I feel that might be wrong to call this a review, it is more impressions, but I have read #3 and #4 now, so just the feelings I was left with.


I feel Buffy came out of this very badly. To me she was judgmental, opinionated, and hypocritical. She also jumped to conclusions. While talking to Willow, she says she is willing to fight against humans, and what makes her "good" is not that she only fights demons, but that she isn't bad. She might be 24 or almost 24, but to still see things as so black and white, those for us are good, those against us are bad, seems to lack a certain roundedness of the world.

In saying that they are funded with people with deep pockets, without, it seems any research into what these people want, or why they are giving them so much money.....well a bit naive. People who give you money tend to want something. With the resources they have given the new army of Slayers, maybe they want a strong fighting force. Might get more explanations in the next one of, when Buffy and Willow have a chat.

Then this arc is Faith's arc. So what happens to Faith? She has to fight Buffy, GiGi, and Rodin. A lot of action, she nearly defeats Buffy, accidentally kills GiGi, and gets Giles help with Rodin....so how did that work out.

While I would've liked Faith to try and redeem GiGi, the characterisation of British Aristocracy via GiGi was grating, and pulled me out. It was a few decades too old for her. The parallels with GiGi and Rodin (then by the end with Faith and Giles) to the relationship with Faith and The Mayor didn't work for me. The Mayor really felt for Faith, she was his daughter. He may have been the Big Bad of Season Three, but his appealing family values was an endearing quality. Rodin didn't have that at all. GiGi just seemed to have been so sheltered that she fell for a total user, was in fact abused by him for the trust she placed in him. He felt nothing for her, unlike the Major how really did feel for Faith, in fact that was his weakness.

Even so, GiGi was so badly Characterised, it was hard to feel anything for her. She felt disposable, and she was. Her only contribution was to the story was to show that Faith has changed, was truly sorry for accidentally killing her, and ready to take a new, caring, role.

Giles, his arch? Well it has been shown, in The Gift, that he is willing to do the dark deed to save those he cares about. While GiGi might've been trying for a powerful position, by killing Buffy, Giles was willing to kill to save her, he was also willing to use Faith as well, so his "Golden Girl" wouldn't get her hands dirty.

This raises the question, does Giles think that from his past actions he is un-redeemable? I have discussed this with others, and we think he does. No matter how much good he does, his actions in getting his friends killed while he was Ripper have damned him. He is therefore open to killing the warlock Rodin, even if his postion is grey, as a human warlock, who has a soul. Just as he would kill Ben to save the world as well. Giles may think he is damned, and may believe that Faith is as well. That they, in the end decide to work together to help Slayers who are in danger of going rogue works for me. Giles and Faith as the Avengers doesn't, but the idea does.

Overall I was happy with the outcome. Only now, I am more interested in a Faith and Giles story arc.


Kinda short for two issues.

Tags: buffy season eight, review
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