![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Just watched S4 - New Moon Rising
May. 24th, 2004 11:22 pmAnyone who thinks S5 of Angel was great or S7 of Buffy was the best we could expect...needs to go watch New Moon Rising...right now!
I watched it today...for the first time since S7...I wanted to pick up a little Willow/Tara vibe and I remembered NMR was good...but I never liked Riley or for that matter S4.
But I swear to you...I could not speed through one second of this eppy. I was riveted.
And in the end...when Oz and Willow said goodbye "One day I'll turn the corner in Istanbul..." This was the quintessential break-up. It ended not with cheap theatrics or strum and drang emotions but with deep respect for all concerned and genuine pathos. I felt for Oz and Willow. My heart overflowed with sympathy. And yet, I also had the lift of the heart for Tara, patiently waiting and being rewarded.
But there was so much more to love about this eppy. I cheered a bit when Riley came for Oz and when he got all puffy and decked the colonel with the "No, Sir, I'm an anarchist!" I liked the subtle way they dealt with the homophobic/bigot issue of demons and gays as Buffy has trouble adjusting to the NEW WILL...and finds forgiveness in her heart for Riley. I loved the line that was drawn showing the Initiative as true evil. It was a modern fascist concentration camp, as Oz is left naked and bruised in a stark cell. Comparing his cell to the one Riley is given, a cell with a bed and a toilet...visually underlined the inhumanity of it all.
S4 isn't my favorite season...but as Tara blew out that candle I thought...THIS IS WHAT BtVS ONCE WAS...THIS IS WHY I LOVED IT! And I teared up a bit more...just out of gratitude for something as well written as New Moon Rising existing in the world. God the show was special in its day! GO WATCH NOW!
I watched it today...for the first time since S7...I wanted to pick up a little Willow/Tara vibe and I remembered NMR was good...but I never liked Riley or for that matter S4.
But I swear to you...I could not speed through one second of this eppy. I was riveted.
And in the end...when Oz and Willow said goodbye "One day I'll turn the corner in Istanbul..." This was the quintessential break-up. It ended not with cheap theatrics or strum and drang emotions but with deep respect for all concerned and genuine pathos. I felt for Oz and Willow. My heart overflowed with sympathy. And yet, I also had the lift of the heart for Tara, patiently waiting and being rewarded.
But there was so much more to love about this eppy. I cheered a bit when Riley came for Oz and when he got all puffy and decked the colonel with the "No, Sir, I'm an anarchist!" I liked the subtle way they dealt with the homophobic/bigot issue of demons and gays as Buffy has trouble adjusting to the NEW WILL...and finds forgiveness in her heart for Riley. I loved the line that was drawn showing the Initiative as true evil. It was a modern fascist concentration camp, as Oz is left naked and bruised in a stark cell. Comparing his cell to the one Riley is given, a cell with a bed and a toilet...visually underlined the inhumanity of it all.
S4 isn't my favorite season...but as Tara blew out that candle I thought...THIS IS WHAT BtVS ONCE WAS...THIS IS WHY I LOVED IT! And I teared up a bit more...just out of gratitude for something as well written as New Moon Rising existing in the world. God the show was special in its day! GO WATCH NOW!