#i can't believe it took me until a rewatch a month or so later to realize the parallel wow

[airenyah]

Hidden Agenda (2023) || Bad Buddy (2021)

do you ever get your future boyfriend dirty who then proceeds to attack you and chase you on a lawn in revenge

[bokutosbabe]

Texting the Obey Me! Brothers that your period is late

Lucifer

avid lucifer hater right here so like I'm making him in my brutally honest opinion ( mwah )

Literally would ignore your texts for hours upon hours

He's a busy man, he doesn't have time to be checking his phone every 2 minutes

I'd say he checks it like 2 hours after you've sent that text and he goes crazy

Normally the way he texts is very put together and simple but whenever you tell him he ends up texting you like this;

WHAT??

Y/N ANSWER RIGHT NOW

etc, etc

Turns out, your period had shown up about an hour after you sent that text-

And right now you were napping in your room

To which you wake up to Lucifer opening your door asking if he can speak to you about your child.

Which you have to tell him you're not pregnant now

And he'll go back to his work.

Mammon

Always on his phone

Gets the text IMMEDIATELY.

leaves his room and just busts in your room

I mean it's like he basically lives there already so why not just barge in the place?

You two freak out together 🫶🏽

He worries about how he's going to give Goldie less attention now that he's going to have a kid

You both calm him down and just start telling him how happy you are

You and Mammon both start making up some names for your possible child

Of course most of them are silly but you two enjoyed it nonetheless

You both take a nap, cuddling and now both of you thinking of your future

And unlike Lucifer, your period actually never does come

Well until like almost ten months later after you've had your adorable baby boy.

Leviathan

Another one who's always on his phone

But unlike Mammon, he ignores the text

For maybe 30 minutes until he gets through this whole manga series

Which doesn't take long

Immediately after he sees the text he freaks out

But instead of going to you, the lady who texted him

He goes to...

Solomon.

he texts the sorcerer freaking the fawk out

And the lovely sorcerer tells him these things you can get on akuzon called

✨ pregnancy tests ✨

He ordered like twelve of them and got them delivered straight to his room

He then rushed to your room and interrupted your show to make you pee on these twelve sticks

( they all came back negative btw )

the rest of the night you and levi cuddled and rewatch your favorite anime 🫶🏽

Satan

he's smart

He will text you back asking how long your period has been late for

And you'll tell him just a few days

but here's the issue,

Satan doesn't exactly know about female periods

So he just pulls something out of his ass

“ it has to be like months late for you to be pregnant ”

of course you believed your super smart and loving bf 🫶🏽

And then one month passed without a period

And then came the point whenever you were throwing up-

you took a pregnancy test and it came back a very strong positive

you immediately went crying to Satan, saying he lied to you!

and he made it up to you by taking you to cat cafes once every month until you gave birth to your beautiful daughter

Asmodeus

genuinely does not care

contrary to what others think, I think asmo would know if you're pregnant

he's the avatar of lust

of course you two have done it, but he makes sure to use the best protection possible.

it was exam time so he was sure you were just stressed

which would cause your period to be late

so he comes over to your room

( arms full of facial care and nail polish)

and you two relax and ✨cleanse✨

and after you'd taken your last exam, guess who came?

miss period 🫶🏽

and asmo got to tell you

“ i told you so ~ ”

Beelzebub

( i am a beel lover )

listen, biggest himbo energy right here

I don't think he'd be completely oblivious to the chances of getting pregnant

but i definitely think he'd be one of those people who think you can't get pregnant if you're standing up

( i'm so serious it's a thing )

and y'all have done it against the wall on multiple occasions

so when you text him, he thinks you're just being dramatic

until you're spamming his phone

“ beelzebub istg if you don't get the fuck over here I'm freaking tf out ”

and this big softie is immediately running to your room

1) because he's terrified of an angry you

2) he doesn't want you freaking out over him

you're contemplating your existence when he walks into your room

listen, you're still a teen, you were terrified of having a kid

so beel came and cuddled you and you two fell asleep in each other's arms

and five months later you're very pregnant and almost have the same appetite as beel

a complete nine months after , you were watching beel carry your twin boys with absolute love.

