Eeeep! It’s been almost two months since my last #BuffyWatch post. I know. That’s way too long. But I was finishing Time of Ruin and going through the edits and cover art consultations and all the other crap that goes into book production. I did finish Season 6 though and Brian’s only through Season 5 of Supernatural, so I’m still winning.
And, to be honest, I’m afraid Brian will wuss out and quit if I totally trounce him.
If you’d like to see his latest post, check it here.
If you need to catch up with my saga here are the links:
I’ve put this post off for too long, so I’m gonna hit major points because memory.
When I last wrote I said if they could bring Buffy back in a believable way I would be down with her swan dive of death.
And you know what? They totally pulled it off.
Unfortunately it was at further cost to my original favorite character: Willow. Something happened over the course of Willow’s story that bummed me out. I get that they were paralleling her magic use with drug use and how a person will start to change in every way, but I wasn’t happy to see it happen. Willow just kept breaking my heart. I’ve seen people spiral out of control on drugs and not see/care what they’re doing to friends and family, so they did a great job with that, I just, well… I liked Willow so of course I don’t want to see this happen to her.
Once More With Feeling. Everyone was waiting with bated breath for me to watch this episode.
I was a little nervous, to be honest with you. I do not like musicals for the most part. I love theater and Broadway shows and I could probably watch Singing in the Rain for the rest of my life, but musicals usually aren’t like Broadway. I cannot tell you how relieved I was that this episode was written more like a Broadway show. I actually enjoyed it and I thought it was a great way for Buffy to explain to the gang, and Willow specifically, that no, bringing brought back from Heaven wasn’t awesome.
Buffy and Spike romance. Hmmm. I’ve made no bones about my feelings about Buffy in romantic relationships. She’s not very good at them and she doesn’t pick the right guys. I like this show so much more when she’s not in a romantic relationship. I liked the idea that Buffy was a strong enough woman to have a sexual relationship with a guy without having to give her whole life to him. But it was strange that Spike couldn’t deal with that – I mean, I know he still has that chip, but he doesn’t have a soul, this should’ve worked for him. Instead he went all love-spell-gone-horribly wrong.
But this is probably why I took so long to get through season six. I was warned that something was coming. Something we’ve all been talking about a lot. Sexual violence against women in fiction. It’s rampant and rage inducing. Even in shows where it shouldn’t happen, like Downton Abbey, we have to see it. I kept putting off watching because I didn’t want to see this AGAIN. I wasn’t sure who was going to be the victim, but I was 50/50 on it being Buffy.
I thought it COULDN’T be her because she’s the Slayer with Slayer strength, who’s gonna be able to do this to her?
But the other half said it was going to be her because it shouldn’t be and fuck writers who do this to characters who should be safe from this. I am glad, as glad as one could be, that they didn’t fully go through with it. That they realized she is the muther fucking Slayer and has the physical strength to stop it. But for fucks sake. Let’s stop this bullshit.
But after that episode, I can’t stand Spike. Every time he shows up on screen I find myself glowering or yelling, “I DON’T CARE SPIKE!”
Xander and Anya. Oh man. I was so sad after Willow and Oz, I didn’t know there was something else that could make me so sad. I’m still not okay with what they did here. I dunno, maybe they wanted Anya to be a vengeance demon again and couldn’t think of a way to make it happen if she was happy with Xander, but I really thought Xander’s arc and maturity were spot on for him to go through with the wedding. I never thought he’d stand her up. I hated that choice. I love Anya as a demon, but I hate that it came at the expense of Xander’s character growth.
The Evil Trio. Jesus Christ I hate these guys. Every episode they showed up, I was waiting for someone to kill them. I know, I know, “We don’t kill humans.” BUT C’MON! Especially the insane asylum episode. Even I had a minute of, “wait. Maybe she is crazy.” And I felt horrible for Willow’s loss and what she went through, but I was happy to see her flay that asshole. He totally deserved it.
And now Spike has his soul back. I’ve started the first couple of episodes of Season 7. I’m actually kind of surprised the show was only 7 seasons. Season Six was some of the strongest writing of the show, I would’ve thought, after that, they would’ve had a few more seasons in the bag, not just one.
We shall see how it ends.
The Musings of an Author in Progress 
I promise I won’t quit, even after I am defeated and banished from this contest. I actually really love Supernatural, which was probably your/Kristin/Emmie’s entire intention for doing this in the first place.
Anywho – hated Buffy + Spike. Hated it when it was first being hinted at. Hated when they finally got together. But I really really hated That Scene. You nailed it – that shouldn’t have happened to anyone, but it really shouldn’t have happened to Buffy. I thought it really hurt both of their characters – sure Buffy fought him off, but she should have just thrown his ass out the window as soon as he made his intentions apparent. And if I recall correctly, this was when they were first starting to rehab Spike’s character and this didn’t do him any favors, regardless of how contrite he might have been afterward.
I loved The Trio so much. They were the weakest of the Big Bads, but I thought did the most damage and brought more pain to the Scoobies than Glory or the Mayor or anyone else. That last scene with Willow and Xander after Tara’s death might be my favorite part of the whole series.
Yeah, I think that was the point of getting me to watch Buffy. There are a lot of things I like about the show, but I think it’s pretty lame it got cancelled pretty much right after it hit its stride.
I wasn’t shipping for Buffy and Spike by any means, but I kind of understood it strictly from a timing point of view. Spike was the only one she could connect to but not exactly in an emotional way. That Spike needed emotion from her, I didn’t vibe that. And then to have him go full blown crazy pants, I’ll make you love me, psycho? No. It doesn’t jive for me. They destroyed his character and now that he’s actually crazy, trying to saddle his soul, I have no sympathy for him. And you’re right, Buffy should’ve stopped it right off. It was total bullshit the writers made us watch her struggle and cry and beg before she stopped it.
I agree the trio was the best of the Bads on the show, which is why I hated them. I liked Glory, which I’ve said, but I didn’t root for her death. I rooted for the Trio’s deaths. The damage they did for the reasons they did them, I actually hated them, which is an accomplishment since I tend to like villains.
Yeah, the last scene with Xander and Willow was great. I was really happy to see Xander given a chance to be the hero since he’s purely human. It was a good choice.