Season 8 - Time of Your Life: Issue 16

[themaleslayer]

Jul 4, 2008 17:58:38 GMT -5 Lukee said:

OMG i loved the art work! He so made them characters his own in this issue. I loved his Buffy and Willow. And omg Dawn he drew her soo well. I really loved the page where we see Dawn all half's on horseness. It was drawn brilliantly.

Joss was spot on with the writing like normal.
Although there where a few words i didn't understand but you know i went with it hehe

I don't like K again now for how she went at Buffy yeah sure it was sweet but un called for asif Buffy would try anything on Willow.

And OMG the hit on the slayers. Was no excepting that.

Again omg i loved the art.

I thought centaur dawn seemed a bit too huge. lol but other than that, I agree.

[faithswatcher]

One of my biggest actual laugh out loud moments, i dont think has been mentioned.
Willow talking about the private jet - "More largness from your mystery benefactor who is actually you stealing things?"

[Lukee]

hehe there where a lot off funnys in this issue.

I loved Buffy in the limo.

"Shes never been in new york"

"Im the king kong of the worrrrld!"

"Or apparently a limo"

LMAO her face cracks me up

[El Diablo Robotico]

As a self-admitted "Buffy" uber-geek, I'm embarrassed to have to ask this, but it's driving me nuts trying to figure it out: what episode does Buffy say "Hamnoo?"

[KingofCretins]

"Lessons" -- it's how she reacts to Wood suggesting she belongs at Sunnydale High.

[hitnrun017]

Jul 4, 2008 22:39:35 GMT -5 KingofCretins said:

"Lessons" -- it's how she reacts to Wood suggesting she belongs at Sunnydale High.

Well that just ruined one of my favorite moments in the episode. I always thought she said "I'm new?!". Ah well.

[El Diablo Robotico]

Jul 4, 2008 22:39:35 GMT -5 KingofCretins said:

"Lessons" -- it's how she reacts to Wood suggesting she belongs at Sunnydale High.

Ah! Of course! *smacks head* I knew it was from S6 or 7, but just couldn't place it. Thanks muchly.

Now, on a completely different topic:

So, I just watched "The Girl In Question" again tonight, and it refreshed my memory some on the Immortal. He's described as "a centuries-old guy who may or may not be evil." And in fact, all his actions in the episode (other than sleeping with the totally-evil Darla and Dru) would probably be considered "good". Since the idea of him appearing in S8 as evil (Twilight) has been thrown out there already, and given some credence by a few of our sharpest members as at least being plausible, shouldn't we also consider the idea that he could appear as a good guy, trying to help Buffy and the slayers?

Where I'm going with this is: what if it was the Immortal who Buffy was meeting in NY? The phone call she made to set up the meet, just before getting on the helicopter, could've been with Andrew (who "did the research on the guy"), or even the Buffy-double who's been dating him.

He seems to be this guy:


It's a little tough to make out in this screencap, but if you go back and watch that little bit of the episode, he's wearing a nice suit, has serious hair, is apparently human-looking in appearance (tho you never see his face), and is willing to go out clubbing with a slayer. So if Buffy--the real Buffy--were going to meet with him, to try to enlist his help, I could absolutely picture him taking her out to a fancy New York restaurant that she'd need to dress up for. And since we don't know exactly what he is, Buffy's description of him as a "thing" ("Gotta take a meeting; with a thing") might fit. He could possibly offer some kind of mystical or fighty aid to them, or, since he's been around so long, maybe he's developed that investment portfolio that Angel never got around to (much to Cordy's chagrin ), and be part of the "legitimate funding" Buffy mentions.

Just for the record, I don't really think that's who she was meeting. But I don't really think he's Twilight, either. Just sayin', since he was written as such a morally-ambiguous character in TGiQ, we might oughta consider any possible S8 appearances the same way: maybe he'd be evil, maybe he'd be good.

[Emmie]

That's a new and interesting perspective on the mystery meeting Buffy had, El Diablo. While I'm not sure if there's any evidence to connect The Immortal to Buffy directly besides the fact that he was mentioned in Issue 1 and Buffy has a mysterious benefactor while the Immortal has a lot of money, I do think that the mystery meeting may be with the mystery benefactor. Who's to say that its someone we know already?

Plus the conversation between Buffy and Willow starts with a jibe at Buffy's stolen resources to which Buffy counters that there really is a wealthy benefactor. Then later in the conversation she mentions needing to take a meeting. It seems like Buffy's train of thought went "Wealthy Benefactor ---> Need to Meet with So-and-So in NYC". I think this makes more sense than secretly meeting with Oz (sadly 'cause I really want Oz back now) or having an affair with Riley, because the connotation was that it was a business meeting that perhaps was turning into something personal. Thus the anxious packing and dressing sexy when Buffy went out.

Has Buffy met a billionaire playboy who wants to help fund her Slayer Army to save the world and they've been flirting with each other via Paypal transactions? Haha when I thought billionaire who wants to save the world, the first person that came to mind was Bruce Wayne/Batman. Now that would be interesting. Buffy dating Batman.

