Question Best season or worst? #2

[Doppelgang]

In response to some criticisms of the spuffy moments in season 6. It's a bit extreme to completely write it off as a love story. Yes, it is not very romantic or idealistic, but I think, given buffy's situation its quite realistic that things would develop like this. I think one qualm I have is that its a bit unrealistic how the scooby gang go so quickly from seeing spike as an enemy near the end of season 5 to him being a part of the gang at the beginning of season 6. But thats a separate storyline issue and does not take away from some of the good spuffy moments.

It's easy to get fixated on the whole sex thing and the whole rape thing, but the best spuffy moments were more subtle ones, like spike meeting buffy at the doublemeat palace, spike getting another girlfriend to try and make buffy jealous in hells bells, spike not going along with the cum by aa's in once more with feeling, buffy getting drunk in life serial. These little things tend to get forgotten because of those bigger events, but I think they're a good part of what makes season 6 my second favourite series after season 5.

 

[Lilah]

Best season ever ... enough said!

 

[Kana]

Yeah, I love the season. I still love it for it's imperfections. I think the Spuffy moments are both disturbing and sweet. Life is like that. There seldom perfect moments, but we can see the beauty in amongst the thorns if we look hard enough.

 

[anyatara]

Season six has always been one of my favourite seasons, simply because it's the first season I watched thoroughly and I grew really attached to it. It was the first of the seasons I got on DVD, and I watched it so many times I honestly fell in love with all of the storylines. I know a lot of people dislike it, as far as the Buffy seasons go, because it's darker than the rest, but that was one of the appeals for me. Albeit, there were some things about the season I didn't like, the obvious things; the attempted rape, the leaving at the alter, generally all the things that weren't supposed to be enjoyed, that were supposed to shock or play on the emotions, somehow, so each storyline in the season did it's job for me.

Season six is always the season that knows just how to play with my emotions; it contains the episodes that make me cry more than any others, the episodes which never fail to make me laugh...And, hey, who doesn't love Once More, With Feeling? Although there's no season of Buffy that I can say I don't like, I can safely say season six is one of the best, it's the season I've 'bonded' with the most, so I find it hard to see too many flaws with season six, overall.

Oh, plus, you gotta love the Trio. Perhaps not the best villain in all of Buffy, but they were definitely the most amusing.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I liked season 6 a lot, especially since I felt the show should have ended with "The Gift". I wouldn't say this is the best season, not enough Giles and too much Dawn...ugh, Dawn. However I will defiantly say this season is worth watch more than once

 

[GrrArghx]

It's Buffy... therefore I like it.

End of story. 😉

 

[buffenuff]

Since I'm only about thirteen eps into Season 6, I can't give a final assessment yet, but I do feel like Joss was probably painted into a corner, in that he may not have known for certain if the show would return after Season 5, what with the network change and everything. Yes, The Gift does feel to me like it could very well have been a series finale and it was probably planned that way. The show was probably very up in the air after The Gift and the writers were stuck in wanting to give the fans a proper ending, if indeed, the show did not return. Therefore, they may also not have been as ready to resume with Season 6. The writing does seem weaker to me than in previous seasons. The humor is not there quite as much, which saddens me. The darker turn is obvious, which I don't mind all that much. I hate the idea of Spuffy, but am interested to see where it goes. I just don't think it is really what Buffy would have wanted to be involved with and she would have never allowed it. It went against her core beliefs, but then again, being a Bangel fan, Angel was a Vamp too who did have his dark moments, so it really isn't that inconceivable that she would have fallen for Spike. I don't know, for me it just doesn't have a proper feel to it and I always have felt she belonged with Angel. I also miss the presence of Giles, but the guy left the show to be with his real family. This is not the writer's fault. That is all I have, for now.

 

[patriot1123]

Season 6 would probably be my second favorite if ASH were still in the regular cast and in the whole season. But there's too much annoying Dawn, I'm not a Spuffy fan, and I hated the Trio of geeks. What it comes down to is this: the worst season of BtVS is better than the best season of almost anything else.

 

[Username]

Worst season IMO.
I like OMWF and Tabula Rasa, but I wouldn't watch any of the other episodes in s6 unless during a re-watch of the show.. it's just depressing as hell..

 

[OhWow]

Well..I did like the season a lot. But I think it is controversial b/c of the whole Buffy having sex with Spike to help her deal. And b/c we never really got to see the REAL Buffy until after Normal Again. It was a depressing season, but it did have some DAMN GOOD Comic reliefs ( Tabula Rasa, The Trio, I'll Never Tell ) AND Of course the EPIC OMWF! Loved it.

