|
|
Post by Emcee on Jun 2, 2005 23:42:53 GMT -5
With a rift between her friends, Oni decides to translate the rest of the Nyazian Prophecies in attempt to fix their problems.
|
|
|
|
Post by Buffy8Fan on Jun 3, 2005 16:10:10 GMT -5
This is possibly going to be my last update in this forum until September until I can find someone with a little more knowledge about computers than me (PS I would still like feedback).
Due to this fact and also because this is a tie for my other favorite episode 'Still Life,' I am going to make it a long update with not only complements but seeing as that I am a writing major, it will also be critiqued.
The best part about this episode hands down was of course the fact that Connor and Salome got back together. It was the best part of act four (although all of act four was wonderful, as was the entire episode, I will probably say this again). Their scenes were a combination of heart-wrenching pain and sweetness.
This episode being centered around Oni made me personally think that she was going to be in absolutely every single scene and we'd follow her from place to place. I noticed that it was almost the case. She was left out of only four scenes. By the end of this episode I no longer look at Oni as just the comic relief (up until now that is all she had been to me). I not only saw the difference between her and Anya's humor for the first time (Anya is a little more rude and direct while Oni is kind and doesn't realize what she means when she asks, plus Anya would know all about birth control), but I also saw her more as a person.
I felt bad for her a little bit when after she had all these conversations with everyone one-on-one and the second Salome asks where she is everyones initial reply is who knows it's Oni. Even when I was thinking of her as the comic relief I didn't do that. Connor seems to put up with her for Salome's sake, who is the roommate slowly becoming a friend and gets there by the end of the episode just like the Buffy episode 'Family.' Wesley is the one who says the phrase, "it's Oni." Andrew is even more oblivious with her than the others (except when it comes to romantic relationships, but I seriously think Joss Whedon would write that a bit differently). Jamie uses her to make his friends believe he has a hot chick he's going out with. All these things done over and over build up and make people start losing self-everything.
Thank goodness Lorne is around. He may use phrases like china doll, but you know he'll always mean them in a playful, I'm not being mean kind of way. And even if you had no intention of doing any of that in that scene, BE CAREFUL!!! It is ALWAYS the small things building up to bigger things that make everything seem like the above paragraphs.
Moving on to different topics. Happier topics. Chico de Mayo was funny. I loved it. As well as the location of his brain although it is kind of hard to comprehend and imagine that one.
Relationship-wise, other than Connor and Salome (although that will always be the best in my book) Considering how forgiving Oni has been in past episodes, I can easily see a relationship between her and Chico.
While talking to Oni, Jamie clearly stated that she should let everyone work things out on their own. I find it a little bit amusing and sad at the same time that if she hadn't gotten into trouble, there might've been a huge possibility of a slightly less dramatic Buffy season 6. In my personal opinion, the gang should be thanking Oni for righting a bunch of wrongs that had been made.
Out of all the lines Oni used these were my favorites (and believe me there's a lot);
"James has taken to spending time with the socially inept and demon naive brethren."
"I have no desire to exert pressure upon him."
I Love how she refers to everything she (and her friends do) the way demons would do.
I love how she refers to a week a 336 hours.
"I do however find it strange you would wish to see a bipedal creature crawl on all fours."
"Since when?"
"I do not wish to be unconscious."
"I was hoping we could speak about our unitary performance."
"Your dropping of Salome."
"You have ceased your monogamous mating bond with her."
"She has been inventing many creative and colorful insults directed toward you."
The whole pregnancy misunderstanding between Connor and Oni was played out as wonderful humor.
"My temperature is quite normal, but thank you for your concern, however unfounded."
"He makes you practice sodomy?"
"I realize you are deceased already, but will you please just die?"
"Are you certain we cannot arrange a treaty?"
"I apologize profusely for the mental danger I am about to inflict on you, but you leave me no choice in the situation as you are about to attempt to do the same and will not see reason as to otherwise."
"However many cultures find that eating decaying food is a sign of virility."
"It seems he has frightened Salome."
"If you do no mind me asking, what exactly did you witness?"
"I am afraid I have to be me James."
I have some questions that bothered me and would like to ask.
Is Fre going to continue to write more episodes or was this a one time thing?
Is the reason Oni has trouble saying Wesley's first name because she is attracted to him or because she isn't use to using people's first names?
Oni says to Lorne in Act 1 that Connor doesn't leave the house, but she finds and talks to him at the CoHo. Was this a mistake or was there a specific reason he left the house since Salome has also been avoiding the house and he really didn't have to go to the CoHo to avoid her?
