Blowing up in a destructo-sense. For Firefly, I think Zoe and Wash count as they are the only happy couple in the show… so, BOOM.

I haven’t seen Dollhouse, though I will say that people changing constantly is one way to prevent anyone from forming a stable relationship. 😉

As for Buffy, ah, Buffy… so that show was my introduction to his work. I’ve seen it all, and in some ways I love it (though the angst is blarg, and gets much, much worse by the end!) but I will say that Oz got off lightly! It’s like all the relationships are rigged with explosives… and not just the romantic ones, either. It’s sort of interesting to see how Joss blows them up, and knowing that he will doesn’t make it hurt less when he does, but the fact that one always knows it’s coming makes it formulaic.

With Buffy, I eventually got so deadened by what the characters went through (and the angst-levels made this worse) that I stopped caring about them for the most part. If I have no hope that characters will be, in any way shape or form, ok, then the only way to protect myself is to stop caring what happens to them.

He got better about that (with the exception of Dr. Horrible) and did a better job of walking the line between pain and hope with Firefly, but I am still wary. Burn me once or twice and I can handle it, but burn me enough times that I come to expect it, and I will no longer trust you as a storyteller. I need something to hang on to, a touchstone. 😛

That said, in film (with the exception of the Firefly movie) he seems to break away from that pattern. Maybe he realizes that he has a shorter amount of time to pack in an entire arc, or maybe he’s matured as a storyteller. Maybe both.

Anyway, I guess the point is that I admire his skills. He is great at creating tension, making interesting characters, pulling heartstrings, but I don’t trust him. 😉

As for the fight scenes, yeah. Though I am not sure how much he means to rely on them for surprise or tension… I may have to watch some more and look for that.

Okay, I was forgetting Dr. Horrible. Definite blowing-up there. But check it out, he also worked on Toy Story!

“Blowing up” like destroying or “blowing up” like exaggerating? I have to take inventory of all the Joss Whedon stuff I’ve watched to determine my opinion. I don’t remember any of that in Firefly, though since he got cut off early, he didn’t have time to destroy anything, except Wash and Zoe in the movie.

Dollhouse featured ever-changing character relationships, but the nature of the show dictates that anyone can be ANYONE, and that ended up being fascinating. He did kill my favorite character. :'(

Avengers doesn’t really count.

Buffy, yeah, he blows stuff up on Buffy all the time (Oz, oh, Oz, I hardly knew ye), and I haven’t even seen it all. I hate the angst, but I like that Whedon doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s all about cracking some witty joke at the darkest moments. I love his characters and his dialogue.

To me, what seems most predictable about him are his fight scenes. Every episode has to have at least one, and you always know how it’s going to end. Yawn. I think part of what was good about Firefly was that it didn’t depend on that stuff.

https://quest4peas.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/asteroid-rake-chapter-7/