Joan the Vampire Slayer
Carpe Spuffy!
I find it very interesting that people dislike this season so much. It's my favorite season next to 3.
What do you think about season 6?
- Thread starter PrincessBuffy16
- Start date
Have Faith
Townie
I absolutely loved season 6. In my opinion it was the best season; there was magic, romance, darkness, action, and humor: everything a good show needs. And Buffy is indeed a good show. Not to mention the amazing Tara/Willow lesbian lovers romance!!! I love them so so much and that was the only thing that I didn't like about season 6: Tara's death. Ugh.
ToShanshuInLA
...
I disliked season 6. It was mostly because of Spuffy and The Trio...well, Warren and Andrew. They turned the show so smutty too. I wanted to pull my hair out at most of the Spuffy scenes. Still I watched, though. It's my own fault, really.
PrincessBuffy16
[No message]
Oh god, season six, where do I start? How can I even begin to describe the soul-breaking, mind-numbing, skin-crawling-making crappiness of this season? I'll give it a go.
Destruction of all characters
Basically, this is the season where every character became completely detestable. Let's break them down character by character.
Buffy - From a witty, friendly, optimistic girl that we all loved to an empty shell devoid of any human emotion. Her being ripped from Heaven was played realistically - far too realistically. Her suicidal depression was just that, depressing. She lost all of her warmth and humour. How are we supposed to enjoy watching a character who is not entertaining and hates her life and wants to die? Watching it was about as fun as living it. And when she did try to be "fun", such as in "˜Gone', she was so annoying and petulant that she made Dawn look mature. There was also a serious case of angst dissonance - we cannot relate to her problem. Compare early S3, where she is still angsting over Angel. We can relate to that because we've all lost someone we love and wished they could come back. However, none of us have died and then been pulled out of heaven, we cannot relate to that. Then the rest of her problems were just far too relatable, which I'll explain later.
Willow - Early season, Willow moves closer to the dark side and mind-rapes her girlfriend. Already she's turned into a horrible person that is impossible to like. But it's an interesting avenue for the character, we could've explored the effects of having so much power on a person, and their abuse of that power. Then "Wrecked" aired. All subtlety was thrown out the window and th show started beating us with a massive hammer with MAGIC=DRUGS written on the side. This storyline was an insult to our intelligence, lame in an after-school special kind of way. And this lameness transferred onto Willow after this episode. I couldn't care about her struggle with withdrawal because the storyline was just so mind-numbingly stupid in the first place. First half of the season she was a horrible person, second half she was a walking cliche of a drug addict.
Xander - Escaped this season largely unscathed, but still damaged. He did very little in the first half except for talk about wedding plans with Anya. Which turned out to be a complete waste of time since they didn't even get married! The show could have taken the characters someplace new, explored what married life was like, but since happy couples are illegal in the Buffyverse and the status quo must be maintained, Xander was required to act like a jerk for a short while and leave Anya at the altar. Basically all he did all season (save for the climax of "Grave") was plan a wedding, ruin a wedding, and hate Spike. Which leads me to...
Spike - If any character was ruined in this season, it was Spike. Remember when he was cool? He's fallen a long way, ending up with the job of stalking Buffy. He was a complete an utter selfish douchebag in S6. He emotionally manipulated Buffy, playing on her depression to convince her that she "came back wrong" and "belonged in the dark", all so that she'd feel so alone and numb that all she could do was jump into bed with him. And when she finally got a hold of herself and ended it, he couldn't accept that and tried to rape her. We're talking about rape here. The highest level of evil. How were we supposed to like this character after he did that.
The big mistake that the writers made was to confuse a character being entertaining and a character being sympathetic. Spike in S2-4 (and to an extent 5) was entertaining, but not sympathetic. He was cool, and sexy, and witty, and just generally awesome "“ but he was still an evil, selfish douchebag. But this was fine because those seasons didn't expect us to feel sympathy for Spike, just be entertained by him, and we were. However S6 Spike was not witty, not awesome, he'd gone from a punk-rock killer to a lame-ass stalker. He was not entertaining. And they tried to play up the sympathetic-ness of his character, but it didn't work because it assumed that we already had sympathy for him. Spike did nothing in S6 to earn sympathy, it was assumed that because the fans loved him that we would feel sympathy for him. Wrong. We loved him because he was awesome, take that away and put manipulation, stalking, abuse and rape in its place, and you've got one thoroughly detestable character that I think deserved to be a smouldering pile of dust.
Giles "“ Oh Giles, how we missed you this season. Giles wasn't just awesome, he was an essential part of the group. Lets forget how much we missed him for a moment, and focus on his role in the Scoobies. He's a sensible, mature person. He's a voice of calm, intelligent thought in a gang of wacky characters. The problem with S6 is that it became oversaturated with wacky, non-sensible characters and simply disintegrated without any voices of reason or calm. Giles was the main holder of this role, but at other points it was filled by Oz, Tara or Angel, then next most mature, calm characters. Oz and Angel left, and Tara was missing for a few early episodes before dying. The more "wacky" impulsive character were left free to roam and all hell broke loose. Buffy slept with Spike, Willow got hooked on drugs, Xander left Anya at the altar"¦ could you see all that happening if Giles or even anyone with a functioning adult brain had been there?
That aside, we just missed Giles. He pretty much single-handedly saved the season finale with his return. He was brilliant and we missed him. But because the actor had other things on, he was dumped with an OOC reason for leaving that made him look like a moronic jerk. Yes, Buffy needs to be an adult sometime "“ emphasis on sometime. First she needs to be helped through a serious rough patch. Her mum died, then her sister almost died, then she died, then was ripped out of heaven and is now suffering from depression and serious financial worries. Do you really think that this is the best time to be leaving her, Giles?
Dawn "“ Poor Dawnie. If it wasn't for whoever wrote All the Way and Older and Faraway, she'd be the most sympathetic character on the show. For large chunks of the season she basically sat around like an abused puppy who really wants to be taken out for walkies. Her jerk of a big sister was far too busy shagging a vampire to bother about her (see "As You Were" for Buffy turning up late with a cold, squashed bag of fast food. What a wonderful sister), her friends were too busy getting high or leaving their loved ones at the altar. But anyway, AtW and OaFA were written, just in case we were starting to like Dawn and need to be reminded to hate her. I'm not even gonna go into these episodes in detail, you saw them, you know what I'm talking about. Dawn was whiny, annoying, irresponsible and just plain dumb. Another character destroyed.
