Much deserved, last year's win and new nomination.
Recently rereading season 8 connectedly I figured out how well it is structured as a whole.

Thus I look forward to how the newest Angel plot will unravel - For what bad (or good ??) reason can he be involved in all those murders?

cleveland | January 13, 11:37 CET

If you want to put spoilers in the comments of a non-spoiler thread, there's always inviso-text.

[ edited by Pointy on 2010-01-13 14:06 ]

Pointy | January 13, 14:02 CET

I think cleveland is referring to the events of the Angel issue that came out last month.

Simon | January 13, 14:03 CET

I'm not particularly happy about it but that's just a personal opinion.

I'm personally still curious about the mixed reaction the fans gave to Buff experimenting during the comic season since she hadn't shown any inclinations before.

Watcher's Pet | January 13, 15:30 CET

For some reason I'm thinking it's been nominated for the Willow/Kennedy scenes rather than Buffy/Satsu.

Simon | January 13, 15:38 CET

Yay! Go Buffy Season 8!

Emmie | January 13, 16:04 CET

This isn't really a spoiler, but in case things ever get literal I think the central love story in Season 8 is Buffy and Willow. And it is beautiful.

Pointy | January 13, 16:18 CET

Watcher's Pet, Willow hadn't shown any inclinations toward women in the first three seasons of the show, prior to discovering Tara (exception: what was, at the time, a throwaway line of, "I'm so evil and skanky--and I think I'm kinda gay!" regarding Wish-verse Willow in "Dopplegangland", which presumably only became a great foreshadowing due to Seth Green leaving and Joss getting a really good idea).

People can surprise us. And themselves. In the same way that what we saw of Willow from Seasons 1 to 3 (Xander and Oz-lust and puppy love) didn't prevent her from believably experimenting and then being seen to enjoy and accept a relationship with another woman, Seasons 1 to 7 of Buffy's behaviour do not in any way throw up a wall to same sex experimentation for that character either. Besides, given that it hasn't been explored since, Buffy/Satsu may've just been a one-off, or it may be on the back-burner for the time being.

It was easy to accept Buffy's flirtation with girl/girl for me because I try not to assume that everyone (whether real people or fictional characters) is straight until proven otherwise. It's hard, because that's the mode of thinking most of us have been raised with, and I probably still make the assumption more often than I realize, but yeah--the reality of it is that we can't know that anyone is 100% straight (or 100% the other way), because we can't know what's going on inside people's heads (although yes, the odds say that most are inclined toward heterosexual pairings, nature's kinda ensured that for the continuation of the species). And to anyone with kids...do your kids a favor and don't appear to assume they're going to turn out straight (especially when they reach the tween and teen years) just because they seem so early on, or just because you'd prefer that for them.

I had more of an issue with the writers seemingly heading in the direction of fitting an apparently bi Willow into a gay-shaped hole in Season 5 of Buffy, after they had played it so balanced and naturally in Season 4 (though I realize it couldn't and probably shouldn't have stayed that low-key for the rest of Willow/Tara's relationship). Though an argument can be made that, since the writers played it so ambiguously with Lorne and Andrew, maybe one confirmed gay character (aside from Larry, but let's say main character) was necessary and right for this franchise.

Kris | January 13, 20:18 CET

Simon, why do you think X-Factor will get the comic book win ? Far as I can find, Shatterstar & Rictor haven't done much more than have their arms around eachother since that kiss in last summer's issue. Do you think the win will happen because it's Marvel and, aside from some positive, stable, lasting relationships in Runaways and Young Avengers, they usually suck for gay/bi portrayals, so GLAAD will give them the pat on the back/encouragement ? It's been years in the making (over a decade since the first hintings), so maybe the win would be more about a long-bubbling-under-the-surface, coy maybe/maybe-not, finally getting confirmed.

It was fun reading Rob Liefeld's disagreement versus Peter David's defence of it last summer.

Kris | January 13, 20:59 CET

I think because of the impact it had on the comic book fandom more than anything else. It force many fans to finally realise that hey comic book characters can be gay too.

Simon | January 13, 21:06 CET