Slayer, Interrupted (Part 3 of 4), Act 3
Script: Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
Pencills: Cliff Richards
Inks: Will Conrad
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Clem Robins
Cover: Brian Horton & Paul Lee
The story takes place before Buffy the Vampire
Slayer's first season
Jeremy's Brief Synopsis:
When Buffy goes to get "cured",
she finds that therapist, Dr. Stone is manipulating
teh girls there to become the brides of a demon
named Rakagore. And the demon has manifested itself
in the form of Dr. Stone! So who's crazy now?
Zinna's Review:
What does a slayer do in the
loony bin? Find out this month's issue. Now, when I
was in the loony bin I a spent a great deal of time
making macaroni art but you're not interested in
what I've been up to. You want to know how Buffy
pasts the time. Well, let's just say she gets in
touch with her inner "Alice", as in Alice in
Wonderland. Was that your favorite bedtime story
too? Buffy remembers it well, mostly because she
associates it with the last time she felt safe in
the dark. This association makes no sense to me
because quite frankly Alice in Wonderland gave me
the most vivid set nightmares as child. I think it
had something to do with the queen and possibility
of Alice losing her head for standing up for her
convictions. More importantly, Alice believed in
herself so much that she was willing to sacrifice
her head for the sake of her integrity -- a bit of
complex lesson for 8 year old; a lesson a bit too
complex for an emotionally exhausted 15 year old
slayer. It's the lesson of the week, however,
because as you will find and as Buffy has found the
most important part of being legendary hero, is
believing. Problem with that is no one else is
going to believe you and you might end up in the
loony bin because it. Does this mean that you can
stop believing in your destiny?
For all the reasons you can
guess, Buffy is hoping so. If she's crazy then all
she has to do make some macaroni art, participate
in some group meetings, and concede that her
delusions of vampires and demons are the mere
result of her overzealous imagination and her
"messiah complex". While no one might be able to
explain what her "messiah complex" could be a
result of, Buffy can rest easy knowing that
everything she's had to do, every fight she's had
to fight is over. She can finally be what every
teenager wants to be: just like everyone else. And
with any luck, she can get out the bin and resume
her previous high school career ambitions of
becoming most popular and well dressed. Why else
would someone like Buffy be so willing to
relinquish her power?
I know you saw Spiderman, so you
know, "With great power comes great
responsibility." I remember being teenager and
while I didn't have any demons to slay or vampires
to stake, I had still felt overwhelmed with
responsibility. Suddenly, my life was for the most
part my own and my talents were my mine to
cultivate, my potential was mine to seek out and
fulfill. This is an awesome responsibility for many
who take the time to realize it. Some would even go
so far as to think Buffy lucky because she destiny
sought her out, but what good is a destiny that
falls into your lap if you don't believe it? Maybe
Buffy should get some bracelet that reads, "What
would Alice do?"
Apparently, the story holds a
number of other hidden associations as well. What
does a fat checkered Cheshire cat symbolize for
you? For Buffy, it symbolizes that which can never
be fully known. And I'm wondering if this is
referring to unknown things like the meaning of
life or where we go when we die, but once again
there aren't straight answers, but conjecture a
plenty. Because if you learned anything from the
last review or even the last issue, then you
learned that no one is going to hand Buffy the
answers. Before I confuse myself with philosophical
jargon. I'm just going to say that I've already
said too much.
Moving on, remember last week's
person in need--the girl Buffy dismissed as a head
case? Have you been up at night wondering what
happened to her? Now's the time for you to find
out. Unfortunately, for her and her family she
proves to be a very valuable lesson for Buffy. The
kind of lesson that no one wants to learn,
especially, if they're in the middle of nervous
breakdown/identity crisis, but a lesson that will
have the most impact. Now, here's a question: Why
is that hardest lessons to learn come with a
biggest of consequences? This is a question that
can also be asked of Giles, who continues to battle
against fragments of his past.
So to sum things up, this issue
will show you what it takes to make Buffy
believe&emdash;oh yeah it's something completely
unbelievable. Have fun!