---------- Post added at 10:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 AM ----------

I liked season 6 a lot, especially since I felt the show should have ended with "The Gift". I wouldn't say this is the best season, not enough Giles and too much Dawn...ugh, Dawn. However I will defiantly say this season is worth watch more than once

IK DAWN WAS SO ANNOYING. I did not get what the hell Joss was trying to do with her...she acted MENTAL..that is NOT how teens act.

 

[Misty]

Season six is definitely the BEST season mainly because of its amazing arc, character development, and a twist at the end.

 

[Chosen Enemy]

As it seems, a Bangel will NEVER say it's their favorite season. And if they will, please sing it out loud, because this season is GREAT! Just because it has a lot of Spuffyness doesn't mean it's no good. Season 2 is packed with Bangelness and I don't say it's a bad season.

 

[tvnerdgirl]

My opinion of the seasons from best to worst go this way:

Season 2 - best
Season 3
Season 5
Season 7
Season 1
Season 6
Season 4 - worst

My reasons for season 6 being second last? A few.

1. I felt that Dawn was underused (and I know the people who hated Dawn will argue this) but my problem was that she just sort of hung around with no purpose and that contributed to the writers having her act like a total brat. I really liked her in season 5, (especially since she behaved in my opinion more maturely in this season), but after she was no longer 'the key', she suffered from what I like to call 'Riley syndrome', meaning that her plot was no longer relevant to the main arc so they had this character left over with no main place within the scooby gang.

2. Lack of Giles. I realize that was because Tony Head wanted to return to his family in England, but it still left a gaping hole in my opinion, especially since they never really mention him either. Even when Xander and Anya have their non-wedding, they don't even say that Giles sent his regards or even called....

3. The nerds. While they were funny and I get that they were meant to underscore the fact that life can be scarier than any supervillain, I felt they were a bit of a let down and that they left the main story arc to drift in some cases.

4. Willow's 'magic as a drug addiction' storyline which I felt was one of the lamest storylines the show ever did (aside from the Initiative). In previous seasons the show had done storylines that were meant as metaphors for larger issues (Buffy sleeping with Angel being a metaphor for sleeping with the guy who doesn't call you the next day for example) but in this case the subtext just simply became 'text'. Willow all but joined 'magicks annonymous' and started a 12 step program. It was WAY too overt for a show steeped in metaphor. One of the main problems with that is the fact that addicts will ALWAYS be addicts. An alcoholic, once on the road to recovery can never ever drink again. It's too dangerous. (And having relatives who have been alcoholics I can say this is pretty true). However, Willow not only 'overcomes' her addiction, but in season seven has her friends getting angry with her for being reluctant to use magic. I think if they had played it more as an addiction to power, then it might have worked a bit better, but unfortunately it came off more 'after school special' and that really soured me on the season.

5. Xander leaving Anya at the alter. I don't know what idiot in tv land decided that married couples on tv are boring, but the fact that Joss chickened out with this marriage storyline bothered the hell out of me. I thought that of all the characters, Xander was the one most ready to take on the responsibility of marriage and it seemed like it was actually the writers who got cold feet, rather than the character. It was a real disappointment for me and I felt it really undermined his character.

I won't address the Spuffy/Bangel stuff here because that honestly doesn't factor into my opinion on the season. I am a Bangel, but I can honestly say I found the Spike/Buffy relationship interesting to watch (even if I don't think they should be together) which is more than I can say for the Buffy/Riley relationship which just made me gag anytime they were on screen.

The thing that redeems this season from being the worst (in my opinion) is the way it treats life as being one of the hardest things a person has to deal with...and anybody who has ever gone through a particularly difficult period in their lives can relate to the way each of these characters tries to deal with it (Buffy by sleeping with someone she hates so the can feel something and working a shit job, Dawn with stealing, Willow with becoming addicted to a substance, Xander with abandoning his responsibilities out of fear, etc.)

So while I do think this season has definite worth to it, not to mention some amazing episodes (like Tabula Rasa, OMWF, etc.), it's not the highest on my list....

-Sara

 

[InsaneMystic]

Best.

Even before the comics ruined lots of my enjoyment of the Highschool years in retrospect (due to a certain :censored: being part of the regular cast back then), I considered 6 easily the best of the post-HS seasons. To me, the show found it's footing back in S6 after a very shaky fifth season (that's the one where I'm tempted to skip over episodes).

