsted and doubted. Gunn got corrupted. Angel gets his mojo back in time to save others asses. I predict that Angel will wrest power of W&H from he Sr. Partners OR Angel will be kicked out of W&H and Wesley will take it over. One or the other. But it won't be gray. Angel will either make W&H over in his own image, or Wesley will be utterly corrupted by it. Black. White.

And with spoilers for Ep 15, I don't think that AtS Season 5 is meandering the way BtVS Season 7 was. They have themes. They have a place they're going. It makes more sense than BtVS Season 7 and is in fact BETTER than Season 7.

Nor am I bothered by Spike's reflection at the end of Damage. As I said, I gave up on gray in the Whedonverse a long time ago, and I see absolutely nothing at all on Spike reflecting on the nature of evil. It's good to reflect every now and then. It's good to have some perspective on the world and Spike to ponder his place in it.

On the other hand, I'm hopeless about the Whedonverse. There's a sign hanging over Spike's head in my head and that's "DOOMED!" Oh, I don't mean "doomed" in the "go evil" sense, nor is he "doomed" necessarily in the "he's gonna die" sense. But he's "doomed" in he's always going to be "beneath." He's always going to be the guy who isn't good enough. He's always going to be the guy who loved Buffy but who Buffy didn't not love. He's always going to be less than Angel. He's always going to be the guy they dumb down his IQ and who they make do stupid "Has he gone evil?" gotcha shots before the commercial break. He's always going to be the guy who when he thinks he might belong, might be loved, might matter will be shot down and told "Nope. Not good enough. Nyeh! Nyeh!" He's not Angel. He's not Buffy. Hell, he's not even Willow or Wesley... all far more beloved by ME than Spike. Spike's the foster child they took in for money and he can be quite useful, but he does not now, nor has he ever had Mutant Enemy's heart. He's less. He's the redheaded child (for all that he's a bleached blond) and he's doomed to that alsoran position.

That's where I'm bitter. That's where I'm angry.

Is that somewhere in the middle? No. Not really. But I guess I'm not the bitterest of the bitter. I do still see value in the show. And I do strive to enjoy it when it's good, enjoy moments when they are good (no, truly! It may not look like it but I do!) But I guess Wendy said it best recently when she said she had lost hope that what she wanted would ever happen. What I wanted for the character of Spike will never happen. He'll never get to have the moment where Buffy realizes that she's been blind and cruel and what Spike gave was real love and what she has with Angel is... juvenile fantasy. Spike will never be allowed to stand on his own and not in Angel's shadow. He's always be the "other" vampire. . . the "lesser" vampire for all that it makes no sense. He's heroics will never be AS important. His pains never something that ME gives much of a damn about. He'll never be written consistently. And Fury will never stop taking the opportunity to slip digs in at Spike whenever he gets a chance to write him. Spike will never be vindicated in the eyes of most characters. He'll always be just Spike. The "other" vampire.

I still love Spike--flaws and piss poor, inconsistent characterization and all. I just wish that I had hope left. I still love him, but it's a pained, hopeless affection, not one with any expectation that any hopes I had for the character will come to fruition.

And that's a bitter admission. But I don't see the show as completely lacking in merit, nor do I think that Spike having broody moments ruins the character. It's just when all is said and done, I wanted more and I know I'm not going to get it.

It just surprises me that when I decide that no one could be more bitter about the story than I am, I find that there are a lot of people who are more bitter. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

My Mixed-up POV on AtS

Where am I on this? I honestly don't know. In the last hour I have written quite a long, depressive... well not rant exactly, too much resignation in it to be a rant about all things fucked up on AtS. I also conclude I'm just too bitter about it. Surely I've lost all objectivity about the show and am just angry, the angriest of the angry. I roll my eyes at the pollys. I mean, I'm bitter, right?

Then I scrounge around and read others views and go -- wow! You know, maybe I'm not the angriest of the angry or the most bitter of the bitter, because, damn me, as much as I hate things on the show, I don't hate EVERYTHING on the show.

Does that leave me somewhere in the middle? I don't tend to think so. Surely my level of bitterness has me a long way from being in the middle. It just seems that as disillusioned as I am, I accept a certain amount of disillusionment.

The Whedonverse is a black and white universe. Yes. I recognized that a while ago. I realized it to my dismay and disillusionment way back in BtVS Season 6. Joss Whedon does not do gray. He may think that he does, but he doesn't. I saw it years ago, I'm in no way shocked when this is reaffirmed time and again. Joss likes to raise gray moral questions. He does not, however, give gray answers to them. I suppose it comes with his thinking that he's a genius.

