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Buffy the Vampire Slayer

If my memory is serving, I don't think there's anything in these two seasons that you absolutely must see in one prior to seeing something in the other, with the exception that you'll want to watch the finale of Buffy5 before the finale of Angel2. There's less crossover and more of a bit of synchronicity with a couple of episodes throughout the two series. Like for example, there's a character that shows up on Angel, that is also later in Buffy's season too, but I don't think the two appearances are connected on a plot basis.
 
re: Julie Benz as Darla

I know her bast as Rita, Dexter's goody-two-shoes annoying wife. The other thing I remember her from her is the most recent Rambo movie (yes I saw it and yes it was ridiculous), where she also played an annoying goody-two-shoes type. Before watching Buffy/Angel, she was the ultimate "damsel-in-distress" type cast in my mind.

And my brain is still having trouble adjusting to her as a monster, even after getting half-way through. It's like I'm thinking "aw how cute she's trying to be mean."

But now she was resurrected by evil lawyer people, so we'll see how that goes. I look forward to it.
 
Darla really was kind of minor on Buffy, but the storyline she gets on Angel is much more substantial, and the actress gets a variety of emotions and the like to play.

And the lawyer people -- Wolfram & Hart -- have a rather permanent presence throughout the entirety of the series, though the specific people representing the firm shift around a bit as the show goes on.
 
And just remember, not everything gets explained right away.

Buffy's sister!

Two episodes in. I love love LOVE the unexplained sister. I like being fucked with as a viewer.

Dracula was corny (I think every season premier was relatively poor IIRC) but I love how everyone is acting as if Dawn was always there. Parallel universe? Spell?

An advantage of not having to wait a long time between seasons: I can remember Dracula repeating something the first slayer told Buffy, something like "you think you know what you are, you think you know what's coming, but it hasn't even begun" or something to that effect.
 
Angel meanwhile begins with a really terrible episode (demon karaoke?!) and the best one of the series so far, about a hotel where Angel lived in the 50s and how he kills this demon that haunted it.

The Godfather-like parallel stories across generations (check out Angel's haircut!), the beautiful ending, and I was impressed with the casting and/or makeup they did for the actress that was "passing." And either I'm just getting used to it after like a 100 episodes of it, but Boreanaz's acting seems less terrible.

And now they're using a hotel for a new office apparently. I wonder they'll do with all that extra space.
 
I meant to post this way earlier but...

Tara was completely devoted to Willow from the moment they meant. OK people can be smitten immediately and powerfully, sure, but all of season 4 she was ready and eager to take any abuse from Willow she could (fortunately for her Willow is an angel). She "understood" if Willow wanted to dump her for Oz. She would call it "our cat" even though it would live with her and therefore she'd be the one taking care of it. And I got really creeped out when Willow was explaining that their relationship at the time was "just fore her" (explaining why she hadn't introduced her to her friends) and Tara says "I am, you know... yours." This was probably just supposed to be a sweet moment of affection, but it was really uncomfortable and stalker-ish.

Anyone else get this feeling at the time, or am I just projecting my own weird relationship issues into this?
 
LOL, yeah, demon karaoke. The Host, as he's known earlier in the show, or Lorne, as he's known later on, is a reoccurring character for most of the show. He's not quite as interesting earlier on as he eventually becomes, well, to me at least. The actor that played him died a few years ago.

I was just reviewing the episodes of these two seasons. I would say watch Buffy's "Fool For Love" before watching Angel's "Darla." They are their respective seasons' 7th episodes and were originally shown on the same night. Storywise, they're not exactly connected, but there is a connection between the two. It's kind of hard to explain without giving it away, but I did think it was fun, especially if they're watched back to back.
 
I meant to post this way earlier but...

Tara was completely devoted to Willow from the moment they meant. OK people can be smitten immediately and powerfully, sure, but all of season 4 she was ready and eager to take any abuse from Willow she could (fortunately for her Willow is an angel). She "understood" if Willow wanted to dump her for Oz. She would call it "our cat" even though it would live with her and therefore she'd be the one taking care of it. And I got really creeped out when Willow was explaining that their relationship at the time was "just fore her" (explaining why she hadn't introduced her to her friends) and Tara says "I am, you know... yours." This was probably just supposed to be a sweet moment of affection, but it was really uncomfortable and stalker-ish.

