urbanjunkie
23
Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Playa d'en London
Posts: 9826 |
ok,
let me quote part of an interview with Marti Noxon.
quote:
> Let's start with the episode that really riled up the fans: Did Buffy's
> trip to the mental hospital mean the entire show is just a
> hallucination?
Noxon: We never meant for it to be a statement of the show. If so, it
would have been the very last episode of Buffy. We just wanted to have a
little fun and say: "Could it have all been her hallucination?" It was a
brain teaser. We believe in the world of Buffy. Wholeheartedly.
We didn't want to invalidate her whole journey.
It was just kind of a what-if, not a thesis statement,
and we're not going to have asylum shows from now on.
and secondly, this newsgroup post is pretty much on the ball;
quote:
My interpretation was that the whole hospital thing was a
delusion on Buffy's part. Much like Xander's 'visions' in
Hell's Bells were actually his own nightmares about how the
marriage would turn out, what Buffy sees is what she wants
to see. Her mind creates this reality, where her parents are
still together and there's no supernatural complications in
her life, and she really was insane all those years ago when
she thought she saw vampires.
All of the psychiatrist's dialogue could come from Buffy's
mind; the opinion on the ridiculousness of the Geeks, the
sheer unlikelihood of suddenly acquiring a sister, etc. This
could be taken as a meta-comment but it could also be taken
as Buffy looking at her life and realising the absurdity of
it all. Xander's unconvincing defence of life in Sunnydale
("...a sister who's a universe-destroying ball of energy")
underlines this.
The interesting thing, to me, is that for a while, Buffy
actually chooses to live in this delusion, even though she
knows full well that it's a delusion. Life hurts right now
and she'd rather escape to the catatonic life of being with
imaginary parents who love her. It's a good metaphor for
being suicidal, as this catatonic state is very similar to
her recent death and trip to 'heaven', as referenced by the
psychiatrist.
It's a bit of a shame that this episode didn't come earlier
in the season, as was intended, as it would have fit in
better with Buffy's feeling of dislocation at the time.
Since then, we've had a few episodes where Buffy's been
forced to face up to the real world; virtually every episode
lately - it's not so much a theme as a great big hammer
hitting us about the head. "I just want to feel
aliiiiiivvvve!".
As for the ending, I don't see any ambiguity. Buffy's made
her choice to live in the real world and to deal with it.
She hasn't taken the antidote yet so the hospital is still
there, but she's now got the strength to refuse to
participate in the delusion anymore. The catatonic state
she's in, of course, parallels the 'real' catatonic state
she would have been in if she'd let the demon kill her
friends and just refused to deal with the consequences. At
which point, she would have definitely ended up in a
hospital - and a secure one at that.
basically, it would cheat us all if it turned out to be a hallucination.
i dont watch angel (though i've seen all the buffy cross-over episodes and a few others). but maybe phil can confirm this. didnt the ending of angel season one suggest that angel would have a part to play in sending all the demons/vampires on earth back to the hellmouth forever and then he would be made human as his reward?
if this is the case, buffy will probably come to and end with no big huge mega finale - but leaving us knowing she is still fighting vampires and the like.........while angel continues for a couple of more seasons and then maybe ends with either a crossover or a movie were the final battle occurs and angel and buffy live happliy ever after.
ok, so prob number one with this is that buffy and angel are not on the same network.
prob number 2, is (within the story) nobody knows when this battle will happen for angel. it may occur 100 years from now, and therefore long after the buffster has passed away.
one thing to take note it that joss has already written and published FRAY - set in the future about the next vampire slayer. the story is that a hundred years (or more) after the hellmouth is closed - it re-opens.....and thus a new slayer is called.
whatever happens, its a damn good series. always has been, always will be.
and before i forget, it was a great episode.
joss has already written FRAY (its 7 part comic book set in the future).
Report this post to a moderator |
IP: Logged
|
![[new thread]](/images/vb/button_newthread_off.png "Post New Thread")
![[post reply]](/images/vb/button_newreply_off.png "Post A Reply")
04-25-2002 10:53 PM