At any rate, having accepted this after the brutal BtVS Season 6, I gave up expecting anything else. Therefore, I'm in no way bothered that AtS Season 5 isn't tinted and shaded in grays, but is as morally black and white as it ever was. I never thought that signing onto W&H should be viewed as something somewhere in the middle for Angel. It wasn't making a "sacrifice" for his son, it was Angel selling his soul to the devil to buy his son a second life. It always fell under the heading of "Not Good." And I always assumed that in Season 5 he would go into a funk over it (which was why I was annoyed as hell with the PodAngel of Chosen. It rang untrue in every sense).

As far as the general arc of the season, I'm not wholly discontent nor am I disillusioned. It's proceeding pretty much as I would expect. Angel angsted and doubted. Gunn got corrupted. Angel gets his mojo back in time to save others asses. I predict that Angel will wrest power of W&H from he Sr. Partners OR Angel will be kicked out of W&H and Wesley will take it over. One or the other. But it won't be gray. Angel will either make W&H over in his own image, or Wesley will be utterly corrupted by it. Black. White.

And with spoilers for Ep 15, I don't think that AtS Season 5 is meandering the way BtVS Season 7 was. They have themes. They have a place they're going. It makes more sense than BtVS Season 7 and is in fact BETTER than Season 7.

Nor am I bothered by Spike's reflection at the end of Damage. As I said, I gave up on gray in the Whedonverse a long time ago, and I see absolutely nothing at all on Spike reflecting on the nature of evil. It's good to reflect every now and then. It's good to have some perspective on the world and Spike to ponder his place in it.

On the other hand, I'm hopeless about the Whedonverse. There's a sign hanging over Spike's head in my head and that's "DOOMED!" Oh, I don't mean "doomed" in the "go evil" sense, nor is he "doomed" necessarily in the "he's gonna die" sense. But he's "doomed" in he's always going to be "beneath." He's always going to be the guy who isn't good enough. He's always going to be the guy who loved Buffy but who Buffy didn't not love. He's always going to be less than Angel. He's always going to be the guy they dumb down his IQ and who they make do stupid "Has he gone evil?" gotcha shots before the commercial break. He's always going to be the guy who when he thinks he might belong, might be loved, might matter will be shot down and told "Nope. Not good enough. Nyeh! Nyeh!" He's not Angel. He's not Buffy. Hell, he's not even Willow or Wesley... all far more beloved by ME than Spike. Spike's the foster child they took in for money and he can be quite useful, but he does not now, nor has he ever had Mutant Enemy's heart. He's less. He's the redheaded child (for all that he's a bleached blond) and he's doomed to that alsoran position.

That's where I'm bitter. That's where I'm angry.

Is that somewhere in the middle? No. Not really. But I guess I'm not the bitterest of the bitter. I do still see value in the show. And I do strive to enjoy it when it's good, enjoy moments when they are good (no, truly! It may not look like it but I do!) But I guess Wendy said it best recently when she said she had lost hope that what she wanted would ever happen. What I wanted for the character of Spike will never happen. He'll never get to have the moment where Buffy realizes that she's been blind and cruel and what Spike gave was real love and what she has with Angel is... juvenile fantasy. Spike will never be allowed to stand on his own and not in Angel's shadow. He's always be the "other" vampire. . . the "lesser" vampire for all that it makes no sense. He's heroics will never be AS important. His pains never something that ME gives much of a damn about. He'll never be written consistently. And Fury will never stop taking the opportunity to slip digs in at Spike whenever he gets a chance to write him. Spike will never be vindicated in the eyes of most characters. He'll always be just Spike. The "other" vampire.

I still love Spike--flaws and piss poor, inconsistent characterization and all. I just wish that I had hope left. I still love him, but it's a pained, hopeless affection, not one with any expectation that any hopes I had for the character will come to fruition.

And that's a bitter admission. But I don't see the show as completely lacking in merit, nor do I think that Spike having broody moments ruins the character. It's just when all is said and done, I wanted more and I know I'm not going to get it.

It just surprises me that when I decide that no one could be more bitter about the story than I am, I find that there are a lot of people who are more bitter. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

My Mixed-up POV on AtS

Where am I on this? I honestly don't know. In the last hour I have written quite a long, depressive... well not rant exactly, too much resignation in it to be a rant about all things fucked up on AtS. I also conclude I'm just too bitter about it. Surely I've lost all objectivity about the show and am just angry, the angriest of the angry. I roll my eyes at the pollys. I mean, I'm bitter, right?

Then I scrounge around and read others views and go -- wow! You know, maybe I'm not the angriest of the angry or the most bitter of the bitter, because, damn me, as much as I hate things on the show, I don't hate EVERYTHING on the show.