Anya "“ Probably the best-off of anyone who lived through S6. She remained funny and entertaining for the most part, her only problem was that she remained a very static character. She'd gradually gone from a selfish, evil demon to a brave, caring woman in S3-5, in S6 she was just hanging around waiting for Xander to break her heart. She got a few good jokes, but didn't really become interesting until Entropy.
Tara "“ Her death was a complete insult to her character. She was warm, kind, funny, and loved by the audience. She had the sense to get away from everyone else and so remained unscarred by the horrors of S6. But in her death she was not a character, she was reduced to nothing more than a plot device, a trigger for Willow to go evil. It was completely random, and meant absolutely nothing for her character. In death she was nothing more than an extension of Willow, to be disposed of at will. Utterly insulting to her and her fans. Not just that, but it was a real waste of a character. She was an interesting, lovable character, unmarred by S6 and still left with plenty of potential development, but we had to lose her for the sake of three episodes with Dark Willow. Three episodes! Dark Willow wasn't even that interesting! Three! Frickin! Episodes! As far as I can see, that's an unfair trade.
The Legion of Dim
And you thought it was just the main characters that were the problem? The Trio sucked for many, many reasons. I can see the thinking behind them. It's a very depressing season, so they went with a "funny" Big Bad to lighten the mood. The only little snag in that plan is that funny Big Bads are usually supposed to be, you know, funny. The Trio were just not. They were just a pile of tired old "nerd" clichés. LOL, nerds watch Star Trek! LOL, nerds collect action figures and live in basements! Isn't this hilarious? No, it isn't. It's just lame. Expecting us to be impressed by these lame-ass stereotypes is yet again insulting to our intelligence.
Not only were these jokes unfunny, clichéd, unimaginative and just plain stupid, but they went against everything this show was about. Back in S1-3, our beloved characters were the geeks. It reached out to all the geeks out there, because it connected to us. Our group of heroes were the outsiders that everyone thought were a bit weird. The show went from celebrating the outsiders to poking fun at them.
Spuffy and the attempted rape
I've already said most of this in the sections on Buffy and Spike. They really ruined each other's characters. Spike's obsession turned him from a fun and interesting character to just a creepy vampire who was in love with Buffy. It reduced his character until that was all that was left. And then his attempted rape of Buffy made him completely detestable and irredeemable in my opinion. And I, like Xander, lost a hell of a lot of respect for Buffy when she started sleeping with Spike. It was horrible to see a once-loved character lower herself to an evil soulless creep who wasn't even cool any more. And when Spike attempted to rape Buffy and then didn't end up on the end of a stake, I lost a bit more. If that had happened in the early seasons he'd be dust. But the fact that he wasn't "“ and that Buffy still seemed concerned for him afterwards portrayed her as weak and pathetic. The whole rape business trivialised the subject, and what was really horrible was when Spike blamed Buffy afterwards for "leading him on". This miserable, horrible, destructive relationship destroyed the characters and added to the general feel of S6 being completely depressing to watch.
Lack of dynamic between the Scoobies
Instead of a tight-knit gang, they became just a bunch of people who didn't all interact with each other, and barely seemed to care about each other any more. Does anyone remember Spike having a conversation with someone who wasn't Buffy? Or Buffy and Willow acting anything like they were best friends? Or Xander or Anya in a single scene pre-wedding without the other? Any Giles whatsoever? They just went off and had their own problems and barely seemed to give a crap what was going on in each other's lives.
Buffy's problems
I mentioned earlier that while being dragged out of heaven was a problem we couldn't relate to, Buffy's other problems we could relate to too well, and I will explain what I mean now. To quote Television Without Pity:
Y'know what my problem with this season is? It's a little too realistic. I don't want to tune in for a show about how people struggle to make ends meet and creatively manage their finances. If I want to worry about how to get the most out of each budget dollar, I can do that on my own time. Television is supposed to be an escape, and I want to see a show about magic, fantastical shit happening and people getting their asses kicked. Paying bills, worrying about money, hoping things won't break until next month is just a little too much like my life. And believe you me, I don't watch TV so I can revel in my life.
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter. No matter how realistic, Buffy struggling with finances and searching for jobs just isn't fun. I want to watch Buffy kicking evil ass, not Buffy trying to get a low-interest loan. Not to mention the stupidity of the characters to not even suggest asking the council for money.
A hella lot of really crap episodes
The season starts. The first three episodes struggle a little but are still alright. Then there's a nosedive with "Flooded", "Life Serial" and "All the Way". Three pretty poor episodes, but hey, Once More With Feeling saves the day. Tabula Rasa is pretty fun, but in my opinion overrated. Then the dung really hits the fan. "Smashed". "Wrecked". "Gone". "Doublemeat Palace", "Older and Faraway", "Dead Things", "As You Were". "Hell' Bells". That has to be the worst run of episodes ever in the show's history. 5 and a half hours of absolute durge. With all other seasons I couldn't wait to get onto the next episode. Trying to get through that lot was a chore. I had to force myself to sit through them because "it has to get better soon", right? Well, "Normal Again" was pretty good and "Entropy" was just average. "Seeing Red" was a horrible, insulting stain on the history of BtVS, sending us trundling into a somewhat underwhelming finale that was only saved by the return of Giles and the final scenes with Xander/Willow and Buffy/Dawn.
The main problem is that when episodes were bad, they were very very bad. In the early seasons we had to deal with some truly lame-ass plots (eg. Bad Eggs, Go Fish, Teacher's Pet), but the episodes were still very watchable and enjoyable because even though the plot of the week disappointed, we still had a cast of very fun, likeable characters that managed to make the episodes enjoyable with their interaction and banter. However, due to the destruction of all the main characters and drifting apart of the Scoobies as mentioned earlier, when the main plot was rubbish there wasn't anything to fall back on but a bunch of unlikeable morons that no longer had fun or cared about each other. Even when the plot was good, the episode still struggled due to lacking a solid foundation of characters to build on.
This season may deal with "adult" problems, but it certainly isn't adult. The lame-ass magic/drugs metaphor, tired nerd clichés, plots so stupid they require the entire cast to be complete morons in order to make them work (see the Scoobies, who have fought government conspiracies, legions of vampires and literal gods, fail to do anything about three dumbass nerds all year). The moral of the season, that simply "life is really hard and depressing" seems like it came out the diary of an angsty teenage emo rather than the pen of a professional writer. Boring, depressing stuff happening does not automatically equal adult storylines.
