El Diablo Robotico
Ensouled Vampire
Robo Pimp-Daddy
"Surely you have heard about our great victory over the Devil's Robot."[Mo0:3]
Posts: 1,199
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Post by El Diablo Robotico on Jan 10, 2009 15:12:54 GMT -5
A few people have complained that the vamps-being-outed story wasn't handled as seriously as it should have been. You have to remember that this is the Buffyverse we're talking about, remember how Cordelia and Oz reacted to demons being real? It was pretty much "Whatever, that makes sense". We've seen across Buffy and especially Angel that many members of the public are aware of the supernatural; everyone's dabbled with the occult or has a friend of a friend who was killed by a vampire. Karma for you, as I was about to make that exact same point. It's a mistake to expect that the general public in the Buffyverse would react to the revelation of the existence of vampires the same way people in our world would. - In "Lie to Me", Ford, Chantarelle, Marvin Diego and their friends worshipped vampires--not as fictional beings, but as very real creatures who's ranks they hoped to join. That's a group of very average suburban kids, and if there was one group like that in Sunnydale, it's reasonable to assume that there are many similar groups around the country, and around the world. - In S3 of "Angel", Holtz is able to put together a crew made up of very average, normal people who'd had loved ones killed by vampires. The fact that he put that group together so quickly is evidence that there are many such people who've lost loved ones to vamps, and know about their existence. - The Nazi government knew about vampires in WWII, and wanted to find a way to exploit them to their own advantage. The US government did the same thing, from WWII thru the late-'90s with the Initiative. This new military group in S8 not only knows about vamps and demons, but is also using magic now, something that the Initiative didn't, so the government has delved even deeper into the supernatural since S4. - The Los Angeles District Attorney uses shamans to conjure mystical shields for certain juries, to make sure firms like Wolfram & Hart don't try to use magic to influence them. So obviously, there are a lot of people in the Buffyverse, outside of Buffy and her circle, who know about the existence of the supernatural. And those who didn't, well, they probably fall into three categories: One, those who are surprised and alarmed... but this may not necessarily be a large percentage of the population. Two, those who didn't know but try to play it cool in the face of those who did ("Oh, yeah, I totally knew about vamps, dude"). And three, those who didn't know and still don't believe, and think Harmony is a great big fake wearing phony vampire teeth. We sorta had this preconceived notion that this arc was going to be about the general public finding out about vampires. As it turns out, it seems it's going to be more focused on them finding out about Buffy & co., and their reaction to them. Which is a perfectly valid direction to take the story--especially given the fact that it seems a whole lot of people already know about the existence of vampires, whereas slayers are a much more unknown phenomena at this point...
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Post by henzINNIT on Jan 10, 2009 15:15:04 GMT -5
Yearp, and there's nothing in this to suggest more people didn't react like Kate did. I'm sure there are plenty of concerned citizens out there, but I think it's a sad truth that media representation could easily make a fashion icon out of an evil force. Think of all the people who'd think vampires are cool/sexy in real life, and then add to that Harmony, the bright spirited public face of vampirism.
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Post by hitnrun017 on Jan 10, 2009 15:26:08 GMT -5
Yeah, I guess it is too early to judge it completely, just still scratching my head about it. I hope we find out more about how the general public reacts in future issues. Think of all the people who'd think vampires are cool/sexy in real life, and then add to that Harmony, the bright spirited public face of vampirism. Think she'll get her own clothing line at Hot Topic?
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Post by wenxina on Jan 10, 2009 15:31:30 GMT -5
Isn't Hot Topic more the province of Simone?
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witcher
Wise-cracking Techno Genius
Homicidal Bunny
Willow fan forever[Mo0:30]
Posts: 711
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Post by witcher on Jan 10, 2009 15:35:43 GMT -5
A few people have complained that the vamps-being-outed story wasn't handled as seriously as it should have been. You have to remember that this is the Buffyverse we're talking about, remember how Cordelia and Oz reacted to demons being real? It was pretty much "Whatever, that makes sense". We've seen across Buffy and especially Angel that many members of the public are aware of the supernatural; everyone's dabbled with the occult or has a friend of a friend who was killed by a vampire. Karma for you, as I was about to make that exact same point. It's a mistake to expect that the general public in the Buffyverse would react to the revelation of the existence of vampires the same way people in our world would. That is a very valid point, but what strikes me as a weak spot of the issue is that everyone ( as far as we have seen ) reacts positively to the vampires. As El Diablo Robotico said Holtz was able to put together a group of people to fight vampires because a lot of people lost loved ones to vampires. Also we know that there are gangs, like Gunn's old gang that fight vampires. And there are a lot of friends and families of Slayer who know the truth. Not to mention witches, mystics, shamans...So where are those people? Why isn't anyone protesting about it. I hope we get mixed reactions to the vampires-Slayers thing because everyone loving one side just seems to naive.
