BTVS S08I15: Wolves at the Gate Part 4

I finished reading this a couple hours ago and just got home from work and since I was surprised to see no one had posted about it yet, I thought I'd do it. Personally, I'm really happy with how it ended. The only real problem I've had with this arc is that they had a lot of character advancement and things that simply didn't have enough time to be dealt with and seen through completely. Still, there's always later.

What they did with Dracula was great and I hope they get into it more later if they can. Buffy and the scoobies have always had a vampire in the mix and I wouldn't mind if it was him. Anyway, anyone else have any thoughts on it?

"The test isn't until tomorrow, right? I don't have an opinion until then."

I'll be back in about 20 hours, once my copy has arrived.

Heh, well, I have felt slightly inspired to start doing the recap again, but I can't do it right now and it could take me more than 20 hours to do, so it may not help you much. Still, I look forward to your opinion.

I really liked how it ended. One thing I picked up on was the big bold "other people" on Buffy's little rant about her list. I really want to know who those other people are. I'm glad that it wasn't just a one time thing with Satsu and that it leaves Buffy open to more... people. I can't wait for next comic... I'm just hoping there is more of Faith.

According to the letters section, Giles will be appearing in future issues. And since Giles and Faith are largely connected at the moment, I imagine that will mean that Faith will be appearing later. It's just a question of how much and when.

I was pretty blase about this arc from the get-go. Dracula did nothing for me on the show, and when he appeared here in the comics, I thought "Meh."

But once I got my hot little hands on issue 15 yesterday after a terribly long day at work, I was actually excited for the first time in this arc.

The Dracula and Buffy and Willow exchanges were spot-on, the action was exciting, and the emotions rang true.

I'm sorry that Renee is gone, but I think that opens up a huge can of worms for some Xander character development (FINALLY!).

I'm really curious about what going on with Willow and the snake lady (does anyone for sure know who/what that's supposed to be?!). I really hope that Willow's not going to be Buffy's betrayer.

I love the way Satsu and Buffy's relationship played out this whole arc. It was one of the most consistent things in it, and it had a great, open-ended conclusion. And RockerWolfPup, I want to know who those "other people" are too!

Dude!!! Why did I come in here and read?!?!

WHY?!?!?!?!

Ugh, I shouldn't even go get the comic now. hmmph!

I blame bobina. (Bobbi will be happy that I didn't blame her for once.)

And now I must go buy the comic.

P.S. Renee! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

No, Frass! Don't cry! Blame me all you want, but don't cry!

Renee is fine... yeah! She's just taking a long vacation... to outer Mongolia. And Xander is sad about it... yeah! That's the ticket!

When you do buy the comic, know one thing: Dawnzilla = awesome.

SweeeeeeeeT!

Renee's not dead! Phew! You had me worried there for a minute. Now I'm completely not upset.

Because, if I'm upset then I might not be able to write any more chapters for STMM at least for a month or so.

When is the one with Fray? This one or the next?

Ok, Frass, that's just plain mean! You do know that if you withhold chapters, not only do you get MORE praise (cuz we all know you hate it so), you get this rustling in your bushes again!

And the next one comes out July 2nd, barring any postal mishaps or what have you, and yes, it is the beginning of the glorious Fray arc.

*hears rustling in my bushes*

Whazzat?!



Eep!! *chokes on cookie and spills coffee in my lap*

Ok! Ok!

Sheesh! No need to get all ninja!

Thanks for letting me know, because somehow I was thinking it was supposed to be in this arc. So, Jo Chen's back for the next 4 covers at least, then?

YAY!! It's the little things that make me happy.

Wow, this issue was really good. I mean really-really. It's hard to single out any specific things, because I'd be mentioning pretty much every single thing on every single page, but, since it's what we talked the most about after #12, I'll say that I really liked how the Buffy and Satsu thing ended. Satsu didn't get killed, and she didn't feel betrayed or rejected and turn against Buffy because of it. Could you even say that this was the happiest ending any couple (if you wanna call them that; the whole thing didn't last very long) has ever gotten in any of Joss's work? And do you think we'll see Satsu again? Not for awhile, surely, but maybe near the end of the season, when things get really bad for Buffy (as they inevitably do), Satsu might come back to fight at her side? I hope so, because I ended up really liking her, and Renee, too, and after all the work through 14-15 issues of fleshing them out and developing them, they're written out of the story.

I think I liked this arc even better than the Faith one. Which is surprising, because Faith is my favorite character and that story was very well-written--I just didn't like the back-sliding on Buffy and Faith's relationship. Sort of felt like a convenient plot-device, rather than a realistic development from where the two of them were at the end of S7...

Robot Dawn was beyond silly, but I loved the Willow/Buffy (hilarious and appropriate character-wise, and also leaving open the possibility of future Buffy girl-love, if not with Willow, heh) and the Buffy/Satsu (Satsu is my new romantic heroine. Girl's got guts). I think Wiffy fans everywhere will be so thrilled with the crumb they've been thrown. I feel fanfic coming on...
Let's hope we all here are thrown similar, perhaps larger crumbs in future... maybe even a loaf...
All in all, I thought, a good if whimsical arc. The plotting was a little weak but fun was had. Xander/Drac was hilarious and I was amazed to find myself enjoying Drac's inclusion. Itching to find out what happens with the Fray.
And, as ever, praying for some more Faith.

Killing off Renee... strange move. We now again find ourselves, with also the departure of Satsu, in very white territory. Not a lot of racial diversity going on. But Renee was not just a token black face, she was a character, and I'm curious as to what her purpose was in the Joss-scheme. I mean, obviously she was causing of the Xander-pain, but otherwise... We'll see.

Yeah but I don't think the point of Robot Dawn was to be serious. Though I like that they managed to fit in a little character analysis in there with it. What they did with Dracula at the end there was probably one of my favorite parts of the arc, which I agree was fairly weak overall.

All femmeslash fans were throne a bone (which in thinking about it is a rather ironic metaphor to be using) with this arc. But Wiffy fans in particular have a lot to work with from it. I'm wondering how long it'll be before there are Buffy/Satsu fics popping up left, right and centre.

With Renee, I think that it's a case of the usual "kill off a character early on" thing that Joss tends to do. Jesse and Doyle come to mind right off the top of my head. But I also think that Xander will learn to be more upfront and manly with his feelings towards women in the future. Most of his relationship have been largely female initiated/controlled and this may facilitate a change in that.

I've been wondering that since #12, really (maybe even #11), but it hasn't happened yet. There've been a few, and some in the archives here, but most of those involve Faith, too, and were mostly written for that "Faith Finds Out" challenge. I love Fuffy, like everyone here, but I'd also like to have some good Buffy/Satsu fics to read, that are about them and only them. It would be great if someone would take a pass at telling the story about what led up to the two of them sleeping together that first time...

I have to stick my head in and say it...I'm loving Satsu. No, not in a groin-y way, but cos she's a cool chick. And Buffy/Satsu? So bloody cool.

I'd love a few more Buffy/Satsu fics to crop up...I think they just became my second fave 'ship after Fuffy. It would be cool to read stuff about them that doesn't involve Faith. Hell, I may take a crack at it myself if I can ever get myself to focus on what I have going already so I can finish that first...lol

I also liked Drac during the arc too. Something about him just makes me like him.

Anyways...that's all.