Day 5: Least Favorite Female Character: Veruca

You might be wondering why I decided to go with a lesser known character- one that’s not part of the scoobies.
I guess this entire post will explain why.
the main reason though…
Veruca single handedly turned
THIS:

TO THIS:

WHICH CAUSED THIS:

and if anyone knows what kind of Buffy fan I am… I HATE it when Willow cries. I automatically get in ‘defensive mode’. and want to kill anyone who’s causing her pain. I felt this way about Xander in seasons 2-3. But Veruca really crosses the line with this one.

Let’s get back to Veruca. She, like Oz… is a warewolf.
And I’m not talking about the cute giant version of cuddly puppies you see on Twilight either.
Ok, so the warewolves on Buffy aren’t exactly realistic looking- but despite that, they show that they’re ferocious- can kill- they are dangerous and should be taken seriously.

Anyway, Veruca confesses to Oz that she herself is a warewolf, and she attempt to ‘help’ Oz get in touch with his Animal side.
and he takes responsibility and decides to lock her up with him during the full moon- to which Willow finds them lying together naked the next morning.

She tried to cast a spell on her…
and all these crazy things go down.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, rewatch Season 4, episode: Wild at Heart. That’ll jog your memory a bit.

Anyway, heading back to Veruca. Her first appearance was in ‘Living Conditions’ -where she had made serious eye contact with Oz.
Huge foreshadowing. Thankfully- Buffy brought an end to her :D

Yes, I hate her character purely because she broke Willow’s heart and cause the break-up of the couple I really wanted to see work well into the end.
But, this is the bad kind of hate. It’s not one of those characters that you ‘love to hate’ (example for me: Joffrey of Game of Thrones)
NO- she’s a character I HATE -there’s no love from me at all.

The worst thing is seeing this side of Willow:

Call me one sided, I don’t care, but Veruca is the worst female character in the Buffy-verse… possibly ALL of Whedon-verse? maybe.

What do you think?

~Virginia James

Day 4: Favorite Female Character: Anya Jenkins

Anya Jenkins is my number one favorite character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
…why?
I love talking about this character so, fair warning, this post will be kinda long ;)

I picked Anya because she is not only the oldest character in the series, but she’s the character with the most dimension, and very rich with history- not too shabby for a character that was meant to be a one-episode ‘monster of the week’, right?

She is a thousand year old vengeance demon-turned-human.
I’ll tell you how her story begins!

From the beginning, we know (from info on the show) that she lived in the 9th century in a Scandinavian village, and was married to Olaf, a troll hunter (not much of a looker) -When she found out that he had been unfaithful with a barmaid, she cast a spell to turn him into a troll.

Now, we know that she had worked some magic to previous ex lovers before Olaf, and all of this vengeful energy calls the attention of D’hoffryn, a Vengeance demon, who offers her immortality in exchange for her work in wreaking havoc as a vengeance demon.

An interesting thing to note…
We also learn from the series, that Anyanka was known in her viking village, as a very strange person. While she was married to Olaf, she used to breed rabbits, care for them, and would often give them as gifts. Psychologically speaking, the connection she subconsciously makes between rabbits and Olaf have spawned her fear in rabbits after she becomes human.

After she fails in her ‘vengeancing’ in ‘The Wish’, Anya has her powers taken away, and is forced to live a mortal life, and attend Sunnydale High.

This is what makes Anya the most interesting character. After nearly a thousand years of being a demon, and causing death and chaos, she has to kind of re-learn being a human. This is why she tends to speak what she thinks, or rather speaks before she speaks and has many inappropriate lines, and it explains why she can often be perceived as a childish, or selfish character. She has no idea how humans act in the present time, and has trouble adjusting.

On top of learning to be human again, she has this fear of death. She loses her immortality, and wants to rush all of the good things in life, such as getting married, and having kids, because she says. “I only have about fifty years left”. To her, having lived for a thousand years, that must feel like very little time.

On the episode, “The Body”, she expresses confusion of death, and helps to accent the reality in the episode of how terrible the death of a loved one can be.

All in all, Anya Jenkins has the funnies lines, and is a very versatile character. Whether she’s making you laugh with her ‘foot-in -the-mouth’ lines, or she’s making you cry with her confusion of death, or her sadness of being left in the altar.

The dimension and rich history of the character definitely made her stand out to me, and that is why she is my favorite female character. :)

Who’s your fave female character???
~Virginia James

P.S. If you’ve noticed, I haven’t been completing this challenge on a daily basis as I have not had time, BUT, I am definitely going to do each and every one, in order -although it wont be every day

:)

Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode

Of course, throughout the series, we get to hear several bands and artists’ music as a background soundtrack throughout certain scenes, or even performing in the Bronze… However, I thought I’d choose a song from ‘Once More, With Feeling’ (season 6, episode 7)
Why? Well, because considering it’s the musical episode with the catchy songs intertwined in the plot- I figure it’s the episode with the most memorable music. Also… you guys will be more likely to know what the heck I’m talking about :D

Sorting through the soundtrack.. I came up with two favorites.
1. I’ll Never Tell
2. Where do We go From Here

Let’s start with number 2.
Where do we go from here is basically the number leading up to the ‘grand finale’
Buffy and Spike’s fist kiss! But that’s not actually why I chose this song. Initially it is because of the vocal harmony of the entire cast- It just sounds like a genuinely great song- Something I’d like to choreograph and rehearse with my own friends (if I had any who appreciate Buffy as much as I do).

