"THE POWERS TO BE IN WHEDONVERSE"
While perusing one of the many ”BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” message boards on the Internet, I came across a passage from an article titled, ”Classic CJL: Spike and the Whedonverse”:
”In order to battle the new enemy (vampires), the Powers have called upon Slayers, Champions (welcome, Cordy!), Seers and Mystics, all dedicated to protecting the human race from the vampires and half-breed demons who feed upon and ravage the populace.”
Like many other "BUFFY" fans, I had believed in this nonsense . . . until I saw the Season 7 episode, ”Get It Done” (7.15). Thanks to this particular episode, I finally came to the conclusion that the above comment about the so-called “Powers to Be” featured in both"BUFFY" and its spin-off, ”ANGEL just might not be true
Following the suicide of one of the Potential Slayers and a dream of the First Slayer, in ”Get It Done”, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Geller) receives a bag from Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside). The bag had once belonged to his mother – a former Slayer in the 1970s named Nikki Wood. This bag eventually leads Buffy to discover the true origins of a long line of vampire slayers. .
In ”Get It Done”, Buffy finally learns the real truth about the Slayer line’s origins. It was not Powers to Be who had created the line. Instead, a trio of ancient African shamans had committed the dead, in order to create a weapon (one of flesh) to fight vampires and other demons for them. And to insure that this weapon would remain in their control – and under the controls of those that followed them – they made sure that the Slayer line would continue through countless young females throughout the ages. Why? Because they had believed that adolescent girls and young women would be easily controlled, due to their ages and gender.
So, one has to wonder. Did the First Slayer, Buffy, Faith, Kendra, Nikki Wood, Xin Rong and all of the Slayers before and after really have a sacred duty to defend humans against vampires and other demons, because of the Powers to Be? Or had they merely been reluctant conscripts in a never ending war waged against demons by these shamans and their descendants – the Watcher’s Council?
Speaking of vampires, here is another passage from the article . . . this time, about Angel (David Boreanaz) – the vampire with a soul, who had formed his own gang to fight demonic evil on his own show in Los Angeles:
”Of course, the biggest exception to the rule, the vamp who broke the mold, is Angel. The Powers and our Lord Joss have spent a great deal of time and effort guiding his path from Chaos, prepping him for his pivotal and unique role in the upcoming ‘End of Days’ we’ve been waiting for since BtVS, Season 1.”
I am curious. Exactly how did the vaunted Powers to Be guide Angel toward his actions in one of the late "BUFFY" episodes, ”End of Days”? I will admit that the Powers to Be were responsible for placing him in Buffy’s path back in 1996. A demon named Whistler had introduced Angel to the future Slayer and within less than a year, he would follow her to Sunnydale and his own future in demon slaying.
But the Powers to Be had not been responsible for giving him his soul back in 1898. A group of Kalderash gypsies from Romania had restored his human soul in an act of revenge for his murder of one of their children. This soul would afflict him with a conscience and condemn him to an eternity of remorse for the crimes he has committed. After Angel lost his soul one hundred years later in 1998, it was Buffy’s friend, Willow Rosenberg, who had restored his soul. Come to think of it, Willow performed this act again, five years later, on the behest of Angel’s L.A. associates. If the Powers to Be were not responsible for the restoration of his soul, who would have become their “Champion” if Angel had not killed that Kalderash gypsy child?
As for his role in the so-called ‘End of Days’ – the only task he ended up performing was to hand Buffy the amulet that would help her defeat the First Evil’s plans to upset the balance of good and evil. Come to think of it, the heads of Wolfram and Hart – the Powers to Be’s opposite number – had given Angel that amulet. And it was Spike who eventually wore the amulet in the "BUFFY" series finale,"Chosen" (7.15) that led to the First Evil’s defeat.
From what I have surmised, the Powers to Be only committed one major act in the so-called ”war against evil” - they had used Whistler to guide Angel into making his aquaintance with Buffy, before she became a Slayer. They certainly were not responsible for the creation of the Slayer line. And they certainly were not responsible for Angel receiving his human soul. Come to think of it, they were not responsible for Spike retrieving his soul. Apparently, William the Bloody had made the choice to regain his soul. No one made it for him. Which only leads me to wonder just how relevant were the Powers to Be in the Whedonverse.
“BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” – WHO IS TO BLAME IN (7.19) “EMPTY PLACES”?
Nearly five years ago, an episode viewed by many ”BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” fans as controversial, aired during the show’s final season. The name of that episode was (7.19) ”Empty Places”.
In this episode, the citizens of Sunnydale finally desert the town in masse after realizing that their chances of surviving the upcoming apocalypse might be non-existent. Even demons like Clem desert. Buffy, the Scoobies, Spike, Faith and the Potentials are still smarting from their defeat at the hands of Caleb in the previous episode, (7.18) ”Dirty Girls”. To relieve the Potentials of their gloomy moods, Faith took them for one last night of fun at the Bronze, a local nightclub. The fun ended in near disaster, after an encounter with police. But when Buffy suggested that Caleb may be hiding something of great value in the vineyard – the scene of their last defeat – the Scoobies, the Potentials, Giles, Wood and Dawn finally turned their backs on her . . . and kicked her out of her own home.
I have found the general reaction to the characters’ actions in ”Empty Places” rather interesting. I realize that I should not be amazed, considering human nature. Yet, I am. There have been fans that came to the conclusion that all of the characters had reacted badly to the situation. These fans even managed to pinpoint on the characters’ fears and flaws that led to their individual decisions. But the majority of fans seem determined to place the blame of what happened on either Buffy or those who had rejected her. And especially in regard to the latter, many fans seemed to have vented their ire on a handful of characters.
Personally, I believe they were all at fault. To be honest, Buffy was not a good leader throughout Season Seven. This became painfully clear when she assumed leadership over the Potentials. Instead of resorting to the usual methods she had utilized when leading the Scoobies against the Big Bad at the end of the previous seasons – listening to her friends and considering their suggestions – Buffy resorted to acting like General von Summers by insisting that her views are correct, ignoring any advice given by others and viewing herself as the law, whose word should not be questioned. She painfully reminded me of the Watchers’ Council at their worst. Which should not surprise me, considering that her only guide on how to be a leader came from a Watcher. Her Watcher . . . namely one Rupert Giles.
Giles’ own actions before this episode had contributed a great deal to the schism between himself and Buffy. He was the one who had insisted that Buffy lead the Potentials. He was the one who had taught her to be a killer, instead of a leader. And when she failed to become an effective leader - no surprise there - he was the one who constantly complained about her ineffectiveness. And then to make matters worse, he betrayed her by trying to get Spike killed behind her back . . . and never expressed any remorse for his actions. Naturally this pissed off Buffy. But when she finally rejected his role as her authority figure, he became resentful and even more critical . . . and stabbed her in the back, again. And yet, the fans ended up expressing more hostility toward characters like the Potentials (especially Kennedy and Rona), Robin Wood, Dawn and the Scoobies than toward Giles. I guess as a long established authority figure, Giles was exempt from their hostility. Well, from the hostility of most fans. There are those who keep claiming that Giles had changed during Season 7. And there were those who condemned him as much as they condemned the others. By the way, I don't think that Giles had changed. I think that Buffy's view of him had.
The actions of others did not serve them very well. Both Willow and Xander seemed resentful of Buffy’s growing distance from them. Despite enjoying their friendship with her, both have demanded that she live up to her role as ”the Slayer” They wanted to put her on a pedestal, yet at the same time, they demanded that she stays as close to them as possible. Dawn’s own insecurites spawned by her encounter with the First in (7.07) ”Conversations With Dead People” has led her to wonder if Buffy cared more about being a Slayer than her. This insecurity has apparently led Dawn to finally reject Buffy’s role as authority figure in this episode. I am not saying that Dawn was wrong. She had every right to reject Buffy’s authority. Only, she did it by insisting that Buffy move out of the house . . . her sister’s house. I would not be surprised that Robin Wood still maintained a resentment against Buffy for choosing Spike – the vampire who had killed his mother in 1977 – over him. As for Faith . . . well, she never really rejected Buffy’s authority. She only questioned it.