Anyone else get this feeling at the time, or am I just projecting my own weird relationship issues into this?

It is a good bit creepy, almost obsessive, in a way. But I think it makes more sense as to why Tara would be like that given that I know something about her that you haven't yet seen. There are a couple of really minor hints you've seen so far, but you'll get the full story a few episodes from now.
 
no, you cannot have Xander's collection of Babylon 5 commemorative plates!

Especially considering that those plates were never actually manufactured beyond the prototype. So, Xander must have some serious connections!

Oh, and fun fact about that episode: the Xander double was played by Nicholas Brendan's twin brother.
 
There sure do seem to be a lot of twins in Hollywood. I was wondering why the doubling of Xander looked to good- Buffy's effects often show the limitations of their budget, and it's usually easy to see screen splitting and other artifacts of double of people on screen.

Probably my favorite instance of a twin used like that is Terminator 2. There's a scene where Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton) is stitching up the Terminator in front of a mirror. The "reflection" is actually her twin sister. Originally they filmed an extended sequence where she takes out his brain chip and considers destroying it. This took many takes and a lot of effort as the twin sisters had to time their moves to be in sync. Then it got cut for time.
 
Being aware of how some fans don't like Riley, here's the moment that reinforced why I do like him: his convo w/ Xander about how much he luvs Buffy and then ending it with "but she doesn't love me." I've done that! I relate! I like and feel sorry for Riley! He will therefore die.
 
Riley had the problem of being the "Not-Angel" guy. I liked him, I found him a good match for Buffy (and, hey, Marc Blucas is hot). Still, he is the rebound guy, which I can also relate to.
 
Riley had the problem of being the "Not-Angel" guy. I liked him, I found him a good match for Buffy (and, hey, Marc Blucas is hot). Still, he is the rebound guy, which I can also relate to.

I thought Angel was a terrible romantic interest ... but I still didn't like Riley. At first. Some upcoming developments made me appreciate him some more.

I didn't really have much of a problem with the character, or the writing, or any of that. I just thought Marc Blucas was god-damned awful. With Buffy's previous super-massive love having been Angel, I was seeing a system here at that point.
 
Actually, Parker was the rebound guy.

Chronologically, perhaps, but not in effect. The way that Parker treated Buffy after they hooked up hurt the wound Buffy still had over Angel turning evil after they were together. So in terms of Buffy's psychology, she didn't really get to use Parker as a rebound because of that.
 
We may have different ideas of the term "rebound." Where I'm from, it's the person you hook up with after a bad break-up or being dumped, a person you might not have otherwise, and that you later regret. The idea is that you're emotionally vulnerable and not thinking clearly, and others can take advantage of that. One usually doesn't enter into loving long-term healthy relationships with rebounds.

In other words, Parker, the classic "rebound guy."

Riley is simply Buffy's 2nd boyfriend. At the point where I am, she's been with him for over a year.

Tara also is not a "rebound" relationship. Harmony might have been for Spike. Speaking of... what's up with him loving Buffy now? That just sort of flew in from nowhere. But then this show does that.
 
The amount of time Buffy's been with Riley doesn't change how she treats him though. He can feel that she's not in love with him. She treats him in a rather reboundish manner. Riley is far more invested in their relationship than Buffy herself is. The question is will Buffy transition from treating Riley in a reboundish manner to seeing him as true long-term potential. Their relationship is on the cusp of that.

Spike's feelings for Buffy is a weird thing. It's as much antagonistic as it is true interest he has in her, and he can't ever really decide which it is for him: does he hate her or love her.

What episode are you currently up to?
 
Gonna watch the 7th episode of each now.

The one bit of dialogue that sums of Spike best was during a fight that went something like
"I had a plan. It was really good and well thought-out"
"So what happened?"
"I got bored."

As the ultimate id character, they wrote him in a way that nothing has to make any sense and he can do whatever for any reason at any time, so now he can love Buffy or whatever I guess.
 
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