#btvs episode the zeppo

[willlic]

My fiance and I were blabbing about potential one piece movie ideas last night and I'm obsessed with this one idea and I know it will never happen but FUCK I wish it would. So basically the premise is its a normal fantastical high stakes adventure for the strawhats, that doesn't change. Plot beats don't change either. But, the twist is its all from usopps perspective. Not like literal looking theough his eyes, but focused on him, and his experience. Generally as a character he notices everything, it's his job to be the sniper, and that paired with anxiety makes usopp hyper aware of his surroundings, the crew members, and where they're at. Idk if you guys have noticed, but unless he's super into a hobby or something he's doing for fun, he's super aware of everyone and their emotional state, safety, his environment etc. That's part of why he's scared all the time, he's very risk aware. So the movie would be showcasing that basically. You would see his strategy options he debates and why, the things he notices about crew members, and get a good look at his internal workings and his perspective of his crew members and their capabilities. And because he values them highly, it will end up having these moments of appreciation when he's observing their strengths. But the story would be his perspective, his experience as he's running around, his thought process and concerns for others that motivate his behavior etc. It wouldn't jump to other characters, just show his story. And after my fiance was done describing the opening scene and its cool details(I won't even try, he did it so beautifully and I can't recreate it) I was like "wait, so are we basically describing 'the zeppo' buffy episode but just usopp instead of Xander as a premise?" And he was like, "oh my God, yes. That's the one where the world is ending but we just follow Xander around and see his highjinx and emotional journey of recognizing his value right?" "Yes, and by the end he doesn't need other people to see his value, or know his experience because he sees it himself and that's good enough." Anyways I'm obsessed with this idea now and desperately wish it would be a real movie. Usopp is such an undervalued character and his scenes are framed as comedic even when he's really cool. This could break that form(slightly, it would still be fun but he wouldn't be comedic releif) and also could showcase characters like nami and chopper as well. Usopp sees their value as well and I don't think namis fights in this would be reduced to just using thunderbolt tempo etc.

[wolfstrong]

The Zeppo or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

[bestepisode]

Vote on more episodes here!

See the full list of round 2 polls here.

The Harvest: Buffy and her friends encounter a powerful vampire bent on opening a portal to a dimension inhabited by demons. The Zeppo: Xander experiences an adventure of his own when he encounters a group of reanimated corpses out to construct a bomb. Meanwhile, Buffy and her friends battle the forces of evil when the Hellmouth reopens.

[sunnydalebimbo]

you ever lay in the dark and stare unseeing up at the ceiling as your rib cage constricts and your heart stops beating thinking about Xander giving that little half smile as be looks at the bomb and says “I like the quiet”?

[horsegirlhob]

Xander is such a frustrating character. Whether I like him or not depends entirely on the writing of any given scene he’s in. He could be so interesting and fun but unfortunately he is also awful to every woman in his life.

[baelavelaryon]

Xander's "I don't think you're ready for death" "Are you?" "...I like the quiet." scene is so integral to understanding Xander and we as a society don't talk about it enough.

[btvspolls]

Do any of these episodes send you into a frothy rage if you think about how popular they are? rant away in the tags about it, go nuts!

[elizadushkudaily]

Faith Masterlist!

October 1998 - May 2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Eliza Dushku plays Faith Lehane - full 26 episode masterlist below! All episodes are from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS) unless they are from Angel (noted with ATS).

This was Eliza's first TV show role. Faith Lehane is a charismatic working-class Slayer from Boston, who befriended Buffy.

You can also find this by season in the Faith Lehane posters.

Masterlist: 3x03 Faith Hope and Trick 3x04 Beauty and the Beasts 3x05 Homecoming 3x07 Revelations 3x10 Amends 3x13 The Zeppo 3x14 Bad Girls 3x15 Consequences 3x16 Doppelgangland 3x17 Enemies 3x19 Choices 3x21 Graduation Day Part 1 3x22 Graduation Day Part 2 4x15 This Year’s Girl 4x16 Who Are You? 1x18 Five by Five [ATS] 1x19 Sanctuary [ATS] 2x01 Judgment [ATS] 4x13 Salvage [ATS] 4x14 Release [ATS] 4x15 Orpheus [ATS] 7x18 Dirty Girls 7x19 Empty Places 7x20 Touched 7x21 End of Days 7x22 Chosen multi [multiple episodes]

Some multi tagged gifs are also tagged with each individual episode.