 

[TeamSunnydale]

I love and hate season 6. It had some amazing episodes like OMWF and Tabula Rasa, but it KILLED TARA. I LOVE Tara! She's such an amazing character! She was severely under appreciated by the characters and the writers. They could have done so much more with her.
Dawn was very annoying in season 6 aswell. Like in Older and Far Away- brattiest brat ever!
I have hated Xander ever since he left Anya, and I have not watched that episode more than once. I love Anya though.
Double meat palace was one of the worst episodes in Buffy history. I'm just not gonna say anymore about that.
I miss Giles. I never liked him as much after he left.
All of that said, season 6 had a great story arc. I really liked the Willow storyline. I'm a devout Spuffy and almost every episode I hoped that this would be the one where Buffy would stop trying to take comfort in sex with spike and instead, be in love with him and have a normal relationship. I thought the nerds were quite funny. Season 6 kinda turned everything on its head, and had some really good metaphors, so love and hate.

 

[TheVoid68]

As it seems, a Bangel will NEVER say it's their favorite season. And if they will, please sing it out loud, because this season is GREAT! Just because it has a lot of Spuffyness doesn't mean it's no good. Season 2 is packed with Bangelness and I don't say it's a bad season.

Oh lovely, the old "S6/7 haters are just bitter Bangel shippers" thing again. I do love this.

Really, I think the most offensive part of this argument is the part where I get accused of being a Bangel shipper.

 

[Icarium]

Willow all but joined 'magicks annonymous' and started a 12 step program.

Funny you should say that:

WILLOW: Oh, I would, honey, but ... I've got my group. You know, the whole Spellcasters Anonymous thing? We're still looking for a better name.

(from Older and Far Away)

 

[spikecakes]

I don't think we can really come to a decision on whether season 6 is the best or the worst.. it had its up's and down's for the entire season. For example:

Up's:
- Spuffy goodness!!
- The huge, unexpected twist at the end.
- A total curve-ball, instead of using a demon as the 'big bad' all season, they used three nerds to tip the scale. Well I liked it..
- Musical episode! (Not to mention Anya's little song about bunnies :3)
- We get to see Buffy completely change this season, she's so lost and weak, this was shocking to see.

Down's:
- I agree with tvnerdgirl; Dawn was VERY underused and it seemed like she was just there to annoy Buffy.
- No Giles 🙁 'nuff said.
- The whole Anya/Spike thing.. um?
- Just when Tara was really starting to become really cute and funny, they pulled her away 🙁

Overall though, Buffy doesn't have a 'worst' season 😛 She's too good!

 

[KellGreen]

Ok...I'm new & this is my first post...

This is actually tied as my favorite season (with 2) because I admittedly like things darker and more intense, so...here are my thoughts... (though I didn't watch hardly any of it when it was on tv because I can't stand the trio - I fast-forward through their parts)

I was sad to lose Tara after we had just finally had a chance to see her as her own character, not just part of Tillow and I realized I really liked her... I absolutely loved her interaction with Spike in the ep where they're all trapped in the house...

I liked the Spuffy stuff since I've always loved the way they fight/argue/banter back & forth...

Dark Willow is awesome, although the addiction arc did seem a bit too over the top for me...

Dawn did seem like she was just there this season to annoy...

I really wish they had used a different catalyst for Spike to go get his soul back...

Giles... it's so touching when he comes back after Buffy's been brought back, but then it makes me cry when he leaves (that song at the end of the ep always gets me).

 

[tvnerdgirl]

I really do dislike the implication that all Bangels hate season six because of the Spuffy involved.

As I listed all my reasons in my previous post, that's definitely not the fault I found with this particular season (though the Buffy/Riley aspect of season four dominated my hatred for that season)

I actually enjoy watching the Buffy/Spike relationship but I enjoyed it for different reasons than Spuffys would, I expect.

I saw this relationship as a symptom of what was wrong in Buffy's life. She came back from hell feeling lost, vulnerable, unable to handle the grown up responsibilities she was suddenly faced with. Spike was an example of the person you turn to when life gets difficult but who is ultimately someone who you shouldn't be with because the relationship is destructive for both of you.

Joss and co. have said many times that the Spike/Buffy relationship of season six was meant to be potrayed as an abusive and unhealthy relationship and in this aspect I love watching it because it shows a side of Buffy we haven't ever seen - a side that isn't confident about her life, or her relationships - a co-dependant self destructive side. And that is absolutely fascinating.

So in terms of what I LIKE about season six, the Spike/Buffy relationship is one of the better parts of the season in my opinion.