next_to_normal | Putting the "fun" in dysfunctional

With our resident Poll Girl temporarily out of commission, there must be some itchy ticky fingers out there! And so, I give you: (dys)functional relationships of the Buffyverse, inspired by

ever_neutral's capslocky rage. :)

There are a ton of other pairings I could've included but you only get ten multiple choice slots, so I stuck to the main canon pairings. Feel free to make an argument for some other couple in the comments.

Poll #7543 (Dys)Functional Relationships

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20

View Respondents

Who had the most functional relationship on BtVS?

View Answers

Buffy/Angel
0 (0.0%)

Giles/Jenny
7 (35.0%)

Xander/Cordelia
0 (0.0%)

Willow/Oz
7 (35.0%)

Xander/Anya
0 (0.0%)

Buffy/Riley
2 (10.0%)

Willow/Tara
1 (5.0%)

Buffy/Spike
0 (0.0%)

Willow/Kennedy
2 (10.0%)

Other - answer in comments
0 (0.0%)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

next_to_normal

Interesting, I wouldn't have thought of Riley/Sam. That's probably influenced by a new reading of them I picked up - the idea that they're consciously faking the perfection. Riley wants to "win the breakup" by showing Buffy how great his life is now, and Sam is intimidated by Buffy because she's all Riley talked about, so they're both putting on this huge show of how perfect they are. Not that they can't still be functional (at least when Buffy's not around), but it hints at some cracks in the relationship that we don't get to see.

fenderlove

I would have to ask why they are bothering to fake perfection. Riley didn't show up in Sunnydale with Sam to show Buffy up. He showed up because that's where those demons were, and the military most likely sent them both. He was nothing if not confident but completely accommodating and cordial. That would be like saying that Buffy's intentions going to Spike's crypt to have sex were to show up Riley when she couldn't have known that he would be walking it. And really, what did Riley and Sam do to show that they were so "perfect?" They got along, they smile, they have stories of how they met and got married, and Riley's not a complete sobbing belligerent mess over Buffy because he found someone who is more compatible with him and returns his affections. 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. Kind of like while the episode is going on Willow is all smiles, but as soon as the couple is out of earshot it's "That bitch." Why? Because it's for Buffy's benefit. Poor, poor Buffy, all alone and Riley came down here to flaunt his wife. I bet his sent those demons down here just to do that!

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.

I just don't see what they did that seems fake. They seem be getting asked questions by the Scoobies, and they answer them in an honest fashion or so it seems. Sam seems to not want to impress the Scoobies, but impress Buffy. Not in an "I'm better than you" sense, but in a "I recognize that you are an excellent fighter, and I strive to be an excellent fighter too." She genuinely seems impressed with the skill that Riley says Buffy has; she even worries that she might be slowing Buffy down. To me, what seems more fake in the episode is the Scoobies. Instead of Buffy being honest that she's uncomfortable, she lies and avoids. Willow pretends to be all buddy-buddy until Sam and Riley are out of earshot. It's all rather disingenuous. Maybe that's the point of the episode- perceptions and niceties and then going back as you were when it's over.

And that's also a valid interpretation of the episode. In fact, I'd say it's not incompatible with mine. We don't have to make one side the good guys and the other side the bad guys. It's possible for everyone to be a little bit wrong.

I think there's fakeness in the way the Scoobies are all lying to themselves as well. I don't think it's a coincidence that this is the episode right before everything falls apart - Xander and Anya's wedding, then Buffy's illusions about Spike, and finally Willow's issues with magic. They're all pretending that everything is under control when it's clearly not.

That's the beauty of this show - polysemy. :)

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Something next to normal, that's the thing I'd like to try

Close enough to normal to get by

Putting the "fun" in dysfunctional

Putting the "fun" in dysfunctional

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