Buffy's return from the grave

[SamZie021]

Does anyone else think that Buffy dying ruined the rest of the show in certain aspects!?

When she returned she never seemed quite like Buffy again (I know she was torn out of heaven) it seemed as if from this point she was acting more like a martyr and more whiny than ever, I do like the character and everything but in my opinion her death ruined the character, what does everyone else think?

 

[T.I.P]

I think its one of the best things to happen to the show. Loved the Gift, and Bargainning, and the Buffy story in s6. She got less whiny after 6 or 7 episodes.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I would have liked her 'death' to have lasted longer; be Buffyless for five or six episodes. I always thought they brought her back too fast. Let the audience see really how badly the Scoobies/Sunnydale needed her to validate risking everything they risked to bring her back. The cast was huge and talented, it is not as if Willow and Spike were bit parts, they were stars unto themselves, they could have carried the show for a month on their own.

 

[SamZie021]

I would have liked her 'death' to have lasted longer; be Buffyless for five or six episodes. I always thought they brought her back too fast. Let the audience see really how badly the Scoobies/Sunnydale needed her to validate risking everything they risked to bring her back. The cast was huge and talented, it is not as if Willow and Spike were bit parts, they were stars unto themselves, they could have carried the show for a month on their own.

I agree I think it would have been very interesting.

I do have another thought aswell in bargaining they want everyone to believe that Buffy is still alive, but we see her grave, but for there to be a grave, well surely people would kno tht she was dead, and also how would buffy when she was alive be able to get a job or loan etc, if technically shes been registered as dead, which she must have been for her to have been buried!!

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

I agree I think it would have been very interesting.

I do have another thought aswell in bargaining they want everyone to believe that Buffy is still alive, but we see her grave, but for there to be a grave, well surely people would kno tht she was dead, and also how would buffy when she was alive be able to get a job or loan etc, if technically shes been registered as dead, which she must have been for her to have been buried!!

Good point. There's quite a few goofs and holes in the show...I'm going to have to think about that one some more before I comment.

I do agree that they brought her back too quickly. Yes, there was a whole summer between 5 and 6...and I guess the gang was thinking about it that whole time - but she was only gone for one episode.

AS I've said before, 6 and 7 are my favorite seasons. The gang is dealing with real life issues, and I like that. As for the dark aspect fans complain about - I like the darkness.

Buffy is a brilliant character. Without having to go through all she did in 6 and 7, we wouldn't be able to see her true character arc. I loved her relationship with Spike, short-lived and destructive as it was. And I loved when Xander saved the world from Evil Willow. I loved seeing Dawn mature. Anf of course, the epic last epiosde...

 

[Buffanator]

Well shoot fuzzy fire...I reckon we could have stood a few more eppys with "Buffy-Bot" 😀

No, it didn't ruin anything for me. I'm just glad that wasn't the end of the series!

 

[Clem Rocks]

I agree I think it would have been very interesting.

I do have another thought aswell in bargaining they want everyone to believe that Buffy is still alive, but we see her grave, but for there to be a grave, well surely people would kno tht she was dead, and also how would buffy when she was alive be able to get a job or loan etc, if technically shes been registered as dead, which she must have been for her to have been buried!!

Demons wouldn't know she was dead because they would just know her as "The Slayer". They wouldn't know her by name.

And how do we know she was declared dead and properly buried? Maybe Giles and Spike went out one night and buried her with only the Scoobs knowing.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

^ yeah, i think the theory is that the Scoobs just made her a grave and all in the woods, and hid it from everyone. she wasnt in a cemetary or anything. they needed a place to put the body, and wanted to honor her and all, but didnt want anyone knowing she was dead.

I would have liked her 'death' to have lasted longer; be Buffyless for five or six episodes. I always thought they brought her back too fast. Let the audience see really how badly the Scoobies/Sunnydale needed her to validate risking everything they risked to bring her back. The cast was huge and talented, it is not as if Willow and Spike were bit parts, they were stars unto themselves, they could have carried the show for a month on their own.

that might have been interesting. and they couldve done sort of like they did with angel at the beginning of s3 and put her in dream sequences or something if they wanted to see SMG as more than just the Buffybot.

 

[Tranquillity]

I don't think her death ruined her character. I think it would have been worse if she had died, come back and not been changed or affected by the experience.

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

Hmm, I posted in another topic with an idea for Bargainning Pt 1 to happen at the end of Season 6, but I can't remember what I said about it. It did seem like a good idea at the time. Buffy would still have been around due to the Buffybot, and it would have been interesting to see the Scoobies cope without her.

I remember now, actually. I think it was in a topic about whether the show could go on after a core Scoobie's death.

 

[fly on the wall]

I agree I think it would have been very interesting.

