Buffy Season 3

[WayneLigon]

OK, just finished Season Three last night. Excellent episodes, but there is one thing I'm wondering about. Principal Snyder seemed to have some idea of what was going on in Sunnydale (he even refers to them being on a Hellmouth, once) and even that the mayor was involved (when Buffy's mom threatens to take the case of her coming back to school 'to the mayor', he responds, after she's gone 'Now wouldn't that be interesting'). So.. was he just some pawn, or what? Where did he get this knowledge? Was he there to keep Buffy distracted, or what?

 

[Viking Bastard]

I always saw it as he was the Mayor's buttmonkey. In season two he's always talking to the Mayor by phone.

 

[John Crichton]

I just saw him as a strict disciplinarian who knew something was up, was told to keep a lid on it and did as he was told. I don't think he had any idea as to the true events happening in the town. He knew something was up but never truly got a handle on it.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Well, that too of course.

 

[John Crichton]

Heheh, I actually like the "Buttmonkey Theory" as well.

Altho, it usually just applies to Xander.

 

[WayneLigon]

Poor Xander. I have to feel for him, since he dies seem to be a fifth wheel some times. He researches some, he goes and gets things, he gets knocked out.. I was hoping after the episode with The Judge that the skills he got from the Halloween episode would be used more. After all, I'd think he'd know some much better fighting skills than he's shown. Though he does seem to have the ability to procude military hardware with little problem

Does he get better in later episodes? Or is he always kinda useless?

 

[Chun-tzu]

Poor Xander. I have to feel for him, since he dies seem to be a fifth wheel some times. He researches some, he goes and gets things, he gets knocked out.. I was hoping after the episode with The Judge that the skills he got from the Halloween episode would be used more. After all, I'd think he'd know some much better fighting skills than he's shown. Though he does seem to have the ability to procude military hardware with little problem

Does he get better in later episodes? Or is he always kinda useless?

I have the exact opposite reaction. The "instant soldier" thing always bugs the heck out of me (not that it's happened before in Buffy, but it's happened to several X-Men: Shadowcat, Psylocke, and, to a lesser degree, Nightcrawler).

Buffy is not a show about a super-hero team, nor is it a D&D party. Xander does not have to be a bad ass in combat to be important to the show. Xander's BEST moments in the series have had nothing to do with kicking butt: the Zeppo (the episode where he was the main character); the season 6 finale where he stops Willow from destroying the world; and the talk with Dawn in the last episode. Xander shone because he was Xander, and nothing more.

If they MUST power him up, it should at least be done in an organic way. In Angel, Wesley's change has been really interesting. Cordy also made a conscious decision to develop her combat skills. But they're not changing Fred and Lorne into bad asses, because there's no reason; same with Xander and Dawn.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I hope they don't do too much with Xander, powerwise, simply because I think they've mostly ruined Willow with her all powerful magic.

She went from ritualistic magic to casting spells on a whim, and the power of the spells jumped up quite a bit. Really took something out of the setting for me.

 

[John Crichton]

I hope they don't do too much with Xander, powerwise, simply because I think they've mostly ruined Willow with her all powerful magic.

She went from ritualistic magic to casting spells on a whim, and the power of the spells jumped up quite a bit. Really took something out of the setting for me.

They won't mess with Xander. His is the show's quintessential everyman and I don't see Joss messing with that. And as for Willow, I liked her old character just as much as the new more powerful character. They are essentially just the same at this point with the current version being older than the pre-magic Willow.

 

[Oogar]

On Topic -- I loved Season 3, the first time. At the time it was super great, and I awaited each new episode with joy in my heart. Now I really only like about 5 of the episodes as I go back through the list. Maybe I need to rush my purchase and power through in a Marathon. I think my big problem was that I loved Faith the first time through, and now she just bothers me for some reason.

Off Topic -- Watching the early seasons reminds me of how young and healthy everyone looked. I don't like the too thin look that Buffy sports now, her neck seems "snappable" rather then tasty. Willow seemed skinny, now she seems gaunt. I know this may seem shallow, but it just reminds me that SMG and Alyson are older them the characters they are playing. The change in appearance can work for the story, but it does annoy me.
There are other trends that I see in this post that Mirror the way I feel about the show. Sometimes enjoyable to see I may not be alone, as much as I feel I am, at times.