Belphie

is sleeping

he always has his phone on do not disturb

so he sleeps for about 12 hours straight before picking up the phone to answer you

In his drowsy state he really didn't think about it

Then he woke up completely and his brain went into overdrive

he may or may not have cared a little too much if you were pregnant

he went to your room and cuddled you, almost about to fall back asleep before looking at you

“ y/n we haven't even slept together ”

because truthfully you two had it because you didn't think sex was necessary in your relationship so far

“ oh. ”

and then the next day your period showed up.

My first obey me! Post and I'm literally in love with it, what?!

[neversatisfiedwithlife]

I don't understand why anyone even liked Doug in the beginning. I've always despised him, except for a few moments. The fandom called him out for how he treated Izzie in season 4, yet ignored so many other things?

Like did everyone just forget that he walked out on his family just because Sam was diagnosed with autism? He was gone for 8 whole months. And later on he said something about never seeing his son smile, or that he just wants something in common with Sam (when he forced Sam to watch games or something - I don't remember too well). Until later on in the show, Doug didn't do much to try and like one of Sam's hobbies or interests, and just in general took everything as a personal attack. And when he went to Elsa's group he really showed that he was really late in doing anything to try and understand Sam's autism.

Not to mention he was still ashamed of Sam being autistic, and didn't "get over it" until he was outed for it. Plus, he was only supportive of Sam whenever he had a chance to one-up Elsa. Every scene was just an opportunity for him to look like the better parent, it didn't feel like he really believed in Sam at first.

And I can't explain it, but Doug's attitude in the whole show was really irritating. Even if he was right for it sometimes (especially when he found out Elsa cheated), he really took victim playing to a new level. His self-pity was agonising to watch. Not to mention the subtle toxic masculinity here and there. He just overall sucked as a character. He's like that one guy that never seems to be able to stay in his lane.

Sorry for the totally random ask, I need this discussion so bad, I genuinely don't get why everyone loves this character

I do think people sympathized with him at first being cheated on because cheating is never the answer.

But I do get exactly what you're saying, let me try and organize my thoughts based on your points brought up:

Izzie, no surprise she's a lot of people's favorite. But I agree why only when it pertains to Izzie are people's characters defined? Like Elsa no one wanted to view her as a positive character until she was there completely for Izzie, and that confused me because I actually really enjoyed her in season 3 and on rewatch learned to be patient with her in s2.

To be honest some people bring up stuff from season 1 that I literally forgot happened, so yes that could be a thing. I usually start my rewatches at s2, which probably sounds dumb: but I am aiming to do an entire series rewatch.

This reminds me of the Arlo episode, Doug is kinda insufferable here, no surprise he was oblivious, either by choice or just truly that way, the reason behind Arlo's dad not wanting Sam around was because he wasn't neurotypical and because he has autism.

Also the fact that he didn't stay with Elsa's group was actually on my mind earlier. He really didn't put forth any effort to understand Sam and kids with autism.

Also he left and then Elsa is the bad guy when Sam and Casey get on a fight? I hate that nobody brings this up. Idc what happened those are his kids, but he really just said no.

But yes he's only interested in Sam's interest, Antarctica, after Sam and everyone else have paved him towards being self sufficient. When Doug realizes he can be basically completely hands off with Sam now he's intrested.

(Idk if my additions were comprehensive or coherent or even added anything but I hope so. Thank you for this post I completely agree. I've really been having a roller coaster of thoughts on Doug since Friday lol- im not the same person I was a day ago about Doug😂😂honestly though)

[mc-critical]

hey, welcome back! hope your exams and stuff went well, and that you're doing fine now.