In case you haven't seen these shows: On Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS) a young woman (Buffy) deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends. On the spin-off Angel (ATS) a cursed vampire (Angel) aids people while questing for his own redemption. (credit to IMDB)

All gif credit to @starryeyesxx! - crawl (BTVS S4) thanks to starryeyesxx - behind bars (ATS S1) thanks to starryeyesxx - (left) blue uniform (ATS S4) thanks to starryeyesxx - (right) good slayer now? (BTVS S7) thanks to starryeyesxx

[clockwards]

wanna talk about all the things i love and wish were developed more in the btvs boys

- xander is never a coward even though he repeatedly says he is/looks down on himself and his abilities. he is sometimes even more willing than buffy to go into to danger to protect his friends in the first few seasons, and although it's written as an excuse to 'get the girl' it never ends up that way. i wish instead of them having him remain a "weaker" comedy character and pressing on his insecurities they let him begin to trust himself and have the others trust his abilities in turn. s3e13 'The Zeppo' is such a COOL fucking episode for him but no one else knows what happened and he goes back to being "the same old xander" afterwards. I wish he was written to be allowed to grow into his confidence without directly growing his insecurities towards the girls and their levels of power. in later seasons he does but then his old insecurities pop up just for the writers to cause group friction. anyway i wish we got to see more of just xander, I think that would've been so fun and cool

- i love early s4 Average Joe riley. he's just a dorky guy who loves psychology and doesn't even realise when he has a crush. I love that he's awkward and the potential he and willow had for friendship that kind of petered off. sometimes I really wish that they'd let him actually be an Average Joe and see what that changed for the season. and we never really see that awkward side of him again! he had all the traits to be a malewife and they took that from us because they wanted a strongman instead :[

- giles' morals degrading over the series!!!! him being so proper at the beginning and each apocalypse/major event undoing that just a bit more. realising that if he is Buffy's Certified Adult then she deserves his full and absolute protection wherever he can provide it. and he does fall into the dad role quite well but he is first and foremost a Protector (which he isn't meant to be because he's a Watcher!!!). also I don't think I've seen anyone talk about him putting on the record he and joyce were playing during band candy shenanigans after her death. and him full out killing ben end of s5 :D

- angel!!! angel being a dumbass!! you don't get to see it much in btvs so I guess this is more ats content but listen! he's new at having a soul and sure there's the guilt and the brooding and the torment but there's also joy and humour and comfort and silliness. angelus is a very focused character who does feel things, but only very intensely and basically one at a time. angel feels it all at once! and he gets to have fun, or he should. ats shenanigans are good for the heart, he deserves cordy and wes being annoying and lorne dragging him to parties and playing video games with gus and fred.

- oz has that autistic rizz (I know this because I'm autistic and had a dream we kissed)

- spike [LOUD YELLING, SCREAMING, CRIES OF THE DAMNED AND DOOMED TO HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY] haha yeah nothing much to say here. just a totally normal guy.

[burneddownthegym]

btvs / one gif per episode per season

2x13 surprise, 3x13 the zeppo, 4x13 the i in team, 5x13 blood ties, 6x13 dead things, 7x13 the killer in me

[on-this-day-btvs]

January 26, 1999

The Zeppo aired for BTVS season 3, episode 13. This is a Xander centered episode. At the start of the episode Xander is told to stay "fray adjacent" by Buffy. However, Xander has a series of adventures, including hanging out with Jack O'Toole (shown above with his large knife) and his friends. Xander gets a car, helps Faith out, and interrupts Buffy and Angel having an angsty conversation. He also saves everyone from a bomb explosion.

(mod note: highly recommend the excellent meta essay on the episode The Zeppo written by herinsectreflection. it includes commentary on Xander's role throughout BTVS.)

