RESTLESS; how much foreshadowing can you take?

[Saturn 5]

RESTLESS
The Good;
All of it, pretty damn wonderful. I especially like ASH's impersonation of a panicking theatre director, based on personal experience?
The Bad;
?
Best line;
Cheeseman; "I wear the cheese, it does not wear me"
Women good/men bad;
Dark haired Buffy's rant against Cowboy guy Riley
Jeez!;
The First Slayer scalping Giles
Kinky dinky;
Willow and Tara hooker up! How gorgeous is Joyce in her nightie? What a MILF! I never appreciated it until just this moment. About the weirdest fanfic I ever read concerned Willow having S&M sex with the cheese guy, him melting cheese over her nude body. Joss says that when Buffy rubs the mud over her face the idea was that she was being overwhelmed by her primal Slayer instincts but actually looks like she was having a facial. I'd say it looks more like she's a stripper/porn star (which she plays in Southland Tales) doing her 'tigress in heat' leer? Harmony in her milkmaid outfit is also very cute. The sign at the funfair vamp actually says 'I crack for a buck' but that's not what I thought it said first time I saw it.
Calling Captain Subtext;
ALL OF IT! Especially Willow and Tara in the sexiest scene you never saw but fervently imagined. What's the poem in Greek letters Willow is writing on Tara's back? By Sappho perhaps? (very Xena). And how lovely is Amber, such an unothordox beauty. Xander refers to Willow and Tara 'doing spells'. Hmmmm? Tara also tells Willow she doesn't know everything about her, her supposed demon side.
Check out dark-haired Buffy berating gun toting Riley over the death of Xander and the evil of men. Substitute Warren for Riley, DarkWillow for Buffy and Tara for Xander and you have the end of season 6. Riley has often been compared to Gary Cooper and here he's a cowboy. Of course the irony is that Gary Cooper despite his wholesome image was a notorious womaniser and Riley will go to his vampwhores in season 5. The scene with Adam and Riley and the gun between them also refers to Warren and Tara. Adam challenges Buffy that she has demon essence in her which we'll find in out in 'Get it done'. Riley leaves, Joss already thinking about him going.
Spike's sideshow freak appearance is indicative of his role in later seasons, vampire in love with the Slayer and then vamp with soul, sacrificial lamb in the end. The scenes with Spike and Giles on the swings seem to suggest that Spike will fufill the role of Giles to Buffy once Giles leaves again for the UK, her 'daddy' figure. You wonder what might have happened if Giles had hung around in season 6? Guffy? Their conversation also portends to the Loan Shark from Tabula Rusa (and Angel Season 6) The clock reads 730 which is the same as in Graduation Day pt2, counting down to Dawn and Dawn is the kitten (as she was the cat in Faith and Buffy's dream in GDpt2).
Buffy refers to Xander as big brother, wonderful and loving but not sexual. In fact Buffy is the one girl Xander never thinks about sexually in his dream. He says 'it get's better' and indeed it does for him, he's not left behind by his friends as he fears. Although Xuffers still hold out for something to happen in season 8 (and given Buffy's fantasy in issue 2 maybe they still have a point?). Anya talks about getting back into vengence which she will in seasons 6/7. Xander's dad is not the same actor we meet in season 6, he rather reminds me of an angry version of Willy the snitch.
Buffy refers to being a fireman which portends to 'Once more with feeling'. We see Willow having a fit on a sofa and Buffy saying 'I can fight this thing' portending to Joyce dying on the couch and Buffy's inability to fight a disease despite all her Slayer powers. We later see Joyce entombed in the wall with Buffy leaving her behind to go on with her friends. And her little sis.
Giles tells Buffy 'it's been like this between men and women since the beginning' but she rejects that, she won't play the Shadowmen's/Councils game as we see from her rejection of the First Slayer's values, that the First Slayer is not 'the source of me'. Note the vamp at the funfair is 'Drac'. In Spike's tomb Buffy is gone with Olivia weeping over an empty pram, portending Giles' leaving a Buffy who no longer needs his guidance.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley and Adam plotting world domination because "We're the goverment baby, it's what we do".
Scoobies to the ER;
Where's Dawn?
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage: Xander tied in his confrontation with Snyder (amazingly unless someone can correct me his first time?).
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 15
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 2
Wes: 1
Kills:
Buffy: 79 vamps, 28 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 4 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 12 vamps + 7 demons

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 2

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10, no but wonderful to see Snyder back again, Armin Shimmerman giving a terrific performance as a much thinner Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara

Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley

Xander demon magnet: 5
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?)

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 3; Angel, Parker, Riley
Angel: 1;Buffy
Joyce: 1;Giles, possibly Ted
Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca
Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley
Xander: 2; Faith, Anya
Willow: 2;Oz and Tara
Questions and observations;
How lovely to see season 1 Willow again, she's just so cute. In case you didn't know the Bay of Pigs was the ill-fated CIA backed invasion of Castro's Cuba by anti-communist exiles. Will also refers to her experience of stagefright in 'Nightmares'. Once again great to see Oz back, the last appearance of him in the show and for Olivia too. Once again Buffy triumphs because she is the unconventional Slayer, she's more than just the Slayer, she lives in the world too. No matter how many times I watch this I can never tell, is it Tara or Anya in bed telling Buffy she has to wake up?
Asian Joe sitting behind Oz in class, great to see him again. The clip they watch of Apocalypse Now isn't much like the film, sounds more like Hamburger Hill. After hearing Joss commentary I duly looked up Twin Peaks on IMDB and Wiki and it was a supernatural detective show Kyle Machaclan made before Desperate Housewives but I'm still none the wiser as to what the significance of the red curtains is?
Marks out of 10; 10/10, no trouble.

[Randi Giles]

I just had to mention that I love this episode and it was one of the best unique season finales. One complaint I had about his episode is that I really wish Cordy was in it. And it was Anya who tells Buffy to wake up if you're talking about when their in the dorm. 10/10

[Jaz ♀♀]

ha, it was great to see s1 wallflower Willow!....very cute indeed. Restless is by far one of my favorite episodes! 10/10

and as for the red curtain significance...lol....Joss says it wasn't a homage to the Twin Peaks but instead a vaguely literal image of Willow finding comfort in the red folds and who happens to be in there too?...Tara...LoL it's a vague literal sexual image....which is why he didn't want to explain further 'cuz kids might be watching the commentary.

[Saturn 5]

Yeah would have been lovely to have more of the AI cast in Restless but I guess there was only room/budget for so much.

[Skytteflickan88]

AI cast?

[Saturn 5]

AI = Angel Investigations

[Randi Giles]

Nov 22, 2009 7:16:12 GMT -5 Saturn 5 said:

Yeah would have been lovely to have more of the AI cast in Restless but I guess there was only room/budget for so much.

Yeah I figured that. It jst sucks because I know there was never going to be a real good excuse for her to ever be on BTVS, but if there was an episode for her to come back to this would have been a good one. Man it's been oner 5 years and I still can't get over it. Bitter much. I think know I just wanted some X/C scenes. Lol.

[Jaz ♀♀]

I think know I just wanted some X/C scenes. Lol.

yes! that would have been really great to see!

[gumgnome]

Nov 22, 2009 20:00:08 GMT -5 Randi Giles said:

I think know I just wanted some X/C scenes. Lol.

Second!

(or third as it seems to be)

[Saturn 5]

One thing I'd like in the comics is the Sunnydale Scoobs to acknowledge Wes and CC's death (and Fred's for Willow)