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Buffy - Season 8; Angel - After the Fall; Serenity - Better Days [SPOILERS]

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RobbieOC:
I'll talk about season 8 and After the Fall.

I just finished watching Angel sometime in January, which was awesome timing since the comic is just getting going, and I do really enjoy is so far. I love what they've done with Connor/Nina/Gwen and the whole Lords of Hell thing is an awesome idea (especially seeing how Spike and Lorne both ended up taking to the roles so easily and the way they've chosen to use their power). My only real problem is what they're doing with Gunn, though I'm willing to give it a go for a while and see where exactly they take it. I don't hate the idea, I just think they could have come up with something better.

Season 8 of Buffy meanwhile... I'm really digging it so far. The writing has been perfect and there have been some exceptionally funny moments. The whole bedroom scene in the last issue (where everyone kept running in) was one of my favorite Buffy moments ever. I was glad to see a Faith storyline, and I hope they continue to use her. I'm still hoping for more Andrew. I can't get enough of him.

I haven't picked up Better Days yet. I'll do that and get back to you.

Ozymandias:
I'm of mixed feelings about Gunn.

On the one hand, he's very different from the rest of the Angel gang and it doesn't feel right. Everyone split up after the Fall for various reasons and maintain a little animosity toward Angel for his actions that led them there, but when it comes to it, they're all still the Good Guys and when push comes to shove, they will defend Angel. Everyone, that is, but Gunn and it just...doesn't sit quite right with me.

OTOH, it's a really, really interesting development for the character and an interesting concept to explore in the universe. Angel was a good guy because he had a soul. Spike was a good guy because of the chip and love of the fight and then because of his soul and love for Buffy. But Gunn is a "good guy" just because he wants to prove he can be, vampire or not. And, let's face it, near the end of season 5 Gunn wasn't much of an interesting character. Interesting things would happen to him, but he wasn't much.

Anyway, issue #13 of Buffy and issue #6 of Angel actually came out yesterday. Buffy was hilarious because of Xander and, uh, his Master (and Willow and Satsu have a great moment) but Angel was...meh. They're doing the First Night thing right now and I don't really care. Lorne's part was clever and Conner had his moments, but otherwise I'd rather they just get on with the story.

RobbieOC:
I'll have to go pick those new issues up tomorrow. I've been real interested about the First Night stuff, to be honest, so that sounds pretty cool to me.

I don't like the whole Buffy/Satsu thing. There was some funny stuff because of it, but the actual "them" stuff... I don't know. Maybe it will grow on me, and I guess with both Angel and Spike out of the picture they've got to do something, but I don't like the decision they made. I sincerely hope they prove me wrong.

About Gunn. He was one of my favorite throughout the whole show. He's an interesting guy, because he is just a guy. He doesn't have the superpowers or watcher's training or anything like that. He's just a guy. That's why he's such a great character. Now... he's not just a guy, and there aren't any "people" in the cast anymore. Even Wesley is a ghost, so there's no touchstone anymore. Gunn was always the Xander character in Angel, because you identify with him. I guess... now we identify with Angel? Did they pull that switch on us?

Ozymandias:
I think After the Fall is actually bringing up the actual question of who is a "champion" in Angel. Gunn was always an ordinary man living in the world of demons and fighting it for revenge and because, well, he's human. But he's not anymore and he continues to fight for good, according to him, for what? Revenge or because he wants to? If he actually does good, does it matter? And does it mean more if he does it while being a soulless monster?

Angel, on the other hand, was a monster given a soul and it hurt him like hell. He had all the strength of a vampire but was forced to deal with his inner demons. He fought good because he felt guilty, because he wanted to redeem himself in his own eyes. And now he's human, ostensibly redeemed from being a monster, but still he fights. He fights like he doesn't have to worry about his newfound weakness. Like he's not mortal. Because he wants to continue the fight for good and save humanity.

Meanwhile, Spike has all the strength of a vampire plus the soul, but he's still a selfish git. He sits as a Lord of LA drinking blood from a fountain and having gaggles of women around him and, yeah, he helps Illyria deal and the underground human resistance surreptitiously, but he doesn't engage himself directly and avoids confrontation.

I dunno. I'm more interested in the character development than keeping the characters static because that's how they were.

Also, The Buffy/Satsu thing is growing on me the more I think about it. Buffy is lonely and stressed. Buffy is surrounded by girls who idolize her and even love her. Satsu is more of an equal to Buffy than most of the rest and...she needed release. I think it was irresponsible of her, but it's not an inconceivable act.

RobbieOC:
Point taken. I never wanted the characters to stay static, I guess I'm just still coping with the changes that were made. The world of Angel is so different now, and the way the characters are being written reflect that in a really neat way. They literally live in hell, so I guess I can't expect them to be the same as when they just lived in LA.

What are the chances they try and bring back some of the dead characters like Fred, Doyle, Lindsey or Cordelia? Since they're in Hell, and it's a comic now (so no having to worry about the real life death of Glenn Quinn) I wouldn't mind at all seeing more of Doyle. And it always made me sad that they got rid of Fred, even though I really like Illyria. I'd be OK without Cordelia or Lindsey, to be honest, but if they bring back the other two...

And the Buffy thing makes sense, but the whole lesbian thing has been done so much (and so well) already in Buffy that I'm afraid they'll oversaturate things. If that makes sense. Willow and Tara were cool because it was kind of a new thing on TV. And then Kennedy came along, but it was still Willow. With Buffy thrown in... like I said, I hope they prove me wrong.

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