(image credit to buffyversefans)

[dorothygale]

anyway the zeppo is like top 5 character exploration episodes in btvs argue with the wall

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, March 5

Xander: Buffy, this is all about fear. It's understandable, but you can't let it control you. 'Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to anger.' No wait, hold on. 'Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side.' Hold on, no, umm, 'First you get the women, then you get the money, then you...' okay, can we forget that? Buffy: Thanks for the Dadaist pep talk, I feel much more abstract now. Xander: The point is, you're Buffy. Buffy: Yeah, maybe in high school I was Buffy. Xander: And now in college you're Betty Louise? Buffy: Yeah, I'm Betty Louise Plotnick of East Cupcake, Illinois. Or I might as well be. Xander: Buffy, I've gone through some fairly dark times in my life, faced some scary things, among them the kitchen at 'The Fabulous Ladies Night Club.' Let me tell you something, when it's dark and I'm all alone and I'm scared or freaked out or whatever, I always think, 'What would Buffy do?' You're my hero. Ok, sometimes when it's dark and I'm all alone I think, 'What is Buffy wearing?' Buffy: Can that be one of those things you never, ever, tell me about?

~~Buffy Episode #57: "The Freshman"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

A Memory Away (Xander, T, Assassin‛s Creed xover) by madimpossibledreamer

The zeppo rework (Buffy/Faith, E) by Moonkid10

Do You Trust Me Now? (Buffy/Spike, E) by Maxine Eden

[Chaptered Fiction]

A friend from back Home Ch. 1 (Reader/Ensemble, unrated) by WhiteMonsterEnergy

Centrifugal Force Ch. 1/5 (AtS Ensemble, T) by MamaBewear

Dress My Body All in Flowers White CH. 32/45 (Buffy/Spike, M) by othellia

Standing Back Behind Ch. 2 (Ensemble, T) by silvain

Breaking Broken Hearts Ch. 15 (Jenny/OC, T) by Jess_Ann_Perreault

Staying Afloat Ch. 12 (Willow/Oz, Buffy/Gage Petronzi, T) by dwinchester

Glimpses of the Cellar Dweller Ch. 5/31 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Maldorana

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew Ch. 23 (Buffy/Spike, M) by My_Barbaric_Yawp

Divide & Conquer Ch. 59/61 (Buffy/Giles, E) by Removes_and_Cleans_Glasses_00

hit rewind Ch. 38 (Buffy/Spike, M) by untiljanuary

The Reason Why Ch. 1 (Buffy/OC, M) by Xyex

No Going Back Ch. 15 (Willow/Tara, M) by Tru2urheart

Head Over Feet Ch. 7 (Buffy/Spike, G) by L0zerEmz0

The Neighbor's Point of View, Chapter 92 (Buffy/Spike, G) by the_big_bad

Beg, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Maxine Eden

Dead End, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, T) by all choseny

The Dawnster Drabbles, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Passion4Spike

Across Ages, Chapter 26 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Isabeau

Conversations in the Dark, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Tessa

Speed Dates, Chapter 3-4 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Alyot

Glimpses of the Cellar Dweller, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Maldorana

How Could I Not?, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by simmony

Crossing Over, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Julikobold

Tag, You're It!, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, G) by VeroNyxK84

X.X, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Rea

The Guests at the Wedding, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, T) by bookishy

Forever and Always?, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by scratchmeout

The Dreaded Lurgi, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, G) by SomeKindOfADeviant

Devils Roll Their Eyes, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by sunalso

It's A Rom-Com! , Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, G) by all choseny

Boyfrenemy, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Lady Emma

Rise Of The Sineyans Ch. 4 (Buffy, Faith, M) by BlueZeroZeroOne

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Paperman Buffy, () by TrevorCarlee

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: BTVS 511 - Triangle by Another Buffy Podcast

[Fandom Discussions]

Why all the hate towards Buffy Anne Summers? by Multiple Authors

So about that whole…”Wesley X Cordy” thing… by Plasma

What's up with SMG? by Holden Norgorov

How old was Faith supposed to be when she first arrived to Sunnydale? by InfiniteMehdiLove

