Spoilery Expectations

[deird_lj]

So, I was watching Normal Again and remembering the first time I watched it.


You see, back when I was first watching Buffy, I knew quite a bit about what was going to happen.
In fact, the very first thing I remember hearing about the show was that, at the end of a season, Willow's girlfriend Tara would die, and Willow would turn evil, get black hair, flay a guy alive, and then try to destroy the world.
(Did I mention I really dislike spoilers? *glares*)

But anyway...

See, the first time I watched season six, I knew that at some point Tara was going to die. But I didn't know when. And there's this moment, during the big basement fight towards the end of Normal Again, when Tara comes in and starts running down the stairs to help, and Buffy grabs her ankle and makes her fall the rest of the way.

AND TARA WAS DEAD. SHE'D SNAPPED HER NECK AND DIED AND WILLOW WAS GOING TO TURN EVIL, AND IT WAS ALL BUFFY'S FAULT. THIS SHOW WAS SO AWESOME AND HARD-CORE.


...clearly this did not happen.
But every time I rewatch that episode, I get a momentary flashback to what it was like thinking that Tara was going to die right then.


And yeah, I like going into things unspoilered, mostly. But occasionally, knowing some spoilers without knowing all the specifics can actually make you react to scenes in entirely unexpected and interesting ways.

Anyone else do this?

Comments

JL rants on and on again

[jl-in-the-lane.livejournal.com]

SO much.

The one that springs to mind is New Doctor Who Season 2 finale, where we KNEW Rose was leaving but didn't know how. And it was completely heart-rending and... *bawls for a bit*

Then there's House, where I knew that "They're going to kiss!" or "They're going to have sex!" before the episode but didn't know how that was going to happen.

And you could tell: "ARGH! He's at her door! This must be when they're going to kiss!" But it still left me completely and utterly gob-smacked on the floor, because it wasn't how I thought it would be.

(insert appropriate eyebrow raise for nod to Frasier)

Another one that springs to mind was Cuddy begging baby Joy to live. "Cry! Cry, Joy!" And we all knew that either Joy would die or Cuddy would not get to adopt her, so it was kind of - which heartbreak are we going to get? Oh right, it's going to be this one... waaaaaah!

Kinda same deal for watching the House Season 5 finale. I believe that, directly before watching it, I posted a status update along the lines of, "JL hands her heart to David Shore, ready for him to rend it in twain." I knew I was going to be bawling, but I didn't know why.

And, of course, the Christmas episode of Season 5, which got built up with spoilers to the point that everyone was agog to see it - and then it was really a let-down. And it probably wouldn't have been had we not been spoiled. :(

*is so terribly afraid that today's hugely built-up episode is going to have the same effect and everyone will hate on Cuddy*

[me-llamo-nic.livejournal.com]

I had sort of an inverted reaction. I would have worried that Tara had died then (seriously, I expected at least a troublesome injury), but I had accidentally seen a fanvid that included the scene where Willow's shirt gets splattered so I knew at some point Tara would be shot. (I had actually been expecting during S4 when the military dudes were waving their guns every 10 seconds.) Spoilers are very bad. *nods*

[next_to_normal]

Heh, I did the same thing with Tara - I was spoiled and knew she was gonna die and Willow would go all dark, but not how or when it happened - so I spent the entire time she was on the show expecting her to kick it. I specifically remember getting freaked out in "Tough Love" when she's with Glory.

In a way, it kind of made things more exciting, because Tara being in peril felt like a serious threat, rather than, "Oh, well, of course they'll save her. They're not going to kill off [character]," which is usually what I said for everyone else.

I don't recall the "Normal Again" scene making me think she was going to die, though.

[cereta.livejournal.com]

I'm just the opposite: I frequently prefer to be spoiled, because that way, I can stop worrying about what's going to happen and enjoy seeing how it happens. But then, I almost always enjoy rereading over reading for the first time. I'm weird like that.