In conclusion, season six was a moronic, depressing, slow-paced, patronising, ham-fisted mockery of an attempt at entertainment that metaphorically pissed on the graves of many once-loved characters, insulted my intelligence, broke away from its roots as a proudly geeky show and left me pissed off enough to write 4 and a half pages on how crap it is.
---------- Post added at 04:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:22 PM ----------
Too late to edit... I just wanted to add another quote from Television Without Pity. They put things in much clearer words than I could.
And when I saw how she came back, so damaged and confused, I wished they'd just left her dead. This is not entertainment anymore -- it's torture. Especially in comparison to the season-one episodes currently airing on F/X. What a different tone the show had then -- sure, the threats were scary and our gang encountered danger, but overall the mood was lighthearted and playful. I smiled more than I wept. I realize that their world is a tough one and it's unrealistic of me to hope they could face such dangers and stay unaffected, but I fail to see the entertainment value in putting beloved characters through years of unrelieved misery.
Destruction of all characters
Basically, this is the season where every character became completely detestable. Let's break them down character by character.
Buffy - From a witty, friendly, optimistic girl that we all loved to an empty shell devoid of any human emotion. Her being ripped from Heaven was played realistically - far too realistically. Her suicidal depression was just that, depressing. She lost all of her warmth and humour. How are we supposed to enjoy watching a character who is not entertaining and hates her life and wants to die? Watching it was about as fun as living it. And when she did try to be "fun", such as in "˜Gone', she was so annoying and petulant that she made Dawn look mature. There was also a serious case of angst dissonance - we cannot relate to her problem. Compare early S3, where she is still angsting over Angel. We can relate to that because we've all lost someone we love and wished they could come back. However, none of us have died and then been pulled out of heaven, we cannot relate to that. Then the rest of her problems were just far too relatable, which I'll explain later.
Willow - Early season, Willow moves closer to the dark side and mind-rapes her girlfriend. Already she's turned into a horrible person that is impossible to like. But it's an interesting avenue for the character, we could've explored the effects of having so much power on a person, and their abuse of that power. Then "Wrecked" aired. All subtlety was thrown out the window and th show started beating us with a massive hammer with MAGIC=DRUGS written on the side. This storyline was an insult to our intelligence, lame in an after-school special kind of way. And this lameness transferred onto Willow after this episode. I couldn't care about her struggle with withdrawal because the storyline was just so mind-numbingly stupid in the first place. First half of the season she was a horrible person, second half she was a walking cliche of a drug addict.
Xander - Escaped this season largely unscathed, but still damaged. He did very little in the first half except for talk about wedding plans with Anya. Which turned out to be a complete waste of time since they didn't even get married! The show could have taken the characters someplace new, explored what married life was like, but since happy couples are illegal in the Buffyverse and the status quo must be maintained, Xander was required to act like a jerk for a short while and leave Anya at the altar. Basically all he did all season (save for the climax of "Grave") was plan a wedding, ruin a wedding, and hate Spike. Which leads me to...
Spike - If any character was ruined in this season, it was Spike. Remember when he was cool? He's fallen a long way, ending up with the job of stalking Buffy. He was a complete an utter selfish douchebag in S6. He emotionally manipulated Buffy, playing on her depression to convince her that she "came back wrong" and "belonged in the dark", all so that she'd feel so alone and numb that all she could do was jump into bed with him. And when she finally got a hold of herself and ended it, he couldn't accept that and tried to rape her. We're talking about rape here. The highest level of evil. How were we supposed to like this character after he did that.
The big mistake that the writers made was to confuse a character being entertaining and a character being sympathetic. Spike in S2-4 (and to an extent 5) was entertaining, but not sympathetic. He was cool, and sexy, and witty, and just generally awesome "“ but he was still an evil, selfish douchebag. But this was fine because those seasons didn't expect us to feel sympathy for Spike, just be entertained by him, and we were. However S6 Spike was not witty, not awesome, he'd gone from a punk-rock killer to a lame-ass stalker. He was not entertaining. And they tried to play up the sympathetic-ness of his character, but it didn't work because it assumed that we already had sympathy for him. Spike did nothing in S6 to earn sympathy, it was assumed that because the fans loved him that we would feel sympathy for him. Wrong. We loved him because he was awesome, take that away and put manipulation, stalking, abuse and rape in its place, and you've got one thoroughly detestable character that I think deserved to be a smouldering pile of dust.
Giles "“ Oh Giles, how we missed you this season. Giles wasn't just awesome, he was an essential part of the group. Lets forget how much we missed him for a moment, and focus on his role in the Scoobies. He's a sensible, mature person. He's a voice of calm, intelligent thought in a gang of wacky characters. The problem with S6 is that it became oversaturated with wacky, non-sensible characters and simply disintegrated without any voices of reason or calm. Giles was the main holder of this role, but at other points it was filled by Oz, Tara or Angel, then next most mature, calm characters. Oz and Angel left, and Tara was missing for a few early episodes before dying. The more "wacky" impulsive character were left free to roam and all hell broke loose. Buffy slept with Spike, Willow got hooked on drugs, Xander left Anya at the altar"¦ could you see all that happening if Giles or even anyone with a functioning adult brain had been there?
That aside, we just missed Giles. He pretty much single-handedly saved the season finale with his return. He was brilliant and we missed him. But because the actor had other things on, he was dumped with an OOC reason for leaving that made him look like a moronic jerk. Yes, Buffy needs to be an adult sometime "“ emphasis on sometime. First she needs to be helped through a serious rough patch. Her mum died, then her sister almost died, then she died, then was ripped out of heaven and is now suffering from depression and serious financial worries. Do you really think that this is the best time to be leaving her, Giles?
Dawn "“ Poor Dawnie. If it wasn't for whoever wrote All the Way and Older and Faraway, she'd be the most sympathetic character on the show. For large chunks of the season she basically sat around like an abused puppy who really wants to be taken out for walkies. Her jerk of a big sister was far too busy shagging a vampire to bother about her (see "As You Were" for Buffy turning up late with a cold, squashed bag of fast food. What a wonderful sister), her friends were too busy getting high or leaving their loved ones at the altar. But anyway, AtW and OaFA were written, just in case we were starting to like Dawn and need to be reminded to hate her. I'm not even gonna go into these episodes in detail, you saw them, you know what I'm talking about. Dawn was whiny, annoying, irresponsible and just plain dumb. Another character destroyed.
