Buffy the Vampire Slayer || 7x15 || Discussion
Added 2023-02-01 18:30:01 +0000 UTC7x15: "Get It Done"
Next: Buffy 7x16 on Sat 2/4
WHATTTTT IS GOING ONNNNN???
I love it, but whattttttt? We get more about the first slayer and then Buffy turns down more power? and also goes OFF on the potentials?? I mean, pop off Buffy, I get it.
I am so interested to see where this goessssss! like???? what does this all mean?!
hope yall enjoyyyy! :D
Comments
I’m two months late to the party on this one, and maybe it’s been said elsewhere, but I thought it might be worth pointing out that in Buffy law the demons that were on the earth before humans drove them out were “pure demons” (I.e. what the Mayor wants to be). I think it’s to be read that Buffy is being offered more power from the spirit of a pure demon, not the hybrid type demon that, say, Anya has been. That’s why it would cost her some of her humanity to more severe degree than when Coredie becomes part demon. That’s how I read it anyway.
Cotubug
2023-04-03 20:32:30 +0000 UTC“Get It Done” is a great episode. I mentioned in a response to another comment that Buffy, as a leader, has gone down two paths this season; the counselor and the general. This episode represents her in peak “do what I say” general mode, but I think it’s pretty clear that Chloe, at least, needed the counselor. If this season is about power as “Buffy/The First” told us in the season premiere then let’s consider the usage of power this episode. Buffy obviously had her “everyone sucks but me” speech where she aired her frustrations with people not using their power and was given a couple opportunities to show how she uses her own power; the first was when the portal opened and she didn’t hesitate to jump into it, she is trusting her own power in that moment that she’ll be able to handle whatever is on the other side and she also puts her trust in Willow’s power to bring her back. The second is when she chose not to accept the power that was being offered to, or forced upon, her. There is power in choice. Spike went from running away from a fight at the beginning of the episode to putting on his leather coat again, a sign of his former power, and eventually defeated the demon while having fun. And his “good for the soul line” is perfect. Willow absorbs power from Anya and Kennedy - literally taking power from others in order to make herself more powerful in the moment - and says that’s who she is. So the Shadow Men offered Buffy power and she didn’t accept because she didn’t like the loophole of “becoming less human”. Interestingly, one might read her response to Chloe’s death - reacting as a cold, detached, general - as something less than human. So is that who she would truly be if she had accepted the power? If that’s the case I think she probably made the right choice because Buffy’s power has truly always been in her humanity not in her physical strength.
tc3
2023-02-07 19:21:57 +0000 UTCThey are being puffed up with all this self belief so they will go out and fight a much bigger bad than Spike... They're finally drinking the kool-ade and starting to believe in themselves (and it being arrogance, sure, they're kids!) This season is so well put together ❤️
Guy Winter
2023-02-07 12:04:20 +0000 UTCSorry, replied to wrong comment - totally agree with you!
Guy Winter
2023-02-07 12:02:28 +0000 UTCI’ve been behind on these reactions and so I haven’t even bothered to read through the comments - I still haven’t watched “Get It Done” and have most of Angel S4 to get to, which I’m not looking forward to despite Alley’s seeming enjoyment - but your comment was visible to me and I happened to read it… And I’d say it’s extremely pertinent to Buffy’s character and some of themes being explored this season. Buffy has basically been going on two separate paths of leadership style this season; the counselor and the general (a sort of feminine vs masculine approach, and I don’t mean that in a gendered sense). I just finished Alley’s reaction to “First Date” and in that episode Willow and Principal Wood both laughed at the idea of Buffy’s counseling expertise. And we have Giles and Wood more or less feeding into the idea of her becoming a general and as Henrik Holst suggested, she basically reaches the end of her rope with everything in this episode and lashes out. I believe the parallels to your experience with the Army’s basic training are intentional and as for it being out of character for Buffy; I agree and I think that’s the point.
tc3
2023-02-07 00:24:02 +0000 UTCOne of my favorite scenes in this episode is when Willow is in the circle & drains Anya's & Kennedys energy. There's a brief moment where her hair starts turning black and once Xander pulls her out the circle, it turns back to red. I get why Buffy was angry with the potentials, because once again, she didn't ask for this responsibility but it was put on her.
Ro Tru
2023-02-06 13:48:59 +0000 UTCIt is out of character for normal Buffy, but this is a very worn down Buffy that had just buried a second potential while being surrounded by people that basically do nothing but complain while at the same time expect her to protect them all. And she have no training (in contrast to your drill sergeants) so she just lashed out in frustration.
Henrik Holst
2023-02-05 00:32:42 +0000 UTCI don't think that she used it, remember how the Shadow Men tell Buffy that they called her there. To me that tells that the "gate" was closed from the time of the first Slayer until now.
Henrik Holst
2023-02-05 00:30:13 +0000 UTCIt didn't happen in "reality", it happened in some form of dream world that the Shadow Men controlled so that one of them could knock Buffy out in that world is IMHO quite normal.
Henrik Holst
2023-02-05 00:18:09 +0000 UTCI don't know if this is pertinent. But Buffy's going off on the potentials reminded me of my basic training in the army. I was drafted as they were. And the drill sergeants were always going off on us. The potentials are being prepared to go to war as we were. There are so many parallels. All that being said, it seemed out of character for Buffy.
Eric Haefele
2023-02-04 20:28:06 +0000 UTCI agree. Prior to The Killer in Me, I saw no indication that her romantic taste was in women. While she made it clear in that episode, perhaps the only other time it could have been suggested would have been her maneuvering to sleep in Willow's room.
