maggie2

I think literature is often a chain of new interpretations of often old and similar motives. Take the story of king Arthur that was told over and over in so many different ways. I think retelling a story is a very valid literally cause that transforms a motive and often gives it new sense (not always unfortunately) and not just when it's the same story but also when it's just a certain trope.

Sometimes a new interpretation is brilliant sometimes it only makes you long for the original (The mists of Avalon, for King Arthur).

I agree with you that we can't fully judge S8 yet, because we don't know the conclusion it's coming too. But to my mind it is fair to asses the things we already have on the plate (and some might decide on it, that they'll leave the restaurant before dessert). Such things would obviously be the art and the pacing, but also individual old motives that the story used. For example the mysterious villain that is an old aquaintance of the hero. It's of course an age old motive and there are several modern interpretations of it; 20th century boys and Fables use it too. I think it's fair to compare these modern interpretations on their suspense, pacing and emotional ressonance.

I don't think Joss has even read those books and while he has read Promethea and might have wanted to pay homage to it, don't think he wanted to tell the same story. He does use motives from it though and I think it's fair to compare the two interpretations.

I agree that some of the mentioned Promethea motives are not fully retold on S8 yet, we're still missing some pieces that make it hard to compare. There are similarities, like the heroine being the one who brings about apocalypse, but while on Promethea the apocalypse genuinly is a step in evolution and a positive event, it doesn't seem to be in Buffy.

In S8 it's either a very rotten apple or really a spectacular failure to sell a positive apocalypse.

So in my mind, some of the comparison is premature and will turn out to be so (for example I'm be hard pressed to find any similarities between Batsu and Grace/Stace), some is fair, because it doesn't look like anything will be added to it (for example the emotional resonance of the gateway opening sex or the way to do exposition (letting Giles babble about sentient universes and writing a poem that's an issue long and leads you through history using tarot motives)).

I don't really want to speculate on Joss intentionally chosing motives from Promethea or just fishing from the same pond of collective storytelling, but they do have pulled out some very similar fish, even if I suspect some of Josses might turn out to be red herings.

I'm sitting on another fence here, because I think some shared motives bear comparison very well and some don't really fit like you say.