Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar In support of Gellar: Buffy's Sixth Season
stargene posted on Dec 20, 2008 at 09:46PM
Always curious about artist's takes on their work, I want to lend her
some support here. She had trouble with the sixth season of Buffy... the dark, twisted dive Buffy took in her relation with Spike went against Gellar's strong intuition. Whedon pushed that on her in one of his rare mistakes. I'm with Ms Gellar here. While my wife and I had no trouble with Buffy's growing sexual bond with the gilt-headed one, often funny and quite poignant, even inevitable, its explicit shame and tortured nature seemed gratuitous and off the mark in this otherwise jewel of a show. Once in a commentary, Whedon had the wit to acknowledge that "no one understands Buffy like Sarah". I wish he'd listened to his own words. Her artistic instincts are unfailing and fine. Among her gifts are a luminous clarity, where she is completely there in the moment and a generous ability to explore that moment and not hurry on to the next. An example: An early moment at the Bronze where Buffy is quietly facing Angel. A small moment. Yet she radiates love, strength, vulnerability, utter openness. A small miracle. In that moment we can see her embody the reason Angel fell for her in the first place... she carries her heart before her. Who could NOT love her?! And we see why the side of the angels chose her to carry the terrible gift and burden of Slayer. Only such strong purity and love could survive and not be corrupted or reduced by it. It's not too much to say that in these moments she is in a state of grace. |