OTOH, I have a deep, abiding love for stories where you know the what and the how still surprises you. There's something you're told in the very first episode of Babylon 5 (you might not believe it, but you're told it), but don't find out the how for like three seasons, and even more about the why for a while after. And when you do? Wow.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

This is the beauty of non-chronological storytelling. Season 1 of Damages was told kinda like that - you knew there would be some sort of murder from the get go, but you didn't know who, when, or how, and the fun was seeing everything how things led up to the murder, making its impact that much greater. Season 4 of Lost was awesome because we learned from the Season 3 finale that at least Jack and Kate got off the island and someone was in a coffin, so the mystery was who the Oceanic 6 were. As for Buffy, I knew Spike died in the end of season 7. I didn't know how, and I didn't know we'd have to sit through that icky Bangel reunion and an insipid cookie dough speech to get there. But then we got there and it was epic and there was flamey hands and then Spike goes "no you don't . . ."


. . . and I start flailing around until long after Buffy's smile and the credits are over.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I often was "spoiled" when watching season 6 and even more so season 5 (because I was working those nights and couldn't see the episodes until later and I needed to know what happened NOW! lol). So, sometimes I knew what was going to happen, but part of the pleasure of watching was learning the how of it.

Also, when rewatching, now that I know what's going to happen, I find myself noticing things that I missed in the initial excitement of "OMG, Buffy is crazy!" reactions. I pick up nuances in someone's acting, clever lines that I may have missed the first time, facial expressions on other characters - stuff like that. That's true of all well-done TV shows, I think. Not just BtVS. There is always more going on that is obvious the first time through when it's all about what happens next.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I love Normal Again oodles, but if it had longer lasting repercussions like the one you suggest, it would have been the best episode ever! You're kind of genius in your spoiler-fueled paranoia.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

AND TARA WAS DEAD. SHE'D SNAPPED HER NECK AND DIED AND WILLOW WAS GOING TO TURN EVIL, AND IT WAS ALL BUFFY'S FAULT. THIS SHOW WAS SO AWESOME AND HARD-CORE.

You. Are. Evil.
Even Joss with his big brass balls didn't dare to go there.

[ohwaluvusbab.livejournal.com]

Huh, weirdly I never heard of Tara's death before watching on DVD.

I did hear all about the bringing down the house, but it was still AWESOME when it happened ;)

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Huh. That's interesting...I think I was spoiled for Tara's death at some point, but I definitely didn't have that reaction. (I wish I could remember how or when I was spoiled, but I can't...I actually think I vaguely knew about it or my friend told me, but then I forgot, and then I read the DVD ep description that goes like "AFTER TARA'S TRAUMATIC DEATH, BLAH BLAH" and I was like WHAAAAT. So silly.)


I actually spoiled myself so bad for like all of Buffy. I would try to get my friend to tell me what was going to happen, but she never would, but then I got into fanfic midway through watching, so I read all these fics involving this 'Dawn' character before I saw S5, so I was rather confused as to how Buffy had a sister I didn't know about...

[rahirah]

I was totally unspoiled for seasons 1-5, and totally spoiled for late S5 on. So, uh, no. :)

[neutralalienist.livejournal.com]

I knew Jenny was going to die, and I thought the possession episode was going to do it. AND IT WOULD BE GILES' FAULT. It made the episode more suspenseful, I can tell you. Sometimes knowing a character is going to die, but not how, can actually add to the horrible excitement. On the other hand, the surprise can really gut you. (I? Did not know about Tara.)

Of course, going back and watching Angel save Jenny by becoming a vessel for an evil demon and defeating it, and knowing what happens later, does add a nice taste of irony.

[peroxidepirate.livejournal.com]

Lessee...

I watched S1 to S3 pretty much un-spoiled, but then I started to get obsessed enough to read reviews and episode guides online. And when I do that, I always have the best intentions of reading the review only for the episodes I just watched, and then I read ahead like, half a season. But I only skim, so sometimes I get very warped perceptions.

Like, I remember thinking dark!Willow and then Warren!Willow were going to be a much bigger, longer-lasting thing, and I was NOT happy. And I knew Buffy and Spike got together, and that he was her last significant love interest in the series, and before I saw S5, I thought that was beyond dumb. But then, I got the huge pleasure of being dead wrong about all of the above!

[evelynvaughn01.livejournal.com]

I was almost halfway through reading The Time Traveler's Wife (my favorite novel evah) when I finally started to notice some of the foreshadowing that things may not end in a happy jolly funtime place. So I hunted down some spoilers on the Internet (don't worry--won't share them here) to see if I should finish the book. Once I knew what would and would not happen, I was able to put my emotional shields in place and deem it worthwhile to carry on. And at several points I was even more surprised, because I knew the outcome of several things, but not the how-they'd-get-there.

So... yeah.