Watched "The Wish"

[shadowscast]

Still loving having DVDs. Tonight I watched "The Wish," through sheer whimminess. (That's not a word, but it should be.)

It's really cool that they brought the Master back for this episode. It makes such perfect sense: what's the first thing Buffy did in Sunnydale? Stopped the Master from emerging. So if she never showed up, then "Welcome to the Hellmouth"/"The Harvest" would have ended with the Master loose in Sunnydale.

I noticed that the vampire empire established by the Master in the Wishverse is quite different in look and feel than one might expect from S1. The Master was all creepy and gothic and faux biblical speech, all dusty prophecies and traditional power structures. deborahmm suggested a little while ago (in the comments to this post) that "School Hard" is "like a second 'pilot' episode, if only because so much changed in Sunnydale when the vampires went from being boring semi-Anne Rice types who worshipped an all-powerful 'Master' and chanted a lot, to being ruled by someone as anarchic and irreverent as Spike. It changed everything." I think this is a neat way of looking at it, definitely with some truth to it—but the S3 Master seems like the kind of guy Spike would like hanging out with. (Come to think of it, why wasn't Spike kicking around in the Wishverse? Well, maybe he was and we just didn't see him.) Seriously, the Wishverse Bronze looked and sounded exactly like Goth/Industrial night at my local club.

Then again, the Master did always wear leather, even in S1.

How much do I love vamp!Xander and vamp!Willow? Lots and lots! Especially together. (Has anyone ever written vamp!Xander/vamp!Willow fic? 'Cause that's the sort of thing that really should exist.)

I noticed that vamp!Xander referred to Cordy as an "old crush." Given my theory that in in the Wishverse Xander got vamped during the events of WttH/tH (since in canon, Buffy saved him at that point), this would imply that Xander actually had a crush on Cordelia before the series ever started. So that kiss in the basement didn't come out of nowhere! (Poor Willow.)

It's wrong of me to enjoy vamp!Willow and vamp!Xander torturing the "puppy," right? Terribly, terribly wrong. I'm going to hell.

Giles at one point refers to Willow and Xander as the Master's "most vicious minions." So, go them! They may be sidekicks in any reality, but they are top sidekick material—if they're not the Slayer's most important allies, they're the Master's most vicious killers.

I think it's great that despite being a reset-button episode on the surface, this ep actually had a pretty profound and lasting impact. For one thing, duh!—the introduction and humanifying of Anya. For another, the reappearance of vamp!Willow later. Plus, also regarding Willow, the "bored now" thing will come back three years later in one of the most deeply scary moments in the series—which wouldn't have had the same impact without this setup.

Yup. I love this episode.

Plus, we get to see almost all the main characters die! Fun, fun, fun! *g*

Comments

[shapinglight]

The 'bored now' thing? Once again, Joss makes retroactive continuity work for him.

Have read some fics set in the Wishverse but can't for the life of me remember where. I still don't think that Spike would have cared for the Master (too bossy, plus he'd have thought that whole factory set-up took the fun out of hunting, I reckon).

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

Retroactive continuity, foreshadowing, pot-aye-to, pot-ah-to. :)

Yeah, Spike would've hated the factory. (Though actually, don't you still get all the fun of hunting them down to put them in the giant cage? I honestly don't see how the Master's setup is supposed to be more efficient than regular hunting - unless they were planning to breed the humans in captivity, but they never said anything about that.)

[shapinglight]

I honestly don't see how the Master's setup is supposed to be more efficient than regular hunting

Me neither. I suppose it was supposed to be particularly nasty and shocking, because industrial. Not sure that aspect worked.

Have remembered a short Spike/Vamp Xander PWP set in the Wishverse. It was by ladycat777 and will be up on her site - but you've probably read it. Something very nasty happened to the coat.

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I wouldn't call the "bored now" thing retroactive continuity so much as plain, old-fashioned continuity: something happens, and then something else happens later which refers back to the first event and builds on it.

I'd reserve the term "retroactive continuity" for the act of inventing or reinterpreting history after the fact, in order to try to hide the fact that a certain event doesn't make sense in context.

For instance, I'd call Sam's comment about knowing some shamen who got addicted to magic retroactive continuity. All of a sudden in mid-S6 magic was supposed to be physically addictive, ala crack, and this wasn't consistent with the way it'd been presented before. Sam's comment was meant to tell us that magic addiction didn't come out of the blue at all - it was happening to other people all along.

I'd also say that Jasmine was ret-conning when she explained how nearly everything that had ever happened to the Angel bunch was all part of her master plan. (I say "Jasmine" and not "ME" because I'm not sure if we're actually meant to believe Jasmine in that case; if yes, then it's retroative continuity; if no, then it's just a megalomaniac hellgod talking big.)

[shapinglight]

Come to think of it, I wouldn't call the "bored now" thing retroactive continuity so much as plain, old-fashioned continuity: something happens, and then something else happens later which refers back to the first event and builds on it.

Yes, you're right, and I suppose that's what I meant really, thinking about it - especially when you then go on to mention to my most disliked retcons in the whole of BtVS/AtS. Yes, Joss was very good at picking up on stuff he'd thrown out to the audience before and making it look like it was part of his master-plan. For instance, he must have tickled pink by the way people tried to hard to pick 'Restless' to pieces and use it as a template for the show, when in fact his DVD commentary makes it clear that it was no such thing and was meant to make no sense in the same way as a dream. But he picked up on two things from that episode at least and used them later - Spike in the tweed suit and Spike doing the crucifix pose. There are probably other things too which I just didn't notice because they didn't involve Spike. Heh!

As for the magic=crack thing, I was amused at the way they backtracked on the addiction thing in the very first episode of season 7. They must have picked up on how much the fans despised the comparison. As for Inside Out in AtS season 4, I really loathe it. That is, as you say, what is really meant by a retcon.

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

There are probably other things too which I just didn't notice because they didn't involve Spike. Heh!

Hee. Nothing wrong with a little healthy obsession. :)

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

It wasn't inconsistent with how magic had been portrayed before; it was only irresponsible overuse of magic, especially the dark stuff, that was addictive, partly based on the user's attitude.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

I always figured that in the Wishverse Spike headed for the Cleveland hellmouth instead since that's where the slayer was, and I assume Dru's cure could be had just as easily there...

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

Hm, good theory...

Didn't Dru's cure require Angel, though?

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Yes, but I don't think Spike knew Angel was in Sunnydale, did he? (He could have been faking surprise in School Hard, of course)

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

"Plus, we get to see almost all the main characters die"

I must have watched it 10 times or more, but the fight in the factory still sends a chill down my spine..

[shadowscast.livejournal.com]

The main characters do rate some particularly well-done dusting effects.