Responding to Brian

I enjoyed "Lies My Parents Told Me" despite the flaws which Brian cited
in its relationship to established Vampire lore. You see, I have been a Star
Trek and Superman fan for so long that I've grown a gland in my brain which
is designed to explain away continuity glitches. Unfortunately, it doesn't
always work (some flaws are just too grating and too big) but some of the
time I can come away with some really good stuff.

In this case, I see what Brian was saying about Angel and his family, but
from what we had been told, Angel's father was very disappointed in him
BEFORE he was turned. They would argue a bit and their relationship was
shoddy at best. His relationship with the rest of his family would probably have
been influenced by this. William, on the other hand, truly loved his mother.
And that's how it goes. You have to be able to believe in some of this or you
would have to ask yourself why a vampire would bother turning anyone in the first
place when it would simply be better to just eat them.

This is also not a new concept to Joss's world, as it was evidenced in the BUFFY
THE VAMPIRE SLAYER feature film. Benny (David Arquette) wanted to bite Pike
and turn him, at least it seemed to me, because they had been friends before he had
turned. Now if you don't want to say that that is a part of canon, fine. But this is
certainly not a new notion in terms of Vampire Lore in general, so it shouldn't be too
surprising that it shows up in M.E. vampire lore.

As for the rest of the show being inconsequential, I can't agree. Buffy and Giles have
been butting heads a bit during this season, but it finally came to a head. A
SERIOUS HEAD. Let's not forget that this is a father figure for her. Someone who
she deeply cares for. They just had their biggest disagreement ever. And its a strong
one; one that I feel in my own life. The only thing I can't stand with people that I deal
with is when they deceive me or try to manipulate me. The closer I am to the person,
the more it hurts. If we were to apply that to Buffy, she would be VERY hurt by this, in
a way that I would almost think would mark Giles for death in the Buffyverse. I mean,
it would be perfect, in fitting with M.E. tradition. She gets really ticked at him, he goes
and does something selfless, sacrificing himself, and she gets all sad about it, but that
sadness turns to resolve, forcing her to defeat the big bad. Granted, that exact storyline
hasn't happened yet, but it sounds kinda Joss-like in some way. A "pull the carpet out
from underneath you" kinda strategy.

Anyway, while there was a bit of wheel turning, I stand by my statement that when the
characters themselves start to notice it, you know it's time for a change.



  posted by J @ 10:19