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Mr. Platt’s smoking in Beauty and the Beasts reinforces the shows clear bias against smoking, as every character in the show who has smoked has been either evil (Spike and the evil Angel) or doomed (Laura in Nightmares; the prostitute who was Angel’s first kill after re-losing his soul; and Sheila in School Hard). The same theory applies to alcohol too. |
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| Suggested by: | › Jess |
| Added: | › 13th April 2005 |
| Updated: | › |
| Hits: | › 996 |
April 28th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
There’s also Willow’s line: “Well, I like you. You’re nice, and you’re funny, and you don’t smoke.”
April 28th, 2005 at 8:04 pm
Oh, I forgot, it’s from 2.15 Phases.
August 6th, 2005 at 12:23 pm
Does this theory still apply in season 7 when we see Faith smoking on Buffy’s front porch? Were the viewers still not meant to trust her because she was smoking?? Any thoughts?
August 6th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
Well, just as with the alcohol, it’s not a black and white issue. There are a few times when alcohol is used socially, without any dire consequences. Joss plays with the whole “bad guy who smokes” image, but doesn’t rely on its symbolism it in such a simplistic manner. If anything, it reveals that Faith is still working through some of her “badness.” But likely, she’s smoking because she’s stressed out.
August 6th, 2005 at 3:01 pm
or maybe she’s “doomed” in some way. doomed to fail…if only for that one episode
August 6th, 2005 at 5:04 pm
Yeah, alcohol is not black and white. In the ep “Family”, it is implied that Riley, Buffy, and Giles all had alcohol when Dawn says a negative comment about alcohol and they all look at their drinks ashamed, and they are not bad.
August 6th, 2005 at 10:46 pm
all great points — just wanted to see what others thought. I wasn’t sure if Joss was hinting that something was going to happen to Faith. ie/ the bomb exploding when she took all of the potentials to the cellar. I just thought that it was a little strange that Faith was shown smoking as it had never been shown on screen before. I also wasn’t sure if the Dawn making a comment with all the others making faces didnt count as they were all over 21 by that point - Joss tended to always associate underage drinking with badness.
November 23rd, 2005 at 11:01 am
In Lessons, the dude in the basement with Dawn and Kit says that he had went down there for a smoke, so that would be another example of the bad things happening to those who smoke.
June 9th, 2006 at 2:25 am
Also the girl in season ones Nightmares says shes going for a break (while indicating she is going for a smoke in the basement)
June 9th, 2006 at 2:30 am
I just wanted to say,in season 2 of Angel where he goes off the rails a bit, he is seen smoking when he sets fire to Dru and Darla (Redefinition). Darla says that is wasnt Angel or Angelous indicating he is in a place half way between the two. Maybe Faith is halfway between the woman who wants to a bad ass, and the woman who wants to save the world or what not. Smoking might be a sign that she still has some of the bad in her, just like with Spike even after he gets his sole. i think the whole “bear/smoking=bad” thing went out after about season 4. they were old enough after that to make their own choices and like people have said, it was not used to represent “evil” all the time after that.
July 19th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
In the show, maybe the smoking thing means something like that, that they have some of the bad in them.
But I don’t think it’s work for real-life…. :D
Anyway I think there was a sentence, Dawn said something about Spike smoking in the house in Storyteller…. hmmm…
like “passive stink” or something. It was translated to Hungarian this way… :)