This is about how the course of the show was changed por things the writers didn't plan, like the actors needing time of or wanting to leave.
This was inspired por me watching the end of s6 and being as bugged as i always am por the conversation between Buffy and Giles when Giles returns. Don't get me wrong, the part when they're both laughing hysterically cracks me up, the bit i hate is when they're talking aout Giles leaving and Buffy says it was the right thing to do. It wasnt. I heard (im not 100% this is accurate) they wrote Giles out for a while because Tony Head wanted to spend some time in England. The problem they then had to face is that Giles leaving at a time like that was out of character and a little callous. Buffy had just gone through arguably the most traumatic experience of her life and he left because, after a few months, she wasnt coping well enough? I was never satisfied with that explination and i think the fact that they needed a quick excuse for him to leave showed.
On the other hand it was circumstance that led to angel leaving Buffy. He had become popular enough for his own show, and i think that was great for not only the fãs who got Angel, but for BTVS. Staying would have made no sense for him, the way he left and the reasons he gave seemed exactly what the character would do. If he hadn't been given his own show would he have stayed, keeping Buffy in a relationship were they could never sleep together incase he lost his soul? the way he viewed their relationship and the fact he felt he was keeping Buffy from having a normal boyfriend, it would've been odd if he'd stayed despite of that. So circumstance worked in the shows favour then.
My final example is one i have mixed feelings on. Oz leaving. I loved Oz as a character, but prefered the willow/tara relationship so it's hard for me to say if i think his leaving was a good thing. Still Oz left because Seth Green wanted to go. Again i wasn't completely satisfied with the first reason he gave for leaving, basically because being a werewolf made him dangerous even though he had been a werewolf for ages before then (i know he put willow in danger in that episode which prompted him to go but i still dont think that was a good enough excuse since that was an isolated incident and usually he had an easy time controlling the situation) but the segundo reason, after he comes back and his jealousy over tara makes him attack her, i could accept as a valid reason for him to go.
So that's three ways circumstance affected the show, one for the worse one for the better and one im torn over. What do you think about how it changed Buffy? was circumstance good or bad for the show?
This was inspired por me watching the end of s6 and being as bugged as i always am por the conversation between Buffy and Giles when Giles returns. Don't get me wrong, the part when they're both laughing hysterically cracks me up, the bit i hate is when they're talking aout Giles leaving and Buffy says it was the right thing to do. It wasnt. I heard (im not 100% this is accurate) they wrote Giles out for a while because Tony Head wanted to spend some time in England. The problem they then had to face is that Giles leaving at a time like that was out of character and a little callous. Buffy had just gone through arguably the most traumatic experience of her life and he left because, after a few months, she wasnt coping well enough? I was never satisfied with that explination and i think the fact that they needed a quick excuse for him to leave showed.
On the other hand it was circumstance that led to angel leaving Buffy. He had become popular enough for his own show, and i think that was great for not only the fãs who got Angel, but for BTVS. Staying would have made no sense for him, the way he left and the reasons he gave seemed exactly what the character would do. If he hadn't been given his own show would he have stayed, keeping Buffy in a relationship were they could never sleep together incase he lost his soul? the way he viewed their relationship and the fact he felt he was keeping Buffy from having a normal boyfriend, it would've been odd if he'd stayed despite of that. So circumstance worked in the shows favour then.
My final example is one i have mixed feelings on. Oz leaving. I loved Oz as a character, but prefered the willow/tara relationship so it's hard for me to say if i think his leaving was a good thing. Still Oz left because Seth Green wanted to go. Again i wasn't completely satisfied with the first reason he gave for leaving, basically because being a werewolf made him dangerous even though he had been a werewolf for ages before then (i know he put willow in danger in that episode which prompted him to go but i still dont think that was a good enough excuse since that was an isolated incident and usually he had an easy time controlling the situation) but the segundo reason, after he comes back and his jealousy over tara makes him attack her, i could accept as a valid reason for him to go.
So that's three ways circumstance affected the show, one for the worse one for the better and one im torn over. What do you think about how it changed Buffy? was circumstance good or bad for the show?
As for Oz leaving, I accepted his original reason, because I got the impression that his condition was worsening. Plus Veruca forced him to confront the fact that he wasn't just a werewolf for certain days of the month- the wolf was inside of him all the time. He was living in denial of his true self. It fit for him to leave, not just to protect Willow, but to come to terms with his condition.
I reiterate what I said before, I don't think it was out of character, so much as a character development. And maybe Giles was afraid that if he stuck around longer that he wouldn't be able to leave later. Sometimes you just have to make a clean cut. If you drag things out, you get dragged down. You lose your will, you get sucked into a rut. I think he was afraid of that happening. In fact, he could see it happening; the way he gave her money and the way she left Dawn's discipline up to him. He let that happen. And I think he realized if he stuck around, he would continue to let it happen and he wouldn't be able to extricate himself.
Its not that i wish he hadn't left because it had to happen, and the scene where he returns to fight dark willow was great. Im not sorry he left when he did I just wish they had either explained it differently or had buffy be at least a little pissed at him when he came back.
the thing that bugs me about the giles story is that he left to england and came back when she was alive and then he left again so it was almost like he really did want to leave and maybe a selfish part of him was urgin him on to do so
I thought it would have been nice to maybe have a few scenes with giles in england showing him working the witches and stuff because of his concern about willow, we know he must have been in contact with the covern in some way because of him coming back, it would be nice to have seen that and nice to have areason why they picked a watcher to do this rather than one of their brethren
as for the angel storyline i have a much bigger isssue with that than anything to do with giles story infact it's probably the only storyline in the whole entire buffyverse i have major issues against, I loved the whole angel/angelus and angel going to hell but as soon he dropped down in to the mansion, it was just like "huh?" he from that moment on served no real purpose in the storyline and to me it did not make any sense, if the powers that be brought him back for a greater reason surly they would have put him in L.A. where he was needed
Also his reason for leaving was the worst thing ever, I'm not a bangel fan and i was almost screaming at the telly "you love her you twit you can't decide what's best for her you **** just stay" ahem lol I just really didn't like the way he left, it didn't make sense to the bangel storyline to me and why did he go to L.A.? it seems to have no clear significance of anything......I don't know why but maybe going to Ireland or somewhere really far away to find peace....not the next city over
I agree with you on the Oz storyline completely though
anyways 5 stars on the article and props to all three of you for getting me good and riled lol
The Bangel storyline is really down to ship in my opinion. If your a Bangel supporter the answer is that he loved her and he wanted the best for her. More then anything Buffy wanted a normal life and no matter how much Angel loved her he couldnt give that to her. Even when he became a man over on Angel he knew that the Powers had brought him back for a reason that was bigger then both of them. From a writers point of view Angel had become to big of a character with to big a following to be confined to a supporting role. Debs Id assume the reason he was only moved to LA was to make cross-overs as easy as possible and plus Buffy once lived in LA and we knew there was a fair bit of demon action going on there. Also thats where Doyle was and the Powers sent Angel to Doyle. As for why he didnt return to Irelan well its become pretty boring in the last 100 or so years!
I also agree with debs about wishing we'd seen something of what Giles was up to in England. It would have made his return (which I think was a tad cheesy) a little less abrupt. I also thought Angel's return in 3rd season was pointless, but I've never been a fan of Angel(him or the show), so I don't waste time thinking about him. ;D
And I agree with jig too(guess I'm just in an agreeable mood! lol) I think he stated what I was trying to say much better.
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