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beccaelizabethSo, I rewatched A New Man for the S3 summer rewatch thingy.
There is not enough Giles. Its a Giles ep, yet I found myself all bored and waiting for more Giles when he weren't on screen. And quite uninterested in Buffy or Riley, except for what they meant for Giles.
Gee, you'd think I was a Giles fan...
I want to win the lottery and fund the Ripper tv series.
Or maybe just make some magic so the Ripper series gets made.
Is anyone using magic for that purpose yet?
I know I read a comic used magic to get more issues made. Whatsisname, chaos magic nutcase wrote The Invisibles. Made up a sigil and got everyone to wank for Thanksgiving over it, iirc. *googles* Grant Morrison, 1995, says here. I think I remember reading it had some problematic side effects. Would have to search with actual thought.
ANYways
Every time I watch A New Man I get the same plot bunny - the episode from Ethan's point of view. He was in town for a reason, he was in that crypt for a reason (not following Giles, he got there before him), and he was doing something that whole day Giles was wandering around. Plus I still say its not proven that Ethan did the demon spell. We only know for sure he de-demoned him.
There's stuff to notice in the clothes. When Giles worked at the Sunnydale High library he usually (or at least very often) wore variations on red and gold, the school colors, as well as the brown tweeds. Now he's at home, he matches the home decor. Green and brown. But he also, once drunk, matches Ethan, both in dark shirts, though Giles wears a t-shirt under his. He's always wearing layers - I've got a film studies book says that's a hint the character is layered. Which works. Ethan on the other hand has just his shirt, open a button more than most people. Anti-layers? But I think he's far to twisty to call wysiwyg.
There's the obvious, the focus on three couples. Buffy/Riley, Willow/Tara and Ethan/Giles. Buffy/Riley is the obvious new man. Giles thinks he's an old man. But there's the whole "new man" image of new masculinity, looking after children and cooking and staying home. Which is one way of describing what he's been doing, except the children are now growing up. Ethan is a new to town man, but Giles calls him old, including him in a "we" that is all about Giles' self image problems. I strongly suspect Ethan doesn't like that at all. Not for himself, and not for Giles. Ripper is so much more fun to be around.
And then there's Buffy and Riley, the fight, the bit about holding back. Willow saying you shouldn't have to pretend to be less than you are. But what else does Giles ever do? He's the superhero stuck in Clark Kent mode, to the point everyone seems to have forgotten there's more to him than that. Except Ethan. Remembers Ripper.
So then Giles wakes up demon shaped. Angry, powerful, vengeful. Nice little mirror Ethan holds up to him.
Beyond that, Ethan tried to warn him about the Initiative, but Giles wasn't listening. Was, in fact, sounding like he admired them.
Ethan gets arrested by the Initiative. Giles wears a shirt, one of Ethan's, but not matching how we've seen him dress ever before. Silver and black. Later at home he's wearing grey. And so, when we cut to the Initiative in the last scene, is Riley. Walking through rooms covered in silver or with grey and silver doors, with bits of black around.
Yes, as per usual, I may be reading too much in, but it looks a bit like they're comparing Giles to Riley and the Initiative, saying they're lining up very similar here.
Being a demon for a day should have given Giles some perspective. Without doing anything wrong, he ended up hunted. But did that bother him? Yes, a little. He wasn't sure Ethan was wrong, at the end. He told Buffy so.
He let them take Ethan away, but he told Buffy he wasn't sure he was wrong?
Giles was a Fyarl, which among other things is a footsoldier demon, usually working for other demons. Taking orders, not making plans. Giles compare to Riley again. Different sides, but both with that respect for Order that they allow to rule them. From Ethan's point of view, very big problem. Turns out to be so from other points of view too.
Initiative were upsetting the balance. Between demons and humans, yes. Between Order and Chaos? They tried a total control approach to demons, to the supernatural in general. Put it in a box, bury it, or use it. Order breaking out the big guns and taking charge. Except that doesn't work. Star Wars quoteage - the more you tighten your grasp, the more systems slip through your fingers. Or sociology textbook quoteage about police patrols and the vicious cycle where increased police presence, increased stop and search, leads to decreased public trust and cooperation and therefore the need for more police presence to get ever less done. Or just the way the season ends, total chaos breaking out because total control reached maximum capacity.
