Grown up.

[neoolong]

These examples come from both the end of S6 and the beginning/middle of S7.
- Buffy ends the relationship with Spike, builds a better bond with Dawn (yes, it can be argued that this tapers off mid-S7, but it is true that Buffy trusts her more and gives her more responsibility), APOLOGIZES to Dawn, etc.

Dawn's fine, she's a high school kid. However, Buffy ends the relationship with a known arms dealer, presumably illegal weapons since Riley was after him. And instead of making sure that he's brought to justice so that he can't actually just try it again, she simply walks away. That's not maturity.

Nor his her incredibly flawed argument with Giles about why Spike won't fall victim to the trigger again. She's provably wrong, even though nobody has the smarts to point it out.

There's also her general tactical incompetence, but that's more directly season 7.

- Willow goes to England to accept her punishment, is serious about her rehab, trains herself to control her magic, comes back to Sunnydale even though she is afraid to face her friends..

And consequently uses magic to force thousands of girls to become slayers. Instead of, say, calling the military for help, which they were willing to do quite readily to replace Spike's chip. That's not what I call learning about responsibility with magic.

- Dawn perhaps has the biggest transformation..from a whiny, immature klepto to the young woman she is in S7. "Potential" showcases this nicely.

Perhaps, but if it's supposed to be a theme, if one of the only real examples is Dawn, then it's not that great of a theme.

- Anya regresses a little out of grief, but by the middle of S7 is more mature than she's ever been, she's independent and learning how to be just Anya.

A little? That's what the wanton slaughter of, okay douchebags, is? Or are you talking about her horniness? Or her general lack of tact to the point of interrupting important discussions to get some snark in?

- Xander comes to terms with his place in the unit...he is the observer, because it's all he can be, but he finally embraces this. Also he realizes that his greatest power is his love (which he uses to stop Willow from destroying the world.) He learns a lot and grows a lot.

Which is why I didn't criticize Xander per se.

I know plenty of adults who make stupid decisions. People make mistakes all the time. People, even adults, have errors of judgment all the time. That doesn't mean that no one is an adult unless they are perfect.

It's that most of these characters make stupid decisions that cost people their lives that's the issue and why they're not very grown up. It's one thing to screw up, but not when it ends with a bunch of girls getting their throats torn out because nobody figures out that an FAE would make it a lot easier to face the turok-han than a pointy stick.

 

[fly on the wall]

Dawn's fine, she's a high school kid. However, Buffy ends the relationship with a known arms dealer, presumably illegal weapons since Riley was after him. And instead of making sure that he's brought to justice so that he can't actually just try it again, she simply walks away. That's not maturity.

Nor his her incredibly flawed argument with Giles about why Spike won't fall victim to the trigger again. She's provably wrong, even though nobody has the smarts to point it out.

There's also her general tactical incompetence, but that's more directly season 7.

Soo...again, you are suggesting that adults are not flawed.

I don't believe that Spike was the Doctor, nor that he was working for the Doctor. But even if you do believe that, how isn't walking away from a destructive, immature, and hurtful relationship a mature thing to do? ???

And consequently uses magic to force thousands of girls to become slayers.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. They didn't FORCE anybody to be anything. Did you miss the whole speech in "Chosen"? This was about making a CHOICE, and having the power (literally) to make that choice. Not a single one of those girls was forced to go fight the Turok Han, not a single one of them was forced to fight evil, and any one of them could have walked out the door if they so chose..nobody would have stopped them.

Being "chosen" by mystical forces gave them no choice. They were either chosen, or they weren't. They were either destined to, essentially, be killed, or they were sitting ducks.

Unleashing their potential gave them a choice, to use it or to ignore it.

And using your magic for that is pretty damn awesome.

Perhaps, but if it's supposed to be a theme, if one of the only real examples is Dawn, then it's not that great of a theme.

You are refusing to acknowledge the other examples. It doesn't mean there aren't any.

A little? That's what the wanton slaughter of, okay douchebags, is? Or are you talking about her horniness? Or her general lack of tact to the point of interrupting important discussions to get some snark in?

You really see no difference between the vengeance demon of S3 and the Anya of S6 and S7? Really? Well then, it's no wonder you can't see that the Scoobies are growing up this season.

It's that most of these characters make stupid decisions that cost people their lives that's the issue and why they're not very grown up. It's one thing to screw up, but not when it ends with a bunch of girls getting their throats torn out because nobody figures out that an FAE would make it a lot easier to face the turok-han than a pointy stick.

