Closer to the Real Buffy and yet so far :( I can tell that this arc is going to be a good one. The dialogue seems closer to what would be written on the show... but the events involving Buffy in this issue are inexcusably out of character. It seems more like a ploy for publicity and attention than actual character development. The show dealt with Willow's sexual preferences carefully... well, until Kennedy.. yuck. Yeah, some people experiment... but Buffy is not some people.. I don't see this coming at all. And since when is Buffy OK with casual sex... remember Parker? Most of the comments I have read on forums agree with me that this would not be something that Buffy would do. Come on guys, chuck this idea and focus on your good writing. I am very excited to see the "dark master" in the next installment. I would say that 4 pages of badly written Buffy almost ruined the whole issue.
Warning! Spoiler Review! Be Warned! Don't Scroll Down if You Want to Be Spoiler Free! Again, Spoiler Below!
But first, a preparatory paragraph to hide the big event of Issue No. 12. There had been a great deal of forewarning that something big was going to happen in No. 12. And something unique does happen. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting, though there were hints in No. 11. What happens was actually set up very early in the season, when Amy put Buffy into a magical sleep from which she could only awake by the kiss of someone who truly loved her. Someone did awaken her, but the identity was kept hidden until No. 11.
This is also the beginning of Drew Goddard's sequence in the series. Goddard, of course, has rapidly become one of the better-known scriptwriters on television, though he also recently achieved some renown from having the script he wrote for J. J. Abrams, CLOVERFIELD, made into a movie. Goddard's first work in the business came in Season Seven of BUFFY, during which he wrote some of the better episodes of that season. After the end of BUFFY he went over to ANGEL where he wrote several episodes during that show's final season. He then went over to ALIAS where he wrote a number of superb scripts (including the series finale), and then joined LOST fulltime after that. This represents his first return to the Buffyverse as well as his first comic work, at least that I am aware of.
The next paragraph will contain the spoiler. Let me add that the reason I will give the spoiler in the review is that a couple of people have contacted me before, saying that they enjoy getting the info since they are unable to get the comics where they live (instead waiting for the whole arc in a collected paperback). For me one of the biggest surprises in the big event was that it happened so early in the issue. I got my issue, sat down to read it, and fully expected for "the big thing" to happen on the last or next to last page of the comic. Nope. We get two pages of Xander and the dark-skinned slayer he is romantically interested in, and then you turn the page, and Wham! there it is.
OK, time for the spoiler. We turn the page and what we see is Buffy and Satsu, the slayer who was revealed in No. 11 as being in love with Buffy and the one whose kiss woke her up, in bed together in a state of complete disrobement. Then we get several pages of Willow flying Andrew to the castle and Xander with his slayer on the ramparts of the castle, noticing that a large number of wolves are congregating at the gates (hence the title of this and the next issues). Then we get back to Buffy and Satsu, where it is obvious that their hook up was not something that was planned (at least not by Buffy). And it is not something that Buffy claims she wants to repeat, though she does tell Satsu that she can spend the night. Then immediately ensues the funniest sequence of events in the entire run of Buffy Season 8. As Buffy tells Satsu, "Don't mention this to anyone," Xander plunges into the room with news of the wolves. The cell with Xander holding his hand over his one good eye is hysterical. As Buffy and Satsu attempt to cover up Xander's slayer also enters the room. And hearing the hubbub Andrew (completely in old-fashioned night cap and sleeping gown) walks in, switching on the light. With complete aplomb he says, "Oh, hi Buffy. Hi nude Asian girl." It is a classic Andrew moment. Next, Dawn, who is still a giantess, sees what is happening through the window. Finally, Willow literally crashes through the ceiling (why she does is another story). Though battered and beaten, even she has to ask Buffy, "Why are you naked and in bed with Satsu?"
So, that is the big event. More happens in the issue. Baddies, who possess remarkable shape-shifting abilities, come onto the grounds of the castle and steal Buffy's scythe. And the issue ends with Xander visiting the most famous vampire of them all, one would assume for advice on who the shape-shifters might be.
Obviously, this is one of those things that will have lots of ramifications for future issues. The event itself is almost one of the innumerable slash fictions coming to life. After all, this is canonical since Joss Whedon authorized it. It will be interesting to see what happens next. Will this go anywhere? Buffy insisted to Satsu that it couldn't and perhaps it won't. Buffy is definitely coded in the series as "straight" and I doubt if this changes things much. It isn't as if Buffy has many romantic options. She has always been very difficult to pair up with anyone else. I'm anxious to see the next conversation between Buffy and Willow, not to mention Buffy and Dawn. Time will tell if this was a one-time event with ongoing consequences or if it leads to a real relationship. I doubt it will be the latter. My guess is that Buffy is never going to be happy in a relationship, whether with male or female.
So, all in all, a pretty good issue. It wasn't the kind of Big Event that I was expecting and the overall effect was comic rather than dramatic. Honestly, I was expecting someone to die.
Talk About Hype Comic shops were told to double their orders. People debated "What's going to happen in Issue 12?" online since before #10 came out. It's the first comic we get from one of the series' vets (other than Whedon, of course). Talk about hype.
Well, I'm obviously not going to spoil the big event here, but it's big. Probably not "something we'll be talking about for years" like Jeanty was quoted saying, but it's huge enough for the hype, and it leads to even huger comedy. It looks like "Wolves At the Gate" is going to be a comedy-centric episode, sort of like "Something Blue" and "Tabula Rasa." What I mean is, it doesn't compromise the integrity of the series like "Beer Bad" and "Doublemeat Palace" did, but it still focuses heavily on comedy. We've got Andrew. We've got Xander dealing with his whole "Dracula's Manservant" issue. We've got a sexually awkward situation. All hilarious.
Most of this issue deals with the personal relationships between the residents of the castle, but there is also a lot of action at the end. While the issue didn't flow as well as #11 did, the transitions are quite a bit smoother than those of "The Long Way Home." What we've got here is a solid introduction to the arc with hilarious--and in-character--moments that all push forward all of the character arcs. And can I express how great it is to have vampires taken as a real threat again? I felt that the show lost something in the latter seasons when vampires stopped being serious enemies and became more of a joke, so this is good stuff.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
