In the seventh episode of the third season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, a surprise visitor to Sunnydale forces Giles, Faith, and Buffy to re-evaluate their roles. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Buffy.
I’m finding that the episodes that I enjoy the most on Buffy are those that address the concept of identity. It’s not a theme that we’ve never seen before, but I also never feel like the show is repeating itself. “Revelations” is about how various characters respond to Gwendolyn Post, and how her appearance creates this ripple effect in terms of three specific characters. I’m actually going to split this up based on each character so that it’s easier to get my thoughts down, if you don’t mind.
BUFFY
This really is an agonizing episode to watch concerning her character. It starts off so good! God, how can I not ship Buffy/Faith after this episode? I mean, that first joke is just so beautiful to me. Why should Buffy and Faith date? BECAUSE WORLDS WOULD EXPLODE. I swear to you, during the cold open, I thought, “Wow, it’s so awesome to see them getting along. I like this a lot!” I SHOULD NOT HAVE THOUGHT THIS AT ALL. WHAT THE FUCK. WHY DID I DO THAT? It’s like Whedon knew years into the future, I would have that specific reaction, so he ruined everything in response.
The bulk of Mrs. Post’s ire and condescension isn’t for Buffy, as she reserves most of that for Giles and Faith. What Buffy then has to deal with while the others are coping with the appearance of this new Watcher is Angel. I admit that I would be just as confused as her by the situation with Angel. She’d moved on and accepted that he was dead, and now they’re doing Tai Ch’i and making out? SO FUCKING WEIRD. How exactly do you navigate something as complicated as that? There’s no real answer to that, and to me, that’s precisely why she kept it all a secret from her friends. She can barely process the fact that Angel has returned from Hell; how can she possibly know how the others will act? Even worse, what if she’s wrong? I don’t know that she could deal with the fallout from that.
It’s hard enough that she has to find ways to cope with her lingering feelings for Angel, unsure what she should do with him. It’s only made worse when Xander catches them. God, there could not be a worse person who could have made that discovery. I think I wouldn’t have disliked Xander’s stance as much if he didn’t make it out like he never disliked Angel because he represented someone in between Xander and Buffy. I don’t think he’s necessarily wrong per se; I think he and Willow make it clear that they’re hurt by Buffy concealing Angel from everyone, and that none of them know if Angel poses the same risk as he did before.
It’s seriously such a complex situation that it’s hard for me to decide how I feel on it at all. Obviously, I want to trust Buffy; I want her to make her own decisions and to have the support of others when she does. I found the idea that everyone was so increasingly obsessed with Buffy’s sexual experience with Angel to be a bit much. But then I have to remind myself that the canon of this show already set things up so that it might be possible for Angel to lose his soul again if he’s happy, and then my brain turns to mush because I can’t figure out this complicated moral soup.
I think that’s okay for the most part. It’s meant to be complicated and confusing, and it’s much more thoughtful to me that there are points each character makes that could be read as correct depending on how you look at it. It purposely draws out the drama because it’s so ambiguous. Who is making the right decision here?
Even if I thought that Buffy’s argument was the strongest, and even if I did ultimately trust her own judgment in this case, I can’t deny that when Giles expresses his disappointment, I didn’t really have anything to counter that. It’s a gutting moment because you can see how hurt Giles is. I’d forgotten about how Angelus treated Giles. Can you blame the guy for feeling slighted because Buffy didn’t tell him that the guy who tortured him for hours is back in town?
I’ll get to more of Giles in a bit, but for now, Buffy internalizes what Giles told her. It’s clear she wants Giles to feel like he is being respected, so she goes out of her way to make sure that she takes his advice and pursue Lagos. On top of that, she’s also distanced herself from Angel, even if it’s only temporary. It’s why she’s so upset when she discovers what Xander and Faith have planned regarding Angel later in the episode. She’s doing what she can to be respectful, but at the same time, she’s furious that, once again, no one trusts her judgment. You can see how pissed off she is when she fights Faith at the mansion. And look, I don’t like seeing Faith and Buffy fight, but sweet baby Gandalf, that was an incredibly choreographed fight scene. I WON’T LIE. IT WAS ENTERTAINING.
I’m fascinated by how the Angel/Buffy storyline is going to be treated in the future. It’s a relief that all the characters finally offer their trust to Buffy. (Well, except Cordelia.) But is Buffy just going to swear off a relationship with him, or take things further?
