I don't particularly like KIM either. I'm a Tillower and a WOZer, but I hate Kennedy with a passion (Not as much passion as I reserve for Anya though).

I don't think you've become a snob about TV, the earlier seasons were of a lot higher quality, we have every right to expect the same quality to exist in every episode of every season.

I don't hate Kennedy at all now, I thought I did but now I realise I was projecting my hatred of this episode onto her which was a shame in a way. She's not ideal and she will never be a favourite of mine, but I can deal with her now.

I just cannot deal with this episode.

See, when I first watched S7, I was okay with Kennedy. But as I've rewatched episodes, I've grown to hate her more. That may be something to do with this episode, I'm not sure. She just seems to get more annoying the more I watch.

It may be the influence of fanfic that's making me re-evaluate her. Hell, there's no maybe about it, I know that's exactly what it is.

But yeah, watching it again now I can see more to her than simply the 'lesbian Potential brat' she's painted as. Yeah, she's that, but she's also got a lot more to her character and Iyari does play it beautifully.

Just need to go and watch a S2 or S3 episode now to remind you why you loved the programme to begin with.

*grins*

Here's where the hate comes in with that episode:

ALL OF THE CHARACTERS ARE ACTING OUT OF CHARACTER!

Seriously: Willow is breaking apart and XANDER is not going to be out there with Kennedy turning the town upside down looking for her? He shouldn't have even been in the house sitting there with Anya, Andrew, and Dawn comisserating over being useless because...really...THE REAL XANDER WOULD BE OUT THERE LOOKING WITH KENNEDY!

Buffy...unh...Buffy...okay, Buffy was uber Spike obsessed through most of S7 (why why why why...) but even I don't think she's so far gone that she wouldn't have AT LEAST organized something to help/find Willow? I mean, c'mon.

And Willow, being saved by the power of lesbian lurve with a bratty girl she barely knows. Have no issue with lesbian lurve or being saved by it, but Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! SHE DOESN'T EVEN REALLY KNOW KENNEDY AT ALL! No wonder why Tillow, Willoz, Willder fans were flippin' pissed with this episode. Way to basically say Tara, Oz, and Xander (who talked her down not even SIX MONTHS BBEFORE USING THE POWER OF LURVE!) mean less than nothing when compared to Kennedy.

But back to Buffy: You've been offered the might of the pre-Iraqi invasion U.S. military (before troop morale going into the toilet, before troop losses, and back when it had equipment that...you know...worked) to help you fight the First and protect the Potentials. YOU CAN ASK FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT BECAUSE YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND GAVE YOU THE EQUIVALENT OF A BLANK CHECK! And WHAT do you use this huge favor for? Removing the chip from Spike's head.

*beats Buffy severely with a clue stick*

And by the way, I seem to remember that at the end of S4 the entire initiative bunker was FILLED WITH CEMENT to prevent anyone from finding the demon bodies or the complex. So, ummm, WHY IS IT STILL THERE? (Damn government contractors...)

Let's not get into the insan-o magic issues. No. Really. Let's not.

And finally...

The Giles thing. I have no words. No. No words at all. *headdesk headdesk headdesk* Considering that the last time Giles blew into town both Buffy and Anya basically group hugged him, this no touching thing was totally unbelievable.

Sorry. My hate for this episode is only surpassed by "Lies Joss Whedon Shoved Down My Throat." What? You mean that WASN'T the title of the episode?

HAAAAAATE....

*smiles* Look after your shoulder, 'kay?

And I'm impressed that other people hate the episode as much as I do! Makes me feel a little vindicated here. You're right, both this episode and Lies.. are like bad fanfic which, given how much great fanfic there is out there, is unforgiveable!

Heh! I'm so glad to find someone else hates this episode as much as I do! Seriously, I've gotten in so many arguments about the flaws in it that I've stopped posting on certain forums (buffyworld) and been called a homophobe because I dared to call Kennedy a brat (and that's all I called her, no mention of her sexuality just that she was a brat).

I actually hadn't even considered the wide-ranging possibilities the Initiative offered Buffy, probably because if I think about the episode too much my brain starts to melt in frustration, that seems to be the big thing about the season - all these potential avenues set out and then ignored. Completely, no mention of them ever again.

The OOCness of the whole episode - absolutely, and I've just sat through Lies... as well where the exact same thing can be said. (I have to admit, I watched most of it on fast forward because I couldn't stand watching the lame rip off of the Vampire Lestat that somehow emerged from a show that once slagged off 'that Anne Rice crap.')