"Faith, Hope & Trick" REACTION - Buffy 3x3 Commentary (Early Access YouTube)
Added 2024-08-03 23:34:23 +0000 UTC
Comments
I did see Willow not put her hand up, but it was in the edit 🤣👀 I think I missed it first time round.
Tyler Alexander
2024-08-21 16:11:30 +0000 UTCI love this episode (and not because of Angel's butt^^). As you noticed, Faith is introduced as a mirror for Buffy to allow her to move on. It's not the first time the show uses a character for that. Kendra was also a mirror for Buffy the same way Cordelia was at the start of the show. But what I like with BTVS is that characters do evolve. Cordelia did and became a character on her own right. Will Faith follow the same path? The only way to know is to watch^^ I won't add anything about Willow's attitude because others already explained it very well. Instead I will again praise on Giles. He is not pushing Buffy to tell him what happened but let her do it at her own pace while creating a context that allows her to finally express her grief. He is also genuinely concerned about Willow starting to experiment with magics (and we know from last season he has good reasons since what happened to him and Ethan when they were young). He is not only a father figure for Buffy but for the entire gang at that point. To end with a funny note, did you notice when Buffy tells Willow and Xander to raise their hand if "ewww" after Faith calls Giles young and cute, Xander does but Willow doesn't? There is a theory that Willow had a crush on Giles at the beginning of the show. In fact in "I robot, you Jane" from season 1, we can see briefly that Willow has a picture of Giles with her in her locker. Personally, I completely understand her and Faith. How to not have a crush on Giles (rhetorical question of course)? I have almost finished catching up with your Buffy videos. I'm glad to be up to date but kinda sad I will have to wait for the next ones^^
Aurelius 19
2024-08-20 21:26:20 +0000 UTCI wish you lots of rest after travelling 😊🙌🏼
Tyler Alexander
2024-08-16 18:16:38 +0000 UTCCatching up on your videos after a hectic few weeks of travel, and this was a great one to return to! Faith is a really interesting addition - and as you said, complements Buffy's current character arc nicely, while still being her own character. Great observations on Willow. I definitely feel like she's trying to be a good friend, but doesn't understand Buffy's trauma enough to see that her attempts at 'cheering up' Buffy and trying to get her to move on to a new guy come across as dismissive. She's a teenager and she doesn't know the full picture, so I give her some grace, but like you pointed out, it's a character flaw we've seen before, and Buffy deserves to go through things at her own pace. The ending of this episode... yep. Others have mentioned the behind-the-scenes reasons why he had to be in every episode, but you're definitely not alone in thinking that it would have been more impactful if they'd kept him gone for a while longer.
Lucy
2024-08-16 16:49:40 +0000 UTCMy boy FELL ON THE RING. Ouch, man. 😅
Kim Vargas
2024-08-12 16:53:24 +0000 UTCYou are not alone: I'm not a Faith fan either. I'm also not a Spike fan; he's a vampire, he's evil.
Warren Day
2024-08-08 23:10:43 +0000 UTCSame!
Pauline Robertson
2024-08-07 14:28:35 +0000 UTCI am very much in the minority of people who don't adore Faith, never have, never will 😂 I have a feeling you'll join the 'love' camp but that's okay cause everyone has their favourites and I love your insights and reactions👍 Agree on what you were saying about Willow.
Pauline Robertson
2024-08-07 14:28:15 +0000 UTCYes! She got emancipated so that she could work longer hours.
Jennifer McIntyre
2024-08-04 23:49:56 +0000 UTCfaith’s actress was only 17 in her first episodes on buffy. is an interesting fact but always freaks me out a little because of her characterisation haha
Megan
2024-08-04 19:56:21 +0000 UTCThat's an excellent point - I hadn't made the link between her quick fix mentality and this situation, but I think you're spot-on. This even applies to her trying to push Giles into letting her help with "the spell" now that I think about it: she's desperate to exert control and get what she wants, which is Buffy "back to normal" because she can't handle the fact that her friend is clearly traumatised. Where Giles is giving space, Willow is crowding in. SPOILERS AHEAD Your last paragraph especially makes me think of Willow and Tara's argument in "Tough Love", where she feels frustrated that she can't relate to Buffy after Joyce dies, so it's definitely a pattern.
