Buffy Bracketology - Round 3 by batmarlowe

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Buffy Bracketology - Round 3

POSTED BY: BATMARLOWE
UPDATED: Saturday, December 1, 2012 11:55
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Friday, August 24, 2012 5:59 AM

Once again I have to remark at how long it’s taken me to get off my lazy behind and not only get around to doing Round 3 of my Buffy Bracketology but writing it up. For the two or three of you who have been waiting on the edge of your futons—here it is.

So in case any futon-dwellers happen to be reading this and want to know what it’s all about and why it’s being done this way, please see BUFFY BRACKETOLOGY – ROUND 1. As always, this is just my opinion even if doesn’t really come across as such by the way I’m saying it.

So these are the results: 36 contests, 18 winners. And heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere they are…

001. Doppelgangland (3-16) Vs. 142. The Real Me (5-02)
I probably like The Real Me more than the average Buffy fan, but certainly not more than Doppelgangland.
Winner: Doppelgangland.

005. Lovers’ Walk (3-08) Vs. 115. Chosen (7-22)
Even though Chosen is certainly the more important ep, I’m still going to go with Lover’s Walk. It has the one of those great Evil-Spike-has-the-insight moments and the humor works well, it reveals more of Spike’s character and overall I think it’s better written. While Chosen is a good series finale, it relies on a deus ex machina in order to achieve victory over the ubervamps and the First and it has the weak elements of season 7 like the ubervamps and the First. Say bye-bye to S7 ‘cause this was the lone survivor.
Winner: Lover’s Walk.

008. The Puppet Show (1-09) Vs. 103. Helpless (3-12)
The Puppet show is the last of the Season 1 eps to fall. It’s been a dark horse all along but now it’s time to say goodbye because Helpless is a fantastic episode.
Winner: Helpless.

010. The Body (5-16) Vs. 101. Earshot (3-18)
Round 3 is the round where some great eps start to fall. Earshot is one of Season 3’s great stand-alones. It’s just not as great as The Body.
Winner: The Body

012. Crush (5-14) Vs. 099. What’s My Line, Part Two (2-10)
These next two contests were hard. I mean, really hard. I ended up watching each episode twice and consulting the detailed entries in the Epsiode Guide three times. It was a tough, tough decision and I ended up reversing myself on it. But I ended up concluding Crush is the tighter episode. It introduces its premise, and Dru and all the other elements in a way that propels the story and balances those elements compellingly and entertainingly. WML 2 is very good and moves the mythos along quite well, but I had to give the nod to its opponent.
Winner: Crush.

014. Graduation Day, Part Two (3-22) Vs. 097. Intervention (5-18)
And this is the other one. Both of these eps work so well! So much so I had to watch them twice and consult the Episode Guide many times and I ended up reversing my decision on this one too. Intervention is soooooooooooo good and sooooooooooooo funny! And it has the all-important “Death is your gift” scene. But GD 2 is the climax of climaxes and it has great character moments and dramatic scenes (such as Angel feeding off Buffy). It ends with a genuine feeling that something terrible has been overcome, that one stage of life is over, and there is a resolve to move forward.
Winner: Graduation Day, Part Two.

015. Passion (2-17) Vs. 096. The Freshman (4-01)
Passion is a powerful and eventful ep which takes our breath away and ups the stakes in the main story. The Freshman, while a good season opener which ably re-states the message of the series just can’t compete.
Winner: Passion

017. The Yoko Factor (4-20) Vs. 95. Primeval (4-21)
I think this is the first (and probably only) contest with back-to-back episodes. It’s logical the two would be rather similar and they are. But in spite of the very effective creation and implementation of the Uber-Buffy, I think TYF is much more interesting to watch unfold. Primeval also reminds us of the vagueness Adam’s purpose as the Big Bad.
Winner: The Yoko Factor.

018. Fool for Love (5-07) Vs. 93. Restless (4-22)
This is another difficult choice. Both of these episodes are effective and demonstrate just how creative and innovative and what great storytellers Joss and Co. are.
However one of them has to win. FFL (as I’ve said before) feels like it’s three episodes in one and so much happens in all of them and it’s all significant and it’s all moving. It’s importance to the mythos can’t be over-emphasized and it’s soooooooooo well written. Restless with its surreal innovations (for a prime-time T.V. show) its off-the-wall humor and its statements about the characters and the world in general can certainly give FFL a challenging run for its money. But in the end…..
Winner: Fool for Love.

020. A New Man (4-12) Vs. 88. Homecoming (3-05)
A New Man sure has been hanging around for a while. Both of these are really enjoyable episodes. It’s nice to see Ethan Rayne again. I think one is clearly more fun than the other.
Winner: Homecoming.

022. Becoming, Part Two (2-22) vs. 078. Consequences (3-15)
Another tough choice. Both of these are hard-hitting, well-done eps. It’s an apples and oranges comparison as one ep moves the story forward while the other is a conclusion. But one packs a couple of emotional wallops and is more powerful and more moving than the other.
Winner: Becoming, Part Two.