Anya "“ Probably the best-off of anyone who lived through S6. She remained funny and entertaining for the most part, her only problem was that she remained a very static character. She'd gradually gone from a selfish, evil demon to a brave, caring woman in S3-5, in S6 she was just hanging around waiting for Xander to break her heart. She got a few good jokes, but didn't really become interesting until Entropy.
Tara "“ Her death was a complete insult to her character. She was warm, kind, funny, and loved by the audience. She had the sense to get away from everyone else and so remained unscarred by the horrors of S6. But in her death she was not a character, she was reduced to nothing more than a plot device, a trigger for Willow to go evil. It was completely random, and meant absolutely nothing for her character. In death she was nothing more than an extension of Willow, to be disposed of at will. Utterly insulting to her and her fans. Not just that, but it was a real waste of a character. She was an interesting, lovable character, unmarred by S6 and still left with plenty of potential development, but we had to lose her for the sake of three episodes with Dark Willow. Three episodes! Dark Willow wasn't even that interesting! Three! Frickin! Episodes! As far as I can see, that's an unfair trade.
The Legion of Dim
And you thought it was just the main characters that were the problem? The Trio sucked for many, many reasons. I can see the thinking behind them. It's a very depressing season, so they went with a "funny" Big Bad to lighten the mood. The only little snag in that plan is that funny Big Bads are usually supposed to be, you know, funny. The Trio were just not. They were just a pile of tired old "nerd" clichés. LOL, nerds watch Star Trek! LOL, nerds collect action figures and live in basements! Isn't this hilarious? No, it isn't. It's just lame. Expecting us to be impressed by these lame-ass stereotypes is yet again insulting to our intelligence.
Not only were these jokes unfunny, clichéd, unimaginative and just plain stupid, but they went against everything this show was about. Back in S1-3, our beloved characters were the geeks. It reached out to all the geeks out there, because it connected to us. Our group of heroes were the outsiders that everyone thought were a bit weird. The show went from celebrating the outsiders to poking fun at them.
Spuffy and the attempted rape
I've already said most of this in the sections on Buffy and Spike. They really ruined each other's characters. Spike's obsession turned him from a fun and interesting character to just a creepy vampire who was in love with Buffy. It reduced his character until that was all that was left. And then his attempted rape of Buffy made him completely detestable and irredeemable in my opinion. And I, like Xander, lost a hell of a lot of respect for Buffy when she started sleeping with Spike. It was horrible to see a once-loved character lower herself to an evil soulless creep who wasn't even cool any more. And when Spike attempted to rape Buffy and then didn't end up on the end of a stake, I lost a bit more. If that had happened in the early seasons he'd be dust. But the fact that he wasn't "“ and that Buffy still seemed concerned for him afterwards portrayed her as weak and pathetic. The whole rape business trivialised the subject, and what was really horrible was when Spike blamed Buffy afterwards for "leading him on". This miserable, horrible, destructive relationship destroyed the characters and added to the general feel of S6 being completely depressing to watch.
Lack of dynamic between the Scoobies
Instead of a tight-knit gang, they became just a bunch of people who didn't all interact with each other, and barely seemed to care about each other any more. Does anyone remember Spike having a conversation with someone who wasn't Buffy? Or Buffy and Willow acting anything like they were best friends? Or Xander or Anya in a single scene pre-wedding without the other? Any Giles whatsoever? They just went off and had their own problems and barely seemed to give a crap what was going on in each other's lives.
Buffy's problems
I mentioned earlier that while being dragged out of heaven was a problem we couldn't relate to, Buffy's other problems we could relate to too well, and I will explain what I mean now. To quote Television Without Pity:
Y'know what my problem with this season is? It's a little too realistic. I don't want to tune in for a show about how people struggle to make ends meet and creatively manage their finances. If I want to worry about how to get the most out of each budget dollar, I can do that on my own time. Television is supposed to be an escape, and I want to see a show about magic, fantastical shit happening and people getting their asses kicked. Paying bills, worrying about money, hoping things won't break until next month is just a little too much like my life. And believe you me, I don't watch TV so I can revel in my life.
That pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter. No matter how realistic, Buffy struggling with finances and searching for jobs just isn't fun. I want to watch Buffy kicking evil ass, not Buffy trying to get a low-interest loan. Not to mention the stupidity of the characters to not even suggest asking the council for money.
A hella lot of really crap episodes
The season starts. The first three episodes struggle a little but are still alright. Then there's a nosedive with "Flooded", "Life Serial" and "All the Way". Three pretty poor episodes, but hey, Once More With Feeling saves the day. Tabula Rasa is pretty fun, but in my opinion overrated. Then the dung really hits the fan. "Smashed". "Wrecked". "Gone". "Doublemeat Palace", "Older and Faraway", "Dead Things", "As You Were". "Hell' Bells". That has to be the worst run of episodes ever in the show's history. 5 and a half hours of absolute durge. With all other seasons I couldn't wait to get onto the next episode. Trying to get through that lot was a chore. I had to force myself to sit through them because "it has to get better soon", right? Well, "Normal Again" was pretty good and "Entropy" was just average. "Seeing Red" was a horrible, insulting stain on the history of BtVS, sending us trundling into a somewhat underwhelming finale that was only saved by the return of Giles and the final scenes with Xander/Willow and Buffy/Dawn.
The main problem is that when episodes were bad, they were very very bad. In the early seasons we had to deal with some truly lame-ass plots (eg. Bad Eggs, Go Fish, Teacher's Pet), but the episodes were still very watchable and enjoyable because even though the plot of the week disappointed, we still had a cast of very fun, likeable characters that managed to make the episodes enjoyable with their interaction and banter. However, due to the destruction of all the main characters and drifting apart of the Scoobies as mentioned earlier, when the main plot was rubbish there wasn't anything to fall back on but a bunch of unlikeable morons that no longer had fun or cared about each other. Even when the plot was good, the episode still struggled due to lacking a solid foundation of characters to build on.
This season may deal with "adult" problems, but it certainly isn't adult. The lame-ass magic/drugs metaphor, tired nerd clichés, plots so stupid they require the entire cast to be complete morons in order to make them work (see the Scoobies, who have fought government conspiracies, legions of vampires and literal gods, fail to do anything about three dumbass nerds all year). The moral of the season, that simply "life is really hard and depressing" seems like it came out the diary of an angsty teenage emo rather than the pen of a professional writer. Boring, depressing stuff happening does not automatically equal adult storylines.
