#35: The Power of Love

[maggie2]

A question by beer_good_foamy over on flake_sake's new board, along with a comment by angearia on my last post let me to think about the title of #35 -- The Power of Love.

Stipulating that there's a heck of a lot in season 8 that's not making sense, here's a bit that I think makes quite a lot of sense.

The titles in Meltzer's arc were as follows:

1.  Buffy has frakking superpowers.   Very descriptive -- that's all the issue was about.

2. The Master Plan.  Ironic.   Twilight's master plan was that he was only pretending to have a plan.

3.  Them frakking, plus the true history of the universe.  Painfully descriptive.

Power of Love strikes me as ironic, or at least layered.  The first level is that the power of Bangel's epic true love forever blasted them into a new paradise that literally bends to their will.  That's some powerful love.

Except that  it's illusory.  Buffy, on regaining some of her senses, calls one of Angel's lines of wuv the velveeta cheesiest come-on she's ever heard.  Romantic dribble is just that -- dribble.  In #33, Buffy said that Angel didn't know her any more.  Here she says it again.   That's not exactly a profound real sort of love.  (I'm indebted to Emmie for making this point).

Also, it's destructive -- apocalypticaly destructive.

Also, it's stunted.  How else can we describe a love so self-absorbed that it can rejoice in itself when everything else you care about is being obliterated.  True love is fruitful, one way or another.   Twuffy is the opposite of that. 

Also it's diminishing.  Angel is so swept up in this powerful love that he's completely off his nut (as discussed in my previous post) and has lost everything that made him a man worth loving in the first place.

But we get another layer.  Because Buffy has an even more powerful love -- the love for her friends.  Xander calls out to her and knows she can hear her somehow.  And she does.  Not because his voice penetrates her blissed out in-love state with Angel, but rather because she's already kicked herself out of that state in concern for her friends.  Buffy is looking for something real.  That's a true love.  And the power of that true love is that it's saving Buffy from Twilight.

And we loop back to something that maybe can be salvaged with Bangel.  Buffy loves Angel enough to not just punch him out for being the self-absorbed jack ass that he's being.  She seems to understand.  She takes him with her back to reality.  That's no small thing.  

Yes, this is another post by me on how twu wuv 4eva Bangel is being subverted.  But this time there's a constructive note.  Love isn't "we are gods making with the big sonic booms while pausing to shower each other with the cheesies of cheesy drivvel" claptrap.  Love is giving up the illusion of hearts and flowers for the profound love of throwing yourself back into battle to save the friends and family who you love.   Buffy loves her friends.  And maybe in loving her friends she'll find a way to meaningfully love Angel or whoever else might happen her way.
 

Other note:  I finally watched the latest episode of Lost and I must give them kudos.  I've never liked Jack, but now I really do.  He's had a good arc.

 

Comments

[local-max.livejournal.com]

Yes. The power of love struck me as being about Buffy/Scoobies (including Dawn, natch), not Buffy/Angel. And Angel loves Buffy enough for her to get through to him to help the mere mortals out--he switches from white to black coat, reprising his Dark Avenger look rather than his Godly look.

Angel also actually listened to Buffy this week, and made some somewhat on-point observations (i.e. her using humour the way Xander did). So I think there's a sense that there is still real love there, beneath all the subversion things.

Of course, Angel is being absolutely terrible etc. but I feel like we still have to wait before making final judgments on exactly how terrible.

[prophecygirrl.livejournal.com]

Love isn't "we are gods making with the big sonic booms while pausing to shower each other with the cheesies of cheesy drivvel" claptrap. Love is giving up the illusion of hearts and flowers for the profound love of throwing yourself back into battle to save the friends and family who you love.

I agree completely that that's what this is all about, and that's worth taking way from S8. Thank you for putting it so well.


Lost has been dovetailing very nicely with Buffy S8 for months now. It's my refuge in times of trouble. Jack is emerging as a truly human, three dimensional character, and that makes him beautiful. He's trying, trusting, willing to follow as well as lead, giving choices to people. It's a great redemptive story for that character, too.