Buffy's decisions carry more weight because SHE IS THE SLAYER. Of course when Buffy screws up, she screws up badly. She has a lot at risk, at all times. But you can't say that because someone's choices are more important that they can't make mistakes like everybody else. That just doesn't make sense. That's like saying a single person is allowed to make mistakes, but a parent isn't. Or a grocery clerk is allowed to make mistakes, but a doctor isn't. News flash...EVERYONE makes mistakes. Your mistakes don't determine whether or not you're an adult.

 

[Willow-Tree]

I honestly think that Buffy turned into a "grown-up" the minute she pierced Angel in the heart in season two. To have that much courage for a seventeen year old high school student is just remarkable.

 

[neoolong]

Soo...again, you are suggesting that adults are not flawed.

I don't believe that Spike was the Doctor, nor that he was working for the Doctor. But even if you do believe that, how isn't walking away from a destructive, immature, and hurtful relationship a mature thing to do? ???

Ah, so he was holding them for a friend as he said? Fine, who's his friend? Is he dealing in other weapons? Any stray nuclear warheads from Russia going to pop up on the black market? Stingers stolen for use in the United States to bring down a plane? Or maybe Riley and gang would be able to work from Spike and/or his "friend" back to someone that knows something. A target for other Suvolte eggs? Where there are more eggs.

There are obvious questions that need answers, but all Buffy is willing to do is walk away. If she was so mature, why isn't she telling Riley to bring Spike in so that he can be questioned. Even if he isn't the actual seller, he claimed he was holding them for someone. Who is that someone? Why is this information unimportant?

Wrong, wrong, wrong. They didn't FORCE anybody to be anything. Did you miss the whole speech in "Chosen"? This was about making a CHOICE, and having the power (literally) to make that choice. Not a single one of those girls was forced to go fight the Turok Han, not a single one of them was forced to fight evil, and any one of them could have walked out the door if they so chose..nobody would have stopped them.

When did the girls in the montage playing baseball or eating a meal get asked? The S8 comics said there were something like thousands. When did they get asked? Cause I only remember about a couple dozen that got to vote.

Being "chosen" by mystical forces gave them no choice. They were either chosen, or they weren't. They were either destined to, essentially, be killed, or they were sitting ducks.

By the First. Which hasn't been an issue after S7. So, really being a potential and just hiding out in wherever the ballplayer was wasn't too bad.

Unleashing their potential gave them a choice, to use it or to ignore it.

Like Dana had? Is that what you consider a choice? They get dreams and powers and appear as freaks. That's going to be visible, and can make them visible targets. So what choice is it if they can't ignore it?

And using your magic for that is pretty damn awesome.

And irresponsible since she didn't have everyone's consent.

You are refusing to acknowledge the other examples. It doesn't mean there aren't any.

Then where are they? Because Willow's isn't one, considering the number of slayers that got screwed in S8. Wouldn't have happened if they just loaded a bunch of FAE's into the pit and blew it to hell. Of course, that would require asking Riley for help.

Buffy's isn't one, since for as far as she knew, there could be more weapons out there being used to attack innocent people. But, she didn't care enough to press the issue and find out.

You really see no difference between the vengeance demon of S3 and the Anya of S6 and S7? Really? Well then, it's no wonder you can't see that the Scoobies are growing up this season.

Except that my examples are from S6 and S7 So regardless of the changes, she's still screwing up in ways that get people dead.

Buffy's decisions carry more weight because SHE IS THE SLAYER. Of course when Buffy screws up, she screws up badly. She has a lot at risk, at all times. But you can't say that because someone's choices are more important that they can't make mistakes like everybody else. That just doesn't make sense.

No, I'm saying that they shouldn't make stupid ones where they should know better. Which is what Buffy consistently does.

That's like saying a single person is allowed to make mistakes, but a parent isn't. Or a grocery clerk is allowed to make mistakes, but a doctor isn't. News flash...EVERYONE makes mistakes. Your mistakes don't determine whether or not you're an adult.

Except that doctors are held to a higher standard of behavior than grocers. Doctors can be sued for malpractice, grocers really aren't. I don't recall the need for grocers' malpractice insurance.

So yeah, I do expect a doctor to make less mistakes. The responsibility is higher, so I expect them to make better decisions. A grocer can do his job hungover. But, I don't want a hungover surgeon operating on me. I don't think it's okay for that mistake to be made by a doctor. Would you?

 

[Brandon]

I think the whole point of Season Six was to have them grow up. If you notice there really is no HUGE villain in Season Six til nearly the end. The Geek Squad is really just a minor annoyance. The Big Bad in season six.. is Life.

