Speaking as one who is not a Joss fan (and haven't seen all of Buffy), those are good writing tips from Joss. Most are pretty basic for those who've been doing this for a reasonable period of time, but it's already great to see those basic truths articulated and reaffirmed from time to time.
But killing characters when you least expect it? That only works when it's for more than mere shock value. Robert Kirkman (INVINCIBLE, THE WALKING DEAD) generally understands how to do surprising character death with weight that impacts the story and/or the characters. I'm far less certain about Joss.
While I strongly disagree with his idea that happy couples make for boring story, I can at least understand Tara's death and can see how it furthered the character arc of Willow, and the story arc in general. But Wash? That just felt gratuitous. Shock for the sake of shock, and after so many years of seeing that in comics, few storytelling cliches piss me off more.
no subject
But killing characters when you least expect it? That only works when it's for more than mere shock value. Robert Kirkman (INVINCIBLE, THE WALKING DEAD) generally understands how to do surprising character death with weight that impacts the story and/or the characters. I'm far less certain about Joss.
While I strongly disagree with his idea that happy couples make for boring story, I can at least understand Tara's death and can see how it furthered the character arc of Willow, and the story arc in general. But Wash? That just felt gratuitous. Shock for the sake of shock, and after so many years of seeing that in comics, few storytelling cliches piss me off more.