Episode 44 - The Gift (feat. Michael Holland)

“But...you’re just a girl.”

“That’s what I keep saying.”

 

We’ve come at last to the end. Well, *AN* end. We’ve reached what could have (and maybe should have?) been the end of all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the Season 5 finale “The Gift.” Michael Holland returns, with a shiny new job title, to help me wish a fond farewell to the WB era as our beloved hero takes the plunge (literally) into a darker, more confusing adulthood. We talk about a lot of things, as you might expect, including Giles’ angry push back, Xander’s big ball, Spike’s sobs, and Olaf’s totally unnecessary retcon into godhood. And in the end I try, with mixed success, to broach the potentially uncomfortable topic of Buffy’s final heroic act vs. her growing deathwish. [CW: suicide]

 

Next: back at last after literally ages, professor and author Elizabeth Rambo joins me to kick off the cheeriest season in the entire run of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We’ll be discussing 601, “Bargaining (Part 1)” and 602, “Bargaining (Part 2).”

 

THE BREAKDOWN

Run Time: 01:21:57

00:00:55 - Intro / Guest

00:04:48 - Main Topic

01:17:55 - Outro / Next

 

THE LIBRARY

Library Closed For Filing - Please Come Back Tomorrow

 

THE MUSIC

“Conversations (feat. Wesley Mead)” by Azura (2017)

“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty, Full Moon Fever (1989)

 

THE SCHOLARS

Whedon Studies Association is a non-profit academic organization devoted to the study of the works of Joss Whedon and his associates. They put out Slayage: The Journal of Whedon Studies, and Watcher Junior​: The Undergraduate Journal of Whedon Studies, both blind peer-reviewed twice-yearly online publications. They also host the biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses, which brings all these incredible scholars together to present papers, discuss ways of incorporating Whedon Studies in education, and basically just geek out together. 

http://www.whedonstudies.tv/