It should have been Willow… [comics]

Joss Whedon’s gone and given Buffy a casual same-sex encounter in the “Season 8″ serial comic. Two points:

(1) If you are going to have Buffy buff a woman in the buff, why not Willow? I mean, yes, it’s a bit obvious, but that doesn’t diminish it’s inherent appeal. I’m sure you will get letters. Lots of letters, so I will leave it at that. Even the FCC has recognized that Willow is hotter than hot (and can appear naked on broadcast television):

Which segues well into the next point:

(2) This is the first notable critical discussion on content of “Season 8″ comics that I’ve come across, in mainstream media and suddenly we’re getting a NYT Book Review? This creative direction is fishy to me when measured against the initial explanation Whedon gave in defense of having a Season 8 in comic form: that it allowed him to take characters in directions that weren’t plausible on the television show with the budget Whedon had available (tv guide interview).

Fair enough. But giving Buffy a post-college College Lesbian “phase” or “encounter” or whatever he wants to call it isn’t outside the ability of film to capture and doesn’t push the boundaries of the plausible in a manner he couldn’t do on the show. A sudden Lesbian Moment a bit over a third of the way into the serial strikes me as driven more by the need for some sensationalism, rather than the extension of a natural character arch. If so, tisk, tisk, Joss — tisk, tisk.

But, unlike others, I won’t jump to that conclusion without at least looking to see whether the character arch has taken Buffy in that direction. And I can’t know know that without buying and reading the whole season. Damn you, Joss! You’ve got me again.