History Headscratchers / BuffySeason4

* I can't talk for the others, but I never liked Riley because he was rather boring and whiney. I don't like Angel much either, actually, because of his whole "vampire with a soul" thing going on. Spike was ok, tough, since his personality didn't change much after getting his soul back (when he wasn't insane, that is)

*** While it is possible for homosexual people to engage in heterosexual relationships before coming out (in some cases even getting married and having children), it was pretty clear that Willow was not originally written that way. She even repeatedly kissed Xander while she was going out with Oz. It was clear that there was genuine sexual tension between them and not just a feeling that she had to conform to social convention. The out of universe reason is that Joss wanted to have a homosexual character on the show and he's openly said that he hadn't originally decided who it would be, so this hadn't originally been part of Willow's character; it could just have easily have been Xander. Joss probably didn't feel that having Willow come out as bisexual would be as significant to the character as having her come out as gay. If he could go back, he probably would have written some of the early episodes differently (not that it's a bad thing for the writers not to know in advance which character would be gay, since it means they're written the say way as everyone else). Willow being in love with Xander actually still makes perfect sense even if she was gay, given they've been best friends forever and even without sexual attraction it's easy to confuse a deep platonic connection for a romantic one even if you're heterosexual. Even her relationship with Oz makes sense given he was the first boy who really showed her any affection and they did have a lot in common. There were just a few times throughout the early seasons when it was clear she was originally written as sexually attracted to male characters which, if the episodes were written knowing what was planned, they probably would have been written differently.

** The way I always looked at it (remembering that Whedon said it was meant to be totally random) was that it was sort of a nice tie-in to the rest of the dream elements to make them something the viewers can easier relate to. For example: In most dreams, no matter how linear or how much sense they make, there's usually one or two elements that don't really make sense no matter how you [[IncrediblyLamePun slice]] it. Thus, we have the dreams experienced by Buffy and the Scoobies, which given the plot line and progression of the episode, make sense in at least some basic way - there's something violent and angry that wants them all to die - and then you get this batshit crazy "cheese guy" vision out of nowhere. My two cents, anyway.

* Kind of a side wonder continuing from above, but has anyone ever leaked where the writing planned to go with them before Creator/SethGreen decided to leave the show? "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E6WildAtHeart Wild at Heart]]" always felt rushed in that I know they did confirm that story was supposed to last longer but is there any clue what was longer originally going to be? On one hand it seems like it could have been a heart warming story about Oz realizing his werewolf side is just a part of him and strengthening the Oz/Willoe ship. On the other a big theme of the season was monsters vs monster-hunters and where that line is, so I admit an Oz FaceHeelTurn may not be improbable with a homicidal female werewolf tempting him. I had also assumed Tara's addition was a late comer idea from a now unattached Willow but reading that there may have been plans for Willow's coming out previously I wonder if a Tara-like character had been on the books for this season before hand or not? Does anybody have any dirt on a WhatCouldHaveBeen here or has no one ever spilled on this subject?

* The Initiative. Joss Whedon's handling of this [[MildlyMilitary "military" organization]] killed my interest in the show. There was [[CriticalResearchFailure NOTHING]] truly military about The Initiative at all, except that it was majority male and they used guns. And it wasn't a case of "Our Secret Military Groups are Different"; it was that the writers just didn't care. To name a few things, military people do ''not'' [[CriticalResearchFailure refer to each other as "agents", they refer to each other by their rank.]] Speaking of which, Riley acted like it was big secret thing that he had a rank (and Buffy seemed surprise). Ranks aren't secrets, or something only some people have--a military rank is literally the first thing other service-people will want to know about you because it quickly tells your amount of experience, level of responsibility, and sometimes even skill set. The costume department didn't bother to give Riley and co. clothes that looked like uniforms, but instead settled with plain trousers and sweaters. Riley's hair? Too long. Mentions of specific branches? Riley made an offhand mark about Marines, once, but that's it. (The irony of it being Marines is just hilarious--Marines are notorious for being insanely proud of being in the Corps, and the stereotypical Marine brags about it. A lot.) And all this is just scratching the surface.

** The problem wasn't that The Initiative was new tech vs. Buffy and her stake being the Old Way. The problem is that if you're going to take out monster and demons and vampires (creatures from the Old Way) using New Tech, you have to at least respect and be somewhat knowledgeable about the Old Way first. It's the old adage of "if you're going to break the rules, you first have to master the rules so you know just HOW to break them properly." The Initiative did none of that, seeing demons as animals to capture, tag, and either keep for further research or release. Hence why Buffy was pissed. Buffy herself as a Slayer (a creature of the Old Ways) and a modern teenage girl (a creature of the New) was fairly skilled at being adaptable between the Old (Mega-Buffy spell) and the New (Mayor asplodey).

* I can't talk for the others, but I never liked Riley because he was rather boring and whiney. I don't like Angel much neither, actually, because of his whole "vampire with a soul" thing going on. Spike was ok, tough, since his personality didn't change much after getting his soul back (when he wasn't insane, that is)

*** Because his being a sociopathic killer does not invalidate his point. That's an ad hominem. Spike has always been the character that sees things surprisingly clear and treats the others with pointedly brutal honesty, and this case was no exception. He's sort of like Anya in that regard; he'll say what no one else is willing to. He just doesn't do it left and right, like she does. Also, Xander had a magic disease that acted like syphilis. They even called it syphilis that was acting funny. Syphilis can very easily be fatal if untreated.

*** Additionally, as someone who is extremely good at facial recognition, a lot of people have a horrible ability to distinguish faces with even the slightest alteration (Clark Kent wouldn't get away with his spectacles disguise with everyone, but he'd for sure fool a lot of people). So it doesn't surprise me that, even if he had known him in passing, unless they were in the same squad, Riley wouldn't recognize him. Hell, most people seem to think Amy Adams and Isla Fisher look alike (they don't).

*** [[CompletelyMissingThePoint My employer doesn't have an office in Ploughkeepsie.]]

*** Yes. It's called GettingCrapPastTheRadar.