I do have another thought aswell in bargaining they want everyone to believe that Buffy is still alive, but we see her grave, but for there to be a grave, well surely people would kno tht she was dead, and also how would buffy when she was alive be able to get a job or loan etc, if technically shes been registered as dead, which she must have been for her to have been buried!!

As someone else has said, nobody but the Scoobies knew.

Her grave was in the middle of the woods. The Buffy-Bot was acting like Buffy for Dawn's school, etc. Mr. Summers didn't even know his daughter was dead, so I hardly doubt there had been a funeral (except for one the Scoobies held, maybe) or any sort of notice or registration.

 

[caitaintdead]

I wonder why the gang covered up Buffys death. Giles and Spike didn't know that Willow and co were going to bring her back from the dead, so why cover up her death? It seems to easy to assume that it was because they couldn't accept it. Giles says in Bargaining that the underworld needs to believe that Buffy is alive and well, presumably so that the undead don't rampage the town (as the bikie demons do). Giles can't have thought that the Buffybot was a long term solution to Buffys death so what was he going to do? Giles leaves for England, and why? We are lead to believe that it's because he feels he has no place in Sunnydale with Buffy being dead, but wouldn't he feel some loyalty towards Dawn, if not the rest of the gang? Perhaps he was going back to England to discuss Buffy's death with the council, maybe even organise activating a new slayer so that the hellmouth is protected once again.

Buffys death, to me, was a bummer to the show. It changed things dramatically that I would have liked to stay the same. I would have loved for Buffy to be the same old Buffy throughout the series, but in reality would I really? Buffy becoming a different person and her personal growth is part of what I like about the series and Joss's writing talent. It's what makes Buffy different to other shows that are on TV. I feel like Buffy's death was awkward, and hard to deal with as an audience, exactly like it would have been if you were on the show. To me, brilliance.

 

[Primal Slayer]

It changed things for Buffy herself. While I like her still through S6-7, she did lose her charm that she had S1-5.

And The Scoobies buried Buffy in secrectcy. If they had declared her dead to anyone they wouldnt have bothered with the Buffybot and Hank Summers would have found out.

 

[Lou]

I think its one of the best things to happen to the show. Loved the Gift, and Bargainning, and the Buffy story in s6. She got less whiny after 6 or 7 episodes.

As someone who jumped ahead half a season would know more than I do! :drunk:

I DO think she was more whiny after she died than before she died. And I don't like the whininess (it's so hard to spell non-words), but I DO like the storyline. So, I just kind of block her out.

 

[T.I.P]

Look at it this way. Bargainning had the second highest viewer rating in Buffyverse history, and that means its the secon best episode ever. officialy

 

[Lou]

Look at it this way. Bargainning had the second highest viewer rating in Buffyverse history, and that means its the secon best episode ever. officialy

Oh, that's just insane. No one KNEW it was gonna be good before they watched it, so it could have drawn everyone to the TV and then they could have sat and stared at each other for 45 and it still would have been the 2nd highest viewer rating.
People just wanted to know how they were gonna get Buffy back from the dead. You're a Goof!

 

[fly on the wall]

I wonder why the gang covered up Buffys death. Giles and Spike didn't know that Willow and co were going to bring her back from the dead, so why cover up her death?

As you said, demons and such needed to think the Slayer was still alive, or they'd have reeked hell (no pun intended) in Sunnydale (as we saw in Bargaining 1+2). Every Hellmouth needs a good Slayer looking after it. 🙂 But there's more to it than that..if Mr. Summers/social services/etc knew that Buffy was dead, they'd take Dawn away, and everyone felt it was in Dawn's best interests to stay in Sunnydale with the gang.

I'm sure they did expect the Buffybot to hold out longer than it did.

Plus, Giles considered himself Buffy's watcher first and foremost. Sure, he had loyalty to Dawn and the others, and he was just a phone call away...but I think remaining in Sunnydale was too painful for him. He felt that he'd failed Buffy and being reminded of that each and every day in painful Technicolor couldn't have been fun.

 

[caitaintdead]

Yeah, I can see all that, but I find it difficult to believe that Giles would think that the Buffybot could just live out Buffys life on her behalf without raising any questions. For example - wouldn't people notice when she didn't age?

 

[Lou]

I want to know how they buried her with a pretty headstone, casket and everything WITHOUT anyone knowing. It's not like the mortuary wouldn't need some sort of paperwork before letting you bury someone and buy a casket and a headstone.

 

[fly on the wall]

^ I always wondered about that myself. I suppose Willow could have made a casket/headstone with magic?

And I'm sure Buffybot wasn't supposed to be PERMANENT, but for now, she would do. Long-term, they would have to make a new plan.