Reading what Tony says is alway good. Loved his comments about 'Restless'.

Simon | June 16, 13:14 CET

The stuff about the red herring of The First was interesting. The audience said no but everybody I talked to had fun wondering about whether Giles was The First or not for a couple of weeks.

Ultimatly, I don't think it was the best idea as it took us out of the Buffy/Giles relationship which made their actions later that season difficult for some people to swallow. Plus, it felt kind of cheap after the reveal in a way that BTVS never is.

However, it would be a hard plot to ignore with a villian like The First which is probably why they orginally wanted to do it with Oz(Noxon & Whedon have both talked about this) except then it wouldn't have been a red herring, and Oz would be revealed as dead. I like the Oz idea a lot but I don't think grafting the plot onto Giles was one of the staff's better ideas.

Also, I think the red herring plot cost us some facinating time with Giles this season. Giles has left the SG behind and is trying to build a new life when The First's threat forces him back to Sunnydale. It's clear he does not want to come back (see the little conversation between him & Buffy in BOTN), and he is also compelled to become a Watcher again which I imagine is the last thing in the world he wants to do. This is some great stuff to explore but it all gets lost because we are to busy worrying about whether Giles touched anything or not.

I do think having The First pose as Oz would have been a great plotline and would have floored an audience with the reveal of Oz's demise but giving the plot to Giles just mucks up his return.

[ edited by unitas on 2003-06-16 22:59 ]

[ edited by unitas on 2003-06-17 07:38 ]

Unitas | June 16, 18:49 CET