I’m a Buffy/Angel fan going way back. They’re shows I reference frequently and re-watch whenever I can. I’m re-watching them now.
Spoilers Ahead
For those of you unfamiliar, “Buffy” is the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
as well as the heroine’s name. Buffy (the character) is one of a long
line of exclusively female vampire slayers magically imbued with powers
like fast healing and super strength. The show started out as an
allegory for the trials of high school and got more mature, and darker,
as the series went on.
Angel (the series) is a spinoff of BtVS. Angel
(the character) is the rarest of the rare: a vampire with a soul.
Unfortunately, he loses his soul if he experiences a moment of “true
happiness,” which he does with Buffy. If any of you were traumatized
when The Doctor and Rose got split up,
just know that it was nothing compared to the scene where Angel gets
his soul back. Then prepare yourselves for heartbreak #2 when, at the
end of Season 3 of Buffy, Angel realizes he and Buffy will
never work, so he leaves her for good. He ends up in L.A., starting a
new life as a private detective/helper of the helpless. Angel arguably has a better cast than Buffy, and aside from a few hiccups along the way, ended up as the more interesting show (imo).
I’ve just started Season 4 of Buffy (her first year of college) and Season 1 of Angel. Parts of the shows have held up well over time, other parts not so much. Buffy
is especially problematic, with fairly minor– but still there–
homophobia, fat shaming, slut shaming, token diverse characters getting
killed off, and outright sexist dialogue. In one episode Buffy herself
says Wesley (an adult man) screams “like a woman,” and compares Xander
and Angel to a pair of bickering “old women.” Part of that was the
culture at the time. You probably couldn’t find a show in the 90s that
didn’t include some cringe-worthy dialogue or storylines. And most of us
didn’t even notice. We were steeped in it to the point that it didn’t
stand out.
But part of it might also have had something to do with the showrunner, Joss Whedon, who– if you haven’t heard– has had several accusations of bullying/abusive behaviour levelled at him by actors, including some that worked on Buffy and Angel. I believe these actors– they have nothing to gain by coming forward. What sucks for the fans, though, is that Buffy
was groundbreaking at the time. A female lead who…kicked ass? What’s
commonplace now was new and awesome back then. Whedon claimed to be a
feminist, and the fans thought he was an ally. We were wrong.
I don’t, however, think we should give up on these shows because of
an association with an allegedly awful person. Besides, Whedon was far
from the only person working on his shows, and to ignore everyone else’s
contributions is basically throwing out the baby with the bath water. I
know I’ll always keep watching. l now notice the problematic and
cringey parts, but I’m still here for all the good parts (which are the
majority). Because, even after all these years, Buffy still kicks ass.
Were/are you a fan of Buffy and/or Angel? How do you think they’ve held up? Share in the comments…
If you prefer paperback, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from
Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent
bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
(Originally posted on my official site: https://aspasiasbissas.com/2022/02/12/buffy-and-angel/)
A few weeks back I posted about re-watching older seasons of Supernatural
in anticipation of seeing the last few seasons I’d missed, including
the series finale. I finally completed what occasionally felt like a
gruelling trek, and I thought I’d share a few final thoughts about the
show.
I actually almost didn’t make it to the end. The last season I’d seen involved a lot of sturm und drang
about Lucifer fathering a child with an unsuspecting human woman. That
season ended with baby Jack being born (and instantly aging up to a
young man), in the process opening a portal to an alternate–
apocalyptic– Earth. At this point, fan favourite Bobby is re-introduced
to the show, while other favourites are killed off, including Crowley
(RIP) and Castiel. Okay, I thought, this is going to be interesting.
Only it wasn’t.
Alternate Earth
I think the writers really didn’t know what to do with the alternate
Earth. Bobby and Charlie were brought back, but then nothing much
really happened with them (definitely nothing that added to character
development, the story arc, or to the show as a whole). There’s a
bizarre alternate Castiel who is (thankfully) quickly killed. New
characters are introduced and brought to Sam and Dean’s Earth in a side
plot that, along with these characters, went nowhere. Most were killed
or just disappeared, and in the last season any that were left were
wiped out of existence (more on that later). And then there was the
apocalypse. We already had an apocalypse season on Supernatural—
who decided we needed another one? And why did anyone think viewers
would care if angels were wreaking havoc on another planet? It was a
strange choice and mostly (I think) an excuse to bring back another
character no one asked for: (alternate) Archangel Michael.