Ethan was right.
And Ethan was never heard from again.
There is not enough Giles. Its a Giles ep, yet I found myself all bored and waiting for more Giles when he weren't on screen. And quite uninterested in Buffy or Riley, except for what they meant for Giles.
Gee, you'd think I was a Giles fan...
I want to win the lottery and fund the Ripper tv series.
Or maybe just make some magic so the Ripper series gets made.
Is anyone using magic for that purpose yet?
I know I read a comic used magic to get more issues made. Whatsisname, chaos magic nutcase wrote The Invisibles. Made up a sigil and got everyone to wank for Thanksgiving over it, iirc. *googles* Grant Morrison, 1995, says here. I think I remember reading it had some problematic side effects. Would have to search with actual thought.
ANYways
Every time I watch A New Man I get the same plot bunny - the episode from Ethan's point of view. He was in town for a reason, he was in that crypt for a reason (not following Giles, he got there before him), and he was doing something that whole day Giles was wandering around. Plus I still say its not proven that Ethan did the demon spell. We only know for sure he de-demoned him.
There's stuff to notice in the clothes. When Giles worked at the Sunnydale High library he usually (or at least very often) wore variations on red and gold, the school colors, as well as the brown tweeds. Now he's at home, he matches the home decor. Green and brown. But he also, once drunk, matches Ethan, both in dark shirts, though Giles wears a t-shirt under his. He's always wearing layers - I've got a film studies book says that's a hint the character is layered. Which works. Ethan on the other hand has just his shirt, open a button more than most people. Anti-layers? But I think he's far to twisty to call wysiwyg.
There's the obvious, the focus on three couples. Buffy/Riley, Willow/Tara and Ethan/Giles. Buffy/Riley is the obvious new man. Giles thinks he's an old man. But there's the whole "new man" image of new masculinity, looking after children and cooking and staying home. Which is one way of describing what he's been doing, except the children are now growing up. Ethan is a new to town man, but Giles calls him old, including him in a "we" that is all about Giles' self image problems. I strongly suspect Ethan doesn't like that at all. Not for himself, and not for Giles. Ripper is so much more fun to be around.
And then there's Buffy and Riley, the fight, the bit about holding back. Willow saying you shouldn't have to pretend to be less than you are. But what else does Giles ever do? He's the superhero stuck in Clark Kent mode, to the point everyone seems to have forgotten there's more to him than that. Except Ethan. Remembers Ripper.
So then Giles wakes up demon shaped. Angry, powerful, vengeful. Nice little mirror Ethan holds up to him.
Beyond that, Ethan tried to warn him about the Initiative, but Giles wasn't listening. Was, in fact, sounding like he admired them.
Ethan gets arrested by the Initiative. Giles wears a shirt, one of Ethan's, but not matching how we've seen him dress ever before. Silver and black. Later at home he's wearing grey. And so, when we cut to the Initiative in the last scene, is Riley. Walking through rooms covered in silver or with grey and silver doors, with bits of black around.
Yes, as per usual, I may be reading too much in, but it looks a bit like they're comparing Giles to Riley and the Initiative, saying they're lining up very similar here.
Being a demon for a day should have given Giles some perspective. Without doing anything wrong, he ended up hunted. But did that bother him? Yes, a little. He wasn't sure Ethan was wrong, at the end. He told Buffy so.
He let them take Ethan away, but he told Buffy he wasn't sure he was wrong?
Giles was a Fyarl, which among other things is a footsoldier demon, usually working for other demons. Taking orders, not making plans. Giles compare to Riley again. Different sides, but both with that respect for Order that they allow to rule them. From Ethan's point of view, very big problem. Turns out to be so from other points of view too.
Initiative were upsetting the balance. Between demons and humans, yes. Between Order and Chaos? They tried a total control approach to demons, to the supernatural in general. Put it in a box, bury it, or use it. Order breaking out the big guns and taking charge. Except that doesn't work. Star Wars quoteage - the more you tighten your grasp, the more systems slip through your fingers. Or sociology textbook quoteage about police patrols and the vicious cycle where increased police presence, increased stop and search, leads to decreased public trust and cooperation and therefore the need for more police presence to get ever less done. Or just the way the season ends, total chaos breaking out because total control reached maximum capacity.
Ethan was right.
And Ethan was never heard from again.