I never said they came there with the intention to show up Buffy. Nor do I think they said, "Hey, we should totally act better than we are just to make Buffy feel bad." It's just that they happen to be in Sunnydale, and Buffy's there, and that creates tension.
It's a defensive reaction, borne out of their respective insecurities - which is not a judgment of them or saying they're horrible people. In fact, it's a fairly common reaction to seeing an ex, especially one who looms as large as Buffy does. Riley feels like he has to prove how "together" he is now, and Sam feels like she has to prove she measures up to Buffy. It's pretty obvious to me that Sam in particular is trying too hard to impress the Scoobies, and that's why the perfection seems fake.
I started to give examples from AYW, but it's probably better to read the original comment from Max than me trying to summarize it.
I think that the episode is written to make the audience hate Sam, hate that Riley is okay without Buffy, and to make us have sympathy for Buffy herself.
That's entirely possible. That doesn't mean it can't ALSO read as Riley and Sam putting on a show for Buffy and her friends.
What the episode was written to do is rather irrelevant to me. I don't care what the writers tell me I'm supposed to think. I care about what I see. Frankly, if taken at face value, this episode makes absolutely zero sense to me. Fortunately, BtVS is laden with layers and multiple interpretations. That one's mine.
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carisma_sensei
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Date: Jul. 23rd, 2011 06:34 pm (UTC)It's a defensive reaction, borne out of their respective insecurities - which is not a judgment of them or saying they're horrible people. In fact, it's a fairly common reaction to seeing an ex, especially one who looms as large as Buffy does. Riley feels like he has to prove how "together" he is now, and Sam feels like she has to prove she measures up to Buffy. It's pretty obvious to me that Sam in particular is trying too hard to impress the Scoobies, and that's why the perfection seems fake.
I started to give examples from AYW, but it's probably better to read the original comment from Max than me trying to summarize it.
I think that the episode is written to make the audience hate Sam, hate that Riley is okay without Buffy, and to make us have sympathy for Buffy herself.
That's entirely possible. That doesn't mean it can't ALSO read as Riley and Sam putting on a show for Buffy and her friends.
What the episode was written to do is rather irrelevant to me. I don't care what the writers tell me I'm supposed to think. I care about what I see. Frankly, if taken at face value, this episode makes absolutely zero sense to me. Fortunately, BtVS is laden with layers and multiple interpretations. That one's mine.