Buffy ep by ep; TABULA RUSA-teeth, truths and amnesia

[Lilah]

Fantatic funny episode. I may have to give this a watch actually. Love Giles and Anya in this episode.

 

[Bluebird]

I think Tabula Rasa is a bit overrated actually. I mean, it is a really good ep, but not the funniest. I'd say Storyteller wins that one. And the whole losing your memories thing was done better on Angel with Spin the Bottle, cos it has the old lame Wesley. Oh how I loved him. :heart:

 

[VisionGirl]

However, the Giles in Season 7 I didn't like. I thought they really went out of their way to drive a wedge between Giles and Buffy, a wedge that was never really narrowed even at the end. That bothered me a lot about Season 7.

And it doesn't get much better in season 8! I agree, the Buffy/Giles rift really bothers me, and I think it all goes back to his decision to leave.

I think Tabula Rasa is a bit overrated actually. I mean, it is a really good ep, but not the funniest. I'd say Storyteller wins that one. And the whole losing your memories thing was done better on Angel with Spin the Bottle, cos it has the old lame Wesley. Oh how I loved him. :heart:

In this rewatch, I wasn't quite as taken with Tabula Rasa as I have been in the past. At this point I think Life Serial was funnier. There were some funny parts, and the end is heartbreaking. I like the Spuffy kiss better here than in OMWF. Loved how Buffy was called Joan (as in, of Arc). Loan shark was kinda lame. the Angel analogy always cracks me up...long live Spangel!!

Oh, and I don't like Tara's hair here, ick.

 

[VisionGirl]

Tara's always adorable!

 

[Chosen Enemy]

I know this episode is full of laughes, but my favorite part of this episode is the perfect Spuffy kiss in the end.

Also, as for the funny parts, I like best the parts where Spike doesn't know he's Spike, and he's like: "Fine, take your damn spikes!" and "Let's give them these" re: the stakes. And he's so cute in that tux!

 

[saturn5]

I rewatched it yesterday and noticed something I had never noticed before: to the Magic Shop, before Giles makes his annoncement, we see Tara and Anya tumbs-fighting!:giggle: That was cute, I love those little Tara-Anya moments, I think there is between them a sort of mutual comprehension: they are basically both in the gang because dating someone in it, and were not immediately accepted, considered a part of it.
It's also cute when Anya wonders about how it was where Buffy was, and Xander and Willow look at her like she was a freak, and Tara says it's not ridiculous she wonders about where Buffy was because of the zillions differents heavenly dimensions.

I always felt that there was a kind of silent friendship, an unsaid bond between Anya and Tara!

The scenes between Giles and...Randy are hilarious!
"You called me RANDY? No wonder I hate you!"
And their hug makes me laugh every time!

I liked how most of them had like the intuition of who they were (Buffy superpower, Buffy+Dawn=Sister, Anya+Money= Like, Anya+bunny=AAAAAH!, Willow gay, Willow+Tara=Something special is going on, Dawn being scared but feeling like it's familiar...)

Very funny episode, even if you watch it knowing that they all lost their memory because their friend turned them all (including herself) into memoryless puppets.

I always wondered if Willow knew she would also lose her own memory. I also wondered if Willow didn't fake being memoryless, as she is the one who casted the spell, she was maybe immuned? If not, I don't see what's the point of erasing everyone's memories. Does that mean she was ready to forget everything, all those years of strong friendship, love, fights, just so her friends would forget a dark time, which is shorter than all the bright times they had togheter? It really makes me see Willow's character in a different way. In the end, I wonder "Who are you, Willow?"

And if I was Tara, I don't know if I would ever forget Willow to erase my memory twice, even after I told her it was a mind's violation, like Glory's.

So, this episode made me laugh a lot, but there was that tiny ackwardiness watching it knowing the reasons why it's funny are really dark.


Oh and, I HATED how Dawn just ran away when Tara wanted to say goodbye!
Tara is the victim in the story and she has not much support...

Give Dawnie a break, everyone she loves seems to leave her, sometimes it's just too much for her to deal with. She might as well start singing 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash.

 

[Doppelgang]

I couldn't say exactly why I like this episode so much, its not objectively or artistically the strongest, but I nevertheless I always enjoy watching it. It's not just all the great comedy moments, its what these moments reveal about the true nature of their characters. Also, I think Tabula Rasa brings to a close some of the things left open in OMWF, the Spuffy situation, the Giles/Buffy situation and the Tara/Willow situation, it was like the day after the night before. Having got their cum by ahs out in OMWF, they all found they needed to make a new start and view things from a fresh perspective. It's some of these things, and not just the humouress moments that appeal to me about this episode despite some of its slight artistic flaws.

 

[LadyLavinia]

Did Willow have sex with Tara in this episode, after wiping her memories in the previous episode?

 

[msfantastico87]

Did Willow have sex with Tara in this episode, after wiping her memories in the previous episode?

Nope. The sex happened in the previous episode (OMWF) because in the episode before that (All the Way), at the end, Will and Tara are arguing about her magic use and I think Tara says she doesn't want to talk about it and wants to forget it. That's when Willow does the forgetting charm and places the little plant thingy (I always forget the name!) under Tara's pillow. When they wake up, it's the beginning of OMWF and Tara's recollection of the argument had disappeared.

In Tabula Rasa, Willow did a spell that went haywire, causing everyone to forget who they were. Willow and Tara do not have sex. Hell, they don't even kiss. I think Tara is fully aware that she is gay, but Willow repeatedly says "I think i'm kinda gay" LOL. Anyways, their memory is restored, and Will and Tara's relationship start to end

*cries*

 

[Thamior]

Although, now that I think about it, the sex scene in OMWF is more or less rape. Tara's mental abilities were affected at the time, and, very likely, that scene would have been very different if they hadn't been. Willow used the magical equivalent of the date rape drug.

 

[joansummers]

Okay...it's official. Any show that can make me giggle uncontrollably (as opposed to smacking my own forehead) by having a character that is literally a loan shark is....well, amazing.