But the characters who have received the greatest ire from many fans over what happened in this episode were the Potentials – especially Kennedy and Rona. A good number of them seemed to resent Rona for openly expressing doubt toward Buffy’s skills as a leader. And even more of them resented Kennedy for not being another Tara or Oz – in other words, another introvert for the already introverted Willow. But the single biggest criticism that the fans had laid at the Potentials’ feet was their decision to reject Buffy as their leader. For some reason, many seemed to harbor the view that they had no right to reject Buffy, let alone question her decisions. They seemed to believe that the Potentials should have blindly followed Buffy, regardless of how they had felt about her.
You know, I never fail to be amazed at how hypocritical people can be. Honestly. Take the relationship between Buffy and the Potentials in Season Seven for example. In the past seasons, Buffy continuous attempts to maintain a personal life and resist Giles' attempts to turn her into a single-minded Slayer drew cheers from the viewers. When she resisted and finally rejected the Watchers Council’s authority over her in Season Three’s (3.12) ”Helpless”, the fans cheered. When she continuously questioned Maggie Walsh and the Initiative’s actions and encouraged boyfriend Riley Finn to do the same in Season Four, the fans cheered. When Buffy made it clear to the visiting members of the Watchers Council in Season Five’s (5.12) ”Checkpoint” that they no longer have any power over her, the audiences cheered.
Then in Season Seven, Buffy became an authority figure. Actually, she became one following her mother’s death in late Season Five, when she became Dawn’s only guardian. But her interactions with the Potentials led her to become an authority figure on the same scale as Giles, Maggie Walsh and the Initiative and the Watchers Council. And like those before her, Buffy made some very questionable judgment calls – including her decision to attack Caleb at the local vineyard without any real reconnaissance. And like Buffy had in the past, the Potentials rejected their own authority figure in this particular episode. But since their authority figure happened to be Buffy . . . many fans had condemned them for not blindly following her.
Apparently, it was okay for Buffy to resist or reject the authority figures she had faced. But when she became an authority figure - and not a very good one at that, many fans decided that ”no one” - especially the hated Potentials - had the right to resist or reject her. I hate to say this, but this could easily be construed as a bad case of double standards by those fans. That they would excuse or approve of Buffy rejecting authority figures, yet condemn those who would do the same to Buffy after she became an authority figure, reeks of hypocrisy to me. And this is something I simply cannot agree with.
Below is a list of my ten favorite episodes of "ANGEL" (1999-2004), which starred David Boreanaz:
TOP TEN (10) FAVORITE EPISODES OF “ANGEL”
1. (1.19) “Sanctuary” - The second of a two-part episode about a burnt out Faith’s appearance in Los Angeles. Following her breakdown, Angel discovers that the Watchers Council and Buffy are after her.
2. (2.07) “Darla” - Angel tries to find a way to save a human Darla from the clutches of Wolfram and Hart, while she remembers her past as a vampire.
3. (5.11) “Damage” - Angel and Spike hunt down a psychotic Slayer who has escaped from an institution and believes that Spike is the man who drove her insane.
4. (2.02) "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" - In this send-up on the post-World War II Communist witch hunts, Angel recalls a traumatic experience during the 1950s at the Hyperion Hotel.
5. (1.18) “Five by Five” - The first half of Faith’s appearance in Los Angeles has the rogue Slayer being recruited by Wolfram and Hart to assassinate Angel.
6. (3.09) “Lullaby” – Holtz, a demon hunter from the past, hunts down Angel, while Darla endures a difficult labor.
7. (4.10) “Awakening” - In an attempt to bring down The Beast and restore the sun, Wesley brings in a dark mystic to extract Angel's soul.
8. (5.08) “Destiny” - Spike is recorporealized, and the two souled vampires battle it out to drink from the "Cup of Perpetual Torment" to settle the renewed conflict of the Shanshu Prophecy.
9. (4.16) “Players” - Gwen Raiden enlists Gunn's help to steal a device to control her electrical abilities while Lorne attempts a ritual to restore his empathic powers.
10. (4.04) “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” - Cordelia inexplicably returns from her higher dimension, but she has no memory of who she is and who her friends are; and Lilah Morgan develops an interest in her reappearance, as well.