How do you pronounce Oni's last name?
Is the "marked one' part of the Nyazian prophecies true?
Why is Rona buried in Connor's town and not in the town she was born in or in the town the Watchers is buried in? Wasn't the spatial time shift spell in place well after she died?
When Connor says third times the charm, does that mean Cordelia then the two times with Salome?
Is it a metaphor when Salome is talking to Connor in his bedroom in Act 4, and she puts her uninjured hand on her hip?
If Salome's mother spoke in a demonic tongue, how is it considered to be Oni's native tongue? Isn't she Japanese or something like that? I can't remember.
There were a couple of spelling mistakes that jumped out at me. Usually I don't spot any, but as I was reading I looked back and said to myself, "that didn't make any sense."
Those mistakes were:
"Pull of a Joni Mitchell." instead of, "Pull off a Joni Mitchell." (Act 1)
"Salome is doing nothing but do violence." instead of, "Salome is doing nothing but violence." (Act 1)
And last but not least, "What exactly do you witness?" instead of, "What exactly did you witness?" (Act 4)
As I have explained above, this is probably going to be my last update for a while unless I find someone who knows what is wrong with mine (and while I know some people who could help there are hard to get a hold of). There is a possibility that I can update on Tuesday, but probably not. I can still read the episodes and even read the forum but logging on from my home computer, which I use more than any other computer, isn't possible. I wish it were. I'll see what I can do but until then...
|
|
|
|
Post by Emcee on Jun 3, 2005 17:20:03 GMT -5
Whew! Long reply! Let me see if I can get it all:
I love Connor and Salome. I couldn't keep them apart for long. Besides... They were really bitchy this episode and that would have been hard to drag out. I really wanted to cement their relationship and I felt the argument between them did that (it was actually the first scene written for the episode).
I've really tried to develop Oni as more than just comic relief. This will grow more, especially in S2. This is where her place in the group is really cemented and I thought it was important to really show who she is. She's NOT like Anya, in that it's not that she doesn't care (which is what I found with Anya), it's just that she doesn't know. Probably a more apt analogy would be that she's like Data from "Star Trek: TNG".
There was some elements of "Family" in this, in that the gang just DOESN'T understand Oni. And you're right, Connor does tolerate Oni because she's Salome's roommate, but they are developing a friendship. I think Andrew immediately assumes they're friends already and just treats her like he does everyone else, except for the fact he confuses her. I think Jamie is still struggling with the whole demon thing and since she's SO in the demon world, he's a bit lost. At least with Salome, she acts pretty much human. When Fre and I were developing Salome and Oni the idea was they were best friends with the demon who acts human and the human who acts like a demon. That's changed a little from the original concept, but you can still see bits of it.
Jamie's wish for everything to work things out I think stems from how he was raised. His parents weren't around much and he was always forced to fend for himself. I also think he's never really had a close group of friends before. He doesn't really realize that things have to be worked through.
Fre got writing credit on this episode because she came up with the character of Oni initially and many of the great lines came from her, however the majority of the writing did come from me. I would LOVE to persuade her to write some more, but she's very hesitant about it.
Oni has trouble saying Wesley's first name for both reasons. She said in "Fun and Games" she refers to Wesley and Andrew by their last names because she has respect for them as demonologists. But I think the reason she's trying to say Wesley's first name IS because she likes him and she's not really sure what to do with that.
As for the Connor thing... You just have to wank it that Oni wasn't around him ALL the time and thus couldn't make an accurate assessment of him. (While in reality, I just wanted a scene set somewhere other than the apartment).
Oni has two last names. Kato is pronounced pretty much how it looks: Kay-toe. As for her full demonic name the best we can figure it's Oh-Na-Toe-Zich Ke-(click)-Zuh-Nich
Oni's translation was correct. However, as Wesley and Salome pointed out, interpritation can make a world of difference.
Rona's body was not found until "Memento Mori", which is the same episode that the spatial shift happened. So Andrew had her buried in Palo Alto.
Yes, third times the charm DID mean the time with Cordelia and the two times with Salome.
Salome putting her hand on her uninjured hip was to indicate where her heart is. It's never been specifically stated, but its been alluded to that this is where her heart is located (See "Purple Haze" and "Sweet Boy" for other references to this).