Because at the end of the day, it was time to face reality. Joyce is dead. Dawn needed someone to take care of her and Buffy had to pay the bills, it may not be a Hell God bent on going home but it was everyday life, I think it was about taking the magnitude of the show and having them deal with things that cripple everyday people.. work, money, home life. It made me feel good to know that even though Buffy can kill the meanest of demons, she still has to put food on the table, work for a living and take care of her sister, just like millions of people in real life. I liked that aspect. I liked getting to know the more human and underdeveloped sides of the Scoobies, they are used to dealing with the end of the world, so much so that they never had to deal with their personal lives and personal development all that much. It was good to see them as flawed people, who make mistakes and who try and learn from them.

All in all, Season Six is one of my favorite seasons of all!

 

[Kanazaka]

Perhaps a better phrase would be "attempt to grow up" or "learn how to grow up". If that's the case, most of the Scoobies still didn't do a very good job, but by the end of Season Six, most of them tried to learn from their mistakes from earlier in the season (or did so in the next season). And in that regard, about the only concrete example of that is Buffy attempting to be a better sister to Dawn. Willow feels strong grief over what she has done, but it's not clear if she feels any regret (we can only assume this, are are proven right in Season 7). Spike looks surprised to get a soul at the very end of Season Six, so it's not really clear that he wanted one. Xander breaking off his wedding to Anya was somewhat mature, but he didn't really do it for the right reasons (it seemed he did it more out of insecurity and paranoia rather than out of a heartfelt judgement). And a heartbroken Anya has taken off, only to regress into a vengeance demon. Sadly, Tara dies, because she was mature enough to realize that misuse of magic (especially unwanted mindwipe) is very immature, and a strong relationship cannot survive such recklessness. Buffy pretty much admits to Giles later in the season that she's not yet grown up, and she and the rest of the gang need him as a guiding influence. I look at this season as more of a speed bump along the metaphorical road to maturity, and Season Seven as an attempt to get all the way over that bump.

 

[TabulaRasa22]

Six seasons in, it was definetley about time the characters started growing up and facing adult responsibilities -- and I liked it.

 

[Grey Ghost]

I thought that it was a great tranistion, it had happen sometime. They started act like adults, being responsiblr for their actions, that's the way life should be.

 

[Tasha]

i like this season so much because it's so realistic, facing life, trying to support your family, paying the bills.

 

[faeriegrrl27]

I would have to say that this season is totally about growing up. Sure, they screwed up, but it turned out OK in the end. I know it might not have, but their individual growings prevented that. What I mean by that is that there was usually someone who had grown to counter the mistakes of those who hadn't.

(I'm not saying here that grown people don't make mistakes. I'm using the term in this situation to mean a decision or action that was mature, rational, and had little to no bad effects. The ideal grown-up decision, if you will.).

For example, Willow acted in a vengeful and irrational, although satisfying, rage, leading her to, as we all know, destroying the world. While this immaturity was going on, Xander was being forced to grow up very quickly. He spends all of "Villains" and much of "Grave" feeling sorry for how useless he his. He doesn't have a plan, he isn't fast, he isn't strong, he doesn't have harmful electricity coming out of his hands at will... we all get the picture. At some point, though, he realizes that he doesn't have to have any of those things. There is a reason he's been hanging with the Scoobies. They don't seem to mind his lack of extraordinary abilities and so there has to be something in him that makes up for that. It's because he's sweet and funny and loves them very dearly. And so he does what he can with those abilities and with his Yellow Crayon speech, he reminds both himself and Willow why they are around. Willow goes on the recuperate and Xander accepts and loves his part, clearly demonstrated in "Potential."

That is the best example of maturity leading to the end of immature actions which, in turn, result in maturity arising in the one who committed the immature actions. Other examples can be found when Willow firsts decides to quit the magicks, when Anya helps the Scoobies with the Willow issue, when Buffy chooses to stay in this world and help instead of disappearing into the insane asylum in her head. Bother immature and mature decisions take place in this season and the point of that, I think, is to show that the mature decisions are the ones that helped and that our Scoobies realized it, too. Sure, they still screw up a lot and many of the things they've done are in the morally grey, but they realized things about themselves and how their actions affect the world and that, I think, is what true growing up is.

 

[DetectiveYeslew]

Been reading a lot of the posts on this topic and I do agree, that season six is the year when Buffy and her friends do make that really hard transition to adulthood, when the hardships of life as a teenager becomes the unbearable difficulty of having to deal with life as a grown up, but I just wish the season itself wasn't so damn miserable, I mean, it just becomes one hardship after another, like Buffy coping difficultly with being alive again, her relationship with her Dawn, Giles leaving, Xander breaking off his upcoming marriage to Anya, Tara being killed and Willow's descent into darkness.

I understand and appreciate that Joss and Marti Noxon were wanting to craft a much more darker slice of drama with the season and that they wanted it to reflect some of their themes, but if the tone is anything to go by, then season six has nothing more to say than "getting older is the most horrible thing in the world" and we have to get through a lot of hell before we get to that redemptive ending.