i wanted to hear your opinion on nigar hatun. i remember seeing one post of yours in which you said that she wasn't a favourite of yours like you favoured other characters and honestly, same. i didn't really much understand the fascination with her. she was an interesting character, but i can't imagine having her as a favourite when there are so many more characters who are far more interesting. i wish they gave her an alternate arc. idk what it could be, i'd like to hear your opinion on it. one alternative ending i came up for her is that she was extremely angry at ibrahim for toying with her and hatice for keeping her sweet little esmanur from her so she joins hurrem to defeat them? which hurrem did try but it didn't really go anywhere and nigar was against hurrem for killing ibrahim which just was kinda frustrating. they literally give hurrem no ally in the harem [except mihrimah later on but mihri is overall varying in terms of power] so it would be good for her to have some support in the harem from people who actually hated her enemies like her. she had actual political support from iskender celebi, rustem, and ayaz pasha and all, sure, but she didn't have much support in the harem, like all powerful women of the harem were against her. nigar obviously wasn't powerful like a sultan but she was an old member of the harem, was respected and even though she kinda lost her dignity with the scandal, she could've regained it with hurrem's help. sumbul was there later on but he was just a very faithful servant and didn't really have any real motive to harm any of hurrem's enemies except for out of his loyalty whilst nigar could've cultivated a hatred for hatice and ibrahim. this is a basic plot but i would've kinda liked seeing it. there can be many more ways her character could've ended but it would be good seeing a woman who didn't bow to her feelings all the time. the sultanas couldn't really control their feelings when it came to love because they were princesses who were used to getting what they wanted most of the time but nigar was a servant who also suffered the hardships of slavery and it obviously would've made her tougher as a person so she could control her feelings better; idk, i feel like this is an aspect of women they could've explored [or if they did explore it, i don't remember it lol my memory lapses a lot so i don't remember the show 100%] anyway, would like to hear your thoughts on nigar. thank you. welcome back again <3

Thank you! <33 Yup, I'm fine and the exams went well. Happy Pride month to you, too! 🏳️‍🌈

Hehe, I wrote that post years ago and while Nigar still isn't one of my absolute favourite characters, I've warmed up to her quite a bit. And honestly, now with the wider experience in the fandom, I can say that she isn't all that loved as it looks like. I then was under the limited wrong impression that the BG Mamma forum was a metric of all the popular opinions and yes, they loved Nigar a lot and I was sometimes confused as to why, but really, that and the Russian fanbase are the only places I have encountered that appreciate her all that much. There are characters I find more interesting than her, that's for sure, but she has her charm and I'm firmly against people reducing her to "evil" or "manipulative" or "weak after she fell in love with Ibrahim", so forth.

The thing she sets her first impression with is her intelligence caused by her relatively high experience in the harem. The advice she gave to Hürrem opened the path to her whole goal (as she herself acknowledged in E41) and that makes for quite an impact for a more recurring character. Despite of this, I never viewed early Nigar as someone taking an open side, hence I didn't find her supposed betrayal to Hürrem surprising in the slightest: she is also trying to survive in this environment in any way she knows how and she can't really find a fully comfortable position, because she is well aware that everyone is thinking for their own gain in the end. Including her. So the only choice she has left is to direct herself to where the wind is blowing and get advantages for herself once she gets the chance. Because all the experience has taught her to repress her feelings (E10 to Hürrem: "In this castle you can't show weakness."), opt to be the more level-headed person and seek for the more pragmatic solutions.

And yet she is very sensitive and perceptive to people that are different than the others or that are in need and is willing to lend them her hand. She adviced and helped Hürrem because she found potential in her, because she wanted to see her succeed, but not through endangering her own self or other people in the process (she told Hürrem that her game had gone too far again in E41), but through negotiation, compromise and adaption, to know when to start and when to stop and be respectful to those above her, no matter how hard or limiting that may look in Hürrem's eyes. Hürrem had the tendency in viewing every sign of support that came to her as granted, she still had that naive part of innocence in her in S01 and early on was in a desparate need of someone to lean on and unconditionally follow her path, that's why when Nigar diverted from that path, it hurt and took her a while to start trusting her again. But I didn't see Nigar as all that attached to Hürrem as Hürrem herself thought she was, especially with how Nigar became stuck between two sultanas later in S01 and that rendered her lost and more insecure than usual.