Opinions on Justine Cooper by BlueCammo

Give us some kind of TV show or movie already! by ManoftheHour777

In season 3, was Fred that naive about Wesley having a crush on her? by hthbellhop76

LF specific fanfic by No_Song9934

The idea of Xander as Glory's host. by Capital-Shake-313

Anya question by TrainSpotterMommy

Bangalore Breakup by Sote95

Does anyone else love season six? by Wilting888h

7x02 - Beneath You final scene. by thrasherbuffy

How old were you when you first discovered Buffy & Angel? by Fluffy_Physics_3374

What do you think would happen if Oz had never left, but Willow still ended up meeting Tara? by Capital-Shake-313

Xander lies to Buffy to protect her from Angel's inner beast Angelus by Commercial-Sink8444

James Marsters in Smallville… by bubbabeexo

Just started a rewatch by twig8944

I’m currently watching Angel (mid season 1) and Cordelia changed so much since Buffy. I’m loving her by Wide-Grocery6389

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[bestepisode]

Round 3 has started!

The polls will be posted throughout today and tomorrow, and will all be tagged "btvs best episode". Links to each one will be added to this post as they're published. As always, propaganda for your favorite episode is encouraged!

Friday:

Halloween vs. The Initiative

Phases vs. Once More with Feeling

Lovers Walk vs. Intervention

Homecoming vs. Graduation Day (Part 1)

This Year's Girl vs. Family

Bad Girls vs. Blood Ties

Anne vs. Graduation Day (Part 2)

Passion vs. The Zeppo

Tough Love vs. Selfless

Gingerbread vs. Fear Itself

Enemies vs. Lies My Parents Told Me

Surprise vs. Band Candy

Consequences vs. Beneath You

Innocence vs. Conversations with Dead People

Smashed vs. Touched

Restless vs. Out of My Mind

Saturday:

Who Are You? vs. Superstar

Forever vs. Gone

Checkpoint vs. Tabula Rasa

The Prom vs. Fool for Love

Witch vs. The Wish

Doomed vs. Bargaining (Part 2)

Angel vs. Becoming (Part 2)

Pangs vs. Grave

School Hard vs. Storyteller

Doppelgangland vs. I Was Made to Love You

The Body vs. Chosen

Prophecy Girl vs. Choices

Something Blue vs. Dead Things

What's My Line (Part 2) vs. The Weight of the World

I Only Have Eyes for You vs. The Gift

Hush vs. Crush

[firemanwhenthefloodsrollback]

I’m not particularly against xander being the heart of the group - I don’t hate his character or his plot lines, and there are a lot of occasions when he is legit the heart, and his ‘I like the quiet’ is genuinely a top btvs heart in mouth moment for me

Having said that tho, there are a lot of times when I wish the writers (and we all know who I really mean) weren’t SO obsessed with him being the heart because he wasn’t the ONLY heart, or he didn’t have to be. There’s a lot of times when other peoples strength, compassion or quiet goodness could have been like xander in the zeppo. It didn’t need to take away from xander’s character! But other people could have been that too!

- Tara’s acceptance of willow overshadowing her as a witch very quickly makes her into more of an everyman than she was to begin with. apart from older and far away, she’s rarely NEEDED for magic after season four, but her goodness is an absolute anchor in the show. there could have been more episodes exploring what her selflessness means for the group and the strength behind it.

- Anya! Yes she’s hilarious and it was funny and useful a lot to explore the ways she and xander were different but what about the ways they were the same? What about the reasons she loved him for years, and her choosing again and again to try to be human even though she didn’t understand it and everyone took the piss out of her?

- Joyce! She served the group so many snacks, she loved dawn unconditionally, she grew so much as a person after buffy came back in season three. she served faith a Christmas dinner and watched the show with her. How many meals did she feed xander when his parents didn’t care enough to feed him? How many blood stains did she wash out of laundry, probably for all the scoobies not just buffy cause like imagine willows mum going through the laundry and finding that

the more I think about it, the more a lot of characters had the potential to be what xander was. They could have been it alongside xander and I’m not trying to kill the yellow crayon speech, but I feel like Tara in particular got less poignant writing than she could have had so she didn’t tread on xander’s territory.