In conclusion, season six was a moronic, depressing, slow-paced, patronising, ham-fisted mockery of an attempt at entertainment that metaphorically pissed on the graves of many once-loved characters, insulted my intelligence, broke away from its roots as a proudly geeky show and left me pissed off enough to write 4 and a half pages on how crap it is.
---------- Post added at 04:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:22 PM ----------
Too late to edit... I just wanted to add another quote from Television Without Pity. They put things in much clearer words than I could.
And when I saw how she came back, so damaged and confused, I wished they'd just left her dead. This is not entertainment anymore -- it's torture. Especially in comparison to the season-one episodes currently airing on F/X. What a different tone the show had then -- sure, the threats were scary and our gang encountered danger, but overall the mood was lighthearted and playful. I smiled more than I wept. I realize that their world is a tough one and it's unrealistic of me to hope they could face such dangers and stay unaffected, but I fail to see the entertainment value in putting beloved characters through years of unrelieved misery.
FBerntsson
Townie
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2010
- Messages
- 5
For me the season had good indidivual episodes but the over all story was very bad. Some things:
1) I liked that Buffy got ressurected and was depressed for much of the season. Thought it was intressting character development.
2) The geek-trio as willians wasn't a good idea. Its obvious from the start that Buffy can't fight them since they are human. The only thing that would have made sense would be to set the police on them and be done with it. Always thought the episodes where Buffy just lets evil humans walk away because she can't kill them and doesn't bother to involve the police just sucks in general but its especially bad in season 6.
3) Willows magic addiction could have been fun but wans't for me. Could understand Buffy ignoring it because she had her own problems. Xander ignoring it could be fine since he's just the useless comedy character on the show. But for instance Tara and Giles? Tara knew that Willow messed with peoples memories in Tabula Rasa but just walked away without warning/telling anyone else? Giles is portrayed as smart and should have figured out that as well but he just leaves. The whole story is pretty poorly written I think.
4) The power levels of Willow and Amy kind of destroys much of the show in general I think. In the previous seasons Slayers in general were pretty special. Now it seems like both Willow and Amy outclass Buffy so much that the Slayer seems insignificant. I didn't like that at all.
5) The Dark willow part was fine at first. Wanting to kill the Geeks for killing Tara was ok. But then failing? And how did Willow go from killing the Geeks to destroying the world? Just seemed like a last minute realisation that they forgot to include an apocalypse in season 6 (not that an apocalypse was needed really).
So there were some nice episodes but the overall story was really really bad. Though that can be said for other seasons as well I guess.
1) I liked that Buffy got ressurected and was depressed for much of the season. Thought it was intressting character development.
2) The geek-trio as willians wasn't a good idea. Its obvious from the start that Buffy can't fight them since they are human. The only thing that would have made sense would be to set the police on them and be done with it. Always thought the episodes where Buffy just lets evil humans walk away because she can't kill them and doesn't bother to involve the police just sucks in general but its especially bad in season 6.
3) Willows magic addiction could have been fun but wans't for me. Could understand Buffy ignoring it because she had her own problems. Xander ignoring it could be fine since he's just the useless comedy character on the show. But for instance Tara and Giles? Tara knew that Willow messed with peoples memories in Tabula Rasa but just walked away without warning/telling anyone else? Giles is portrayed as smart and should have figured out that as well but he just leaves. The whole story is pretty poorly written I think.
4) The power levels of Willow and Amy kind of destroys much of the show in general I think. In the previous seasons Slayers in general were pretty special. Now it seems like both Willow and Amy outclass Buffy so much that the Slayer seems insignificant. I didn't like that at all.
5) The Dark willow part was fine at first. Wanting to kill the Geeks for killing Tara was ok. But then failing? And how did Willow go from killing the Geeks to destroying the world? Just seemed like a last minute realisation that they forgot to include an apocalypse in season 6 (not that an apocalypse was needed really).
So there were some nice episodes but the overall story was really really bad. Though that can be said for other seasons as well I guess.
JudyLovesBuffy
Townie
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2010
- Messages
- 24
I have mixed feelings about Season Six of Buffy. There were episodes I absolutely loved, and those I thought we could all have done without. I know I could have definitely lived without Buffy working at the DoubleMeat Palace. LOL
With that said, I really did enjoy "The Trio." I thought Warren, Jonathan and Andrew, in the beginning of their lives of crime that is, were hysterical. One of the funniest scenes, ever IMHO, was the whole Sean Connery/Roger Moore/Timothy Dalton debate in the van. I can watch that episode over and over again and still laugh out loud when Andrew says "I hope Timothy Dalton wins an Oscar and bashes Sean Connery over the head with it" or words to that effect.
What I liked about "The Trio" was the fact that they weren't demons, they were human beings acting this way. In all the other seasons, we had an inhuman entity or entities as the villain/villains. In this season we had human beings with a little power and a lot of brains doing the dastardly deeds. It was a refreshing change I thought.
I also think we got a glimpse of Spike's humanity in the beginning of this season, even without the soul he finally got at the end of the season. He CHOSE to protect Dawn, to atone for not saving her and Buffy at the end of Season 5. I always viewed Spike as the only vampire on the show that showed the most humanity even in his evil form. Certainly Angel showed no humanity whatsoever when he was Angelus, yet Spike was able to love and care for people even without a soul (Drusilla, Buffy, Dawn).
I didn't like Riley's return in "As You Were." I would have liked a different story for his return, but didn't get that, so that is one of the reasons I didn't like the episode.
As for Dawn, again mixed feelings. I liked her better in Season 7. IMHO, all she did was whine and cry, cry and whine, and they whine some more in Season 6. I was never crazy about the character to begin with.
All in all, some of the best episodes in the entire run of the show were in Season 6. And, unfortunately, some of the worse.
JMHO.
With that said, I really did enjoy "The Trio." I thought Warren, Jonathan and Andrew, in the beginning of their lives of crime that is, were hysterical. One of the funniest scenes, ever IMHO, was the whole Sean Connery/Roger Moore/Timothy Dalton debate in the van. I can watch that episode over and over again and still laugh out loud when Andrew says "I hope Timothy Dalton wins an Oscar and bashes Sean Connery over the head with it" or words to that effect.
What I liked about "The Trio" was the fact that they weren't demons, they were human beings acting this way. In all the other seasons, we had an inhuman entity or entities as the villain/villains. In this season we had human beings with a little power and a lot of brains doing the dastardly deeds. It was a refreshing change I thought.