That's also why I don't view her as a two-faced or hypocritical double-crosser. Because for the longest time, Nigar was the one character in the series before Rüstem appeared that was clearly thinking about her own benefit and survival first and foremost from the beginning when darting between the powerful people in the harem and was the one well aware that she simply can't cling to a single side in her own position. Positions aren't permanent and can always change in such circumstances, so why can't she take advantage of this? Because who cares as much about the feelings for a Kalfa they can still order around after all? She has faced disregard from Mahidevran, Hürrem, Ibrahim and even Hatice. It is pretty understandable that she's going to seek the best opportunity for herself.

That whole facade breaks when she falls in love with Ibrahim. During rewatch, I found myself to have a soft spot for this character deconstruction, especially in S02. I know that it came to pass because of her falling in love with a man that doesn't share the same feelings and there were moments where it looked like she overdid it, even in S02, but for me, the whole thing nicely added a new layer of depth, while still feeling true to Nigar's character. Her future relationship with Ibrahim had been building up back in S01, when Ibrahim (both inadvertently and not I fully believe) played a part in helping her solve the first internal conflict she had (that is the struggle between the two sultanas). Maybe this didn't mean that much to Ibrahim, maybe he was simply trying to be helpful, but it meant a lot to Nigar - that was probably the first time someone seemed to take her feelings into account and actually listen when she couldn't help, but crack under the pressure. So it is only natural that she would search for this source of comfort once again, being ready to face every risk in the process. When she is appointed to Hatice and Ibrahim's castle, when she's practically left alone with Ibrahim, she decides to take that chance, to taste the forbidden fruit. He gave her something she never received and due to her not allowing herself to show weakness and having to cave to everyone else's demands before that, every ounce of affection Ibrahim shows her, it means the world to her. Thus she begins to idealize what she has with him, to the point of denial and delusion, and centers her loyalty completely on him. But that loyalty never seems to falter.  She began to resent and/or hate everyone who could possibly stand in Ibrahim's way, something she wouldn't have ever done before. She keeps her level-headed self and intelligence (I don't think that this plot line reduced it in any way, not even when she was at her worst.) and she's ready to take any opportunity for herself (case in point: her marriage with Rüstem.), but now her softer sides and her wish for affection are showing all the more.

The problem I have with Nigar's character, writing-wise, and now that I think about it, the main subject of why I didn't get the deal with her back then (along with considering her S01 self bland.. somehow?), is her S03B characterization. While her falling in love with Ibrahim plot-line became an important part of S02 Nigar's storyline, I don't think it overshadowed or dominated over her other characteristics, making for a neat balance of traits and an interesting, nuanced character. In an attempt to keep her for longest time possible in the story, S03B flanderized her in every possible way and overexaggerated her biggest strengths and flaws until they became stale and unbelievable. Her love for Ibrahim read as а near obsession narratively and her opportunism coupled with her will for revenge, which put her into many repetitive intrigues. At one point I even felt she was reduced to a plot-device (the moment Şah Sultan appointed her as a spy) and she felt a little too purposeless and to have totally outstayed her welcome until her last moment in the series.

The root of this problem is again, that they just didn't know when to stop with Nigar. To be brutally honest, she had no long-term role left to play after Ibrahim's death and it was time for the writers to let her go and maintain her generally strong characterization. The ending I would've chosen for her is to simply have Matrakcı give her Esmanur's location and for her to live with her daughter in piece. I know that because of the tonal shift, the show seemed to be already inclined that everyone had to have a tragic ending of sorts, to underline the growing ruthlessness and cruelty of the themes, but I fully believe that Nigar was one of the only characters that were terribly forced through their tragic endings. She didn't need, nor deserve a tragic ending and I doubt it would've been such a problem for the half-season if she didn't get one. I find a happier ending to be perfectly fine for Nigar and I would've loved to see it, if only for a freshness in ideas for character endings. I loved her Esmanur storyline and to witness her finding happiness with her, the only solace she had left, would have been a great wrap up of her S03 plots and an amazing send-off to Nigar's character.

