When She Was Bad

[butterfly]

Wow, the dance scene in the Bronze was well-done. Buffy deliberately hurts three people that she loves with just one thing. The levels of ouch in that scene are horrible foreshadowing for the levels of ouch in the season. And I always fixate on Xander's reaction, because it's just so complicated - Willow and Angel are betrayed and hurt, but Xander is betrayed, hurt, confused, and majorly turned-on. His jaw when she grinds up against him... just so much ouch. And his face after she leaves breaks my heart. God, that's a horrible thing to do to someone you know wants you.

Oh, and in our last shot of Xander in the Bronze, Willow is over one shoulder and Cordy is over the other, while Buffy has taken herself out of the picture.

She just uses everything she knows to hurt them. It's a horrible thing to do. But it's still a hell of a sexy dance.

Comments

[grlnamedlucifer.livejournal.com]

Yup. It was very very well done. And unfortunatly what made my Buffy-love shrivel up and die. Buffy was one of my favorite characters, until I watched this scene and wondered how someone could do that to the guy that loves you, your best friend, and the guy you're kinda with in one fell swoop. I mean, definite thought had to go into that to achieve that much hurt at once.

And it's not even the whole jealous-dance thing that gets me. It's Buffy taunting him about not thanking him for saving her life. That hurt more than the rest of the scene, for me.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Well, she was trying to drive them away. I forgive her because I love her. Like they do. And I don't think she planned it ahead of time - she just saw that Angel was there, saw that Willow and Xander were there, Xander immediately turned toward her when she got there, and she took advantage of the moment.

But then she doesn't apologize the next day and you can see Xander quietly getting more and more pissed at her through the episode until he finally can't take it anymore. Same thing with him and Angelus in KBD - he's too angry and hurt for the people he cares about to be loud angry. Xander is scariest when he's quiet.