GILES
It’s always hard to hear criticism, and it’s even harder to hear it when someone’s just being rude about it. Mrs. Post is incredibly harsh on Giles, and I kind of despised the way she insulted his library. You know what makes it worse? SHE WAS THE VILLAIN ALL ALONG. So she insulted him just because she could. OH GOD.
Giles has always sort of been the black sheep of the Scoobies because his job is basically to herd cats. That’s my metaphor for the Scoobies and I’m sticking to it. He has to straddle between being strict and authoritative (which rarely happens), and being a friend to them. Granted, he’s been dealt a complicated situation after being assigned to Buffy as her Watcher, so I personally think he’s doing a fantastic job. Still, Giles is the kind of guy to be overly critical of himself, so Mrs. Post causes him to question his ability, his worth, and his intelligence more than usual.
It’s part of the reason why he is so upset at Buffy for hiding Angel from him. Obviously, the torture is the #1 reason, but I think he knows that he doesn’t have that much control over Buffy as he would want, and this situation demonstrates that. But how do you control someone like Buffy? Perhaps he doesn’t actually want to control her; perhaps he really just wants to trust her to do the right thing. Ultimately, he’s a respectful person, and Mrs. Post causes him to self-analyze a bit more than he’d like.
FAITH
Yeah, hello, you just became the most interesting character on the show. We haven’t truly had much of her since she arrived in episode three, and this massive dose of her characterization is just heartbreaking. It actually kind of makes sense that she is around all the time; she’s such an independent person that I imagine she’s off doing her own thing. That independence streak directly clashes with the arrival of Mrs. Post, who represents order, cleanliness, and precision, things that Faith really isn’t a big fan of. Truthfully, she just doesn’t like anyone who has authority over her. She trusts herself and her own judgment over everyone and everything else, and inviting another person into that just doesn’t work for her.
My guess is this is why she does react in the way she does to Mrs. Post and Buffy. Just because a person is independent doesn’t mean they want to be alone all of the time. And I can relate to that a lot; I’m generally a self-imposed loner most of the time, and I’m okay with that. I grew up in an environment where I also developed an intense distaste for authority and for having to depend on other people. I just like being alone most of the time, but sometimes people misinterpret that as a desire to be ignored. I think Faith was a bit hurt when Mrs. Post reveals that the Scoobies had a meeting that didn’t involve her. Perhaps “hurt” is too strong of a word. She is left out. She isn’t considered.
At the heart of it is a contradiction that Faith has to deal with. On the one hand, she wants to do things her way and to trust herself. On the other, she’s lonely. How does she rectify the two? It’s why she lashes out so violently at the news that Angel is still alive. She’s angry that Buffy didn’t trust her enough to tell her the truth, but then pissed off that Buffy has demonstrated any sort of dependence on another person. It’s not really fair to Buffy, but I don’t think Faith is thinking of things in this way. She can’t even conceive of falling in love with a vampire, and, like the other characters, she refuses to just trust Buffy’s judgment.
This lack of trust is what gives us that final scene of “Revelations.” Faith sits alone in her motel room, refusing to trust anyone. She thinks she made a mistake in trusting Mrs. Post and Buffy. She believes she will be best on her own. And goddamn it, IT’S JUST SO FUCKING DEPRESSING. What a brilliant character turn, though. THIS IS SUCH GOOD TELEVISION.
There’s one last thing I wanted to bring up: Willow and Xander, you are GREATLY DISAPPOINTING ME WITH YOUR SHENANIGANS. It’s especially ironic given the fact that both of them, especially Xander, are up in arms about Buffy lying. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU TWO THINK YOU ARE DOING? Oh god, it’s only going to end in disaster, isn’t it? My heart is already pre-breaking for Cordy and Oz.
Death Count: 4 – The two vampires in the cold open, Lagos, and Gwendolyn Post. Total: 25
But how do you control someone like Buffy?
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIIIAAAAAA?
HOW DO YOU CATCH A CLOUD AND PIN IT DOWN?
…I'm sorry, that was all I could think of when I read that. I seem to be quoting songs a lot lately.
Oh, so your dad is the polar opposite to me, then. Since I guess NO PLOT TWISTS.
"Jung tvirf lbh gur evtug gb fhpx snpr jvgu lbhe qrzba ybire ntnva?"