023. The Prom (3-20) Vs. 076. Innocence (2-14)
Innocence is the more interesting episode and probably the more important episode. But I just think The Prom is better for what it is than Innocence is for what it is. The Prom has more of an emotional impact. And it happens (for once) to be a joyful one. I mean, c’mon, when Buffy gets the Class Protector award…. Innocence is not Surprise but it does have a couple of heart-wrenching scenes. The plot with The Judge, etc. is of course, well done, but most of the events of this ep (not all) are a little more ordinary than the other.
Winner: The Prom

025. Becoming, Part One (2-21) Vs. 065. Enemies (3-17)
Enemies is a terrific episode—well executed and all that good stuff. But B1 is the more interesting and compelling one and provides better character development.
Winner: Becoming, Part One.

033. Once More, With Feeling (6-07) Vs. 063. Graduation Day, Part One (3-21)
We all know GD1 is chock-full of great stuff—primarily the battle between Buffy and Faith. This ep could stand up to many others. But not its competition this time around. Winner: Once More, With Feeling.

039. Surprise (2-13) Vs. 062. Band Candy (3-06)
Now this is a surprise. One is about probably the single most important event in the entire mythos of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The other is a lot of fun. Maybe it’s because the plot of Surprise/Innocence (the Judge and all) kind of gets in the way of the impact and momentousness of Surprise/Innocence. So in an upset….
Winner: Band Candy.

040. The Wish (3-09) Vs. 059. Checkpoint (5-12)
I loooooooooooooooove Checkpoint! I mean I just love it! It’s one of my favorite eps and I look forward to it every time I run through S5. Because I love it when Buffy tells off the Council. But The Wish is more intriguing and interesting and takes you to places where the show hasn’t gone before (in terms of ideas not just literally). It pains me to see Checkpoint fall but that’s just how it is.
Winner: The Wish.

043. Revelations (3-07) Vs. 058. The Zeppo (3-13)
No contest. While Revelations is a fine episode and moves the story S3 along, it can’t compare to The Zeppo. The Zeppo is one of the purest distillations of what makes Joss unique. First of all it’s entertaining. Secondly there are not one not but three levels of meta going on. One is the reflection of how a television episodes generally work with the B story emphasized over the A story and the others are when this ep parodies the show while simultaneously being genuine and important to the characters and ends with the piss being taken out of the drama while the parody is pointed out. The most amazing tightrope act I’ve ever seen in all of writing ever. And nobody does that but Joss Whedon. Nobody. In the history of humankind. That may be an exaggeration; nonetheless it’s why Joss is a God.
Winner: The Zeppo.

045. Something Blue (4-09) Vs. 051 (4-16) Who Are You
Exciting 4 on 4 action! I really like both of these eps. Something Blue, for the Buffy initiated, is the single funniest episode. Or Band Candy is. I can’t make up my mind about that. Anyway, Something Blue is at its best in the Spike/Buffy scenes but the other ones are good too. It’s another terrific stand-alone. However, Who Are You is the second part of an even better stand(s)-alone. It has the great performance of SMG playing Faith (Eliza is pretty good at Buffy too). And the confrontation Faith has with herself and her confusion in accepting she can be good (as opposed to readily accepting she can be good--the way most TV shows would do) put this one way over the top.
Winner: Who Are You.

So that’s about it, gang. Once again, if anybody actually read this, I sure do appreciate it. With only 18 episodes left, Round 4 should be easier to do. And I promise I’ll get to it sooner than I did the previous rounds. Ciao for now.

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Saturday, August 25, 2012 3:41 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Hey Bartmarlowe

I'm still here and very much interested in this. I do still intend to attempt this myself too. I'm glad you're still writing your review of the system and I'm dying to know just what will end up as your number one!!!

I will really look into this more later but I just made a quick scan and saw how you regard as Something Blue as the funniest so far. Interesting because for me The Zeppo was always the funniest :D But I'm a Xander fan I guess and not so much a Spike fan. But it's fascinating reading nonetheless, so yes please do continue.

Incidentally do you have your old posts somewhere?

°...Well here I am.°

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Saturday, December 1, 2012 11:23 AM

BATMARLOWE

Hey, Somnambulist!

As you can see it's been many months since I've been here. Sorry I didn't see you had a response a few months ago. Thanks for being the only person who's hanging there with me. Still haven't started Round 4 but it should be fairly soon.

The posts of Rounds one and two are still in the Buffyverse posts. Just click on "View all posts". They're not far down at all.

Thanks for your interest. How'z things with you?

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Saturday, December 1, 2012 11:55 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Hey BartMarlowe.

Good to see you make a return. Yes I think this new site doesn't always prompt a response email when someone posts on your thread. So it does make it a little tricky to follow.

Regardless we're keeping in touch so that's good.

I was only telling my girlfriend last night that I feel a Buffy Marathon coming on, I think now is the time for me to engage with your Bracketology and still get my Buffy fix.

Thanks for the link to your other posts I'll check that out now.

Stay in touch.

Oh and sorry, yes things are going OK thank you. Works picked up and suddenly I've gone international :D. What about you? What does BartMarlowe do between Buffy Episodes? :D

°...Well here I am.°

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