Ron Fehr
2023-02-04 18:37:50 +0000 UTCMy concern with The First is that it will always be somewhere, even if it's not in Sunnydale. Maybe it could be defeated on a local level, but it has the entire world to use for influencing people. I don't see how that problem can be solved.
Ron Fehr
2023-02-04 18:31:37 +0000 UTCBig issue with Season 7 for me is they just don't get across the idea that the First is the worst threat they've ever faced particularly well imo so the way the characters are acting doesn't feel justified. They tell us but they don't show us and the First is basically just getting by on rep it kinda feels like at this point. We don't care about the Watchers Council really, killing the potentials is bad obviously but eh.... most of the bad guys they have fought in the show probably have higher bodycounts than the number of potentials that have been killed. What the world would even look like if the First did win is kinda unclear, like in S5 the leader of the knights has that little speech that really breaks down how bad things will be when Glory kills Dawn. That worked really well, happens late in the season obviously but they had done a good job of showing how outclassed they were physically by Glory up to this point so it didn't matter.
Kongolor
2023-02-04 18:09:24 +0000 UTCI was just wondering about the shadowcaster thing. If she would have used it, how would she have gotten back to the present time? Buffy had Willow to bring her back, but how would it work for previous Slayers? Would their watchers know what spell to perform?
Ron Fehr
2023-02-04 02:22:28 +0000 UTCAndrew's line about seeing the big board is a George C Scott line from the 1964 Kubrick classic, Dr. Strangelove.
james sweeney
2023-02-03 23:58:43 +0000 UTCThis is one of my least favorite episodes so I admit I kinda skipped around on the reaction. I will say I do like Kennedy slightly more on this rewatch round but that's not saying much. I don't hate her, I never did, I just think she's a lame, 2 dimensional character who is either boring or annoying and I do admit when this season first came out I really resented the fact that we barely got to mourn Tara who was such a beloved character and is now barely remembered, before we're supposed to ship Willow's new romance. Which, to me, feels hella forced and without chemistry. But Kennedy isn't unique in poor characterization this season; the Potentials are so limited that after twenty years I still can't remember most of their names. There's a few exceptions, I like Amanda and Felicia Day's characters. The others are 'meh' or worse, like Rona who I only remember because all she freaking does is complain. I think it's all down to a lack of screen time; my chief complaint about this season is that it feels very much like two season's worth of plots were combined into one and a lot of stuff gets short changed because of it. Doesn't mean that this season doesn't have some fantastic episodes and scenes because it absolutely does, it just feels like they were trying to do a LOT and some of it did not have time to work. I also did not enjoy Buffy going off on the Potentials and every one else; like another commentor said, those girls are going through it and scared to death. Buffy has never been this cold, even mean, before and it doesn't feel true to her character, no matter how scared she is. Of course she's got even more responsibility now but still...it just felt very off to me. I did really like that we got to see more of the First Slayer's story though.
Ava Sinclair
2023-02-03 00:51:49 +0000 UTCI'm wondering if Mama Wood used this shadowcaster thing. Then I think, well. Spike killed her so maybe not. But then I remember Spike saying that slayers have a bit of a death wish, and perhaps that power somehow is part of it. I know there are comics and stuff but I wonder how many slayers there were between her and Buffy. At least a few in 20 years, I'd assume. But none of them had that extra power.
Dusty
2023-02-03 00:41:02 +0000 UTCThat line bugs me every time. Acting like a bunch of girls (at least some of whom just started training) compare to Spike who has 120+ years on them.
Shyanne
2023-02-02 20:54:33 +0000 UTCThis episode she goes from likeable to punchable.
Steveo
2023-02-02 19:22:06 +0000 UTCIm curious how one hit from the old mans walking stick could take down Buffy. It doesnt make sense at all. Maybe it was a magic stick, who knows, but then it have to be a magic stick that would do the same thing as a regular stick would do to a normal person without all slayer strength. Its a paradox and It bugs me.
Andreas
2023-02-02 19:12:00 +0000 UTCKennedy's line "We're trained fighters." just kills me. lol Her character has never worked for me, even when I try to approach with an open mind on rewatches.
Elle Blank
2023-02-02 16:26:57 +0000 UTCIt is interesting that she went off on everyone else for not giving into their more powerful/less human nature selves but then chooses exactly like they do at the end of the day. Though I don’t think she was just afraid of being part demon but I think she was just scared of becoming less loving to her loved ones, more cut off than she already is, especially after seeing the first slayer.
bing.E
2023-02-02 15:09:30 +0000 UTCRemember in Season 5, at some point she felt like she was losing her humanity and thought being a Slayer meant you become this emotionless killing machine? I see the demon power upgrade to play in a similar fear. I think Buffy doesn't like A. Having to be a puppet to a bunch men like those guys and the council, B. I think she really wants her powers to be anchored in her core humanity. It is not similar to other characters because she is the Slayer, she needs that level of connection to humanity. The other demons on the show are struggling a lot with that aspect of connecting with the core of humanness as a result of struggles with their demon sides. As for Willow, she is still a human even though she has connection to dark powers. I don't think it is just the darkness of demons that Buffy doesn't want. Having said that, one could argue that she made a mistake, or made the decision on the basis of her puritanicalism. I feel like the basis of her decision will make a bit more sense at the end of the show. Why she would have turned down "more power".
Phoenix Dawn
2023-02-02 01:48:22 +0000 UTC
