maggie2

You have a point about OMWF Xander -- though I do think it's different trashing a side character (who had really been marginalized by that point) than have that be the central concern of the plot. (Buffy/Angel being *the* point of the story at this point). I can actually understand Joss misjudging the impact the "R" word was going to have on things. I don't think the scene as played should have been treated as garden-variety attempted rape. I'm not going to fault Joss for underestimating the way that word destroys any sense of nuance. Not sure about the rest -- I'm still in the Church of "the game of Angel was to see how far the trappings and the reality could clash and still have people go with the trappings". So... it's still a jump for me to get to "my bestest day was the day I destroyed the world." Also, if you've not read the issue, Buffy just looks crazed in those scenes.

A faint ray of hope? Allie starts the letter column with an acknowledgment that the stakes are high and that they have a lot to prove.

None of this is to say you're wrong. It is to explain why my head isn't following my heart to a stance of pessimisim. Cause my heart? Doesn't really want to look at the comics anymore. I usually reread the comics a lot the day they come out -- today, not so much.