Michael 2.0
Boredom with what had initially seemed like it would be an
interesting season soon turned to frustration. Not only did we have to
sit through an alternate world’s apocalypse, but we had to endure
human-hating angels led by apocalypse-obsessed alternate Michael. One
stupid decision after another leads to him showing up on Sam and Dean’s
Earth (which I’m calling Main Earth from now on), where Dean, going
against all sense and reason, ends up giving Michael permission to
possess him (AKA use him as a “vessel”) on the condition that Dean
remain fully in control. Of course Michael never has any intention of
keeping his word. Who could have foreseen this twist, other than
literally everyone? It feels like we’ve seen this exact story a thousand
times on Supernatural. Watching the characters make one dumb
move after another was intolerable, and this was where I almost walked
away from the show. I actually looked up series finale spoilers to find
out if there was any point to keep watching. Ultimately, I decided there
was, but if I had my way I’d purge this season, along with the “British
Men of Letters” one.
Side note: the final season sees the return of original Michael,
along with Sam and Dean’s half-brother Adam. Unlike alternate Michael,
this works well, as original Michael helps the story along and gives the
show a chance to tie up a longstanding loose end. And also unlike
alternate Michael, original Michael’s motives actually make sense.
The Writers VS. Jack
Instead of another apocalypse and alternate Michael, I really would
have preferred more of a focus on Jack. He was something new on Supernatural—
the son of Lucifer, and an incredibly powerful being in his own right
(more powerful than an archangel, according to the show). Or, at least,
he should have been. As with their treatment of Castiel,
the writers found every excuse to diminish his powers (right until the
very last episode). Who was this kid? Would he go full-on Damian at some
point? Would he team up with Lucifer, or destroy his father and become
the new Big Bad? Or maybe he’d beat the odds and side with good. So many
possibilities– so few opportunities taken by the writers. He did
exhibit a few abilities early on (like bringing Cas back from the dead),
but mostly it felt like we were perpetually waiting for Jack to do something.
Even when he lost his soul, it didn’t change much. Jack had so much
potential, but it was frustrating (there’s that word again) waiting for
him to reach it. Not that it wasn’t satisfying when he finally did, but
at that point it was verging on too little too late.
Abrupt Exits
To borrow a much-overused phrase from the show “I get it”: a lot had
to happen in the final season and we couldn’t necessarily have long
goodbyes with a lot of characters. But it was disappointing the way some
of them left. We’re lucky to have had a final visit with Rowena
(awesome witch, the new Queen of Hell, and one of my all-time favourite
characters), but too many other characters didn’t get more than a
passing mention. It would have been nice, for example, when Dean went to
heaven, to see someone other than (original) Bobby and, eventually,
Sam. Why not a quick cast reunion at the end? At least they could have
given us a final glimpse of Cas and Jack. And what happened to the
people from the alternate Earths (which, reminder: includes us, as
established in an earlier episode)?
Chuck destroyed all the alternate Earths, and then wiped out nearly
everyone on Main Earth, including the people rescued from apocalypse
world. Jack eventually restores everyone on Main Earth, but he also
implies that he’s going to be sticking with just the one earth. Never
mind what ultimately happened to everyone on the alternate Earths, we
don’t even know what happened to alternate Charlie and Bobby, whether
they ended up anywhere or simply ceased to exist forever. All I’m saying
is a little closure would have been nice.
It wasn’t all poor choices and unanswered questions, though. The one
thing I think the show really got right in the final season was:
God as Villain
It probably created some controversy to make God (AKA Chuck) the
ultimate villain on the show, but I think it works. Let’s face it: from
his long absences (including during serious crises) and his lack of
interest in his creations, to his fits of cruel vengeance/punishments,
and his habit of playing favourites, God is half-villain already. Supernatural re-imagines
him as a hack writer who plays with people’s lives for his own
entertainment. He torments Sam and Dean (whom he claims are his
favourite “characters”) and “cancels shows” (destroys all the alternate
earths) because Sam and Dean don’t want to play along anymore. He wipes
out every person and animal on Main Earth just so he can watch how Sam,
Dean, and Jack will cope. When Dean is thrilled to discover a dog that
was somehow missed, Chuck wipes out the dog while watching Dean’s
reaction. His arrogance is ultimately his downfall, and when Jack
absorbs all of Chuck’s power, it’s the best possible outcome. Chuck is
left as a normal, powerless, human to live out his life and die;
meanwhile it’s pretty clear that Jack is going to make a superior God.
It’s a good end to the story arc and an interesting take on biblical
mythology. I think it was a fitting conclusion to the series.
So, is it worth watching Supernatural? It’s not the best show, but as I’m discovering watching some of what else is out there, it’s not the worst one, either. Supernatural
has multitudes of great characters, overall decent acting, a few really
creative episodes, and some solid writing and storylines. They even
managed to introduce a group of actually scary vampires in the last
episode. Better late than never.
What did you think of the end of Supernatural? Share in the comments…
Want to read something that’s all about the vampires? Get my books!
If you prefer paperback to an ebook, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