PBEQRYVNNNNNNNN! GUR VEBAL! VG OHEAF! *qvrf ynhtuvat*
Guvf vf jung V ybir nobhg guvf fubj. GUVF.
I always really enjoy this episode when I watch it. The focus on Faith, interesting villain Mrs. Post and the Angel reveal all make it great in my book. Also the scene where Giles reminds Buffy of his torture and the final "Buffy?…Nothing" breaks my heart.
"And look, I don’t like seeing Faith and Buffy fight, but sweet baby Gandalf, that was an incredibly choreographed fight scene."
When this episode aired I believe I was13. The day after I saw it my friend came over, we worked out the choreography and we reenacted this fight sequence (minus the glass breaking/Xander tossing of course) in my living room. Fun times.
Okay, reenacting Buffy sounds like epic fun times. If only I could have done that. When I was a kid I used to reenact Cats. The musical. xD
I have no idea what made us attempt that but it was indeed epic fun. I've never done Cats, but I did go through a phase where I went around randomly performing Notes/Prima Donna from Phantom of the Opera, so I'm with you there.
…wait, you mean acting out scenes from media you enjoy – even if it's the most famous coloratura soprano aria ever when you're probably a low baritone – is supposed to be a phase?
( : Only if you tire of it, or in my case, grow tired of the look of despair on people's faces when you aim for the real high notes.
So that's how it is in their family…
Ooooh you're referencing something, and it's right at the tip of my brain but I can't think of what it is…
Not to my knowledge, it's just a generic incest joke 🙂
Ooooh Shoot, well it's definitely reminding me of something, it's where two people are being all canoodly, and another person thinks that they're family (because of a lie they told?) and say something almost exactly like what you said… this is going to kill me all day
Arrested Development, maybe? It's sounds like a joke they'd make
it finally came to me what it was specifically making me think of!!! It's Ferris Beuller's Day Off. Makes sense, it had already been on my mind all week.
This is how I started watching Merlin. [Zbetnan naq Tjra unq fjbeqf sbe fbzr ernfba naq V jnf yvxr JBZRA JVGU FJBEQF LRF CYM. Gur erfg bs gur fubj unf na hasbeghangr ynpx bs jbzra jvgu fjbeqf, ohg vg qbrf unir ubgg qhqrf naq jnpxl uvwvak, fb.]
Edited because I forgot Merlin is on the confirmed list. Oops
Some people might appreciate this:
https://twitter.com/#!/David_Boreanaz/status/1678…
I have a feeling there is some serious privileged bullshit in this comment, but it's so long that my eyes keep glazing over. TL;DR.
Thank you for deciding to not engage in discussion based on a perception that I may make arguments you disagree with. Probably makes it easier to summarily ignore large groups of people and just place them into a label of people you deem unworthy of speaking.
Though I must not frequent enough of the internet because the sites I do read, frown on people using "too long; did not read" as it stifles discussion and is obnoxious in how dismissive it is.
Well, this site frowns on people writing privileged bullshit as it stifles discussion and is obnoxious in how dismissive it is.
Yes but just saying that it is "Privileged bullshit" does not make it so. And if my post is written from a narrow lens, then informing me why you thought that was the case would be the better course of action as my comments were not written with ill-intent, and I was under the belief I was being even handed. It could even have been a case of my writing not expressing myself clearer so it came out like a sledgehammer approach to discussion; or even a case of where my biases meet with your biases and we argue without fully seeing each other's total intent.
And even if time was a factor preventing that a simpler straight forward reply to illustrate that you thought I should look at it from a different angle, with some quick examples to point me in the right direction, would have been far more constructive instead of just dismissive.
It's not my job to educate you.
Ok that's fine, its true it isn't your responsibility. Oh well I rarely post here anyway since its hard to keep up nowadays with all the increased comment traffic, but when I do post in future I will keep it shorter to avoid being dismissed with TL;DR, but It will be more substantial than just just dismissing a persons view point as wrong with no further discussion on my point of view because my view point is not gospel nor inherently self evident, so should be stated and explained so that it can be discussed and challenged.
Not just the torture: Giles still is mourning Jenny Calendar (who Angel KILLED!!).
