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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wolfspider" data-source="post: 100281" data-attributes="member: 300">I think the show's just been getting better.  Last season was overall great and in some places sublime, so I didn't believe it could get any better.  But this season has proven me wrong.Someone mentioned before that Buffy should acknowledge its debt to Stan Lee, and I agree that Buffy does use a lot of the superhero themes (although these are probably much older than Stan Lee, going back to the Odyssey and Iliad).  In any case, like many superheroes, Buffy has come to realize this season that her superpowers are useless against some of the problems in the world, that she can't save everyone.  People who say that the show has diverged away from science fiction/comics by tackling this issue really don't understand the themes of sci fi and comics very well.In fact, very often it's not the villians that finally wear down the hero, but these mundane elements.  The death of a loved one, the irrational hatred people feel toward you, the attempt to somehow live a normal life when you're a seven-foot tall orange brickman or a Vampire Slayer.Perhaps what frustrates viewers about this season is the fact that Buffy can't jus t go out and slay the big bad of this season, 'cause the big bad is Life.  Sure, the three geeks are shaping up to be a threat (especially their leader), but the threat they represent really pales when compared to how Life can grind a person down.Joss Whedon is quite familiar with comic books.  He knows that once you've featured a Galactus-level villian in a series, you have to take a bit of time afterwards to deal with more down-to-earth problems in order to keep the show/book grounded.  If you don't, you risk having the entire story fly apart.  She faced a god last season, this season she faces...two!  That would be tantamount to having a comic feature Galactus in one issue and the Beyonder in the next.  No, it just wouldn't work.  The world would crumble under the strain of that much power.I love Buffy.  It's not a perfect show, but it's a great one.</blockquote>

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