But this song is more than that… it’s the song that everyone expresses their emotions with after they were each torn apart by one another’s song. It’s that sigh of release which shows that everything turned out okay. It’s the song that shows how much they each care about each other despite everything that was said and done.

*********************************

My #1 favorite song: I’ll Never Tell!
This song was great because it had that sort of old 20’s swing style to it :) and we get a visual taste of that style when we see Xander in the silk robe, and Anya in that love red lingerie, with the lovely vintage hairstyle and classic red lipstick.

The theme of this song is fear.Although it begins with that up-beat ‘i’ll love you till we die’ tone, it quickly turns sour after the first few sweet lines.Not only do they sing about each other’s annoyances, but they also bring out their fears about marriage, and old age-inevitably doubting if they are right for each other.
The reason I chose this song, is because it marks as a foreshadow to Hell’s Bell’s. Of course we know that when Xander tells his friends about their engagement, he appears to begin to have doubts, right then and there -he was seemingly overwhelmed with everything happening so fast. Those fears are well expressed in this song: “she’s swell… that’s why i’ll never tell her that I’m petrified. I lied, I said it’s easy- I’ve tried… but there’s these fears I can’t quell… Is she looking for a pot of gold? Will our lives become to stressful if I’m never that successful…”

These were all fears we have heard from Xander before- so why are they swelling up inside him again. Because this is foreshadowing events for episode: Hell’s Bells

This is the #1 reason I love this song so much- it preps us for the biggest mistake Xander makes in his life (in my opinion) -leaving Aya at the altar… tisk, tisk!

Day 2: Favorite Episode

Season 2, Episode 17: Passion (1998)
Summary:
Because of the way Angelus, who enjoys taunting Spike at the Hellmouth but above all his scorned lover, once took revenge on Drusilla’s family, Buffy fears a similar fate for her ma Joyce Summers, but may not tell her the truth. Gipsy Jenny hopes to redeem her deceit of Buffy and Giles by attempting to translate the Gypsy curse in Rumanian on a vessel fit for soul transfer, hoping to restore to Angelus his human soul and thus transform him back into loving, suffering Angel, but he is ahead of her as Giles finds to his personal grief as the gang loses a member and finds he took off for revenge on his own…
[imdb.com]

There are several different episodes of Buffy, which broke the mold of the average 90’s television series. Episode Passion was the epitome of mold breakers. This episode showed the dark side of the series- not just your average ‘scary movie’ kind of dark side, but an extremely disturbing one that digs deep into the psychology of the series. Not only did a main character DIE- we also, for the very first time- saw the true evil that layers vampire lore within the buffy-verse.
We got to see a glimpse of Angel’s past… as Angelus, he was indefinitely a demon in the flesh.
Angelus showed off his poetic side, and psychotic side, threatening Buffy, her friends, and mother- and KILLING a main character- that’s something that absolutely NO series in the 90’s had done.

But Joss Whedon, loved to take risks- he planned out the death of Jenny Calendar for two reasons.

1. To show that death is real- it’s scary- and it can happen to anyone.
2. To express that Angelus was not ‘kinda mean’ or ‘just angry’ -but that he was in fact truly evil in this twisted romantic way.

THAT in itself is what makes this episode so great- it was beautifully written, beautifully shot, with perfect music- and it was an episode that expressed the consequence of every action which took place.

if you have NOT seen this episode- or can’t recall it…. WATCH IT! or REWATCH IT!

So that’s it! My all-time favorite Buffy Episode :)

Until next time,

good night Sunnydale!

~Virginia James

Angelus: [narrating] “Passion… it lies in all of us. Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir, open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us, guides us… passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? “

What did you think of this episode?
IF this wasn’t your favorite- which one was?

buffy-sunnydale:

https://twitter.com/JossActual

Day 1: Favorite Season:

My favorite season was season 2…. tied with season 3…. but for this sake, let’s make season 2 the winner :D

I’ll admit, season 2 has its bad moments… of really bad episodes, (Some assembly Required, Bad Eggs, Inca Mummy Girl, Ted…etc.)
But overall it was a great season! It begins with Buffy showing her bad side as a way of coping with the fact that she died in season 1 and was revived!

Kendra is introduced… and although her fake Jamaican accent was at times painful to hear, it was a nicely done ‘tip of the hat’ to the legend of the slayer, in that -when one dies, another is called. Through Kendra, we learn more about what a slayer is, or at least what a slayer is supposed to be: more soldier-like and alone. On top of that, her death brings Faith in season 3!

The Death of Jenny in the episode Passion was definitely the most difficult death I’ve had to watch in the series. That in itself, made the season for me! Poor Giles! But of course, a death in the ‘Buffy gang’ was definitely needed to ensure to everyone that this is not a traditional show with happy endings- this is a series true to real life, where anything can happen to anyone.

Seeing Buffy’s emotional state, when she has to kill Angel as he gets his soul back… was of course, an extremely sad moment -what a way to end a season.