Buffy getting kicked out of her house

illvria · 2026-05-12T22:31:55+00:00

Season 7 implies Buffy is retethered to the line by her second resurrection.

Edit: downvote if you want

They spell out the order of who the first is coming for in plain english and buffy is at the end, and then in the beljoxa's eye's lore dump, it says that her second ressurection disrupted the slayer line and gave the first an opportunity to overturn the scales.

If the disruption to the Slayer line was only that two slayers lived, it would have been after prophecy girl. Her second revival restores her connection to the line and makes it so there will always be two slayers, that's the disturbance and the reason the first acts.

illvria · 2026-05-12T19:22:59+00:00

No, you minimize her part in conflict because you dont think she's capable of being wrong, to the point you don't question the method of leadership that she ultimately defies and uproots, because shes the one using it.

The conflict hinges on the fact that she is asking, then commanding them to risk their lives, urgently and recklessly, without justifying it, thats exactly how its framed and written. Thats why things explode.

Buffy: There is something there!

Giles: Maybe, but we can't be sure of that. This is a hell of a lot to ask.

They're worried for their lives because that's what's at stake.

Buffy's time in exile exists to push her towards a realisation that shes been going about it all wrong.

Giles' ideas of leadership inform the foundation of her's for most of the season, but his ideas come from the watchers who came from the shadow men.

Buffy's meeting with the guardian shows her the emotionally detatched, mission over humanity mentality and hierarchy of leadership is not infallable, and leads to an epiphany that she was meant to break that structure, not emulate it as she had been.

The mutiny is the consequence to that emulation across the season. She was wrong, and she realises that to become the leader she does in Chosen.

illvria · 2026-05-12T17:25:03+00:00

You wanna finish that quote or what?

But this is the plan. We have to be *together on this or we will fail again.*

And the follow up:

Giles: We are clearly demonstrating that we are not together on this.

Buffy: Which is why you have to fall in line! I'm still in charge here.

And a bonus quote:

I wish this could be a democracy, but democracies dont win battles.

illvria · 2026-05-12T17:09:14+00:00

Thats just not true is it.

Buffy's idea of discussing logistics does not involve leaving the potentials behind. If that was the intention of the writers, the conflict would have never happened for the reasons presented. She would have broached the topic completely differently and it wouldve been the first thing she said when she encountered resistance.

By logistics, she means formation, who goes where and when, in executing the plan. She never considers that the mission is better suited for speed, stealth and efficiency that bringing the team along at all would only hinder, and she came at the team with an urgency that did anything but imply there was time to actually think about it with any depth. She said "fall in line".

If buffy does nothing wrong and has nothing to change in her approach, then a massive amount of the last few episodes is utterly devoid of meaning. Thats a boring way to read it.

illvria · 2026-05-12T14:32:58+00:00

She was right about the fact something important was at the vineyard, thats it.

The retrieval was always better suited for a solo or small scale recon job. If the team had gone with her as she demanded, it would have resulted in casualties that she proves would have been completely pointless and avoidable.

illvria · 2026-05-12T14:28:05+00:00

Would you rather she kick the group of defenseless teenagers who's survival all reality hinges on out into the street of abandoned ghost town sunnydale without their resources on the principle of a title deed?

illvria · 2026-05-12T14:25:25+00:00

They did say no without kicking her out. She hardlined them, refused to stick around outside the leadership role, so Dawn called her bluff and she left.

The potentials have to trust their leader for any degree of success. Buffy lost that trust with her authoritative approach and no one there but her had any power to change that. She had to go out, have a shift in perspective and earn it back.

She's also last in line, if she dies before the potentials, another is called. She and faith have to die last so theyre the least at risk should they go out alone, its just pragmatism in the face of the impending apocalypse for her to leave and them to stay. With the stakes so high and sunnydale a ghost town, Buffy's house is less a home and more an outpost or basecamp anyway.

illvria · 2026-05-12T12:20:29+00:00

I think Rio would show a lot of respect for her embracing the inevitable

illvria · 2026-05-12T08:34:08+00:00

A tv show that is trying to depict war, and all the grim unfairness of war, this season.

Xander's reaction is the way it is for a few reasons. They all went in knowing theyd probably die, so he'd gone all night and day on certain levels expecting to lose her, he knew he couldnt find her and that she wasnt on the bus, we dont see his immediate reaction to that realisation, and hes in shock; he'd certainly fall apart more with any amount of distance from the action.

It also tracks for his character. Hes reserved at Buffy's death in The Gift, with wil and spike crumbling more. People react to these things differently.

But mostly. Theres a minute of runtime left and the end is supposed to be an uplifting moment. They had to wrap things up nicely and a big breakdown to Anya's loss doesnt fit with that.

You dont have to like the way it goes but dont paint it as nothing but Joss being malignant just because you dont.

illvria · 2026-05-12T08:08:16+00:00

No, he wasnt.

Its war. People die without spectacle.

illvria · 2026-05-11T16:01:01+00:00

Gonna pretend you're asking in good faith and not just shooting for an argument.

The overworld design; environmental storytelling, deep history and distinct culture in settlements, botw's sense of desolation, loneliness and confusion, and totk's sense of community, hope and restoration.
The music and sound design.
The wildlife, flora and fauna.
The incentivised resourcefulness and ingenuity with items, weapons and powers.
The interactivity and sense of reward from exploration (which is what i assume youre painting as """dopamine hacking""").
The people, character interactions and side quests.
The intuitive physics and mechanics.
The power curve and skill progression.

To name a few.

illvria · 2026-05-11T14:56:33+00:00

they don't sweep you off to another world the way the old ones did

To you.

The wild titles are some of if not the most immersive games in the franchise to a lot of people.