I also think we got a glimpse of Spike's humanity in the beginning of this season, even without the soul he finally got at the end of the season. He CHOSE to protect Dawn, to atone for not saving her and Buffy at the end of Season 5. I always viewed Spike as the only vampire on the show that showed the most humanity even in his evil form. Certainly Angel showed no humanity whatsoever when he was Angelus, yet Spike was able to love and care for people even without a soul (Drusilla, Buffy, Dawn).
I didn't like Riley's return in "As You Were." I would have liked a different story for his return, but didn't get that, so that is one of the reasons I didn't like the episode.
As for Dawn, again mixed feelings. I liked her better in Season 7. IMHO, all she did was whine and cry, cry and whine, and they whine some more in Season 6. I was never crazy about the character to begin with.
All in all, some of the best episodes in the entire run of the show were in Season 6. And, unfortunately, some of the worse.
JMHO.
ApesFindShapes
Queen of Noise
Season six is close in the running to be my favorite. It reminded us that most of the characters are intended to be human (even if they are fictionally so).
What can I say about scary, veiny Willow? I honestly thought it was necessary for her development as a character. Thinking back to previous seasons, Willow has always had to play the role of the proverbial "good, smart girl with the plan." Witchcraft, Tara, and college life helped her gain an overwhelming amount of self-confidence. She was addicted to being able to control certain aspects of her life and feeling more powerful than just the meek, former nerd. It just goes to show that too much power can lead to negative consequences.
This same desire for power and recognition can be seen in the Trio. They were appropriate villains for the season because they were, for the most part, also human. In a season that is about the darkness of life, what better villains could there be than people just trying to make it themselves?
Tara's death was a harsh and, in my opinion, unnecessary mean to initiate Dark Willow. I agree with most of what TheVoid68 had to say concerning it. I feel like Willow had already begun to reform and was receiving enough punishment before this. Tara wasn't involved in most of the Scooby problems in this season.
"Doublemeat Palace" is one of my favorite episodes. Perhaps it's because I recently worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and the episode was a semi-accurate portrayal of life in fast food (the blank, lifeless stares, the people who have and will be working there for most of their life).
What can I say about scary, veiny Willow? I honestly thought it was necessary for her development as a character. Thinking back to previous seasons, Willow has always had to play the role of the proverbial "good, smart girl with the plan." Witchcraft, Tara, and college life helped her gain an overwhelming amount of self-confidence. She was addicted to being able to control certain aspects of her life and feeling more powerful than just the meek, former nerd. It just goes to show that too much power can lead to negative consequences.
This same desire for power and recognition can be seen in the Trio. They were appropriate villains for the season because they were, for the most part, also human. In a season that is about the darkness of life, what better villains could there be than people just trying to make it themselves?
Tara's death was a harsh and, in my opinion, unnecessary mean to initiate Dark Willow. I agree with most of what TheVoid68 had to say concerning it. I feel like Willow had already begun to reform and was receiving enough punishment before this. Tara wasn't involved in most of the Scooby problems in this season.
"Doublemeat Palace" is one of my favorite episodes. Perhaps it's because I recently worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and the episode was a semi-accurate portrayal of life in fast food (the blank, lifeless stares, the people who have and will be working there for most of their life).
dan k
Bangel Is Eternal
Currently watching season 6 again and although it is a dark and depressing season i still enjoy it. Buffy and Spike's banter is great to watch but i do think that the season lacks the warmth and heart of previous seasons, that is until Giles return.
This season is all about Buffy finding her way out of a struggle and it takes the whole season for her to get there. Some people will argue that it took too long but i thought the storyline involving her and Spike was fascinating, dark and interesting.
It came out of nowhere but to me made perfect sense. She felt alone, isolated from her friends so she turned to Spike for comfort and he seized on that.
The lack of integration between Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles was disappointing but for the season to make sense it had to work that way. The characters were continuing to grow up and unfortunately drift further and further apart. It was realistic for that to be the case.
Every single one of them was going through something major. Xander and Anya with marriage, Buffy coming back from the dead, Willow obsessed by magic, Giles doing something he didn't want to do but felt he had too, Spike's infatuation with Buffy which he couldn't stop, Tara's worry at what was happening to Willow.
Nevertheless if you had watched previous seasons then you'd grown to love the characters and were already addicted to the show. It wasn't as if the season was bad, it was just different. If season 6 was the first series you watched i could understand you not enjoying it but if you'd watched the other seasons i think you'd to understand why certain things were going on.
Essentially it was still the show we loved, it was just that the characters were heading in different directions, which i guess some people didn't enjoy.
This season is all about Buffy finding her way out of a struggle and it takes the whole season for her to get there. Some people will argue that it took too long but i thought the storyline involving her and Spike was fascinating, dark and interesting.
It came out of nowhere but to me made perfect sense. She felt alone, isolated from her friends so she turned to Spike for comfort and he seized on that.
The lack of integration between Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles was disappointing but for the season to make sense it had to work that way. The characters were continuing to grow up and unfortunately drift further and further apart. It was realistic for that to be the case.
Every single one of them was going through something major. Xander and Anya with marriage, Buffy coming back from the dead, Willow obsessed by magic, Giles doing something he didn't want to do but felt he had too, Spike's infatuation with Buffy which he couldn't stop, Tara's worry at what was happening to Willow.
Nevertheless if you had watched previous seasons then you'd grown to love the characters and were already addicted to the show. It wasn't as if the season was bad, it was just different. If season 6 was the first series you watched i could understand you not enjoying it but if you'd watched the other seasons i think you'd to understand why certain things were going on.
Essentially it was still the show we loved, it was just that the characters were heading in different directions, which i guess some people didn't enjoy.
I didn't see it as the same show, or the same characters. Willow went from a sweet, shy nerd to a mind-raping control freak. Buffy went from a strong, funny, peppy woman to a self-harming hollow shell of a person, Giles went from staying in America in Buffy .vs. Dracula because Buffy needed him to leaving America because Buffy needed him, and Spike went from a lovable rogue with a soft spot for Buffy to an obsessed, manipulative rapist with no sense of personal space.
If that's character development then I'll have my characters stale thank you very much.
If that's character development then I'll have my characters stale thank you very much.
xaphania
Spike/Buffy
Season six is fantastic. Great episodes, great themes, great exploration of the characters.
I can understand why people don't like it, however.