[faithswatcher]

Jul 4, 2008 21:17:21 GMT -5 Lukee said:

"Shes never been in new york"

"Im the king kong of the worrrrld!"

"Or apparently a limo"

Random: When i first read that, i thought willow meant
"im king of the world"
"or apparantly a limo"

Wasnt til third time i read it, that i read it as it should be, lol.

[El Diablo Robotico]

Jul 5, 2008 2:11:39 GMT -5 Emmie said:

Plus the conversation between Buffy and Willow starts with a jibe at Buffy's stolen resources to which Buffy counters that there really is a wealthy benefactor. Then later in the conversation she mentions needing to take a meeting. It seems like Buffy's train of thought went "Wealthy Benefactor ---> Need to Meet with So-and-So in NYC". I think this makes more sense than secretly meeting with Oz (sadly 'cause I really want Oz back now) or having an affair with Riley, because the connotation was that it was a business meeting that perhaps was turning into something personal. Thus the anxious packing and dressing sexy when Buffy went out.

The whole thing about the meeting actually starts when she's on the phone, before getting into the helicopter ("Good. You’ll let me know where?"), which I didn't pick up on the first couple of times I read it, so it definitely seems to be something she'd been planning even before getting on the plane. It wasn't something that just occurred to her during her conversation with Willow ("Hmm... wealthy benefactor--I think I'll do a little fund-raising while I'm in town"), but I agree that it seems like an important business meeting, not just, "Hey, Oz, long time no see--how's it going?", or "Oh, goody, this will give me the chance to carry on the sleazy affair I'm having with Riley!"

After thinking about the Immortal idea a little more, the thing that would make the most sense to me about it is if he contacted her, possibly thru channels (maybe the double he's dating), and asked for a meeting with her. The idea that he's Twilight seems to be based on one thing: "The Immortal does not use spells; he considers them dirty--dirty tricks for dirty people". Now, there's a big difference between looking down your nose at something and not using it yourself, and being so outraged by it that you wanna lead a crusade against it (I'm not a fan of certain types of music, for example, but I'm not out there marching, carrying a sign, protesting them ). Twilight wants to bring the age of magic to a close, which I imagine means more than just spells--it means spells, witches, slayers, vampires, demons, and everything supernatural. The Immortal is supernatural--hence the immortality--so as Twilight, he would, in essence, be working against himself.

So, it seems like it would make more sense for him, whether he's actually good or evil or somewhere in between, to at least thrown in with Buffy this time and help defeat Twilight and save his own existence. He might be able to offer money, but a little more consideration last night convinced me that the thing he could probably best offer would be information. He's been around for hundreds of years, he's got all these lackeys that work for him--he's probably got plenty of good sources who hear all kinds of interesting stuff. If one of them stumbled on a key piece of info about Twilight, and the Immortal realized that his existence--at least, in this world--was in serious danger, you certainly figure he'd wanna pass that on to someone who could do something about it.

This theory actually makes a lot of sense to me. The only reason I think it'll turn out not to be the case is that I don't think Joss will bother using a character who was so minor (and from "Angel", besides). But, I thought I'd throw it out there. Just in case it somehow actually turns out to be correct, I can then rightfully proclaim how awesome I am!! ;D

[Emmie]

El Diablo, I meant that the reason Buffy brought it up to Willow at that time was 'cause her train of thoughts led her there. She'd been thinking about it before she got on the plane as she was on the phone and setting up the meet, but when Willow mentioned the $$$ and Buffy defended with the wealthy benefactor play, it made her realize she needed to tell Willow about the meeting without actually telling her.

It might be significant to notice that when Willow reads Buffy as being cryptic about the meeting, she calls Buffy Slayer. Now Willow hardly ever calls Buffy Slayer. (Can anyone find a quote where Willow calls Buffy Slayer instead of saying her name - I know Willow has said things like "Buffy's the Slayer" before but where Wills uses it as a name?) That was Spike's gig. So maybe this is meant to signify that Willow is reading Buffy's attitude as all business - Slayer business that is.

So I'm down with the meeting being with the wealthy benefactor, just not sure its the Immortal. Though wouldn't it be funny if that's why she got so dressed up. Because she thought he was sexy, even over the phone and wanted to look good for him. Haha and what if they actually did start dating for real again, making the retcon of the Buffy decoy and the joking in TGIQ even more layered with humor.

[El Diablo Robotico]

Hey, anybody remember in NFFY that they were setting up radar stations outside the castle? Assuming they were monitoring them in command-central, they should've been able to see the missile coming, and might have had time to evacuate most of the castle before it hit. Maybe when the smoke clears next issue, Xander will find a bunch of girls gathered on the grass on the other side of the crater, shaken but unharmed...