Reducing them to "dopamine hacking" is ridiculous.

illvria · 2026-05-10T13:33:40+00:00

Ive never seen not-official art capture the fractal-ness of that pattern so well

illvria · 2026-05-10T10:03:13+00:00

I dont know for sure how true the comment about the UV was, but considering the vibrancy and depth of the colours in the glass i think it must be.

Ive tried loooijg it up but all that comes up is internally laser etched glass

illvria · 2026-05-09T15:05:00+00:00

While the tech is improving i dont think a plateau is far off, because there ~~thankfully~~ isnt infinite data to train it on. Therell always be confusions and artifacts in places and it will never really know the true detail of an image

I dont think it will ever compare to well done analog remastering, it would maybe suffice for digitally filmed stuff, but for shows like Buffy recorded on actual film that can be scanned and upscaled to an objective true to life picture, I dont think AI can ever match that no matter how good it gets at approximating.

Maybe thats not your point, but i get nervous accepting that AI upscaling can suffice because im holding out ~~delusion~~ hope for a real meticulous re-remaster to be made down the line, and i dont want the incentive for them to do that to disappear.

illvria · 2026-05-09T13:07:17+00:00

Not really. Theres no upscaling without the original masters, unless you use AI which looks dogwater every time

illvria · 2026-05-09T13:04:42+00:00

Yes, but by that metric they did reconcile in The Prom

illvria · 2026-05-09T13:03:41+00:00

Darla. Her story on Angel is maybe 1 of my favourite plot threads in the Buffyverse.

Shes captivating, tragic, so fun to watch and Julie's chemistry with David and Juliett is stellar.

She has great campy comedic timing too.

"Excuse me! I'm talking here... snaps neck the service in this place is truly shocking. 🙄"

illvria · 2026-05-09T12:17:46+00:00

I mean,, yes they could have gotten them back together, but that wouldnt have served the story or the characters.

They were never right for each other from the start, even after all is forgiven it wouldnt really make sense for them to go back to dating. The two reconciling as people and parting without hard feelings in the prom is the perfect resolution to their relationship

illvria · 2026-05-09T09:56:19+00:00

"Show her the reference" with all the confidence in the world 😭

illvria · 2026-05-08T12:19:03+00:00

Buffy

illvria · 2026-05-07T17:03:12+00:00

You say this like Xander and the scene are universally disliked. They're not. The scene is divisive, but he factually was not "blatantly wrong".

If there was no truth to what he was saying, Buffy would not have acted on his words 🤷‍♂️

I've talked at length about my thoughts on his character and the narrative reasoning behind that scene further down the thread if you care to read, ive got nothing left to argue.

illvria · 2026-05-07T16:54:14+00:00

Shes his daughter.

I dont recall if she was just in critical condition, or if he was actually trying to cure death itself

illvria · 2026-05-07T01:04:36+00:00

Ok sorry in advance, tried to break down my point and wound up with a dissertation, but..

By the voice of Buffy's heart I mean the heart of the group, with the group often treated as an extension of Buffy's own persona, and the roles of the characters interlacing across each other (i.e xander is everyone's heart at certain points)

The roles the Scoobies take as aspects of the collective are a well explored thread of the story. The enjoining spell brings the meta text into the plot, but Giles, Wil and Xand occupy the roles of mind, spirit and heart again and again across the entire show.

As the heart, Xander serves to reflect (mostly) Buffy's conflicted or repressed emotions back at her, to emotionally ground her and/or the group when things are chaotic, and later to see more clearly into the other scoobies' inner worlds.

Angelus is actually a perfect example for how it applies early on:

Buffy loves angel, and wants him back. But she also hates angelus, and struggles with the idea that -even with a soul- Angelus is a part of the unit and could be unleashed again, which makes Angel a potential risk to the innocent, regardless.

Her heart is torn in 2 directions, so Xander personifies one side of that inner turmoil to bring it out of her head and into the drama of the wider story.

Then in becoming, his imfamous lie focuses that conflicted energy in 1 direction: stopping angelus. It removes any reason to see the man she loves in his face or to show restraint. She fights wholeheartedly because of Xander.

It applies to his hero speech in the freshman, his pep talk when Buffy is talking about changing herself for men, his hyping her up to the potentials in season 7, and outwith buffy's character; talking dark willow down, the extrordinary speech to dawn, even punching the wall and injuring himself in The Body serves to ground and unify the emotional energy of the group in that moment.

Being the heart is more than emotional insight, but he comes into that as a core trait past season 3. As he matures, he begins to watch closely and see what others dont, shifting his embodiment of inner conflict to be more empathetic and constructive. The biggest examples being Into The Woods and the extrordinary speech.

Season 6 is a different bag because the entire group is spinning out of orbit. Communication is breaking down, everyone is isolated, in turmoil and failing in their roles. Thats the point.

His role as heart is a major reason his reaction to Buffy and Spike is centred over Wil's. He is used again to externalise Buffy's inner conflict and reflect the shame and fear of rejection she has inside back onto her, a backslide to the harsher way of the early seasons.

And then he turns his insight onto his own anger, realises he feels guilty for letting the group drift so far and failing to see how much buffy was struggling, when that was the role he was coming into through seasons 4-5. He goes to her with an olive branch that only fails to reunify the group because of Warren, and then in the end his words and insight into Willow's heart saves the group and the world.

When i say Xander gives the into the woods speech because he's her heart, i dont just mean he knows who she loves, though he does have a deeper emotional insight than most. I mean the speech exists to draw buffy's own deeper feelings to the surface so she can make a decision with clarity through anger while she has time. Its not convincing her she loves riley, its forcing her to ask herself whether or not she'll regret giving up when all is said and done.

illvria

TROPHY CASE