Ooh, yes, about Giles and relevance. Which again is part of the paradox of the guy. He's smart enough to know that he can no longer be ESSENTIAL, but then does that make him fully irrelevant? He's known that he was becoming irrelevant as early as s4, if not from the moment in WttH when Buffy spotted the vampire without having to "hone."
The other big thing about this story is that it references the question of whether Willow should be punished, and the oft-voiced criticism of the fact that Willow didn't get punished enough -- with the Coven's tack mirroring the show's, which is that maybe that's not really the best path to take.
I think the other thing about Giles' decision, which I think a few fans miss (or, may just be my interpretation) is that there is real humility in it: he simply is not good enough to be able to deal with Buffy's problems, and is getting in the way of Buffy's own strength. Some people feel as if if only Giles were there, none of the badness in s6 would have happened, which I think overstates the influence the guy was already having before he left -- he was never really able to deal with Willow, for example, and his kind of distant speech to Xander in All the Way about whether he's going to consider getting children seems like feigning interest. This isn't even a criticism of Giles; he didn't sign on to be a father to the whole gang.
Mark Field's reviews are good, but certainly I understand not finding the time. I might check out for a while when he gets deeper into s6 depending on what I'm doing at the time -- I think that he feels that Willow's story doesn't hold together, and, well, it does hold together for me, but arguing that takes time and resources and energy I don't always have.
And yes to the point about Tara. Saying that she should stand by Willow because Willow needs her is a little like saying she should realize that the Maclays must have made up that "demon" thing because they need her and stand by them. There was a recent discussion on Buffyforums wherein norwie stated that he felt that Tara was intended as a kind of an earth-mother self-sacrificing forgiveness archetype, but I think that actually goes against the Tara in the show; one of the best things about Tara is that she actually does (in Family and here) find the strength to take care of herself and get herself away from people who abuse her, even if those people genuinely love her (which Willow does; jury's out on the Maclays, I guess -- I'd say that Cousin Beth is the most sympathetic if only because I bet that she wants Tara to stay in order to have someone else to protect Beth herself from being the sole oppressed woman, but that is probably not an act of love). (Though maybe I find Cousin Beth sympathetic-ish just because she's Amy Adams.) She does forgive Willow too quickly, in the end, but even in Entropy it's not so clear to me that she's actually "forgiven" her per se so much as acknowledged that her need for Willow is great enough for it to be worth taking the chance of returning.
Also, obviously, congrats on the award btw! Well deserved -- it was a great and fun (and not entirely lighthearted, W&H seduction with the Strawberries of Darkness from Wrecked/Two to Go recast and all) (I can't believe I didn't comment on it at the time -- where was I anyway?).
ETA: Since you said "if you ever have the time" to norwie, if you ever get the chance yourself do feel free to check out the Willow s6 filtered post a while back. I feel like at some point I am going to rejigger it enough to see the light of unflocked day, but I'd love to hear your take on it. Of course -- I see you're also planning a s7 post, so, take your time, obviously.
ETA2: I had forgotten parts of your story: "Then she felt it; there was something underneath the thin coat of paint on the wall - scrawls, doodles, figures, formulas, all in a mad chaotic blackeyed screaming let-me-out-of-hell mess that felt way too close to Things One Must Keep Under Control At All Times. She yanked her hand back as if the wall had burned her. "Yikes."" Wow. Right. Yes. Good.
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The other big thing about this story is that it references the question of whether Willow should be punished, and the oft-voiced criticism of the fact that Willow didn't get punished enough -- with the Coven's tack mirroring the show's, which is that maybe that's not really the best path to take.
I think the other thing about Giles' decision, which I think a few fans miss (or, may just be my interpretation) is that there is real humility in it: he simply is not good enough to be able to deal with Buffy's problems, and is getting in the way of Buffy's own strength. Some people feel as if if only Giles were there, none of the badness in s6 would have happened, which I think overstates the influence the guy was already having before he left -- he was never really able to deal with Willow, for example, and his kind of distant speech to Xander in All the Way about whether he's going to consider getting children seems like feigning interest. This isn't even a criticism of Giles; he didn't sign on to be a father to the whole gang.
Mark Field's reviews are good, but certainly I understand not finding the time. I might check out for a while when he gets deeper into s6 depending on what I'm doing at the time -- I think that he feels that Willow's story doesn't hold together, and, well, it does hold together for me, but arguing that takes time and resources and energy I don't always have.
And yes to the point about Tara. Saying that she should stand by Willow because Willow needs her is a little like saying she should realize that the Maclays must have made up that "demon" thing because they need her and stand by them. There was a recent discussion on Buffyforums wherein norwie stated that he felt that Tara was intended as a kind of an earth-mother self-sacrificing forgiveness archetype, but I think that actually goes against the Tara in the show; one of the best things about Tara is that she actually does (in Family and here) find the strength to take care of herself and get herself away from people who abuse her, even if those people genuinely love her (which Willow does; jury's out on the Maclays, I guess -- I'd say that Cousin Beth is the most sympathetic if only because I bet that she wants Tara to stay in order to have someone else to protect Beth herself from being the sole oppressed woman, but that is probably not an act of love). (Though maybe I find Cousin Beth sympathetic-ish just because she's Amy Adams.) She does forgive Willow too quickly, in the end, but even in Entropy it's not so clear to me that she's actually "forgiven" her per se so much as acknowledged that her need for Willow is great enough for it to be worth taking the chance of returning.
Also, obviously, congrats on the award btw! Well deserved -- it was a great and fun (and not entirely lighthearted, W&H seduction with the Strawberries of Darkness from Wrecked/Two to Go recast and all) (I can't believe I didn't comment on it at the time -- where was I anyway?).
ETA: Since you said "if you ever have the time" to norwie, if you ever get the chance yourself do feel free to check out the Willow s6 filtered post a while back. I feel like at some point I am going to rejigger it enough to see the light of unflocked day, but I'd love to hear your take on it. Of course -- I see you're also planning a s7 post, so, take your time, obviously.
ETA2: I had forgotten parts of your story: "Then she felt it; there was something underneath the thin coat of paint on the wall - scrawls, doodles, figures, formulas, all in a mad chaotic blackeyed screaming let-me-out-of-hell mess that felt way too close to Things One Must Keep Under Control At All Times. She yanked her hand back as if the wall had burned her. "Yikes."" Wow. Right. Yes. Good.