[brandonr]

The theory about the Immortal, with the facts presented, definitely seems to fit the bill. But, like El Diablo, I'm unsure that Joss would dredge that back up after he already put it to rest in issue one. Of course, that could be just the reason he would bring it back up--because he put it to rest, people aren't really focused on the Immortal anymore, so SHOCKER when we find out that he and Buffy really do know each other, and have for some time now.

I also don't think that she's meeting with Oz, or with Riley, because those two options just open up too many more questions rather than satisfying just the one we have now: who is she going to meet?

If, indeed, Buffy is meeting with the benefactor, it would make sense that she wants to get all dressy with it because she would probably be going somewhere nice, or doing something nice. Not to mention that when you get a "loan" from someone, you need to consistently impress them with yourself and your program in order to keep the money flowing.

Now I just wonder if the "benefactor" that keeps getting mentioned is someone we know, or someone new that's has not yet been introduced to us. And what connection could said benefactor have to Twilight, if any? They both seem to be brought up either in the same comic, or at the same time by people in conversation, which just seems a might bit suspicious to me.

[Lukee]

Jul 5, 2008 9:13:33 GMT -5 faithswatcher said:

Jul 4, 2008 21:17:21 GMT -5 Lukee said:

"Shes never been in new york"

"Im the king kong of the worrrrld!"

"Or apparently a limo"

Random: When i first read that, i thought willow meant
"im king of the world"
"or apparantly a limo"

Wasnt til third time i read it, that i read it as it should be, lol.

Haha i was the same
I had to re read the issue a few times when i kept noticing little things i missed hehe.

[Joe]

I finished my animated reenactment of this issue www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP9vHfvYA-w .. this time it has voices!!!

Iceeh as Buffy Summers
Me as Xander Harris
Danner as Willow Rosenburg
Kimtaro as Dawn Summers

and many more slayalive users!

[iloveromy]

Great Job all around. Karma for you!

[Emmie]

Jul 5, 2008 16:12:43 GMT -5 El Diablo Robotico said:

Hey, anybody remember in NFFY that they were setting up radar stations outside the castle? Assuming they were monitoring them in command-central, they should've been able to see the missile coming, and might have had time to evacuate most of the castle before it hit. Maybe when the smoke clears next issue, Xander will find a bunch of girls gathered on the grass on the other side of the crater, shaken but unharmed...

The missile has mystical symbols on it and is covered in candles presumably used for a spell. Amy probably mystically cloaked it so that it could attack the castle undetected.

I think the castle is gone. It's too awesome of a devestating moment for Joss to cop out and say nobody got hurt. But really, when has Joss ever hesitated in killing someone?

[Tyler Austin "tiewashere"]

Jul 5, 2008 20:39:16 GMT -5 Emmie said:

Jul 5, 2008 16:12:43 GMT -5 El Diablo Robotico said:

Hey, anybody remember in NFFY that they were setting up radar stations outside the castle? Assuming they were monitoring them in command-central, they should've been able to see the missile coming, and might have had time to evacuate most of the castle before it hit. Maybe when the smoke clears next issue, Xander will find a bunch of girls gathered on the grass on the other side of the crater, shaken but unharmed...

The missile has mystical symbols on it and is covered in candles presumably used for a spell. Amy probably mystically cloaked it so that it could attack the castle undetected.

I think the castle is gone. It's too awesome of a devestating moment for Joss to cop out and say nobody got hurt. But really, when has Joss ever hesitated in killing someone?

I definitely think people are going to be dead after that. Probably most of them.

[Lukee]

yeah a blow like that isnt going to leave lots standing.
Plus why is it ever fun not to have some die...?

[El Diablo Robotico]

Jul 5, 2008 20:39:16 GMT -5 Emmie said:

Jul 5, 2008 16:12:43 GMT -5 El Diablo Robotico said:

Hey, anybody remember in NFFY that they were setting up radar stations outside the castle? Assuming they were monitoring them in command-central, they should've been able to see the missile coming, and might have had time to evacuate most of the castle before it hit. Maybe when the smoke clears next issue, Xander will find a bunch of girls gathered on the grass on the other side of the crater, shaken but unharmed...

The missile has mystical symbols on it and is covered in candles presumably used for a spell. Amy probably mystically cloaked it so that it could attack the castle undetected.

I think the castle is gone. It's too awesome of a devestating moment for Joss to cop out and say nobody got hurt. But really, when has Joss ever hesitated in killing someone?

There's no telling what those candles and symbols and bones were for--maybe they were a cloaking spell to turn it into a stealth bomber, undetectable to radar; maybe it was to get thru Willow's mystical protection (do we even know for sure if she had the same type of setup that Gigi had around her place?); maybe it was something else.

And come on--the trick of seeming to kill someone (or, in this case, a lot of someones) off, then the next episode/issue they're fine, is a classic. It's been done on "Buffy" and "Angel" numerous times.

I like my new radar theory, and I'm sticking with it. Until we see it proved otherwise, I'm gonna say that there's at least a 50/50 chance the missile was detected and the castle was (either entirely or mostly) cleared before it hit...