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Post by wenxina on Jan 10, 2009 15:47:08 GMT -5
Well, up to the point that Harmony killed the Soledad, her show wasn't a hit yet. As she said, the numbers were soft, and the producer guy told Soledad that the show most likely wouldn't make it since it was mostly about a vampire, and nothing really happens. In other words, the people who seemed okay were "extras"... usually party-scene people who have snorted enough blow to kill just about every neuron in their body. It was Soledad's attack on Harmony on TV that propelled the show to TV heaven. As for the people who are fighting vampires... what makes you think that they'll watch the show? Or are even aware of it? As I said, Harmony's show was quite obscure. The billboards were publicity to get viewers. And again, people disapprove of a lot of junk on TV. Doesn't change anything. And right now, seeing as the climate just changed, I'd say that those against vampires are going to have to go underground, like the Slayers.
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Post by hitnrun017 on Jan 11, 2009 13:07:43 GMT -5
Hey, SlayAlive is on Harmony's Top Friends! Pretty damn cool.
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Post by wenxina on Jan 11, 2009 13:15:15 GMT -5
Here's my long-ass review which I posted on my blog:
After a short wait, #21 is here. And yes, I opted for Jeanty's variant, even if the likeness isn't very strong, for nothing more than the cover concept. I've realized for a while now that while Jo Chen is a genius at capturing likenesses (although her first 2 covers for Season 8 had heavy anime/manga influences), I greatly enjoy the concepts for many of the variants more. Since I'm already prattling on about art, let's just jump to it. The interior art is rather mediocre. As much as it pains me to say it, it's true. Jeanty's Harmony likeness is pretty poor, and while he occasionally nails certain features, the overall image is still pretty poor. I'm hoping he improves the next few issues, considering they'll mostly involve characters that he should be very familiar with drawing; i.e. Buffy, Satsu, etc. The color and letters are average, which is surprising, since I'm pretty sure that this was not a rushed issue.
Now, on to the writing. Let's start with the title. Every Harmony-centric episode on BtVS has been a play on her name; i.e. "Disharmony", "Harm's Way". This issue is no different, going by the moniker of "Harmonic Divergence". The word "harmony" comes from the Greek "harmonia", meaning concord or agreement. In music, a harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously. So if a harmony means that the pitches are in concord, a divergence could very well cause dissonance; a disruption, if you will.
That's pretty much what happens in the Buffyverse here. "Harmonic Divergence" kicks off the 5-issue quasi-arc, which tells of a main event from the perspectives of 5 different groups of individuals. This event, as we learn in the issue is the acceptance of vampires as being in vogue, and Slayers being hailed as being the "best villains since the Nazis! Better!" Slayers as the new villains. That's a pretty cool inversion of the truth.
Overall, I found the issue to be middling. It's not awful (though I've heard that adjective tossed about some) by any stretch of the imagination, but it does begin kinda rocky. The thought bubbles are kinda jarring, and seem rather forced. But the story does take off with the introduction of Soledad (name confirmed by Scott Allie here), the newly activated Hispanic Slayer, who until the name confirmation was referred to by many as "Senorita Slayer". More on that in a bit.
Where I thought the issue succeeded was in chronicling the events that lead up to the big switcheroo in the Buffyverse. The issue is an obvious jab at the sheer ridiculousness of reality TV. It doesn't hold any punches and goes straight for the big wigs of reality TV: MTV. In a very pointed jab at the misnomer that is the current MTV ("This is the MTV building in Santa Monica. No one knows what that stands for either, but they do reality shows"), one is reminded that back in its heyday, MTV actually played music videos, hence the propriety of its name: Music Television. The bulk of its programming these days consists of a terrifying stable of lousy reality TV shows.
But I digress. Echoing the Twilight phenomenon (at least in the US), vampires are in vogue. It's sexy, it's provocative, it's new. The fans/extras etc are obviously oblivious to the vampire mythos of the Buffyverse - that vampires are soulless blood-suckers. Harmony's "no kill" policy is intriguing, and being bitten is cool; you are "lucky" if Harm chooses to bite you. The experience is described to be sort of akin to getting drunk or high: "It's fun when it happens. It's like, you feel weaker, but you feel like that's okay". It speaks of the insipid mentality of these people.
Mirroring Harmony's rise to fame, Soledad (which incidentally means "lonely" in Spanish) comes into her own power, being called as a Slayer on her 16th birthday, during a fight with the gang she's trying to leave. This has serious implications for the Slayer mythos, as in "Chosen", every Potential was made a Slayer, including the young girl playing baseball. What this means is that new Potentials are still being called all the time. It also suggests that Potentials are not necessarily born (despite Slayerhood sometimes being referred to as a birthright). This could very well be a flub on the part of the creative staff, but if it's not, it pretty much throws the theory that Buffy exhausted the Slayer line by calling an army of girls, leading to the dwindling of their numbers, leading up to Fray's future.