Does that leave me somewhere in the middle? I don't tend to think so. Surely my level of bitterness has me a long way from being in the middle. It just seems that as disillusioned as I am, I accept a certain amount of disillusionment.

The Whedonverse is a black and white universe. Yes. I recognized that a while ago. I realized it to my dismay and disillusionment way back in BtVS Season 6. Joss Whedon does not do gray. He may think that he does, but he doesn't. I saw it years ago, I'm in no way shocked when this is reaffirmed time and again. Joss likes to raise gray moral questions. He does not, however, give gray answers to them. I suppose it comes with his thinking that he's a genius.

At any rate, having accepted this after the brutal BtVS Season 6, I gave up expecting anything else. Therefore, I'm in no way bothered that AtS Season 5 isn't tinted and shaded in grays, but is as morally black and white as it ever was. I never thought that signing onto W&H should be viewed as something somewhere in the middle for Angel. It wasn't making a "sacrifice" for his son, it was Angel selling his soul to the devil to buy his son a second life. It always fell under the heading of "Not Good." And I always assumed that in Season 5 he would go into a funk over it (which was why I was annoyed as hell with the PodAngel of Chosen. It rang untrue in every sense).

As far as the general arc of the season, I'm not wholly discontent nor am I disillusioned. It's proceeding pretty much as I would expect. Angel angsted and doubted. Gunn got corrupted. Angel gets his mojo back in time to save others asses. I predict that Angel will wrest power of W&H from he Sr. Partners OR Angel will be kicked out of W&H and Wesley will take it over. One or the other. But it won't be gray. Angel will either make W&H over in his own image, or Wesley will be utterly corrupted by it. Black. White.

And with spoilers for Ep 15, I don't think that AtS Season 5 is meandering the way BtVS Season 7 was. They have themes. They have a place they're going. It makes more sense than BtVS Season 7 and is in fact BETTER than Season 7.

Nor am I bothered by Spike's reflection at the end of Damage. As I said, I gave up on gray in the Whedonverse a long time ago, and I see absolutely nothing at all on Spike reflecting on the nature of evil. It's good to reflect every now and then. It's good to have some perspective on the world and Spike to ponder his place in it.

On the other hand, I'm hopeless about the Whedonverse. There's a sign hanging over Spike's head in my head and that's "DOOMED!" Oh, I don't mean "doomed" in the "go evil" sense, nor is he "doomed" necessarily in the "he's gonna die" sense. But he's "doomed" in he's always going to be "beneath." He's always going to be the guy who isn't good enough. He's always going to be the guy who loved Buffy but who Buffy didn't not love. He's always going to be less than Angel. He's always going to be the guy they dumb down his IQ and who they make do stupid "Has he gone evil?" gotcha shots before the commercial break. He's always going to be the guy who when he thinks he might belong, might be loved, might matter will be shot down and told "Nope. Not good enough. Nyeh! Nyeh!" He's not Angel. He's not Buffy. Hell, he's not even Willow or Wesley... all far more beloved by ME than Spike. Spike's the foster child they took in for money and he can be quite useful, but he does not now, nor has he ever had Mutant Enemy's heart. He's less. He's the redheaded child (for all that he's a bleached blond) and he's doomed to that alsoran position.

That's where I'm bitter. That's where I'm angry.

Is that somewhere in the middle? No. Not really. But I guess I'm not the bitterest of the bitter. I do still see value in the show. And I do strive to enjoy it when it's good, enjoy moments when they are good (no, truly! It may not look like it but I do!) But I guess Wendy said it best recently when she said she had lost hope that what she wanted would ever happen. What I wanted for the character of Spike will never happen. He'll never get to have the moment where Buffy realizes that she's been blind and cruel and what Spike gave was real love and what she has with Angel is... juvenile fantasy. Spike will never be allowed to stand on his own and not in Angel's shadow. He's always be the "other" vampire. . . the "lesser" vampire for all that it makes no sense. He's heroics will never be AS important. His pains never something that ME gives much of a damn about. He'll never be written consistently. And Fury will never stop taking the opportunity to slip digs in at Spike whenever he gets a chance to write him. Spike will never be vindicated in the eyes of most characters. He'll always be just Spike. The "other" vampire.

I still love Spike--flaws and piss poor, inconsistent characterization and all. I just wish that I had hope left. I still love him, but it's a pained, hopeless affection, not one with any expectation that any hopes I had for the character will come to fruition.

And that's a bitter admission. But I don't see the show as completely lacking in merit, nor do I think that Spike having broody moments ruins the character. It's just when all is said and done, I wanted more and I know I'm not going to get it.

It just surprises me that when I decide that no one could be more bitter about the story than I am, I find that there are a lot of people who are more bitter. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.