The replies to Jess' ship rant can be found here.

I have NO respect for Marti Noxon. It's not bad enough that she can't leave a good metaphor alone. That she has ruined a perfectly lovely storyline by bashing me over the head with it. No, now she has to actually speak. In public. Marti, for the love of god, put down the pen and pick up a ball gag.

Fans have been pretty vocal in their criticism of this season. Does it have an effect?
We do listen, but we wouldn't let fan opinion change us dramatically. Sometimes, the fans are going "no, no, no!" and we know we are heading somewhere they will like.

Ok, I buy that. Completely. ME owns the characters, and they have the right to do with them what they wish. My disrespect has nothing to do with this notion, and if she would have shut up here and left well enough alone, I coulda lived with it. Not have forgiven her for "Wrecked", mind you, but maybe have been left with some shred of affection for the Human Currently In Charge of Buffydom.

What about the folks who still want Buffy and Angel together?
They call themselves the shippers. These are the people who still have their high school sweetheart's picture in a frame on the wall. They can't seem to let things go. I think Buffy and Angel's relationship was idealized. It was like a fairy tale, in the way young girls dream about--to have this perfect, unattainable man. 

I am as far from a B/A shipper as one is likely to get. But could she be ANY more condescending and insulting to a core group of fans? Yea, I find the 'shippers' annoying as hell, but you know what? They don't *pay my fucking bills*. 

But you have to throw curve balls. We gave Buffy and Angel a barrier they couldn't surmount. This locks it into a romantic ideal, because they never fought over who has to do the laundry. They were stuck in the first beautifully passionate stage of love, and that's where it will be forever.

See, she has the ability to be tactful. She simply chooses NOT to be. 

Some of the fans want Buffy and Spike together. Does that surprise you?
Sometimes, things don't go the way we intend. It seemed very obvious to us that the Buffy-Spike relationship couldn't work in the long run, so now we need to reiterate why. We need to get in there and show people the difference between loving someone who is good to be around and loving someone who is good. 

I think people have forgotten the Spike of two seasons ago. I mean, he tried to kill Willow! Can you really see Spike and Buffy in a condo deciding what they should watch on TV that night? That's not our thesis. What we want to show is an independent heroine who is not defined by her relationships.

To quote BratQueen here: "Hello KettleMarti, this is the pot calling." 

Buffy has been nothing *but* defined by her relationships since MN took charge of the damn show. Can you say Parker? Riley? I knew you could. And now, Spike. If Buffy could stay dick-free for more than ten seconds running, I might buy this feminist speech. As it is I just have to shake my head in wonderment that she can espouse this crap with a straight face. 

I once read an interview with Marti that said she never reads fan boards anymore, because back in S4 she was insulted by what she saw being written there about her eps. Is anyone surprised at this estrangement? 

Please Joss, come back. You're a malevolent god, but at least you're not rude.
 

OF THE THEN
 

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