Soledad is something of a lone wolf, in that she rejects both her previous "chosen family" (the gang) and her potential new chosen family (the Slayer organization). Buffy has claimed to not be feeling the connection with the other girls (in #11). This is played upon on several levels here in that she fails to connect with Soledad over the phone. The text states that "its kind of a crappy connection", referring to the phone connection, but it also points to Buffy's inability to connect with her. Now, Buffy has been accused of being out of touch with reality for a while now (being holed up in a castle in Scotland, focused on the big picture and missing the details, etc), and this shows. However, it isn't entirely her fault as Soledad isn't rejecting her spiel in so much as she's rejecting what that spiel entails: joining the Slayer organization. Fresh out of her gang fight, she exhorts that she feels "totally free". She may be free of any organization, but she's also lacking the training and discipline of the Slayer organization. Thus, she attacks Harm in the open, thus exposing the Slayers on a global scale. Soledad dies in her attempt to slay Harm, but her actions are long-reaching. Because of her antagonistic role in the fiasco, she's the villain, and by extension, Slayers are the new public enemy.
Anderson Cooper breaks the fourth wall in his first appearance in the Buffyverse: "But who decides what is evil? And, some are asking, who protects us from them?" This makes it absolutely clear that the intrusion of the Buffy's underground world on the real world confuses things. The monsters in the Buffyverse are generally used as metaphors for manifestations of human fear/desires/emotions/drives/etc. But they are real. We, the audience, are familiar with this, but the general population isn't so quick to accept that "true" evil exists, and that Slayers are the force meant to beat back evil. Interestingly, Cooper's words recall Buffy's speech in "Selfless", where she claims that the Slayer is the one who has to draw the line. Relating back to #11, this is just another step at demoralizing Buffy, questioning her moral certainty. The repercussions of her actions in "Chosen" are coming back to haunt her.
EDIT: Another thing to note. One could wonder if the formation of Slayer squads on a global basis have actually made the streets at night safer for humanity. This brings to mind something Arthur C. Clarke brought up in Childhood's End; that Utopia is pretty damn boring. And it could be a factor as to why "Harmony Bites" actually gains the popularity it does after Harmony bags Soledad.
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Post by Emmie on Jan 11, 2009 14:24:30 GMT -5
Excellent review, Xi. I'll post more thoughts in response later - I'm running out the door in a few and I'd like to mull this over when I have more time to be thoughtful and insight-y. But you wonderfully expressed the strengths and weaknesses of the issue while offering some great contextualization for the themes touched upon here.
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Post by Rebecca on Jan 11, 2009 14:32:50 GMT -5
Wow, great post wenxina!! But I'm getting a headache with images... oh wait, that's a thought! Remember how the audience wasn't shown how the world was exposed to the reality of vampires? I've got a theory... ♪♫♪♪ Waaaay back in Issue #4 the General said Buffy was now at war with humanity. What if Twilight maneuvered the exposition of vampires, as a vogue sensation, expecting the world to turn on Slayers? (See my thread on Balance Theory). I believe this gives a lot of weight to Emmie's post labeling Twilight as a manipulator.
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Post by wenxina on Jan 11, 2009 14:46:22 GMT -5
I actually think that's the case. The solicitation for #22 states that "Twilight remains the captain of the anti-Slayer ship". So yeah, I think you guys are definitely on to something there. Thanks for the kind words, btw. I'd like to hear that theory btw, or at least a clarification of that statement about how the audience wasn't shown how the world was exposed to the reality of vampires. Btw... if Twilight's all convincing and manipulator-y... does that mean that he IS Anderson Cooper? lol
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Post by Rebecca on Jan 11, 2009 14:50:36 GMT -5
I will officially never be able to watch AC360 the same way again
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Post by Giant Michael on Jan 11, 2009 15:00:37 GMT -5
Really like the idea of Twilight as a manipulator. I can see a reveal somewhere along the line that pegs a lot of the more ridiculous elements of the series - Dawn's transformation, Mecca-Dawn, even things from the show itself - as his doing.
MB x
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Witchy
Potential Slayer
[Mo0:2]
Posts: 145
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Post by Witchy on Jan 11, 2009 18:22:31 GMT -5
Hi! Well... I didn't expect too much about this issue.... just some funny moments, and there were some... OMG Clem was really cute... especially when he was trying to find his tatoo Anyway... I don't know if it was already post, but I really loved the few panels with the Scoobies!! I mean, the four were together (If only Giles and Faith were there too... ) and they were working on Dawn's problem!!! Hehehehe, the spell was funny and, as always, backfired in a cute way... Also the part were the gang was watching Hamony bites... Willow doing something to Dawn's hair... really cute... that's the kind of moments and really enjoy, with the Scoobies together!!!