But I love it. Has some of my favourite episodes from the entire series.
I can understand why people don't like it, however.
But I love it. Has some of my favourite episodes from the entire series.
Wishing Oceans
[No message]
dan k
Bangel Is Eternal
In regard to Willow the signs had been there since season 2 that in the future she'd have problems with controlling her fascination with magic. Giles was wary about her wanting to be involved in spells way before the events of season 6. It was a sign of things to come and season 6 was finally the point where Willow lost control. It wasn't in my mind a drastic change.
In season 5 Willow was no longer a shy nerd who was without power. It was her who took charge of the group when Buffy went into meltdown and it was her who almost single handedly stopped them all dying a terrible death against the Knights who were after Dawn.
Buffy had just come back from sheer bliss in heaven to a place where she didn't want to be. As i said before it took her all season to get back into character and that finally came when she proudly told Dawn she would show her the world. Her development in season 6 like Willow's made sense.
Giles left because he realized Buffy relied on him too much. In season 5 he stayed because he felt Buffy still needed him as a watcher. She still needed to learn more about being the Slayer hence he had a job to perform. In season 6 Buffy doesn't need a watcher anymore, instead she takes Giles for granted and gets him to do all the difficult things she should be doing in regard to Dawn. Giles realizes he needs to let Buffy go and that if he stays she will forever rely on him. He needed to leave for Buffy to continue her development and learn responsibility. Hence why he sings "Standing in the way"
All those character developments to me made sense :smile3:
In season 5 Willow was no longer a shy nerd who was without power. It was her who took charge of the group when Buffy went into meltdown and it was her who almost single handedly stopped them all dying a terrible death against the Knights who were after Dawn.
Buffy had just come back from sheer bliss in heaven to a place where she didn't want to be. As i said before it took her all season to get back into character and that finally came when she proudly told Dawn she would show her the world. Her development in season 6 like Willow's made sense.
Giles left because he realized Buffy relied on him too much. In season 5 he stayed because he felt Buffy still needed him as a watcher. She still needed to learn more about being the Slayer hence he had a job to perform. In season 6 Buffy doesn't need a watcher anymore, instead she takes Giles for granted and gets him to do all the difficult things she should be doing in regard to Dawn. Giles realizes he needs to let Buffy go and that if he stays she will forever rely on him. He needed to leave for Buffy to continue her development and learn responsibility. Hence why he sings "Standing in the way"
All those character developments to me made sense :smile3:
E
Eleftheria
nice post...but I have to say,If I were Giles and Buffy was my "daughter" I would have never left her in s6...
I
iDarthRosenberg
[No message]
Yes, there's some logic behind this formely lovable group of friends turning into massive arseholes who don't seem to care about each other. But just because it makes sense, doesn't mean I have to like it.
And the Giles thing is still completely OOC. Yes, Buffy had to stand on her own two feet some time, but really Giles, did you honestly think that that was the best time to go? He should've, and IC would've, taken her by the hand and slowly introduced her to more responsibility, not thrown her in the deep end without a paddle or a sensible metaphor.
The Willow thing is complete rubbish too. Outside of S6, Willow repeatedly shied away from power and control. In Chosen she was terrified of being the key to the plan. In Becoming she was terrified of being their only hope. If anyone would be naturally more attracted to power it would be Xander, who loved being "key guy" in Graduation Day and had many issues with being otherwise "useless" to the group.
And the introduction of the drug metaphor messed it up even further. Even ignoring the fact that this "metaphor" was ridiculously ham-fisted and narmtastic, and that it completely went against how magic worked before, it was counter-intuitive to the whole "control" thing, as drugs are usually used as a way to lose control.
But mainly, it's not how much or little sense it made, it's the sheer fact that S6 is a horrible person. I don't watch TV to see horrible people, unless they're the villain and awesome people are beating up the horrible people. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer likeable people to arseholes.
And the Giles thing is still completely OOC. Yes, Buffy had to stand on her own two feet some time, but really Giles, did you honestly think that that was the best time to go? He should've, and IC would've, taken her by the hand and slowly introduced her to more responsibility, not thrown her in the deep end without a paddle or a sensible metaphor.
The Willow thing is complete rubbish too. Outside of S6, Willow repeatedly shied away from power and control. In Chosen she was terrified of being the key to the plan. In Becoming she was terrified of being their only hope. If anyone would be naturally more attracted to power it would be Xander, who loved being "key guy" in Graduation Day and had many issues with being otherwise "useless" to the group.
And the introduction of the drug metaphor messed it up even further. Even ignoring the fact that this "metaphor" was ridiculously ham-fisted and narmtastic, and that it completely went against how magic worked before, it was counter-intuitive to the whole "control" thing, as drugs are usually used as a way to lose control.
But mainly, it's not how much or little sense it made, it's the sheer fact that S6 is a horrible person. I don't watch TV to see horrible people, unless they're the villain and awesome people are beating up the horrible people. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer likeable people to arseholes.
dan k
Bangel Is Eternal
You mention Chosen in regard to Willow but in that instance she's scared because of what happened in season 6. That power trip she was on nearly killed all her loved ones so of course she would revert back to her cautious ways. You mention her fearing about being the last hope in terms of becoming but she is the one who tries cursing Angel again after the first attempt failed.
I agree in the early seasons she is afraid of having so much power but during that season you can see a change in her character. I just watched "Go Fish" and suddenly she wants to interrogate people, she likes and enjoys doing that as she asks Buffy if she can do it again.
Then if you look at season 3 when she's kidnapped by the Major she is resourceful enough to get away and find out information about the ascension. Her power and nerve continued to grow throughout the season.
In season 4 after she loses Oz she nearly becomes a Vengeance Demon showing the power was very much inside her. Ok so she may have refused becoming a Vengeance Demon but the point is that dark side was in her and that comes into frution in season 6.
How did you want Willow to evolve? She was never going to shy away from power for too long due to her prowess as a witch continuing to grow as the seasons went on.
And sure the show could have stayed the same like it was in the early seasons but then it would get criticized for not being real enough.
Just to make things clear i think seasons 2 and 3 especially are better then season 6. I like the closeness of Buffy, Xander, Giles and Willow. I like Sunnydale High but that had to end, the writers had no choice in that.
You make the point about it not making sense but every earlier point i made seems to make sense in terms of what happened to the characters and why they acted so differently.
---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 PM ----------
Of course i respect your opinion about the season being horrible, i understand why you might think that but to say the show didn't make sense, well i personally don't see that.