I appreciate the thought you have put into your ending for her and to be fair, your proposal would be much better than anything S03B gave us. It would nearly correspond with the revenge plot of hers they were going for and it would be something more original at the same time. Hürrem's principal lack of allies doesn't bother me as a fact alone, because all her enemies have understandable reasons to be against her, but what bothers me however, is when the writers try using it to dumb her enemies down and make them doom themselves through their own failings or outright use it to put forced (often soapy) conflicts to make the audience sympathize with Hürrem. Or to make everyone "mistitle" her (is that a word? probably not.) or disrespect her on purpose again for sympathy points (that go beyond the part of her motivation that wants to feel respected and does stuff out of fear not to fall under a less favorable position once again.), without changing the status-quo until say, S04.

It is so deliberate it becomes annoying and seeing something else for a change... honestly, gimme! While I personally prefer a happy ending for Nigar, I would live for Nigar and Hürrem to work together again, while keeping what's become her central motivation intact. It may seem a little OOC for Nigar to work for Hürrem by that point, because she's channeled her loss of the most precious people into rage on those that have taken them away, but it would be a decent shifting of gears and a reverence to her opportunism to work to eradicate those she hates for good, even if it means doing so with one of your bigger enemies. After all, after the mission is fulfilled, she could still work against Hürrem in some way, right?

[Tell me if I got what you meant wrongly, but there is an example of a dynasty sultana putting her love feelings behind and by that I mean Şah Sultan. Her love is in the past by the point she arrived in the castle and her love for Ibrahim is only used as a conflict between her and Hatice, which they get over relatively quick. Sisterly love and ambition are a much bigger priority of Şah's: she cared about Hatice past any resentment she may have harbored over the years and agreed to share her life with Lütfi for the advantage this may bring, even though she didn't love him at all. She divorced him only when he offended the pride of a woman and her own personal pride. Other than that, we indeed didn't have a female character in MC that puts her feelings behind in design as far as I recall, only ones that end up clinging to them completely like Nigar here or ones that let go of them eventually like Mahidevran. Characters that have this design by default are more present in MCK like Safiye, or Turhan, or especially Gülbahar, but as I've said many times, MCK is more ruthless, while MC is more about the personal feelings of the characters, hence every motivation they have is somehow tied to them.]

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #183

BTVS 7x04 Help

Stray thoughts

1) I feel that season 7 had started on the right foot, and Help is one of the prime examples of that. Hardly ever were MOW episodes the most memorable of the show, albeit a few exceptions that include unique premises and/or demons (Hush, OMWF.) But I feel Help is definitely one of the strongest episodes of the season. It is in no small part because of Cassie Newton. And let’s be real, how often is the victim more memorable than the monster? The actress who plays Cassie does a marvelous job of playing the “woe is me” type without being obnoxious, which is quite the feat. Instead, Cassie comes off as sensitive, intuitive, empathetic, and, unfortunately, doomed. But I think the real reason this episode works so well is how Cassie’s predicament mirrors Buffy’s, and ultimately, how Cassie is just yet another person of the countless Buffy feels she failed to help. But more on that later.

2) The montage of Buffy trying to counsel the kids is pretty neat because they kind of nailed their different reactions to being counseled. You’ve got Amanda, who’s honest and opens up immediately and kind of welcomes Buffy’s pieces of advice. Then the douche (who also played a douche in VM, btw…) who is basically just a douche. And the kid who doesn’t want to talk and just stares at her. And then there’s Buffy, who kind of doesn’t know what to do with any of them, regardless of their attitude.

3) 

XANDER I bet she's giving them great advice.

WILLOW Absolutely! Those kids are lucky to have Buffy looking out for them.

That’s sweet! Especially considering Xander and Willow are having this conversation on their own. They’re being 100% honest. 

4) Willow’s timid and insecure demure is such a welcome change from her almighty and overconfident demeanor in season 6. And it’s an arc that eventually pays off.

WILLOW I don't know what I can do. I mean, frankly, I'm scared of what I might do. 