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Post by SlayerLV on Jan 12, 2009 1:03:32 GMT -5
I'm not really a big fan of this issue. I thought the story went too fast and I didn't even read the previews. The only little things I liked about this issue were Harmony's room filled with unicorns and all the tattoo references. What I'm trying to figure out is why Clem is hanging out with Harmony.
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Post by Rebecca on Jan 12, 2009 1:16:32 GMT -5
Honestly, I thought Clem would be hanging out with Harmony because they were never really part of the demon culture. They are outcasts in both worlds, which they both had in common with Spike.
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Whedon Fan
Ensouled Vampire
Joss Is Boss
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Posts: 1,312
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Post by Whedon Fan on Jan 12, 2009 17:42:09 GMT -5
In all honetsy. Worst-Issue-Ever. Sorry to say. I have been loving Buffy season 8. Truley great works of art, and a fine addition to the verse. Sadly In my opinion "Harmonic Divergence" is not living up to the standards of Season Eight. I am a fan of Harmony she was always really funny, especially in Angel season 5 and when she tried to be bad in Buffy season 5 but this... A few funny moments but the story was terrible. Really?? A reality show about vampires? Come on Buffy is better than this. A few of the problems I have with issue 21 is: 1) Why was Clem in this issue, he served no purpose but to get Clem lovers to go "yeah". 2) How did Andrew even find this new "slayer"? 3) Why didn't Andrew have back up to bring the slayer in like in Angel season 5 "Damaged" of course she wasn't going to go with Andrew freely and if thats how they recruite slayers then no wonder there are rogue slayers everywhere Imagine the scene? ANDREW: You are a slayer you must come with me SLAYER: No ANDREW: Eh...Okay. Bye then 4) Why is Buffy just letting Harmony have her own vamp show. Go and kill her, don't watch it?! 5) The art in this issue looked rushed and I love the art for season 8 Georges has amazing talent. 6) I hope this issue has some other purpose other wise all it's done is ruin the continuity for Angel: After The Fall, which shows that hell went to LA right after Harmony left Wolfram and Hart so how did she get out in time? So, so sorry for the rant. I usually never complain about an issue like this but it's just gotten to me. Does anyone else feel this way? I am however looking forward to issue 22. Satsu and Kennedy. Woo! It'll be nice to check back in with Satsu again and I have really been liking Kennedy more and more.
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Post by wenxina on Jan 12, 2009 17:56:58 GMT -5
1) Why was Clem in this issue, he served no purpose but to get Clem lovers to go "yeah". Fair enough. 2) How did Andrew even find this new "slayer"? Well, Willow said that she was connected to all the rising Slayers in "Chosen". The coven in England was able to seek out Potentials that the Watchers' Council had previously missed (i.e. Amanda in Sunnydale). Wouldn't be hard to locate a newly arisen Slayer. 3) Why didn't Andrew have back up to bring the slayer in like in Angel season 5 "Damaged" of course she wasn't going to go with Andrew freely and if thats how they recruite slayers then no wonder there are rogue slayers everywhere Imagine the scene? ANDREW: You are a slayer you must come with me SLAYER: No ANDREW: Eh...Okay. Bye then What was the random slayers name? Random Slayer's name was Soledad. Scott confirmed this in the Q&A. Apparently it was meant to be in somewhere, but it never came up. But does her name really matter? No one really challenged the anonymity of the decoy in "The Chain". Andrew had to bring Dana in because she was deranged, and combined with Slayer powers, not a good thing. Soledad, on the other hand wasn't running around harming people (yet). 4) Why is Buffy just letting Harmony have her own vamp show. Go and kill her, don't watch it?! Presumably, something would have been done about Harmony soon enough. But that will never be seen as Soledad rushed in and bungled the whole affair.
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Post by Skytteflickan88 on Jan 12, 2009 18:33:03 GMT -5
Random Slayer's name was Soledad. Scott confirmed this in the Q&A. Apparently it was meant to be in somewhere, but it never came up. But does her name really matter? No one really challenged the anonymity of the decoy in "The Chain". Her name was Buffy, wasn't it?
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Post by henzINNIT on Jan 12, 2009 18:47:59 GMT -5
6) I hope this issue has some other purpose other wise all it's done is ruin the continuity for Angel: After The Fall, which shows that hell went to LA right after Harmony left Wolfram and Hart so how did she get out in time? I don't see how Harmony couldn't have gone to hell like everyone else and come out the otherside after Hell-A is inevitably undone. There's nothing in this issue that changes anything really other than Harmony being alive, and as a soulless vampire it's not much of a stretch to believe she could get by fine in hell.
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