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So you know what I never understood about Beauty and the Beast? The time frame.  The witch says the curse will run out on his 21st birthday.  She doesn’t say anything about pausing time for 100 years or anything like that.  So the movie would have taken place, like, what, 5 years after the curse?  Shouldn’t the village be aware of it?  Yet, they’re all surprised by the castle and the beast. I mean, none of the villagers were ever like “Hey, remember that teenager who used to live in that castle down the road?  I wonder what happened to him?”

So you know what I never understood about Beauty and the Beast? The time frame.  The witch says the curse will run out on his 21st birthday.  She doesn’t say anything about pausing time for 100 years or anything like that.  So the movie would have taken place, like, what, 5 years after the curse?  Shouldn’t the village be aware of it?  Yet, they’re all surprised by the castle and the beast. I mean, none of the villagers were ever like “Hey, remember that teenager who used to live in that castle down the road?  I wonder what happened to him?”

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BtVS is famous for its heralding of feminist issues and its overtly-feminist heroines. What’s not as recognized is the amount of time that Whedon and company spend deconstructing the danger of hyper-masculinity. It comes up a lot, usually in subtext where traditionally ‘masculine’ ideas or approaches to problems cause more problems than they solve. The Watcher’s Counsel and its oppressive patriarchy is only one example.

“Beauty and the Beasts” is an episode where that subtext leaps into the forefront of the story in a not-exactly subtle way. Everything Pete does, all his motivations, is deeply rooted in his desire to be “more manly.” That is what he thinks will win him the girl, and what’ll keep the girl is his ability to be the Alpha Male by literally destroying every competitor to the title he sees. This single-mindedness, the Dick Supreme, approach ruins everything he touches. Non-Hyde Pete seems like a nice guy — he’s loving to his girlfriend, nice to her friends, brings her flowers and showers her with compliments. Hyde Pete is a lethal asshole. Early in the episode, Faith comments that all men are just beasts deep down in side. Pete is her proof. The lesson isn’t a particularly subtle one.

There are days when I can’t believe people try to argue that this isn’t a feminist show. This is one of them.

Persephone Magazine “Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 3.04: ‘Beauty and the Beasts’”