Season 3 Thoughts

[Weslyrria]

So, I'm still kind of learning this site and posting etiquette in terms of what goes where, but, here are some thoughts I've had watching Season 3 so far

1. I would love to see the story of the alternate universe where Willow and Xander become pets to the Master; when? how? Darla was there for decades... Willow and Xander were potentially there for less than a year. How did they become so close to the Master? The Master literally designates them his most vicious disciples... how and why?

2. Who's idea was Buffy's hair in Amends? Short bangs were not it.

This is truly just so far.

Post automatically merged: Feb 26, 2023

Truly open to discussion or theories!

Post automatically merged: Feb 26, 2023

Maybe not on the bangs... that's just a personal preference.

 

[November]

I agree it was weird that Willow and Xander were so far up the food chain so fast.
I can only speculate, Willow had a dark side even back then, perhaps she did something that impressed the Master. Or their proximity to the white hats before being turned gave them some advantages over other vampires in the town.

Agree on Buffys hair too!

 

[thetopher]

Two possibilities:
Angel managed to take out Luke and Darla before being captured; he wasn't the greatest fighter in S1 but desperation might've made him more competent and daring.

The more likely is that VampWillow was so twisted from the off (kinda like Angelus) that she quickly out-paced her sire - probably Darla or even The Master based on the events of The Harvest- in terms of viciousness and ambition and so recruited her Xander and made a power-play against Luke. Luke doesn't seem like the brightest; just a big, dumb true-believer who would see a back-staking coming.
The Master is the kind of vamp-leader that would've been impressed by such ruthlessness...but not against Darla, so Vamp!Willow would've had to finesse something different. Blame Darla's unfortunate death on White hats or something. But we know that Willow likes power, I'm sure vamp!Willow is actually supremely power hungry.

 

[thrasherpix]

And since the Mayor wasn't around, I'd guess V-Willow and Xander got rid of him. They'd think outside the box, with Willow having her ability to hack his schedule, even change it (and thinking like a hacker, also learn who was on his staff, vamp him out, and use him as an assassin, at least cannon fodder). Taking out the Mayor should greatly impress the Master.

It could've even been with Luke and Darla, who Mayor Wilkins focused on first. But I prefer to think Willow and Xander were involved in taking out Darla and Luke somehow.

Angel is a wild card, but seems too much of a coward (at that time) to draw much attention from them. And taking his complicated relationship with Darla, it seems unlikely he'd take out Darla even if he could.

But of course this is putting a lot more thought into it than the writers. (Though I mean no disrespect to the writers, at least most of the time when I say this, who were hired to write in a different style under different rules and requirements, and I'm sure no notion that people would be thinking hard about it to this day. Still could've used a series bible.)

 

[Weslyrria]

First, apologies, I see I posted this in Angel Season 3, not Buffy... I threw a surprise birthday party for my best friend yesterday, and the booze was a-flowin'.

Second, love the theories! This is what I was looking for last night when I couldn't really type, haha!!!

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Well, I assume there was some fighting between the vamps and the humans, before the humans lost and were confined to daylight hours. Vampires can still die, and Luke seems like the type who could be tricked into picking up a flash bang.

 

[famicommander]

It's a great episode but the entire thing pretty much falls apart if you think about it even a little bit. Why the hell would anyone still live in Sunnydale at that point? Presumably the Master's influence was confined to that general area since Buffy hadn't heard of him or his deeds until she arrived. No rational person would continue living in a place where anybody who happens to be out after sunset is killed and eaten when the rest of the world still seemed relatively normal.

 

[ILLYRIAN]

I was going to write of my thoughts of the moment .. .. .. but I forgot it/ them/ you know/ whatever.

 

[Weslyrria]

It's a great episode but the entire thing pretty much falls apart if you think about it even a little bit. Why the hell would anyone still live in Sunnydale at that point? Presumably the Master's influence was confined to that general area since Buffy hadn't heard of him or his deeds until she arrived. No rational person would continue living in a place where anybody who happens to be out after sunset is killed and eaten when the rest of the world still seemed relatively normal.

It's actually interesting. I was just talking with a friend about how we still love the same genre of film, TV, and books that we did when we were teens, but the way we perceive them is very different. Reality as we grow tends to alter the way we view fantastical things. Instead of getting lost in the story and feeling immersed and "amongst", you watch or read and think, 'That would never happen because x, y, and z.' On the other hand, you can appreciate characters that you didn't when you were younger because you can better understand their perspective because you yourself can understand multiple perspectives, thanks to experience and living.

All that to say I envy those that can continue to more or less lose themselves in everything they watch or read. Don't let the world ruin your passions. Bunnies are evil. Yellow Crayons save lives. I agree that Angel was a better character in his own show (needed to throw a bit of Angel to make up for the fact I posted in the absolutely wrong thread lol).

 

[thrasherpix]

People live in disaster and even war zones for years. Sometimes they have nowhere else to go.

On top of that, a disturbing amount of people will actually go to try to SEE a hurricane or tidal wave come in (many who are not seen again, but more show up to replace them). But I presume that is the mostly young (especially as it seems unlikely they'd be able to live to see a ripe old age).


I liked how it was described in the Stephen King novel of vampires. Everyone pretended things were normal, and yet crosses went up without thinking, the blinds were closed and never opened, and all that, just focus on the TV. They might mention it in hushed voices, but it was like rude and insensitive to bring it up at all.

People have done similar in many crazes, witch hunts, political and church scandals (that they not only stay, but continue to pay money to, possibly even send vulnerable people to their dangerous institutions), military occupations by foreign powers, secret police oppression, and holocausts who were not required to stay where they were at (not counting those who had no choice but to stay).

 

[Plasma]

People live in disaster and even war zones for years. Sometimes they have nowhere else to go.

Sometimes the fear of change is stronger than the fear of what they know.

I remember reading an anecdote regarding World War 2. Probably fictional, but it applies. It went a little something like, “There were plenty of Jewish who stayed in Germany because they had pianos.” You don’t want to leave behind what you know, even in the face of problems and trouble.