Oni is ETHNICALLY Japanese, however she revealed in "Parents Day" that she was, in fact, raised in Wisconsin. When she refers to her native tongue she means the demonic language her mother used while she was growing up.
As for the spelling mistakes, thanks for pointing them out. I'll correct them as soon as possible. Pablo and I do our best to catch all of them, but sometimes they slip past.
I hope you're able to figure out your computer problems. I very much enjoy hearing from you.
|
|
|
|
Post by nonbeliever93 on Jun 4, 2005 18:36:27 GMT -5
I loved this ep! Oni is a great character and we haven't seen much of her so this episode was great for exploring Oni's character. There was another typo in act 4 (i think) where Connor said 'any body' instead of 'anybody'. Loved Salome and Connor (Salor, Conome, Sannor? We need a relationship name) getting back together. It was very well written.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emcee on Jun 4, 2005 18:42:05 GMT -5
Thank you. Glad you liked and thanks for pointing out the typos. I'll fix them up.
As for a relationship name for them... I've been using "Ace over Queen" for their ship name, both in reference to Connor's nickname and thewindfish's strip poker story.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wind Fish on Jun 9, 2005 3:00:11 GMT -5
I just got extremely tired all of a sudden so I'm gonna make this semi-quick.
Basically, everything the others liked about the episode applies to me. There were a lot of good Oni lines but for some reason Andrew's "Oh my God... They killed each other" was my favorite. The Connor/Oni scene in Act 2 was highly amusing also.
While there's a small part of me that says the Connor/Salome reconciliation came too quick, most of me is glad that it didn't drag on too long and liked how it was handled.
Connor held the scythe for a couple seconds, right? Maybe he can handle it long enough to get a good throw out of it. Or there could be prosthetics involved. Maybe he'll have it taped to a long stick that he's holding. Although I guess he isn't technically wielding it anymore in any of those cases. I'm curious to see the work around of that little problem.
And I'm for any ship name that I had even a small part in, so "Ace over Queen" sounds good to me. Otherwise, Colome is the one that popped into my head when reading that part of this thread.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emcee on Jun 9, 2005 3:54:41 GMT -5
Is anyone else amused he did that while clutching an Ewok doll? Just me? Okay.
The way the episodes have fallen, the reconciliation really had to happen now or not until the season finale, which would have been a real bitch to keep up. Also, I think because of the circumstances of the break up, there was really no weight for them to remain apart. It was a spell that neither were responsible for. Really, it's not as much as break up as it is just a... Pause.
With all of the theories you're coming up with, I hope I don't disappoint.
Ace over Queen it is. Personally, I've never been crazy about ships that combined character names (Except for Spuffy, because that's just a damn funny word). I'm just flattered my little couple are important enough to get a ship name.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wind Fish on Jun 9, 2005 13:28:27 GMT -5
I completely agree with that. And Connor being a complete asshole was starting to piss me off anyway. Salome's attitude I was more tolerant of considering the circumstances.
Well, I'm not sure how likely those above theories are, but there is a way I can picture it working, with teamwork being important. Kind of a "catch, swing, drop" type of thing where the others have to be around to throw it to him when he's ready.
I'm not saying I think that's how it'll happen, just that it could work if there's no other way. Unless the thing recognizes him immediately now and he can't even touch it. That would kind of suck.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emcee on Jun 9, 2005 14:40:35 GMT -5
The boy folded like a card table. I think all he really needed was for someone to assure him he could screw up and Salome would still love him. He's never really had that before. Once he's screwed up, people have abandoned him (and yeah, Angel is guilty of this to. He was always a day late and dollar short with his acceptance of Connor). I think if Salome hadn't gotten mad and stalked out, she could have resolved it the day Connor broke up with her. All she had to do was be really stubborn and refuse to leave (which of course she eventually did).
Teamwork will definitely be important... But I don't think you'll ever in a million years guess HOW.
|
|
|
|
Post by spasticvisions on Jun 9, 2005 17:09:50 GMT -5
I loved this episode. It just might be my favorite of the series to date. Oni definately came into her own as a character this episode and I just love her to death. She has some of the best one liners.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emcee on Jun 9, 2005 18:10:07 GMT -5
Thank you very much. Oni is a character I adore and I really wanted to establish her as part of the group. And she is GREAT for one-liners.
|
|
|
|
Post by bvfan Randy Giles on Jun 14, 2005 14:58:17 GMT -5
hey i just took the time to read ever episode of this series and got to say i love it Oni is great can't wait for the next few episodes.
|
|
