(no subject)

Still detouring from my plans to re-watch the whole of Angel by re-watching later seasons of Buffy. Over Christmas break I polished off Season 4 and Season 5. I was surprised at my own reaction, because I had been well within the mainstream "what was Joss thinking when he added a little sister" camp when S5 first aired, yet quite enjoyed it on the re-watch. In contrast, S4 was something of a disappointment.

I didn't start watching Buffy seriously until S5 (despite gimmelgirl's best efforts). I'd seen some odd episodes of S4, which were enough to get me watching and enjoying the daily re-runs of S1-3 on my local Fox affiliate. Compared with the joys and dramas of the first three seasons (which are still my favorites) S5 seemed sad, with too much focus on the 'new' scoobies. But upon rewatching, S5 holds up very well. There's a relatively high quality maintained throughout the season; not so many standout episodes as S2 or S3, but not a lot of total dogs either. The pace is strong and steady, leading to a painful but artistically and emotionally fulfilling conclusion. Buffy's interest in locating and understanding the source of her power, being forced to cope with her mother's illness and death, and lonely role as protector of her sister turn out to be great ways to mature and develop her character (too bad it was so carelessly tossed aside in S6-7). And 'The Body' is still some of the best writing Joss Whedon has ever done. Few shows, even mainstream dramas, have dealt with death in such a painfully authentic way, and I love how he carries the effect of Joyce's death through the end of the season. Overall, I think S5's highly serialized format works even better via DVD, where you can appreciate the season's momentum.

On the other hand, S4 was a lot less engaging than I remember, and was occasionally a bit of a chore to get through. Everybody loves 'Hush' and 'Restless', with good reason. They're very well written. But they're also just about all this season has to offer, the rest of the episodes ranging from mediocre to not good, with a few staggeringly awful ones thrown in (defend 'Beer Bad' or 'Where the Wild Things Are', if you can). Professor Walsh has the makings of an interesting villain, but she's killed off early, leaving only Adam, who is MOTW material at best. S4 also marks the start of the ever more convoluted machinations to keep Spike on the show; I found most of them ridiculous to dire, and unfortunately they combine to drain all that was compelling and dangerous out of his character, leaving a faded copy of Angel in their wake (I've still got the dents in my forehead from headdesking when I heard James Marsters would be joining the last season of Angel).

S4 starts off with a steep hill to climb--a lot of shows set in high school have trouble transitioning to college. Beyond the handicap of the setting, the main problem with S4 is that its premise isn't strong enough to carry 22 episodes. The supernatural Big Bad is weak, the government conspiracy thread seems derivative and worn, and the main villain is the distance that moving on to life post-high school has created between the four main characters. Although the resolution is pleasing (the scoobies discover that they're stronger together), having them take 21 episodes to figure it out, unfortunately, made the characters seem less than who they are. I found it difficult to believe that four people who had been through so much together would lose their bond so quickly. Giles' characterization is especially unbelievable, as he's not a teenager but a man who has consciously chosen to make supporting a slayer his life's work, to his own professional and personal detriment; would he really be kicking her out of the nest so early ('The Freshman') and blind to how she's clearly failing to find her way now she's in college ('Beer Bad','Pangs', 'Doomed', 'The Yoko Factor')? But the rest of the characterizations are hard for me to swallow as well--Willow oblivious to what's going on with Xander, who's been her closest friend since kindergarten? Buffy so out of it she doesn't realize how difficult things have been for Willow since Oz left town? And don't get me started on Xander's ritual humiliation, which is played entirely for laughs. None of it rings very true to me; it feels like the characters are being torn down and forced apart because the script called for it, rather than because it was a natural reaction of the characters to changed circumstances. Apart from seeing 'Hush' and 'Restless' and spotting Kal Penn again ('Beer Bad', under long, lank bangs), there wasn't a lot I really enjoyed.