Regarding Faith? Maybe it is my age but I saw her clearly as a younger slayer, who needs a watcher, who needs guidance and help…. Buffy should be her big sister, Giles should take her under his wing for training, but they both just assume this little girl is just fine on her own! No wonder Faith was taken in my Ms. Post. It is Buffy's and Gile's fault (IMO)!
Please please do not read if you are a new viewer 🙂
Guvf vf jul vg qevirf zr penml gung gur unaqyvat bs Snvgu nsgre fur xvyyf gur Qrchgl Znlbe vf YNETRYL yrsg gb Ohssl–jub, juvyr fgebat, pncnoyr, naq snohybhf, vf n GRRANTR tvey. Fur qbrf abg unir gur genvavat be yvsr rkcrevrapr gb ahefr Snvgu onpx, gb uryc naq fhccbeg ure cflpubybtvpnyyl juvyr fur qrnyf jvgu gur thvyg bs jung fur unf qbar. Vg jnf unaqyrq onqyl sebz ortvaavat gb raq. NNNETU.
V trg fb sehfgengrq orpnhfr Snvgu vf fhpu n ihyarenoyr crefba, fur arrqrq n fgebat jngpure naq zragbe zber guna nalbar. N crefba envfrq va ivbyrapr qrfgvarq gb pbzzvg zber ivbyrapr ernyyl jbhyq arrq n fgnoyr fhccbeg flfgrz, na rzbgvbany gbhpufgbar.
Nf V fnvq fbzrjurer ryfr rneyvre: Sbe zr, guvf vf jurer rirelguvat punatrf sbe Snvgu. V guvax FUR guvaxf fur fnj gur gehr angher bs crbcyr va guvf rcvfbqr. Fur qbrfa'g vzzrqvngryl "tb rivy"…ohg vg nyy fgnegrq urer.
I also think it was particularly diabolical that they made the part of betraying Watcher a woman. Faith seems less inclined to like, trust, or respect a man. But hand her a Mrs. Post, so different on the surface, but seeming to understand Faith's spartan lifestyle and background? Cruel.
Don't use the word "crazy" on this site.
Don't speak to me like that.
I'm a mod and I'm enforcing the rules, so yes, I will tell you not to use certain words on this site. Deal with it.
As a mod, you should know I have no capabilities to delete the comment.
Please do so. I will not comment here again.
No worries.
The point of telling people not to use certain words is not to make them edit/delete their comment, but so that they know to avoid using said words in the future. But I see that won't be an issue here.
There is nothing hypocritical about cake anyway! HARUMPH!
EXACTLY CAKE IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD TO ALL
Does that make their cake a lie?
Yes. Yes it does.
You don't talk to me that way! You don't talk to me that way! You fuck my wife? You fuck my wife? You fuck my wife?
[youtube IMBgG976EZQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMBgG976EZQ youtube]
Oh God, Giles gives Buffy the parental 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' speech and it is just the WORST THING EVER.
Bbbb Evtug! Gunaxf. Gung rkcynvaf jul vg jnf uneq gb erzrzore, vg hfrq gb or bar bs zl yrnfg jngpurq/zbfg fxvccrq rcvfbqrf.
Fngfh
But the downside is that now the object is bland and made-up sounding. There's got to be a balance somewhere, IMHO. If it means some research to get the cultural details right, I'd prefer that over the Axe of Gobbledegoo. Who, what, or where, is Myneghon? Why'd he or she make this glove? Where did it come from? We don't even get a hint of these things when the writer can't use the shorthand of any real culture.
Of course, perhaps the best method is Tolkein's: make it up, but create the whole culture and history, borrowing from real world legends to make it seem like it's a real thing from a real culture. But obviously, not everyone has time for that.
No!!! Not the Shoes of Tralala!!!
SO behind on Markverse but I'm catching up!
"Giles has always sort of been the black sheep of the Scoobies because his job is basically to herd cats." – my burst of giggly delight was fortunately not heard by anyone. This line is brilliant.
Yay thanks! Cool stuff.
Don't see it, so…Qnvyl Qnja Guernq!
V'z tbvat gb tb jvgu "Qnja qvqa'g ernyyl cynl n ebyr va guvf rcvfbqr." V fhfcrpg fur znl unir nyernql xabja Natry jnf onpx (ernqvat Ohssl'f qvnel), ohg pubfr abg gb zragvba vg. Bgure guna gung, Ohssl onaarq ure sebz rivy tybirf naq rivy snxr Jngpuref.