XANDER Yeah, I get that. Figuring out how to control your magic seems a lot like hammering a nail. Well, uh, hear me out. So you're hammering, right? OK, well at the end of the hammer, you have the power, but no control. It takes, like, two strokes to hit the nail in, or you could hit your thumb.

WILLOW Ouch.

XANDER So you choke up. Control, but no power. It could take like ten strokes to knock the nail in. Power, control. It's a tradeoff.

WILLOW That's actually not a bad analogy.

XANDER Thanks.

WILLOW Except... I'm less worried about hitting my thumb, and more worried about going all black-eyed baddy and bewitching that hammer into cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts.

XANDER Right. Ouch.

WILLOW Sorry. Xander, being back here... I don't know...

XANDER It'll take time. Are you sure you're ready for this?

Also, kudos to Xander because I think he was doing a great job of acknowledging Willow’s concerns while giving her sound advice, you know? He wasn’t his typical “it’ll be okay” self. He was honest. He admitted it would take time and that it would be hard on her, but he didn’t doubt for a second that she would make it. 

5) And then…

6) This is perfect…

BUFFY It sounds like it's difficult for you. Like maybe your sister makes it hard for you to establish your own identity. You said she's controlling, she doesn't let you make your own decisions— 

On a more serious note, though, how does the school allow Buffy to counsel her own sister? I mean, talk about conflict of interest, right?  

7) 

PRINCIPAL  When I was in high school, I had a thing with this guy, right? Real bully. I kept telling everyone that he'd better sleep with one eye open 'cause I was gonna bust his ass. Well, I got suspended. Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where I come from.

BUFFY The hood?

PRINCIPAL Beverly Hills... 

Yeah, Buffy, you know what happens when you assume...

8)

PRINCIPAL Every time there's a threat like this, we do the same dance. Inform teachers, search lockers, but we can't—we can't know what's gonna happen, and we can't search their brains. We just—we just do what we can.

BUFFY It's not enough. I need to fix this. I don't usually get a heads up before somebody dies.

This is what’s interesting about what Carrie represents, both in the show and in real life. Buffy goes into this purely as a counselor, and she soon finds out that her resources as such are very limited. She probably thinks Cassie is having suicidal thoughts, and Buffy finds herself helpless to prevent this. The education system’s red tape makes it impossible for her to take action in a more effective way, and there’s no demon she can kill to prevent Cassie from dying. This is addressed again when she goes to Willow and Xander.

XANDER Buff, you spilled a cup of coffee. I'm not saying you don't have slayer grace, but it's not the first time.

WILLOW I mean maybe, just maybe, you're trying so hard to help that you're seeing paranormal when there's just normal.

9) Wow is this joke dated!

WILLOW Have you googled her yet?

XANDER Willow, she's 17.

Side note: did you know this line right here made BTVS the first TV show to use the word “google” as a verb?

10) It seems Xander took a line from Veronica’s book, right? You marshmallows out there will get what I mean...

BUFFY Wow, that's a lot of poems.

XANDER Poems. Always a sign of pretentious inner turmoil.

11) 

WILLOW I don't know. I mean, a lot of teens post some pretty angsty poetry on the web. I mean, I even posted a melodramatic love poem or two back in the day.

XANDER Love poems?

WILLOW I'm over you now, sweetie.

12) Buffy was really stepping over her boundaries, though…

BUFFY We know you've been picked up by the police a couple of times. We wanted to know if you still—  drink a lot.

MR. NEWTON What's that got to do with Cassie?

BUFFY Frankly, we were worried that you might—drink too much and hurt Cassie. That's all. (that’s all???? you’re accusing this guy of beating up his daughter!!!)

MR. NEWTON Oh. Oh, I see. That's-that's all. You just come in here in the middle of the night, into my home, and start accusing me of beating on my daughter? That's all?

BUFFY We just want to make sure that Cassie's—

MR. NEWTON Well, that's a lie! Who told you this? Did Cassie's mother put you up to this, 'cause I pay my support, OK? To the dime! She just wants to take away the one weekend a month I get to be with my girl.

