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Snowflake Challenge: Day 3 and Day 4
I got behind yesterday, so this post is doing double duty.
Day 3: In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.
I recently wrote about my favorite Buffy episode on Tumblr, so here's an edited version of that:
My favorite episode of television is BtVS' I Only Have Eyes for You, a gorgeous meditation on the need to forgive yourself that resonates with me on a deep level.
IOHEFY is a compelling little ghost story that manages to be very simple in plot and yet layered and twisty, given the teacher/student romance, the parallels to Buffy/Angel, and the gender swap with the final possession. There are so many moments that I love. I especially adore the spell that the Scoobies perform when they attempt to bind James. The way they spread out through the school — they’re all so brave and so lovable. The image of Xander perched on a tabletop with a candle especially is just burned into my brain.
I started watching BtVS originally to take my mind off of my troubles during an anxious period in my life, and I tend to do a lot of ruminating on my mistakes and feeling guilty for things I couldn’t really control, so I relate so hard to Buffy in this episode. She couldn’t have known that sleeping with Angel would lead to him losing his soul, and yet she feels like she killed him anyway. She can’t bring herself to kill Angelus until she forgives herself for “killing” Angel, and this episode gives her the gift of hearing a version of Angel forgive her himself. How beautiful is that?
But what’s even more beautiful is Giles’ line: “To forgive is an act of compassion, Buffy. It’s, it’s not done because people deserve it. It’s done because they need it.”
Buffy needs to forgive herself, even if she doesn’t feel she deserves it. And I think that line continues to be important at the end of the episode. Because even after hearing from “Angel” during the possession scene, Buffy *still* doesn’t feel like she deserves to be forgiven.
Buffy: I still...A part of me just doesn’t understand why she would forgive him.
Giles: Does it matter?
Buffy: No. I guess not.
Buffy is so hard on herself. But she has to make peace with herself to get to that “me” moment in Becoming.
I also love Grace Newman’s name. The combination of “Grace” as forgiveness/caritas and “New man” as renewal/rebirth. It’s very symbolic to me of the Buffyverse and its focus on these themes.
Day 4: Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend/follow them.
I was really excited to see escritoireazul mentioned in the Herald yesterday (rec'ing beer_good's fabulous Olly Olly Oxen Free), since I'm a fan. Commented and subscribed!
Day 3: In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.
I recently wrote about my favorite Buffy episode on Tumblr, so here's an edited version of that:
My favorite episode of television is BtVS' I Only Have Eyes for You, a gorgeous meditation on the need to forgive yourself that resonates with me on a deep level.
IOHEFY is a compelling little ghost story that manages to be very simple in plot and yet layered and twisty, given the teacher/student romance, the parallels to Buffy/Angel, and the gender swap with the final possession. There are so many moments that I love. I especially adore the spell that the Scoobies perform when they attempt to bind James. The way they spread out through the school — they’re all so brave and so lovable. The image of Xander perched on a tabletop with a candle especially is just burned into my brain.
I started watching BtVS originally to take my mind off of my troubles during an anxious period in my life, and I tend to do a lot of ruminating on my mistakes and feeling guilty for things I couldn’t really control, so I relate so hard to Buffy in this episode. She couldn’t have known that sleeping with Angel would lead to him losing his soul, and yet she feels like she killed him anyway. She can’t bring herself to kill Angelus until she forgives herself for “killing” Angel, and this episode gives her the gift of hearing a version of Angel forgive her himself. How beautiful is that?
But what’s even more beautiful is Giles’ line: “To forgive is an act of compassion, Buffy. It’s, it’s not done because people deserve it. It’s done because they need it.”
Buffy needs to forgive herself, even if she doesn’t feel she deserves it. And I think that line continues to be important at the end of the episode. Because even after hearing from “Angel” during the possession scene, Buffy *still* doesn’t feel like she deserves to be forgiven.
Buffy: I still...A part of me just doesn’t understand why she would forgive him.
Giles: Does it matter?
Buffy: No. I guess not.
Buffy is so hard on herself. But she has to make peace with herself to get to that “me” moment in Becoming.
I also love Grace Newman’s name. The combination of “Grace” as forgiveness/caritas and “New man” as renewal/rebirth. It’s very symbolic to me of the Buffyverse and its focus on these themes.
Day 4: Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend/follow them.
I was really excited to see escritoireazul mentioned in the Herald yesterday (rec'ing beer_good's fabulous Olly Olly Oxen Free), since I'm a fan. Commented and subscribed!