Jordan McLaren
2024-08-04 16:25:52 +0000 UTCUgh Willow. I think what’s to blame is her general tendency to reach for the shortcuts, the quick fixes. She wants things back to normal ASAP, and can’t ever just let a thing lie, let it take the time it’ll take to resolve. She has a HUGE ego, and she’s used to having all the answers. This is a test she can’t figure out how to pass, and it frustrates her that Buffy isn’t playing along—like she’s a doll in Willow’s playhouse. We’ll see that time and time again in future relationships: if Willow can’t control something/someone, she gets fixated and can’t let it go. Further to Tyler’s getting a sense of guilt off of Willow—I fully agree, and I think it stems from Willow also (maybe subconsciously) realizing that she made things way too much about herself last episode, blew her own problems way out of proportion to justify “matching up” to what Buffy’s going through. And so she’s desperate to drag Buffy down to her level—for lack of a better expression—by making Buffy’s problems all about dating and studying, and things Willow can actually relate/compare to. Which I can actually empathize with. Having a slayer for a BFF would make all your problems feel kind of trivial, like you’re never allowed to HAVE problems of your own because they’re not life or death. And that would feel pretty stifling after a while.
Kimplausible
2024-08-04 16:12:42 +0000 UTCI have so much respect for Giles in this episode. He knows there's something that Buffy's been bottling up, but doesn't pressure her and gives her the space to let it out in her own time. Willow on the other hand I find incredibly frustrating; even accounting for the fact that she didn't know the re-ensouling spell worked, her pushiness and insistence that Buffy needs to immediately start dating are just obnoxious. It's a trait she also demonstrated in last season's "I Only Have Eyes For You", where even in the midst of Angelus' reign of terror, she was already pushing Buffy to start dating. I wonder why she places so much importance on this? Is it because she went so long without being in a romantic relationship that she now places an unbalanced level of importance on having one? I don't know, but it's annoying. So happy that Faith's here! She's one of my favourite characters of the whole Buffyverse, and definitely one of the most complex. Can't wait to see what you make of her. As for Angel's return, I'm of two minds about this. I agree that him coming back in some form or another feels very soon, but when I take into account the realities of showrunning and actor's contracts, I understand that David Boreanaz is in the main credits of this season as a main character, which obligates screen time in every episode. Until now, he's been used very sparingly in dream sequences designed to highlight Buffy's trauma and the fact that she's still holding on. Now that she's made steps towards moving on, it would feel like a lack of progress to keep having these dreams. Then of course there is the storytelling aspect you talked about, one that Joss is very fond of, designed to cause the characters the most pain. All in all, without spoilers, I can say I actually don't mind Angel returning this early in the season, but I understand any criticism.
Jordan McLaren
2024-08-04 14:05:02 +0000 UTCFaith's here! Here we go!
Em Alba
2024-08-04 10:30:49 +0000 UTCoh? Is that what happened? That makes a lot of sense.
Tanya TMS
2024-08-04 08:06:14 +0000 UTCI love Faith.
Tanya TMS
2024-08-04 08:04:21 +0000 UTCI've been waiting for you to get to this episode for awhile. I waited for Dru and then I waited for Faith. I adore Faith and so fully agree that her character is very complementary and that's all I'll say on that. Except, I will say her diary is a good read to get some more back-story on her that won't show up in the show. However, you don't need it because I think you will def. pick up on things that are left "unsaid." --- I fully agree that the Scoobies are being shitty. But with that said, I love the lessons the show is presenting us with how trauma manifests with teens and how the world just kind of doesn't look hard enough sometimes. Or it forgets. Boy my first watch of this show - I was really bashing Xander. He deserves it. Not saying anything more there. --As far as the Angel assassin's creed slam onto the concrete ground? lol. Yeah, it's a bit annoying. A lot of things in Buffy can be but one of the great things about the show is that most things at some point receive an explanation, even if it is seasons later or in a different show. :) Another great reaction. I can tell Buffy's confession scene really hit your heart. ( I think Giles is just the perfect salve for everything, really. -- Have a beautiful week, Tyler Alexander!!! Looking forward to the next one.
Tanya TMS
2024-08-04 08:04:11 +0000 UTCLove Giles. He is strong and smart but also so kind 🥰 Xander’s lie at the end of the last season is still big for me. Faith is very interesting. She has her own baggage but deals with everything in a very different way to Buffy.
Carrie Els
2024-08-04 07:22:56 +0000 UTCI think this is one of those times when storytelling had to be impacted by real life. He's a main cast member, in the credits, which contractually obligates them to put him in at least one scene per episode. And the decision was made that dragging out the dream excuse to do that any longer was going to get as trite as returning him early. Lesser of evils.
Dipper
2024-08-04 03:56:34 +0000 UTCI think DB was main cast in the credits for the first two episodes too so its sort of a hint he’d be back soon. Seems they’re limited storytelling wise to keep him off screen if he’s being credited anyway.
Sjubb
2024-08-04 00:28:30 +0000 UTCFaith has arrived :)
Menty
2024-08-03 23:48:15 +0000 UTC