I’m sure in any other town but Sunnydale this type of behavior would get a counselor fired, right? 

13) And isn’t Cassie Buffy’s mirror image?

 CASSIE You think I want this? You think I don't care? Believe me, I want to...be here, do things. I want to graduate from high school, and I want to go to the stupid winter formal... I have this friend, and it would be fun to go with him. Just to dance and hear lame music to wear a silly dress and laugh and stuff. I'd like to go. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to do. I'd love to ice skate at Rockefeller Center. And I'd love to see my cousins grow up and see how they turn out 'cause they're really mean and I think they're gonna be fat. I'd love to backpack across the country or, I don't know, fall in love, but I won't. I just never will.

This is pretty much Buffy’s plight to a tee, right? The wanting to have a normal life but knowing she won’t be able to. I actually made a parallel set between this speech and Buffy’s in Becoming, but there are so many other examples of Buffy voicing this same concerns and wants (Welcome to the Hellmouth, Prophecy Girl...)

14)

SPIKE Yes. There's evil. Down here. Right here. I'm a bad man. William is a baaad man. I hurt the girl. 

BUFFY Spike, stop it! What did you do?

SPIKE I hurt you, Buffy, and I will pay. I am paying because I hurt the girl.

BUFFY Spike. No. It's not me. It's a different girl, OK? Her name is Cassie Newton. Please, do you know anything specific?

SPIKE Don't—don't leave me. Stay here, and help me be quiet.

BUFFY  I think it's worse when I'm here. 

On the one hand, I think it was necessary to see Spike flogging himself over what he’d almost done. I mean, how do you keep a character who’s done what he did without having him beat himself up for it? And I get that Buffy, as the victim of his assault, needed to be the person to witness how guilty and sorrowful he was. But... on the other hand, the writers had put themselves in a no-win scenario. They ruined Spike’s character development by having him almost rape Buffy, and now the only way to turn things around was to have Buffy, his victim, feel sorry for him. She shouldn’t have been put on that spot, especially when so little thought was given to her own trauma (a few flashbacks in Beneath You, that was it... never again does she flinch from Spike’s touch or get away from his company...) At the same time, Buffy is this type of person, the one who constantly puts the other cheek. Not only does she forgive easily but she also takes care of those who hurt her (think of her comforting Willow right after she almost had Dawn killed, or the oh so many times she tried to help Faith after one of her betrayals...) She is selfless, and I don’t see why this time should have been any different. Still, I can understand why this can make people uncomfortable. It sets a weird - to say the least - example for assault victims. But I don’t think it’s fair to say Buffy was out of character. 

15) I kind of liked this guy until he said this…

BUFFY You aren't mad at Cassie, with her rejecting you like that?

MIKE Nah, she's a girl right? Making boys crazy is like your job description.

Well, your job description is being a stupid dumbass, apparently. And Buffy laughed??? Buffy would NEVER laugh!!!

16) 

PETER Back off. Get back! Get back, you stupid bitch! 

Now that’s the Buffy I know and love.

17) I have nothing to base this assumption on, but I’m guessing they had Spike beat up the douche and get a headache because fans might have bought the previous season’s red herring that he had gone on the quest to get the chip removed, so this was the writers’ way of telling the fans: “Spike still has the chip, he really did get his soul back.”

18) This is so sad…

19)

WILLOW Cassie didn't know? Then it was fate?

XANDER I think she was gonna die, no matter what, wasn't she? Didn't matter what you did.

BUFFY She just knew. She was special. I failed her.

DAWN Uh-uh. No. You didn't, 'cause you tried. You listened, and you tried. She died 'cause of her heart, not 'cause of you. She was my friend because of you. I guess sometimes you can't help.

BUFFY So what then? What do you do when you know that? When you know that maybe you can't help?

It’s kind of odd that Buffy went seven seasons without asking herself this question, though. It is a quintessential superhero question, after all. And it’s very similar to the question that’s brought up on ATS in season 1, although we do get an answer there. So, Buffy, here’s your answer:

If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do.