I agree in the early seasons she is afraid of having so much power but during that season you can see a change in her character. I just watched "Go Fish" and suddenly she wants to interrogate people, she likes and enjoys doing that as she asks Buffy if she can do it again.
Then if you look at season 3 when she's kidnapped by the Major she is resourceful enough to get away and find out information about the ascension. Her power and nerve continued to grow throughout the season.
In season 4 after she loses Oz she nearly becomes a Vengeance Demon showing the power was very much inside her. Ok so she may have refused becoming a Vengeance Demon but the point is that dark side was in her and that comes into frution in season 6.
How did you want Willow to evolve? She was never going to shy away from power for too long due to her prowess as a witch continuing to grow as the seasons went on.
And sure the show could have stayed the same like it was in the early seasons but then it would get criticized for not being real enough.
Just to make things clear i think seasons 2 and 3 especially are better then season 6. I like the closeness of Buffy, Xander, Giles and Willow. I like Sunnydale High but that had to end, the writers had no choice in that.
You make the point about it not making sense but every earlier point i made seems to make sense in terms of what happened to the characters and why they acted so differently.
---------- Post added at 09:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 PM ----------
Of course i respect your opinion about the season being horrible, i understand why you might think that but to say the show didn't make sense, well i personally don't see that.
OK, the control issues might have made sense on their own. But the drug thing messed everything up, and made it nonsensical. I could've dealt with Willow going dark if it had been about control as it was initially, but after "Wrecked" the whole thing was defiled.
a) In a more sympathetic way. Like Faith in S3, what she did was very, very wrong, but she was very messed up from an awful childhood and everyone she trusted either dying or betraying her. So even though she did bad things that are definitely wrong and she must redeem herself for, I can see her point of view and understand why she did it. Willow had no such justification. She was just being a d*ck.
b) With no magic drugs.
There's a gateway to hell in the school library. The main character is a superpowered girl with a sister who is really a primal force and who dated two vampires. I give realism a lot of leeway.
Yes, high school had to end. But they then wrote two excellent seasons with likeable characters, did they not?
Like I said...
a) In a more sympathetic way. Like Faith in S3, what she did was very, very wrong, but she was very messed up from an awful childhood and everyone she trusted either dying or betraying her. So even though she did bad things that are definitely wrong and she must redeem herself for, I can see her point of view and understand why she did it. Willow had no such justification. She was just being a d*ck.
b) With no magic drugs.
There's a gateway to hell in the school library. The main character is a superpowered girl with a sister who is really a primal force and who dated two vampires. I give realism a lot of leeway.
Yes, high school had to end. But they then wrote two excellent seasons with likeable characters, did they not?
Like I said...
I would recommend watching something like "Charmed" instead. They usually went for the vapid, trite stuff with little or no substance
I personally like the dark place season 6 went to and how real it was. I watched Buffy for several years hence I obviously I grew, therefore I enjoyed the fact that the show did as well.
I didn't want it to stay a high school type show for an eternity. Like so many people realize once they get out of school - life can be a right kick in the face. And of course it'll be doubly so if you have to fight the forces of darkness on top of that.
I thought most of the character developments made perfect sense. I'm not saying it all sat well with me but I like TV that provokes me to think and feel. I like it when actions have consequences.
Probably why s6 is one of my favorite seasons.
Or I could watch something like S2, or most of AtS. You know, the stuff that had substance and angst and tears and bad decisions, but didn't pile on the Deus Angst Machina and didn't make every one of the characters a complete jerk.
True. But life is never that depressing. There's always something good in life, yet not a single good thing happened in S6. Not and single thing. S6 was the most unrealistic season, it felt like a turgid soap opera.
Yeah, me too. Like when Buffy and Angel slept together, or when Faith accidentally killed the Deputy Mayor. Innocent actions that had disastarous consequences. Episodes, with the constant metaphors, were always thought-provoking.
I think that fans of S6 tend to forget that the show has always been angsty, actions have always had consequences, characters have always made bad decisions and morally ambiguous choices, people have always died and the show has always been realistic. The thing with the early seasons is that they keep a balance. The depressing angst is balanced out with the happy and the fun. Life is all about balance, and so is good television. You cannot have light without dark, just as you cannot have dark without light. S6 tried to have dark without light, which is why it is not entertaining television.
Well that I can certainly agree with and I understand your point about season 6 better.
(I however identified a lot with Buffy during that season so I suspect my personal state of mind at the time of viewing colors my opinion on the season as a whole)
dan k
Bangel Is Eternal
I think i enjoyed season 6 because i had a vested interest and love for the characters after watching the previous five seasons.
Season 6 for me was still interesting to watch aswell. I suppose if you didn't like the storylines then i can interpret why you hated the season.
I personally really liked the whole Buffy/Spike scenario. For me that dominated most of the season and i suppose if you were not a fan of that angle then i can see why you disliked the season.
This season was notably different, it was darker and a lot of the comedy disappeared. It was different, new and kept the show fresh.
Season 6 for me was still interesting to watch aswell. I suppose if you didn't like the storylines then i can interpret why you hated the season.
I personally really liked the whole Buffy/Spike scenario. For me that dominated most of the season and i suppose if you were not a fan of that angle then i can see why you disliked the season.
This season was notably different, it was darker and a lot of the comedy disappeared. It was different, new and kept the show fresh.
Anya2012
Floppy, hoppy, bunnies!
I HATE season 6. There's maybe one or two episodes I really liked but it ruined Spike and Buffy. I also don't like Dark Willow and Giles is barely there. Xander became a coward and left Anya at the alter.
I am a fan of season 6. It can't compare to the magic of S2 or S3 but it has it's own dark charm. This is just me, but I like to see my favorite characters thrown to the ground; because then I get to see them pick themselves back up (but also because I'm weird and I like seeing characters screw up). Buffy's progression through the season from "Is this Hell?" to "I want to show it to you!" was great to watch. Willow goes crazy and starts killing people but then it gives us the great hilltop scene where she breaks down in Xander's arms. Also, I enjoyed Spuffy in this season, for a lot of reasons, I was glad that Spike finally got some, since just having him follow Buffy around with mooneyes all season 5 really detracted from his image. There's also no denying the actors had chemistry and it gave us some very sexy scenes. I'm not going to say I enjoyed the AR but it did lead to Spike regaining his soul at the end of the season (which was an amazing way to end it btw) so that makes it good to watch.
